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WBEN dropd FM Simulcast

(Sorry; accidental double-post.)
 
seems they've flipped to Alternative Buffalo, so far a very current heavy playlist, first recurrent was Smashing Pumpkins, imaging as your new music discovery. Similar sounding to 94.9 Radio Portland so far. Not bad at all.
 
tjolsen said:
seems they've flipped to Alternative Buffalo, so far a very current heavy playlist, first recurrent was Smashing Pumpkins, imaging as your new music discovery. Similar sounding to 94.9 Radio Portland so far. Not bad at all.
Click to expand...

Yup, should be a ratings winner. Because we all know that Portland (OR, not ME) and Buffalo have VERY similar audiences.
 
Very odd choice. Most markets have only one Rock station aimed at younger Rock fans. NYC has none. Yet Buffalo will now have TWO, WEDG and WLKK. Yes, WEDG is more of an Active Rock station, and it seems WLKK is aiming more Alternative. Yet the fan base is the same... young men in their 20 - 40.

I also don't believe that statement that 95% of WBEN's listening is on AM. That makes no sense if you're simulcasting on a full-power FM, 20,000 watts at 800 feet. They've got Rush, they've got Hannity. Someone was listening. Maybe as others have speculated, the signal doesn't do well in downtown Buffalo. The tower is in a rural area between Buffalo, Rochester and Dansville. But I don't believe that for every 100 people listening to 930, only five were listening to 107.7.
 
Gregg. said:
I also don't believe that statement that 95% of WBEN's listening is on AM. That makes no sense if you're simulcasting on a full-power FM, 20,000 watts at 800 feet. They've got Rush, they've got Hannity. Someone was listening. Maybe as others have speculated, the signal doesn't do well in downtown Buffalo. The tower is in a rural area between Buffalo, Rochester and Dansville. But I don't believe that for every 100 people listening to 930, only five were listening to 107.7.
Click to expand...

Before making a change, I'm pretty sure that Entercom paid Arbitron for a custom analysis to show what listening was AM and what was FM in the Buffalo MSA. They likely based their comment about 5% on the results of that breakout.

The 107.7 signal only covers with a 65 dbu the SE corner of Erie County and none of Niagara. That's a lot more than "just downtown". The Buffalo MSA is 1.13 million; the 107.7 65 dbu covers less than 15% of that.

Any listening outside the two-county MSA is minimally... if at all... monetizable (I think I just made up that word).
 
From RadioInk:

After pulling the simulcast of WBEN-AM off the FM dial, Entercom Buffalo has launched an Alternative format at 107.7 FM. PD Mark Hamilton of KRNK Portland, who is advising Entercom on this launch, said, "We conducted extensive local research in Buffalo and listeners were clear: They wanted an Alternative, and they wanted modern alternative music." The station is searching for a new PD.
 
About time, given the format's resurgence nationally. If they keep the presentation adult and music-focused (i.e. more "Lake" than "EDGE"), they should be able to carve a niche.

Toronto gets a bit of "the Spirit" back, and WNY regains WUWU....who'd have guessed...

As for the PD...is Debaser available?
 
Gregg. said:
Very odd choice. Most markets have only one Rock station aimed at younger Rock fans. NYC has none. Yet Buffalo will now have TWO, WEDG and WLKK. Yes, WEDG is more of an Active Rock station, and it seems WLKK is aiming more Alternative. Yet the fan base is the same... young men in their 20 - 40.

I also don't believe that statement that 95% of WBEN's listening is on AM. That makes no sense if you're simulcasting on a full-power FM, 20,000 watts at 800 feet. They've got Rush, they've got Hannity. Someone was listening. Maybe as others have speculated, the signal doesn't do well in downtown Buffalo. The tower is in a rural area between Buffalo, Rochester and Dansville. But I don't believe that for every 100 people listening to 930, only five were listening to 107.7.
Click to expand...


needing to disagree with you, the alternative format, at least with the current e lternative sound is way more broad in scope and audience then the active rock audience. It is indeed an 18-34 centric sound with potential to go towards those in the late 30s, bund has both male and female potential. I'm incredibly impressed with the music mix, alt-gold (U2, Joy Devision), next to no 90s and lots of current. I think it can gain a decent nitcha audience, probably better then it was doing when it was a ast a music station.b
 
A whole bunch of hoopla about nothing.

There isn't a format that exists that will do well on a station with an inferior signal like that.

God only knows why they paid so much for a stick that will never get them more than a 2 share doing anything, ever.
 
Most product on alternative radio these days is completely devoid of electric guitar, features smooth vocals, and doesn't resemble hard rock music at all. If anything, the current sound of alt rock sounds a lot like the Modern AC material of the mid & late 90's. I bet at least 50% of the cume will be female.

Look at the new alternative station in Atlanta. The posts on their Facebook page overwhelmingly come from female listeners.
 
A week ago, a couple of working radio buds (not from Entercom) scheduled lunch for today. 107.7 had flipped about 30 minutes before we got to the restaurant. Not one of us would have guessed Alt. So hand it to Entercom. They must be enjoying a laugh at our expense, except for the poster here who suggested a WUWU type format. WUWU didn't seem to be Alternative as much as it seemed to be Progressive. But give him his concert tickets, t-shirt and station cap. He called it. Most people here got it way wrong. I sure did. Expected a WGR simulcast. What the hell. Nobody got hurt. One of my radio buds today insisted that 107.7 was stunting. Doesn't seem that way. The format is too consistent. I spent about 30 minutes listening and liked most of what I heard. In full dimensional mono, by the way. Will the new Alternative 107 point 7 turn on the stereo generator? And will it "do" anything going up against The Edge, 97 Rock, Jack and WYRK, which has a pretty good 18-34 base? Dunno. But having a station available to punch up that offers a consistent music flow from this decade, if not this year is kind of cool. Even in mono.
 
JustPastBuffalo said:
Will the new Alternative 107 point 7 turn on the stereo generator?
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That's funny! Still in mono!

I've noticed that country tends to share audience with alternative when it's available. There are some who can't tell the difference between Zac Brown and Mumford & Sons. So they may be able to shave off a fraction of a point from YRK, which may be good enough to put WBEN back to #1.
 
TheBigA said:
I've noticed that country tends to share audience with alternative when it's available. There are some who can't tell the difference between Zac Brown and Mumford & Sons. So they may be able to shave off a fraction of a point from YRK, which may be good enough to put WBEN back to #1.
Click to expand...

Funny ... I just got a video ad for the new Keith Urban ad prior to playing the video for "Closing Time" by Semisonic, one of the songs played early this afternoon on 107.7.
 
flybynight said:
A whole bunch of hoopla about nothing.

There isn't a format that exists that will do well on a station with an inferior signal like that.

God only knows why they paid so much for a stick that will never get them more than a 2 share doing anything, ever.
Click to expand...

If there's a big enough format hole (and a rabid fan base) signal issues can be forgiven (see "WBYR" for an example).

107.7 could also mitigate the signal issues by promoting the web stream and (ideally) launching a dedicated mobile app, pronto.
 
I find it confusing that they launched in mono, without a PD. Sounds like they've got a hard drive, and haven't even put a stereo STL in place. I guess that they could put the computer at the transmitter, and fire up the stereo generator, but they'd have to drive all the way to Wethersfield.

Admittedly, I haven't checked the start date on the next book, but what's the rush? And this does seem rushed.
 
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