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Why do good stations get stuck with marginal signals

G

gamefreak

Lets take a jab at the media giants. Why is it that the better performing formats get stuck on weaker signals. While lesser performing stations get Full Class C licenses.

Look at WDUV, The station is arbitron-rated #1. Plays good music and is consentely played at local business. However its 33,000 Watt C1 pails in comparison to stations with basement ratings. Hence WHPT.Not to mention WRBQ is in the same predicament.

Same with Orlando and WMMO. WMMO does very well. With a nice blend of music from the 60's to today. I personally like MMO myself. (Listen to it Online.) However WMMO runs on a C2 license at 44,000 Watts. While WHTQ which ratings are far worse gets the big stick.

Is it just me or do media companies put crappy formats on large signals to compensate for the crappy formats. Look at WXTB and WHPT. Both are totally tanked (Besides WHPT and even that station only thrives on Bubba and Cowhead.) Both stations should have been dead already. Its like a guy with a small _____ driving an SUV and buying 100 Acres of land. Wherelse the good formats like Q105, The Dove and Orlandos WMMO do well on lesser signals already so there is no use giving the stations powerful signals.
 
I wouldn't classify a C-1 as a marginal signal -- The intent is to cover the primary market area - the sales department isn't concerned about reaching someone 80 -100 miles away. I do recall that Q-105 tried to go full class C, but it was denied.
Q-105 (when it was launched in 1973) was heard regularly in Everglades City (that's before the 104.7 in Naples signed on)
I do agree with WMMO - A C2 signal is rather wimpy and can't fully compete with stations that serve Orlando, Daytona and Cocoa/Melbourne.
 
Same reason some get stuck with marginal air staff. Wouldn't it be lovely if the stations with marginal air staff had the marginal signals!
 
Silkie said:
Same reason some get stuck with marginal air staff. Wouldn't it be lovely if the stations with marginal air staff had the marginal signals!
Click to expand...

Your right. Why do automated stations playing pathetic playlists even exist. Especially those stations who don't even have it in them to air a non-VT'ed time check thats 15 minutes off.
 
gamefreak said:
Silkie said:
Same reason some get stuck with marginal air staff. Wouldn't it be lovely if the stations with marginal air staff had the marginal signals!
Click to expand...

Your right. Why do automated stations playing pathetic playlists even exist. Especially those stations who don't even have it in them to air a non-VT'ed time check thats not 15 minutes off.
Click to expand...
 
When the antennas for 99.5 and 104.7 were placed on Tower Plaza years ago, they were short sticks on the tallest building in the center of everything giving them the tall stick coverage.

Over the years, taller buildings were built around Tower Plaza and taller sticks were built on higher ground so that Tower Plaza was no longer as desirable as a location.

When the FCC opened up allocations for new stations, a letter was sent to existing stations: "Upgrade your facilities or be down graded." You couldn't convince corporate to change them because each was the number one and two stations. They weren't going to see the ROI.

Last year, when they got tired of being fined by the FCC for improper installations by others using the roof, they finally moved both signals to US41. By that time they were short-spaced by the newer signals to the north, south, and east.
They are as far east as they can be (to pull it in from the water) and still keep the 100kw signals, but it is a short tower. (to reflect the short-sightedness of the Corporate short-term mentality)

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
 
105.5 was initially a class A signal for New Port Richey. It was co-channelled with 105.5 WKZM here in Sa-ra-so-ta!

Jacor had bought 103.3 WDUV, Bradenton, in 1996, moved WDUV studios to Gandy and tower location to Riverview to 103.5.

(This gets exciting)

Clear Channel bought Jacor.
CC could not keep all of the stations from both CC and Jacor. FCC sez, "Nay, Nay!"

CC sold intellectual (format for those in New Jersey) WDUV and upgraded 105.5 to Cox and their own brand of "The Dove" appeared on (newly CC aquired) 92.1 Venice as WDDV. That WCTQ country format on 92.1 then appeared at 106.5 with a stick move to the vacated (old 103.3) stick in Palmetto.
WSRZ 106.5 (Oldies 106) moved to 107.9 and yanked 107.9WYNF to a new station in Venice at 105.9.

Confused? Not everybody, some were annoyed!

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
 
So, what happened to 105.5 WKZM?

To upgrade the "Thunder 105.5" facilities, Jacor "helped" WKZM to upgrade their facilities to new 104.3, here in Sa-ra-so-ta! This cleared the way for the upgrade of New Port Ritchey. (I'm sure there was additional tax "incentives" for helping a religious station in the commercial band)

There is still 105.5 in Ft Myers, so 105.5 WDUV can't move any further south. Why would they want to. They are number 1 and a 10 share most of the time where they are, so the corporate mentality of ROI still exists.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
 
gamefreak said:
Silkie said:
Same reason some get stuck with marginal air staff. Wouldn't it be lovely if the stations with marginal air staff had the marginal signals!
Click to expand...

Your right. Why do automated stations playing pathetic playlists even exist. Especially those stations who don't even have it in them to air a non-VT'ed time check thats 15 minutes off.
Click to expand...

