News and musings about radio and TV in Northeast Ohio and beyond.
June 30, 2006
For you sports radio diehards in Kent, Ravenna and parts of the Akron area who’ve missed it –
Media-Com sports WJMP/1520 Kent “Fox Sports Radio 1520” is back on the air this afternoon. The station went off the air a couple of days ago, reportedly due to a lightning strike to its transmitter…
June 30, 2006
We don’t normally spend much time watching the Cincinnati market, but a high-profile frequency swap and two formats we normally watch have added up to more interest on our part up here.
Radio & Records Online confirms our earlier report – liberal talk WCKY will indeed move to the 1360 AM frequency when sister sports “1360 Homer, The Sports Animal” takes up residence on the flamethrower at 1530. (We’re still not sure if the call letters will move with the formats.)
R&R quotes Clear Channel Cincinnati AM operations manager Darryl Parks: “Moving Homer to 1530AM will enable us to broadcast The Sports Animal at 50,000 watts. Increasing the station’s reach gives us the opportunity to better serve the huge demand for Sports radio in the region.”
What demand there is for liberal talk in the region is still an open question.
None of our facts below have changed, and Parks – at least in quotes in the R&R snippet today – does not even reference WCKY, the liberal talk format or locally-based syndicated host Jerry Springer. It’s all about “Homer”.
That, along with his quotes from the Enquirer earlier this month would still seem to place the liberal talk format in some jeopardy in its new home at 1360 AM.
Our “totally off the wall guess” – the fate and future of Cincinnati’s “The Revolution of Talk Radio” solely depends on one thing…the status of Springer’s radio contract. They’ll either have to wait it out, or buy it out. One of the two.
Springer likes doing the radio show and has – if you believe him – eschewed runs for political office to do it, but if the audience is not there…Clear Channel will not continue to keep running his show.
Without the Springer contract, we’d believe that the liberal talk format would not be making the move to 1360 on July 7th. We’re also wondering how much Springer and Clear Channel’s deal to syndicate him via Air America are complicating this situation…
June 29, 2006
AllAccess reports a Clear Channel press release out of Cincinnati – the cluster’s sports outlet, WSAI/1360 “1360 Homer, The Sports Animal”, is reportedly moving to the 50,000 watt signal at 1530…currently occupied by liberal talk WCKY “The Revolution of Talk Radio”.
The “Homer” move is set to take place July 7th.
UPDATE (10:01 AM 6/30/06): OMW hears from at least two sources that at least for now, the liberal talk format will make the move to 1360 AM when sports moves to 1530 on July 7th. We’re not altogether certain that the move will be a long-term one, for the reasons we state below from our earlier item. The following, as we remind you again, is just our own speculation…
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Enquirer radio/TV guru John Kiesewetter quotes Jones Radio syndicated afternoon host Ed Schultz as sounding a warning for the future of WCKY’s liberal talk format.
“Republicans and conservatives … are trying to get WCKY-AM in Cincinnati to take us off the air,” Schultz wrote in an E-Mail to members of the Hamilton County Democratic Party a few months ago. “Sources inform us right-wingers have even gone so far as to call local advertisers and tell them they will not do business with them because they buy advertising during ‘The Ed Schultz Show'”
But the more important wording in the article comes from Clear Channel Cincinnati AM programming chief Darryl Parks, who tells the Enquirer that WCKY’s liberal talk format “could be dropped” if anemic ratings are not improved.
Quoting the article:
“We’re not happy with the (ratings) results. We’re always looking for a way to improve our product (stations),” Parks says. “This isn’t about any political ideology. This is all about ratings and revenues.”
It always is about ratings and revenue in commercial radio, and though we don’t know the revenue side of the equation, the ratings have been pitifully low for “The Revolution of Talk Radio”.
The 50,000 watt blowtorch – in the latest 12-plus numbers in Cincinnati – was even beaten by WDJO/1160 Florence KY, which flipped to the “real oldies” format that was featured on 1530 before liberal talk showed up…complete with 1530’s former morning host Dusty Rhodes. (We don’t have in-demo numbers in the Cincinnati market, but that picture couldn’t have been much better for WCKY…if it was, you wouldn’t see that quote above out of Mr. Parks.)
