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Monmouth/Ocean Townsquare Silences 2 translators in NJ

M

myke25

Filed on the 13th, Townsquare advised as of 3/6 that the 2 translators, 104.1 and 96.7 for 1160 WJLK Lakewood Township and 1310 WOBM Asbury Park respectively, went silent. In the filing to the FCC, the document stated:

"Due to economic conditions in the market, the licensee was forced to take the station off the air temporarily. The licensee respectfully requests special temporary authority for the station to remain silent. The licensee will promptly notify the Commission when it is able to resume station operations."

Well, that's pretty crappy... 96.7 had a decent signal from Jackson all the way toward Middletown and it was nice to listen to WOBM when traveling through the area.
 
That explains why their signals weren't coming in along the Parkway. Hoping this is just temporary, but who knows considering the state of Townsquare recently.
 
SKFlyers93 said:
That explains why their signals weren't coming in along the Parkway. Hoping this is just temporary, but who knows considering the state of Townsquare recently.
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Townsquare is actually in decent shape. What's not in decent shape are high on the dial AM stations and low-powered FM translators with no listeners that can't generate revenue sufficient to support continued operation. It's even more of an issue in "over radioed" areas like suburban NJ.
 
luperm said:
Townsquare is actually in decent shape. What's not in decent shape are high on the dial AM stations and low-powered FM translators with no listeners that can't generate revenue sufficient to support continued operation. It's even more of an issue in "over radioed" areas like suburban NJ.
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In practice the translators were serving a purpose expanding the coverage and audience of WJLK-FM and WOBM-FM in the wide stretching market. However, because of that usage the company could not break down separate revenue for the signals showing them as $0 on the bottom line.
 
lanceventa said:
In practice the translators were serving a purpose expanding the coverage and audience of WJLK-FM and WOBM-FM in the wide stretching market. However, because of that usage the company could not break down separate revenue for the signals showing them as $0 on the bottom line.
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I find it hard to believe that even if they had the data, the incremental revenue would be sufficient to justify continued operation of the AMs and translators.
 
Maybe 96.7 & 104.1 in Ocean County would be better off running the station as a clasic CHR, perhaps using a rebroadcast of WJLK & WOBM as it was like in the late 1990s. Like The Good Old Days From Another Era, Maybe the Old Broadcast Audio is Archived? Like a Replay of Old Cassette Recorded, Maybe There's Countless Hours Saved & Stored Somewhere? Perhaps Reprise & Revive. If it mattered then, it should matter again. šŸ¤·ā€ā™‚šŸ“» Might be an inspiration, and not awkward, but better than nothing (silence) and maybe in those circumstances, it would cost next to nothing to operate. Add a an HD2 option on (94.3 & 92.7) or run as separate programming on the AM, using the FM translators (or not) as a backup.

Beach Radio was like a relaunch of the old Nostalgic Format on WOBM AM 1160 and then 1310 WADB. It was great, but then I guess they wanted to compete with WHTG 1410/100.7 (The Breeze), Was Oldies, then added a Mix of Classic Hits & Soft AC. Kinda similar, and also different, but great memories being the focus, and a priority.

Or Maybe, What if, (Something Like) the old Stirling Country, 1070 WKMB, in Somerset & Morris County. Could that be successful on 1160 & 1310 in 2025?
It Was Definitely Unique & a Pretty Cool Station in its Heyday as well, especially for this area.
 
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KyleSmith1988 said:
Maybe 96.7 & 104.1 in Ocean County would be better off running the station as a clasic CHR, perhaps using a rebroadcast of WJLK & WOBM as it was like in the late 1990s. Like The Good Old Days From Another Era, Maybe the Old Broadcast Audio is Archived? Like a Replay of Old Cassette Recorded, Maybe There's Countless Hours Saved & Stored Somewhere? Perhaps Reprise & Revive. If it mattered then, it should matter again. šŸ¤·ā€ā™‚šŸ“» Might be an inspiration, and not awkward, but better than nothing (silence) and maybe in those circumstances, it would cost next to nothing to operate. Add a an HD2 option on (94.3 & 92.7) or run as separate programming on the AM, using the FM translators (or not) as a backup.
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Very few stations have archives of audio... And they're cutting costs, not adding HD.

KyleSmith1988 said:
Beach Radio was like a relaunch of the old Nostalgic Format on WOBM AM 1160 and then 1310 WADB. It was great, but then I guess they wanted to compete with WHTG 1410/100.7 (The Breeze), Was Oldies, then added a Mix of Classic Hits & Soft AC. Kinda similar, and also different, but great memories being the focus, and a priority.
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And they flipped it because it wasn't making money.

KyleSmith1988 said:
Or Maybe, What if, (Something Like) the old Stirling Country, 1070 WKMB, in Somerset & Morris County. Could that be successful on 1160 & 1310 in 2025?
It Was Definitely Unique & a Pretty Cool Station in its Heyday as well, especially for this area.
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Before the current simulcasts the stations were "Cat Country 96.7/104.1" to compete with Thunder 106.

It's not 2005, 1995, or 1985. None of these answers are anywhere close to viable unless you want to just set money on fire.

