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WTAR To End Triple-A Format; To Flip To Conservative Talk

M

Mykel the Radio Fan

WTAR will end its 1-year-old adult album alternative format on September 16 and flip to conservative talk that day. The station held a 0.6 share in the July 2024 Nielsen books and will leave the market with a WRJR translator plus the main station itself. That station (plus its translator) simulcasts WNRN-FM, which runs a similar format.
radioinsight.com

WTAR To Flip To Conservative Talk

Sinclair Communications will flip AAA "The Coast" 850 WTAR Norfolk and translators 96.5 W243EK Hampton and 96.5 W243DJ Norfolk VA
radioinsight.com radioinsight.com
 
The demos for conservative talk are so much better. And that format's growing leaps and bounds too...not really.

Seriously, this is Bob Sinclair's ideological preferences coming into play. He purged KLBJ (AM) of its one centrist non-Trumpist talent, and booted the other two out liberals in the building (Dale Dudley and Deb O'Keefe) down in Austin. It's what he does.

This won't do any better ratings wise, most likely. I suppose it may get them some direct business from gun shops and investment advisors and ED clinics.
 
Andy Travis said:
The demos for conservative talk are so much better. And that format's growing leaps and bounds too...not really.

Seriously, this is Bob Sinclair's ideological preferences coming into play. He purged KLBJ (AM) of its one centrist non-Trumpist talent, and booted the other two out liberals in the building (Dale Dudley and Deb O'Keefe) down in Austin. It's what he does.

This won't do any better ratings wise, most likely. I suppose it may get them some direct business from gun shops and investment advisors and ED clinics.
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and political stuff
 
Kelly A said:
Other than Portland, Oregon it doesn't matter where you go, AAA is a dog.
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Well, in both Denver and Chicago it's #5. In Portland it's #6. And in some markets, non-commercial AAA does well, like Austin where it's #8.

But it isn't an easy format. Some AAA stations are fairly low rated but sell their blue chip audience and consistency.

I'm sure it wasn't easy trying to find an audience in Norfolk on a couple of translators, one at 120 watts, one at 165 watts.
 
radiofan2023 said:
But if they take one political ad, they have to take others, even if they don’t match the politics of the station.
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i would highly doubt people on the liberal side would waste too much money on advertising on this station

Where both sides would be more likely advertise is a music station, because people of all sides of the political coin listen
 
Gregg. said:
Well, in both Denver and Chicago it's #5. In Portland it's #6. And in some markets, non-commercial AAA does well, like Austin where it's #8.
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But in sale s demos, they are lower. It is an old-leaning format.
Gregg. said:
But it isn't an easy format. Some AAA stations are fairly low rated but sell their blue chip audience and consistency.
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Very, very few buys are made on income level considerations. And “consistency” is the last six book average rating (not share). No buy looks at ancient history ratings.
 
DavidEduardo said:
No buy looks at ancient history ratings.
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I really meant that an AAA station has 52-week-a-year advertisers, probably more than a Hot AC or an Urban Contemporary. I guess I'm thinking of local advertisers where the business owner likes the station vibe and believes he has repeat customers thanks to it. I'm sure if we took a spot break off KINK or KBCO, some of the sponsors would be local businesses who have been advertising on the station for years. I remember working at a station in the suburbs of NYC and some of the spots were for clients who bought time all year, every year.

But I suppose those clients are getting fewer and fewer in our new media environment.
 
Gregg. said:
Well, in both Denver and Chicago it's #5. In Portland it's #6. And in some markets, non-commercial AAA does well, like Austin where it's #8.

But it isn't an easy format. Some AAA stations are fairly low rated but sell their blue chip audience and consistency.
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And as David mentioned, it's an older-leaning format that many advertisers aren't interested in reaching. This isn't like a sports radio play, where the assumption is the station has a chance at targeting a known particular demo.
Gregg. said:
I'm sure it wasn't easy trying to find an audience in Norfolk on a couple of translators, one at 120 watts, one at 165 watts.
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WNRN manages to hold its own with a network of translators and smaller FM stations. But, WNRN is also a public station that does a little less than a million per year in enhanced underwriting and about the same amount in donations.
AAA might be in a better position being run by a public station but is dangerously schizophrenic, which ultimately harms TSL.
 
I much rather listen to obscure alternative music than listening to how ignorant Donald Trump has been today🤭🤭, that's just me though...and I don't even like obscure alternative music much... 🤣🤣
 


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