I was in the Syracuse area over the weekend and heard WOSW-1300 Fulton. It has been mentioned that it is now airing "Classic Country", a satellite delivered format from Dial Global. The liners for WOSW refer to it as "Real Country" a format operated by Dial Globals competitor, Cumulus. It would seem to me that this "Real Country" title would be copyrighted? Might this be considered infringement? Anyone out there with a legal background that could shed some light on this?
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WOSW, FULTON, CLASSIC COUNTRY
- Thread starter THE_KNICKMAN
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theradiokid
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While I can't speak to anything concerning the legal branding, I can and will say that WOSW has no local content for Oswego County, even though it promotes itself as an Oswego County station! Darn corporate Syracusans!
theradiokid said:
I wouldn't exactly refer to Craig Fox and Sam Furco as "corporate" owners. They are based in Syracuse, and besides WOSW, they only owns a handful of other stations in and around Syracuse. That's a far cry from Clear Channel or Cumulus, which each own hundreds of stations all over the country, all taking orders handed down from several states away... THAT's corporate.
Frankly, I can't blame them for the lack of local content. It's an AM station in Fulton. Not exactly the strongest signal in the area, nor is it covering the most populous area of the market. It's just not going to generate enough revenue to justify the salaries of a local on-air staff to produce local programming. It doesn't show up in Arbitron, so most of your "big spenders" for advertising won't be interested. I would imagine many of the spots on WOSW are "bonus" to clients who spend a certain amount on Movin or WOLF 105.1.
At the end of the day, it's a numbers game. WOSW doesn't necessarily need to go out of its way to be a serious contender in the market. It's just being used as a "flanker" to help WOLF 105.1 be a stronger competitor against B104.7. Here's how.
Many country fans love classic country just as much as they love the currents. But most dominant, heritage country stations in a market tend to focus primarily on the new stuff... they might toss in a classic song here and there, but by and large, they neglect the fans of classic country. WOLF 105.1 does the same thing, even putting "new country" in its name. But with WOSW offering "classic country," fans know they can tune to 1300AM anytime they're in the mood for classic country... they don't have to wait for a certain time to hear the one or two classic songs that B104.7 might play in the midst of many other newer country hits.
When it comes down to it, WOSW will never even come close to becoming a serious competitor against B104.7. Craig Fox and his people know that. But the more time people spend listening to WOSW means it's less time those people spend with B104.7. At the end of the day, that's all that matters to Fox and his people. When B104.7 takes a ratings hit, that can make WOLF 105.1 look good, even if WOLF doesn't gain all of whatever B104.7 lost. Because B104.7 is right at the top of the heap, getting most of the spotlight when the ratings are released, even a one or two point slide can be noticeable to B104.7's advertisers. Even if WOLF gains only half of what B104.7 lost, a smart sales department can capitalize on it.
Taking it to the next level: I don't get AM1300 very well where I am, so I haven't sampled it, but if Craig Fox's people are smart, they have WOSW running promos to get people interested in WOLF 105.1. That way, if WOSW catches the attention of any B104.7 listeners seeking a classic country fix, they might hear a promo and try out 105.1 instead of 104.7. Again, might be a bit of a longshot, but anything that takes away from WBBS can help WOLF one way or another. And in the Fulton area, I don't think it's a pipe dream to expect a classic country format will perform better than the previous Radio Disney format.
Too bad the government doesn't give some incentives to the owners of these small AM's to just sign off the air. The remaining stations on their frequencies could take advantage and raise their power and better serve their communities.
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theradiokid
Guest
@Bob Ross,
While I can understand the numbers game, and while this strategy does make sense, consider this: WOSW doesn't reach Syracuse, or most of the market "Wolf" wants to target. WOSW is an Oswego County station only. It's signal covers the county very well, but it doesn't go much further than that. It is very possible that it could be used as a flanker to "Wolf," which is at 96.7 in this area. However, because WOSW covers Oswego county, I feel it would best be put to use as an Oswego County station, and not as a flanker, or market expander for Syracuse. Oswego County has it's own culture -- it's own communities -- it's own news (and, sometimes, different weather! -- and it's own vibe, which is very much removed from the big city that is only an hour away. While I realize some of these strategies benefit owners like Galaxy and Cram, I'm just frustrated that Oswego County can't have it's own local station. WOSW would be the perfect home for said station. But the only way this county will get a local radio station is if the big corporate owners like Fox and Lavine, who only think about Syracuse, get their heads out of their rectum, and realize that Oswego County is NOT Syracuse. If they want to flank "Wolf," I guess it's their right to do so. After all, they own the thing! But I feel it is an insult that they promote themselves as "Oswego County's newest station for Real Country and Nasscar" if they aren't even interested in serving Oswego County. If they want to flank "Wolf," and use it as a small "B" stealaway, then, I feel they should promote WOSW towards it's Syracuse audience it wants to listen, and stop the insulting fake banter about being an "Oswego County radio station."
