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Z DEAD, GMS MOVES

S

SquiggyFM

From DCRTV:

B'ville Kills Z104, Moves GMS To 104, TOP To 103.5, 107.7 To Be DC Post Radio - 1/4 - At noon today, Bonneville killed off "modern music" Z104. It moved classical WGMS from its longtime dial spot of 103.5 to Z104's 104.1 and 103.9 frequencies. And it put all-news WTOP on 103.5. So, what's going to happen to Warrenton's 107.7, which is still relaying WTOP? WTOP honcho Joel Oxley announced on WTOP's airwaves at 12:23 PM that come 1/30 WTOP's Warrenton relay at 107.7 will become WTOP-produced Washington Post Radio, with "long-form" news, a la a commercial version of NPR. Looking for jobs: Z104 Program Director Sammy Simpson, and Z104 personalities Mathew Blades, Jenny Chase, and JV. WTOP is calling the change "a seizmic shift in Washington radio".....
 
More Thoughts

<ul>
[*]The Washington Post format can be summed up by this sentence from the <a href=http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060104/dcw046.html?.v=70>press release</a>:

"This is a wonderful opportunity for The Washington Post to encourage the radio audience to read more of the newspaper," said Boisfeuillet Jones Jr., Publisher of The Washington Post.

If the new station is just used as a way to advertise the Post, it will be a failure and a collossal waste of 50,000 Watts. If it's programmed, as DCRTV mentions, as a commercial version of NPR, it will fill a niche and have a much greater chance of succeeding, especially in this town.

[*]As far as I know, WTOP is the first big news station to abandon the AM band completely.

This marks the end of the AM dial as a force in the DC market. The last mass-appeal station left is WMAL. The rest of the dial is niche stations that struggle to break a 2 share, although there are some profitable niches like Sports or Federal News Radio. Washington Post radio looks like it will be a niche as well.

It's also a part of a continuing trend of talk replacing music, especially current music, on the FM band. Expect this to continue as alternatives like satellite radio and iPods continue to gain traction. The music on Z104 can be found anywhere. TOP, on the other hand, is a unique product that can only be found in DC.

[*]One question remains about the frequency shuffle, and that is, does the better signal of 103.5 in and around DC outweigh the listeners WTOP will lose on the outskirts? 1500 has a killer signal to the north and east, and 107.7 was the best area signal in the southwestern 'burbs. You can't count on TOP for shore traffic anymore, because you can no longer hear them at the shore. Similarly, Stafford County residents will find they can't wake up with TOP on their clock radios anymore. The new signal will probably increase ratings in DC, but it does lessen the overall utility of the station.
[/list]
 
> From DCRTV:
>
> B'ville Kills Z104, Moves GMS To 104, TOP To 103.5, 107.7 To
> Be DC Post Radio - 1/4 - At noon today, Bonneville killed
> off "modern music" Z104. It moved classical WGMS from its
> longtime dial spot of 103.5 to Z104's 104.1 and 103.9
> frequencies. And it put all-news WTOP on 103.5. So, what's
> going to happen to Warrenton's 107.7, which is still
> relaying WTOP? WTOP honcho Joel Oxley announced on WTOP's
> airwaves at 12:23 PM that come 1/30 WTOP's Warrenton relay
> at 107.7 will become WTOP-produced Washington Post Radio,
> with "long-form" news, a la a commercial version of NPR.
> Looking for jobs: Z104 Program Director Sammy Simpson, and
> Z104 personalities Mathew Blades, Jenny Chase, and JV. WTOP
> is calling the change "a seizmic shift in Washington
> radio".....
>

Will they keep WTOP on 1500AM, at least for the forseeable future?

One has to question why they moved GMS to the old Z104 positions. Wasn't 103.5 stronger? Doesn't this mean they might be on their way to cancelling classical altogether?<P ID="signature">______________
I've done it all...HOO HOO...tell 'em, Fred!
FOX News Alert: YOU SUCK!!! Ya like apples?</P>
 
Re: More Thoughts

Although WTOP's current signal on 1500 is the most powerful AM signal in Washington, it's very directional. Go 20-25 miles to the west of Washington, and you lose it.

Still, I think Bonneville is making a mistake by moving WTOP's signal off of 1500. Perhaps WTOP should have been simulcast on 1500 and 103.5. This would solve many of the problems the AM signal has just west of D.C. (and in some buildings within the city itself), but retain the strong 50,000-watt AM signal which does cover the Mid-Atlantic coastal region.

I suspect that one reason Bonneville is moving WTOP off of AM might be that maybe the company explored moving the transmitter site to the west of Washington (which would have improved reception of 1500 in the western suburbs) but was somehow unable to. Hence, the new plan.

I haven't heard anything about the fate of WFED-1050's "Federal News Radio" format. Will it stay?? Will it be flipped to a simulcast of either 103.5 or the WGMS stations??
 
> Will they keep WTOP on 1500AM, at least for the forseeable
> future?

Until March. The DCRTV blurb was updated later with news that "Washington Post Radio" will be taking over 1500 and 107.7 at that time.

