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Wease simulcast on WHTK

E

ericNY

Starting today, The Brother Wease Show is airing on WHTK AM and FM from 6 to 10am. The show is current airing on three signals in the Rochester area (1280 AM, 95.1 and 107.3 FM). Apparantly Fox Sports Radio wasnt cutting it for WHTK in Morning drive.
 
ericNY said:
Starting today, The Brother Wease Show is airing on WHTK AM and FM from 6 to 10am. The show is current airing on three signals in the Rochester area (1280 AM, 95.1 and 107.3 FM). Apparantly Fox Sports Radio wasnt cutting it for WHTK in Morning drive.
Click to expand...

This makes how many format changes now for 1280 over the past few years?
 
Might help extend the show's reach marginally in Ontario County, although I think the WFXF signal from Baker Hill on 95.1 is pretty good in that area, probably better than most of the Rochester full class B FMs which transmit from Pinnacle Hill or Colfax St.

Couple reasons for doing this; one, Wease will certainly be stronger as a morning attraction on WHTK and help that station the rest of the day (its numbers have been pretty dismal up to now), and two, any additional signals you use to distribute a show will probably get you a few extra pairs of ears for the show.
 
Must be another shoe to drop. Otherwise it's a waste of time. Why simulcast Wease on signals that are LESS than the one they are already on. Sports fans will tune OUT, not listen to Wease. Wease knocks sports fans. Arbitron might split the credit between the stations, and since it is not 100% simulcast (Fox and the other stations) and that would actually HURT Fox because they would drop even further in the ratings.

No, I think they are moving Wease to the little signals to live on, and will put something else on Fox...like all music or move WHAM to FM. This is step one of the end.

Makes no sense otherwise. Wease is not a lead in to sports, and adding two lame signals to Fox actually will Hurt fox ratings...
 
"No, I think they are moving Wease to the little signals to live on, and will put something else on Fox...like all music or move WHAM to FM. This is step one of the end."

That would be a bad move on two grounds. First, Wease on Fox is the best draw in the whole CC cluster for 25-54 men; putting him on weaker signals would be financial folly.

Second, WHAM isn't going anywhere either. Putting it even on a full B signal would reduce its reach and would NOT attract younger listeners...CC's "Rush Radio" experiment on FM in other markets hasn't been the 25-54 male draw they hoped for. Tough to get younger listeners with programming that appeals to angry aging men, whatever band you put it on.

Don't let the WSYR simulcast in Syracuse fool you...that is an effort to fill in some big coverage gaps in Onondaga County's southern burbs left by WSYR's DA pattern. Definitely not a problem for WHAM in the Rochester TSA.
 
Bob,

Hate to disagree with someone with such a great name.

1. WHAM in midday and PM Drive have better M 25-54 numbers than Wease in that Demo. Look it up if you subscribe.
2. I used to live on Onondaga Hill in Syracuse, WSYR has killer local coverage. Not sure why you think they need to 'fill in.' They put it on FM to get a younger audience. CCU did it in Albany with WGY also, Entercom did it in Wilkes Barre, it has happened in DC, Indy, Seattle, all over the world. AM listening is dying and people are moving the content to FM. WHAM will end up on FM. Maybe not this move, but it will go to FM.
3. I am just speculating I do not know anything, but putting Wease on 3 signals adds nothing. No one will right down the 2 smaller signals, and if they do, it will not add to the Fox ratings in the book because the entire station is not simulcast. This will probably decrease Wease's numbers and rank position the way most buyers use ratings. Makes no sense to risk having Fox Lose audience rank position by splitting the credit, if that happens.

I still think there is another shoe to drop. Sports on The fox, with Wease, and move the fox music back to the old signal. Move the Fox, and put WHAM on 95.1? I don't know what the next move is, but there is a next move. At least it looks like Wease is safe, for now.
 
Keep it simple, people. They're already paying Wease a boatload of money. His best demo is men 25-54. The stations that they're putting him on are supposed to appeal to men 25-54. The shows on those stations weren't doing any business. Save a few bucks, and trimulcast Wease. Maybe people who listen to those stations later in the day won't have to switch stations in the morning, possibly going to 'CMF.

This is a money-saving move, pure and simple. You can bet that Wease ain't getting an extra dime despite the fact that he's on 3 stations instead of 1.
 
