Beck to the future

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Hoosier Daddy
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Beck to the future

Post by Hoosier Daddy »

[quote]BECK TO THE FUTURE
A surprise phone call created Columbus Ohio's first FM talk station
By Erik Johns / January 18, 2007


At 3 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 5, Ted FM was still a music station. Little did 103.9 listeners—of whom there were too few—know the days of its “We Play Everythingâ€
Translators are a Pox on the FM radio dial.
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Mark Hallburn
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Post by Mark Hallburn »

As a moderate I can't stand most talk shows on EITHER end of the political aisle, but I often watch Beck's TV show or listen to it on XM's Headline News channel.

Beck often makes sense, and when he doesn't he's pretty funny.
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Post by Arp2 »

Mark Hallburn wrote:As a moderate...
:lol:
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Post by Lester »

:lol: :lol:
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Post by Arp2 »

(Maybe in China, sure....)
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"Yeeee...it looks like a 'Belt Buckle & Ball Cap' convention in here......"
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Post by AmpedNow »

Switching from music to talk is nothing new in the world of radio; AM stations do it all the time. But an FM station going to round-the-clock talk is a bit of a rarity.
But less and less of one.
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Post by Mark Hallburn »

It can't do much worse than its previous format. I think it will do better.
But they need more local programming.
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Post by Ace Purple »

Interesting that the station kept Bob & Tom in the morning, which is a departure from what most News/Talkers do in that type of situation. B&T into Glenn Beck will make for an unusual mid-morning transition.
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Post by Arp2 »

Bob & Tom, when dumped by another station, had higher ratings than this station did. By taking B&T, they got themselves a little bump.

You're right, though....it's not the most logical flow.
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Post by Mark Hallburn »

Bob & Tom and Glenn Beck are a complete mismatch except for humor. Not a call I would make.
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Post by AmpedNow »

For a long time, WJFK in DC went from Stern into G. Gordon Liddy into Don & Mike... And it worked well.

Hot talk/humor and topical shows can coexist on the same station.
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Post by Mark Hallburn »

Yes, they can. But I would think they can find a strong, local personality to do morning drive in a market the size of Columbus. If I were a listener I would want a local personality.
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Post by Dave Loudin »

As a listener, I'm looking to be entertained. I don't give a fig where the voice is originating from - entertainment is entertainment.
Aircheck? You'd make a great board op.
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Post by Mark Hallburn »

Local radio's advantage over XM is LOCAL, LOCAL, LOCAL...
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Post by Arp2 »

Mark Hallburn wrote:Yes, they can. But I would think they can find a strong, local personality to do morning drive in a market the size of Columbus. If I were a listener I would want a local personality.
It's a very, very marginal signal for "a market the size of Columbus." You could put (pick your all-time favorite most-awesomest-ever) on there, and it still wouldn't get any numbers or make any money. If they could come up with such a great local personality, they would be wiser to make use of it on their 99.7.
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Post by Mark Hallburn »

I don't know about their signal strength. But I know I and many other listeners prefer a local show-as opposed to syndication. B &T may bring some ratings, but I don't see the same demo as those that would choose to listen to Glenn Beck.
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Post by Arp2 »

Mark Hallburn wrote:I don't know about their signal strength.

I can tell. :roll:

At its absolute best, it'd be like the Greenup station in Huntington.
But I know I and many other listeners prefer a local show-as opposed to syndication.

How can you prefer it if you can't hear it??
B &T may bring some ratings, but I don't see the same demo as those that would choose to listen to Glenn Beck.

35+ men..... :?
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Post by Mark Hallburn »

There are some hills between Greenup and Huntington. Columbus has fairly flat terrain. Even a weaker FM signal can travel a distance with no obstructions. Now getting that signal in an office tower could be a challenge. But who listens to talk radio in an office? No matter whether its a syndicated show or local, the signal doesn't change. But the desire to listen to the show does change.
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Post by Hoosier Daddy »

Mark Hallburn wrote:There are some hills between Greenup and Huntington. Columbus has fairly flat terrain. Even a weaker FM signal can travel a distance with no obstructions. Now getting that signal in an office tower could be a challenge.
The office towers of downtown Columbus wreak havoc on FM and TV signals that originate from outside Franklin County or from an inferior tower site outside or near the I-270 beltway. In the past 15 years, several FM stations and one TV station moved their sticks, changed city of license, or built a new tower to overcome the shadowing and destructive multipath caused by all that concrete and steel.

Columbus got their FM assignments back in the day when the city was only slightly bigger than Charleston WV. For the longest time, Columbus was considered 'under radioed' for a metro area its size. Many of the "add in" signals that came along are actually transmitted from out of county, or with severely directional signals at low antenna height, because of all the co-channel and adjacent channel licensees within a hundred miles of Central Ohio.

Ted FM (WTDA, 103.9) is licensed to Westerville, in extreme northeast Franklin County. The transmitter is even further north, along State Route 3 in Delaware County south of Sunbury. It's an easy 15 miles from WTDA's Class A stick to downtown Columbus, and the skyscrapers cause severe multipath in and around the central city, and almost totally blocks the signal in certain areas to the south.

8)
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Post by Arp2 »

Hoosier Daddy wrote:Ted FM (WTDA, 103.9) is licensed to Westerville, in extreme northeast Franklin County. The transmitter is even further north, along State Route 3 in Delaware County south of Sunbury. It's an easy 15 miles from WTDA's Class A stick to downtown Columbus, and the skyscrapers cause severe multipath in and around the central city, and almost totally blocks the signal in certain areas to the south.
...and, with "The SuperTower" just a mile west of those buildings and WNCI's 175,000 watts coming off the top of the Nationwide building, the whole downtown area and beyond is a splattery mess.

If Mark really thinks a local show on that signal is going to make all the difference and move the needles on ratings and revenue, he should buy it and make it happen. :roll:
"I don't know the same things you don't know."

"Yes, you do; you just won't admit it!"


"Yeeee...it looks like a 'Belt Buckle & Ball Cap' convention in here......"
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