Till then, the station has one heck of a legal ID- "WTOP Washington, WTOP-FM Warrenton, WGMS Washington, WXTR Frederick" and they don't even bother to include their 104.3 translator in it anymore.

Now that WTOP is on 103.5, 1500 isn't necessary to cover the DC market. They will lose some out-of-market listeners and DC travelers to the north and east, but that shouldn't have a negative impact on ratings.

I've noticed the 103.5 signal is a marked improvement over 1500 indoors in Arlington. That should help them get more at-work and in-home listening.

> One has to question why they moved GMS to the old Z104
> positions. Wasn't 103.5 stronger? Doesn't this mean they
> might be on their way to cancelling classical altogether?

Maybe down the line, but I think Classical is safe for now. Bonneville doesn't have anything to replace it with, and they're generally a conservative company when it comes to format flips. That's why Z104 was allowed to flounder for so long.
 
> > One has to question why they moved GMS to the old Z104
> > positions. Wasn't 103.5 stronger? Doesn't this mean they
> > might be on their way to cancelling classical altogether?
>
> Maybe down the line, but I think Classical is safe for now.
> Bonneville doesn't have anything to replace it with, and
> they're generally a conservative company when it comes to
> format flips. That's why Z104 was allowed to flounder for
> so long.
>

One thing that's surprising about the move was the fact that the Bonneville management decided to keep the classical format, move them to the dial positions where Z104 used to be, and dump the rock music altogether. After all, there aren't a whole lot of commercial stations broadcasting classical music these days.
 
FM has gone so bad with endless blather, and noise labeled as music, the 20 MHz used for XM should be turned over to another use. Maybe for walkie-talkies so folks can report how many pieces of lint are in their pockets -- probably would be more interesting! THANK GOD for satellite and the Internet for music.
 
> One thing that's surprising about the move was the fact that
> the Bonneville management decided to keep the classical
> format, move them to the dial positions where Z104 used to
> be, and dump the rock music altogether. After all, there
> aren't a whole lot of commercial stations broadcasting
> classical music these days.

If I'm getting the numbers right, WGMS made more money than Z104. Z may or may not have brought in more raw billing, but 'GMS had much lower overhead. You don't need to spend much on classical stations. And DC is a "Tiffany" market, with more of an audience for arts programming.

For that matter, if you check out the landscape, there are fewer and fewer rock stations these days...especially aiming at younger audiences.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
Thoughts from a WTOP-AM listener in Connecticut

> Now that WTOP is on 103.5, 1500 isn't necessary to cover the
> DC market. They will lose some out-of-market listeners and
> DC travelers to the north and east, but that shouldn't have
> a negative impact on ratings.
>

I live in central Connecticut and have had 1500 AM as a preset on my radio for the longest time. That'll be gone soon. Having them was great if I needed traffic and news when taking Amtrak in that given morning (350 miles is quite a hike as it is!). Yes, I could listen to them online, but it's a bit cumbersome. As for the preset, I can do without it, since all I get on 1500 during the day is WFIF-AM 1500 out of Milford, CT (between Bridgeport and New Haven on the shoreline). It's a religious station, which I can do without.<P ID="signature">______________
#13 Dan Marino...2005 Football Hall Of Fame Inductee :)</P>
 
> And DC is a "Tiffany" market,
> with more of an audience for arts programming.

Additionally, WGMS was a ratings monster, a regular top 5 finisher.

So let's see,

The station was top 5.

It appeals to the highest money demo.

Bonneville sales people can't sell it.

Where is the change needed? In the sales department. I've been at stations where they tell me over and over, "I know you've got the ratings, but I can't sell it because so and so's selling at a dollar a holler".

I'm guessing the sales people at WGMS didn't really care about what they were selling, and didn't know how to convince Porsche dealerships that this was their station - even with it all in print in the Arbitron book.

In which case, good riddance. Those people need to find jobs at Carpet Warehouse.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Poppinjay on 01/09/06 02:22 PM.</FONT></P>
 
All that high-money demographics in the area, and they exile the WGMS programming to a signal(s) that can't fight its(their) way out of a paper bag and get into the areas where that high-income demographic resides. Other folks at Bonneville need to get jobs at Carpet Warehouse as well. I certainly wouldn't even hire the management team to be near minimum-wage greeters at Walmart's doors if they're that out of tune with their customer base.

*****************************************************************************
IN RESPONSE TO .........................

> > And DC is a "Tiffany" market,
> > with more of an audience for arts programming.
>
> Additionally, WGMS was a ratings monster, a regular top 5
> finisher.
>
> So let's see,
>
> The station was top 5.
>
> It appeals to the highest money demo.
>
> Bonneville sales people can't sell it.
>
> Where is the change needed? In the sales department. I've
> been at stations where they tell me over and over, "I know
> you've got the ratings, but I can't sell it because so and
> so's selling at a dollar a holler".
>
> I'm guessing the sales people at WGMS didn't really care
> about what they were selling, and didn't know how to
> convince Porsche dealerships that this was their station -
> even with it all in print in the Arbitron book.
>
> In which case, good riddance. Those people need to find
> jobs at Carpet Warehouse.
>
 
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