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WABB SOLD!
- Thread starter Dr voicetrack
- Start date
Zach said:
Don't count on it. WABB is a heritage set of calls and I imagine that like Salem did when buying heritage stations all over the US, they will keep the calls.
Sort of the spoils of the war, ya know?
Very sad to see WABB go they have been a staple of the Gulf Coast for many many years. As far as the future of CHR in the area I could see one of two things happening. One thing for sure, 107-3 will lean more mainstream and swapping frequencies with the rocket does make a lot of sense. I could also see Cumulus reviving the CHR format on 104.1 since Jack and the new Journey play a lot of the same music. Will be interesting for sure.
I don't really see why it would be a disadvantage for EMF to keep the WABB calls mostly for historical reasons, but I doubt they will. Many times EMF changes calls of stations they purchase. It's sort of sad in a way if they do decide to drop the WABB calls since they've been in place on WABB-FM since, what early 70's?, and the AM has had those calls further back in time than that. Growing up, I remember hearing WABB-AM and FM every time my family and I would vacation at Gulf Shores, which was just about every year. Wanting a station to keep its heritage calls (or to change calls) is really something more important to us "radio geeks". The general public...they could care less. Let's face it...if EMF keeps the WABB-FM calls (which I doubt), they are only going to be airing them for the TOH ID...that's it. The average listener doesn't know most of the time what a station's calls are, anyhow...they just recognize a station by its name and/or frequency. And...I might add...outside us "radio afficianados"...no one is concerned with whether a station's calls are WABB (or anything else for that matter).
EMF is the only major group that's buying right now. Commercial outlets aren't buying and many are looking to get rid of stations. I doubt any start up or local person or group would have the money necessary to properly do CHR so this may have been the only option for the Dittman family. It's better for them to get out if they have no interest in keeping it up, rather than just letting it suffer due to lack of attention. At least the station's going into good hands, a group who will do something positive with it.
I agree that this is a sad end but seeing it die due to lack of attention would have been worse.
I agree that this is a sad end but seeing it die due to lack of attention would have been worse.
Zach said:
That is the most likely scenario. When EMF bought a full coverage station in my market, they flipped a less powerful station from K-Love to Air1, and the larger station from its previous format to K-Love. They don't care much about overlap from rimshots, though. There is a 100kw station heard in a quarter of my market also carrying K-Love.
i can't believe that WABB FM is going to be christian format. because there is no good coverage area in Leakesville, Lucedale, and Pascagoula area after WABB goes christian, for top 40 format unless someone will pick up coverage area like 93.7FM, 96.1FM, 99.9FM, 103.1FM, 107.9FM or put the The Monkey back on 105.9 FM
NoWayNoCC said:
Why? Simply because the programming on K-Love offends your sensibilities? How facile.
It's a shame to see a true local station evaporate. Heck, I grew up listening to WABB. But there comes a time that something has to give. And, for WABB, that day came.
EMF is a fairly good operator, by all accounts. They keep their noses clean and pay their bills -- a rarity in the industry right now. Further, EMF is the only major group buying now.
I saw much of the same attitude a year, or so, ago when Daystar, a religious TV broadcaster, bought WMFE, the main PBS affiliate in Orlando. There was much consternation and call for FCC denial. Apparently, religious broadcasters are not deserving of broadcast licenses.
If you can make a cogent argument to deny the transfer, please make it. But your argument needs to be based on law and policy, not an elitist attitude that some viewpoints and programs have no place on the air.
DE
true they need too, i can remember WABB way back in the late 80's and early 90's. i guess i will use my sirius xm satellite radio more now
As we all know in here, the FCC does not consider pending programming/format changes in their decision whether to deny a station transfer; a proposed change in format does not constitute a violation of public interest. Would we really be even discussing any of it if the situation were reversed...and WABB were being sold from EMF to a secular broadcaster?
NoWayNoCC said:
It "continues" because EMF, as with any other broadcast entity, has the right to acquire properties as they wish.
If it is any consulation to you in the Mobile-Pensecola area we in The Jackson, MS market have two K-Love stations and one Air-1 station. You talk about K-Love in Navarre, Fl and Mobile in the same area. Just up the road from you in Meridian, MS they have two K-Love stations and Air-1 on low power translator. And if I remember right you in Mobile have a pretty good CCM station already. K-Love did the same thing in locating in the Jackson, MS area competing with WHJT-FM which is still CCM. I will bet you that the K-love station in Navarre Florida will stay K-Love just as 100.9 in Jackson, MS and 98.9 in the Meridian, MS area did when EMF bought 94.7 and 93.9 on Jackson, MS and 93.5 was bought in Meridian, MS.
helloagain said:
After I posted this I saw on the Local 15 news reporting that EMF does plan to change the calls. The real original WABB (1480) will keep the calls and Dittman ownership. Which again if they wanted out, it makes me wonder why they couldn't unload the AM or even donate to one of the dozens of other non-profit religious groups out there these days. Odd indeed.
radiorock89xfm said:
I'm glad you brought the Mississippi region into this because so far all I've thought about is Mobile and Pensacola. You guys are definitely in a hole, too far from Pensacola and too far from New Orleans to get anything.
