WPTW Piqua up for sale

[Limp73]

A freind of mine informed me this week along with hearing stories from locals that WPTW in Piqua is for sale. The local listeners have (supposedly) heard on-air announcements that it will go silent if not sold. This is the oldest station serving the Upper Miami Valley having been on the air since 1947.

A great 250 watt non-directional fulltime signal at 1570 kHz reaching into Shelby,Darke,Montgomery,Clark and Champaign counties with emphasis on local sports coverage. Also has a second audiostream channel reserved for special programming in addition to the regular 1570-AM audiostream. It currently airs a sattellite-fed 60s/70s/80s classic hits format...before that it was a talk format and historically as a traditional MOR up through the Richard Hunt/Oscar Baker ownership.

Call (937)773-3513 if intersted..ask for John Leese.

Save Miami County's only commercial radio station!

http://www.1570wptw.com

 

[pioneer71]

Say it isn't so.. I really applaud the station for the coverge they have given to high school sports scene and they way they have been committed to being a local radio station. thru the years.

I hope someone will be abe to step up and either buy the station or do a LMA. I realize an AM with limited power can have a tough time of it. You never what to see a station go dark. The community may not reaize it but they need their local station.

I would not give up on the station. There are some people in this business that have taken stations like this and found their niche and are making money.

They need an infusion of looking at new ways to increase their revenue streams. The old and true ways of running an AM station doesn't work anymore.

 

[Limp73]

That is true. Joe Mullins (and even more so his late father Moon Mullins)
did that with WBZI...it found its niche and went with it. Same can be said for Norm Livingston who manages southern gospel WGNZ....and they are both DAYTIME stations... PT meanwhile is 24/7 and 250 watts so I believe it can be done. I hope PT can (and will) keep on keepin' on.

 

[pioneer71]

As I mentioned I hated to hear about the situation in Piqua. Does anyone know if there are any other stations in the state for sale?

 

[Dave Sarnoff]

They're all for sale...for the right price.

Seriously, there are tons of AM's for sale - WPAY in Portsmouth, WDIG Steubenville, W-whatever 1570 and 1540 in Warren/Youngstown, WKTX Cortland, WCER Canton, WOSU Columbus, WASN/WGFT and WRBP FM in Youngstown, WWOW Conneaut, WVKO AM and FM in Columbus, and many many more. How many do you want?

 

[pioneer71]

Thanks for the input. You must have a great source. Are there any in greater Dayton and Cincinnati?

 

[techie2]

Thanks for the input. You must have a great source. Are there any in greater Dayton and Cincinnati?

Well, aside from WPTW, WPFB 910 is being shopped around but everyone says NKU is asking a ridiculous price.

 

[Limp73]

Unless if the price (realistically) goes down,locally originating community radio will be a dinosaur. Somebody who is local,knows the ins and outs of the community and is not part of a corporate hierarchy can save WPTW,WPFB-AM and the rest from oblivion.

 

[aguyinradio]

I would love to do local radio! I've knocked on a bunch of doors but can't come up with the money to buy a station so how can someone local buy a local station if there is nowhere to turn for help?

 

[stereolane]

I don't know if he's still there, but driving up and down I-75, I would often hear a guy doing the afternoon news on WPTW. Last time I heard him, I laughed all the way to Toledo. Awful beyond description.

For a high frequency AM, they do seem to have a decent night signal.

 

[markbohach]

I would love to do local radio! I've knocked on a bunch of doors but can't come up with the money to buy a station so how can someone local buy a local station if there is nowhere to turn for help?

Ok- I will tell you but you probably won't like it. But from personal experience it works every time it's tried.

First- start saving money. Work extra jobs and pack away the money.

Second- find a station that needs an overhaul and has a tired or frustrated owner.

Third- Offer the owner all the money you saved and sign a promissory note for the balance
to be paid over 5-7-10 years at a competitive interest rate. You will need at least 10 percent of the asking price in cash. Plus you will need the cash to purchase to equip it properly.

Fourth- Quit your job and move to the community where the radio station is located.
Create a format you are proud of and hit the streets to sell spots.

Fifth- Ignore the naysayers that say it can't be done and gird yourself for at least a year of eating peanut butter and barely making ends meet. Never lose sight of your goal.

