...and no, we don't mean in the vending machines in the basement of Reserve Square.
Raycom Media's alleged Cleveland market CBS affiliate, known legally to the FCC as WOIO(TV) Shaker Heights, is requesting an immediate power increase for its digital TV facility on RF channel 10.
WOIO is asking to increase power from 3.5 kW to 9.5 kW on its existing antenna system.
The station recently received approval to mount a new, higher antenna that would put out 10.3 kW of power. The special temporary authority request would use the lower antenna WOIO's digital facility is using now, until the 10.3 kW permit is built out and ready to take to the airwaves.
It'll be interesting to see if this actually returns the station to many local digital converter boxes and tuners that have lost it in the past. Like, for example, all three digital tuners here at OMW World Headquarters, just 20 air miles from Parma.
Thanks to OMW reader Trip Ericson, proprietor of the excellent RabbitEars.info TV information site, for the heads up...
Showing posts with label classified. Show all posts
Showing posts with label classified. Show all posts
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Speaking Of Sports Radio
With apologies to the estate of the late Howard Cosell...
FOXY MOVE: As OMW reported earlier, Clear Channel sports WARF/1350 Akron is readying to make its network switch.
On June 8th, "SportsRadio 1350" will leave Sporting News Radio behind, and become the Akron market's affiliate of Fox Sports Radio...taking the affiliation from Media-Com rimshot daytime lightbulb signal outlet WJMP/1520 Kent/Akron/Ravenna/Streetsboro/Chicago. (OK, so maybe they don't claim Chicago.)
OMW had heard earlier that WJMP would take the Sporting News Radio affiliation that WARF is leaving behind, but we haven't confirmed that at this time. We'd expect it, but who knows?
1520 could return to replaying audio from co-owned LPTV duo WAOH-LP/29 Akron-W35AX Cleveland, otherwise known as "The Cat". It could play standards, oldies, Klezmer music, polka, bird noises...well, you get the idea. We'd still expect SNR to make the move to the Kent station, though.
As we heard promoted on "SportsRadio 1350" the other day, WARF is also adding Premiere's Jim Rome in the switch. WJMP has been airing Romey in addition to Fox Sports Radio. Though FSR is also a unit of Premiere, Rome is not included in the FSR network feed...which replays morning driver Steve Czaban for the few FSR affiliates that don't pick up Rome separately.
1350 is also hanging onto two sports talk names syndicated by The Content Factory - middayer Dan Patrick and late night host (and 1350 staple) Tony Bruno. Patrick would continue to air on WARF no matter what, since his show is now also being broadcast via Fox Sports Radio's network feed (which also puts the ex-ESPNer on 1520, until June 8th)...
NO TIRICO: ESPN Radio has announced that Mike Tirico is leaving his midday show with the network's Scott Van Pelt, due to the demands of his schedule elsewhere within the Worldwide Leader's Bristol CT complex.
Though Tirico will mount a two-hour Friday radio show on college football, he'll otherwise step down from weekday radio, leaving Van Pelt to host his own program.
"Tirico and Van Pelt" airs locally on Good Karma's WWGK/1540 "KNR2", the Little Brother to "ESPN 850 WKNR", and on Massillon's WTIG/990 "ESPN 990".
Speaking of WWGK, we hear that the station's attempt to move its transmitter facility to co-locate at the WKNR site in North Royalton - and increase its daytime-only power to 3000 watts - is not dead in the water after all...despite local zoning issues in the Cleveland suburb.
We don't get the idea that any agreement is imminent, and WWGK does have the rest of its three year window to build out the CP, which expires in August 2011. But we hear the station is trying to come to an amicable resolution with North Royalton city officials to make the move possible...
FOXY MOVE: As OMW reported earlier, Clear Channel sports WARF/1350 Akron is readying to make its network switch.
On June 8th, "SportsRadio 1350" will leave Sporting News Radio behind, and become the Akron market's affiliate of Fox Sports Radio...taking the affiliation from Media-Com rimshot daytime lightbulb signal outlet WJMP/1520 Kent/Akron/Ravenna/Streetsboro/Chicago. (OK, so maybe they don't claim Chicago.)
OMW had heard earlier that WJMP would take the Sporting News Radio affiliation that WARF is leaving behind, but we haven't confirmed that at this time. We'd expect it, but who knows?
