PLJ SOLD

[Barry]

I would not be surprised if in a few months, K-Love on 95.5 will have ratings comparable to WPLJ's.
Their station on 96.7, which reaches only part of the Metro area, had a recent overall rating of .8. Compare that to .3 on WNBM 103.9, which has a similar signal.
I've seen more bumper stickers for 96.7 than for other local stations. Perhaps that's an indication they have a loyal audience that is willing to help promote it.

 

[storm2k]

I would not be surprised if in a few months, K-Love on 95.5 will have ratings comparable to WPLJ's.
Their station on 96.7, which reaches only part of the Metro area, had a recent overall rating of .8. Compare that to .3 on WNBM 103.9, which has a similar signal.
I've seen more bumper stickers for 96.7 than for other local stations. Perhaps that's an indication they have a loyal audience that is willing to help promote it.

Quite right. Religious listeners are extremely loyal to their stations, especially since many of them view it as an either an extension of their beliefs, or as the only entertainment choice that lines up with their values, and want everyone to see their view of the world. In the Somerset/Middlesex County NJ area, you see a ton of bumper stickers for Star 99.1 (the religious station airing out of Zarepath, NJ's Pillar of Fire Ministries), way more than any other station in the Tri-State area (the only other one that even comes close is WMGQ 98.3 out of New Brunswick).

 

[Tibbs4]

Think about it:

1.) You have a "built in" loyal fan base that, given the music style, will really not age and die off. WIN +/-
2.) You broadcast nationally with the same programming. WIN ++
3.) You have no real sales team out pounding the streets. WIN +++++++
4.) You don't need a huge amount of space to run the station. WIN +++
5.) You don't have a finicky audience that gets tired of you and moves on to the next great format or medium. WIN ?
6.) You don't really worry about ratings to keep advertisers happy. WIN +++++
7.) You have ability to control the market, playlist and probably royalties to some extent. WIN ++++++++++++++
8.) You don't need a lot of mid-level managers in each city. WIN x 1 million
9.) You don't have to deal with debt or try to please investors (or con them.). LOSS (no fun trashing idiots that would EVER invest in radio corps)
10.) You don't have to deal with ad agencies, buyers or demographic studies that are all wrong. WIN x 2 million

Why are more stations NOT competing with K-Love?

Looks like a win to me.

 

[TheBigA]

Why are more stations NOT competing with K-Love?

Looks like a win to me.

Depends on what you mean. Salem offers its Fish format. It's #1 in Atlanta.

But I think what you're saying is that listener-supported radio is a good idea, and I agree.

There are about a dozen such stations in NYC right now, offering a variety of formats from jazz to classical to AAA. None of them would be able to exist if they had to appeal to advertisers. I think NY is ripe for a listener-supported oldies station. Are you with me, Tibbs?

 

[Barry]

WFDU 89.1 is a listener supported oldies station.
It seems to be largely ignored on this board.

 

[Tibbs4]

BigA - I was just reading an article in Punch about Gary Vaynerchuk entitled "The Guy Who Broke Wine." Had to LMAO off at the comment " “I’m not going to let four guys in a suit who are 63 years old tell me where the world’s going, because I know a hell of a lot better.” He was talking about TV. I don't think I have the "you know what's" to ask Gary to tell us what he thinks about radio. The age thing hurts, though. LOL. NOT THERE YET. But, the similarities of the wine business and radio business are amazingly similar. Even down to the charts of the top 100 songs or wines.

I am not sure how much money the "listeners" would send in support of a 100kw oldies (or any other formatted station.) Do you really think it even has real potential? Cause from where I stand/sit/crawl, Hippies spend but no one notices. (Note: If you do have a plan please send to my private email!) But, I will say this: It has to be a heck of a lot cheaper per listener who would pay to listen, than all the billions flushed down the radio toilet the "normal" way radio has been done did the last three decades. You get $20,000 in listener support and you still didn't loose $4M a station a year. You just have to "find" a couple of million a year for the next 10,000 years. Maybe. So maybe a new approach makes sense. I hear you can get great deals on stations in the Top 20 markets, but I am too scared to open the emails or answer the texts and calls on such "offers."

So, I do find it interesting that there are still just a few players. like Salem/FISH, BOTT, etc., in the genre and they all seem to have a healthy bottom line. Hmmm. This time the tongue in cheek humor of my last two posts should maybe read tongue in glass. Tonight it's Starbursts over wine. Must be the sugar buzz.

 

[TheBigA]

WFDU 89.1 is a listener supported oldies station.
It seems to be largely ignored on this board.

Seems to me they share their frequency with another college station, and they aren't strictly oldies.

 

[TheBigA]

I am not sure how much money the "listeners" would send in support of a 100kw oldies (or any other formatted station.) ]

Statistically the number is around 7%. That's the percentage of actual listeners who will contribute at least $50 to a radio station. If you make it easy, as in a recurring deduction from a credit card, it could go higher. And as you say, old folks have money, but they tend to be frugal (if you know what I mean). I think the hard part for anyone wanting to start a radio station is to get over that $25-40 million cost for a frequency. But sure, if you have the money (and I read today that this country has a lot of billionaires just looking for something to spend money on) then there are lots of radio stations to buy, as evidenced by the one in the OP.

