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WPEN to flip to sports talk

> What do you have against Jack Seville or Angela Mason?>
Nothing at all...I just prefer having Christie Springfield/Charlie Bennett/ and Jim Nettleton back is all.
 
Re: You Can Count on Greater Media

> It given a choice, they'll always pick the dumbest option.
>
> Now they are going to do REAL sport talk, instead of real
> oldies. Of course, WIP started out that way without much
> success until they evolved into guy talk. Generally, major
> market ESPN (or Fox) sports talk stations are bottom-feeding
> turn-key operations (like Salem and Air America stations).
> Even WFAN gets most of its numbers and income from morning
> drive when they are personality news-talk, not sports talk.
>
> Wonder what they will flip to next September? Religion.
> Foreign language. All brokered, all the time.
>
I would like to vote this as post of the year..
 
I remember when 1210 tried the Sports format. All syndicated. Zero audience. Then a live and local afternoon show. Still, no audience. What does GM think will improve their chances?


> This move, while not entirely surprising, leaves me
> scratching my head and going..."huh?".
> Question the way they entered and executed the oldies
> format. But I don't see a lot of upside in switching to
> sports 13 months after ditching their heritage nostalgia
> format. Quite frankly, they would do better going "Air
> America" and other syndicated lib talk fare. And yes, I know
> that's a big risk. But so is this.
> The main problem: they have no pro sports team to market
> around. There had been rumors WPEN would pick up the Sixers.
> But once WIP was re-signed by the club, that ended that.
> The Phillies also buy their time, and clearly saw their
> money better spent on a 50KW flamethrower at WPHT.
> The Flyers are going nowhere on the radio. That leaves the
> Eagles...a team that can command a ton of money for their
> radio rights. Hope the Greater Media honchos have some deep
> pockets if they're even thinking about going there. Don't
> look for what happened in Miami with the Dolphins to happen
> here. Nobody wanted the Dolphins on radio in South Florida.
> The Eagles, on the other hand, are a hot radio commodity.
> Oh...wait a minute. There's the Soul. RIGHT!
> This is...as I've said before...all about the money. Sports
> talk is an easy sell on the street. But I'll make this
> prediction. Don't expect to see a lot of local talent. Aside
> from Jody MacDonald...maybe a morning drive guy or team. The
> rest of the day...and weekends...will be on a bird. (My
> guess...Sporting News Radio.) They could, of course,
> continue brokering a lot of their time...allowing talk host
> wannabes a chance to buy their way on the air.
> As for those about to be shown the door...I know many of
> them. They're all talented and will find work somewhere...if
> they want it. Jerry Blavat, of course, does things his way
> (that's what makes him successful) and he'll have no problem
> going forward.
> As for those suggesting this is WPEN's death knell...you
> may, in fact, have a point. This will be the station's last
> chance to do anything meaningful. Should this fail, Greater
> Media would do well to just get what they can for the
> license and sell the station outright. That might prove to
> be the best business solution.
> What would I have done? Tweaked the oldies format a bit and
> left it alone. Given the realistic options out there for an
> AM station about to improve it's signal (and hopefully
> market that fact), it's better to keep what base you have
> and build on it...rather than nuke the place and hope for
> the best.
>
> Just one man's opinion.
>
 
Registrant:
Greater Media, Inc.
ATTN: SPORTSTALK950.COM
c/o Network Solutions
P.O. Box 447
Herndon, VA. 20172-0447

Domain Name: SPORTSTALK950.COM

Administrative Contact, Technical Contact:
Greater Media, Inc. [email protected]
ATTN: SPORTSTALK950.COM
c/o Network Solutions
P.O. Box 447
Herndon, VA 20172-0447
570-708-8780

Record expires on 20-Jul-2008.
Record created on 20-Jul-2005.
Database last updated on 26-Aug-2005 13:49:30 EDT.

Domain servers in listed order:

NS55.WORLDNIC.COM 216.168.228.30
NS56.WORLDNIC.COM 216.168.225.196
 
Re: WPEN

> So a new sports talk station comes on with only the St.
> Joseph's Hawks to build around (no offense to St Joe's, but
> come on...that's not exactly something to put you over the
> top)...during the beginning if Eagles-mania in this
> city...and the beginnings of the hockey and basketball
> seasons....

