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The Single Billy Goat Theory, and The Only Two Left To Square Off!

S

Scooter Lesley

Guest
Although both were in, and licensed to Anderson(SC), the CHR wars betwixed WANS & WCKN were(are) legendary in the GSP market. There was money there, and they went after it. At different stints in time, I fought (worked) on both sides. That level of competition honed & tempered both airstaffs to a red dot top shelf. Those two FM's went Billy Goat head to head in the GSP, but Asheville was owned by KISS FM (WKLS), one damn Smokin' CHR! Their 7p-12m, "G.T." could not be touched. Up there, he owned "Nights"! WESC & WSSL was also a good fight, until one farmer bought both goats, and scolded them to be sweet to each other. The Classic Rock WCKN('87-'91) was the Single Billy Goat Theory in play, with...no other goat to butt with. After the call letter change in '91 to WROQ, the goat was still unchallenged, until 103X surfaced. The wern't much more than a hyper lamb, making a charge, with an ill-fitting football helmet. On September 13, 1996, THE PLANET would sign on, and under the guidence of Zakk Tyler, they would grant WROQ's
Ken Carson, a rating scare that he will always remember. It was brief, but Tyler did prove that WROQ could be beat. Then, the one farmer bought those two goats.
I liked THE BUZZARD, but they were no threat, due to their poor coverage. Today, WROQ's success sits calmly on The Single Billy Goat Theory...no other goat to butt with. The only two left to square off is MY & Magic. So, who's got the Goat Power?
 
Actually the billy-goat-butting-heads mentality still exists in radio, only it's now "my group of stations vs. your group of stations."

And I've said it before and I'll say it again, broadcasting should have never been deregulated.

BTW: I miss the stations that you've mentioned in your post.

Robyn
 
I believe KISS was never 'KLS but formerly WLOS then WKSF. (WKLS is one of CC's in Atlanta)
Regarding the Buzzard, we were never going to be a 'real threat' to anyone with 700 watts but designed soley to steal a few shares from 'roq to aid other CC properties to the top of the count. Good 5 year fun-run while it lasted!
 
Yes,...you are correct,...the calls for KISS FM were WKSF...as I said,
one damn smokin' CHR. It would've been cool to have been on their airstaff. Asheville: Back then, full of Vampires, and their goth goulfriends. The only thing that cleared them out was all the Hippies.
Garlic...B.O., about the same thing!
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Yep,...I was a fan of THE BUZZARD, but no coverage. If 93.3 had the starch that THE BUZZARD had, they wouldn't be in the cellar!
 
I know this is a pretty moot point, but speaking of the 96.7 signal, it IS good for a class A - I think it gets out a lot better than the 103's, which are of equilivent power. Not sure why unless the high antenna on Paris Mtn. is a factor. The signal's not great in Anderson county or the eastern part of Spartanburg county, which are important parts of the market, but still, it gets out pretty well. I have a good car radio and have gotten it fine 50mi to the south before.

Like I've said over and over again, I miss The Buzzard. I guess there's no way for the 96.7 signal to be upgraded?
 
carolinaradio said:
.... I guess there's no way for the 96.7 signal to be upgraded?
Click to expand...
No, it sure can't. CC bought the Greenwood 96.7 and moved it to Greenville to pave the way to up the power of 96.7 WLTY in Columbia. It is wedged in there with 96-7's in Franklin, NC, Columbia and Atlanta. Not to mention 96.9 in Charlotte and 96.5 in Asheville. Screwed 8 ways to Sunday as far as being more than a class A. CC did the right thing with going with height over power. As someone who lived and breathed that station for 5 years I'm very aware of all it's strengths and weaknesses signal-wise. Versus 103.3/103.9, 96.7 WROO will have a larger swath. But once you get outside of Greenville, western Spartanburg and extreme northern Anderson Counties, it's only listenable on a decent car radio. You'd almost certainly not be able to tune in at home or inside a concrete/steel office building or portable worksite radio. 103.9 is a full power class A (6,000w) as it does not go above height. When 103.3 was contructed it was decided to go with height over power as well....so the transmitter is only at 3400 watts. However, it is not sitting on a mountain top. Overall, 103.3 has the better signal of the 3's but 103.9 has better building penetration within it's 60dbu. 103.3 WOLT can be received further outside of the 60dbu vs 103.9 sans the blasted translator that was approved for WSNW on 103.3 in Seneca which interferes with WOLT being heard toward Anderson. First Baptist Spartanburg's 104.1 ruins 103.9's signal in downtown Spartanburg as well.
 
