WHY CAN'T WE HAVE A TRUE OLDIES STATION?????????????

[RoddyFreeman]

WEBS is 3 watts at night, but they say the signal covers Calhoun. Also, WEBS owns the local cable system and simulcasts the radio station audio on channel 3.

 

[OnTheAir123]

I know it’s not an “Atlanta” station but you can hear it in Atlanta with a decent car radio. It can be heard in parts of 5 states Ga, Al, Tn, Nc, & Sc. A Massive signal for 5KW.

I built it so I am a little biased.

8)

 

[BIGSTICK]

Again, I would be happy with an AM . 1010 in ATL would be a great choice, along with many others. I mean who listens to some of the AM signals anymore?

 

[littlejohn]

I often find 1690 on my car radio.

 

[jabba17]

Again, I would be happy with an AM . 1010 in ATL would be a great choice, along with many others. I mean who listens to some of the AM signals anymore?

WGUN 1010 is an obvious choice to "upgrade" their programming, with a 50kW day signal, but many of the other AM stations have ethnic (Latino, and increasingly Korean) formats that serve their own little niches presumably quite well. On the other side, see my previous post about Salem raising the bar for religious programming and really removing the reason for existence for some of these older, smaller religious stations. I wonder how well La Favorita, etc. have done since CC put Latino on a couple of their sticks.

I'm being serious--what other AM signals would be prime candidates for a reformatting? Probably not as many as you think, once you weed out the ethnic formats and the established news/talk/sports stations (including the smaller ones with unique programming, such as the Dickeys' WALR and WFOM).

I'm kind of surprised that Disney hasn't tried to put Radio Disney on a second, east metro AM signal...but then again, Disney has been more interested in getting rid of their radio stations (all of them except the AM signals that have Radio Disney or an ESPN sportstalk format), versus expanding their coverage.

I'm also surprised someone hasn't tried to squeeze in a smaller, 1000W AM station in somewhere on the east side, to do full-service radio, cover high school games, etc. Of course, someone did this a while back with WPLO (610, not 590) and then they sold out for big bucks for Latino.

 

[deadman]

??? You will get the same ole same ole from all the anti oldies crowd.. It will not work in the Demo's currently being sold. Oldies does not sell as a format anymore.. . If you want oldies then play them on cd, get a IPOD and play them that way... Most who would listen to oldies are dead... Take your excuse and insert... Damn this town, I hate the radio that exists now... BUT on a bright note, The Reg guys are back, and Rock 100.5 sounds like the old 96 rock, thats pretty cool.. I will take that for now, then I will hope and ask Santa for a oldies station.

Oldies from the 60's and 70's will never die. It will sure last a lot longer that the new sh## that is on the radio now.

How about biting the bullet and buying XM? That is the only way you will get oldies in Atlanta.

Thanks,

But go back and read my posts.

Don't feel like it. It's all about supply and demand. A small minority of people want to hear doo-wap by white people.
I would love to hear an all dance station in Atlanta, but just like Oldies its not going happen.
I make enough money to pay $12.95 a month for more music then I can listen to with XM.
It's worth it.

 

[BIGSTICK]

Man, I have sirius in my car and I can get xm on aol. But their is still nothing like hearing oldies on terrestrial radio.......... ;D ??? : :-[ :-X :-* :'(

 

[jabba17]

Check this CP out:

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/info?call=WISK&service=AM

Anyone know about this?

 

[Joey1986]

What these gotdang advertisers don't seem to get (or want to get) is that not all oldies fans are 55+. I am 21 and like that music. I have met people in their late teens who like that music. It's time for the advertisers to wake up and smell the (whatever young people drink instead of) coffee.

 

[killer bees]

Check this CP out:

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/info?call=WISK&service=AM

Anyone know about this?

First I've heard about it ... 950 watts daytime, which is about the same footprint as RadioMex WPLO-610 ... and the tower is next door to the WPLO tower.

I quess oldies/nostalgia is possible ... but Lake 102 was oldies and flipped to LaRaza (in 2000?), and PLO was "Country Gold" before RadioMex (in 1996?). A few years have passed, and demographics have changed somewhat ... but I can't imagine that Gwinnett County can support three spanish stations. I'm at a loss on what it would be, though...

 

[IT_Guru]

Man, I have sirius in my car and I can get xm on aol. But their is still nothing like hearing oldies on terrestrial radio.......... ;D ??? : :-[ :-X :-* :'(

While I would agree, would I listen to an oldies station on terrestrial radio if we got a one? Answer = NO. Why not? The answer is simple ... When Fox 97 flipped from oldies and "teased" us all weekend with Dance (another format I would love) and then went Urban is the day I went out and got XM. I don't want to listen to a station that's going to play 3 or 4 songs and then have 5 minutes worth of advertising. Also, I'm not going to listen to or support a station that will flip formats again in a couple of years. I have XM in my car, at work and at home now and I know that the oldies, dance and other formats I like will still be there.

