WPHT Sale

[MoldaMania182]

Heard offline today this thread topic is crap. Thick smoke around some of the last few posts though. Take that FWIW.

 

[amfmsw]

radio & Fred: you nailed it.

There comes a time when you need to come to grips with reality and say 'Uncle". Les Moonves is taking a page from William Pailey in 1964. A recent study shows that American AM stations would need to increase power 4 to SIX times current levels just to cover the noise floor to 1995 levels!

In '64, CBS-TV saw the handwriting on the wall for B&W TV. Pailey was not going to win FCC standards approval for his system, and the network was the standalone B&W. He HAD to use the RCA color System. All summer '64 he converted NY studios/master control and built CBS Studio City in Hollywood for Color...but not using one piece of RCA equipment. (Ever notice how crip those CBS videos are of Ed Sullivan, Carol Burnete, etc, while NBC/ABC archives are a faded blur?) Pailey ordered all Norelco/Phillips Color cameras and switchers, Electro-Voice audio, and Ampex video recorders..no RCA. But he swallowed his pride and made the positive, progressive move. The fall of '65 saw the introduction of Color to CBS-TV.

The positive, progressive move today, here for KYW 1060 is to add Color to B&W, add FM.

 

[FredLeonard]

Interesting history lesson amfmsw. Those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it (Santayana).

Question is: Do so many people not listen to AM because they don't listen to AM and never listened to AM. Or do people not listen to AM because of all the noise, electrical interference, interference from other stations, static and IBOC hash?

People start listening to radio of their own volition toward the end of elementary school. They listen to the cool station, the one their friends listen to, the one slightly older kids listen to. And for those at the end of the baby boom and later, that station was FM. If AM was on their radar at all, it was something parental units listened to. These kids only paid attention to AM to find out if they would get a snow day.

The geezers who listen to Rush, et al, will follow him to FM. What's doubtful is if you can get Gen X'ers and younger money demo listeners to listen to geezer political talk just because it's on FM. Very doubtful.

People talk about how radio will survive today because it reinvented itself in the 50s. There were creative people around back then. Today's bean counters seem unable to make any creative updates to anything, let alone talk radio - even when NJ 101.5 has provided a successful and well-documented model of how to do talk for the money demos.

 

[TheBigA]

People talk about how radio will survive today because it reinvented itself in the 50s. There were creative people around back then. Today's bean counters seem unable to make any creative updates to anything,

There are creative people today too. The real difference between the 50s and today is the number of choices. Reinventing radio today is reinventing the IBM Selectric. You can reinvent radio, come up with imaginative and creative formats, and spend lots of money in the process. But it doesn't mean that people will listen. People want to "Have it your way." They have lots more choices today than they ever did in the 50s, 60s, 70s, or 80s. The audience base is diluted. Music taste has splintered. Political opinions have become entrenched. When that happens, advertising rates drop, so the money to hire people is less. The problems with reinventing radio have nothing to do with radio. It has to do with changes in the audience.

 

[MDefl]

I guess we can all put to bed the theory that PHT is in better shape than IQ because of ad revenues and that ratings really don't matter. Basically, PHT has put itself in this position with a series of moves that were woefully lacking judgement. Don't know what will happen to them in the end.

 

[NeilRattigan]

There's something else to consider. Companies are making radios without the AM band. It's time KYW makes the move... and not just on HD-2.

 

[MDefl]

I didn't think about that. A good point.

 

[Jul]

There's something else to consider. Companies are making radios without the AM band. It's time KYW makes the move... and not just on HD-2.

Didn't know that. WOW!!!

 

[Jul]

Heard offline today this thread topic is crap. Thick smoke around some of the last few posts though. Take that FWIW.

1210 AM in the bad shape its in with is programming and ratings, this possible sale news might be true.

 

[TheBigA]

1210 AM in the bad shape its in with is programming and ratings, this possible sale news might be true.

CBS owns several AMs around the country in bad shape, and so far, they haven't sold any of them.

 

[MoldaMania182]

Heard offline today this thread topic is crap. Thick smoke around some of the last few posts though. Take that FWIW.

1210 AM in the bad shape its in with is programming and ratings, this possible sale news might be true.

It's not. All I'll say.

 

[spm1036]

Allen and Company are shopping WPHT, 1550 in San Francisco, and some smaller market CBS stations.

 

[Jul]

Allen and Company are shopping WPHT, 1550 in San Francisco, and some smaller market CBS stations.

Here's more info on them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_&_Company I think this sale story might have some legs here.

 

[FredLeonard]

Allen and Company are shopping WPHT, 1550 in San Francisco, and some smaller market CBS stations.

And you know this how? No source = no credibility.

 

[Jul]

And you know this how? No source = no credibility.

i agree.

