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Why is Clear Channel slow on putting talkers on FM?

they don't have many talkers left that are worth sacrificing an FM signal for, though.

Therein lies the problem with your analysis that talk would, somehow, be sacrificing an FM signal. Companies are not putting talk or news/talk on FM as a "sacrifice," actually, many are doing quite well, i.e. Emmis 93.1 WIBC Indianapolis which segued from AM 1070 some years back.
 
Clear Channel might have an interesting solution for some of their talkers in the form of FM translators. 50kW talk KEX/1190 Portland has been relayed since April 1 (no fooling) on K272EL/102.3 --- see more on this thread.

Recently, CC moved in the Cleveland market to purchase W282BN/100.3 Lorain - a small translator that has never signed on - from Radio One after that's firm's plans to extend that signal outside of Lorain proper fell apart.

CC, however, has more leeway to scoot the translator closer to Cleveland. The most recent CP has it on 99.7FM - with it's first adjacent being CC country WGAR/99.5 (which is what W282BN is currently set up to translate). The proposed tx site is right at the border of suburbs North Ridgeville and North Olmsted - not far, in fact, from the existing tower farm of Parma-Middleburg Hts.-Seven Hills-Brecksville.

Of course that CP will not last by any stretch of the imagination. CC has to be working on how to somehow configure W282BN to cover as much area as possible from either the current antenna farm in Parma or directly in Downtown Cleveland (where a number of potential sites exist). And it's also safe to assume that, because none of their FM signals would fall under the "under-performing" category, that the translator has to be being geared for a relay of 50kW talk/sports WTAM/1100.

Using W282BN that way would be an interesting solution for people unable to listen to WTAM in office buildings or at the various sports venues when live PBP airs - as WTAM is the flagship for the Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Cavaliers, and is the AM flagship for the Cleveland Browns. (To wit, the Cleveland Cavaliers have a mini transmitter inside Quicken Loans Arena set to 1110 AM that directly relays the WTAM audio without any delay whatsoever... that's been the case for several years.)
 
radiophiler said:
Another answer: For the most part, Clear Channel talk stations consist of a local morning show and their syndicated hosts after that. No real news coverage to speak of in many cases ... plug in Fox at the top of the hour. They have no reason to move those hosts who increasingly only appeal to a 50+ year old audience to FM.

The other companies mentioned have made a better commitment to local news and talk radio.

Clear Channel was actually pretty early with FM talkers in Pittsburgh and Orlando. I wonder if there was anything about those two experiences that caused them to hold back on more FM talkers. Or, perhaps, the answer to the question lies in what they were trying to accomplish in those two markets: Overtake huge AM talkers, KDKA in Pittsburgh and WDBO in Orlando.
Click to expand...

Having no other AM signal in town that can approach the venerable 1020, I suspect you have come upon the reason.
 
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