 

[BIGSTICK]

Man, I have sirius in my car and I can get xm on aol. But their is still nothing like hearing oldies on terrestrial radio.......... ;D ??? : :-[ :-X :-* :'(

While I would agree, would I listen to an oldies station on terrestrial radio if we got a one? Answer = NO. Why not? The answer is simple ... When Fox 97 flipped from oldies and "teased" us all weekend with Dance (another format I would love) and then went Urban is the day I went out and got XM. I don't want to listen to a station that's going to play 3 or 4 songs and then have 5 minutes worth of advertising. Also, I'm not going to listen to or support a station that will flip formats again in a couple of years. I have XM in my car, at work and at home now and I know that the oldies, dance and other formats I like will still be there.

I agree with you as well, excellent points. I haven given up on Dance too, but you would think that a huge gay population, plus hetero's would love Dance as well in this market.

 

[RTibbs]

A few years have passed, and demographics have changed somewhat ... but I can't imagine that Gwinnett County can support three spanish stations.

Have you been to Gwinnett lately???? There is a reason it is called Gwinnexico.

 

[bnaivar]

Man, I have sirius in my car and I can get xm on aol. But their is still nothing like hearing oldies on terrestrial radio.......... ;D ??? : :-[ :-X :-* :'(

While I would agree, would I listen to an oldies station on terrestrial radio if we got a one? Answer = NO. Why not? The answer is simple ... When Fox 97 flipped from oldies and "teased" us all weekend with Dance (another format I would love) and then went Urban is the day I went out and got XM. I don't want to listen to a station that's going to play 3 or 4 songs and then have 5 minutes worth of advertising. Also, I'm not going to listen to or support a station that will flip formats again in a couple of years. I have XM in my car, at work and at home now and I know that the oldies, dance and other formats I like will still be there.

The Fox 97 "flip" is really not a valid argument because Cox bought Fox 97 for the frequency, with no intention of keeping it as an oldies station. I did kind of get a kick out of them switching to "classic" when their white hip-hop experiment failed miserably. It's as if they were saying "Yes, we screwed up, but we're not going to admit it". :

 

[jabba17]

A few years have passed, and demographics have changed somewhat ... but I can't imagine that Gwinnett County can support three spanish stations.

Have you been to Gwinnett lately???? There is a reason it is called Gwinnexico.

I doubt that another Latino station would be in the offing, between WPLO, La Raza, and CC's two stations (not to mention La Favorita and all of the other Latino oldtimers), but a Korean one is possible...there's other Korean stations in the ATL that don't reach Gwinnett, despite a large Korean demo in Gwinnett.

Methinks this station will start out doing full-service radio, high school games, maybe college sports, and some niche music format like oldies or classic country or nostalgia to fill the rest of the sked and overnights. Then they will sell out for big bucks to someone who will flip it to Korean or Bosnian or Romanian or some other under-served ethnic format well-represented in Gwinnett. WPLO part deux.

So, we have a 1000-watter going up in Gwinnett, a 5000 watt daytimer going up in Lithia Springs, and a 50kW blowtorch going up in Sandy Springs....there's also the move of 1420 in Decatur (actually Scottdale) to 1430 and going up to 50kW directional (and taking WGFS out of Covington, another former oldies station, dark). 1420/1430 may not change their format, though.

 

[killer bees]

Methinks this station will start out doing full-service radio, high school games, maybe college sports, and some niche music format like oldies or classic country or nostalgia to fill the rest of the sked and overnights. Then they will sell out for big bucks to someone who will flip it to Korean or Bosnian or Romanian or some other under-served ethnic format well-represented in Gwinnett. WPLO part deux.

What's this "full service radio" thing you speak of? The problem with high school sports is that it usually requires a staff, which equals overhead. I thought small market radio generally avoided that ...

Otherwise, the rest of it makes sense ... move it, keep it on life support, then sell it. It gonna be worth more in Gwinnett than Albany.

 

[jabba17]

Methinks this station will start out doing full-service radio, high school games, maybe college sports, and some niche music format like oldies or classic country or nostalgia to fill the rest of the sked and overnights. Then they will sell out for big bucks to someone who will flip it to Korean or Bosnian or Romanian or some other under-served ethnic format well-represented in Gwinnett. WPLO part deux.

What's this "full service radio" thing you speak of? The problem with high school sports is that it usually requires a staff, which equals overhead. I thought small market radio generally avoided that ...

Otherwise, the rest of it makes sense ... move it, keep it on life support, then sell it. It gonna be worth more in Gwinnett than Albany.

"Full service" is a radio format common in small markets, or with smaller stations in larger markets. Generally, it includes local news (maybe complemented with a network news feed); local talk involving local merchants (sometimes as paid placement like an infomercial), local politicians, community leaders, etc.; community affairs (school/church announcements, obits, etc.); local sports scores and schedules (high school/little league/Pop Warner); and sometimes a blander musical format to fill downtime.

If you can think of a community newspaper on radio, that's about it. Many community newspapers (such as the Gwinnett Daily Post) can and do help out with providing local news and announcements.

High school sports can be covered cheaply. Although there's the cost of setting up and running a remote, many times the on-air staff are volunteers, interns, or minimally paid, and come from the community, not the station's payroll. Generally, someone is already announcing the game and can share his/her resources such as team rosters, stats, competitive records, etc. Many high school sports teams have secretaries that keep stats and can be pulled in to do color. It's usually easy to find local advertisers for these kinds of programs, because of the community goodwill angle, many of whom already support the school and teams in other media.

Lake 102 covered high school sports before Davis bought them. Larry Munson/Wes Durham it was not, but it was well done.