There is a "background" mentality that if you image to the "marginal" listener, they will leave the station on and not change the station. The marginal listener will not change station because the time checks are 15 minutes off. After all, it is just background noise. If you are the only one of a handful of stations, you can get away with it. If you have competition, you have to stay on your game better.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
 
One more thing on WDUV:
They can't move east, either. New stations, 105.3 in Arcadia and 105.7 in Wachulla short-space WDUV.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
 
Why did Cox ditch its Jammin Oldies format for an 80's Jukebox. Why couldn't WDUV find its way to 94.9 or 101.5. Its was originally rumored back in the day before WSUN went Alternative that the format that would become WPOI would be put on 97.1. The All-80's Format was a Fad and that was it. Why did Cox waste a Class-C Flamethrower on that. WFJO 101.5 was doing fine. If anyone remembers the numbers. Maybe I'm Wrong.

Why is it that most markets now are oversaturated with multiple stations airing similar formats. Its just creepy to me.
 
Why doesn't WPOI showcase 80's music like an 80's station? Live jocks and audience interaction. Too cheap I guess
 
MsMusicRadio said:
Why doesn't WPOI showcase 80's music like an 80's station? Live jocks and audience interaction. Too cheap I guess
Click to expand...

Cox is Cheap and wants little overhead. But the ratings are going south so it won't be long before a format switch. Unless some new music is added. The station has toO much to compete with. WXGL has slowly added more 80's tunes to their play-list. Q-105 has live-jocks and plays ALL the classics. (Gotta love the Q.) Not to mention Mix 100.7 plays some good 80's tunes.
 
I presume most people on Mix are VT'ed, but they make an attempt to have a personality, even if canned.
 
Another thing to keep in mind about WDUV 105.5: Their tower is so far north, they actually have stronger coverage to the far north of the Bay Area than any other station. Instead of wasting a lot of signal over water (the bay) or communities that have their own independent economy (Bradenton, Sarasota), they are putting out a strong-enough signal not only over the Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area, but all of the suburbs to the north, much further north than any of the other stations. WDUV scoops in a lot of far-north population that is still part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg extended metro area. Not necessarily a bad scenario.
 
dwtpa97 said:
Another thing to keep in mind about WDUV 105.5: Their tower is so far north, they actually have stronger coverage to the far north of the Bay Area than any other station. Instead of wasting a lot of signal over water (the bay) or communities that have their own independent economy (Bradenton, Sarasota), they are putting out a strong-enough signal not only over the Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area, but all of the suburbs to the north, much further north than any of the other stations. WDUV scoops in a lot of far-north population that is still part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg extended metro area. Not necessarily a bad scenario.
Click to expand...

If I'm not mistaken, for radio ratings, the ADI only consists of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Hernando, and Pasco Counties.

As long as the signal blankets those four counties, it's done!

It is where my problem is. Since Sa-ra-so-ta! and Manatee Counties are not included and are part of their own market, those signals don't matter to here. Therefore, my picking up 'FLA on the hd-2 of 98 Rock, doesn't work for me.

This is a perpetuation of that same sort-sighted mentality. When the inevitable "digital only" hits, the FCC mandates will be written as such that our ranges and dependebility of OTA reception will be limited just as what happened with TV.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
 
"This is a perpetuation of that same sort-sighted mentality. When the inevitable "digital only" hits, the FCC mandates will be written as such that our ranges and dependebility of OTA reception will be limited just as what happened with TV."

I'm not so sure that there will be a "digital only" mandate for radio. With television, the stations were required install new transmission facilities which were completely independent from their analog transmitter plants. They didn't have the option of combining analog and digital on their licensed channel.
Digital TV gave the stations the ability to transmit high definition.
Such is not the case with digital radio.
There is no major improvement in audio quality when going from analog to digital. In many cases, the digital audio quality is inferior to the analog audio quality.
Then there is the "coverage problem." The FCC grossly over-estimated the digital coverage of VHF TV stations. FM digital coverage is also a big problem.
Before the FCC can mandate digital radio, they must open the marketplace and close the Ibiquity stranglehold on the radio industry.
If Ibiquity is in the picture ... There can be no FCC mandate.
 
dwtpa97 said:
Another thing to keep in mind about WDUV 105.5:  Their tower is so far north, they actually have stronger coverage to the far north of the Bay Area than any other station.  Instead of wasting a lot of signal over water (the bay) or communities that have their own independent economy (Bradenton, Sarasota), they are putting out a strong-enough signal not only over the Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area, but all of the suburbs to the north, much further north than any of the other stations.  WDUV scoops in a lot of far-north population that is still part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg extended metro area.  Not necessarily a bad scenario.
Click to expand...

I know. I live in Citrus County and WDUV is one of only 2 Tampa stations I can pick up a good signal from. However as badjeff and others told me Cox, Clear Channel and other Tampa Radio Companies don't care about Citrus County. I'm just lucky I can pick up WDUV. I pick up a solid 60DBu signal from WDUV. Whereelse most other Tampa stations I pull in less than 50Dbu making them unlistenable and full of static. Citrus County is a bonus coverage area and that is it.
 
And speaking of good stations with marginal signals, I sure love the "Route 66" format of adult standards carried on WSDV Sarasota and WDDV Venice. Don't understand why the bay area mega-owners don't run something like this on one of their Tampa-St. Petersburg stations. The ratings couldn't be any worse than some of their stations already have. And this metro area has an older demographic, which could well suit this kind of format.

Thank goodness for internet streaming.
 
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