Entercom also put 870 WWL, its 50kW flamethrower in New Orleans on FM. Their thinking was/is, better to make the move before you're forced to make the move. Younger demos don't bloom just because the talk moves to FM, those 25-44s have to be cultivated. Clear Channel's WHAM doesn't have to move to FM now, but there may come a time. Could the Drive be the simulcast partner rather than Fox? In Buffalo, WBEN has to be thinking about an FM partner, the question is, what FM? I can't see them touching Kiss and Star, they're both cash cows. The Lake, not so much. But that Lake signal... oy!
 
Element9 said:
In Buffalo, WBEN has to be thinking about an FM partner, the question is, what FM? I can't see them touching Kiss and Star, they're both cash cows. The Lake, not so much. But that Lake signal... oy!
Click to expand...

The Lake signal is fine in the eastern suburbs, and covers all the way to Rochester. Where's the money in WNY? Amherst, East Amherst, Orchard Park - all areas where coverage is pretty good. Those are the areas where 'BEN is most likely to find listeners. 'BEN AM covers the rest of the market solidly for those who are interested.

If I were Entercom, I'd simulcast 'BEN in the daytime, and 'GR at night in order to give the Sabres significantly better coverage where 'GR's pattern nulls. And, as E9 says, cultivating a younger audience is becoming a necessity.
 
Good points about 107.7 reaching the eastern suburbs of Erie county, the "Transit road corridor" as I call it. You can look at diary placement and see the hot zip code areas such as Lancaster, Depew, East Amherst and Clarence, communities where the population is dense. 107.7 has an acceptable signal in the Tonawandas too, though it could be a dB better if the signal is transmitted in mono and the (hideous) HD is turned off.

Concerning the decision to simulcast Wease on 1280 and 107.3, one of the interesting subtexts is how the decision was made and who made it. Was it recommended by Darryl Parks, Clear Channel's National PD for news-talk or GM Kevin Legrett? A result of researched or a call from the gut? Bottom line or programming driven?
 
I am sorry I did not see this thread. Maybe they are planning on putting Wease on those other channels and return 95.1 to music.Maybe a political show with Bob Lonseberry as a co-host.
 
"I am sorry I did not see this thread. Maybe they are planning on putting Wease on those other channels and return 95.1 to music.Maybe a political show with Bob Lonseberry as a co-host."

Not a chance...the experiment with "Rush Radio" on FM in a number of Clear Channel's markets hasn't worked out so well. That particular flavor of talk skews older, and putting it on FM doesn't make the audience for it any younger, although it could make it smaller. WHAM will stay with what it has, and Fox 95.1 will still use Wease as its main brand-setter, if CC knows what it's doing in this market.
 
C'mon, guys. Legrett's the new honcho at CC Rochester. He's trying to look good with corporate. It's purely a cost-saving move. He's stuck with a mega-contract for Wease & Co., and is trying to make it look less onerous by spreading it out over 3 stations.
 
Agree Rox, sounds like Legrett made the call. That's his MO. Darryl Parks most likely stays away from anything not related to Clear Channel's news talk stations. It's likely he advises only WHAM.
 
People are assuming wease is earniing millions of dollars and he is a drain on the channel.How much longer is his contract for ? I still think they want to move his show to a political forum with lonsberry. They can combine both audiences and free 95.1 to resume playing music.As far as Kevin Legritt goes I thought they had a good working relationship,although Kev is known to be a slash and burn company man.He will make sure he looks good no matter what happens.
 
I don't recall anybody saying that Wease earns millions of dollars, or that he's a drain on the channel. The only thing that gets decent numbers on The Fox is Wease. As far as having Wease working with Lonsberry, where's the upside? Would going to WHAM pump up their numbers and/or revenue more than Wease brings in on The Fox? Sorry, I just don't see it.
 
I agree with Rox on this one. I can't see any benefit of putting Wease on WHAM with Lonsbery. WHAM is what it is. A liberal would only pi$$ off their audience. Yeah, Beck, Rush, Savage & Wease? My only question is what benefit is the tri-cast? As far as I can tell, there is no increase in coverage. I don't see the combined audience improving the overall ratings. It's a mystery to me. Maybe it's just what they say it is. Trying to give a breath of life to to WHTK
 
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