While I can understand the numbers game, and while this strategy does make sense, consider this: WOSW doesn't reach Syracuse, or most of the market "Wolf" wants to target. WOSW is an Oswego County station only. It's signal covers the county very well, but it doesn't go much further than that. It is very possible that it could be used as a flanker to "Wolf," which is at 96.7 in this area. However, because WOSW covers Oswego county, I feel it would best be put to use as an Oswego County station, and not as a flanker, or market expander for Syracuse. Oswego County has it's own culture -- it's own communities -- it's own news (and, sometimes, different weather! -- and it's own vibe, which is very much removed from the big city that is only an hour away. While I realize some of these strategies benefit owners like Galaxy and Cram, I'm just frustrated that Oswego County can't have it's own local station. WOSW would be the perfect home for said station. But the only way this county will get a local radio station is if the big corporate owners like Fox and Lavine, who only think about Syracuse, get their heads out of their rectum, and realize that Oswego County is NOT Syracuse. If they want to flank "Wolf," I guess it's their right to do so. After all, they own the thing! But I feel it is an insult that they promote themselves as "Oswego County's newest station for Real Country and Nasscar" if they aren't even interested in serving Oswego County. If they want to flank "Wolf," and use it as a small "B" stealaway, then, I feel they should promote WOSW towards it's Syracuse audience it wants to listen, and stop the insulting fake banter about being an "Oswego County radio station."
While I understand the strategies explained by BobRoss, I have to side with theradiokid on this one. WOSW will always be somewhat of an afterthought to its current owners. Given that there is no local radio in Oswego County (save for the amateur hour type programming on SUNY's student station, WNYO). 1300 would be in a great position to provide a much needed community service. After all, folks, it did just that for decades, as WOSC, and WZZZ, respectively. And while I'm sure someone will respond with something along the lines of "that was then...this is now", I refuse to beleive that a locally programmed, community oriented radio station would not work in an area such as Oswego County, especially among older demos who would be likely to listen to an AM station with a Classic Country format.
Unfortunately, the only way that 1300 in Fulton could ever revert back to a locally focused radio station is if Fox and company would consider selling it. Given the apparent strategy at work here, that doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon. Although, I suppose if the price is right, ANY station could be up for sale.
Unfortunately, the only way that 1300 in Fulton could ever revert back to a locally focused radio station is if Fox and company would consider selling it. Given the apparent strategy at work here, that doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon. Although, I suppose if the price is right, ANY station could be up for sale.
WOSW is going to be a hard road to travel. Any local ownership would have to survive primarily by selling local high school sports. Problem is, the 1,000 watt daytime signal is inadequate to do the job. I think they have about 20 watts at night. A FM translator would help but even that wouldn't do the job. A 100 watt fm signal would not cover the largely rural Oswego County. The local sports has been tried before and failed because of signal problems. No one will listen (or buy) a rebroadcast of a basketball or football game the next day.
It's a sad story about the last local owner. Soon after he took possession there was a fire in the strip mall where his studios were. It was a total loss and he was under insured. So he moved to the transmitter location(what a horrible dump). The roof fell in under the weight of the snow and knocked him off the air again. I don't know if he ever was able to get on the air again, but the power company cut off his power anyway. He sold the station for a reported $5,000. He paid over $100,000 for it. Soon after he was diagnosed with cancer and died. Very sad. He was a true broadcaster and probably would have made it, if it hadn't been for all the bad luck.
It's a sad story about the last local owner. Soon after he took possession there was a fire in the strip mall where his studios were. It was a total loss and he was under insured. So he moved to the transmitter location(what a horrible dump). The roof fell in under the weight of the snow and knocked him off the air again. I don't know if he ever was able to get on the air again, but the power company cut off his power anyway. He sold the station for a reported $5,000. He paid over $100,000 for it. Soon after he was diagnosed with cancer and died. Very sad. He was a true broadcaster and probably would have made it, if it hadn't been for all the bad luck.
theradiokid said:
How do NASCAR and country music NOT serve Oswego County?
On a serious note, I just don't see anyone being able to buy WOSW and profitably run it as a standalone, locally-programmed station. Just because it's local doesn't mean anyone will listen... and being on AM radio makes the battle that much harder. I just don't see WOSW generating enough revenue to keep the lights on AND cover payroll for the staff required to go local around the clock. Maybe if they had an FM simulcast (like WMCR in Oneida had for many years), that would be different.
therealjm12 said:
Good points there, as well. Many AM stations in this area are basically "doomed" just because the FCC restricts their power to the point where they can't reach nearly as many people as the bigger stations do. When your maximum authorized night signal has fewer watts than a standard household light bulb, what the heck is the point?
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