1520 could return to replaying audio from co-owned LPTV duo WAOH-LP/29 Akron-W35AX Cleveland, otherwise known as "The Cat". It could play standards, oldies, Klezmer music, polka, bird noises...well, you get the idea. We'd still expect SNR to make the move to the Kent station, though.
As we heard promoted on "SportsRadio 1350" the other day, WARF is also adding Premiere's Jim Rome in the switch. WJMP has been airing Romey in addition to Fox Sports Radio. Though FSR is also a unit of Premiere, Rome is not included in the FSR network feed...which replays morning driver Steve Czaban for the few FSR affiliates that don't pick up Rome separately.
1350 is also hanging onto two sports talk names syndicated by The Content Factory - middayer Dan Patrick and late night host (and 1350 staple) Tony Bruno. Patrick would continue to air on WARF no matter what, since his show is now also being broadcast via Fox Sports Radio's network feed (which also puts the ex-ESPNer on 1520, until June 8th)...
NO TIRICO: ESPN Radio has announced that Mike Tirico is leaving his midday show with the network's Scott Van Pelt, due to the demands of his schedule elsewhere within the Worldwide Leader's Bristol CT complex.
Though Tirico will mount a two-hour Friday radio show on college football, he'll otherwise step down from weekday radio, leaving Van Pelt to host his own program.
"Tirico and Van Pelt" airs locally on Good Karma's WWGK/1540 "KNR2", the Little Brother to "ESPN 850 WKNR", and on Massillon's WTIG/990 "ESPN 990".
Speaking of WWGK, we hear that the station's attempt to move its transmitter facility to co-locate at the WKNR site in North Royalton - and increase its daytime-only power to 3000 watts - is not dead in the water after all...despite local zoning issues in the Cleveland suburb.
We don't get the idea that any agreement is imminent, and WWGK does have the rest of its three year window to build out the CP, which expires in August 2011. But we hear the station is trying to come to an amicable resolution with North Royalton city officials to make the move possible...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Back To Digital TV
We return to the world of the Up In The Air Digital TV Transition on a key day.
The deadline was late last night for local TV stations to file notifications that they intend to shut down their analog signals on the original transition date of February 17, 2009 - which, looking at the calendar, is exactly one week from today.
A bill passed by Congress and awaiting President Barack Obama's expected signature (today?) moves the date to June 12.
Even if stations had already filed such notifications, new FCC rules released last Thursday required them to do so again. And since Thursday, a number of stations have backed away from those "early transition" plans, most notably Local TV Fox affiliate WJW/8 "Fox 8" in Cleveland.
Though we aren't 100% sure that all applications to "go early" have been processed yet, we do have more information of note. We're told that as early as today, the FCC could release a nationwide list of stations that have filed to transition early.
We'll "hit the highlights" here, market by market, without much detail for now...
CLEVELAND/AKRON: It looks like Northeast Ohio's largest market will basically keep analog going until the new June 12th transition date - save for one very minor station.
None of the major Cleveland network affiliates have filed to transition on February 17th under the new FCC rules. Local TV's WJW did not re-file this time around, as required, which makes sense considering the station's recently announced decision to stay in analog on channel 8 until June.
The market's two public broadcasters are obviously staying on in analog. WVIZ/25 has no suitable full-power facility until that WKYC tower is completed in Parma. WEAO/49 announced (first through OMW, thank you, Campus Center Drive!) that they're staying with analog until June - despite sister station WNEO/45 being digital-only since November.
And if you want an excellent example of what a TV station SHOULD do on its website in this confusing time, check out this notice from Western Reserve PBS, linked from a graphic prominently placed on the station's main web page:
Because the government has proposed a delay of the national DTV transition date, Western Reserve PBS will convert its WEAO analog signal to digital on June 12, 2009.
Other local stations: How hard was that?
How hard is it do to something like WKYC/3 senior director Frank Macek did, on his "Director's Cut" blog, informing viewers of the station's decision to stay on analog 3 until June 12th?
That one minor station filing to go early in the Cleveland/Akron (Canton) market? Canton-licensed WOAC/67, the infomercial paradise now in a trust due to owner Multicultural Broadcasting's financial situation, has put in the required electronic paperwork to shut down analog channel 67. When you're forced to put your stations in a trust due to finances, it's hard to justify paying for four more months of analog broadcasting.
