Acceptable registrations in the queue through March 16 at 11:00a ET have now been activated. Enjoy! -M.W.

Terms of Use have been amended effective October 6, 2019. Make sure you are aware of the new rules! Please visit this thread for details: https://www.mibuzzboard.com/phpBB3/view ... 16&t=48619

WKLT-fm, Kalkaska and WKLZ-fm, Petoskey

Covers all of Northern Lower Michigan (from Ludington to Tawas northward), as well as the Straits Area and Soo Region.
Deleted User 12047

Re: WKLT-fm, Kalkaska and WKLZ-fm, Petoskey

Post by Deleted User 12047 » Sun Dec 08, 2019 6:51 pm

TC Talks wrote:
Sun Dec 08, 2019 6:11 pm
northradiotruth wrote:
Sun Dec 08, 2019 6:09 pm
Midwestern will make the final decision on Terri Ray but word is they are bringing back Omelette.
Now I know you're bullshitting.... :rollin

I would love to be a fly on the wall of that conversation with Steve on how the morning show will go.
I know nothing official, but -

Some stations going to various buyers, no word on who gets the studio
Office, traffic, sales and support staff all either gone or will be gone.
Terri Ray staying with WKLT (if Midwestern can out up with Ron Pritchard this long, Terri will be easy peasy)
WKLT formatically staying put AND
Omlette back in mornings as soon as the LMA starts.

No paperwork filed with FCC as of today.

And, as they used to say on the Johnny Carson Tonight Show ..
Image



User avatar
MWmetalhead
Site Admin
Posts: 11870
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2004 11:23 am

Re: WKLT-fm, Kalkaska and WKLZ-fm, Petoskey

Post by MWmetalhead » Sun Dec 08, 2019 7:53 pm

If Midwestern takes over KLT, I just hope the station doesn't sound as lame as 92.9 WKJF-FM/WJZQ did during their first several years of ownership of that station!



User avatar
Ben Zonia
Posts: 2143
Joined: Sat Jun 03, 2006 10:35 pm
Location: Honor

Re: WKLT-fm, Kalkaska and WKLZ-fm, Petoskey

Post by Ben Zonia » Sun Dec 08, 2019 8:00 pm

Some of these stories about who acquires what don't make any sense. CMU with another double overlapping signal? Another competing religion format? Stations going dark without a plan to sell them? It is true that there got to be too many stations in the area. And Traverse City is one of those, despite some actors here who have an artificially inflated view of that part of the market. The FCC should have seen this long ago and put the kibosh on First Local Service, and put the stations where they are needed with appropriate sized facilities and directional antennas, without strict adherence to distance separations, like what has been done in Canada.


"I had a job for a while as an announcer at WWV but I finally quit, because I couldn't stand the hours."

-Author Unknown

User avatar
TC Talks
Posts: 10101
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2005 2:41 am

Re: WKLT-fm, Kalkaska and WKLZ-fm, Petoskey

Post by TC Talks » Sun Dec 08, 2019 8:27 pm

CMU doesn't have a real signal in TC. They have been trying for years to get something more than a translator.

I can't speak about the FCC except that radio is not very important.


“The more you can increase fear of drugs, crime, welfare mothers, immigrants and aliens, the more you control all of the people.”
― Noam Chomsky

Posting Content © 2024 TC Talks Holdings LP.

NMCSpeaks
Posts: 70
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2019 1:09 pm

Re: WKLT-fm, Kalkaska and WKLZ-fm, Petoskey

Post by NMCSpeaks » Mon Dec 09, 2019 12:02 am

I am able to report that Ross Biederman “screwed” Mike Chires out of a prior Agreement to purchase WKLT from Langer Gokey at the eleventh hour, in order to”block” Black Diamond’s growing business and strong desire of a more dominant radio marketing position in Traverse City that WKLT would have added to his succeeding business model.
I clearly understand that Midwestern did this for anti-competitive reasons and not much else.
We shall see what all comes from this long term.
Black Diamond Broadcasting WAS trying to purchase WKLT and WKLZ at the outset of all this.