Sixth- After lots of hard work and exhausting hours you will one day wake up and realize you have done it. A successful local radio station.

It's that simple.

 

[del_griffith]

Mark: Do you have the ability to calculate your AM listeners vs your FM listeners and what is the % of both? Maybe a stand alone AM is not the way to go? And as an AM fan, it kills me to say that.

 

[kirkiefan]

Piqua Daily Call finally announces the station up for sale on its website today. (slow newspaper eh!)

http://www.dailycall.com/main.asp?SectionID=5&SubSectionID=15&ArticleID=173767

 

[markbohach]

Mark: Do you have the ability to calculate your AM listeners vs your FM listeners and what is the % of both? Maybe a stand alone AM is not the way to go? And as an AM fan, it kills me to say that.

Remember that I ran WLOH as a standalone AM for five years before we added the first FM translator. In that time, we made money every year but the first one and were very well supported by our local business community.

With that said, I will say that it is an easier going with our FM signals up and running.

However, from my knowledge of the sales situation of WPTW (I am under a confidentiality agreement and cannot disclose specific information) this is still a viable operation.

 

[Limp73]

I'm really thinking this is the time for someone within Miami County's private sector to form some sort of coalition to save WPTW...(anybody in the areas north of Dayton reading these posts?)

 

[pioneer71]

To Limp73 I also hope that some local investors will step up. It has been said on these posts how the asking price for WPFB is way off base as well as some other AM's in the area too.

In this case, it seems the asking price is very reasonable. The station needs to stay on the air and not go dark. If it would go dark the local community, the staff and those who believe in AM radio will all lose.

 

[stereolane]

However, from my knowledge of the sales situation of WPTW (I am under a confidentiality agreement and cannot disclose specific information) this is still a viable operation.

If it's truly "viable" then why the rush to cease operations if a buyer cannot quickly be found?

Something doesn't add up.

 

[markbohach]

However, from my knowledge of the sales situation of WPTW (I am under a confidentiality agreement and cannot disclose specific information) this is still a viable operation.

If it's truly "viable" then why the rush to cease operations if a buyer cannot quickly be found?

Something doesn't add up.

That's a question best answered by Mark Hiner. I just know what numbers I saw were still viable by my standards. My standards say- don't lose money.

 

[Dave Sarnoff]

I would love to do local radio! I've knocked on a bunch of doors but can't come up with the money to buy a station so how can someone local buy a local station if there is nowhere to turn for help?

Ok- I will tell you but you probably won't like it.

Pretty good post Mark. I'll add something else - If the whole of your radio experience consists of being a DJ/programmer/air talent etc., forget it. You've got no chance. I know lots of guys (including a couple on this board) who thought if they could make their dream come true of owning a station, they would show the world how it's done. They invariably fall flat on their faces, and fast. You're not going to "just hire some salespeople" and watch the money roll in. it doesn't work that way. Good salespeople are hard to find and almost impossible to keep. They are in such demand that they will soon move on to where they can make real money.

To have any chance of success, YOU will have to be the one out on the streets selling. And sales experience isn't even enough. You have to have a successful track record of selling without ratings.

Sorry to throw a wet blanket on your enthusiasm, but this is the hard reality of local radio. You know the old joke - How do you make a small fortune in radio? Start with a large fortune.

 

[del_griffith]

One other thing to the sales aspect. You (the owner) need to be part of the community and involved. Plus, you've got to break into the "Boys Club". The business owners who for lack of a better word run the town. You must get the buy in and acceptance of not only your product but you. You've got to be on par with them. You have to be part of the guys who sit around the mahogany table. Anything less and you'll never be recognized as legitimate. You've got to get to the point of being able to pick up the phone when your sales rep keeps banging their head on the wall over an account and call that owner and friend to friend/owner to owner massage that business owner to go ahead make the buy. You've got to know exactly what to give in return for that buy. You've got to speak his/her language. You've got to intuitively know what he can and can't or won't do.

An outsider won't be able to do that. Nor will someone who hasn't broken through the club barrier. The trust level will never exist until you do. Business is hard enough. It's next to impossible if you don't have that kind of intimate access.