WIBC # 2!

[hipporadio]

The WIBC move to 93.1 FM was called-for by desperate interests... I understand the “FM universe” in the Gen-X and Y culture. As a frat advisor – I KNOW many 20, now 30-somethings... The problem with "them" [and others] IS NOT just an AM RADIO assignment [which is clobbered unfairly] – it’s a matter of “perception” and PROGRAMMING – pure ‘n simple! WIBC’s move off a 50kw statewide-coverage facility was a MAJOR disruption - and NOT one that was warranted [IMHO]... But the AM band has been cast-aside by those in corporate radio who are obviously impatient for instant CASH RETURNS [review the Emmis stock performance]. I’ll “break ranks” here and say: WIBC should have remained on its legendary 1070 AM home! ‘We’ll see in four rating books... OK?

 

[Wazzie]

It seems quite a few business settings have dumped music for WIBC now that it's on FM.

That said, 93.1s cume should go through the roof. Remember all those #1 rated Beautiful Music stations in the 70s & 80s? Doctors, Dentists and Lawyers filled out those diaries with TSL- 8+ hours listening to WZZZZZzzzzzz..... even though it was just background noise.

 

[cold_coffee]

The WIBC move to 93.1 FM was called-for by desperate interests... I understand the “FM universe” in the Gen-X and Y culture. As a frat advisor – I KNOW many 20, now 30-somethings... The problem with "them" [and others] IS NOT just an AM RADIO assignment [which is clobbered unfairly] – it’s a matter of “perception” and PROGRAMMING – pure ‘n simple! WIBC’s move off a 50kw statewide-coverage facility was a MAJOR disruption - and NOT one that was warranted [IMHO]... But the AM band has been cast-aside by those in corporate radio who are obviously impatient for instant CASH RETURNS [review the Emmis stock performance]. I’ll “break ranks” here and say: WIBC should have remained on its legendary 1070 AM home! ‘We’ll see in four rating books... OK?

Look what happened to the AM numbers with this move. With WIBC gone form 1070, the last death bells are
ringing for AM radio in Indiana.

 

[mouseman]

The move of WIBC's programming to the FM may be good for WIBC incrementally, as far as listener and revenue growth.

Yes sports is an "emotional" sell, and yes, that means that the sales on WFNI may eventually be better than ratings warrant.

That doesn't mean that the braintrust at Emmis should be treated as genius' for this move. The comments throughout this thread suggest a lot of you must have job applications at Emmis; the butt kissing is rediculous.

The fact that they sacraficed 6+ share and 9+ million in revenue destroying one of the very few successful AM stations still operating was STUPID. This isn't NY. Sports radio in Indianapolis has never delivered more than a couple share points 12+. This was lazy. They could have kept this AM intact, and worked harder towards a solution for the FM. The AM will NEVER recover no matter how strong the sports radio power ratios are. Turn out the lights; the party's over.

Yessiree, well done. :

 

[nedsmith2007]

the butt kissing is rediculous.

Red Iculous? Wasn't he that 50's TV comic from Vincennes? You know-the one who did all those clown paintings.

 

[MikeStandardsFromIndiana]

I think the move of WIBC to 93.1 was a 2 factor affect. ESPN Radio wanted a better signal in Indianapolis than it was getting on WXLW especially at night when WXLW is beamed more towards louisville than up towards northern Indy. Plus Emmis will get more sales buys with sports than they were with Radio Now. and a 3rd factor has a lot of heritage news talkers have been moved to FM. Look at Phoenix at what happened with KTAR they moved from AM to fm and was replaced with a sports Station over a year and a half ago

 

[War Of Attrition]

WIBC’s move off a 50kw statewide-coverage facility was a MAJOR disruption - and NOT one that was warranted [IMHO]...

You act like the 1070 signal was setting the whole state on fire. It was not. It may have been 50k daytime but you couldn't even here it in some of Emmis' offices adjacent to the station's studio in Monument Circle (that is a general AM problem of coarse).

