1150 -- wassup w/those guys??

[RBW]

I am a radio guy and I like money.  If 1150 was my station I would sell my soul to the devil and put Rush & Beck on if they were available but they are not.  I am sure there were no tears shed at WIBX over losing Laura.  They are much better off with Glen Beck. She was on WFBL before and did NOTHING.  If you can present a success story (rating wise) for the 3rd string right wingers, please share it with me.  From what I can see, stations that air those programs don't put a dent in the ratings of the dominate AM talkers in their markets.  If they can nichol and dime to get revenue- good for them.
As far as PROGRESSIVE talk goes at least it's something different and has been successful in markets where it has been promoted on a decent signal.  Disney is shutting off some marginal AM's.  So I don't know if  there would be any interest in Utica.  Might be too small of a market but 1150 does have the signal. It would be a good and easy way to make money as a LMA.

OK... I guess I see where you're comin from. Maybe what threw me, was your term "3rd string". Are those meant to be secondary talkers who try to clone themselves off the Hannity's, Ingraham's, Beck's etc...? Maybe Michael Savage or Michael Medved?

[therealjm12]

It seems like to me every market has a dominate news talker.  In Syracuse, it's WSYR, Utica-WIBX, Rochester -WHAM, Buffalo -WBEN etc.  Albany does have an up and coming against WGY but I think it is different because it is the state capitol.  Major markets like NYC, Chicago, L. A. can support more than one talker. Ironically in L. A., one of the successful (but second tier) stations  is on 1150 and is progressive talk and where Stephanie Miller does her show from -morning drive.

Right wingers pray to the God of O'Reily but he gave up his radio show.  He just didn't get the clearances on major stations in major markets.  Hence no numbers.  So what I am saying is that if you want to be successful in the situation of 1150 in Utica or in Syracuse you need to be unique.  WSYR and WIBX have the right shows and news departments to back them up. And don't forget there are more than 30,000 people up on the Hill in Syracuse hungry for programs like Stephanie Miller and Ed Shultz.  They are educated, have incomes, and are a great younger demo.  Something that AM doesn't seem to go after at least not in Central N. Y.

[RBW]

And don't forget there are more than 30,000 people up on the Hill in Syracuse hungry for programs like Stephanie Miller and Ed Shultz.  They are educated, have incomes, and are a great younger demo.  Something that AM doesn't seem to go after at least not in Central N. Y.

Hmmmm... That paragraph tells me a few things. If they're a "great younger demo", then I'm assuming that means under 35?  Which probably also means YES, they're most likely in the Obama camp. Most of their education, again, may of come from professors (and associated classes) for whom spoke highly of a left-leaning democracy. It would however, seem unlikely to me that these younger, highly educated demos, would listen to AM radio... even if it presented their point of view. And I don't think that's unique to just central NY. This seems to be one of the reasons (although not officially validated) why WGY 810 is NOW simulcasting on 103.1 --- Time will tell how THAT turns out!

[Element9]

And as we all know, all college/university professors are left wing loons and nobody under 35 is a Republican.[/sarcasm]   Take It Outside in 3... 2... 1...

[therealjm12]

Take It Outside in 3... 2... 1...

Aw, come on Nine don't ya feel the love?  I do agree that this thread had slightly turned into politics and I don't think anyone meant to do that.  So back on subject. What would you (anyone) do with 1150 in Utica?

[useddj]

Well you are all gonna think Im all wet..but I think a Adult Standards format might do pretty well considering that it would be broadcast on 3 stations and actually cover good portion of CNY. When anyone has attempted that format it has always been on a low power AM..."lets just throw it on there..to fill up the air". Given a decent signal perhaps it could do well. NO IT WONT BE #1, but I bet they could get some good advertising dollars. Keep in mind, in 1993 WFBL was Music of Your Life (1390)and it was pretty competitive 12+ in the Arbitron, then was moved to 1050, where it couldn't be heard atnight. TLA came on and took a chunk of the audience. However TLA is no more, and frankly I think there is still a possible hole for that format especially if we are talking, Syracuse, Oneida and Utica!!!   PLUS that audience is use to listening to music on AM.
Just a thought...again it may not work...but you asked. 

