WKGN

[RussAllen]

Oh-Oh-Oh no more Tom Joyner Morning Show. :Wut's next?

 

[knoxbob]

From what I heard about a week ago is the the entire staff has been let go and they will going spanish if they haven't already.

 

[jamesgang2]

just what Knoxville needs, 2 spanish stations (WKZX) was doing it first, For KGN it will never work because as we all know FM sounds better...Bye bye again....WKGN

 

[southerncomfort]

just what Knoxville needs, 2 spanish stations (WKZX) was doing it first, For KGN it will never work because as we all know FM sounds better...Bye bye again....WKGN

I disagree. Norsan is an experienced Hispanic broadcaster who knows the business, and more importantly, the people. Norsan has been very successful at promoting and profiting with AM only Hispanic stations in the southeast. IMHO, WKZX may have been first, but I think they lack the experience needed to operate a successful Hispanic station. Norsan, will continue to purchase AM's cheap and expand in those areas that Hispanics relocate to, and grow their business.

 

[RussAllen]

Well, I spoke to someone today that knows the current WKGN owner well. This person informed me that the "money details" have been worked out and the deal should close no later than the end of this month.Meanwhile, keep in mind that Spanish radio has many different formats. Just because there already is one Spanish station on FM doesn't mean that a Spanish format couldn't work on another station.Time will tell.Meanwhile the syndicated morning show on WKGN now is an abomination. It's an insult to out of work air talent everywhere.

 

[Kent]

Meanwhile, keep in mind that Spanish radio has many different formats. Just because there already is one Spanish station on FM doesn't mean that a Spanish format couldn't work on another station.

Quite true. If I remember correctly, regional Mexican actually consists of five or six different formats with no individual station including songs from more than three formats. So, you could have two regional Mexican stations that have completely different playlists and sound nothing alike. However, "regional" is an important word. People from Sonora won't necessarily like the same style of music as those from Michoacan. Also, I really have to question how well a Spanish-language format will do in Knoxville. The Census reports a Hispanic population of less than 3%. Hispanics also listen to AM less than the general population.

 

[tropicanamedia]

Norsan/Spanish

You are right about Norsan and their plans to keep expanding. Their programming is not bad for people of Mexican origin. Most of the southeast stations are networked from Charlotte NC. I don’t see KGN would be any different (cost). You won’t get any local programming that will benefit the local community. On the other hand, about Hispanics not listening to am’s, it isn’t true. I lived for 24 years in the same region and at the beginning (about 9 years ago) there were only am stations. Just recently an FM flipped to Spanish. The listening preferences are changing since then, but for years the majority of Hispanics living in this area listen to the local am stations.

 

[Kent]

On the other hand, about Hispanics not listening to am’s, it isn’t true.

Actually, it is. Arbitron's data clearly spells out that Hispanics listen to AM less than the general population. It doesn't mean that they don't listen to AM. It just means they do so less than a random sample of the population. Also, remember that speaking Spanish is not a precondition of being Hispanic. In other words, English-dominant Hispanics are factored into that data.

I lived for 24 years in the same region and at the beginning (about 9 years ago) there were only am stations. Just recently an FM flipped to Spanish. The listening preferences are changing since then, but for years the majority of Hispanics living in this area listen to the local am stations.

Remember, AM works when an audience is poorly served or unserved by FM. There are several markets I can think of where I'd do a music AM because of missing formats from FM. Your local Spanish-dominant Hispanics were listening to AM because it was all that was there. If the FM did any good at marketing itself, the AM is probably on its deathbed and/or making radical changes now. Tichenor Media, the predecessor to HBC/Univision Radio, divested almost all of its FM's in the early 80's when it decided to become a Spanish-only broadcaster (its FM's used to run English-language programming). It thought all it needed were AM stations to reach the Spanish speaking population. Ten years later, it started paying a premium (almost $15 million in San Antonio alone when $15 million was a lot for a couple of licenses) to buy FM's realizing its mistake.

 

[tropicanamedia]

Excellent analysis.

 

[SuperQ]

Norsan's bigger problem isn't AM. It's coverage. The largest pockets of Hispanic population are in Hamblen County, Loudon County, Sevier County, Monroe County and Blount County. WKGN is but a distant whisper where the Hispanics live. In the areas were WKGN is heard well there as many South and Central Americans as there are Mexicans, and there aren't all that many of those.He should have bought 850 if he wanted to his Hispanic network thing in Knoxville.

 

[X-Man]

Now that WKGN has flipped to Spanish, I wonder will any other station in Knoxville pick up an Urban format. Hate to see that market without an Urban.

 

[jamesgang2]

Personally, I think that HOT 104.5 is as close as were going to get to the Urban Format staying in Knoxville

 

[southerncomfort]

Does anybody know what percentage of the Knoxville Metro is black or hispanic? I know many hispanics probably never get reported by Arbitron, but I think WKGN (with an urban format) has always been one of the top ten stations in the Knoxville metro?

 

[Tennessee_Steel]

Does anybody know what percentage of the Knoxville Metro is black or hispanic? I know many hispanics probably never get reported by Arbitron, but I think WKGN (with an urban format) has always been one of the top ten stations in the Knoxville metro?

According to a reputable demographic source, in the Knoxville Arbitron market (Anderson, Blount, Knox, Loudon, Sevier, Union Counties), out of a total population of 724,372 in 2005, there are 40,941 blacks (5.7%) and 10,348 Hispanics (1.4%). Keep in mind that effective with the latest Census taken in 2000, Hispanic population counts are duplicated, i.e. you can have white Hispanics, black Hispanics...and even Asian Hispanics.

 

[RussAllen]

Personally, I think that HOT 104.5 is as close as were going to get to the Urban Format staying in Knoxville

For my own personal self interest, I hope you are correct. ;D