Look Out WMSI-If Trends Are Any Indication-The Fall Book Should Be Interesting

[Rickylee]

Can it be so? The trends out recently have WOAD at Miss 103's back door knockin'-whizzing past Y-101 and US 96. With less than 2 points between them and the same older demos WOAD must have some folks sweating at the former ratings powerhouse. It's certainly a surprise to me. Hey, I know it is just a trend but there is a pattern develping for sure. Is this the foreshadowing of things to come? Imagine Jackson as a market where no "non-ethnic" stations are in the top four. How the hell did that happen? Maybe it was somewhere along the way when everyone moved their stations and signal into the metro from outlying smaller markets like Magee and Vicksburg- even some johnny-come-lately from Yazoo City who thinks Jackson could use just one more station, further diluting (or is it polluting)the potential audience-or maybe it started when the McDonalds formula was applied to radio. I just know someone out there has a theory......

[Casual_Observer]

> How the hell did that happen? Maybe it was somewhere
> along the way when everyone moved their stations and signal
> into the metro from outlying smaller markets like Magee and
> Vicksburg- even some johnny-come-lately from Yazoo City who
> thinks Jackson could use just one more station, further
> diluting (or is it polluting)the potential audience

Perhaps you refer to WYAB 93.1 FM (formerly licensed to Yazoo
City) and its pending tower move?  The owner is not from Yazoo
City though, he's proud to say that he's from Norcross, Georgia.

WYAB will only be the 15th strictly commercial FM in the market.
I would not say that Jackson is over-saturated.  I also know of
at least two more commercial FMs that are planning to move to
Jackson....

A WYAB update: we've ordered the antenna and it should be here
by the end of October.  The tower sections have been fabricated
and are ready for assembly.  The whole facility should be ready
for broadcasting by Thanksgiving.  I'll take lots of pictures to
upload to our website.  I was at the new site yesterday making
way for the surveyor's visit on Monday.  I staked off where the
base of the tower and where the transmitter shack will be.

My one question would be, "how would the audience be 'polluted'
by another station?"

--- Casual Observer

[zell]

> > How the hell did that happen? Maybe it was somewhere
> > along the way when everyone moved their stations and
> signal
> > into the metro from outlying smaller markets like Magee
> and
> > Vicksburg- even some johnny-come-lately from Yazoo City
> who
> > thinks Jackson could use just one more station, further
> > diluting (or is it polluting)the potential audience
>
> Perhaps you refer to WYAB 93.1 FM (formerly licensed to
> Yazoo
> City) and its pending tower move?  The owner is not from
> Yazoo
> City though, he's proud to say that he's from Norcross,
> Georgia.
>
> WYAB will only be the 15th strictly commercial FM in the
> market.
> I would not say that Jackson is over-saturated.  I also know
> of
> at least two more commercial FMs that are planning to move
> to
> Jackson....
>
> A WYAB update: we've ordered the antenna and it should be
> here
> by the end of October.  The tower sections have been
> fabricated
> and are ready for assembly.  The whole facility should be
> ready
> for broadcasting by Thanksgiving.  I'll take lots of
> pictures to
> upload to our website.  I was at the new site yesterday
> making
> way for the surveyor's visit on Monday.  I staked off where
> the
> base of the tower and where the transmitter shack will be.
>
> My one question would be, "how would the audience be
> 'polluted'
> by another station?"
>
> --- Casual Observer


> I think Ricky was referring to the fact the the "general market" pie has been cut into so many little pieces that it's hard for some stations to get much impact. It hurts the stand alones, such as yourself, when the major clusters can survive only by strength of scale, while the smaller stations have to struggle to make ends meet with a 2 share, for example. Also, according to Arbitron, the Jackson Metro lists 24 stations. There are at least a couple more that aren't listed due to lack of audience share.

______________
"ain't gonna let 'em catch the Midnight Rider..."

[ticoSD]

I'm on the opinion that the continuous coverage of Hurricane Katrina may help Miss 103 when the numbers for this period are released. I know people who said they listened to Miss during this time when they normally don't. They did an awesome job with the coverage and I think they should be rewarded greatly.

This will take some time to develop, but I'm interested in seeing what kind of impact--if any at all--the influx of evacuees who decide to make Jackson their permanent home will have on the market.

