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The River returns to Knoxville

Finally a radio station that does not sound like all the others. 106.1 The River plays all my favorite music and some music that I've never heard, but want to know about. They support local artists, which is unheard of these days. I got the station in my car almost all the way to the Athens area to the south. They didn't come in downtown very well when I first started listening, but now they are very clear. I say "way to go" for whoever owns it. It has to be tough to start a new station amidst all the big clusters. I like the new morning guy too. That was a good move to bring him in. The first guy, Brian something, was aweful. Speaking for myself, I will listen often, and all my friends are fans too.
 
I like the station too, but the signal is similar to a pirate,,,, 105.9 bleeds in through the downtown area, i cant get it on 75 when i start decending down the mountain..

I like the music,,, but the signal is horrible,, I wish it was on 100.3,,,,,, or any other high power Knox area stations....
 
Cassy5000 said:
Finally a radio station that does not sound like all the others. 106.1 The River plays all my favorite music and some music that I've never heard, but want to know about. They support local artists, which is unheard of these days. I got the station in my car almost all the way to the Athens area to the south. They didn't come in downtown very well when I first started listening, but now they are very clear. I say "way to go" for whoever owns it. It has to be tough to start a new station amidst all the big clusters. I like the new morning guy too. That was a good move to bring him in. The first guy, Brian something, was aweful. Speaking for myself, I will listen often, and all my friends are fans too.
Click to expand...

Anybody else think this sounds like an ad?
 
HEHE maybe its pirkle in disguise....... just kidding, Pirkle is really a nice guy if you show him respect.......... Just a fan promoting his fav station,,,, maybe an ex star, b-97.5, or WOKI jock....... lol Im totally kidding........
 
tennvol said:
Cassy5000 said:
Finally a radio station that does not sound like all the others. 106.1 The River plays all my favorite music and some music that I've never heard, but want to know about. They support local artists, which is unheard of these days. I got the station in my car almost all the way to the Athens area to the south. They didn't come in downtown very well when I first started listening, but now they are very clear. I say "way to go" for whoever owns it. It has to be tough to start a new station amidst all the big clusters. I like the new morning guy too. That was a good move to bring him in. The first guy, Brian something, was aweful. Speaking for myself, I will listen often, and all my friends are fans too.
Click to expand...

Anybody else think this sounds like an ad?
Click to expand...

I thought it was.
 
Mid West Clubber said:
I like the station too, but the signal is similar to a pirate,,,, 105.9 bleeds in through the downtown area, i cant get it on 75 when i start decending down the mountain..

I like the music,,, but the signal is horrible,, I wish it was on 100.3,,,,,, or any other high power Knox area stations....
Click to expand...

The signal is actually very good on the west end of Knoxville, and south of town going down I-75 towards Chattanoooga. I'm not on the east or north end of town that much so I'm not sure how much it breaks up there, but as far as west Knoxville goes, the River's signal is just as good as most other class A's in the area (95.7, 93.1, 94.3, 99.1, 104.5, etc.) I'm guessing this is where they are concentrating their efforts anyway. And that's not a bad thing since west Knoxville/Farragut is by far the most lucrative part of town with the lion's share of shopping, restaurants, and the most affluent suburbs. The River is licensed to Oliver Springs, and has a great signal in Oak Ridge, West Knoxville, Farragut, and Lenoir City/Loudon County. And these are definitely the affluent areas that many advertisers are looking to reach, and the areas where new growth is happening. So not being strong in the east or north part of town may not be a deal killer for the signal. Also, I noticed that their studios and offices are in the heart of west Knoxville off of Cedar Bluff Rd. (If the FCC would get rid of the 105.9 translator that WDVX is using downtown it would help 106.1's signal a lot too. Not sure why 105.9 is still on or needed, since WDVX also has another downtown translator at 102.9. But I hate low power/translator, class D stations anyway. I wish the FCC would do away with all of 'em, but that's another thread).

Anyway, as far as The River's programming; I actually enjoy the station. I had been saying that Knoxville needed a Hot AC for years, and I'm glad that hole is now filled. Granted, I would prefer local programming over the automated stuff, but at least they use Waitt Radio Networks satellite system that allows the jock breaks to be customized as well as the music library to be customized and based locally. (www.wrnonline.com). Also, they have a local morning show. Who knows if they will make it or not, but I'm glad to have a choice for Hot AC in Knoxville again for now. Also, they seem to have picked up quite a few small mom and pop type business advertisers in the past month or so. (I've heard ads for businesses in Oak Ridge, West Knoxville, Clinton, and Lenoir City). Not sure if they are making much money on these yet, or simply selling them very cheap to try and prove their worth to the advertisers. But anyway, I hope they make a go of it. I'm enjoying having a Hot AC/Adult CHR in the market as another choice.

(Oh, they also have a website up now too at www.river106.com/riverrats. )
 
As far as class A stations go, 106.1 has about a good of a signal that I've heard. They have obviously taken care of their problem with 105.9 bleeding into their signal downtown because now the signal if virtually clear now and WDVX is gone from that frequency. You can still get WDVX on 102.9 downtown. The River has a good signal and is a well programmed station. I think it is here to stay. Hats off to the owners. It's tough to build a radio station in this economy amidst all the big corporate competition.
 