User avatar
Ben Zonia
Posts: 2143
Joined: Sat Jun 03, 2006 10:35 pm
Location: Honor

Re: WKLT-fm, Kalkaska and WKLZ-fm, Petoskey

Post by Ben Zonia » Mon Dec 09, 2019 12:42 am

I don't know this to be true except for hearsay. It is consistent with things I've heard in the past, not just by that company, but nearly everything I had involvement with in the past in various parts of the state. Nearly everything was blocked by shadowy competitors. Things that came out of nowhere and the real people blocking it were behind the scenes. There are a lot of dirty competitors all over. The friendly competition that used to exist in the early days of radio is gone.


"I had a job for a while as an announcer at WWV but I finally quit, because I couldn't stand the hours."

-Author Unknown

User avatar
TC Talks
Posts: 10101
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2005 2:41 am

Re: WKLT-fm, Kalkaska and WKLZ-fm, Petoskey

Post by TC Talks » Mon Dec 09, 2019 1:36 am

Are you suggesting that Langer backed out of a deal? You can't blame a broadcaster for outbidding a competitor, but if the seller had a deal in place and did not honor it, that's not terrific.

Sometimes that's just business although Black Diamond would have been a Powerhouse with KLT. It certainly is a plausible explanation why Midwestern has anything to do with a male-dominated rock station


“The more you can increase fear of drugs, crime, welfare mothers, immigrants and aliens, the more you control all of the people.”
― Noam Chomsky

Posting Content © 2024 TC Talks Holdings LP.

User avatar
MWmetalhead
Site Admin
Posts: 11870
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2004 11:23 am

Re: WKLT-fm, Kalkaska and WKLZ-fm, Petoskey

Post by MWmetalhead » Mon Dec 09, 2019 6:47 am

Are you suggesting that Langer backed out of a deal? You can't blame a broadcaster for outbidding a competitor, but if the seller had a deal in place and did not honor it, that's not terrific.
Well, one of two things happened here...

Either Mike Chires (aka Black Diamond) did not have exclusivity post-Sale and Purchase Agreement signing (assuming he ever got to that stage) or NBI breached their agreement with Chires.

if the former, then evidently Midwestern outbid Chires, and Chires has no one to blame but himself! Whether Midwestern is paying "too much" remains to be seen.

If the latter, then Chires has grounds to sue NBI for breach of contract and to petition both the FCC and the courts to block the NBI/Midwestern deal.

I completely agree that acquiring KLT (with or without KLZ) would've been a big win for Black Diamond!!! They could've controlled at least 20 shares' worth of male listening I'm guessing, and that's before even counting WMKC.

Another angle to all of this that I would love to know - does the supposed 97.5 deal between NBI and MIdwestern expressly prohibit NBI from selling 98.9 to Black Diamond, or for that matter, even 94.3?

Had Black Diamond acquired 97.5, they very likely would've flipped one of their incumbent TC area signals to Country, I suspect.

So, not only does the Midwestern/NBI deal block Black Diamond from becoming a more relevant sales player in the Grand Traverse Region, but it guarantees WTCM-FM's continued stranglehold on the Country audience in the southern half of the market!



User avatar
MWmetalhead
Site Admin
Posts: 11870
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2004 11:23 am

Re: WKLT-fm, Kalkaska and WKLZ-fm, Petoskey

Post by MWmetalhead » Mon Dec 09, 2019 7:10 am

I mentioned above that "one of two things happened here..."

Perhaps there is a third possibility: Were there performance covenants in any agreement between NBI and Black Diamond that Black Diamond was unable to meet?

I suspect this third possibility is far less likely than the first two.



Deleted User 12047

Re: WKLT-fm, Kalkaska and WKLZ-fm, Petoskey

Post by Deleted User 12047 » Mon Dec 09, 2019 8:57 am

Our fearless leader at Buzzboard Central wrote: or NBI breached their agreement with Chires
Anyone familiar at all with the North Dakota Pepsi King knows that this is just not plausible.



User avatar
Ben Zonia
Posts: 2143
Joined: Sat Jun 03, 2006 10:35 pm
Location: Honor

The Radio Rumor Mill

Post by Ben Zonia » Mon Dec 09, 2019 9:01 am

For a long time, several decades, I've also noticed that radio is full of rumormongers.

