WCOA-FM saying bye bye?

[Rob]

The writing is on their FB page and on their website - they are no longer acknowledging WCOA-FM which doesn't come as a surprise to me.

Expect a format change to follow (or a swap to 106.1.. ) but it doesn't look like WCOA-FM will last much longer. Hopefully, this new format will last more then 6 months.

http://www.wcoapensacola.com/ just reads 1.370 but not 100.7!

(and it was for a short while..)

This sucks cause I really enjoyed hearing Kim Kommando.. least I can hear Leo on 94.5

On a less related note, HMN DROPPED their ESPN HD feed so that could be a clue to their new format (ESPN Radio 107.3?) maybe by game time in September?

-Rob

 

[tomservo]

The FM never got any promotion on their website, really. I mean, not like it should have been if this were a long-term proposition. They probably had other plans for 100.7 all along.

I wouldn't read too much in CC's HD-2 dealings. ESPN is gone but so is smooth jazz from Lite Mix and Foggy Mountain from KSJ, whose HD has been off and on for weeks. I just chalk it up to either "don't give a damn" or "it's broke again", either of which is a good possibility. Only WNTM-AM remains on 96.1-2 and it was dead air last time I tuned in.

Clear Channel's basically giving ME (as I'm about the only local regular HD listener) a big F-U. I'll return it in kind by listening to none of their stations until these problems are fixed.

Going back to the topic of Cumulus, I think they'd be crazy to blow up Magic for talk unless they're going to move Magic to 100.7. Which would ALSO be stupid since we don't really need two 100 kW urban AC stations. I realize the reality of each frequency being listened to in one market or the other for whatever reason but I'm not even Magic's audience could make a success out of 100.7. It's just a cursed channel.

 

[Rob]

Arn't you forgetting one more urban AC? BLX? Why would they need 3? One will flop.


-Rob

 

[the golden boy]

Another urban AC wouldn't be bad, but would Cumulus want to compete against itself with two urban ACs?

Could gospel music be an option for 106.1, if they want to keep it targeting African-Americans?

 

[tomservo]

BLX is urban contemporary, at least when I've listened. It's much more hip-hop and rap. The others are "grown folks stations" type programming. They're complimentary rather than competitive.

Think how in whiter households mom listens to Soft Rock 94.1, dad listens to The Rocket and child listens to BLX or WABD.

 

[Poledo]

Cumulus ain't going to launch a third Urban. Not gonna happen.

Don't forget 100.7 already tried to be Urban AC, Magic 100... oh, about 20 years ago. I don't remember that lasting very long... not enough Urban revenue in Pensacola to pay a 100kw light bill?

Maybe Magic 106 merges with 104.1 WDLT (including a short simulcast and some stunting), WCOA 100.7 dies early simply because business moved too fast for them to keep up (or it was a bad idea to begin with), WCOA 1370 moves to 106.1 (where it belonged all along), 1370 goes sports, oldies, or a WGOK simulcast, and finally... 100.7 becomes Arrow 100.7! Or even better, pull a switch to Alternative and take down TK101. It may not stand out because nobody's gone after them since Rock 106 and (before them) New Rock 107 , but both those stations put a hurting on TK101. TK is off the radar, vulnerable, and someone's going to get a new format... just as good a guess as any, eh?

Redneck, you might know Mobile/Pensacola rock radio better than the other posters here, what do you think?

Does anyone think any more significant radio stations might be sold in Mobile-Pensacola before the end of 2012? The whole Sports radio deal has me puzzled and we certainly have enough big sticks to create a real sports station... instead of listening to little AMs or DXing small FM stations. Plus many rabid SEC fans own businesses and buy advertising on the stations that plays their team.

 

[Mario500]

I remember a small reference to WCOA-FM on the official site for WCOA-AM that I cannot find anymore.

This sucks cause I really enjoyed hearing Kim Kommando.. least I can hear Leo on 94.5

If WCOA-FM were to change formats, many listeners in southwest Alabama would still be able to hear "The Kim Komando Show" (the spelling is correct) broadcast by WAVH-FM. Unlike WCOA-FM, WAVH-FM usually broadcasts every segment for "The Kim Komando Show" over the course of three hours.

In case you referring to "Leo Laporte the Tech Guy", I wish I could hear that program from my home radio in Mobile, since I cannot receive programming from WFLF-FM (94.5) with that radio. The director of programming for WAVH-FM was interested in the program the last few times I communicated with him. According to him (Sean Sullivan), the station would not be able to broadcast the program live due to commitments to the weekend editions of "The Neal Boortz Show" and "The Clark Howard Show".

 

[amfmxm]

Or even better, pull a switch to Alternative and take down TK101. It may not stand out because nobody's gone after them since Rock 106 and (before them) New Rock 107 , but both those stations put a hurting on TK101. TK is off the radar, vulnerable, and someone's going to get a new format... just as good a guess as any, eh?

Redneck, you might know Mobile/Pensacola rock radio better than the other posters here, what do you think?

LOL. Thanks for the shout-out, Poledo. I'd say that y'all really aren't starving for rock radio down there, between Rocket, TK, WZEW (at least for Mobilians) and KSM (for Pensacolians & Waltonians). Never forget that upon New Rock's untimely demise, the 107 staff replaced the TK staff (with a few fine exceptions) over at 101.5, and that Joel Sampson--the guy who has been programming TK since 1996--was the New Rock PD. In fact, Joel was one of the "Founding Fathers" of New Rock One Zero Seven--so the man knows Alternative. "Vulnerable" is probably not a word I'd use to describe either TK or Joel.

For variety's sake I suppose it would be nice if Pcola could hear ZEW, too. Maybe they could buy 95.7 and do a simulcast, since K-Love obviously doesn't need the stick anymore. (Or have the Christians already flipped 95.7 to something else)?

BTW, it would shock the hell out of me if Cumulus derailed 100.7 at this point. It might take some time to get programming lined up the way it needs to be, but they are in a great position to dominate the Mobile-Pensacola markets for the next 20 years, or so, if they play their cards right. Then again, this is Cumulus we're talking about...

 

[tomservo]

Mario: You know you can listen to Leo's show, delayed, with mp3 downloads from his site, right?

amfmxm: K-Love needs 95.7 since they no longer have 97.5's coverage. 98.3 doesn't reach Pensacola with any authority.

 

[Mario500]

^I was aware of the Internet recordings of "Leo Laporte the Tech Guy" before your post. As for the live programs, I usually listen to them streamed over the Internet from my desktop computer as I work by the computer or sit in my bedroom, but I wish I had the option to hear the program on a radio so that members of my family don't get disturbed by the audio coming from the computer speaker while I sit in my bedroom. Having the option to hear the program on the radio would be great if I happen to be traveling by automobile with a radio inside.