WOAC-DT has been operating for some time on digital channel 47 (67-1), and the station's programming means not many will miss analog 67 no matter what. Both facilities operate from Portage County's Brimfield Township at I-76 and Ohio 43, just across that state highway from Media-Com's WAOH-LP 29 "The Cat", and sister talk WNIR/100.1 "The Talk of Akron".
One note here: The FCC database shows WJW/8's earlier request to flash cut to digital 8 early as being granted. We don't know what that means at this point, or if WJW could "hang onto that" if it later decides to switch before June...
YOUNGSTOWN: There's big news here, as it appears the Mahoning Valley's three full-power commercial stations will stay analog until the new June 12th date after all.
New Vision CBS affiliate WKBN/27 and its LMA partner, Parkin Broadcasting ABC affiliate WYTV/33, had been among the early analog shutoff filers.
The stations, according to numerous viewers who've written to OMW, have repeatedly told viewers that yes - their digital transition would go on as scheduled February 17, despite action to move the date in Washington DC.
OMW is getting late word that WKBN has just announced that it has changed its mind, and that analog 27 will continue to broadcast until June 12. We're told that announcement came on last night's 11 PM edition of "27 First News", and no surprise, we can't find it yet on the station's website.
We haven't heard about similar announcements on WYTV/33, but since the stations are joined-at-the-LMA hip, we'd be surprised if WYTV didn't follow WKBN's lead - unless nominal owner Todd Parkin feels the need to shut off the analog 33 transmitter separately to save money.
As of this writing, WKBN and WYTV have NOT filed the appropriate FCC form to transition on February 17th, so it follows with last night's announcement.
Vindicator NBC affiliate WFMJ/21 has already announced that it will keep the analog signal on until the new June transition date, so that'd be a clean sweep of the market's commercial outlets.
Of course, Western Reserve PBS Youngstown market affiliate WNEO/45 Alliance has already sent its analog transmitter to the Retired Transmitter Home, and has been all-digital since mid-November...as reported here frequently....
WHEELING/STEUBENVILLE: The Ohio Valley will go digital.
Both full-power stations serving that region - Cox NBC affiliate WTOV/9 Steubenville and West Virginia Media CBS(/ABC/Fox) affiliate WTRF/7 Wheeling WV - did file the appropriate paperwork, along with STA requests to move their digital operations to the current analog channels on February 17th.
Oddly enough, it looks like WTOV's STA request to go digital on channel 9 on the 17th has already been granted. WTRF's hasn't yet, though there is a typo in the request - it says the station wants to go digital on channel 12. That'd appear to be accidentally copied over from the application filed by West Virginia Media's sister station in Clarksburg WV, WBOY/12.
We're wondering if the "full market" early digital transition will catch scrutiny from the FCC, though as stated, WTOV's early digital channel 9 request is already in the hopper...
COLUMBUS: Media General NBC affiliate WCMH/4 was one of the stations which filed earlier to shut off analog 4 on February 17th, the original digital transition date.
As of this writing, the station has not filed the required electronic form to affirm that wish.
And Sinclair, which owns two stations in the Columbus market and was expected to flip both ABC affiliate WSYX/6 and Fox affiliate WTTE/28 to all-digital a week from today, has only filed the required electronic form for one of the two stations - WTTE.
That move actually mirrors what they've done up until now. In earlier filings, Sinclair didn't file for early digital transition for WSYX at the same time they did so for WTTE.
Dispatch CBS affiliate WBNS/10 already announced that it would stay on in analog until June, as did Ohio State University-owned PBS affiliate WOSU/34.
LIN CW affiliate WWHO/53 has filed the new early termination forms, and says it will shut off analog channel 53 on February 17th...
LIMA: The only Lima market station that needs to make a decision hasn't yet announced its call, at least online.
But Block NBC affiliate WLIO/35 has been very open in the process, with VP/chief engineer Frederick Vobbe noting on his WLIO Engineering blog Friday that the station was still considering their options after the FCC adopted those new rules on Thursday.
A check of the FCC database this morning shows that WLIO did not file the newly required February 17th transition form, though as we've noted in this item repeatedly, we don't know if all of the forms filed until the 11:59 PM deadline last night have been processed on the FCC's public database.
Engineer Vobbe has a nice roundup of what he's heard about other markets at this Monday blog entry.
About his own market:
In Lima, WLIO-35 remains the only high-power analog on the air. WTLW transitioned back on December 1st, 2008. WBGU-27 transitioned on December 31st, 2008.
