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music vs sports for a low rated AM

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broadcastamerica

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Lets suppose that you were a group owner with a high power AM.
Lets suppose that you had an AM that ranked 35 in the book.
Lets suppose that it ran a Sports format.
Would there be any upside/benefit in flipping to a format such as The Touch (the urban adult format from Citadel), Timeless Cool, Smooth Jazz or Smooth AC or any other sat delivered music format not duplicated on FM except maybe on an HD-2 or HD-3 and that would not add overhead to the operations of the station and couldn't do any worse than the Sports format?
 
No. That makes too much sense. Would this station be near the "10" on the AM dial??
 
Broadcastamerica,

I sent you a PM.
 
With their bad signal .... going East and West only, 1010 would do well to concentrate on the Lakeland/Winter Haven market.
They put a great signal into Lakeland and Winter Haven both day and night.
They will never be a major player in the Tampa/St. Pete market. They don't cover the metro.
I can't believe that CBS hasn't figured this one out.
 
In addition to targeting Lakeland and Winter Have, it wouldn't hurt to target Plant City as well; especially since Plant City hasn't had a local radio voice in about 15 years. (RIP WPLA 910, South Collins St., what a great community service orientated station they were).

If they're not going to do that, they just might as well relay their sister station WINS 1010's programming......... the ratings couldn't get any worse (considering that they're 50,000 watts it's amazing how few people listen to that east west pattern).

btw- I've picked up 1010 in on a car radio in Vero Beach and although not remarkedbly strong, the signal in Vero was stronger than southern Hernando county, parts of Pasco county and the city of Sarasota.

drt
st. pete
 
But radio GMs (most of whom are male) think .1 sports share = infinity share in any other format. How else can you explain so many markets with 0.2 and 0.3 sports talkers that don't dare try anything else? Otherwise reluctant advertisers will spill their gold for any radio enterprise with "sports" in front. How else can you explain the "career" of Chris Jones?

Considering how small the AM share is in Polk County, and how it's split up among WFLA, WLKF, WFLF, WDBO, and WDAE, I'm not sure targeting Lakeland/Winter Haven is a winning strategy for an east Hillsborough AM either.
 
Good luck selling music on AM for any format other than standards.

If you were small-town mom and pop maybe, but not in a major market.
 
smedge2006 said:
But radio GMs (most of whom are male) think .1 sports share = infinity share in any other format. How else can you explain so many markets with 0.2 and 0.3 sports talkers that don't dare try anything else? Otherwise reluctant advertisers will spill their gold for any radio enterprise with "sports" in front. How else can you explain the "career" of Chris Jones?

Considering how small the AM share is in Polk County, and how it's split up among WFLA, WLKF, WFLF, WDBO, and WDAE, I'm not sure targeting Lakeland/Winter Haven is a winning strategy for an east Hillsborough AM either.
Click to expand...

Discounting the brokered stuff like Chris Jones (his story isn't about what's wrong with sports talk, it's about what's wrong with brokering a station), sports can make money with little to no ratings. Alumni who own businesses will run spots on their college's games, you can sell remotes at bars, you can clear long-form programs such as coaches shows for your FM partners who have the games, you can carry minor-league teams play by play, you can carry out-of market games that might have some local tie-in... the opportunities are endless. The fact that little to none of that was done on the station I think we're discussing again doesn't indict the format but rather the management of the station. You can run a tidy profit off of a .3. Try doing that with music.
 
Parttimer said:
...sports can make money with little to no ratings...
Click to expand...

'Tis true, even if mostly fed off the bird, the opportunity and possibility to sell spots is more frequent with a sports format, as opposed to music, or for that matter, third-tier right-wing talk radio...
 
Discounting the brokered stuff like Chris Jones (his story isn't about what's wrong with sports talk, it's about what's wrong with brokering a station), sports can make money with little to no ratings.
Click to expand...

Actually, it's what's wrong with brokered radio AND sports talk... you can make money without making any effort to get listeners. Something about both causes businesses to close their common sense and open their wallets for all the empty seats disguised as listeners.
 
I don't know if you're giving the managers of 1010 enough credit. I believe the switch from sports to classic country a few years ago was a lesson to be learned from. Obviously they went back to sports because someone realized that despite the crap signal, there was money to be made by selling the airtime and or cutting deals with sports teams, local personalities, and or networks. Do stations like 1010 and 1040 really think they're gonna knock off WDAE in terms of ratings? Probably not... but if you know what you're doing, sports talk might be the easiest and best format to sell when it comes to small ratings and a niche audience.

And as far as the suggestion to target other areas of the state due to the large butterfly signal pattern 1010 puts over Polk County and central Florida.... That's just not good business. To do that, you'd have to assign reps to target and sell those areas and spending resources on that probably isn't justified. As a sales manager, I'd much rather have my team in Tampa Bay selling QYK, RBQ, and the like and dropping 1010 in the deal as a bonus.
 
I would argue that who buy sports radio stations, or any radio station, without significant numbers are buying a pig in a poke. They're being self-indulgent or they're being conned. Or maybe both at the same time. Just like brokered radio.
 
Then I say take it REALLY off the wall and go with Alex Jones, some kind of Chuck Harder knockoffs..and conspiracy-talk like the Liberty radio Network who run scary talk-hosts and spots about how to drink distilled water thru metal y-tubes that contain de-ionized silveroid to ward off the radiation and "special enzymes" that the CIA puts in municipal water systems to make us all do their bidding..and shows about keeping healthy thru organic soil enhancements..and survival packets that contain death pills when the "big one" comes along.

No need for ratings..
 
AND..get a few billboards and bus cards that say "DO NOT LISTEN TO 1010 AM RADIO"

and run liners that tell people to "turn the radio OFF right now"

guess what would happen...
 
Jeff, That's GREAT! Super idea,, and it would work WELL in that particular area.

PS I enjoyed your computer show when it was on WGN, Chicago.
 
Jeff Laurence said:
AND..get a few billboards and bus cards that say "DO NOT LISTEN TO 1010 AM RADIO"

and run liners that tell people to "turn the radio OFF right now"

guess what would happen...
Click to expand...

That is fabulous.
 
Posted by: Jeff Laurence
Insert Quote
Then I say take it REALLY off the wall and go with Alex Jones, some kind of Chuck Harder knockoffs..and conspiracy-talk like the Liberty radio Network who run scary talk-hosts and spots about how to drink distilled water thru metal y-tubes that contain de-ionized silveroid to ward off the radiation and "special enzymes" that the CIA puts in municipal water systems to make us all do their bidding..and shows about keeping healthy thru organic soil enhancements..and survival packets that contain death pills when the "big one" comes along.

No need for ratings..

You already have that now with Art Bell, George Noory, and Glenn Beck
 
1010 actually had a good lineup circa 2003/2004, but with their signal, they will never be able to get the numbers in Tampa/St Pete.

Their current lineup is an absolute embarrassment and I really do cringe every time I hear Mike Pepper try to sound intelligent on anything except soccer (lol)
 
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