The real issue here is that 1070 doesn't even come close to being a full-market signal at night. It is unlistenable in much of the growing and affluent Hamilton county and other parts of the metro outside of Marion county.

It's just not a very good signal (then again there are not many AMs that are).

But the AM band has been cast-aside by those in corporate radio who are obviously impatient for instant CASH RETURNS [review the Emmis stock performance].

Gee, I don't know about that. It really would be in most of the big radio companies interest for AM to remain competitive (so that they can keep producing off of their AM signals and not have to sacrifice a low-overhead FM) Unfortunately, it is not.

I also disagree about strategy: I think this is more of a long-term play than a short-term maneuver for as you say it "instant CASH RETURNS". Building a new franchise takes time and money and The Fan has a long way to go before it is a huge cash cow. But long-term, I have no doubt that Emmis made the right decision.

I’ll “break ranks” here and say: WIBC should have remained on its legendary 1070 AM home! ‘We’ll see in four rating books... OK?

We'll hold you to that.

At the rate that the AM to FM jumps are happening, there may only be scraps on the band in 5 years and nothing in 10.

 

[flakunkel]

At the rate that the AM to FM jumps are happening, there may only be scraps on the band in 5 years and nothing in 10.

The reason for moving n/t formats to FM is demographics. Most 25-54's never even sample AM and younger listeners often are literally unaware that AM exists -- it is common for them never to have listened to AM in their lives.

AM news/talkers that switch to FM see almost instant spikes in 25-54 shares, and those are the only shares that matter to ad buyers. The test for WIBC will be in that demographic. Forget about the 12+ beauty contest numbers. (although all-news WTOP, Washington, has gone to #1 12+ since switching to FM).

 

[hipporadio]

War Of Attrition, I AGREE WITH YOU [after local sunset]. It was clear that the 60-year-old WIBC pattern was missing the urban sprawl of infamous Hamilton County. My “call’ was difficult and may have been influenced by the continued success of non-directional-night facilities in other markets such as WLW and WJR. Obviously, the former WIBC [AM] facility [at 10kw into six towers] did not enjoy that parody.

STILL, the 93.1 FM signal comes NOWHERE close to the daytime performance of 1070 that so-many of its listeners have come thru history to rely upon. 93.1 is basically a “doughnut county” signal. It is GONE east of Henry County on I-70 [1070 can be received in Columbus, Ohio]... Similar conditions are replicated in other directions DAYTIME [when most of the news/talk audience is engaged]. It boils down to an admission that THE “METRO” has become paramount – this may indeed be the case in these times.

“The Voice of Indiana” IS NO LONGER – maybe it need NOT BE! ...But my observation is rhetorical in nature. Furthermore, WHAT is the financial and ratings “trade-off” of the flip? WIBC [0n 93.1 FM] gains a share while the AM gets a 1.5 [down-down-down]... Does that simple addition [OR SUBTRACTION] opposed to the prior scenario, gain the cluster ANYTHING?

Granted, I was NO FAN of the juvenile Radio Now [but what COULD have been the achievement of that facility had the former WIBC AM not been directed to populate it?]... What we have here is a reverse of a well-documented historical case... 93.1 USED to run gunboat against anyone that threatened 1070... Now 1260 is the ULTIMATE and perpetual gunboat against the very facility that introduced the gunboat strategy to Indy radio... WNDE IS NOT GOING AWAY – CCU has NO REASON to make that happen... Interesting irony... And obviously detrimental to ANY growth and windfall at WFNI.

Us “stupid folks” easily predicted this before Thanksgiving ’07!

 

[hipporadio]

AM news/talkers that switch to FM see almost instant spikes in 25-54 shares, and those are the only shares that matter to ad buyers. The test for WIBC will be in that demographic. Forget about the 12+ beauty contest numbers. (although all-news WTOP, Washington, has gone to #1 12+ since switching to FM).

