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WGY now On 103.1 FM

Reporter said:
No more Rock Alternative. Thoughts?
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I wonder if the simulcast is permanent? (or if they have other ideas) I would think with 810's monster signal there'd be no purpose in giving it an FM spot.
 
I thought you knew better. For many listeners under the baby Boomers ages, AM IS DEAD!!
They will never go to the AM band. WGY will be discovered by a new generation surfing the FM albeit a Beck etc. generation void of original thoughts.
This is WGY's plan.
 
ChuckRoast said:
I thought you knew better. For many listeners under the baby Boomers ages, AM IS DEAD!!
They will never go to the AM band. WGY will be discovered by a new generation surfing the FM albeit a Beck etc. generation void of original thoughts.
This is WGY's plan.
Click to expand...

In a weird way this might help AM. The limited 103.1FM signal being FM will pick up “new listeners” when these people become “talkies” and they are driving more than 50 Miles out of town where their phone app. will not work because of bad cell coverage they might try AM just to get their fix.
 
I for one believe that 103.1 with its signal coming across from N. Greenbush will dump a healthy signal into downtown Albany without static and electrical noise from everything from computers to cash registers to neon signs to leaks in the cable TV. This will give WGY a way to have at least as good a signal as Talk 1300 with their 10000 watt directional signal beaming the down town area also. It will obviously give GY an edge over GDJ. Don't sell short 103.1's signal. I work in S. Glens Falls and it has a reasonable signal there. I am aware though that it will not have much of a signal to the SW of the capital region due to terrain. It also should be noted there is another 103.1 signal in Oneonta also.
 
Thats the biggest gain with the FM. The much better building penetration downtown is a good thing. That "A" signal is one of the better "A" signals in the area. (Especially since the new tower and antenna went in!) The signal is pretty solid into a good chunk of Berkshire county. It's south hinderance , of course, is WGNY-FM which is listenable in spots almost to Hudson.
 
Oh great! More stations playing the exact same drivel. That's the way to increase variety in the market. Not! I had actually given up on local radio and was listening mostly to my iPod in the car. But, we just bought a new car and with it came XM Radio. Game over! An endless variety of stations, both talk and music, (including several that I actually like), CD like audio quality, and no (or at least very little) blathering DJ's that think they are funny. Oh Happy Day.
 
tmart714 said:
With the flip, I wonder what will become of the Channel 103.1 morning guy, Jason Keller.
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Jason Keller is no stranger to WGY, he's done fill-in work on the station in the past. He might be Don Weeks replacement?
 
THE_KNICKMAN said:
I for one believe that 103.1 with its signal coming across from N. Greenbush will dump a healthy signal into downtown Albany without static and electrical noise from everything from computers to cash registers to neon signs to leaks in the cable TV. This will give WGY a way to have at least as good a signal as Talk 1300 with their 10000 watt directional signal beaming the down town area also. It will obviously give GY an edge over GDJ. Don't sell short 103.1's signal. I work in S. Glens Falls and it has a reasonable signal there. I am aware though that it will not have much of a signal to the SW of the capital region due to terrain. It also should be noted there is another 103.1 signal in Oneonta also.
Click to expand...

Yes, I guess a totally unincumbered signal within the city center would cause them to salivate, however, again, with GY's 50k torch, I've never had an issue picking them up in most ANY situation.
 
ChuckRoast said:
I thought you knew better. For many listeners under the baby Boomers ages, AM IS DEAD!!
They will never go to the AM band. WGY will be discovered by a new generation surfing the FM albeit a Beck etc. generation void of original thoughts.
This is WGY's plan.
Click to expand...

For most anyone who enjoys talk radio, AM is quite acceptable. And when you say "albeit a Beck etc. generation void of original thoughts" I guess you're referring to someone who's finally decided to hear what someone other than NPR happens to be saying about the state of our world :eek: (how shocking -- and UN-American)
 
Clear Channel market manager Kristen Delaney says "we are expecting significant ratings growth by simulcasting on 103.1, which has changed its call letters from WHRL to WGY-FM."

Ms. Delaney seriously believes simulcasting the mostly satellite programming from Premier-Clear Channel on FM is magically going to transform the station's ratings? She really believes the Clear Channel Tripe now on 810 simulcast on a 6 kw FM will attract "younger listeners?" (In today's news-talk radio parlance means anybody under the age of 50.)

Drinking the corporate cool aid.

Recent research has shown that listeners under 50, especially the coveted 18-49 demo, aren't attracted to the shout-over format and pontification that define commercial talk radio. How does a guy like Limbaugh, who makes millions a year, authentically speak for the interests of an 18-49?

Seriously?

He doesn't.

Younger demos think he's full of himself, if not full of spit.

This will be an interesting experiment. It's the flavor-of-the-day-smart-thing-to-do and no doubt, there will be more of it. But simply moving talk to FM, especially the mostly satellite delivered fare that's on heritage 50kw WGY-AM, won't automatically make it a success. The simulcast likely will get better ratings than whats now on 103.1, but it's also very likely the demographics will be 50+. The kind of radio that Rush, Beck and Hannity do isn't an automatic with 25-49's just because it's on FM. These guys were once thought to be so big that, as one former Clear Channel executive said, "they re-define radio... listeners will seek them out whether they're on AM, FM, Shortwave or CB."

As to the clash of commercial talk radio with what can be heard on NPR, you might as well be comparing apples to coconuts.
 
Element9 said:
... simply moving talk to FM, especially the mostly satellite delivered fare that's on heritage 50kw WGY-AM, won't automatically make it a success... The kind of radio that Rush, Beck and Hannity do isn't an automatic with 25-49's just because it's on FM...
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Had it not been for WGY's heritage in the market, CC might have been branding the station "Rush Radio 103.1." (That's what they've constructed in a handful of markets across the country recently, usually after grabbing the rights of Rush/Beck/Hannity from a competing station.)
 
Well...they dumped most of the staff of Channel 103.1 some time ago...when it was the leading Active Rock station...and substantially ahead of its two competitors...at the time....and then after a period of neglect...they ended up having to flip the format...true visionaries....
 
I noticed that the stereo generator has now been turned off on 103.1. (It was still on monday). Smart move, it will improve the signal to noise ratio and help out in the fringes.
 
The HD is still on with WOFX as the HD2 channel. I always wondered why in other markets CC had their AM signals on an HD2 or HD3 but not here. Now they are both there.

Speaking of WOFX (which never shows up in the ratings) what in the wild world of sports will CC do with it down the road? It almost makes sense to put WOFX on 102.3 and compete with The Team. Unless that would distract the young males from WGY-FM.

I'm willing to bet a few bucks that Pamal is kicking themselves just a little harder today for the bonehead flip of Edge. They must have hired the guy who trashed HRL in the first place as a belated thank you.
 
Would moving WOFX programming to FM really help all that much? I am under the impression that FOX sports generally does not do near as well as ESPN sports. Is that right or wrong?
 
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