DeadElvis said:
Some of it is certainly an anti-religious stand. Personally I haven't a dog in the fight as I don't do CHR and don't do CCM, but I do hate to see a big commercial signal go non-commercial when we already have half a dozen religious stations on FM alone in the metro. I'm aware that EMF is a good operator and their K-Love and Air1 are respected, quality formats, but when it comes down to it, I prefer local over satellite. Even if I did complain about the quality of WABB's product compared to Hit Music Now.
But consider too that years ago it was an open secret that certain religious media groups had a stated purpose of taking every open radio channel they could get their hands on. Not to minister so much as to deny the "Godless, pro-homosexual and pro-abortion" leftists of NPR a place on the dial. That certainly left a foul taste in my mouth when I lived in B'ham and Grenada where we only had one real local NPR station. Here it's a bit better with MPB, APR and WUWF but there still isn't much public radio diversity to speak of compared to the rest of the noncomm dial that's crowded one on top of another with small church-owned stations. And beyond that they gave us the great translator invasion which was completely legal but still a huge mess that has seen the dial swamped with low power God-box relays all over the place. (I'm less angry at this now that EMF has made a killing selling them to commercial operators who start HD-2 stations and bring new content to markets via these translators.)
NoWayNoCC said:
It simply will not be denied.
And if you look at it from a completely dispassionate point of view, this is a deeply conservative, Christian religious area. Why shouldn't their musical tastes be catered to?
As I said before I have no dog in the hunt because I like neither CHR nor CCM but I am sure I'd be as deeply upset if it went to Cumulus who announced they'd launch yet another country music competitor, for example. From a strictly personal standpoint I am surprised Cumulus didn't "find" the cash for it for their own CHR purposes or Clear Channel to put WNTM on it.
Sorry to post again but it merits saying: the outpouring of anger and sadness over this news story has been something I've never seen in a market this size before. The single "breaking news" post on WABB's Facebook page alone has nearly 600 comments, nearly all of the expressing sadness at the loss of "their" station. There are hundreds more comments on each local TV's story posts as well. It's pretty amazing. i100 certainly didn't get this sort of activity!
Even though the station wasn't the same after Mr. Dittman's passing, it's obvious people are really attached to it and the number of "but I grew up with WABB" from young and old is startling. I guess we just don't see this sort of attachment with corporate piped-in radio anymore.
Even though the station wasn't the same after Mr. Dittman's passing, it's obvious people are really attached to it and the number of "but I grew up with WABB" from young and old is startling. I guess we just don't see this sort of attachment with corporate piped-in radio anymore.
Perhaps the reason I 100 didn't get this kind of feedback was that there was WABB to "fall back on". That's not the case here.
I remember in the late 70s and early 80s the epic battles between WABB and G100 (the old WKRG-FM, now 99.9). At the time just entering the radio biz, not knowing then what I know now and what has since transpired, that eventually G100 would win out.
I agree with those who say 104.1 will be the next Top 40 in the market. And the sooner, the better. Stunt for a day or two and start on February 29th. (How many stations with new formats ever get that opportunity?) Cumulus actually has a chance to make up for some of their "infinite wisdom" of the past, present, and most likely the future here. The Mobile market isn't Montgomery, but Cumulus has managed to keep Y 102 (another heritage station) zooming along against the far more Gump-dominated formats of urban, urban AC, and country. (The Cat Country 102 stint? Everyone is entitled to one major screw up.) It's easy for us to tell them to "Do It Right", but in this case, maybe the old commercial slogan "Just Do It". fits more snugly.
I remember in the late 70s and early 80s the epic battles between WABB and G100 (the old WKRG-FM, now 99.9). At the time just entering the radio biz, not knowing then what I know now and what has since transpired, that eventually G100 would win out.
I agree with those who say 104.1 will be the next Top 40 in the market. And the sooner, the better. Stunt for a day or two and start on February 29th. (How many stations with new formats ever get that opportunity?) Cumulus actually has a chance to make up for some of their "infinite wisdom" of the past, present, and most likely the future here. The Mobile market isn't Montgomery, but Cumulus has managed to keep Y 102 (another heritage station) zooming along against the far more Gump-dominated formats of urban, urban AC, and country. (The Cat Country 102 stint? Everyone is entitled to one major screw up.) It's easy for us to tell them to "Do It Right", but in this case, maybe the old commercial slogan "Just Do It". fits more snugly.
Zach said:
It's a given any time a radio station changes format, there is going to be an outpouring of anger and disappointment. Nothing new here. We've all been through it at some point...where our favorite radio station has the "plug" pulled on it. I have seen it time and again online, though, as listeners "grieve" over a radio station that changes format, as though someone they love has died. I'm not saying that people shouldn't express disappointment with it all, but recognize it for what it is...it's a radio station. If people wouldn't put so much emphasis on temporal things, then maybe they would view these kinds of format changes in the proper light.
As far as the area not having a CHR outlet...that won't be the case that long. I'm surprised that another one of the Mobile/Pensacola stations hasn't already stepped forward and made the decision to fill the gap (they might have...the decision might just be under wraps for now). Where there is money to be made, the people (in this case, the broadcasters) will follow.
Well said; quite insightful really. But to answer your question : As I speak, 107.3 has gone pure mainstream CHR . I do wish, they will add more local dj's in the near future. Don't really care to hear dj's feeding all the way from L.A (Los Angeles).passtheword said:
Question is: Will Cumulus respond? And how long can they show they are a true threat?!
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