> Can it be so? The trends out recently have WOAD at Miss
> 103's back door knockin'-whizzing past Y-101 and US 96. With
> less than 2 points between them and the same older demos
> WOAD must have some folks sweating at the former ratings
> powerhouse. It's certainly a surprise to me. Hey, I know it
> is just a trend but there is a pattern develping for sure.
> Is this the foreshadowing of things to come? Imagine Jackson
> as a market where no "non-ethnic" stations are in the top
> four. How the hell did that happen? Maybe it was somewhere
> along the way when everyone moved their stations and signal
> into the metro from outlying smaller markets like Magee and
> Vicksburg- even some johnny-come-lately from Yazoo City who
> thinks Jackson could use just one more station, further
> diluting (or is it polluting)the potential audience-or maybe
> it started when the McDonalds formula was applied to radio.
> I just know someone out there has a theory......
>

______________
"...and the countdown continues until the neanderthals that govern college football do something about their pathetic postseason."--Tim Brando, Sporting News Radio

[Rickylee]

> > > How the hell did that happen? Maybe it was somewhere
> > > along the way when everyone moved their stations and
> > signal
> > > into the metro from outlying smaller markets like Magee
> > and
> > > Vicksburg- even some johnny-come-lately from Yazoo City
> > who
> > > thinks Jackson could use just one more station, further
> > > diluting (or is it polluting)the potential audience
> >
> > Perhaps you refer to WYAB 93.1 FM (formerly licensed to
> > Yazoo
> > City) and its pending tower move?  The owner is not from
> > Yazoo
> > City though, he's proud to say that he's from Norcross,
> > Georgia.
> >
> > WYAB will only be the 15th strictly commercial FM in the
> > market.
> > I would not say that Jackson is over-saturated.  I also
> know
> > of
> > at least two more commercial FMs that are planning to move
>
> > to
> > Jackson....
> >
> > A WYAB update: we've ordered the antenna and it should be
> > here
> > by the end of October.  The tower sections have been
> > fabricated
> > and are ready for assembly.  The whole facility should be
> > ready
> > for broadcasting by Thanksgiving.  I'll take lots of
> > pictures to
> > upload to our website.  I was at the new site yesterday
> > making
> > way for the surveyor's visit on Monday.  I staked off
> where
> > the
> > base of the tower and where the transmitter shack will be.
>
> >
> > My one question would be, "how would the audience be
> > 'polluted'
> > by another station?"
> >
> > --- Casual Observer
>
>
> > I think Ricky was referring to the fact the the "general
> market" pie has been cut into so many little pieces that
> it's hard for some stations to get much impact. It hurts the
> stand alones, such as yourself, when the major clusters can
> survive only by strength of scale, while the smaller
> stations have to struggle to make ends meet with a 2 share,
> for example. Also, according to Arbitron, the Jackson Metro
> lists 24 stations. There are at least a couple more that
> aren't listed due to lack of audience share.

Yeah- that's what I meant. No offense intended to to the folks at WYAB re: the "Johhny-Come-Lately" comment- it's just that you guys are the latest FM to come to town. Good luck and all but as "sorethroat" pointed out keep your costs down or you'll lose your butt. There are more than a few experienced broadcasters who looked at buying WYAB when it was on the block- but even if you paid cash and didn't have that interest the bottom line didn't look encouraging. I think I read that you were keeping it oldies- Do yourself a favor and rethink the oldies format- or re-define it- the old model has played itself out.  780 AM used to be "The Motivation Station" playing excerpts from a lot of different speakers like Tony Robbins, Dale Carnegie all day- hated to see that station drop that- it was way under-rated- maybe ahead of it's time.

 
>

[Casual_Observer]

> Yeah- that's what I meant. No offense intended to to the
> folks at WYAB re: the "Johhny-Come-Lately" comment- it's
> just that you guys are the latest FM to come to town. Good
> luck and all but as "sorethroat" pointed out keep your costs
> down or you'll lose your butt. There are more than a few
> experienced broadcasters who looked at buying WYAB when it
> was on the block- but even if you paid cash and didn't have
> that interest the bottom line didn't look encouraging. I
> think I read that you were keeping it oldies- Do yourself a
> favor and rethink the oldies format- or re-define it- the
> old model has played itself out.  780 AM used to be "The
> Motivation Station" playing excerpts from a lot of different
> speakers like Tony Robbins, Dale Carnegie all day- hated to
> see that station drop that- it was way under-rated- maybe
> ahead of it's time.