Here's some suggestions.

1. Don't talk to broadcaster competitors, even those whom you consider friends, about anything sensitive. The friend of your friend may be your enemy.

2. Don't talk in public places about sensitive issues. As they say in the Mafia, "you hear things". Keep your mouth shut and your ears open.

3. Don't leave mail and faxes laying around where some DJ or Board Op might see them. Remember that they often socialize and talk with competitors they have worked for and workers they have worked with. Better yet, have all your sensitive mail, email, and faxes sent to your residence.
'
4. Don't tell other people, especially competitors, your good ideas. They'll steal them or block them. It's like students in high school talking about guys and girls they like, and "like like". Next time you turn around, your "friend" is dating them, based on your endorsements.

5. Above all, don't believe everything you hear. Don't talk about it, just do it.

6. To summarize. "Code Of Silence". "Cone Of Silence".
Last edited by Ben Zonia on Mon Dec 09, 2019 9:14 am, edited 3 times in total.


"I had a job for a while as an announcer at WWV but I finally quit, because I couldn't stand the hours."

-Author Unknown

ftballfan
Posts: 875
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 6:38 pm

Re: WKLT-fm, Kalkaska and WKLZ-fm, Petoskey

Post by ftballfan » Mon Dec 09, 2019 9:02 am

FCC ownership rules have screwed this market over. There should be a rule for FM stations that allow simulcasts to count as one against the market caps, if their 70dBu contours don't overlap.

Midwestern keeping 98.9 only would make more sense than keeping 97.5 only (98.9 covers much more of the market than 97.5)

The next few months could be very interesting in this part of the state, radio-wise.
Some early predictions:
- At least one license will be turned in for cancellation to the FCC
- Another commercial player will enter the market
- IPR News ends up on 101.9
- At least one commercial station changes frequencies



User avatar
Ben Zonia
Posts: 2143
Joined: Sat Jun 03, 2006 10:35 pm
Location: Honor

Re: WKLT-fm, Kalkaska and WKLZ-fm, Petoskey

Post by Ben Zonia » Mon Dec 09, 2019 9:36 am

WKLZ doesn't cover the Southern Market Counties that well compared to others, including WKLT. In the old days, there were only a handful of stations with large service areas. And they really got out if you had a good radio and/or antenna. And WJML, "The Music Station", had a compelling locally based format.

Image
Last edited by Ben Zonia on Mon Dec 09, 2019 9:41 am, edited 1 time in total.


"I had a job for a while as an announcer at WWV but I finally quit, because I couldn't stand the hours."

-Author Unknown

User avatar
MWmetalhead
Site Admin
Posts: 11870
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2004 11:23 am

Re: WKLT-fm, Kalkaska and WKLZ-fm, Petoskey

Post by MWmetalhead » Mon Dec 09, 2019 9:39 am

Two thirds (roughly) of KLT's listening comes from the 97.5 signal, and nearly all Grand Traverse region listening comes from 97.5.

Also, Midwestern has minimal sales presence farther north where 98.9 is strongest.

So, on your second point, ftballfan, I disagree completely. Ben is on the right track.

Again, will be interesting to see if Midwestern leaves 93.5 as is or switches it to a KLT simulcast. My guess is they'll leave it alone, at least initially.



Deleted User 12047

Re: WKLT-fm, Kalkaska and WKLZ-fm, Petoskey

Post by Deleted User 12047 » Mon Dec 09, 2019 11:04 am

Sorry, MW I beg to differ -
Me correcting MW’s precious post wrote:Two thirds (roughly) of KLT's DIARY MENTIONS comes from the 97.5 signal, and nearly all Grand Traverse region DIARY MENTIONS comes from 97.5.
There is no way in a diary market to tell which part of actual listening comes from simulcast signals, especially when there is no on air difference in station imaging - Do they ever say “WBCM” or “WKLZ” except for the legal ID?

The secondary signal/call letters do not get the credit they deserve due to the ratings methodology.



Post Reply Previous topicNext topic