Vobbe notes that since the low-power network affiliates in Lima are now owned by WLIO's parent company, they'll "likely" go digital, though no plan has been put into place yet. As low-power or Class A outlets, the stations are not affected by the full-power digital transition, and any switch will be voluntary...
TOLEDO: From the linked item by WLIO's Frederick Vobbe:
Toledo stations are going to wait till June 12th.
We already wrote that one decision was made far from Toledo, as the ABC network owns Toledo affiliate WTVG/13 "13abc", and had pledged to the FCC that it would keep all its owned-and-operated stations going in analog until June.
A check of the FCC database this morning shows no Toledo market full-power station has filed the required new form to end analog service on February 17th - again, assuming all the forms filed until late last night have been processed and put in the FCC's CDBS database, which we believe is the case.
Bowling Green State University PBS affiliate WBGU/27 is in the Toledo market (Wood County), though it also serves Lima, and as mentioned before, it has already become digital-only...
DAYTON: It appears Dayton will be an early digital market, pending FCC approval.
The FCC database this morning shows that all of Dayton's full-power commercial stations, along with ThinkTV PBS affiliate WPTD/16, have filed the new forms to transition on the original February 17th date.
Numerous earlier news reports, as recent as Monday, said the Dayton broadcasters would shut off analog as a group a week from today, and that appears to be holding.
Of course, as mentioned, the FCC says it'll give special scrutiny to situations where all stations in a market file to shut off analog broadcasts, so we'll see if Dayton comes to their attention. We also don't know what the DTV coupon redemption rates are in Dayton, another factor the FCC says it'll look into...
CINCINNATI: And just down I-71 from Dayton, it appears that Cincinnati will be mostly an analog market.
Only Sinclair MyNetwork TV affiliate WSTR/64 and ThinkTV's Cincinnati outlet, WPTO/14 Oxford, have filed the new form saying that they'll shut off their analog channels on February 17th.
The Cincinnati market's other major full-power broadcasters are, according to numerous reports, staying on in analog as a group.
But in one of those reports by Cincinnati Enquirer radio/TV guru John Kiesewetter:
Cincinnati's five other stations -- Channels 5, 9, 12, 19 and 48 -- plus Oxford's Channel 14 (operated by Ch. 16) -- will continue broadcasting both analog and digital signals into spring.
The early termination forms filed by WPTO and WPTD appear to be the "new" forms set forth by the Thursday FCC public notice, and are time stamped as being filed late Thursday afternoon. We'll see if ThinkTV keeps the analog going in Cincinnati while it shuts off analog in Dayton.
Trinity Broadcasting's WKOI/43 Richmond IN is also not filing to transition next Tuesday. We're not sure if the station is considered to be in the Cincinnati market or the Dayton market. We believe it operates as a Cincinnati station, though it can be seen in both markets...
ZANESVILLE: We weren't aware of this, but WHIZ Media Group NBC affiliate WHIZ/18 has apparently been off the air on the analog side dating back to June 25, 2008, due to an equipment failure...
IN CLOSING: Again, the FCC is expected to provide a full list of the February 17/early analog shutoff stations. We'll link it to the top of this item when we get it, or separately if it's not released sometime today.
The above list is based on our own research of the FCC's public database, with the assumption that all the pre-deadline early transition/analog shutoff findings have been processed there...
The deadline was late last night for local TV stations to file notifications that they intend to shut down their analog signals on the original transition date of February 17, 2009 - which, looking at the calendar, is exactly one week from today.
A bill passed by Congress and awaiting President Barack Obama's expected signature (today?) moves the date to June 12.
Even if stations had already filed such notifications, new FCC rules released last Thursday required them to do so again. And since Thursday, a number of stations have backed away from those "early transition" plans, most notably Local TV Fox affiliate WJW/8 "Fox 8" in Cleveland.
Though we aren't 100% sure that all applications to "go early" have been processed yet, we do have more information of note. We're told that as early as today, the FCC could release a nationwide list of stations that have filed to transition early.
We'll "hit the highlights" here, market by market, without much detail for now...
CLEVELAND/AKRON: It looks like Northeast Ohio's largest market will basically keep analog going until the new June 12th transition date - save for one very minor station.
None of the major Cleveland network affiliates have filed to transition on February 17th under the new FCC rules. Local TV's WJW did not re-file this time around, as required, which makes sense considering the station's recently announced decision to stay in analog on channel 8 until June.