BTW, WTOP was a HIGHLY DIRECTIONAL HIGH-BAND AM [1500 kHz] in a multi-county market that spread out over SIXTY MILES. Even its 50kw daytime coverage in low ground conductivity COULD NOT begin to penetrate the market... FORGET ABOUT POST-SUNSET considering the nulls and “close-in” groundwave/skywave cancellation... Not at all the same situation encountered by 1070... Apples to oranges in the greatest sense! Not a good example to mitigate the WIBC debate AT ALL!

 

[War Of Attrition]

STILL, the 93.1 FM signal comes NOWHERE close to the daytime performance of 1070 that so-many of its listeners have come thru history to rely upon.

No, but maybe it doesn't have to. 1070 was not gaining additional Arbitron audience share or revenue from outside the Indianapolis market. The listeners in the rural areas were just a bonus.

93.1 is basically a “doughnut county” signal. It is GONE east of Henry County on I-70 [1070 can be received in Columbus, Ohio]...

I think you are over-estimating the 1070 signal and under-estimating 93.1. 93.1 is as good as any signal in the market. Think about all of the people inside the metro who could not get 1070 in their homes or offices before, but can now get 93.1 loud and clear. 1070 might be good all the way to Columbus with a good car radio but there is no chance of getting the signal inside any building. Remember that only about a 1/3 of listening is in the car. It is not unreasonable to assume that the amount of listeners they gained inside the metro is several multiples of the audience they lost in the rural areas outside of the 93.1 contour.

Lastly, put aside the nostalgia for a moment and keep in mind that it is not WIBC's responsibility to serve everyone, Columbus (and other cities) has its own stations. WIBC's responsibility at 1070 and now at 93.1 is to Indianapolis and the Indianapolis market.

Furthermore, WHAT is the financial and ratings “trade-off” of the flip? WIBC [0n 93.1 FM] gains a share while the AM gets a 1.5 [down-down-down]... Does that simple addition [OR SUBTRACTION] opposed to the prior scenario, gain the cluster ANYTHING?

You have to throw out the 12+ ratings, as they are little indication of actual billings. They do however provide a vague idea of trends.

WIBC is billing more with the new FM signal, while 1070 is certainly way down. So the question is: Is The Fan billing better than Radio Now was to bring them to equilibrium? At this point I doubt it. But give it some time. They are only 4 months into the new format.

I am an outsider to Emmis, so I cannot know for sure, but I would guess with the WIBC gains, the cluster is equal to or better than before. And it will only improve as The Fan becomes more established.

What we have here is a reverse of a well-documented historical case... 93.1 USED to run gunboat against anyone that threatened 1070... Now 1260 is the ULTIMATE and perpetual gunboat against the very facility that introduced the gunboat strategy to Indy radio... WNDE IS NOT GOING AWAY – CCU has NO REASON to make that happen... Interesting irony... And obviously detrimental to ANY growth and windfall at WFNI.

I don't exactly understand all of your "gunboat" analogies, but I agree that WNDE isn't going anywhere soon. Then again, a new sports station on a huge Class C FM was just launched this morning in Portland, Oregon.

 

[bigtime]

"The Fan" is bound to have more listeners this month as they carry local IMS coverage instead of the drone of ESPN's sports people.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

Like Bob I hated sports on WIBC.

I realize that the 500 is a huge deal in Indy, but WIBC made a commitment to place the sports on AM. With extensive parts of the 20 at 6, 7 and 8 as well the afternoon show dedicated to track related information, I must express disappointment. Saturday Morning Open Phones (great show) was even pre-empted by a 1070/93.1 simulcast from the track. They were doing so well keeping the two formats split...the key word being "were"...

 

[MikeStandardsFromIndiana]

Like Bob I hated sports on WIBC.

