Frederick has been charmed in all sorts of ways. No local TV stations to compete with for ad dollars. Only a handful of radio stations--since DC & Baltimore gobbled up so many channels, back in the day.
Just beyond the 60 dBu contour of all the DC FM sticks (though most are listenable)--and too small for the DC stations to attempt direct selling. Why drive 40 miles to sell a $50 spot if you can drive 4 blocks and sell a $500 spot?
But the proximity allowed us to keep driving rates up in Frederick, knowing that advertisers had no real choice. It was us or DC.
And most importantly, a constant steady influx of new residents since around 1970. Growth spawns retail, which spawns advertising revenue. And the growth for these past 43 years has been generally upscale: there's lots of money floating around Frederick.
Just off the top of my head, I'd venture that part of Riverside-San Bernadino's problem may stem from having dozens of smaller stations strewn along the valley and just a handful of big sticks representing a market the size of--what?--Atlanta? Similar situation in San Jose--where so many allocations got snagged by broadcasters up the Bay, years before SJ turned into America's 10th Largest City. And both of these metros are a real socioeconomic mix... and Riverside-SB really lacks a "center"--a Central City. Way too easy to dismiss Morristown as "already covered by NYC buys"--whether true or not...
My understanding is that the old Gibbons combo got up to around $5 million before the Recession, then got smacked like everyone else (though landing at $3.675 million in billing and a couple million in BCF isn't much of a smacking. We should all be so lucky). Clear Channel... Aloha Trust... Exxon-Mobil... the ownership of this one is probably irrelevant.
Just beyond the 60 dBu contour of all the DC FM sticks (though most are listenable)--and too small for the DC stations to attempt direct selling. Why drive 40 miles to sell a $50 spot if you can drive 4 blocks and sell a $500 spot?
But the proximity allowed us to keep driving rates up in Frederick, knowing that advertisers had no real choice. It was us or DC.
And most importantly, a constant steady influx of new residents since around 1970. Growth spawns retail, which spawns advertising revenue. And the growth for these past 43 years has been generally upscale: there's lots of money floating around Frederick.
Just off the top of my head, I'd venture that part of Riverside-San Bernadino's problem may stem from having dozens of smaller stations strewn along the valley and just a handful of big sticks representing a market the size of--what?--Atlanta? Similar situation in San Jose--where so many allocations got snagged by broadcasters up the Bay, years before SJ turned into America's 10th Largest City. And both of these metros are a real socioeconomic mix... and Riverside-SB really lacks a "center"--a Central City. Way too easy to dismiss Morristown as "already covered by NYC buys"--whether true or not...
My understanding is that the old Gibbons combo got up to around $5 million before the Recession, then got smacked like everyone else (though landing at $3.675 million in billing and a couple million in BCF isn't much of a smacking. We should all be so lucky). Clear Channel... Aloha Trust... Exxon-Mobil... the ownership of this one is probably irrelevant.