Be careful. My niece will be a frosh on Hawk Hill this fall. ;-)

ixnay (a Villanova alum)
 
Re: WPEN

> > So a new sports talk station comes on with only the St.
> > Joseph's Hawks to build around (no offense to St Joe's,
> but
> > come on...that's not exactly something to put you over the
>
> > top)...during the beginning if Eagles-mania in this
> > city...and the beginnings of the hockey and basketball
> > seasons....
>
> Be careful. My niece will be a frosh on Hawk Hill this
> fall. ;-)
>
> ixnay (a Villanova alum)
>
And we all feel terribly for her and their stupid bald basketball coach.

-A La Salle Alum.
 
Re: WPEN

> Two sports stations can succeed? Why sure. Clearly we all
> remember how the GiMP set the world on fire with its mix of
> syndicated shows and an occassional local show that promised
> more "real" sports and less general guy talk. That was a
> stunning success.

I'm probably swimming upstream re WGMP, but I liked it. Partly because I can't get WIP where I live too well.

One morning I called up Steve Szaben (or was it Larry Cotlar) on One-on-One Sports to discuss the then upcoming 1995 WS and the Braves' classic starting rotation.

I also liked "Sports Attack"'s theme song. It was a local show.

I was disappointed when 1210 ended the sports format. And 1210 never should have dropped "WCAU", but that's another thread.

ixnay
 
> http>
> ://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/breaking_news/12476437.htm
>
> >
> This saddens me. For all its faults such as signal
> issues(yes, frustrating)it still was a nice little oldies
> station. Looks like I better start airchecking "Oldies 950
> Limited". guess it's back to listening to the horrid
> "Breakfast Club" on WOGL. These days WMTR doesnt come clear,
> so I guess I'm SOL.
> I hope the former WOGL jocks find thier way back home...than
> they can say goodbye to Angela Mason and Jack "Dont call me
> David" Seville. Now as soon as the sports format hits 950,
> watch how it gets s**t on and we will all be crying for
> Oldies to return to Philly once again.
> Like The Brothers Ritcheous sang..."It makes me just feel
> like cryin, cuz babyy somethin beutifuls dyin"...
>

I, too, am airchecking the station today. If the new format is scheduled to begin on Monday October 3rd, that means the last live DJ show on WPEN will be Blavat's on Friday September 30th, and the last song will be played at 5:57am or so on Monday. I guess the passing of music of WPEN will go largely unnoticed. Will Charlie, Christy, and Jim be allowed to say goodbye on Friday?
Although music on AM is an anachronism, it was nice having WPEN as an alternative. I liked hearing songs that I heard originally on AM being played there again. I knew the station wouldn't be a ratings giant, but I hoped WPEN would find its niche in the market. Sadly, all things must pass.
 
Re: WPEN

> > So a new sports talk station comes on with only the St.
> > Joseph's Hawks to build around (no offense to St Joe's,
> but
> > come on...that's not exactly something to put you over the
>
> > top)...during the beginning if Eagles-mania in this
> > city...and the beginnings of the hockey and basketball
> > seasons....
>
> Be careful. My niece will be a frosh on Hawk Hill this
> fall. ;-)
>
> ixnay (a Villanova alum)
>


Sports stations don't build stations around play by play. WIP doesn't have the Eagles and they do okay, don't they?
Nobody listens to the Sixers or Flyers on the radio..so that is a bogus argument.
Only big signal stations with succesful baseball teams get a benefit when normally dead night time numbers pump up the rest of the station.
Most sports stations use play by play as filler at night which is why ESPN radio gets so many clearences on crappy stations.
WYSP uses the Eagles on Sunday to boost the rest of the stations numbers, but they virtually ignore the team otherwise and will be hammered once Stern leaves.
The WPEN moves is the ONLY smart move left. Music radio is not only dead on AM..it's dying on FM where dime a dozen dj's are being replaced by voice track guys in LA. Wake up people. Learn the business before making inane comments about "Oldies" radio. It's SOOOO OVER!!!!!
 
http> ://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/breaking_news/12476437.htm
>


WPEN would have ben a great station if it would of had live DJ'S 24/7 and did not have that info crap that info crap will kill any station if they would play oldes 24/7 and had the power up to 50 thousands they would be #1!!!! sports will not work every one goes to 610 for that and the info crap will kill it any and if they stop the info crap they why did they keep that crap om with oldies it look like to me they did not want it to work becouse they did evry thing wrong
 
> WPEN would have ben a great station if it would of had live
> DJ'S 24/7 and did not have that info crap that info crap
> will kill any station if they would play oldes 24/7 and had
> the power up to 50 thousands they would be #1!!!!
Not a chance. Mainstream music formats on AM in major markets are essentially dead.