[JustPastBuffalo]

Not saying Standards wouldn't work in Utica or Syracuse, but the format is a roll of the dice more now than it was ten years ago. It's nowhere near the sure thing it may have been 20 years ago, when Al Hamm's "Music Of Your Life" stations were steady but on the brink of falling off the table.  Oldies, especially on FM, really hurt the MOYL stations because it took away the "lower end" of the MOYL ratings success and left MOYL stations with 55+.  Oldies offered the Baby Boom generation a format that it loved:  Four Tops, Stones, Temptations, Beatles, Elvis, Supremes, Four Seasons.  Oldies was a younger version of Music Of Your Life/Standards and an "older" version of Classic Hits.

Classic Hits has about five years of legs before it's forced to feature much more music from the 80s in order to survive and deliver 45-50 year olds.  Classic Hits does very well these days, but its primarily a 70s format.  Do the math: Playing 35-40 year old songs attracts listeners who are 45-55 years old.  Not bad today.  Five years from now?  Not so much. 

Playing songs that are 45 years old puts a station in the Oldies category.  Playing songs that are 55 years old is Standards' bailiwick.  Listener perception and differentiation get pretty foggy around this point.  What's the difference between Standards and Oldies?   

Standards is primarily a "Great American Song Book" format: Count Basie, Sinatra, Glenn Miller, Andrews Sisters, Johnny Mathis, Barbra Streisand and the like.  Problem is, Standards hits the 65-70 demo.  An Oldies/Standards hybrid might be a better approach, offering music centered around 1955-65, which would be the sweet spot of the format.  If a listener was 10 in 1955... 65 today.  You can see where this is going. 

We haven't even touched on the fact that a lot of "older" listeners want to hear their favorite music on something better than a noisy, crackly AM station, preferring FM.  Used to be radio people would say, "Hell, those old people don't care if it's AM, they just wanna hear their songs."  Maybe that was true twenty or ten years ago, but that kind of logic is less than accurate these days.  So if you're thinking of putting Oldies/Standards on an AM, you'd want the audio to sound as clean as possible inside the 5 mv/m contour.

Elvis, Roy Orbison, early Beatles, Four Seasons, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dusty Springfield, Neil Diamond, Drifters... all great artists for Oldies/Standards.  Play the music/artists that Classic Hits stations won't touch.  If a station can sell 55-65 demos and make a profit, the format is viable, at least for about five years.  But if it's going to be done, please make it sound good, not like some iPod on life support or worse, somebody's cassette tape collection.

[Mike Sheridan]

Jim good post points well made without insulting us geezers!

How about this:  A format that is like MOR radio from the '70's, '80's and even '90's with Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Henry Mancini, John Denver, Helen Reddy, Whitney Houston, Linda Ronstadt, Celine Dion, Vanessa Williams, Basia.  Carpenters, Beatles, Bee Gees, Supremes and other soft rock that would fit an adult music format. 

There is a bunch of good product that gets ignored today from the '70's, '80's and even '90's.  There are songs from the '50's and '60's that could be sprinkled in as gold. 

You would think that Elton John and Billy Joel were the only ones making music in the '70's from listening to the A/C stations where I live.  On top of that they seem to play maybe 3 or 4 songs tops from those two, over and over.

Do you think something like this would have legs?

[RBW]

How about this:  A format that is like MOR radio from the '70's, '80's and even '90's with Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Henry Mancini, John Denver, Helen Reddy, Whitney Houston, Linda Ronstadt, Celine Dion, Vanessa Williams, Basia.  Carpenters, Beatles, Bee Gees, Supremes and other soft rock that would fit an adult music format. 
Do you think something like this would have legs?

The amount of "pull" I have with anyone barely extends beyond my wife......BUT, as a listener (and middle-aged geezer) that sounds like a potential winner! I'd certainly listen to that. However...... in Utica, that more or less already exists with B95.5 (1480 and 1550)... again however, those signals barely get OUT of Utica... except for daytime on WADR. Syracuse could use it, since they recently lost 1200 to ESPN.

Maybe someone WITH pull could work on it 

[useddj]

Yes that is kind of what I was thinking...I didnt necessarily mean BIG BAND all the time... up until early 80's people were listening to AM for their "pop" hits, Reddy, Denver, Sinatra, Houston, Ronstadt, and NO AC station is playing those tunes.

And I agree with Mike...thanks for a conversation without insulting us "geezers"!  ... Im mean Im not that old...dont need the blue pill..yet!