The market's two public broadcasters are obviously staying on in analog. WVIZ/25 has no suitable full-power facility until that WKYC tower is completed in Parma. WEAO/49 announced (first through OMW, thank you, Campus Center Drive!) that they're staying with analog until June - despite sister station WNEO/45 being digital-only since November.
And if you want an excellent example of what a TV station SHOULD do on its website in this confusing time, check out this notice from Western Reserve PBS, linked from a graphic prominently placed on the station's main web page:
Because the government has proposed a delay of the national DTV transition date, Western Reserve PBS will convert its WEAO analog signal to digital on June 12, 2009.
Other local stations: How hard was that?
How hard is it do to something like WKYC/3 senior director Frank Macek did, on his "Director's Cut" blog, informing viewers of the station's decision to stay on analog 3 until June 12th?
That one minor station filing to go early in the Cleveland/Akron (Canton) market? Canton-licensed WOAC/67, the infomercial paradise now in a trust due to owner Multicultural Broadcasting's financial situation, has put in the required electronic paperwork to shut down analog channel 67. When you're forced to put your stations in a trust due to finances, it's hard to justify paying for four more months of analog broadcasting.
WOAC-DT has been operating for some time on digital channel 47 (67-1), and the station's programming means not many will miss analog 67 no matter what. Both facilities operate from Portage County's Brimfield Township at I-76 and Ohio 43, just across that state highway from Media-Com's WAOH-LP 29 "The Cat", and sister talk WNIR/100.1 "The Talk of Akron".
One note here: The FCC database shows WJW/8's earlier request to flash cut to digital 8 early as being granted. We don't know what that means at this point, or if WJW could "hang onto that" if it later decides to switch before June...
YOUNGSTOWN: There's big news here, as it appears the Mahoning Valley's three full-power commercial stations will stay analog until the new June 12th date after all.
New Vision CBS affiliate WKBN/27 and its LMA partner, Parkin Broadcasting ABC affiliate WYTV/33, had been among the early analog shutoff filers.
The stations, according to numerous viewers who've written to OMW, have repeatedly told viewers that yes - their digital transition would go on as scheduled February 17, despite action to move the date in Washington DC.
OMW is getting late word that WKBN has just announced that it has changed its mind, and that analog 27 will continue to broadcast until June 12. We're told that announcement came on last night's 11 PM edition of "27 First News", and no surprise, we can't find it yet on the station's website.
We haven't heard about similar announcements on WYTV/33, but since the stations are joined-at-the-LMA hip, we'd be surprised if WYTV didn't follow WKBN's lead - unless nominal owner Todd Parkin feels the need to shut off the analog 33 transmitter separately to save money.
As of this writing, WKBN and WYTV have NOT filed the appropriate FCC form to transition on February 17th, so it follows with last night's announcement.
Vindicator NBC affiliate WFMJ/21 has already announced that it will keep the analog signal on until the new June transition date, so that'd be a clean sweep of the market's commercial outlets.
Of course, Western Reserve PBS Youngstown market affiliate WNEO/45 Alliance has already sent its analog transmitter to the Retired Transmitter Home, and has been all-digital since mid-November...as reported here frequently....
WHEELING/STEUBENVILLE: The Ohio Valley will go digital.
Both full-power stations serving that region - Cox NBC affiliate WTOV/9 Steubenville and West Virginia Media CBS(/ABC/Fox) affiliate WTRF/7 Wheeling WV - did file the appropriate paperwork, along with STA requests to move their digital operations to the current analog channels on February 17th.
Oddly enough, it looks like WTOV's STA request to go digital on channel 9 on the 17th has already been granted. WTRF's hasn't yet, though there is a typo in the request - it says the station wants to go digital on channel 12. That'd appear to be accidentally copied over from the application filed by West Virginia Media's sister station in Clarksburg WV, WBOY/12.
We're wondering if the "full market" early digital transition will catch scrutiny from the FCC, though as stated, WTOV's early digital channel 9 request is already in the hopper...
COLUMBUS: Media General NBC affiliate WCMH/4 was one of the stations which filed earlier to shut off analog 4 on February 17th, the original digital transition date.
As of this writing, the station has not filed the required electronic form to affirm that wish.
