WPLY-AM Dark????

[ka2xuk]

On the main page here, I noticed that the WNEW call sign is now being used
in the Washington DC area.
Of course, any New Yorker of age associates those letters with two legendary stations.
Anyway, what caught my eye is that the station goes from 50,000 watts by day,
to 270 watts at night.

Now there's a situation where advertisers might want to squabble about the rates they pay .

That station was originally daytime-only. The old call letters were WPGC and it used to simulcast a Top-40 format on FM at 95.5. 1580 is a Canadian clear channel and nighttime operation by U.S. stations is severely limited on that frequency. Having grown up listening to the original WNEW (AM), it is hard for me to associate the call letters WNEW with any city other than New York.

 

[ActuallyInTheBiz]

On the main page here, I noticed that the WNEW call sign is now being used
in the Washington DC area.
Of course, any New Yorker of age associates those letters with two legendary stations.
Anyway, what caught my eye is that the station goes from 50,000 watts by day,
to 270 watts at night.

http://radio-locator.com/info/WNEW-AM

Now there's a situation where advertisers might want to squabble about the rates they pay .

Stations that have different wattages for day & night have different pay rates for days & nights, come on. But if you allegedly hide the fact that you're broadcasting on a lower power because it goes against your FCC agreement, and then the truth comes out, I maintain that the advertisers have a legitimate beef. Maybe they're entitled to a percentile refund equal to the percent difference of wattage that they were *actually* broadcasting with. I'm not trying to beat an allegedly illegal horse, but it makes perfect sense to me.

 

[ActuallyInTheBiz]

it is hard for me to associate the call letters WNEW with any city other than New York.

I agree. I don't mean to get off-topic, but there should be a retiring of "legendary" call letters, like sports teams do....but I know: Who would make that decision? It's not feasible.

 

[w9wi]

Should the advertisers be pissed that they haven't been getting the signal coverage that they've paid for?

There was a report (linked somewhere on this site) last summer of a station in Arkansas being hauled into state civil court after they failed to inform advertisers they were operating on significantly reduced power. Just how far reduced I don't recall.