Synergy Musical Chairs

[cckadlec]

I've kept quiet on this clusterf*ck of a situation for a very long time, figuring "oh, they'll figure it out," but the more time that passes, the worse things get. It's Synergy Broadcast Group, owner of 7 FM stations and 1 AM station in a city that should barely support 3 or 4 at best (and don't forget that the well-run WHCH and WMOM - totally separate ownership from Synergy - are in town as well).

Please bear with me here as this situation has been changing week by week as Synergy plays a game of musical chairs, flipping formats and frequencies, stations off the air, back on the air, seemingly no STAs filed with the FCC, illegally rebroadcasting signals on translators even with the primary supposedly off the air, and more.

Synergy owns 92.7, 94.1, 94.9, 96.3, 97.7, 98.7, and 106.3 (+1450 AM) all in Ludington, with 97.7 licensed to Manistee but running programming from 98.7 Ludington. Things have been decent the past few years with the worst problem often being that 97.7/98.7 would have blocks of dead air with no programming to fill slots. It happens. Signals that used to be strong at home, which included the majority of the full-power ones, have slowly disappeared into the static, clearly either suffering from degraded transmitters or broadcasting at lower power than licensed. But as time went on, especially into last summer, the dominoes started to fall.

By last summer, 98.7 was off the air entirely. It would eventually return by mid to late summer and then off at times in the early fall too, but its transmitter would turn on for 15 seconds, then turn off completely for 30 seconds, and repeat, 24/7, sometimes more or less time between switching on and off. 97.7 continued running the News 97/98 programming as normally. Meanwhile, to make up for the 98.7 issues, Synergy moved 98.7's programming to 92.7. Unlicensed, no STA. 92.7 is licensed to run WKLA-AM only, with 106.3 as well also in Ludington. 106.3, at that time, continued to broadcast WKLA-AM as licensed. Okay, so they had some issues to solve. But it would get much worse.

98.7 turning on and off with WFMT and WFGR filling its void (recorded in Ludington) 10/29
98.7 turning on and off with Milwaukee filling its void (recorded in Ludington) 9/28

By winter, 94.1 K-Rock would turn off in December. It was gone for about two weeks, give or take, and then would turn on and off intermittently throughout the week and beyond, sometimes gone for an hour or two, then returning. Meanwhile, Smile-owned instrumental station 89.1, which shares a tower with 94.1, would turn off almost at the same time 94.1 came back on the air. It still hasn't turned back on (a welcome change). I assumed there was some tower maintenance and that each was swapping off-air time, but perhaps not. 94.1 has been running stable since perhaps Christmas.

And then the fun starts.

94.9 would go off the air, but could later be heard basically only AT its tower site, as if it was running 1 watt. Its Big Dog Country format would suddenly appear on 106.3, which is licensed only for WKLA-AM. But at the same time, WKLA-AM, its primary station, could not be heard at all in Ludington, presumably off the air entirely. 97.7 would go off the air entirely. 96.3 would go off the air as well. At some point, the AM may have switched back on. I literally can't even remember anymore. And stations, as far as I know, are not editing their top-of-hour IDs to reflect their licensed frequencies and calls either when rebroadcasting on incorrect frequencies (realizing there is some leeway in regulations on that point).

Fast forward to today, the start of April. Here is the current status of each, which - mind you - can and probably will change by next week again.

92.7 -- licensed solely as an AM translator for WKLA-AM. Broadcasting News 97/98 without an STA for the past 9+ months.
94.1 -- on the air and working well since about Christmas (always seems to be their best and most stable signal)
94.9 -- typically is "Big Dog Country". Running almost no power whatsoever and currently broadcasting WKLA-AM oldies without an STA
96.3 -- entirely off the air for a month or more (I can't even keep track anymore)
97.7 -- entirely off the air for the last few months apparently.
98.7 -- transmitter still turning on and turning off since last summer (i.e. not really listenable at all)
106.3 -- licensed strictly as an AM translator for WKLA-AM (92.7 as well); broadcasting 94.9 Big Dog instead as of this evening and for quite a while prior... but then correctly broadcasting KLA-AM Super Hits a mere two days ago before switching back to Big Dog today!
1450 KLA-AM -- I don't even know anymore (can't hear it from home)

Yes, the situation changes LITERALLY day to day lately. I don't even know what more to say about it.

I am a DXer first and Ludington is my main location for listening in the warm months but not in the winter months, so all of this is actually very positive for my hobby locally if it continues. I can't be more thrilled. But at what point does a station owner divest? You know, drop a few stations. Put your effort into making two or three stations great instead of 4 stations off and one turning on and off, and this one or that one switching primary sources two times a month, etc. etc. It's pure insanity!! Roy Henderson did some real messed up stuff, but THIS... (at least Synergy is making some effort unlike Roy's stations just going silent as he skipped town).