Well thats good to know, I like having the choice of Star, river, and Electric for POP/rock,,, I still miss WOKI but its just time to move on.. I slightly miss the old Hot Ac/chr hybrid of mix 95.7, but The river fills that hole..... Even if Woki was still top 40 I probably wouldnt like it anyway, it would just be like Star, and Journal or citadel would own it.

I was in Downtown last weak or so, and 105.9 was still on, im glad its gone now.. Yeah, at least 196.1 has a clean signal, and it does make it almost up to thunder mountain fireworks on i-75,,, so its near the signal of 93.1. Sure, you cant get it in corban ky, or asheville nc, but it covers knox county well...
 
I don't really think their signal is all that good. It cracks like lightning on Campbell Station Road. Vanishes on Kingston Pike just past Walker Springs and doesn't even come in on Western Ave. past the 640 center.

Let's be realistic, it's an Anderson County signal and with that they're lucky to get anywhere near the 37909 zip code. If they take a page from WOKI's early years and focus on Oak Ridge and surrounding areas they'll be raking in the money. If they pretend it's a "Knoxville" station they'll be down for the count before the leaves change colors again.
 
I dont go to west knox often, I just travel down I-75 and hit 640 toward virginia to see my Girlfriend near marion va..... I go past the sharp ridge tower farm and out toward seiverville and I can pick up Electric 94.9 from London Kentucky all the way to my girls house in va, so Electric 94.9 is quite a flame thrower,, it gets stomped out by star country in roanake about 40 north of bristol. I think waez electric is in Greenville tn...
 
I work in west Knoxville (Weisgarber at Middlebrook) which is right in the middle of the 37909 zip and I don't have any problems picking up 106.1 The River on either of my 2 vehicles radios. I commute about 35 miles from Sweetwater and 106.1 comes in the whole way. Also, I've never lost it on Kingston Pike either. Sure there may be a few pops and momentary static here and there, but that's no big deal to me. This is East TN. and with all the hills and valleys, heck even the 100kw sticks have bad spots.

I listen to WAEZ ""Electric 94.9" around Knoxville all the time too. It has some bad spots, but I would consider it totally listenable too. But then again, Im not an average listener and I don't mind dx'ing and some static so it may bother some.
 
I've been following this thread since all the Hoopla about 106.1 The River started on this site. It's nice to see that so many people are interested in local radio and appear to have some knowledge. I don't know what Boogiecheck is talking about in terms of crackling of the signal on Campbell Station Road. The signal is crystal clear all throughout West Knoxville and beyond. The signal is excellent for a class A. Now that 105.9 is gone, the station will probably get some real legs. BC, you sound a little jaded. Perhaps you work for the competition. Perhaps you are like a lot of radio professionals and out of work. Whatever the case, your posts are just not accurate, and frankly, you sound a bit angry. The Arbitrends came out yesterday and 106.1 the River showed up. Good for them. Say what you want, but I'm rooting for the local guy.
 
Well I always tune in, and probably will even more in the near future. Knox radio is so boring, not much choices,,, we really needed a station that leans between star and b... I hope the river is streaming online soon, so I can listen here in Indiana,, and over in Hillsville va....
 
This River is streaming on-line now. I also saw the Arbitrends. Trends don't really mean much to me, but they are a blip on the radar now. Maybe they will get some decent numbers in thier demo when the book comes out in October. With the signal they have, they may have a shot. What happened to WFIV? They didn't show up at all. too bad, I kind of like that station, except for the football. Why do they have to sell out like that?
 
WFIV does it for the money. They are in the process of selling off the AM's that they own with the exception of the Sweetwater stations because they are the only stations showing a profit.
 
I heard from a radio salesperson in the market that WFIV was selling spots for $5 6a - 7p and free on weekends. Is that for real? How can they operate with those rates?
 
The ratings came out on 10/19. I saw that WFIV went away completely. I expected that since thier format changed. Nice to see the River showed up, officially. I hope they make it. By the sound of their stopsets, looks like they have a lot of support from the advertisers.
 
engineernick said:
The ratings came out on 10/19. I saw that WFIV went away completely. I expected that since thier format changed. Nice to see the River showed up, officially. I hope they make it. By the sound of their stopsets, looks like they have a lot of support from the advertisers.
Click to expand...

They showed up with a 0.6, which is a nice bonus considering they haven't done any real promotion (billboards, TV).

As far as WFIV goes, it could be beating "Jack" without question if only Horne would hire someone who understood the Knoxville market.
 
Yeah, that's a good point. It's like the River came out of no where with no marketing. It's pretty unusual to get numbers that quick. Just saw their ad on Fox 43 right after the World Series and every little local paper seems to be doing an article on them (except Farragut Press). Seems like they've just started doing some marketing. I bet it's a bit of a piss off to Star 102.1 to have another competitor.
 
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