Buddy's WECK?

Buddy's had the station for two or three months now. There was plenty of talk about the station here on this board before he took over, but very little here now. What's everyone think? Has anyone listened?

The morning show is decent and improving and Jon Summers seems to be doing a fine job. But Harv Moore's caught in a 60s time warp. With him, it's a hit and a bit, a hit and a bit, a hit and a .... And more than a few of Harv's bits are what I would consider "off color". Surprising that someone hasn't sat down with him to straighten him out. Hardly proper mid-day fare in today's radio. And PM drive? Forget about it.

While Buddy's selling plenty of commercials to pay the bills, the 6 and 7 minute commercial breaks are killers from a listener's point of view.

Will Buddy hit his project 4.0 share in the ratings? Smart money says not likely unless things change dramatically.

yugoidar said:

While Buddy's selling plenty of commercials to pay the bills, the 6 and 7 minute commercial breaks are killers from a listener's point of view.

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For many years, conventional wisdom was that long spot breaks are caused by corporate ownership. This station proves it's not. Live & local radio is expensive, and when you only have revenue from advertising, that means lots of spots.

TheBigA said:

For many years, conventional wisdom was that long spot breaks are caused by corporate ownership. This station proves it's not. Live & local radio is expensive, and when you only have revenue from advertising, that means lots of spots.

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No one has more than WLNG Sag Harbor, NY, at least during the hours when listening is heaviest. Oldies geeks love the station because of its huge playlist, but I've always found its cluttered, gabby presentation unlistenable. I guess the people in its market -- the ones who count -- love it more for its lost-dog notices and coming-events announcements, not to mention its ads for all the local mom-and-pop shops, and think of the music as filler.

yugoidar said:

Buddy's had the station for two or three months now. There was plenty of talk about the station here on this board before he took over, but very little here now. What's everyone think? Has anyone listened?

The morning show is decent and improving and Jon Summers seems to be doing a fine job. But Harv Moore's caught in a 60s time warp. With him, it's a hit and a bit, a hit and a bit, a hit and a .... And more than a few of Harv's bits are what I would consider "off color". Surprising that someone hasn't sat down with him to straighten him out. Hardly proper mid-day fare in today's radio. And PM drive? Forget about it.

While Buddy's selling plenty of commercials to pay the bills, the 6 and 7 minute commercial breaks are killers from a listener's point of view.

Will Buddy hit his project 4.0 share in the ratings? Smart money says not likely unless things change dramatically.

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Dude, it’s no wonder you are out of radio. I suggest you check the summer ratings book and realize that WECK went up dramatically in cume. Nearly 60000 per week for a 1 KW am station versus 50000 watt FM stations, a few with 80000 cumes. That is the biggest cume WECK has ever had! Our share 12 plus went up to 2.6 just 1.4 away from a 4 share. WECK BEAT WLKK 12 plus. Again, we are a 1k station. WECK is the most talked about station in Buffalo right now, and WAIT until the fall book comes out. If the first trend was any indication, WECK will be a top 8 station. Our 50 plus numbers are doubled. Plus, we have a whole other translator on deck for the Northtowns which will increase our cume hugely. That is in addition to the additional moves we are making to 1029 next week. So I now say the 4 share will be 4 to 5 12 plus.

You are totally wrong in what you think is good programming. No one needs to sit down with radio legends and straighten them out!! They need to control their show, not me. when WECK gets even a 4 share which now could happen as early as the fall book, the station will be up for a national Marconi award. A 1k am going up against 50k fms and we are making huge inroads. Bank on it.

Buddy, are you a subscriber to Nielsen's Summer book? Checking the ratings on allaccess.com I don't see your station listed above WLKK with a 12+ share of 1.9 in the recent Summer book. And according to the disclaimer, the listed stations are subscribing stations.

So 36 years ago when most of the listening was still on the AM band, WECK as a "Music of Your Life" station was pulling some very good numbers according to this info from Wikipedia.

"WECK grew from a "no show" in the ratings at the time of the format change (on 4/4/81) to an all-time high of #4 in the market in late 1983. The trade publication "Inside Radio" touted the headlines: "WECK..takes town by storm" and "WECK skyrockets into contention". Radio and Records designated WECK as a "Fastest Mover" up the ratings ladder.

The 1,000 watt station garnered a 7.2 share of 12+ all listeners, beating most FM, and every area AM station (including 50,000 watt WWKB) except #1 WBEN. The Radio and Records Directory also listed WECK as #4 in the entire U.S. in Average Quarter Hour listening (AQH) among stations with similar formats".

Those were the days, my friend. I wonder what WECK's cume looked like then.

Buddy, I admire your optimism and I hope you make your 4 or 5 share - I really do. If it happens, I'll be the among the first to offer my congratulations.

The Dude

DavidEduardo said:

About 100,000 in the 1981-1982 period. It was a true diary world, with huge TSL but cume was only around 10th in the market.

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Geeez, 1981.

I remember my mom having me wait by the curb for the ice-wagon to get ice for our icebox. Sometimes while waiting, I'd sneak a Lucky Strike.

Memories.

yugoidar said:

Buddy, are you a subscriber to Nielsen's Summer book? Checking the ratings on allaccess.com I don't see your station listed above WLKK with a 12+ share of 1.9 in the recent Summer book. And according to the disclaimer, the listed stations are subscribing stations.