And Sinclair, which owns two stations in the Columbus market and was expected to flip both ABC affiliate WSYX/6 and Fox affiliate WTTE/28 to all-digital a week from today, has only filed the required electronic form for one of the two stations - WTTE.
That move actually mirrors what they've done up until now. In earlier filings, Sinclair didn't file for early digital transition for WSYX at the same time they did so for WTTE.
Dispatch CBS affiliate WBNS/10 already announced that it would stay on in analog until June, as did Ohio State University-owned PBS affiliate WOSU/34.
LIN CW affiliate WWHO/53 has filed the new early termination forms, and says it will shut off analog channel 53 on February 17th...
LIMA: The only Lima market station that needs to make a decision hasn't yet announced its call, at least online.
But Block NBC affiliate WLIO/35 has been very open in the process, with VP/chief engineer Frederick Vobbe noting on his WLIO Engineering blog Friday that the station was still considering their options after the FCC adopted those new rules on Thursday.
A check of the FCC database this morning shows that WLIO did not file the newly required February 17th transition form, though as we've noted in this item repeatedly, we don't know if all of the forms filed until the 11:59 PM deadline last night have been processed on the FCC's public database.
Engineer Vobbe has a nice roundup of what he's heard about other markets at this Monday blog entry.
About his own market:
In Lima, WLIO-35 remains the only high-power analog on the air. WTLW transitioned back on December 1st, 2008. WBGU-27 transitioned on December 31st, 2008.
Vobbe notes that since the low-power network affiliates in Lima are now owned by WLIO's parent company, they'll "likely" go digital, though no plan has been put into place yet. As low-power or Class A outlets, the stations are not affected by the full-power digital transition, and any switch will be voluntary...
TOLEDO: From the linked item by WLIO's Frederick Vobbe:
Toledo stations are going to wait till June 12th.
We already wrote that one decision was made far from Toledo, as the ABC network owns Toledo affiliate WTVG/13 "13abc", and had pledged to the FCC that it would keep all its owned-and-operated stations going in analog until June.
A check of the FCC database this morning shows no Toledo market full-power station has filed the required new form to end analog service on February 17th - again, assuming all the forms filed until late last night have been processed and put in the FCC's CDBS database, which we believe is the case.
Bowling Green State University PBS affiliate WBGU/27 is in the Toledo market (Wood County), though it also serves Lima, and as mentioned before, it has already become digital-only...
DAYTON: It appears Dayton will be an early digital market, pending FCC approval.
The FCC database this morning shows that all of Dayton's full-power commercial stations, along with ThinkTV PBS affiliate WPTD/16, have filed the new forms to transition on the original February 17th date.
Numerous earlier news reports, as recent as Monday, said the Dayton broadcasters would shut off analog as a group a week from today, and that appears to be holding.
Of course, as mentioned, the FCC says it'll give special scrutiny to situations where all stations in a market file to shut off analog broadcasts, so we'll see if Dayton comes to their attention. We also don't know what the DTV coupon redemption rates are in Dayton, another factor the FCC says it'll look into...
CINCINNATI: And just down I-71 from Dayton, it appears that Cincinnati will be mostly an analog market.
Only Sinclair MyNetwork TV affiliate WSTR/64 and ThinkTV's Cincinnati outlet, WPTO/14 Oxford, have filed the new form saying that they'll shut off their analog channels on February 17th.
The Cincinnati market's other major full-power broadcasters are, according to numerous reports, staying on in analog as a group.
But in one of those reports by Cincinnati Enquirer radio/TV guru John Kiesewetter:
Cincinnati's five other stations -- Channels 5, 9, 12, 19 and 48 -- plus Oxford's Channel 14 (operated by Ch. 16) -- will continue broadcasting both analog and digital signals into spring.
The early termination forms filed by WPTO and WPTD appear to be the "new" forms set forth by the Thursday FCC public notice, and are time stamped as being filed late Thursday afternoon. We'll see if ThinkTV keeps the analog going in Cincinnati while it shuts off analog in Dayton.
Trinity Broadcasting's WKOI/43 Richmond IN is also not filing to transition next Tuesday. We're not sure if the station is considered to be in the Cincinnati market or the Dayton market. We believe it operates as a Cincinnati station, though it can be seen in both markets...
ZANESVILLE: We weren't aware of this, but WHIZ Media Group NBC affiliate WHIZ/18 has apparently been off the air on the analog side dating back to June 25, 2008, due to an equipment failure...