 

[tomservo]

Why are more stations NOT competing with K-Love?

As TheBigA noted, you need to visit the south to see the competition. Fish in Atlanta is a good example. Birmingham has really gotten competitive in the listener-supported Christian field. Elijah Radio, Revocation Radio, Moody Radio, Family Radio, K-Love, Air1, WAY-FM and the locally-run WGIB are all playing to Christian ears, and many if not all of them play music full or part time.

Then there's Crawford's stable of commercial Christian stations. CCM WDJC, general praise-formatted WYDE AM and FM, and then gospel WXJC AM and FM.

That's not even including the smattering of LPFMs that play Christian music full or part time, or daytimer WURL in Moody which may or may not be commercial. Oh and the Guadaloupe Radio Network doing the Catholic flavor stuff.

In the deep south, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a listener-supported Christian station of some type. There is definitely room for more than one player in most markets.

 

[rfburns]

Well, Dittman's request was for them not to sell it to a major corporate player. He didn't say what the new owners could do. Whether that was Cumulus' doing or EMF's… I have no idea.

EMF picked up WDLT (WLVM) in the Mobile market and WRQQ (WLVU) in the Nashville market when they swapped WABB. It gave EMF a solid signal in Nashville which they did not have before.

 

[CTListener]

As TheBigA noted, you need to visit the south to see the competition. Fish in Atlanta is a good example. Birmingham has really gotten competitive in the listener-supported Christian field. Elijah Radio, Revocation Radio, Moody Radio, Family Radio, K-Love, Air1, WAY-FM and the locally-run WGIB are all playing to Christian ears, and many if not all of them play music full or part time.

Then there's Crawford's stable of commercial Christian stations. CCM WDJC, general praise-formatted WYDE AM and FM, and then gospel WXJC AM and FM.

That's not even including the smattering of LPFMs that play Christian music full or part time, or daytimer WURL in Moody which may or may not be commercial. Oh and the Guadaloupe Radio Network doing the Catholic flavor stuff.

In the deep south, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a listener-supported Christian station of some type. There is definitely room for more than one player in most markets.

Even here in Connecticut, we have stations like WIHS Middletown and WFIF Milford, and even little WCTF Vernon spewing the late Dr. Camping's Family Radio claptrap 24/7. I'm sure they all have their supporters who donate every month. I'd imagine the station that does the best, donation-wise, is Catholic WJMJ Hartford, which plays mostly secular music with Catholic preaching intertwined.

 

[Ai4i]

1.) You have a "built in" loyal fan base that...will really not age and die off.

Their belief in eternal life will not help any terrestrial radio station

 

[Wimmmex]

I'd imagine the station that does the best, donation-wise, is Catholic WJMJ Hartford, which plays mostly secular music with Catholic preaching intertwined.

I'm not so sure. Catholics have been notorious for their low contributions...compared to their Protestant counterparts.

 

[gr8oldies]

Protestants got about a 70 year head start

I'm not so sure. Catholics have been notorious for their low contributions...compared to their Protestant counterparts.

 

[johndavis]

WHY would PLJ want to take a "jab" at EMF by playing such an insignificant song by today's standards as far as WPLJ and its programming is concerned.

When Cumulus signed off WLUP, the last song was Highway to Hell.

Unlike Imagine, it was a song that was in their library and regular rotation at the end.

They'll probably pick a song that means something to their core audience today for PLJ.

 

[Least]

When Cumulus signed off WLUP, the last song was Highway to Hell.

Unlike Imagine, it was a song that was in their library and regular rotation at the end.

They'll probably pick a song that means something to their core audience today for PLJ.

So, you mean a song that will more than likely be completely forgotten in three months, like virtually everything played on modern Top 40/CHR/Hot AC radio? I kid of course

 

[Barry]

Can a nonprofit station such as K-Love broadcast a commercial one on its HD2?
If not, the Russian station on 95.5 HD2 will need to lease a channel on a different station. Of course it is also possible that even if it were legal for them to continue broadcasting the Russian station, K-Love may elect to use their HD channels for other content.

 

[GeoffR]

Can a nonprofit station such as K-Love broadcast a commercial one on its HD2?
If not, the Russian station on 95.5 HD2 will need to lease a channel on a different station. Of course it is also possible that even if it were legal for them to continue broadcasting the Russian station, K-Love may elect to use their HD channels for other content.

95.5 is a commercial channel so even though EMF might use it for non-commercial, they can use the HD channels for commercial radio. If EMF was at 89.5, that'd be a different story.

 

[fybush]

95.5 is a commercial channel so even though EMF might use it for non-commercial, they can use the HD channels for commercial radio. If EMF was at 89.5, that'd be a different story.

It's not that simple. Even though 95.5 is a commercial allotment, EMF will immediately file to operate it as a noncommercial license. (This saves it regulatory fees and makes it simpler to solicit listener dollars.)

At that point, 95.5 cannot have a commercial HD2 and the Russians will need to find a new home.

 

[Barry]

I find it interesting that the owners of the Russian broadcast feel it is worthwhile to operate on an HD subchannel, without a translator that would make it receivable on an ordinary radio. Apparently they have a number of on-air personalities.
While it of course also streams online, the station's website emphasizes the HD frequency. Perhaps this is an indication that many of the radios on newer cars now have HD capability.