Time To Restart Those Charlotte Jack Rumors...

[DiamondJoe]

Charlotte ratings came out this week... The one most likely to go Jack, Jeff-Pilot's WLNK "The Link", dropped nearly a point in the latest book.

Yes, I posted this hypothesis once before on this board - and no, I do not have a vendetta against Craig Shoemaker or Pam Stone... It's just that 107.9's got all that music, and judging by those 70's and 80's weekends they've been doing, one's got to wonder if they've been dabbling their foot in the water, waiting for the right time - or book - to strike.

And as Lou pointed out, it's possible for them to continue the successful "Bob & Sheri" show in the morning and via syndication while "Jacking" the rest of the day. (Note when I use the word "successful" I am not showing any bias, just stating a fact.)

The "Comic Relief Workday" was a fresh concept. It just hasn't held up in the ratings, though. I can literally count Pam's affiliates on one hand.

So when will Jack "disconnect" The Link? This Friday, perhaps? "Sugar Jack Friday", maybe?<P ID="signature">______________


New York City Radio and TV</P>

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

It's not just Bob and Sheri who are syndicated out of WLNK-107.9.

Most of WLNK's programming is syndicated by WLNK owner Jefferson-Pilot as the "Personality AC" format.

Wouldn't Jefferson-Pilot want to keep WLNK's current format since it is also the flagship station for a satellite format heard in other cities??

 

[JustinT]

> It's not just Bob and Sheri who are syndicated out of
> WLNK-107.9.
>
> Most of WLNK's programming is syndicated by WLNK owner
> Jefferson-Pilot as the "Personality AC" format.
>
> Wouldn't Jefferson-Pilot want to keep WLNK's current format
> since it is also the flagship station for a satellite format
> heard in other cities??

Though none of those shows have more than a few affiliates each other than Bob and Sheri. If the company really believed in the Jack format, they would dump everyone except Bob and Sheri and do it. Whether they do, we will find out.

Plus, if the Personality AC affiliates cared enough, they could still have the shows with no flagship, right?

 

[LouPickney]

> Charlotte ratings came out this week... The one most likely
> to go Jack, Jeff-Pilot's WLNK "The Link", dropped nearly a
> point in the latest book.

Keep in mind that, to this point, Jefferson-Pilot has not gone with the Variety Hits format on any of its stations. I think it could be quite successful in Charlotte to try it with Bob & Sheri mornings on The Link (and cutting huge overhead with its payroll-heavy talk lineup), but I don't know how successful its "personality talk" syndication is going at this point. JP owns the CBS TV affiliate in Charlotte, and News/Talk WBT (the AM/FM simulcast), and if it had another AM station it would be easy enough to shuffle the rest of its talk lineup over there. But it doesn't, so the company would have to make a pretty pronounced choice.

Without knowing how the station is doing besides 12+, it is hard to make a guess as to how it bills. But with *two* AC stations in Charlotte (Clear Channel and Infinity's, respectively) ranked higher 12+, you'd think it would be in a tough spot in the W25-54, W18-49 demos outside of morning drive.

But some companies simply have not embraced the Variety Hits format (Cumulus, Cox, etc.), and JP is one of those companies. Granted, with few stations in a limited number of markets, the opportunities haven't necessarily been there to do that (and even in places like Miami, where Oldies WMXJ might've been a possibility, that station has been trending up 12+), so it's not like Cumulus or Cox where the opportunities have been there for sure where the decision was made not to go with the format.

A better bet for Charlotte? Infinity at some point deciding that it's tired of splitting the AC pie and putting JACK-FM on WKQC...<P ID="signature">______________
Lou Pickney
Tampa, FL
RadioHotTalk.com & VarietyHits.com</P>

 

[ticoSD]

> > It's not just Bob and Sheri who are syndicated out of
> > WLNK-107.9.
> >
> > Most of WLNK's programming is syndicated by WLNK owner
> > Jefferson-Pilot as the "Personality AC" format.
> >
> > Wouldn't Jefferson-Pilot want to keep WLNK's current
> format
> > since it is also the flagship station for a satellite
> format
> > heard in other cities??
>
> Though none of those shows have more than a few affiliates
> each other than Bob and Sheri. If the company really
> believed in the Jack format, they would dump everyone except
> Bob and Sheri and do it. Whether they do, we will find out.
>
> Plus, if the Personality AC affiliates cared enough, they
> could still have the shows with no flagship, right?
>
What would make Link going Jack even more interesting is what will happen to Matt & Ramona. It was suggested on the Atlanta board a long time ago that M&R could be the heir apparent to the Steve & Vicki morning show on Star 94. I'm not suggesting that J-P will try to push S&V out (I don't think they should; after all, they are a cash cow), but then again, who'd thought Clear Channel would push Rick Dees off of KIIS in favor for a younger Ryan Seacrest.

It is possible, though, that M&R could still do mornings. Jack in Buffalo and San Diego still have morning shows. But then again, Stern will be gone from Jack Buffalo before year's end and Jeff & Jer is leaving Jack San Diego for crosstown hot AC KMYI in September. <P ID="signature">______________
"...and the countdown continues until the neanderthals that govern college football do something about their pathetic postseason."--Tim Brando, Sporting News Radio</P>

 

[DiamondJoe]

> A better bet for Charlotte? Infinity at some point deciding
> that it's tired of splitting the AC pie and putting JACK-FM
> on WKQC...

Being it's an Infinity property, that would make much sense. Now it's time to watch the clock to see if another station tries to beat them to the punch, as was the case in markets like Philadelphia.<P ID="signature">______________


New York City Radio and TV</P>

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Were Jefferson-Pilot to flip WLNK to a "Jack"-type format, could Bob and Sheri, given that their show (according to the "Personality AC" format's website) plays no more than two songs an hour (and in one hour, is all-talk with no music) get moved to another J-P station, perhaps even WBT-1110 and eliminate what music is on the show??

After all, most "Jack"-type formats do not have live announcers, even in morning drive.