WJZA Days Numbered?

[Jazz_Kat]

Looks like WJZA in Columbus days may be numbered as they are most likely to flip to talk radio.

Courtesy of: http://www.radio-info.com/news/making-moves-monday-july-19-2010

Is a format flip to “FM talk” coming soon for Columbus, Ohio? Ohio Media Watch says the website domain names “1035FMTalkColumbus.com and 1043FMTalkColumbus.com,” stations owned by Saga Communications, were registered last week …

WJZA is a Broadcast Architecture station, but are live at midday and night time. (Trappman and Mike Roebuck)

 

[SeanMGilbow]

I checked the company's portfolio. Saga's plans for FM talk, if not a ruse, could sway to the left or to the right. It has both conservative and progressive talk stations, including competing formats in Bellingham, Washington, and Charlottesville, Virginia. Saga has slightly more conservative stations, and the talkers on those stations are generally the usual suspects (Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, Levin).

I do not see "smooth jazz" going away. It was "big hits" that was dumped when Mix 107.9 emerged, and the format is entirely satellite except for morning drive at 104.3.

A few things to remember:

1. 1230 at its peak as a progressive talk station had a rating of 1.2. This, of course, was more than five years ago, and nothing since then has provided this high a number for the Clear Channel station.

2. WVKO prior to switching to its Catholic format achieved a rating of 1.0 at the end of its first year, in spite of signal problems, broadcast quality, infomercials, etc.

3. The bottom fell out of WTDA as "103.9 Talk FM" when Beck moved back to WTVN. The likes of Laura Ingraham and Michael Savage weren't enough for 1230 to get the same ratings it got with progressive talk, and they were not enough to prevent 103.9 from switching to classic rock (all the more reason for the switch to occur at 104.3 due to competing similar satellite formats).

4. Ed Schultz is beating CNN consistently with his msnbc show and is gaining on Fox News.

5. Stephanie Miller still has a Columbus following.

6. The Ohio Majority Radio site still exists and is streaming progressive talk from a station in Chicago.

7. Saga's stations go for a female demographic, and Smooth Jazz goes for people with higher incomes. "Big hits" goes against the target audience of the other three stations, all of which are some form of AC.

8. Even if it's 103.5 that switches, with the signal in Pickerington, it would have to deal with competing with conservative talk from WLOH in Lancaster and WCLT in Newark, in addition to WTVN.

All that said...Which form of talk would be easier to sell by their staff whose clients are attracting female customers and those with higher incomes?

If you would like a reputable answer to that question, please get in touch with Michael Daniels at Outlook Media, which just recently purchased the High Street Neighborhood Guide that has been promoted on Sunny and Mix (the same Michael Daniels who hosted "Radio Outlook" on WVKO).

 

[C414B]

Even if it's 103.5 that switches, with the signal in Pickerington, it would have to deal with competing with conservative talk from WLOH in Lancaster and WCLT in Newark, in addition to WTVN.

All that said...Which form of talk would be easier to sell by their staff whose clients are attracting female customers and those with higher incomes?

You set up an interesting question here, Sean. I'm not sure who all is on 'LOH and 'CLT for talkers...but considering 'TVN has the top-tier names like Limbaugh, Hannity and Beck, I think I would be fearful of trying to put some second- or third-tier conservative names out there. It would be interesting, though, if they snagged Hannity and aired him live 3-6 against Corby.

I will be curious to see if they go back to simulcasting 103.5 and 104.3 or if (as you, Sean, pointed out) might not go to both ends of the political spectrum.

Since we're discussing talk radio, do you (or anyone else, for that matter) want to put money on how long it will be before 'TVN is on a full FM and not relegated to an HD-2 position?

 

[schmave]

I hope it's soon, especially for those of us in 610's nighttime null. While they are surprisingly loud here in Thornville at night, they're unlistenable a few miles north or south of the village.

 

[SeanMGilbow]

Hannity won't be going anywhere. Clear Channel's Premiere Radio Networks co-syndicates the show.

I see Hannity moving into Corby's slot once BC retires and Corby can take over morning drive. I see that happening before 93.3 becomes WTVN-FM while Mr. Florentino is in charge.

And no, I'd rather put my money in savings, thank you very much.

 

[talkers]

I see Hannity moving into Corby's slot once BC retires and Corby can take over morning drive. I see that happening before 93.3 becomes WTVN-FM while Mr. Florentino is in charge.

