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The X

So 103-9 The X is all PC now except for afternoons, pretty crazy for the only active rock station in Dayton. Their HD-2 seems to be still imaged as "The Alternative Project" but playing Gen X music. CC, simply a mess?
 
lovejamminoldies said:
So 103-9 The X is all PC now except for afternoons, pretty crazy for the only active rock station in Dayton. Their HD-2 seems to be still imaged as "The Alternative Project" but playing Gen X music. CC, simply a mess?

I don't really understand what PC is. Do they just pick the songs somewhere like San Antonio, or is it some kind of satellite service with DJs and what not? If it's just a music picking service and they want to save money why don't they just let someone from Columbus program the station? That would at least resonate more locally.
 
PC is premium choice programming. Basically, it means that CC is going to eliminate most of the local personalities and PD's and let one person program hundreds of stations so that they play the same songs at the same time. For instance, I live between Marysville and Bellefontaine. The CC country stations I can pick up are 92.3 (Columbus), 94.3 (Marion), 101.3 (Mansfield), 102.1 (Lima), and 103.7 (Tiffin/Pemberville/BG.) During the weekday, 94.3, 101.3, 102.1, and 103.7 are all playing the same song at the same time, usually all within a minute of each other. And of course the voice-tracked DJ's on 102.1 will say "this song is going out to Heather in Wapak", which is clearly a lie. It just cracks me up what CC has done to local radio. Completely destroyed it.
 
PC, rather than being a satelite service, is a log which is delivered to stations and plays off CC's Wide Area Network. Big 106.5 and WCHO (1250 Washington Court House) use the Classic Hits feed; you'll hear WCHO about a song behind Big since WCHO carries top of the hour news.

CC is concentrating on iHeartRadio, not local DJs in Washington Courthouse or Dayton.
 
borderblaster said:
PC, rather than being a satelite service, is a log which is delivered to stations and plays off CC's Wide Area Network. Big 106.5 and WCHO (1250 Washington Court House) use the Classic Hits feed; you'll hear WCHO about a song behind Big since WCHO carries top of the hour news.

PC, rather than being a satelite service, is a log which is delivered to stations and plays off CC's Wide Area Network.

So this is done kind of the same way Media General does master control for all of its NBC stations from WCMH-TV in Columbus? All of the product doesn't physically go through WCMH-TV, they just send some kind of a database file to the local station, where the content is run locally from a server based at the station? It sounds like PC kind of does essentially the same thing?

borderblaster said:
CC is concentrating on iHeartRadio, not local DJs in Washington Courthouse or Dayton.

Washington Courthouse I can kind of understand. Dayton and Toledo befuddles me.

And didn't they buy up stations in places like Chillicothe and Mansfield solely for the purpose of being able to move signals around? That's done. Why continue to hold on to them?
 
If you cruise along I75 going up to Toledo you will also notice Channel 999, Lima's 93.9 Kiss FM and Toledo's 92.5 Kiss FM pretty much run on the Premium choice too.
 
Sorta operates like WCMH master control...(WDTN and all the LIN station have Master Contol at WISH in Indianapolis, but not exactly). I'm told that every Clear Channel station can access every audio file from every station and they'd have to have standard file numbers to pull off Premium Choice. A log is produced, with adequate fill songs depending on spot load, the talent produces the voice tracks, and it's uploaded to the station to be merged with local commercials, promos, etc. I'm auming the 2pm hour is the 2pm hour in every time zone, which is different than a satellite network like Dial Global which has the same programming no matter what the time zone.

Even in the Jacor days, Randy Michaels seemed to want every station in Ohio, and for awhile Clear Channel was buying everything with a tower (hey, that's a nice CB setup you've got there...here's $50000). A lot of those purchases were in order to engineer move-ins, such as 106.9 Marion to 106.7 Delaware and 93.3 Chillicothe to 93.3 Ashville. Also had to clear WSRW Hillsboro off 106.7 and move it to 106.5 in Chillicothe. Why don't they sell the smaller markets? They have in some cases....Clear Channel's station count went from 1200 to around 850. Bas Broadcasting bought several of CC's stations in Mt. Vernon as well as the Sandusky area in Ohio. Findlay, Lima and Chillicothe are for sale but buyers have not been found.
 
Sorta sucks that they run that way. Now if a song you don't like comes on in the area where you are in range of the 3 seperate stations you can't change it to the other markets station since they will be playing the same song at the same time. That's something that can be used by a competitor to counter attack the station in the market.
 
chad43358 said:
PC is premium choice programming. Basically, it means that CC is going to eliminate most of the local personalities and PD's and let one person program hundreds of stations so that they play the same songs at the same time. For instance, I live between Marysville and Bellefontaine. The CC country stations I can pick up are 92.3 (Columbus), 94.3 (Marion), 101.3 (Mansfield), 102.1 (Lima), and 103.7 (Tiffin/Pemberville/BG.) During the weekday, 94.3, 101.3, 102.1, and 103.7 are all playing the same song at the same time, usually all within a minute of each other. And of course the voice-tracked DJ's on 102.1 will say "this song is going out to Heather in Wapak", which is clearly a lie. It just cracks me up what CC has done to local radio. Completely destroyed it.
Chad, I've noticed Cindy Spicer doing the exact same thing on WMMX/Mix 107.7, like saying that, for example, "This one goes out to Dave in Xenia", or something along those lines.
For the record, WXEG is all PC except for Steve Dent. They've been that way since the RIFs back in October.
 
