What will Become of WXLW 950

[MikeStandardsFromIndiana]

What will WXLW do when it loses ESPN Radio to 1070 WIBC-Am in 90 days

Stay Sports with Sporting News/Rake and Woc
Go Oldies
Go back to Religous teaching programs

 

[radioho]

NO point in staying on as a full time sports station. There is a reason Sporting News Radio is the third option of three major sports networks.

Tried to listen a bit today to the rak n' wok show, they were eating of course, but the tie-line was cutting out so bad that you could only pick up every third or fourth word. Truly a low-class station with incompetent personnel at the helm. I'm sure they all try, but it was a mistake to try to make it on the cheap.

The only possible business they could keep would be the Indianapolis Indians (no one else wants them), Butler sports, the horse track, and the other $5 per spot advertisers that cannot afford real radio station buys.

I'd say throw a hodgepodge of talk/sports/games and keep selling the $5 per minute spots.

 

[radiowannab]

Im just excited ESPN Radio is heading to a station I can actually pick up in my car at night! I can't imagine 1070 would pick up the Indians under any circumstances if they truly are the ratings killer people on here say. 1070 will still care about ratings weather its sports radio or anything else.

With 2 FM talkers now this should really tell the current program directors for FM stations what a terrible job they have done. We listeners are tired of your predictable programming, low talent personalities, and being treated like we are complete fools who will swallow whatever pill you throw at us. We have 4 rock stations in the same city and all playing the exact same stuff. No oldies. No personality driven radio save for Bob and Tom. Perhaps someone will come along and realize people don't care about hearing Turn the Page for the 5000000th time. We want reasons to listen. The human factor is what will do it.

 

[butlerguy03]

The only possible business they could keep would be the Indianapolis Indians (no one else wants them), Butler sports, the horse track, and the other $5 per spot advertisers that cannot afford real radio station buys.

I know Butler wasn't happy and I'm not 100% sure, but I think they have went back to WXNT 1430...which is a really good place for them considering you can barely hear 95.9 and 950 at Hinkle Fieldhouse and on the northside at night.

 

[radioho]

I know Butler wasn't happy and I'm not 100% sure, but I think they have went back to WXNT 1430...which is a really good place for them considering you can barely hear 95.9 and 950 at Hinkle Fieldhouse and on the northside at night.

If you're at the event, why would you want to listen to the Butler announcer? Not very good now that Denari isn't doing them.

And you're saying you CAN pick up 1430 at night at Butler? Must be a powerful receiver you have.

 

[Timewarp]

There is a 3 to a 5 for the AM station who switches to oldies. OK, who is going?

 

[N_D_Radioguy]

There is a 3 to a 5 for the AM station who switches to oldies. OK, who is going?

No...there really isn't. That's as big a myth as Santa, the Easter Bunny, the attractive lesbian and the compassionate conservative.

Any AM station [with the possible exception of the big 1070] will have similar signal limitations as 95.9 -- there's no available signal, AM or FM, that reaches all nine metro counties to make a go of it.

And if there were a 3 to 5 to be had, they would all be 55+, which agencies won't touch. Whether or not boomers are pliable spenders is irrelevant if agencies don't want to target them. In a market this size, you live and die by your agency business. Mom & Pop buying $5 spots cannot make the cash to run a viable station [see Raven Broadcasting]. This is precisely why Susq. dropped Oldies when it was in the Top 5 12+.

Stop begging for Oldies because it won't happen because it can't work.

 

[Flying-Dutchman]

OK! Let's try to figure this out! If only people over 50 listen to AM, wouldn't it make some sense
to put something on that would excite them. Oldies just might work on an AM stick. After all, that music played there once before and it worked!

 

[ASO]

OK! Let's try to figure this out! If only people over 50 listen to AM, wouldn't it make some sense
to put something on that would excite them. Oldies just might work on an AM stick. After all, that music played there once before and it worked!

Big band used to work too. But that doesn't mean it will work now.

 

[mouseman]

I've read several times here suggestions that WXLW should consider oldies as a format once they loose their ESPN affiliation. What I don't understand is why anyone would think that oldies would be any more viable on this frequency than the audience generated currently at 95.9FM? The AM signal does not reach north much beyond Washington Street from the south; that's certainly much worse than "Gold 95.9 FM" signal, coverage wise. In fact, if the FM is considered a "rim shot," the AM would barely be hitting the backboard.