Corby has said that he doesn't want to do mornings whenever Bob Conners retires. He perfers afternoon, and his show is perfect for afternoons. Most likely it'll be Joel Riley replacing BC (which he is doing now on Saturday Morning Open Phones).

 

[radiogeek07]

I previously said TVN would be on FM by September of this year, wanting to capitolize on the election stuff.
This of course was before they rebranded as Sofft Rock 93.3. Either way, it'll happen soon.

Here's a thought, could we see both stations 103.5 and 104.3 blown up?
Neither of those stations alone I see doing much with a talk format because of signal alone.

 

[lovejamminoldies]

This is what happens when PPM enters the market. I don't think FM Talk will be a major player. Big Hits isn't either. They need something that will compete. Don't they get it by now? FM Talk does not work in Columbus. Since Saga loves AC... would love to see Rhythmic AC. I could see that on one of their signals.

 

[Radioma18]

As of today July 22nd wjza is running in mono.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

I think it's hilarious that after all this time the WJZA website still says "103.5 and 104.3" right up near the top of the homepage. Makes me wonder if that mono may just be due to someone not paying attention...

 

[Allfirdup]

I think it's hilarious that after all this time the WJZA website still says "103.5 and 104.3" right up near the top of the homepage. Makes me wonder if that mono may just be due to someone not paying attention...

Where do you see that, it says smooth jazz 103.5 wjza on mine

 

[alans613]

It's not a matter of IF Saga will blow up 103.5 but WHEN. SJ does poor with the PPM as we all know.
WTVN will come to FM eventually. CC has enough FM signals to stick it on FM somewhere and get it out of "HD Hell". September seems like a close enough date to me...I am in total agreement with Ohio Radio Man on this one.

 

[Rusty Muck]

I think it's hilarious that after all this time the WJZA website still says "103.5 and 104.3" right up near the top of the homepage. Makes me wonder if that mono may just be due to someone not paying attention...

Broadcasting in mono on the FM dial is ideal for spoken word formats. Did WTDA operate in mono at all during their time as "Talk FM"?

 

[xiradiodotcom]

Broadcasting in mono on the FM dial is ideal for spoken word formats. Did WTDA operate in mono at all during their time as "Talk FM"?

The entire time as talk, if I remember correctly. They went back to stereo with the debut of Classic Hits.

 

[Rusty Muck]

The smooth jazz format nationwide has declined at an alarming rate over the past two years. The major SJ stations in Detroit, New York, St. Louis, Denver, Baltimore, Washington and even Cleveland have either had the format axed completely or relegated to an HD-2 subchannel.

That being said, if Saga decides to go with talk on WJZA and WODB, I have trouble filling out a workable schedule. The worst possible scenario would be to pick up the entire TRN lineup on a turnkey format... which was pretty much the majority of WTDA's final on-air lineup. And as Glenn, Rush, Hannity and C2C - are all owned by Premiere and wedded to CC and WTVN, that makes the going REALLY tough.

The only approach would be to try to pick shows that hit it big in the market before. But where do you start? Few shows - if any - have had any success on a second-tier talker in town. Think of the lousy lineups WCOL-AM, to WFII, to WTDA (excluding Beck) and WYTS have all had. And that's not counting the recyclable nature of some of the failed syndicated morning shows in the market: Bob&Tom, Mancow and Rover come to mind.

As Sean pointed out, and I would agree, Stephanie Miller would be a great starting point. Given her past and current following in the market, as well as the style of her show, you really can't lose with that move. But what direction Saga is even willing to take? Are they even wanting to conceive of her as a token liberal voice on a conservatalker?

One thing not to forget, either, is that one of the people heading TRN now is... Phil Boyce. Wouldn't be a shock for me to see him lobbying Saga for a turnkey clearance of TRN product, or to have TRN programming play a heavy influence on a new talk format.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

I think it's hilarious that after all this time the WJZA website still says "103.5 and 104.3" right up near the top of the homepage. Makes me wonder if that mono may just be due to someone not paying attention...

Where do you see that, it says smooth jazz 103.5 wjza on mine

When I posted in the overnight hours this morning it definitely said "103.5 & 104.3." I re-checked a couple times before posting. That was in the upper right, where they normally display who's currently on-air (says Dave Koz as I post this).

 

[Rusty Muck]

I think it's hilarious that after all this time the WJZA website still says "103.5 and 104.3" right up near the top of the homepage. Makes me wonder if that mono may just be due to someone not paying attention...