So 36 years ago when most of the listening was still on the AM band, WECK as a "Music of Your Life" station was pulling some very good numbers according to this info from Wikipedia.

"WECK grew from a "no show" in the ratings at the time of the format change (on 4/4/81) to an all-time high of #4 in the market in late 1983. The trade publication "Inside Radio" touted the headlines: "WECK..takes town by storm" and "WECK skyrockets into contention". Radio and Records designated WECK as a "Fastest Mover" up the ratings ladder.

The 1,000 watt station garnered a 7.2 share of 12+ all listeners, beating most FM, and every area AM station (including 50,000 watt WWKB) except #1 WBEN. The Radio and Records Directory also listed WECK as #4 in the entire U.S. in Average Quarter Hour listening (AQH) among stations with similar formats".

Those were the days, my friend. I wonder what WECK's cume looked like then.

Buddy, I admire your optimism and I hope you make your 4 or 5 share - I really do. If it happens, I'll be the among the first to offer my congratulations.

The Dude

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I don’t mind talking about this, but you need to know the facts. WECK is not a neilson subscriber in summer. We are in fall. I happen to know that WECK BEAT LKK 12 plus share in summer. It also came damn close to mix 96. WECK’s listening is done 60 percent AM and 40 percent FM as you can only get the fm in the south towns. Wait until out Northtowns fm!, and perhaps you should ask Eduardo how our 50 plus numbers were. Everything you say is wrong. Get the facts dude. I will expect an email from you when we hit 4 share 12 plus. Give it a few months.

TheBigA said:

For many years, conventional wisdom was that long spot breaks are caused by corporate ownership. This station proves it's not. Live & local radio is expensive, and when you only have revenue from advertising, that means lots of spots.

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Conventional wisdom also says the more spots mean less ratings. Ask wyrk about that or wblk which both play the most spots an hour in the market.

Buddy Shula said:

Conventional wisdom also says the more spots mean less ratings. Ask wyrk about that or wblk which both play the most spots an hour in the market.

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When I asked my mentor in college how much I should charge for my services, his answer always was "Whatever the market will bear." I've found that rule also applies to spot breaks. Country and urban audiences are traditionally very loyal to radio. I expect you're getting that same loyalty.

DavidEduardo said:

I believe you are recalling 1881.

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Nope, the Lucky Strike pack would've been green back then. Mine was white. Definitely 1981. Worked part time at a buggy whip factory.

Buffalo has slipped to market #58. Where will WECK find all these "new" old listeners? If they can grab some from WBEN or WHTT, then they could go up some from a 2.6.

Let everyone know when WECK gets that Macaroni Award from the Delicatessen...

tbolt909 said:

Buffalo has slipped to market #58. Where will WECK find all these "new" old listeners? If they can grab some from WBEN or WHTT, then they could go up some from a 2.6.

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Time IS cranking out those old people. Don't forget, we're only about 6 years in to almost a generation full of baby boomers turning 65.

A few weeks ago in an informal company research project, I kept track of the stations I listen to for a period of "at least five minutes." As noted, it was an informal survey, so stations that received three minutes of listening (a song or news story) actually made the cut. This estimate of listening is a lot like the diary. Inexact. It's not a difficult task if one uses the voice record app on a smart phone to track listening. PPM is more precise. After a week, the stations that I personally "cumed" for a period of at least five minutes, give or take, at home and in my car: WBFO, 11; 91.7, 8; WBUF, 8; WYRK, 5; WHTT, 4; WGRF, 3; WGR, 3; Jazz 91.1, 2; WECK, 2; WLLK 2. The actual time spent listening (TSL) varies. WBFO received the greatest TSL. It's not a scientific assessment, but it relates to the discussion on this thread. In a diary market like Buffalo, AQH Persons remains an important metric. The Fall book, now in full swing, will be affected by All Christmas listening, hockey and football. In a PPM market, greater value would be ascribed to cume listening. If Buffalo was a PPM market, managers and owners would be able to see, in a matter of days, exactly which songs, DJ talk and long commercial breaks created tune-out and address the issues. Being a diary market, a lot is left to diary reviews months after the survey is taken. Sometime in January, the real story will be revealed.

E9 - I see that WBEN is not on your list. The failed simulcast they tried a few years ago proved that the format cannot grow. No reason to sample the same stale vitriol. WBFO has seen successful membership drives recently.

The ALT format has never reached a 2 share. Once the CBS management takes the reigns from outside Buffalo, they may look at that under performing station. PPM is not likely to ever be used in Buffalo. That time passed years ago...

tbolt909 said:

Once the CBS management takes the reigns from outside Buffalo, they may look at that under performing station.

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Just an FYI: Entercom bought CBS Radio, not the other way around. Management in Buffalo is likely to stay the same.

flybynight said:

Nope, the Lucky Strike pack would've been green back then. Mine was white. Definitely 1981. Worked part time at a buggy whip factory.

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I still don't believe you. How many stars do the flags on that street have? And are they still at half-staff after the death of President Garfield?

CBS shareholders will get 72 percent after the merger. Entercom is not really "buying" CBS. Sounds like CBS will have the upper hand in decision making...