And Springer’s show is on its last legs as well. Not only is it not popular in Cincinnati…it doesn’t seem to be catching on anywhere. Cleveland CC sister talker WTAM/1100 dumped Springer for a local show hosted by Bob Frantz. Even within the liberal talk format, Springer just lost another big market – Miami – to Jones Radio’s Stephanie Miller.
Liberal talk was a gamble in mostly conservative Cincinnati, and we don’t think the company would have even mounted the format without a big local name to anchor it – that name being Springer…the former Cincinnati mayor and TV news anchor…
June 28, 2006
UPDATE (6/29/06 3:05 PM): OMW hears that WJMP’s transmitter was hit by a lightning strike, taking the Kent-licensed AM station off the air. 1520 is expected to return to the airwaves sometime Friday…
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If a radio station no one listens to goes off the air, did it make a sound?
A message board post prompted us to fire up our two best radios, and…sure enough… Media-Com sports WJMP/1520 Kent “Fox Sports Radio 1520” is still off the air this late afternoon/early evening, a good hour and a half before its prescribed sunset sign-off. WJMP has a scratchy signal here at the OMW World Headquarters in northwest Akron, but we can tell if it is on the air.
Considering how the much-neglected sister of popular talk WNIR/100.1 is usually treated, we wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t noticed even at Broadcast Park, give or take a silence sensor or three.
As far as we know, Media-Com’s Klaus family hasn’t anted up for a backup generator since both stations were taken off the air during the 2003 blackout, and WNIR itself is on the air with no difficulty.
WJMP’s transmitter and towers are co-located with WNIR’s studio complex on Route 59 between Kent and Ravenna, as is the computer running Scott Systems that is the only other component of WJMP’s existence. (WNIR’s tower site moved out to its current location – on Route 43 in Brimfield Township at the I-76 interchange – a few years ago.)
We haven’t heard any mention of 1520’s off-air status in the past half-hour or so on WNIR, but the “big brother” talker usually ignores its daytime rimshot sister station on the air…
June 28, 2006
As expected, and reported earlier by OMW, DirecTV has lit up their Cleveland market “local-into-local” HDTV service.
A press release from the company states that the initial offering only includes WKYC/3 (NBC), WEWS/5 (ABC) and WJW/8 (FOX). As far as the other channels are concerned, DirecTV says they are “in discussions with the owner of the CBS affiliate and (hope) to add this station to the DIRECTV lineup in the near future.”
That affiliate, of course, would be Raycom Media’s WOIO/19, and it’s not like we’re surprised that Reserve Square has thrown the proverbial monkey wrench into the proceedings. They were a tough negotiator with Time Warner and Adelphia before the services came to an agreement with them to add WOIO’s HDTV offerings.
Don’t expect, even if there’s an agreement with Raycom, for the HDTV feed of WUAB/43 to show up right away on DirecTV.
At the onset of the HDTV “LIL” service, DirecTV is only offering the ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX affiliates. As we also reported earlier, local regional sports networks will also be offered in HDTV (SportsTime Ohio and FOX Sports Net Ohio), but it doesn’t appear that either WB or UPN affiliates will be shown before those affiliates change their networks in the fall.
The market’s current WB Network affiliate, Winston Broadcasting’s WBNX/55 Akron, has not yet lit up its under construction digital facility. It’s still not clear if that will happen before the station turns to the new CW Network in September…
June 27, 2006
The network now known on-air as the “i” network has reached a pact with Warner Brothers Domestic Cable Distribution. ION Networks – the new name for the parent of “i” – has picked up the rights to a whole warehouse load of old Warner Brothers-produced and represented content. Locally, ION – formerly PAX TV – owns WVPX/23 Akron.
The list includes classic 1970’s and 1980’s TV shows like “Welcome Back, Kotter”, “Growing Pains”, “Perfect Strangers” and “Scarecrow and Mrs. King”…and movies include a host of what appears to be mostly 70’s and 80’s big name titles (“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, “All the President’s Men”, “2001” and the like).
