Trump Country 93.7 Reinaugurated In Fort Myers on Radio Insight
Curious what people here have to say about this interesting country format.
Curious what people here have to say about this interesting country format.
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Fort Myers WHEL Sanibel brands as "Trump Country 93.7"
- Thread starter RyanChuTV
- Start date
But with branding like that, doesn't that alienate potential listeners who are not Trump Republicans? I suppose it scores well with Trump supporters. Will be interesting to see how their ratings pan out.
You're assuming that the rebranding gimmick lasts long enough to impact a ratings period. I remember reading of a right-wing talk station that adopted Trump branding for a few days in 2016, then dropped it.
WHEL is co-owned with WFSX-FM, Fort Myers' conservative talk outlet. It runs Fox News on the hour and carries Sean Hannity, Dan Bongino, Glenn Beck and Mark Levin. It may help cross-promotion to brand WFSX-FM's country sister station as "Trump Country."
Fort Myers is a market that had two FM country stations for many years, 101.9 WWGR and 107.1 WCKT. WWGR is #3 in the ratings, owned by Renda and WCKT is #11 in the ratings, owned by iHeart. WHEL is at #19. It looks like Fort Myers is only big enough for two mainstream country stations. I guess branding it as "Trump Country" is an attempt to get a bit of buzz for WHEL.
Fort Myers is a market that had two FM country stations for many years, 101.9 WWGR and 107.1 WCKT. WWGR is #3 in the ratings, owned by Renda and WCKT is #11 in the ratings, owned by iHeart. WHEL is at #19. It looks like Fort Myers is only big enough for two mainstream country stations. I guess branding it as "Trump Country" is an attempt to get a bit of buzz for WHEL.
I quite liked the "Hell Yeah!" branding they used last time they dumped the Trump name, it was different and catchy. As TheBigA says though, it's nothing special in format terms.
Donald was only a stunt; went to AC for two years, then flipped to classic rock as ‘The Shark’ where it’s been ever since.
Even if you're a Trump supporter, I don't see why this would move the needle much with the typical listener. Call it Bill or George, or Sue for that matter.
The value in this if any seems to be the press and momentary attention, but if they're always third in the format, then the programming is the issue, not the name. You may increase sampling but the product is still the issue.
The value in this if any seems to be the press and momentary attention, but if they're always third in the format, then the programming is the issue, not the name. You may increase sampling but the product is still the issue.
Florida FM Station Rebrands as ‘Trump Country’ — Is It Legal?
A Fort Myers, Florida rock station switched formats and dubbed itself "Trump Country," with the voice of a Trump impersonator and no DJs.
variety.com
Here the last time this station used the Trump Country branding and national publications started to question this branding and how the FCC would respond to this issue.
The fact that the website is still for "Hot" suggests a short-lived stunt. The "Trump" voiceover sounds nothing like the man himself.
I think it has been mentioned before, but why not a classic country format for 93.7? There are two contemporary country stations already in the market, and Kix Country 92.9 (Port Charlotte) has a pretty good signal in much of Lee County. There's no room for the same format on a third/fourth station.
It's true 92.9 Kix Country has a strong signals but its the same playlist from Cat country 107.1 Hd2. The other country station 92.1 fm Suncoast has a weak frequency. Does anybody know if this radio station is planning another rock format in one of their stations again? Even if the frequency is small like 103.3 or 94.1
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Forget about looking at Kix via a coverage map. It does not market itself in the Fort Myers metro nor does it solicit advertising. While it may be audible, to the common listener it is not a factor in the market.
You obviously do not pay attention to quite the many stations that do not immediately update their digital platforms after a flip. In terms of the VO, you get what you pay for. After the 2020 edition of the brand, I believe they are trying to infer connection but not completely.
I still stand by what I say; why not classic country? There are already two full-power FMs broadcasting contemporary country.
Why ask us? Why not ask the owner who might be able to answer you.
My guess is he thinks this format is more sellable, regardless of the ratings.
Classic Country is a less sellable format. More revenue forms playing currents and reaching what is still a more desirable demographic for sales. Additionally you need to look in regards to the market structure and your cluster needs. Sun and FMBC, which for all intents and purposes despite what they say are operated nearly as one combined group, have five of the top six stations in the market. The exception is third ranked WWGR.
And with WFSX-FM, WAVV, and WARO they have three older skewing stations already. The last four formats on 93.7 have all been younger skewing between Rock/Alternative, Country, CHR and now back to Country. That's the need in the cluster.
Fort Myers/Naples
radioinsight.com
Well, you guys are the experts. You know more than most of us. And Lance answered me sufficiently anyway.
A classic country format was tried for a few years before on WMYR 1410 am and 106.7 fm and it never gelled.
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