I realize that the 500 is a huge deal in Indy, but WIBC made a commitment to place the sports on AM. With extensive parts of the 20 at 6, 7 and 8 as well the afternoon show dedicated to track related information, I must express disappointment. Saturday Morning Open Phones (great show) was even pre-empted by a 1070/93.1 simulcast from the track. They were doing so well keeping the two formats split...the key word being "were"...

and if we want to were im surprise with the simulcast this past saturday that Emmis wasnt doing traffic reports like they usually do on pole day and race day. we will see come the race morning wibc morning news simulcast on 93.1 and the fan if they do traffic (which would be a cardinal sin not to be doing traffic reports on race day)

 

[mouseman]

"WIBC is billing more with the new FM signal, while 1070 is certainly way down. So the question is: Is The Fan billing better than Radio Now was to bring them to equilibrium? At this point I doubt it. But give it some time. They are only 4 months into the new format.

I am an outsider to Emmis, so I cannot know for sure, but I would guess with the WIBC gains, the cluster is equal to or better than before. And it will only improve as The Fan becomes more established...." War of Attrition

Dear "War,"
AM 1070 The Fan will never bill more than AM 1070 WIBC. [$9mil]
AM 1070 The Fan will never bill more than Radio Now 93.1FM. [$3-4mil]

93.1 FM had the potential to be a significantly stronger revenue source, without sacrificing WIBC 1070AM's revenues.

93.1FM [reconstituted as something other than WIBC FM] + WIBC AM = more revenue than WIBC FM + The Fan AM ever will.

 

[War Of Attrition]

AM 1070 The Fan will never bill more than AM 1070 WIBC. [$9mil]

That was never even suggested.

AM 1070 The Fan will never bill more than Radio Now 93.1FM. [$3-4mil]

That remains to be seen. They have all of the important sports franchises and 3-4 is doable once the station is more established.

93.1FM [reconstituted as something other than WIBC FM] + WIBC AM = more revenue than WIBC FM + The Fan AM ever will.

Reconstituted as what? What's the magic format that you suggest will bring in the big bucks?

Emmis made a good long-term decision that will ultimately net the cluster more revenue and protect the WIBC franchise.

I do recognize that this signals an end of an era, but at the end of the day you have to make big long-term decisions on more than just emotion.

 

[bigtime]

Radio Now had to be expensive to run. Insiders say it was losing money, not making money. WFNI surely has much lower overhead.

 

[newb]

I'm glad someone with a business mind brought up expenses like overhead in all this discussion about revenue. Yes, The Fan spent a lot on advertising during the launch, but since they probably cut out a dozen or so people by nixing a music station, they could live off the 30-60-90 day receivables from the previous format with little to no personnel expense all the way from November through February. It may not be the popular thing to do, but if savings in expenses exceeds lost revenue within the first six months Emmis is a big winner.

 

[Marv-L.A.]

As someone who has really enjoyed visiting Indy a few times (and catching Don Henley in concert at Market Square Arena in 1990), I have a few questions for my fellow radio geeks.

1) After WHHH was launched, how soon afterwards did WZPL bail out of the top 40 format and become a Hot AC station? I know that the dethroning of CHR/Pop powerhouse KIIS/LA by CHR/Rhythmic KPWR (another standout EMMIS property) in 1987 stunned tons of folks, and the size of the CHR/Pop panel at both R&R & BB started plunging in the early nineties as Hot AC stations came along.

2) When was the last time that WFMS was not Indy's #1 radio station for an extended period of time, or even for a couple of books?

3) WFBQ is no longer in double digits ratings-wise; have they received some new competition besides WJJK?

4)---For how many years did Indy have a Smooth Jazz station, and when did it abandon the format?

Thanks!!!

 

[radiorob2.0]

FM is a better deliver system and the bulk of the population under 40 doesn't use AM. Many news/talks are migrating to FM for survival. This isn't the first time we've been through this, remember how we used to listen to music on AM? Imagine how the radio paradigm had been if WNDE, WIFE, WIRE had seen the writing on the wall and moved to FM.

There are AM's doing well in small town America. However, if you gave those successful AM owners a chance to migrate to FM, they would.