Where do you see that, it says smooth jazz 103.5 wjza on mine

When I posted in the overnight hours this morning it definitely said "103.5 & 104.3." I re-checked a couple times before posting. That was in the upper right, where they normally display who's currently on-air (says Dave Koz as I post this).

http://imgsrv.columbusjazz.com/image/DbGraphic/200807/1008128.jpg

 

[alans613]

The smooth jazz format nationwide has declined at an alarming rate over the past two years. The major SJ stations in Detroit, New York, St. Louis, Denver, Baltimore, Washington and even Cleveland have either had the format axed completely or relegated to an HD-2 subchannel.

That being said, if Saga decides to go with talk on WJZA and WODB, I have trouble filling out a workable schedule. The worst possible scenario would be to pick up the entire TRN lineup on a turnkey format... which was pretty much the majority of WTDA's final on-air lineup. And as Glenn, Rush, Hannity and C2C - are all owned by Premiere and wedded to CC and WTVN, that makes the going REALLY tough.

The only approach would be to try to pick shows that hit it big in the market before. But where do you start? Few shows - if any - have had any success on a second-tier talker in town. Think of the lousy lineups WCOL-AM, to WFII, to WTDA (excluding Beck) and WYTS have all had. And that's not counting the recyclable nature of some of the failed syndicated morning shows in the market: Bob&Tom, Mancow and Rover come to mind.

As Sean pointed out, and I would agree, Stephanie Miller would be a great starting point. Given her past and current following in the market, as well as the style of her show, you really can't lose with that move. But what direction Saga is even willing to take? Are they even wanting to conceive of her as a token liberal voice on a conservatalker?

One thing not to forget, either, is that one of the people heading TRN now is... Phil Boyce. Wouldn't be a shock for me to see him lobbying Saga for a turnkey clearance of TRN product, or to have TRN programming play a heavy influence on a new talk format.

Dayton's Smooth Jazz 106.5 got the axe last May and since then they have been through 2 different formats(First as the second Country music failure on that stick in ten years as PC 106.5 The Bull and now as Big 106.5 Classic Hits, also all PC). It's since been relegated to HD Hell on WLQT/Lite 99.9's HD-2 subchannel, that and they also feature a "Smooth Jazz Sunday" feature on Sunday mornings as well. With no HD subchannels to shove SJ to, i'm not sure what would become of it in Columbus, unless CC would put it on one of their HD subchannels. We'll see.

 

[SeanMGilbow]

The smooth jazz format nationwide has declined at an alarming rate over the past two years. The major SJ stations in Detroit, New York, St. Louis, Denver, Baltimore, Washington and even Cleveland have either had the format axed completely or relegated to an HD-2 subchannel.

That being said, if Saga decides to go with talk on WJZA and WODB, I have trouble filling out a workable schedule. The worst possible scenario would be to pick up the entire TRN lineup on a turnkey format... which was pretty much the majority of WTDA's final on-air lineup. And as Glenn, Rush, Hannity and C2C - are all owned by Premiere and wedded to CC and WTVN, that makes the going REALLY tough.

The only approach would be to try to pick shows that hit it big in the market before. But where do you start? Few shows - if any - have had any success on a second-tier talker in town. Think of the lousy lineups WCOL-AM, to WFII, to WTDA (excluding Beck) and WYTS have all had. And that's not counting the recyclable nature of some of the failed syndicated morning shows in the market: Bob&Tom, Mancow and Rover come to mind.

As Sean pointed out, and I would agree, Stephanie Miller would be a great starting point. Given her past and current following in the market, as well as the style of her show, you really can't lose with that move. But what direction Saga is even willing to take? Are they even wanting to conceive of her as a token liberal voice on a conservatalker?

One thing not to forget, either, is that one of the people heading TRN now is... Phil Boyce. Wouldn't be a shock for me to see him lobbying Saga for a turnkey clearance of TRN product, or to have TRN programming play a heavy influence on a new talk format.

Phil Boyce and I have sparred on this discussion board before. Fortunately for him, he no longer posts here.

That said, Nathan...Saga's progressive talk stations in markets like western Massachusetts and Charlottesville, Virginia, have been on the air roughly five years. If Saga were to go turnkey, it already has an established relationship with Dial Global, who syndicates Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz, Thom Hartmann and Bill Press as well as conservatives Michael Smerconish and Neal Boortz and consumer issues talker Clark Howard.

The conservative talk stations in Saga's portfolio feature the first-tier hosts. Second-tier hosts are few and far between.

 

[SMPRICESOLUTIONS]

103.5 WJZA And 104.3 WODB flip formats http://radioinsight.com/2010/what-will-columbus-be-talking-about/