This post is intended to be informational. I don't know what goes on behind the scenes at Synergy. I understand that local radio is a tough business and at least they ARE still local. Money must be tight and fixing transmitters (especially multiple ones) nearly impossible. To the best of my knowledge, staying legal with the FCC and reporting these issues by way of obtaining STAs also leads to filing fees, maybe money that isn't laying around. Selling off stations? We all know who buys every station they can and nobody needs more of that on the air. And I can see swapping some frequencies for the sake of getting the full-power signals out, even if it's on translators, but if the frequencies keep changing, even regular listeners won't know where to look!

I do wish them luck, whatever they are attempting to do, but the musical chairs game of swapping signals and formats is utterly dizzying and really should stop. My apologies if any of this information is incorrect as I'm just working with whatever I can recall over the months, but even if one fact is wrong, you still have maybe ten others that just should not be happening with licensed stations, especially with other groups seeking licenses and having the money and know-how to keep stations on the air. I also understand that there are without a doubt some legal FCC loopholes where SOME of these actions may be within the rules, but it's also clear most of it is very much not. The FCC often does not care much, at least until it's time to renew a license or if the issues are impeding on another broadcaster.

Anyone with some background on the happenings, feel free to chime in and inform. My apologies if I've stepped on a few toes, but I've waited nearly a year to see how this situation pans out as us local radio hobbyists discuss this mess asking "what the actual f* are they doing??"

[TC Talks]

at what point does a station owner divest?

A) To whom?
B) Roy has demonstrated that absolutely no one at the FCC cares what happens to unrated markets without a formal complaint, even then, they still don't care. The FCC now regulates if a broadcaster happens to report news that is unpopular with a certain stroke victim in DC.
C) Enjoy the comedy, I wonder if anyone in those markets really care.

[cckadlec]

at what point does a station owner divest?

A) To whom?
B) Roy has demonstrated that absolutely no one at the FCC cares what happens to unrated markets without a formal complaint, even then, they still don't care. The FCC now regulates if a broadcaster happens to report news that is unpopular with a certain stroke victim in DC.
C) Enjoy the comedy, I wonder if anyone in those markets really care.

I agree with all your points.

I think when you've got 8 stations in a city of 8,000, it may be time to thin out the herd. If they were actually running at full licensed power, they'd cover more area and it would make it more worthwhile to keep them on the air maybe, but most of their coverage areas have been cut in half or less in the past few years. Here in Fremont, I can barely pick up any of them when they're on the air (excluding 94.1 as it is in Hart). Just a few years ago, all of them were an easy catch 24/7. Meanwhile, in the summer, I can hear B96 over top of KLA and WFMT over WLDN, both just two miles from their tower. Yes, water helps that a lot and there is some terrain blockage at play, but if they truly were at their full power, it would be significantly more difficult if almost impossible.

1. They've got both 92.7 and 106.3 licensed as WKLA-AM translators running from the SAME tower site. Unnecessary waste of resources. Keep 106.3 as it has minimal interference compared to 92.7, which is smothered into oblivion by WIDB even within a mile of its tower.

2. 97.7 and 98.7 run the same programming. 97.7 seems to have been running at full power before turning off over the winter. It easily covered Ludington (aside from when Sunny and Rewind crush it). Ditch one of the two or put one of their music stations on both as a simulcast, especially if the transmitter of another station is failling.

As far as divesting goes, just turning in the licenses of underperforming stations would go far (in this case, if the transmitter can't stay on, let it go). Keep three stations and make them great. Put all your effort into those three, give them RDS, programming to serve the community, and a station advertisers can flock to, you know, one they know will actually be on the air.

DELETE the rest! They're sinking the boat. This is one of those situations where you want the locally-owned stations to win but they're instead sabotaging themselves by hoarding stations that are essentially useless to the community.

[hunterw]

The shit show continues………..
96.3 been off a little over 2 weeks now. Currently has been 96.3 the rock. Wonder if south of ludingon has been getting b96 Chicago?
97.7 is only receivable around the tower on south side of manistee broadcasting news97/9& the other day.

On a positive note 102.7 has RDS back, not as strong as before. And also had a full computer failure but still manages to make it back on air in record time.
wish they would take on a top 40 format (like they were back in the early 2000’s) or at least ditch the hot ac hits that I never heard of. (Maybe air the (CHR version of at40) too.
Or maybe they buy 96.3 and put wkla back to hot AC or program it to a better sounding CHR station.

