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U.S. Country 99.5: Commercial Free... Forever?

reelyreal

reelyreal

Fuller's new "U.S. 99.5" W258BI is promoting the fact that they "will never stop for a commercial break. Ever."

Does that really mean FOREVER?

I understand the tactic. Any damage John can do to WCTY helps the cause at WBMW. The investment for the station was minimal... The translator license was brand new, BMW needed a new transmitter for their upcoming upgrade so that cost wasn't entirely translator related, and the equipment for the translator build-out isn't breaking the bank.

The question is whether a new country station on a translator with a lousy directional signal and a ton of co-channel interference can really put a dent in the 40+ year WCTY powerhouse?

If it's really commercial-free FOREVER, what do you think?
 
OK I'll bite... This translator was a hard fought acquisition that took years. I'll spare the details, technicalities and legalities, but time is money.

There are plenty of instances where a lower power station can be a ratings winner when it's right in the center of that local market's population. That happens in New Haven and Danbury all the time. Norwich, hometown of WCTY, is the only area where 99.5 is at a disadvantage (although it can be heard there). I can't think of any New London broadcaster who is happy when diary returns are high from Colchester, more of a Hartford bedroom community since the eighties.

The whole idea of a spoiler station is nothing new to New London, with a mixed record. The big boys like CBS do it in New York and Boston with CHR and AC challengers that complement strong sports and news outlets. Will that flanker strategy work here? Running commercial free forever could provide some unique traction. We'll see soon enough how well 99.5 chips away at heritage country WCTY and how successfully WCTY's sister station Roxy wedges itself between AC WBMW and CHR Q105.
 
And if 99.5 does gain any traction at all against WCTY, that's around the time you can expect them to stop for a commercial break.

Want proof of a translator that can get sizable ratings? There's that all-comedy station in Kansas City that debuted with a strong PPM.
 
By the way, now we have WBMW, which plays Pink's "Get The Party Started" with the word "ass" edited, and US 99.5 with artists like Miranda Lambert saying the word, no problem.
 
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