CraigD said:
carolinaradio said:
.... I guess there's no way for the 96.7 signal to be upgraded?
Click to expand...
No, it sure can't. CC bought the Greenwood 96.7 and moved it to Greenville to pave the way to up the power of 96.7 WLTY in Columbia. It is wedged in there with 96-7's in Franklin, NC, Columbia and Atlanta. Not to mention 96.9 in Charlotte and 96.5 in Asheville. Screwed 8 ways to Sunday as far as being more than a class A. CC did the right thing with going with height over power. As someone who lived and breathed that station for 5 years I'm very aware of all it's strengths and weaknesses signal-wise. Versus 103.3/103.9, 96.7 WROO will have a larger swath. But once you get outside of Greenville, western Spartanburg and extreme northern Anderson Counties, it's only listenable on a decent car radio. You'd almost certainly not be able to tune in at home or inside a concrete/steel office building or portable worksite radio. 103.9 is a full power class A (6,000w) as it does not go above height. When 103.3 was contructed it was decided to go with height over power as well....so the transmitter is only at 3400 watts. However, it is not sitting on a mountain top. Overall, 103.3 has the better signal of the 3's but 103.9 has better building penetration within it's 60dbu. 103.3 WOLT can be received further outside of the 60dbu vs 103.9 sans the blasted translator that was approved for WSNW on 103.3 in Seneca which interferes with WOLT being heard toward Anderson. First Baptist Spartanburg's 104.1 ruins 103.9's signal in downtown Spartanburg as well.
Click to expand...
Yikes. CC put 96.7 in probably the best area in the market you could. 103.3's main obstacle down in southern Greenville county is WRIX at 103.1 - their signal bleeds over in some sections as you go towards Anderson county. Those stations are pretty close for class A's. WRIX doesn't have as much punch in their signal, though.
 
Since this thread already kind of went off topic with the 96.7 discussion, I don't really understand Clear Channel's reasoning with that station. Greenville-Spartanburg does imply a strong Christian/Gospel market, but Shine isn't even a blip on the radar as far as ratings go. I'm not a radio expert so don't know much about your discussion on the tower placement, but it's gotta be one of the clearest signals I get in the Greenville area.

Anyway, I know they tried the "female talk" on those airwaves as well, but how is Shine even surviving without making a dent in the ratings? Shouldn't they be ripe for another format change?
 
96.7 was never female talk, Entercom (owner of 98.9, 93.3, 93.7, 101, 106.3) did that on 106.3. Disaster. I would love to see something different on 96.7 as well, but since its been nearly 4 years since the flip to Shine, they must be satisfied with it. They must be making enough money from it. If they ever do flip, I would like a decent rock or classic hits station.

I agree, even if it doesn't get very far, it's a great signal in Greenville and the surrounding 'burbs. The issue is that the signal doesn't cover all of the Spartanburg county portion of the market well, so the station has less revenue/ratings potential.
 
I'd say CC missed the boat by not taking 96.7 mono & doing syndicated Premiere talk. They still could I suppose....

G
 
from a sales perspective it is a safe value added. what advertiser would argue with the christian format for free full length commercials. i know that local agencies always want something free so 96.7 is a safe place to put their free stuff
 
carolinaradio said:
96.7 was never female talk, Entercom (owner of 98.9, 93.3, 93.7, 101, 106.3) did that on 106.3.  Disaster.  I would love to see something different on 96.7 as well, but since its been nearly 4 years since the flip to Shine, they must be satisfied with it. They must be making enough money from it.  If they ever do flip, I would like a decent rock or classic hits station.

I agree, even if it doesn't get very far, it's a great signal in Greenville and the surrounding 'burbs.  The issue is that the signal doesn't cover all of the Spartanburg county portion of the market well, so the station has less revenue/ratings potential.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I got that mixed up. It was 106.3 (which I believe is also now Contemporary Christian as well) that went to female talk.

Although 102.5 serves up some softer new rock tracks (Kings of Leon, Florence and the Machine, NewRepublic), I'd still like a true new rock station in the area (as I've mentioned before Radio 104.5 out of Philly is the perfect fit for what I like to hear -- newer rock without all of the redneck "new" hard rock ala the Planet). Don't know if it would survive the market though. 99X in Atlanta even struggled with it ...losing its FM airwaves then did online streaming / HD radio only...finally to return to its new 98.9.

Don't see how it would do any worse in ratings than Shine, however.

As far as a sales perspective, is there somekind of mandate that says a radio operator like CC must make room for free comercials? Maybe it's its way of giving something back to the (conservative) community, but surely they like to make money too.

I'm not against Christian Contemporary. Just think there's already stations like that lower down on the dial that serve that purpose.
 
I would love a decent modern rock station too, but I don't know how it would do or if anyone would take the risk. The format typically doesn't thrive in the southeast.

If 96.7 wasn't finacially benefitting CC somehow, it would be long gone. They make money from airing USC athletics and run a cheap satellite-delivered format. They may offer free ads on 96.7 to entice more advertisers for 102.5, 100.5, 92.5.

With Clear Channel pushing premium choice more, as I said in another post, maybe at some point they'll pick a format from that since it is probably pretty much free. The station that aired female talk/Christian/Charlie was 1063, which is now news talk.
 
Don't know why I'm brain dead today, of course 106.3 is WORD, which is doing fine.

Anyway, you're probably right that a modern rock station wouldn't survive here. If you could get it on a frequency strong enough to encompass Clemson, maybe it'd do half decent. Just a dream, but I'd love to see one.
 
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