WYAY, "All News 106.7", in Atlanta scored a 1.1 in their first month on the air. WEMP is still down in the dumps at a .6 share after 10 months on the air (Aug-June). All the right things came together for WYAY- first off, KDKA's former PD - Marshall Adams - has great direction for the Cumulus station. Secondly, WYAY's reporters, anchors, and editors have lived in Atlanta a long time. A lot of them are from CNN. The Marlin should take notes.
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This proves just how sad WEMP's Numbers are......
- Thread starter gj567
- Start date
Time to go to "Plan B", Mr. Merlin Marlin. Better to admit defeat now and change direction than to keep this going and be further embarrassed.
There are not one, but TWO excellent news stations in NYC that have been there for a combined 92 years of experience with the format.
Just being on FM isn't enough. Having a BETTER product than what it out there is the only way to unseat stations like WINS or WCBS, and that would take time. Having a far inferior product won't do a thing. It's good that CBS didn't panic right away and blow up a successful FM to react to FM News.
ESPN on FM is different because it's a well established product, just moving "down the street". FM News is like a cardboard house at the end of the block.
There are not one, but TWO excellent news stations in NYC that have been there for a combined 92 years of experience with the format.
Just being on FM isn't enough. Having a BETTER product than what it out there is the only way to unseat stations like WINS or WCBS, and that would take time. Having a far inferior product won't do a thing. It's good that CBS didn't panic right away and blow up a successful FM to react to FM News.
ESPN on FM is different because it's a well established product, just moving "down the street". FM News is like a cardboard house at the end of the block.
Here's the plan flip to Alternative/Modern Rock like WRFF in Philly or go Country as WYNY
They might have had a chance if the product was well executed but their product still suffers from inconsistencies. How do you explain to sponsors why certain elements don't air correctly?
Plan B? Forget Plan B and go right to C, which is sell the station to somebody who can execute a format that won't have as many mistakes!
Plan B? Forget Plan B and go right to C, which is sell the station to somebody who can execute a format that won't have as many mistakes!
Hey look, it's this thread again. In before "dance music".
FM News would be fine if they paid attention to the little details.
FM News would be fine if they paid attention to the little details.
FM News is like a third rate burger joint opening up in between McDonald's and Burger King. What's the market for a third all news station no matter if it's on AM or FM? Is there one, even if it was well run? They couldn't be billing well with a .6, because that means the in demo numbers are even smaller.
Everyone says "country won't bill well", but it's got to be cheaper to run than all news and would get high 2's at the very least. Classical would do better. All polka all the time might even tie them.
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NorwoodBoundD
Guest
...and to add on to it, you have a well run product at WNYC (NPR News & BBC News) which provides quality coverage of the news around the nation and around the world. In essence, 1010 WINS is the Lakers, WCBS NewsRadio 880 is the Celtics, WNYC is the Spurs and WEMP is the Bobcats.WNTIRadio said:
I've said this from the beginning... Just flip it to alternative gen-x radio, like Philly's Radio 104.5 or what Radio 92.3 was in Cleveland. Just have the songs and the generic voicetrack that says the song and artist beforehand or after. It would be cheap and deliver huge ratings. Also, can we finally agree that radio consultants are a scam?
I like WNTIRadio's burger analogy. To build on that:
Of course, a third burger chain did appear, Wendy's. It had product overlap (burgers, fries, shakes, chicken sandwiches), but it did some things differently. Not on the cheap. High Quality. A valid third-place challenger to be watched by both of the dominant chains.
And recently, Wendy's climbed into second place, beating Burger King, which was found to be behind the times in the burger wars. Now Burger King is playing catch-up with its two rivals.
If Merlin were a burger joint, they'd be selling horse meat.
Of course, a third burger chain did appear, Wendy's. It had product overlap (burgers, fries, shakes, chicken sandwiches), but it did some things differently. Not on the cheap. High Quality. A valid third-place challenger to be watched by both of the dominant chains.
And recently, Wendy's climbed into second place, beating Burger King, which was found to be behind the times in the burger wars. Now Burger King is playing catch-up with its two rivals.
If Merlin were a burger joint, they'd be selling horse meat.
Look, all these months and they haven't flipped a thing. They're not going to because unfortunately, the future of FM radio is spoken word and they just want to get in on the ground level before other stations do it. So to them, it's better to take a loss but stay with a format where others are eventually going to compete on and "set that standard".
But if they want to improve what they are doing, maybe they should DROP the news entirely and make this a "traffic/weather" station only.
I'm not thinking music here, not even dance.
But if they want to improve what they are doing, maybe they should DROP the news entirely and make this a "traffic/weather" station only.
I'm not thinking music here, not even dance.
Many stations downgraded to HD 7 years ago because they thought that was the future of radio and wanted to be first. Now, many stations are turning off the HD to save on the electric bill and licensing fees. FM News 101.9 hasn't been in HD for a month, and it was possible for me to hear 101.7 The Beach and Q102 in Manhattan last week during tropo. Perhaps the HD transmitter failed and there is no point fixing it since it's not bringing in any revenue. No one's complaining about CD 101.9-HD2 being absent.
I totally agree, take the WRFF Philladelphia format and copy it exactly and put it on in New York. Don't play any old rock on it, leave that to Q104. It will get a 3 share, it's getting more than a 5 share in Philadelphia.
The problem with WEMP isn't the format. It's the execution. Lighter and more lifestyle driven news has an audience just waiting to be tapped. But that audience doesn't want to hear poorly executed news. They expect a more polished product.
Without going into details, I'll just say that there's a definite lack of professionalism going on. Clean that up, and the station will be fine.
Without going into details, I'll just say that there's a definite lack of professionalism going on. Clean that up, and the station will be fine.
Also, it sounds automated with music beds being clipped, ends of traffic or weather reports being clipped and jarring transitions.
Listen to 1010 or 880, like a great figure skater or a 22 game winning pitcher, they make it sound easy. It's smooth and you know the people on the air are in control and have authority.
The content of the news isn't the problem anymore, most of it is straight up news. But get rid of the automation if you really want to compete on any level. Lose the bad sports guy and hire someone competent. Get RID of that stupid Lionel bit at the bottom of the hour. Who wants to hear that voice at 4:30 when Wayne Cabot is on 880?
Lastly, fix the processing. Everyone sounds like they have a cold. I will gladly fix it for you Mr. Merlin Marlin for a modest fee.
It's like the Kansas City Royals moving to NYC and expecting to compete with the Yankees and Mets. And playing at a municipal field.
Listen to 1010 or 880, like a great figure skater or a 22 game winning pitcher, they make it sound easy. It's smooth and you know the people on the air are in control and have authority.
The content of the news isn't the problem anymore, most of it is straight up news. But get rid of the automation if you really want to compete on any level. Lose the bad sports guy and hire someone competent. Get RID of that stupid Lionel bit at the bottom of the hour. Who wants to hear that voice at 4:30 when Wayne Cabot is on 880?
Lastly, fix the processing. Everyone sounds like they have a cold. I will gladly fix it for you Mr. Merlin Marlin for a modest fee.
It's like the Kansas City Royals moving to NYC and expecting to compete with the Yankees and Mets. And playing at a municipal field.
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