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The future of 96.5 and 1210 AM

J

Jul

Guest
I would like to get your expert opinions on the futures of Entercom Philly's 2 weak stations 96.5 FM and 1210 AM? What should Entercom do with the 2 stations? BTW if you have any rumors about the 2 stations, please feel free to post them.
 
Jul said:
I would like to get your expert opinions on the futures of Entercom Philly's 2 weak stations 96.5 FM and 1210 AM? What should Entercom do with the 2 stations? BTW if you have any rumors about the 2 stations, please feel free to post them.
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96.5: With WBEB in the stable, 96.5 is a blocker against anyone else coming into the AC spectrum. So there is not an immediate need for change while they determine the long term strategy for the cluster with WBEB included.

1210: They are doing the best thing possible with an AM market where there are only two format options left (sports is now an FM thing),
 
I think the only music formats that can still survive on AM are Classic Oldies 55 -75, Classic Country 54 -74 and Standards. I cannot understand how these metro's with millions and millions of radio listeners cannot support one of these formats, instead of all the useless drek on the AM band now. If the suits think anyone under 50 would not listen, they are sadly mistaken.
 
Gunsmoke said:
I think the only music formats that can still survive on AM are Classic Oldies 55 -75, Classic Country 54 -74 and Standards. I cannot understand how these metro's with millions and millions of radio listeners cannot support one of these formats, instead of all the useless drek on the AM band now. If the suits think anyone under 50 would not listen, they are sadly mistaken.
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Those formats with those age groups are totally unappealing to nearly all significant radio advertisers. There is just essentially no money out there to be placed against 55+.

Further, there is an agency buyer awareness that AM stations swing old, and likely none of the buyers ever placed any dollars on a music formatted AM.
 
Gunsmoke said:
I think the only music formats that can still survive on AM are Classic Oldies 55 -75, Classic Country 54 -74 and Standards. I cannot understand how these metro's with millions and millions of radio listeners cannot support one of these formats, instead of all the useless drek on the AM band now. If the suits think anyone under 50 would not listen, they are sadly mistaken.
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In the literal sense, perhaps they would get some under 50. But in the practical, meaningful sense...no, no one (again, a figurative expression) would listen under age 50. Not when they can, if they so choose, get said music from elsewhere in better quality.

There is zero, none, nada ability to support the format with advertising dollars in major markets. WPEN had a nice run. They died for a reason, and it wasn't lack of effort.

That's not what "suits" think (whatever that is supposed to mean); it's reality based on data.

As for the original topic....why, again, are we going down this same dang road? Julius, enough. What will happen will happen.
 
There must be literally millions of former 1210 listeners, rolling in their graves, over the concept of a 50,000 watt clear channel station being described as "weak"!
 
semoochie said:
There must be literally millions of former 1210 listeners, rolling in their graves, over the concept of a 50,000 watt clear channel station being described as "weak"!
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1210 has been a poor radio station since WCAU left the air 28 years ago. CBS really caused the problems 1210 has to this day and hurt their image. Had they better managed WCAU, the WCAU type of format would still be around today. WPHT is a poor copy-off of WCAU. Yes I know its been around for 22 years, but it will never be as good as a station like WCAU was.
 
DavidEduardo said:



1210: They are doing the best thing possible with an AM market where there are only two format options left (sports is now an FM thing),
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1210 AM should go all sports. Perhaps carry CBS Sports radio with local and national play by play sports and maybe put the Phillies back on 1210 AM full time to still draw people to listen to the station.
 
96.5 Has been struggling since WWDB-FM left the year 18 years ago. There has been so many changes with that station post WWDB-FM.
 
Jul said:
96.5 Has been struggling since WWDB-FM left the year 18 years ago. There has been so many changes with that station post WWDB-FM.
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There were problems when WWDB was still on the air. That a series of changes followed doesn't negate the original problem.

As for all sports on 1210--um, no. CBS clearly didn't make that a top priority, sending 610 to Beasley in the multi-station swap.

And had they "managed WCAU better"....we'd be precisely where we are today. 1210 IS what talk radio is for the most part, a handful of exceptions aside. This is exactly what WCAU was heading toward; they just took a little detour along the way to play some tunes and some games.

Time to get over the nonsensical obsession.
 
Jul said:
1210 AM should go all sports. Perhaps carry CBS Sports radio with local and national play by play sports and maybe put the Phillies back on 1210 AM full time to still draw people to listen to the station.
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Sports on AM has only a limited opportunity, as there are two FMs doing sports and billing very nicely. One of them is owned by Entercom already.

The sports listener will not go to AM if there is a well programmed FM doing the format.

WCAU bills much more as a talker than it could as a sports AM. And without cannibalizing their own FM's revenue.
 
Jul said:
maybe put the Phillies back on 1210 AM full time to still draw people to listen to the station.
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The Phillies are on WIP-FM. They are very happy there. Moving them to 1210 would not draw people there because they'd rather listen to WIP-FM.

We've been through this with you countless times already. It didn't happen the first time you brought it up, and it won't happen now.
 
Jul said:
1210 AM should go all sports. Perhaps carry CBS Sports radio with local and national play by play sports and maybe put the Phillies back on 1210 AM full time to still draw people to listen to the station.
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Well, if they wanted to throw in the towel and cop-out the easy way, they could go brokered-ethnic! :cool: :rolleyes:
 
I doubt 610 gets any listeners with their revamped sports format. A well programmed MOR format would fit perfectly on the memorable 610 frequency and the best 5kw signal in the country would have a large listening area. Be honest, wouldn't MOR make better sense then yet another sports format.
 
You guys seem to think that because YOU want it, that everyone wants it. That's not how it works.
 
Gunsmoke said:
I doubt 610 gets any listeners with their revamped sports format. A well programmed MOR format would fit perfectly on the memorable 610 frequency and the best 5kw signal in the country would have a large listening area. Be honest, wouldn't MOR make better sense then yet another sports format.
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First, 610 is very, very far from having the best 5 kw signal in the country. You can start with WNAX, KFYR, KWMT, WMT, WIBW, (the former) WOW, KILT, KSJB, KTSA, KCSP and lots of other low-band stations in areas with better ground conductivity.

Yes, it's a good signal. But, like all AM's the major issue is the high noise level in metropolitan areas. The ITU now says that 15 mV/m is the minimum AM signal needed to overcome noise in cities of over 10,000 population... and that means that 610 does not even cover adequately the full Philadelphia market.

610 is "memorable" to listeners from their Top 40 days. That pretty much means people over 60. No significant advertisers want that group. And MOR was a format that was as much about style and personality as the music. The music needs for MOR in today's world are filled by WBEB. And what today's listeners want in terms of personality is very different from the 50's and 60's... in the past, radio was our contact with the world... today it's our mobile device and the Internet.
 
Gunsmoke said:
I doubt 610 gets any listeners with their revamped sports format. A well programmed MOR format would fit perfectly on the memorable 610 frequency and the best 5kw signal in the country would have a large listening area. Be honest, wouldn't MOR make better sense then yet another sports format.
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Speaking of obsessions that need to be let go of....
 
AbrahamJSimpson said:
Speaking of obsessions that need to be let go of....
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here is an idea--95.5 WJUL-FM and 1210 WJUL-AM...replay of all of the 1980/90s talk and sports. Or we can continue to humor Mr. May. Or both.
 
Hey, Jul, I heard a rumor that 1210 was planning to flip to harder-edged Alternative as “Alt 1210” in the next few days..... hehe
 
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