Go to http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=105317&p=irol-press for the press release.... it is the one for today, the 14th.
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Times exchanges WQXR FM...
- Thread starter davideduardo
- Start date
Well I guess it was inevitable. I remember the 105.9 signal not being that great in Central NJ. At least WQXR can maintain its heritage but still diminished by not being at 96.3 anymore.
The press release was vague on this saying that the deal would close the second half of this year after FCC approval. Any transaction involving government approval takes time, so give it a few months. The NY Times would have gotten a black eye if the classical music had left the dial.
Bruce
Bruce
I find it pretty amusing that Univision paid more for 92.7 than they ultimately did for 96.3!!!!
That said, it's quite a deal for both Univision and for fans of classical music. This seems to open up some possibilities for WNYC:
1. They could possibly transition all of the classical music off of 93.9 onto 105.9, and fill up the rest of 93.9's schedule with more NPR, APM programming, including programming that they currently air only on AM.
2. They could then add more such programming on the AM side, perhaps from the BBC or CBC (as suggested by someone over on the dentist board).
3. Another possibility is that they spin off the AM station and recoup part of the expense of purchasing 105.9.
4. Does anyone think that the new WQXR on 105.9 will try to pick up some more translators in the region, considering 105.9's weaker signal? It's pretty interesting how that 96.7 translator in NJ will now come in especially useful, assuming that will continue to carry WQXR programming. There was the translator in Stamford on 103.1 as well, but I believe they now carry WRXP for some reason. Since WQXR will especially have problems on Long Island due to WBLI, is it possible that they'll look into buying the WLIX translators or perhaps even one of the several class A stations on the island? 94.3 anyone?
Finally, the ethnic broadcasters over on 91.5 (WNYE) should be breathing a sigh of relief, since it was often rumored that WNYC was looking to buy 91.5 to turn that into a full-time classical outlet. In fact, with this deal, I have to wonder if some of the NPR programming that WNYE carries, such as the Diane Rehm show, will eventually migrate over to WNYC, with WNYE possibly adding more programming from KEXP. I recall reading that WNYE was eventually looking to add hours to the simulcast from Seattle.
That said, it's quite a deal for both Univision and for fans of classical music. This seems to open up some possibilities for WNYC:
1. They could possibly transition all of the classical music off of 93.9 onto 105.9, and fill up the rest of 93.9's schedule with more NPR, APM programming, including programming that they currently air only on AM.
2. They could then add more such programming on the AM side, perhaps from the BBC or CBC (as suggested by someone over on the dentist board).
3. Another possibility is that they spin off the AM station and recoup part of the expense of purchasing 105.9.
4. Does anyone think that the new WQXR on 105.9 will try to pick up some more translators in the region, considering 105.9's weaker signal? It's pretty interesting how that 96.7 translator in NJ will now come in especially useful, assuming that will continue to carry WQXR programming. There was the translator in Stamford on 103.1 as well, but I believe they now carry WRXP for some reason. Since WQXR will especially have problems on Long Island due to WBLI, is it possible that they'll look into buying the WLIX translators or perhaps even one of the several class A stations on the island? 94.3 anyone?
Finally, the ethnic broadcasters over on 91.5 (WNYE) should be breathing a sigh of relief, since it was often rumored that WNYC was looking to buy 91.5 to turn that into a full-time classical outlet. In fact, with this deal, I have to wonder if some of the NPR programming that WNYE carries, such as the Diane Rehm show, will eventually migrate over to WNYC, with WNYE possibly adding more programming from KEXP. I recall reading that WNYE was eventually looking to add hours to the simulcast from Seattle.
SuperRadioFan said:
Let's face it. WQXR's classical format increasingly became a niche format over the years as the market became more ethnic. It has now rightly moved to a niche signal where those diehard partisans of classical music can take the measures required to receive it.
With the changing demographics of the region (and the nation as a whole), La Kalle provides a mainstream format and really merits a full-market signal.
It was some 40 years ago that NYC had at least three stations offering classical programming (WQXR, WNCN and WNYC-FM). But that was then and this is now.
neo11 said:
Hmmm...on one hand that might be a good idea. On the other hand, given the broad range of classical music available, and the fact that WNYC focused on more of the modern stuff, it would be a rude awakening to the former WQXR listeners to hear more Tim Riley and less Mozart. There is a lot of NPR and APR classical programming that doesn't get aired because of WNYC's modern focus. So this could be good for them.
From what I read in the press release, WNYC will run it as a non-commercial station, rather than take the WFMT approach of controlled commercialization. That's bad news for commercial classical enterprises that need the commercial revenue from their broadcasts.
The REAL bad news here is that the Times gets a short term cash infusion (which it needs desperately), but the sale of such an asset means they don't have other revenue sources down the road. This just postpones their eventual bankruptcy.
Nick said:
I can pretty much guarantee that Streetz 96 won't lose its listeners. They'll just do what all the other pirates do...either pump up the wattage or move to another frequency. In fact, it was reported over on the dentist board that Streetz is also broadcasting on 96.7, presumably in addition to 96.5. Something like IBOC hash from 96.3 won't stop these guys. In the Bronx, there's been a Caribbean pirate on the air for many months on 106.9, and in Queens, it often has no problem overpowering the hash from 106.7's IBOC.
This is a cultural disaster.
It's a big step down -- though not quite as bad as the debacle Robert Conrad arranged for Cleveland's WCLV a few years back, when he swapped their Class B metro signal for a Class A "rimshot" several miles west in Lorraine, OH (and "a ton of money"). At least this one is a Class B-1, and it's still on the same tower in the city (even if it is licensed to Newark).
It's a big step down -- though not quite as bad as the debacle Robert Conrad arranged for Cleveland's WCLV a few years back, when he swapped their Class B metro signal for a Class A "rimshot" several miles west in Lorraine, OH (and "a ton of money"). At least this one is a Class B-1, and it's still on the same tower in the city (even if it is licensed to Newark).
radioskeptic said:
Just playing devil's advocate, but would it have been a problem if, somehow, WQXR ended up on 100.3 or 103.5, even though they are licensed to Newark and Lake Success, respectively? City of license means pretty much nothing nowadays.
And for what it's worth, is it any more of a cultural disaster than the so many genres of music that are completely missing from the dial? "Culture" doesn't necessarily have to equal upscale.
You’re right about one thing, neo11. City of license really means nothing anymore. I would think it hurts NYC’s civic pride to not be the city of license for the market’s only full-time classical station, but it wouldn’t be that important from an engineering point of view if it were a full-powered Class B signal like the ones you mentioned on 100.3 and 103.5 – though the former is short-spaced to a co-channel in Media PA, just south of Philadelphia.
And to answer your other question, which I gather you thought was rhetorical: Yes, it is a cultural disaster in a way that the lack of no other genre could be. And what is “upscale” supposed to imply? Don’t assume that classical music is the exclusive preserve of the wealthy. There are plenty of people with lots of money but no taste, and plenty of people with little money but an interest in the best that Western culture has to offer. I know. I’m one of the latter.
And to answer your other question, which I gather you thought was rhetorical: Yes, it is a cultural disaster in a way that the lack of no other genre could be. And what is “upscale” supposed to imply? Don’t assume that classical music is the exclusive preserve of the wealthy. There are plenty of people with lots of money but no taste, and plenty of people with little money but an interest in the best that Western culture has to offer. I know. I’m one of the latter.
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