We're *certainly* not losing our butt right now, and that's before the tower move.  I am not sure if a motivational speaker formatted radio station would outperform Oldies, given that we'll be the only Oldies outlet once Q105 flips.  We'll keep Oldies as long as it's as profitable to us as it is now.

Given the relatively low price, I don't know anyone who could of looked at the station (WMGO-FM at the time) and not seen opportunity there.  $200k for a radio station in the FM band is unheard of.  Why weren't there 20 other buyers in line in front of me to get it?  I also had precisely zero days of radio sales or management experience when I came here.  Given that, plus I was an outsider, plus I was only 24 years old at the time, I should have been far less qualified than any of these other "experienced broadcasters" who allegedly saw a dog.  Didn't any of the experienced broadcasters realize that the tower could move 10 miles due south of its existing site, putting it well within range of the region's biggest industrial and commercial centers?

That said, the north metro can definitely support another station.  If we never break a 2.0 and have to live off of Inner City's pie crumbs, then that's fine.  You can make a darn good living from the crumbs of Inner City, just ask Clear Channel.

--- Casual Observer

[gooberj]

> WYAB will only be the 15th strictly commercial FM in the
> market.
> I would not say that Jackson is over-saturated.  I also know
> of
> at least two more commercial FMs that are planning to move
> to
> Jackson....
>

What are the other two FMs that are planning on moving into Jackson?

______________

Deep In The Heart of Dixie
Alabama/East TN/Kentucky/Mississippi

[Rickylee]

> > Yeah- that's what I meant. No offense intended to to the
> > folks at WYAB re: the "Johhny-Come-Lately" comment- it's
> > just that you guys are the latest FM to come to town. Good
>
> > luck and all but as "sorethroat" pointed out keep your
> costs
> > down or you'll lose your butt. There are more than a few
> > experienced broadcasters who looked at buying WYAB when it
>
> > was on the block- but even if you paid cash and didn't
> have
> > that interest the bottom line didn't look encouraging. I
> > think I read that you were keeping it oldies- Do yourself
> a
> > favor and rethink the oldies format- or re-define it- the
> > old model has played itself out.  780 AM used to be "The
> > Motivation Station" playing excerpts from a lot of
> different
> > speakers like Tony Robbins, Dale Carnegie all day- hated
> to
> > see that station drop that- it was way under-rated- maybe
> > ahead of it's time.
>
> We're *certainly* not losing our butt right now, and that's
> before the tower move.  I am not sure if a motivational
> speaker formatted radio station would outperform Oldies,
> given that we'll be the only Oldies outlet once Q105 flips.
> We'll keep Oldies as long as it's as profitable to us as it
> is now.
>
> Given the relatively low price, I don't know anyone who
> could of looked at the station (WMGO-FM at the time) and not
> seen opportunity there.  $200k for a radio station in the FM
> band is unheard of.  Why weren't there 20 other buyers in
> line in front of me to get it?  I also had precisely zero
> days of radio sales or management experience when I came
> here.  Given that, plus I was an outsider, plus I was only
> 24 years old at the time, I should have been far less
> qualified than any of these other "experienced broadcasters"
> who allegedly saw a dog.  Didn't any of the experienced
> broadcasters realize that the tower could move 10 miles due
> south of its existing site, putting it well within range of
> the region's biggest industrial and commercial centers?
>
> That said, the north metro can definitely support another
> station.  If we never break a 2.0 and have to live off of
> Inner City's pie crumbs, then that's fine.  You can make a
> darn good living from the crumbs of Inner City, just ask
> Clear Channel.
>
> --- Casual Observer
> Good Luck. Believe it or not I'd love to see you succeed. Your enthusiasm for what you are doing is your biggest asset. I was joking about the motivational format, BTW. When is Q-105 flipping? That would be interesting-I'd heard about a possible change earlier this year then CC circled the wagons and hunkered down with the status quo.