Even with two other sports stations in town [1260 and 1070], I think XLW still has a better chance of survival, as a viable business, as a sports station. In addition to the money they receive from the Indians for clearance, they probably also were paid to clear Marian College basketball [The SID did color for the games, and the college retained a lot of time in the games for recruitment messages]. The Indiana Ice might pay for clearance; they have in the past. My point is that the other two AMs probably still won't be interested in clearing this "2nd tier sports" play-by-play. XLW would have some consistent revenue stream, not only for clearance but also sales opportunities for station-produced pre- and post-game shows. Add the Cubs local inventory to sell, and the live PM DR show, and there's probably more revenue here than clearing spot breaks in any other format. Sell the programming blocks at a premium, and throw in day time inventory for the various teams and sponsors during Sporting News programming. Look at WBRI-AM; they sell block programming all day long, guaranteeing revenue streams with little overhead. They don't concern themselves with selling spots, or with ratings for that matter. They don't care; they just monetize the business with guaranteed revenue streams.

 

[Flying-Dutchman]

I agree. Don't take away the local sports. After all, this is what I used to pay my bills.
It is easy to find people who will pay for a local event.

 

[MightyFrenchman]

WXLW should go back to an all religious teaching block format that they had under Bill Shirk. Their only competition is WBRI which has consistently had the format since 1964. Must work, huh? No ratings to worry about.

 

[ChiefEngineer]

The XL towers are at 56th and Georgetown. This is well North of Washington Street.

Day pattern protects Chicago though. When built there were only farm fields so 15 watts at 71st and Georgetown was no problem.

GREAT signal through downtown and South.

Yo! 950?

 

[jimbo700]

> The XL towers are at 56th and Georgetown. This is well North of Washington Street.
> Day pattern protects Chicago though. When built there were only farm fields so 15 watts at 71st and Georgetown was no
> problem.

> GREAT signal through downtown and South

You got that right. 'XL has always been the stongest of the Indy AM's here in Columbus.
I believe they put their city grade signal into both Columbus and Bloomington.

 

[IKE_IKE_Baby]

What will WXLW do when it loses ESPN Radio to 1070 WIBC-Am in 90 days

Stay Sports with Sporting News/Rake and Woc
Go Oldies
Go back to Religous teaching programs

ANSWER IS:
Who really cares???????? The folks down there have no clue, nadda, zero, zip. The bigger question is how long til the station(s) sell or go back to previous owners on default or when will the Hoods sue for the loss when it remits.


But I like the "Who cares" better.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

Next question...one that affects many AM's...what is the value of the land that the transmitter/antenna sits on? At some point, the value of the land will exceed the value of the station & that will force one of two outcomes...it will become silent or it will be rebuilt farther north so that it's northward nulls are less of a problem. A northward rebuild might allow for more night power as well since the night power they have is based on their daytime antenna array...rarely an optimum setup for night power. Anyone with insight on this angle of XL?

 

[radiowannab]

What is the value of a station like XLW? Based on the fact that it has minimal ratings, weak signal, but it is in Indy. So what is a fair price for something like that? 1 million? More? Less? Doesn't seem like anyone can really make it work recently so I assume the selling price would be on the signal alone?

 

[PTBoardOp94]

A northward rebuild might allow for more night power as well since the night power they have is based on their daytime antenna array...rarely an optimum setup for night power. Anyone with insight on this angle of XL?

WIBC could have done the same thing to improve their night signal over Hamilton County...but you can't just spring up 6 tower arrays every thirty years...and by 2050 they'd be way up I-65.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

A northward rebuild might allow for more night power as well since the night power they have is based on their daytime antenna array...rarely an optimum setup for night power. Anyone with insight on this angle of XL?

WIBC could have done the same thing to improve their night signal over Hamilton County...but you can't just spring up 6 tower arrays every thirty years...and by 2050 they'd be way up I-65.

Good point you make...but it gets down to economics. You make more net income by moving further out ever couple or three decades or you make more by staying put. Those arrays are hugely expensive, but when you factor in the value of the land (in a case where the city has landlocked the site), the arrays could actually be free. Not many AM sites cost millions to build, yet many plots of land sell for that. Which gets us back to the original point...do you take those millions & rebuild the facility or do you cash out & head for the beach? I'd take the beach in XL's case...It may be a moot point...if I recall correctly, a third party owns the property that the towers sit on. In whcih case, when the lease expires, the decision will probably be made for XL by the landlord.

 

[radioho]

What is the value of a station like XLW? Based on the fact that it has minimal ratings, weak signal, but it is in Indy. So what is a fair price for something like that? 1 million? More? Less? Doesn't seem like anyone can really make it work recently so I assume the selling price would be on the signal alone?

Byrd paid $3 million. My guess is he wouldn't sell for less than that. And anyone who has been up around the 56th street tower site, and looks at the adjacent area, will know that land is NOT worth $3 million. NOT a thriving area, so land value isn't that high.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA503555.html?display=Deals

WXLW(AM) Indianapolis
PRICE: $3 million
BUYER: Raven Broadcasting Inc. (Jonathan Byrd II, president); owns no other stations
SELLER: Pilgrim Communications LLC (Gene Hood, president/manager)
FACILITIES: 950 kHz, 5 kW day/117 W night
FORMAT: Sports