I know Alan, it's ridiculous. I don't know what's worse, the fact that they even do that even though people like you and me know it's total BS, or the fact that they do it and people actually believe they are playing requests. Either way, it's the reason people are picking up satellite radio. One of these days when I'm stupid rich, I will buy smaller markets and put at least 3 or 4 local DJ's on the air full time, and bring radio back to where it originated. I don't even plan on making money on it, I just want to break even and provide radio and jobs just like it should be done.
 
Saying that you're playing requests and really not goes way, way back, and other than radio geeks like you and me, no one is paying enough attention and thinking "I wonder if there really is a Dan in Cridersville". With the old top 40 stations, the rotation of current hits came up often enough that you could say "On the hitline for Livonia" and someone would think you played their request. Request line callers represent a tiny fraction of the audience and should not dictate your playlist.
 
chad43358 said:
I know Alan, it's ridiculous. I don't know what's worse, the fact that they even do that even though people like you and me know it's total BS, or the fact that they do it and people actually believe they are playing requests. Either way, it's the reason people are picking up satellite radio. One of these days when I'm stupid rich, I will buy smaller markets and put at least 3 or 4 local DJ's on the air full time, and bring radio back to where it originated. I don't even plan on making money on it, I just want to break even and provide radio and jobs just like it should be done.

Save your money...and save it for bankruptcy court after you find out you can't compete....
 
Jason Roberts said:
chad43358 said:
I know Alan, it's ridiculous. I don't know what's worse, the fact that they even do that even though people like you and me know it's total BS, or the fact that they do it and people actually believe they are playing requests. Either way, it's the reason people are picking up satellite radio. One of these days when I'm stupid rich, I will buy smaller markets and put at least 3 or 4 local DJ's on the air full time, and bring radio back to where it originated. I don't even plan on making money on it, I just want to break even and provide radio and jobs just like it should be done.

Save your money...and save it for bankruptcy court after you find out you can't compete....

What would he be competing against? ???

An automated jukebox that offers nothing but "80's Classic Hits"? Please...and we wonder why radio is becoming irrelevant...
 
Although WXEG might be the only Active Rock station *based* in Dayton, let's not forget 96Rock delivers a damn good signal to most of the area. (Granted, 96Rock leans alternative.)

On I-75, I'm able to maintain a listenable signal from 96Rock until about Piqua.
 
stereolane said:
Jason Roberts said:
chad43358 said:
I know Alan, it's ridiculous. I don't know what's worse, the fact that they even do that even though people like you and me know it's total BS, or the fact that they do it and people actually believe they are playing requests. Either way, it's the reason people are picking up satellite radio. One of these days when I'm stupid rich, I will buy smaller markets and put at least 3 or 4 local DJ's on the air full time, and bring radio back to where it originated. I don't even plan on making money on it, I just want to break even and provide radio and jobs just like it should be done.

Save your money...and save it for bankruptcy court after you find out you can't compete....

What would he be competing against? ???

An automated jukebox that offers nothing but "80's Classic Hits"? Please...and we wonder why radio is becoming irrelevant...

Some of the types I would expect to get into this business should some stations free up for purchase will be the "I'll show them" crowd. And they will lose their butts...after they realize their 4-thousand song playlist, with DJ's playing not-relevant, non-recognizable music for the 2% of the audience who cares won't get them sufficient advertisers to stay in business.

So many people out there want to make the same mistakes I did in the 1980's. At least I learned from them...
 
Let's just say that if the "play obscure music and you'll be number one crowd is right, I would expect huge numbers from WNKU in Dayton and Cincinnati
 
To capture enough of an audience that advertisers would want to buy time to potentially reach those people, you have to program to get those listeners.
That means finding your brand. What will appeal to the "masses" not the 1 or 2%. Defining your brand and hitting it hard. Being economical, lean and able to appeal and make friends(clients and local officials) , inroads in the local community. Chumming up to potential advertisers . Explaining who you are reaching and how purchasing time on your station would reach those advertisers. And what other platforms you can use in conjunction with your terrestrial, that you can give to them as an avenue to reach those people the advertiser wants to reach. Forming that bond, listening and letting them know you get their concerns. And then maybe you can eek out a profit. Repeating this daily and working those clients will build -not guarantee success. As we know the market if fluid and always subject to change.

Find your brand, hit it hard do not stray, work hard to please your listeners and get new clients while working the ones you have. Stay involved in the community all while being lean on the budget. That is why breaking even will never work. It allows you to loose concentration of the bottom line.
It makes sense to me, but it is so scary to go and do. But for those stations that do just that above, it is successful.
 
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