The new agreement kicks off July 1st with an especially timely movie – “Superman III”, which airs just days after the opening of the theatrical release “Superman Returns”. The original “Superman” is also included in the package. The rest of the Warner Brothers offerings start airing on the former PAX TV in August.
OK, so the catalog is growing a bit of dust on it…but you don’t have to explain any of these shows and movies to someone, say, in their early 40’s. The question the “i” folks will have to answer is – will people come back and revisit the titles?
The old sitcoms, in particular, have developed into something of a niche for outlets like Chicago’s WWME-LP, a low-power outlet which calls itself “ME-TV”. It’s the sister of Weigel Broadcasting’s full-power independent in that market, WCIU/26.
We’re wondering how much ION/i paid for the rights. Warner Brothers, through its sister AOL service’s website, has been offering some of these shows for free Internet viewing…
June 27, 2006
A federal bankruptcy judge has given his approval to the sale of Adelphia’s assets to Time Warner and Comcast, a sale which will eventually put nearly all of the company’s Northern Ohio cable systems under Time Warner’s control.
The sale has been held up by creditor concerns over the overall Adelphia restructuring plan, but the judge’s order means it can proceed without that overall plan.
But the approval doesn’t automatically give a green light to the Adelphia system breakup, in which Adelphia’s regional holdings will be divided between Time Warner and Comcast. Those two entities are also trading some regional systems to consolidate their local holdings.
Here, it’ll be Comcast giving its Cleveland-based network to Time Warner…elsewhere, Comcast will pick up some Time Warner systems.
The Adelphia sale must still be approved by the FCC, which is expected to tackle the matter in mid-July. The FTC already weighed in with its approval. There is also a linked transaction regarding Adelphia’s majority interest in two joint ventures…which the company proposes to sell to Comcast. At least one of those ventures has Northeast Ohio ties.
This is all pushing the Adelphia asset transaction up against a July 31st deadline. After that date, Time Warner and Comcast can get out of the deal. Adelphia’s chairman has been quoted as calling the July 31st date a “drop dead” date…
June 27, 2006
The company that owns Cleveland’s WQHS/61 is being sold in a $12.3 billion deal.
The group buying the Spanish-language network Univision is led by a big name in media – Haim Saban. He’s best known for producing the show which put him on the TV programming map – “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”. As co-founder and part-owner of FOX Family Worldwide, he has produced a number of childrens programs for the folks at FOX.
No, that doesn’t mean Univision is about to become “KidsVision”. The Spanish-language segment of U.S. broadcasting has exploded over the years, and Saban’s group is no doubt eager to keep Univision’s dominance there. The network is a clear number one among U.S. Hispanic viewers up against NBC-owned Telemundo.
Here’s an example of how the sector (and Univision) is growing: The network’s broadcast of 2006 World Cup competition is blowing through viewer records. MediaWeek reports that Saturday’s contest between Mexico and Argentina drew 6.7 million viewers, including nearly four and a half million in the cherished 18-49 demo.
The overall World Cup picture for Univision is quite strong, with triple digit percentage increases in viewers over the 2002 World Cup. And in a new rights deal for future World Cup events, the Spanish-language broadcaster is paying over three times the rights fees than ABC/ESPN.
Unless the new owners come in and find a strategic reason for selling off WQHS (like, for example, Cleveland’s small Hispanic market), we don’t see any changes happening here…
June 27, 2006
Some notes and followup based on some of our other items…
KASPER ACTION: Everyone’s favorite local Radio Friendly Ghost (OK, sorry, last time we’ll use that joke) has made an interesting list – AllAccess “Action”. For those who aren’t familiar with the list, it’s where the popular trade website plants names that may (or may not) be involved in future career moves or other such items.
Kasper, who is still assistant program director/music director/afternoon driver at Clear Channel Cleveland top 40 WAKS/96.5 “Kiss FM”, was recently considered for the program director slot blown open by Dan Mason’s move to sister Miami top 40 outlet WHYI “Y100”. While we always considered him a strong candidate for the job, it ended up being sister rock WMMS/100.7 programmer Bo Matthews who tacked on the new title to his current duties.
While there are some already speculating that Kasper is headed off to either Chicago or New York City, we caution that we’ve not heard anything yet. (We’re also reminded that Kasper’s former “Kiss” PD, Mr. Mason, is looking for help in middays/imaging help down in Miami.)