It's easy to pick on the infomercials, and sure, they probably did drive some of the handful of people who might have listened to them away, but you simply won't get people to tune away from what they see as the FM oldies station...and it doesn't matter whether 98 still uses "oldies" in their IDs or not. People still call it Oldies 98.

sports
> will not work every one goes to 610 for that and the info
> crap will kill it any and if they stop the info crap they
> why did they keep that crap om with oldies it look like to
> me they did not want it to work becouse they did evry thing
> wrong
>
 
> I remember when 1210 tried the Sports format. All
> syndicated. Zero audience. Then a live and local afternoon
> show. Still, no audience. What does GM think will improve
> their chances?
>
>
That's what I'm not seeing. WIP is another example of "perception IS reality." I know the argument that WIP is really more guy talk than sports talk, and over the years, the lower key WIP hosts who know can treat callers who disagree--and don't know as much about sports--with respect and carry on a civilzed conversation have been relegated to cruddy shifts and pushed out in favor of the Cataldi/Eskin brand of hype.

And as a business, it makes perfect sense. The audience responds, whether they listen because they like the hosts or hate them.

WIP has owned the name sportsradio for 15+ years. Heck, they were using it when they still had music shows on the air. WPEN's only way to carve out a niche is to be more sports focused, and there's little reason to believe it will work, given WGMP's record.

What would I have done with WPEN? If we're talking about the pre-oldies flip, I would have tried running the closest thing I could find on satellite. Save the costs of a staff and see what that did for the bottom line. Now, I'd try Air America, also for the cheap route, and see how it does. At least it would be something not duplicated already.

Now, if I had unlimited funds and no shareholder pressure (yeah, like that situation exists in many places), sure, I'd gear up for a 24x7 general interest talk. Not mouthpieces for either party, like the current state of most talk radio. And my first hire would be Steve Martarono (sp? apologies for messing that up). Seriously. Heard him the past couple of mornings on 1210, and remember his style from WIPeople Talk. Maybe for afternoons or nights, but definitely on the roster.
 
Re: WPEN

And
> 1210 never should have dropped "WCAU", but that's another
> thread.
>
> ixnay
>
Amen. WPHT....just doesn't cut it. Then again, "The Big Talker" strikes me as a dismal nickname.
 
Re: WPEN

> > So a new sports talk station comes on with only the St.
> > Joseph's Hawks to build around (no offense to St Joe's,
> but
> > come on...that's not exactly something to put you over the
>
> > top)...during the beginning if Eagles-mania in this
> > city...and the beginnings of the hockey and basketball
> > seasons....
>
> Be careful. My niece will be a frosh on Hawk Hill this
> fall. ;-)
>
> ixnay (a Villanova alum)
>
I wish her the best of luck--it's an outstanding school. Hope she enjoys her time on the hill.

HomerJay (a Temple alum)
 
So much for all the people on this board whining that "WOGL sucks" and "WOGL is going down".

"Real Oldies" was a joke from day one and WOGL is still going strong.
 
> So much for all the people on this board whining that "WOGL> sucks" and "WOGL is going down".> > "Real Oldies" was a joke from day one and WOGL is still> going strong.> Wait until the end of the year, then see if you can post that.
 
Re: WOGL and WPEN

> > So much for all the people on this board whining that
> "WOGL> sucks" and "WOGL is going down".> > "Real Oldies" was
> a joke from day one and WOGL is still> going strong.> Wait
> until the end of the year, then see if you can post that.
>

What I don't understand is two things.
1. Why doesn't WOGL include those real oldies when WPEN switches? Wouldn't WOGL have more mass apeal with this aproach? My parents (who are in there early to mid 50's know those real oldies from WPEN as well as the oldies that WOGL plays.)

2. Why couldn't have both stations existed peacefully? I think that both stations could have existed peacefully with neither station stepping on each others playlist.