 

[KyleSmith1988]

Not a bad idea to simulcast KYW 1060 on 1210, especially for Bucks County. However, current FCC rules prohibit a simulcast between two stations in the same band that overlap the other's signal by more than 50%. So, this would not be allowed.

If that's true, then down here in Charlotte, WQNC (100.9) & WPZS (92.7)
shouldn't be allowed to simulcast together.

In fact, both signals are about 10 miles away from each other,
and 100.9's signal (6kw Class A) is about 95% inside 92.7's signal (25kw C3).

Kinda pointless for Radio One to simulcast these 2 signals anyway,
I guess it saves money vs programming a new station.

 

[John1]

Answer to Bill W: That is correct, AM/FM simulcast is OK, AM/AM and FM/FM are not, unless the signal of one station doesn't overlap 50+% of the other.
Up in the Lehigh Valley, two small AMs can simulcast because their sticks are far enough apart and they're both 1,000 watts or less so their signals don't overlap by 50+%: 1320 in Allentown and 1230 in Easton simulcast their ESPN sports format.
There are other markets where two rimshot FMs simulcast because they are on different ends of the market (example, one might be somewhat more west, one somewhat more east). There have been examples of this in both the Atlantic City, NJ, and Ocean City, MD, markets.
And for atthegym: I agree KYW will have to continue on 1060 for the reason you state. However, adding an FM simulcast, such as 106.9, would help them with younger (25-44) listeners who have not made the habits of older listeners. Best of both worlds.

Is it ok then that WBMD 750 & WSFI 860 both licenced to the city of Baltimore simulcast Family Radio? Maybe ok because 750 is daytime only & 860 is assigned (I think) 66 watts nights? Both stations cover the same area & put out strong signals. I remember many years ago listening to WBMD some days in this area when it was a country station before there was so much interference.

 

[FredLeonard]

People talk about how radio will survive today because it reinvented itself in the 50s. There were creative people around back then. Today's bean counters seem unable to make any creative updates to anything,

There are creative people today too. The real difference between the 50s and today is the number of choices. Reinventing radio today is reinventing the IBM Selectric. You can reinvent radio, come up with imaginative and creative formats, and spend lots of money in the process. But it doesn't mean that people will listen. People want to "Have it your way." They have lots more choices today than they ever did in the 50s, 60s, 70s, or 80s. The audience base is diluted. Music taste has splintered. Political opinions have become entrenched. When that happens, advertising rates drop, so the money to hire people is less. The problems with reinventing radio have nothing to do with radio. It has to do with changes in the audience.

If you are saying radio's problem now is people have other choices, then you are also saying radio succeeded back in the day because it was the only option available to most people. Almost nobody could afford a music collection comparable to a radio station's. Almost nobody could have an AP or UPI wire in their house. Now, I have all that in my pocket. (OK, not UPI. I do have Reuters, though.)

What radio did have and can have is personalities. Radio mostly got rid of them but personalities is what made radio unique and attractive. There's no app for that.

 

[TheBigA]

What radio did have and can have is personalities. Radio mostly got rid of them but personalities is what made radio unique and attractive. There's no app for that.

Past tense. Back then, music fans needed someone to be their connection to the stars. Today, the fans can communicate directly. The fans simply have better information than any DJ can have. The only place where personalities still have a role to play is talk.

 

[klutch00]

Answer to Bill W: That is correct, AM/FM simulcast is OK, AM/AM and FM/FM are not, unless the signal of one station doesn't overlap 50+% of the other.
Up in the Lehigh Valley, two small AMs can simulcast because their sticks are far enough apart and they're both 1,000 watts or less so their signals don't overlap by 50+%: 1320 in Allentown and 1230 in Easton simulcast their ESPN sports format.
There are other markets where two rimshot FMs simulcast because they are on different ends of the market (example, one might be somewhat more west, one somewhat more east). There have been examples of this in both the Atlantic City, NJ, and Ocean City, MD, markets.
And for atthegym: I agree KYW will have to continue on 1060 for the reason you state. However, adding an FM simulcast, such as 106.9, would help them with younger (25-44) listeners who have not made the habits of older listeners. Best of both worlds.

Is it ok then that WBMD 750 & WFSI 860 both licensed to the city of Baltimore simulcast Family Radio? Maybe ok because 750 is daytime only & 860 is assigned (I think) 66 watts nights? Both stations cover the same area & put out strong signals. I remember many years ago listening to WBMD some days in this area when it was a country station before there was so much interference.

I, for one, cannot for the life of me understand why that's the case as well! If, say, 750 broadcast the previous nighttime programming on 860, I could understand, but that's not the case. Instead, WBMD simulcasts WFSI much of the time and when they aren't, they broadcast programing in CHINESE!! I don't think there are too many people in the primary listening area who understand it!

Family Stations would be better off either selling the station or subletting it out to whomever wants to rent time on it.