[TC Talks]

at what point does a station owner divest?

A) To whom?
B) Roy has demonstrated that absolutely no one at the FCC cares what happens to unrated markets without a formal complaint, even then, they still don't care. The FCC now regulates if a broadcaster happens to report news that is unpopular with a certain stroke victim in DC.
C) Enjoy the comedy, I wonder if anyone in those markets really care.

I think when you've got 8 stations in a city of 8,000, it may be time to thin out the herd.

Let's say it would take $400,000 to operate a few stations to break even. Two operations people, one business/sales manager, account rep and contract engineer. Is there $400,000 in revenue to be had? Not likely, when there is a competent competitor already providing a reliable product.

Radio is winding down for small markets. There's maybe room for one good operator in each town. Grab some marshmallows and watch it burn to the ground.

[MWmetalhead]

Synergy (an ironic name given their foibles) should stick with country and classic rock.

Unload the other brands / signals. Figure out what makes more sense financially - turning in the license or attempting a sale.

The "law of diminishing returns" applies here. Five or six signals held by one owner in a tiny market like Ludington / Manistee is unlikely to generate materially more cash flow than, say, two signals, and due to maintenance needs, could lead to diminished cash flow.

Look at 101.5 The Eagle. The station sounds good; it flies solo in the local market. They aren't a signal hoarder.

102.7's programming has gotten weird lately. Why are they airing Delilah in evenings now? Just flip the whole format to Adult Contemporary and call it good.

[TC Talks]

Synergy (an ironic name given their foibles) should stick with country and classic rock.

This doesn't answer the revenue delimma.

[MWmetalhead]

Synergy (an ironic name given their foibles) should stick with country and classic rock.

This doesn't answer the revenue delimma.

Of course not. In a shrinking market, the number of offerings should contract. There are too many signals chasing too few dollars.

They should keep their two best performing brands, figure out which pair of signals to place those on, and dump everything else.

Don't they use three or four different tower sites for their group of stations? The overhead has got to be excessively costly.

They need to downsize / shrink in scale to reflect the revenue realities of the market. Dump non-core assets.

[cckadlec]

Don't they use three or four different tower sites for their group of stations? The overhead has got to be excessively costly.

They need to downsize / shrink in scale to reflect the revenue realities of the market. Dump non-core assets.

They do have a few tower sites to maintain.

92.7 (WKLA-AM), 96.3 (WKLA-FM), 98.7 (WLDN), and 106.3 (WKLA-AM) are all just north of the reservoir off Inman Rd. The reservoir is significantly higher than surrounding terrain - almost 400 feet higher than lake level - so it creates a terrain shadow to the south and southeast, hence B96, La Mas Grande, Maverick, and WFMT interfering at times. You can literally hear most of them at and around the reservoir within eyesight of that tower. But the tower is close to the city and the population center is largely unaffected by those issues.

94.1 is east of Hart, the best tower site among all of them for reaching Ludington, Fremont, Muskegon, Big Rapids, and beyond. Also shared with silent Smile-owned 89.1 and 88.3 Smile. 94.1 can be heard starting in Grand Rapids, so coverage-wise, it's a good site and their best-maintained signal.

94.9 is just east of Ludington State Park around Hamlin Lake, a good signal to reach Ludington and Manistee, when it's on anyway.

97.7 is on the south side of Manistee.

Then separately, WKLA-AM has its own tower site near US-10 & Pere Marquette.

So a total of 5 different tower sites to maintain to keep the signals on the air.

In my personal opinion, without knowing any internal details, the 94.1 and 94.9 towers are most valuable due to their locations and coverage, whereas any translators are most valuable right where they're already at off of Inman Road (ditch the full powers from that site though). And the 96.3 and 98.7 full-power stations at that site? 98.7 shares a frequency with Grand Rapids and they take a weedwhacker to Ludington's signal during any morning or nighttime enhancement. 96.1's IBOC *and* WKLH's IBOC does the same to 96.3, limiting 96.3's coverage to stop around New Era at best lately.

Furthermore, despite Ludington being right on the water, 94.1 is still typically strong enough whereas JJO much of a problem and 94.9 doesn't struggle too badly in town with VCY in Sheboygan (VCY comes in better south of Ludington and is heard often in Hart, Shelby, and New Era) or WOLX (most potent in New Era, Shelby, and Hart as well). The other frequencies are more prone to interference between May and October, so they are a poorer choice overall.

