WBOB - J'Ville's Best Kept Secret?

[John FL]

I have been hearing the friendly, familiar voice of A.J. Davis on some WBOB spots. So I checked out their website and holly cow, they have quite an impressive talent line-up. Bill Bennett, Glenn Beck, Laura Ingraham, Mark Levin and Dennis Miller to name a few. I have been out of town a lot this summer so I have no idea when all these changes came about. http://www.1320wbob.com/index.html

My first thought was they are going up against some mighty tough competition in WOKV but I would think they wouldn’t invest in this really good syndicated line-up and be content in drawing a 1 share or less. Pretty cool that they stream as I would assume 1320 is not a strong AM signal. I can pick them up where I live (Southside/Baymeadows area) but I wonder just how far the signal goes. Their FM signal (103.7) goes in and out when I drive around town. I guess 103.7 is limited to the beaches area.

I suppose they are trying to get some recognition in that they are the flagship station of the Florida State Seminoles and University of North Florida Ospreys as well as Episcopal High School Football.

They have local programming too in the M-F 5 PM hour and they delay Glenn Beck by a couple of hours so he starts at 2 so it’s not a complete head-to-head with Rush – pretty smart programming as this gives listeners some choice. But people have to know you exist. I wonder if they can be looking to carry their programming on another FM station somewhere in metro Jax?

Perhaps I’m too sentimental but I’m happy A.J. Davis is back on the air as the “voice” of WBOB. I often wonder if A.J. and other long-term local talent can find themselves doing a local talk show. Realizing costs can be an issue; I still think there is demand for this especially if it doesn’t get too mired in politics and heavy topics. We get enough from the syndicated talkers.

When there is breaking news, no one can really touch WOKV. WBOB carries ABC News so I wonder if it would make sense for them to affiliate themselves with ABC 25 as a news partner. It’s a must for a talk station to provide traffic and weather and unless I’m wrong, I don’t think they are doing that. Anyway, they have put together a pretty heavy duty line-up and maybe this is just the beginning.

 

[Parttimer]

I took a look at their site.... this is WAY-right conservative.

Prager's a quasi-religious show as far as I can tell. Beck airs live 9A-noon, so delaying him in favor of Laura Ingraham is an odd choice, although he's more entertaining for PM drive. The rotating 5PM shows tell me that in the long run they'd like to broker a lot of time. Brokered shows typically generate some revenue (not a lot) and no ratings (and I mean absolutely zero).

Miller's a late-night throwaway, his show is pretty much unlistenable anyway (if you thought you needed a translator when he was on Monday Night Football, this is ten times worse).

My guess is they are not headed in the direction of trying to compete with the big boys, but rather will shed some of the syndicated shows as they are able to sell more time slots to local clients.

 

[John FL]

Partimer, thanks for the Glenn Beck time correction. I recall hearing Glenn 12-3 somewhere on the internet but that doesn't always mean that's the "live" time. For me, it's not about ideology but rather entertainment value. From listener perspectives, I always like to see choices and we have that with progressive talk and conservative talk in our town. So for those reasons, I'm glad to see WBOB has elected to bring some big names to their roster.

We all have our favorite personalities and this is a personal thing. For me, my listening habits will virtually remain unchanged. I am a huge fan of WOKV and their efforts in covering local stories very well. Their Jacksonville's Morning News is by far the very best local program in Jacksonville by a mile. Neal Boortz and Rush understand the medium of radio and know how to push the envelope just so far. As time goes on, I'd be curious to see how Glenn Beck fares against Sean Hannity. Over the top theatrics vs. whining. LOL.

 

[Parttimer]

If Beck was truly heads up against Hannity I think he'd do reasonably well. He'd have to overcome the fact that Prager vs. Rush is no contest, Prager's a real niche show. I'm not honestly sure how you program another conservative show against El Rushbo.

It's also fairly stupid that 105.5/105.7 are running Ed Schultz and Thom Hartmann up against each other, but that's another thread.

However, the 5PM stuff kills BOB. I'm sure they sold these shows based in the idea that Beck would bring an audience to their local content, but I think all they did was assure that there would be more people changing the station at 5PM.

 

[pocket-radio]

It's nice to see the operations Director is A.J Davis.

I agree the lineup is great! now they just need a better signal..

 

[jmtillery]

WBOB-AM 1320 has a construction permit to increase its daytime power to 50kw-ND-Day, and they may be operating under the terms of the CP now. Although not as good as 690, 50kw on 1320 should, just the same, greatly improve its daytime coverage.

Mark Tillery
J. M. Tillery & Associates, P. A.
Orlando - New York
www.jmtillery.com
http://jmtillery.blogspot.com
[email protected]

 

[John FL]

Mark, thank you for the signal info and I had a feeling you would come through. Now it's a little more understandable why the syndicated roster has been enhanced. The other day I heard A.J. Davis doing a morning news/weather update. That's what they need to do and more of it. Perhaps if they can achieve some degree of earnings success, they should consider adding someone who can provide local news, traffic and weather updates during the day. But that may be way down the road but there are some things I believe could benefit them in the interim.

About the only thing I consider vulnerable for WOKV is in the very goldmine syndicated talk lineup that brings them the big numbers. Neal, Rush and Sean have a following and a loyal one at that. I try to think of myself as a typical listener and I will tell you, with rare exception, I am gone if a substitute host fills in. About the only one I can tolerate is when Mark Styne fills in for Rush. Have you ever heard Mark Simone fill in for Sean? My goodness, in a word - awful. My point is if enough typical talk listeners realize there is another game in town, they could be prompted to check 'em out. Being able to hear WBOB appears to be resolved for most of the market but knowing they exist has not yet taken place.

If I were them, I wouldn't throw in the towel at 12 noon. The other day I talked about pushing the envelope so far and I take some of it back. It has to be tough to constantly try to top on-air successful antics. For several weeks Rush sped up Obama's and other key Dems speeches to illustrate how fast they were moving on everything. It was cute the first few times but then it got very old and frankly, silly. I have a feeling this turned listeners off. It even prompted me to write Rush about it. Anyway, that routine is now gone. But the point really is that if listeners have choice, they will go for it. Will it ever be enough to really impact WOKV? I doubt it.

WOKV is run very, very well and they have a solid reputation even outside our market. Trust me. In my recent visit to NY, the subject of WOKV came up and all I will say is someone I know at one of their all news stations gave them kudos as being a really good operation. That says a lot and it just makes me feel good that when I bring up Jax radio outside this market, it's not met with the usual polite skepticism but with real praise when WOKV is the subject.