WFNX being sold to Clear Channel

[raccoonradio]

There's sports talk and there's political, etc. talk. It would be 2 of each if they went talk.
And who knows maybe someday Kenny G will re-appear on 96.9 Or Greater could
try another musical format. CC would well try cons. talk on 101.7 with two and maybe
even 3 local hosts.

 

[Fenway1912]

Let's look at the total picture of CC in Boston

2 FM's that are solid revenue producers

2 AM's that are small blips on the radar.

They spent a small fortune on upgrading 1200 AM with no results.

They have decided spending 14.5 million for 101.7 is worth it and given the radio theorem of 'billable hours' they may have decided to make a run at WMJX given the downtown transmitter of WFNX.

Clear Channel has done very well in New York with WLTW-FM and in Chicago with WLIT-FM. If CC went soft rock and added Delilah at night they would hurt Magic 106.

Radio is all about Monday-Friday 6 AM to 6 PM to sell....

 

[DanStrassberg]

Clear Channel has done very well in New York with WLTW-FM and in Chicago with WLIT-FM. If CC went soft rock and added Delilah at night they would hurt Magic 106.

Do you really believe that the little directional 101.7 signal from One Financial Center could compete with the big nondirectional 106.7 signal from the Pru if the two stations were broadcasting similar content? You doubtless will say that the signal difference will be important in the suburbs but much less so in town. Still, in the kind of head-to-head battle you are suggesting, spots on the weaker signal would have to be heavily discounted with respect to spots on the stronger signal. Doesn't sound to me like a good formula for making big $$$ to pay off the added $14.5 million of debt CCU will be taking on to pay for 101.7.

 

[Fenway1912]

Clear Channel has done very well in New York with WLTW-FM and in Chicago with WLIT-FM. If CC went soft rock and added Delilah at night they would hurt Magic 106.

Do you really believe that the little directional 101.7 signal from One Financial Center could compete with the big nondirectional 106.7 signal from the Pru if the two stations were broadcasting similar content? You doubtless will say that the signal difference will be important in the suburbs but much less so in town. Still, in the kind of head-to-head battle you are suggesting, spots on the weaker signal would have to be heavily discounted with respect to spots on the stronger signal. Doesn't sound to me like a good formula for making big $$$ to pay off the added $14.5 million of debt CCU will be taking on to pay for 101.7.

True Dan - unless CC decides to simulcast WSRS on 101.7 - and then in turn bump up the WSRS rate card. It would be similar to Entercom buying 97.7 to simulcast 107.3 ( and Entercom paid far more for WILD-FM 6 years ago )

The listen at work format works - it is very unclear if Boston really wants another talk station.

 

[davideduardo]

True Dan - unless CC decides to simulcast WSRS on 101.7 - and then in turn bump up the WSRS rate card.

WSRS is a big biller in the Worcester market, which is separate from Boston. If they increase rates they will not be affordable by the Worcester clients, and the Boston clients don't buy Worcester as part of their Boston buy.

I don't know of any cases where a station is able to sell two separate rated markets in a combo... perhaps some cases exist, but they go against the way radio is bought.

 

[Fenway1912]

It is very easy to feed separate commercials to the transmitters. Entercom has done it for years with the Providence side of WEEI.

Much as I want to gag typing this - getting Deliah solidly into Boston will produce numbers.

True Dan - unless CC decides to simulcast WSRS on 101.7 - and then in turn bump up the WSRS rate card.

WSRS is a big biller in the Worcester market, which is separate from Boston. If they increase rates they will not be affordable by the Worcester clients, and the Boston clients don't buy Worcester as part of their Boston buy.

I don't know of any cases where a station is able to sell two separate rated markets in a combo... perhaps some cases exist, but they go against the way radio is bought.

 

[raccoonradio]

Show site lists WPLM as affiliate

 

[davideduardo]

It is very easy to feed separate commercials to the transmitters. Entercom has done it for years with the Providence side of WEEI.

Then it is not a simulcast.

 

[DanStrassberg]

It is very easy to feed separate commercials to the transmitters. Entercom has done it for years with the Providence side of WEEI.

Then it is not a simulcast.

Ed Levine of Galaxy Communications in central New York has used this technique on stations in Syracuse, Rome, and Utica for years. When I heard it, five or more years ago, it was very well executed--down to having the air talent voice different spots that aired simultaneously on stations in different markets. Since then, Galaxy has expanded into the Albany/Schenectady/Troy market and most likely these non-simulcasts now appear there as well. Seems to take some pretty talented folks to pull it off without screwing it up (spots need to be timed to within a second or two and automation failures can be real disasters), but I didn't hear any such mishaps.

