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WBFO Membership Drive

E

Element9

Perhaps for the first time ever, WBFO has extended its pledge/membership drive because goals have not been reached. On more than a few occasions, station program hosts have suggested that starting this season's drive on the Columbus Day weekend might be the reason for the shortfall. Might the tepid response to the station's pledge drive be due to the programming changes that were put in place following the sale of WBFO from the University at Buffalo to WNYPB? Could it be that the government shutdown and last week's impending default had an adverse impact on listeners' perceptions and their desire to "contribute to quality programming?" Although some current program hosts have blamed the sluggishness to a poor start over the Columbus Day holiday, a few former station staffers have called the extended pledge drive "most unusual," and "not a good sign for future pledge drives," alluding to the increasing public awareness of Channel 17's control of WBFO and the perception that WNYPB has, in effect, "deep pockets and plenty of cash already on hand."
 
I think that you hit the nail on the head with your speculation that changes in programming are coming home to roost. Saturday afternoon is virtually unlistenable. "Day 6" is mostly Canadian content available in Canada on CBC. A rebroadcast on WBFO is duplicative programming that's simply not targeted at their COL. I know that they're trying to get some pledge dollars out of Canada, but why use a program that Canadians are already paying for through the CBC?

"People's Pharmacy" and "Zorba Paster" aren't exactly scintillating content. Saturday afternoon Blues did MUCH better - on both sides of the border. Yes, you can hear the Blues on Saturday night, but there simply isn't as big an audience available. Put the Blues back on Saturday afternoon, and I'll bet you'll do numbers more similar to what they were when they were under UB's aegis.

The pledge breaks themselves are nearly unlistenable. There's more begging for dollars than there is content between the pledge breaks. Not to mention that the entertainment value of many of the breaks will have you reaching for a button very quickly.
 
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