And this is not just a Monmouth/Ocean issue..

radioinsight.com

Twenty Cumulus & Townsquare Media Stations Cease Operations With More To Come

Cumulus and Townsquare Media both continue to shut down under-performing stations across the country. Following its shutdown of ā€œESPN Quad
radioinsight.com radioinsight.com
 
50 watts on
luperm said:
The stations you reference are gone for good reason. They make no money. Radio is a business, not a museum.
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In most cases, yes. Especially the corporate radio big signals, and treated as a "tool" to make money, of course that's not a requirement nor guaranteed, but they, if you have a decent amount of resources and limited maximum expenses, why not put them to use and not waste. Some stations rarely are run cheap and some even with imited or no commercials (such as WGYT-LP in Greer SC - or Bigger C3 WRBK with limited commercial and has signals that cover almost 1/4 of South Carolina, from almost Greenville to Florence.

Sometimes there are listeners that wants to only hear the desired content and avoid commercials as much as possible. Yes the station should at least break even or cover its own expenses, but just like a car or a lighter bulb or microwave it does require proper care and not a lack of such in order to function to the desired audience. I would rather only cut corners when necessary, running what is essentially a 50 watts light bulb (that is/was 96.7 in Monmouth County NJ) does not require $1000s+ per month Tom operate when the equipment/tower is already shared with its parent WJLK Neptune. I would think inoperative stations are a loss, because it isn't efficient for its purpose even though it's already paid for (just pay the electricity) even the almost 20 watt LP WOLD (actually using more Watts on their translator) plays so many commercials seems unbalanced and too much for a station that probably cost less than 1 Big Mac meal at Mcdonalds per Week. A different owner might run it as a hobby, if not much to run, even automated, but too me it just seems wrong to shut it off, for the same reason you would be upset at the Phone Company if your cell service went off without warning because they felt like it no longer was worth their effort, well until they can raise your bill.
 
luperm said:
Guess what? All commercial radio stations are ā€œtoolsā€ to make money.
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So is my Computer or Car (via ebay or uber) that is, if I decide to invest time and effort (and money that is "well?" spent) on an internet connection and other factors that aren't really an expense if it allows for a better functional experience that isnt supposed to be expensive or a burden. I wouldn't expect an exponential return on a investment, when the asset (tool) isn't something seen as worth the low cost and effort of simply maintining it, as functional, because why not? A great example is the current programming of WROO Sports Programming on 104.9 in Upstate SC, and their tiny audience, probably losing money because no one wants to listen, while making little from, what is pretty much "corporate" being sponsoring by corporate, and meanwhile other competing area sports format stations already have most of the desired content covered elsewhere.

Perhaps Just Like Conveniently Removing the password requirement off your Wi-Fi Internet, to share, as a courtesy, and not because its oh way too difficult to remember, or far too inconvenient for others, forced to ask permission for that info, so why not make the customer happy, because they're having a tough day šŸ¤·ā€ā™‚ļø ... It's not like they pay my bills, but I don't ever expect them to either.

"It's My Money, and They Want it Now !!" šŸ¤·ā€šŸ˜‚
Sound Familiar ... šŸ˜­šŸ¤·ā€ā™‚ļø

It's a Great idea invest in something that likely never loses its value...better perhaps if you don't treat normal expenses as too big of burden; by cutting so many corners that it no longer has its original intended shape, or purpose by design. Simply turning off the transmitter to save on electricity, to cut "corners" is deleting options for the average "customer" ... Now having to reluctantly invest their time and energy elsewhere ...

Maybe its worth the extra cost if it takes minimal effort to maintain, when the alternative is lack of service or convenience, because it's treated as too burdensome that its actually more inconvenient ... Rather than sell it to someone willing to put the resources to better (more efficient) use and while enjoying doing so. šŸ€
 
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The 2 AM stations will probably wind up like 920 did, in being sold to someone for low six figures and play a.form of Spanish music. It's all about money at the end of the day.
 
luperm said:
Listeners are not radioā€™s ā€œcustomersā€, advertisers are. If there arenā€™t any customers, the business will close.
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This right here is the problem. Along the road of our careers, someone forgot that the listening public is who consumed the ads in order to patronize the advertiser's business. It takes two to tango, and when the industry kept stepping on one half of the equation's toes, a large percentage of them ran off for a better polished and waxed dance floor.

We have to generate ad dollars, sure, but the average radio consumer has come to believe that "I can program a better playlist than XYZ can". So, several companies saw the writing on the wall along the way and set about building the platforms necessary to provide these very same consumers an opportunity to do just that. Radio can't compete with it. In no fathomable way. Why is OTA listening skewing so old? Simple. The majority of the blue haired crowd is going to continue consuming media the same way they always have and are extremely stubborn to make many changes. When Gen X completely ages out and dies off, the last generation to have lived with an AM/FM only option for live broadcasting or genre-specific formatting, for what it's worth, over the air broadcasting will be hot on its heels to the grave.

There's no turning back now, and many of us have known that it is coming for many, many years. My condolences to all of you that truly love and care about the radio dial around the country, and what it has done to shape a many of our lives, but we're just making what we can on the ride before it slams directly into the ground and takes us all out in the process. I love traditional radio broadcasting, too, but this is the reality we face every day.

What we are seeing today, with the sudden acceleration of silent stations and likely to be surrendered facilities, is just the beginning.
 
luperm said:
Townsquare is actually in decent shape. What's not in decent shape are high on the dial AM stations and low-powered FM translators with no listeners that can't generate revenue sufficient to support continued operation. It's even more of an issue in "over radioed" areas like suburban NJ.
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Low-powered FMs are one of the many reasons I keep tuning in, especially while traveling. Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I like the idea of hearing local hosts and learning about what's happening in the community around me, and taking that much-needed break from commercial 30-300 song libraries.

I will say this much... that 'over-radioed' part of NJ does make for a fascinating drive. Ten miles can make a world of difference.
 
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