 

[Fenway1912]

Show site lists WPLM as affiliate

Deliah is on WSRS and WPLM but both stations have problems in Boston proper. Women 18-49 love her show and she would bring people over to 101.7.

 

[davideduardo]

Ed Levine of Galaxy Communications in central New York has used this technique on stations in Syracuse, Rome, and Utica for years. When I heard it, five or more years ago, it was very well executed--down to having the air talent voice different spots that aired simultaneously on stations in different markets. Since then, Galaxy has expanded into the Albany/Schenectady/Troy market and most likely these non-simulcasts now appear there as well. Seems to take some pretty talented folks to pull it off without screwing it up (spots need to be timed to within a second or two and automation failures can be real disasters), but I didn't hear any such mishaps.

Going back to the 80's, the many "networked" station operations in Puerto Rico have sold the networks to agencies, and local spots to direct accounts.

Puerto Rico is considered as a single market for major advertisers (and Arbitron), but it is a bunch of local markets and metros for direct accounts. It takes 3 to 4 AMs to cover it all, and 3 FMs or 2 with boosters at a minimum.

There are about a dozen 24/7 networks, and they run direct accounts on each transmitter and Island-wide on the net. It takes timing, particularly in the 80's when the nets were run with manual inserts of local spots in the pre-digital storage days. Overall, there were and are few mistakes and the operation is seamless.

Canada has quite a few such networks, too, serving lightly populated areas from a central hub, often running local accounts on the repeater stations.

 

[fybush]

Ed Levine of Galaxy Communications in central New York has used this technique on stations in Syracuse, Rome, and Utica for years. When I heard it, five or more years ago, it was very well executed--down to having the air talent voice different spots that aired simultaneously on stations in different markets. Since then, Galaxy has expanded into the Albany/Schenectady/Troy market and most likely these non-simulcasts now appear there as well.

The Albany signals did use some quasi-simulcasting from Syracuse, but they didn't last long - Galaxy pulled out of the market and sold its stations to EMF in 2007 after only five years in Albany.

 

[atlantaboy]

Sorry to switch the topic a bit, but I just noticed Clear Channel is going up against itself CHR-wise in Dallas now - it basically shifted its Hot AC to CHR (with a slight adult lean), so it's now directly competing with sister station Kiss/Dallas

Maybe Clear Channel should do the same thing with WFNX - use it to compete with Kiss/Boston, just throw a little more pop/rock into the mix

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

I doubt that Clear Channel would launch a Soft AC format in Boston on 101.7.

Had 101.7 been a Class B signal, maybe.

But not a Class A signal.

The only way I see Delilah coming to Boston would be if WMJX-106.7 dropped David Allen Boucher's local "Bedtime Magic" (he also voicetracks versions of the show for other Greater Media-owned AC stations) to pick-up Delilah.

I suspect CC subsidiary Premiere Networks has repeatedly tried to persuade WMJX to do just that.

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

With Univision's announcement today (May 31st) that they will soon launch a Spanish-language talk radio network, might Clear Channel pick it up for Boston??

If it does, it could replace WFNX on 101.7 but I think it's more likely it would be on 1430, with WKOX's "Mia" format moved to 101.7.

 

[WNTIRadio]

Why would CC pay someone else for a format? If they were going to do Spanish language whatever, wouldn't they do it themselves instead of pay Univision for it? Seems like a dumb investment of $14.5 million to do it that way, especially with CC wanting to spread their own brand and hosts around.

I still would bet on 101.7 being a simulcast of 1200. Gives the talk format more visibility, even with the limited signal. Also gives CC building/tunnel penetration in the city where 1200 gets lost in the electrical interference.

 

[DToTheJ]

Yes, Mr. Gallant, because CC was so successful with that "Rumba" format or whatever they had going on 1200 pre-"Rush Radio/Talk 1200"...

 

[HHH]

You know, thinking about it, I think Entercom should have bought 101.7 for the WAAF simulcast (all those downtown college students) and spun off 97.7 to someone else (Clear Channel maybe?)

97.7 is not all that good downtown, and 101.7 would have slammed dunked WAAF with all the city college crowd, while giving Clear Channel the (possibly) more practical 97.7 for a talk simulcast.

 

[raccoonradio]

Whether Ent. put in a money bid I don't know but Clear Channel had the magic number of $14.5 million.

 

[Uncle Kaimbridge]

Massachusetts man charged with stealing WFNX gear