Though, I think that part of WPEN's problem is its anolog on-air sound is horible. Our Cryslor makes other AM and AM Stereo stations sound good. My dad complains that the sound of WPEN is "Lifeliss." That's with each band cranked up high on the EQ.

Also why did they continue the infomershels? Couldn't they have had live jocks on the weekends? They could have stayed AM Stereo and put the discontinued specialty shows from WOGL on WPEN with the former WOGL jocks.
I just don't see why WOGL couldn't be inclusive of the real oldies, or why both stations couldn't have existed peacefully filling the younger and older target demmos.
Just my thoughts.
John
<P ID="signature">______________
John
E-mail: [email protected]
AIM: RainAngelsRule
MSN: [email protected]</P>
 
Re: WOGL and WPEN

1. WOGL is targeting a specific demographic. Ad agencies do not want to buy time on stations with too great a proportion of older (50+) listeners. Oldies stations play music popular when their target audience was in their teens. Mass appeal means wasted money to ad agencies. If 1/3 of a station's audience is outside their target demographic segments, they consider 1/3 of their ad dollar to be wasted.

2. They are in competition with each other. And if either (or both) stations tries to broaden their "mass appeal" they step on each others' playlists.

3. Infomercials bring in money. Jocks and specialty shows cost money, and then somebody has to go out and sell spots (at which WPEN was not very successful).

Radio is a business, not a popularity contest. The goal is to make a profit (maximize revenue, minimize costs). Getting more listeners does not necessarily pay the bills.

You sound like a nice person. People who program radio stations are not nice. They are more interested in beating a competitor than in pleasing an audience. And the people who run radio stations are interested in profits (just like any other business).

If you think about radio as a public service, nothing they do makes sense. If you think of it as a business (poorly managed and ruthlessly run, sort of like a car dealership), it all starts to make sense.


>
> What I don't understand is two things.
> 1. Why doesn't WOGL include those real oldies when WPEN
> switches? Wouldn't WOGL have more mass apeal with this
> aproach? My parents (who are in there early to mid 50's
> know those real oldies from WPEN as well as the oldies that
> WOGL plays.)
>
> 2. Why couldn't have both stations existed peacefully? I
> think that both stations could have existed peacefully with
> neither station stepping on each others playlist.
>
> Though, I think that part of WPEN's problem is its anolog
> on-air sound is horible. Our Cryslor makes other AM and AM
> Stereo stations sound good. My dad complains that the sound
> of WPEN is "Lifeliss." That's with each band cranked up high
> on the EQ.
>
> Also why did they continue the infomershels? Couldn't they
> have had live jocks on the weekends? They could have stayed
> AM Stereo and put the discontinued specialty shows from WOGL
> on WPEN with the former WOGL jocks.
> I just don't see why WOGL couldn't be inclusive of the real
> oldies, or why both stations couldn't have existed
> peacefully filling the younger and older target demmos.
> Just my thoughts.
> John
>
 
Re: WOGL and WPEN

> What I don't understand is two things.
> 1. Why doesn't WOGL include those real oldies when WPEN
> switches? Wouldn't WOGL have more mass apeal with this
> aproach? My parents (who are in there early to mid 50's
> know those real oldies from WPEN as well as the oldies that
> WOGL plays.)
Why do they need to include them? They'd been largely dropped before WPEN became Oldies 950, and quite clearly, WOGL is trying to advance to music forward to keep the more desirable demos. Since WPEN had all of about three listeners, there's no logic to adding something no one listened to.

>
> 2. Why couldn't have both stations existed peacefully? I
> think that both stations could have existed peacefully with
> neither station stepping on each others playlist.
They did exist peacefully. I seriously doubt anyone at Infinity gave WPEN more than a passing notice, and each station did their own thing.

>

>
> Also why did they continue the infomershels?
Infomercials continued because they brought in revenue. Can't keep the lights on without the $$$.

>Couldn't they
> have had live jocks on the weekends?
Not a cost effective option.
 
Re: WOGL and WPEN

> 1. Why doesn't WOGL include those real oldies when WPEN
> switches?

Maybe it is WOGL that *IS* playing "Real Oldies" and it's WPEN that's not...

WOGL = a success
WPEN = a failure
 
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