My two cents on that anyway, hypothetically speaking if one would have to pick and choose. Usually we just talk about that crap for fun when we know there is no chance of this or that station swapping or going silent, but in this case... just maybe.

[TC Talks]

I'd start by looking at the most lucrative in terms of real estate. WCCW ditched their 4 tower array and sold the property for a respectable amount to a distribution company.

[MWmetalhead]

I'd start by looking at the most lucrative in terms of real estate. WCCW ditched their 4 tower array and sold the property for a respectable amount to a distribution company.

I have no idea which tower sites they own, if any, but I agree that monetization of owned real estate should be explored, if applicable.

If they lease space at multiple tower sites, they should decide which are essential and then seek to mutually terminate non-essential leases.

[TC Talks]

Is the wife of the former operator making the decisions?

[ftballfan]

Synergy (an ironic name given their foibles) should stick with country and classic rock.

Unload the other brands / signals. Figure out what makes more sense financially - turning in the license or attempting a sale.

The "law of diminishing returns" applies here. Five or six signals held by one owner in a tiny market like Ludington / Manistee is unlikely to generate materially more cash flow than, say, two signals, and due to maintenance needs, could lead to diminished cash flow.

Look at 101.5 The Eagle. The station sounds good; it flies solo in the local market. They aren't a signal hoarder.

102.7's programming has gotten weird lately. Why are they airing Delilah in evenings now? Just flip the whole format to Adult Contemporary and call it good.

The irony about Eagle 101.5 sounding good is that it was a castoff when Synergy (which had only 94.1 and 97.7 [and the 92.7 translator] at that time) bought most of Lake Michigan Broadcasting's stations.

92.7 was originally a K-Rock translator many years ago. I wonder if one of its purposes is to block WJZQ from having a listenable signal in Ludington.

94.9 has not run licensed power for many years. I remember playing around with spacing years back and I think WKZC could upgrade to Class C2 from its current site.

96.3 has always had a weak signal in Manistee. WKLA downgraded big time from 106.3 to 96.3

97.7 and 98.7 have run third-rate syndicated shows for their entire existence and shouldn't be simulcasting each other.

In a perfect world, I would sell 94.9 to WMOM/WHCH and 97.7 to 45 North (owners of 101.5) while fixing up the remaining stations and moving some formats around. The only certainty would be K-Rock remaining on 94.1.

With all of this, Ludington/Manistee has to be one of the strangest radio markets in the country, especially when taking into account that the most listened to radio station has studios 80 miles from Ludington.

Speaking of radio station musical chairs, remember when WMOM had a CP to move from 102.7 to 96.3 around 2013? Roy Henderson wanted to drop in a Class A on 102.7 in Evart, and this, along with a CP for a new Class A on 97.7 in Ludington, could have led to this:
96.3 WMOM Pentwater (with an even weaker signal in Manistee than its current signal)
97.7 WKLA Ludington (the original CP had this broadcasting from the WKZC tower near the state park; the original WKLA moved up to Thompsonville in this timeframe)
102.7 NEW Evart (tower would have been near Marion IIRC)
104.3 WMLQ Manistee (no CP was ever filed for this move)

When nobody filed for 102.7 Evart when it came up for auction, the WMOM and WMLQ moves were cancelled and the 97.7 CP at Ludington was shifted to 96.3.

[ftballfan]

The Synergy update as of today (driving through the Ludington and Manistee areas):

92.7 - Full power (250W), running News 97 and 98
94.1 - Full power, K-Rock
94.9 - Very low power, running Super Hits WKLA (it was very weak at Stiles and Fountain)
96.3 - Off
97.7 - Off; mostly a mix of WFDL Lomira and WQDC Sturgeon Bay
98.7 - WLDN operating intermittently with News 97 and 98. When it was on, it's full power or close to it. When it was off, WMDC was wafting in.
106.3 - Full power (250W), running Big Dog Country (with liners for 94.9); I was able to pick this up near the New Era exit on US-31
1450 - Off; heard a mix of KFIZ (mentioning its translator on 100.7) and oldies (likely WHTC) in the Ludington area.

The translator on 92.7 is not permanently tied to 1450 as that translator was originally granted during the big translator window in 2004 and rebroadcast WWKR before AM-on-FM translators were allowed.

[ftballfan]

Another Synergy update:
Today 106.3 was running Super Hits, along with 94.9. Everything else was the same as Friday.

Down US-10, 99.9 WHCH has finally (partially) fixed their RDS and its signal was strong enough for it to function to about the Whitehall exit (not bad considering its short spacing to 100.1 in Holton). However, the song info is about a minute or so behind the audio and the short title (the eight characters) only cycles through the artist name and not the song name.