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What would YOU do with 590?

J

jackandcoke

Okay, let's play radio. Let's say that you woke up one day finding that you had inherited the license--or, more likely, won it in a contest on Z-92--of Big Sports 590, KXSP. And, for the sake of fantasy, let's say that you had the money (or access to it) to do whatever was necessary to run it the way you wanted to.

So, what would you do?

(BTW, this particular exercise is predicated on the fact that pulling a 1.0 share in Omaha--about half the share of the killowatt pea-shooter at 1490 now carrying their former format--is an embarrassing failure. And a zero in Lincoln. So you'd need to do SOMETHING ELSE).

Here's my recommendation:

Bring back the historic WOW calls. Flip it to Country Oldies, focusing on hits from the 70's & 80's--with some pre-seventies "classics" as Lunar Gold, just for spice. Hire The Old Prospector, Ed Alexander, to do mornings--he was doing overnights on the Country Classics format over at Waitt Networks at last report--and fill out the staff with well-known, well-liked Omaha radio pros. Live & interactive.

Good for a 4 or 5 share in Omaha; 6 or 7 share in Lincoln; and probably a few shares in Sioux City, as well. The 70's-80's music base will attract 40-to-60 year olds, translating into decent 25-54/35-54 Arbitron shares and killer 35-64 shares.

Don't give me the "it's been tried" stuff. Gotta have a great signal to pull this off. And 5-kw non-directional on 590 is a flat-out kick-ass signal.

It's just got lousy programming on it, right now.
 
News-Talk. The Journal runs a kick-ass N/T in Milwaukee, WTMJ(AM)--without Rush--so they definitely have the know-how. The 590 signal is as-good-or-better than KFAB's in both O/CB & Lincoln.

And, yeah, they should ditch KXSP and resurrect the WOW calls. Aside from being great call-letters (regardless of the history), it's where people know where to find the station. (To help Journal Broadcasting execs understand: it would be like slapping new calls on 620 in Beer Town--the locals would keep calling it 'TMJ for the next 50 years).
 
They won't get the 3 letter calls back. The FCC exept under EXTREME cirucumstances doesn't do this.

Powell
 
Powell E. Way III W4OPW said:
They won't get the 3 letter calls back. The FCC exept under EXTREME cirucumstances doesn't do this.
Powell
Click to expand...

EXTREME? Like life or death? Like Citadel requesting and getting back WLS-FM a couple months ago?
 
amfmxm said:
Powell E. Way III W4OPW said:
They won't get the 3 letter calls back. The FCC exept under EXTREME cirucumstances doesn't do this.
Powell
Click to expand...

EXTREME? Like life or death? Like Citadel requesting and getting back WLS-FM a couple months ago?
Click to expand...


Hardly the same, as they already had WLS(AM).

A better case study would be WGH(AM) Newport News/Norfolk, VA, though that was back in the 80's.
 
Nice to see that a year after this was originally posted KXSP is all the way up to #18 in Phase 2 of the Summer book. Right behind that killowatt blaster on 1490!

Give them another year and they're going to be challenging the Hispanic & religious stations...
 
Powell E. Way III W4OPW said:
They won't get the 3 letter calls back. The FCC exept under EXTREME cirucumstances doesn't do this.
Click to expand...

What about Kah-Kah-Achay-Hotah? Oh wait, that had--in translation--
one of the "seven dirty words" and we don't want anyone hearing them,
or seeing Janet's censored, now do we?

(I need to be careful in case Kevie reads the board. ;D)
 
Bring back WOW with Oldies that correspond to the era in which WOW (AM) was a Top 40 outlet. Do an AUTHENTIC presentation that's true to the original station. That means you'd have to spend money for...(gasp)...live talent! You have to have people behind-the-mic who "get this" in order to pull it off. If you have access to the original WOW jingles (or an authentic recreation), that would be great.

If the FCC absolutely, positively will not grant the 3-letter call, pay a few bucks to either WOWW/Germantown, TN or WWOW/Conneaut for their calls.
 
Music and AM don't mix. Maybe 10 years ago you could get it to fly, but in the age of digital audio, 5.1 surround sound and flat screen TVs the public doesn't want out dated technology.

With that being said, since their are already what 3?, talk stations in the market? You options run thin, maybe they can put on another Spanish station and compete with 97.7. Hispanic talk?
 
You are right that nothing with music would work. And there are probably more people in Omaha who associate the WOW calls with country music than top 40 oldies. 590 was country longer than it was top 40, plus there was WOW-FM playing country for a long time. (How many vehicles in Omaha had the old WOW "board" logo stickers on the back during the Radio Ranch era? A few thousand?)

Spanish is probably already over saturated. In addition to 97.7, there's Spanish on 1020 and 1420.

What does that leave? Sports. (or selling time to preachers.)
 
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