And yes, Kasper is a regular reader of Your Mighty Blog of Fun(tm), though he’s been quiet as a churchmouse in our direction since even before Dan Mason scooted south. He’s a reader, not a talker.
We do know that he returned to Cleveland in part because he said he was interested in programming, an opportunity that wasn’t in his job description at Philadelphia’s “Q102” (he was solely the afternoon drive personality there). Whether continuing to be APD/MD here is enough to keep him around…we honestly do not know. But it does seem AllAccess thinks he’s up to something…
ZIPPO IN THE IDAHO: It’s funny how much of an impact a satellite 24/7 format morning show host can have. Most of ’em are basically generic and ignored locally, but our item on former ABC “Pure Gold” morning host/PD Jim Zippo stirred some memories.
We did some further checking, and it appears his move to small city Idaho may have been more of a lifestyle move than yet another sign that oldies are going out of style. We found this in a “situations wanted” ad he posted some time ago while still doing mornings at a Las Vegas oldies station:
Seeking family friendly city to do morning drive show; Las Vegas is too wild for us to raise our 3 young children!
We’d imagine Pocatello would fit in the “family friendly city” category. And Zippo noted his availability in AC or other contemporary formats. But his best work and most recent work has been done in the oldies format, and we still believe he faced fewer opportunities because of it…
KRAMER! KRAMER!: Take it for what it’s worth, as it was an anonymous comment… but someone posting to one of our earlier items says they’ve already figured out the new destination for former WVKS/92.5 “Kiss FM” Toledo night slammer and MD “Kramer” – the “Kiss FM” sister station in Hartford CT, WKSS/95.7.
For what it’s worth, the WKSS website does not list an afternoon drive personality…or if it does, we can’t find that listing.
UPDATE: We hear it’s indeed happening – Kramer is heading for Hartford’s version of “Kiss FM”.
A reminder, again. We appreciate these tips, a lot! But…if we don’t know where they are coming from, we can’t have much of an idea how accurate they are.
Please drop us a private E-Mail at the address linked under “View my complete profile” to the left of the OMW scroll, and let us know who you are. Your anonymity will be assured. If you’re not comfortable E-Mailing from your workplace, drop us a note from home. We’d tell you we can be trusted, but we’d have to tell you who’s talked with us in the past…and we can’t do that, since, well, we assure anonymity. We’re so good, we can’t give you proof!
June 27, 2006
OMW is hearing unconfirmed rumors that Cleveland market DirecTV customers will not only get local stations in HDTV directly from the satellite provider very soon, but also will be able to watch SportsTime Ohio’s Cleveland Indians games in HD.
The last date we heard as possible for the Cleveland locals launch date was June 28th, which would be this Wednesday.
The rumors we’ve heard about SportsTime Ohio say it’ll be one of 15 local RSNs (Regional Sports Networks) DirecTV will start offering to its local-into-local HDTV customers starting July 1st.
OMW also hears that the other local RSN, FOX Sports Ohio, could see its HD telecasts (presumably of the Cleveland Cavaliers, as aired late this past season) added by October.
Nearly all of the RSNs will be “games only”, meaning that a channel’s other programming won’t be fed on the HDTV side of things. New England’s NESN is much further into its HDTV programming, and will reportedly be up 24/7, and one or two others will follow.
As far as Northeast Ohio’s two local sports networks go, of course, “games only” is not a problem because the games are basically their only HD programming, at least for now.
In our conversation with STO chief Jim Liberatore a while back, he told us that the STO HD games “were available” to the satellite providers should they choose to air them.
We’ll also assume that the same geographic restrictions will apply to the HD feed of STO on DirecTV that apply to the regular feed. But, if you’re over in Toledo or up in Erie and see otherwise with an HDTV LIL install, please let us know.
As previously announced, all of DirecTV’s new local HDTV content delivered via satellite will require new MPEG4 equipment. And for the time being, it appears that only the “Big Four” over-air networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX) will be sent down in HD as far as the broadcast outlets go…though that’ll likely change down the road, say industry observers…
Ohio Media Watch 