IN CLOSING: Again, the FCC is expected to provide a full list of the February 17/early analog shutoff stations. We'll link it to the top of this item when we get it, or separately if it's not released sometime today.
The above list is based on our own research of the FCC's public database, with the assumption that all the pre-deadline early transition/analog shutoff findings have been processed there...
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Sports And Digital
Your Primary Editorial Voice(tm) is "on the road" for much of this week, and our updates will be a little more sporadic than usual.
But, we did manage to put some "breaking news" up here before it happened on Monday, didn't we? And as usual, our physical exit from Ohio prompted a major change...sorry, Columbus, we should have warned you!
THE SPORTS HIT THE FM FAN: And as reported here Monday, Dispatch hot AC WBNS-FM/97.1 Columbus "Mix 97.1" faded into oblivion as scheduled at 4 PM on Monday.
Those who were listening to the FM side (or its streaming audio) told us that the "Mix" format went out without any live air personalities...as we'd mentioned, we're hearing the entire FM-side staff was let go earlier that morning.
OMW readers tell us a medley of Ohio State University Buckeyes-related music, fight songs, etc. led into the new "Sports Radio 97.1 The Fan" at 4 PM - a full simulcast of the long-running "1460 The Fan" on WBNS' AM side.
Given the station's Ohio State sports contract, you could say the new two-headed "Fan" is "Powered by the Buckeyes"...an obsession in Ohio's capital city like no other.
Speaking of "power", and for that matter, former Buckeyes, "The Fan's" afternoon drive team members - including Chris Spielman and Kirk Herbstreit - gushed about the wide availability of the station on its new FM signal, and looked forward to the end of complaints from areas even relatively close to Columbus which are cut off from the tightly directional 1460 AM night pattern.
Not gushing at all were fans of the music format blown off the FM dial in the latest move of an AM sports station to a big FM signal.
Station officials issued a statement on the former "Mix 97.1" website:
Anytime there is a dramatic change in direction for a business, there will be those that are happy, and those that are disappointed. We do not make changes of this magnitude without weighing both sides of the equation.
In the end, making this format change to Mix 97.1 was about providing central Ohio with what central Ohio has continued to ask for, a "sports" radio station on the FM dial. We realize there will be disappointed music listeners, as well as many very happy sports fans that are finally getting what they want.
The site even contains a helpful feedback dialog - just in case you're a former "Mix" listener who wants to try to spit into the wind and return the old format.
With the primary branding now on the FM side for WBNS' "Fan" format, we're among those wondering if 1460 will go off in a different direction. Right now, we have no indication that will happen.
Sports radio on FM has become a Big Deal in the past few months. CBS Radio started the latest fire by flipping another 97.1 FM, Detroit's FM talker WKRK, to sports as WXYT "97.1 The Ticket", a move from its old 1270 AM home (which like 1460 now with its new 97.1 home, still simulcasts its FM side today).
That station has been so successful on FM that Clear Channel's recent "restructuring" restructured a long time sports format competitor, WDFN/1130, right out of the local sports talk radio business.
CBS Radio quickly followed by flipping another FM talker to sports in Baltimore (WJZ-FM), then one in Dallas (KRLD-FM). The troubled broadcasting giant reportedly acted quickly after seeing positive PPM (Portable People Meter) returns out of Detroit's FM "Ticket".
Long-time readers know that we've been watching traditional AM spoken word formats (news/talk/sports) and their success on FM.
Just down the Ohio and Pennsylvania Turnpikes from OMW World Headquarters, Clear Channel has reaped quite a reward pairing a popular conservative talk local morning show with a fairly traditional Clear Channel AM talk lineup on Pittsburgh's WPGB/104.7, taking a lot of wind out of the sails of CBS Radio's legendary talk KDKA/1020...particularly in younger still-talk-friendly demos.
And the march continues.
Meanwhile, we don't know if it was prompted by "The Fan"'s move to FM, but Clear Channel flipped talk WYTS/1230 to sports on Monday afternoon, featuring the Fox Sports Radio lineup - and presumably, Premiere mainstay Jim Rome sticks around to anchor the new sports format.
WYTS had been running mostly a second-tier lineup of syndicated conservative hosts...the name hosts over on big brother talker WTVN/610. WYTS had just started the new year with additions of United Stations' Lou Dobbs, and Dial Global's Neal Boortz and Clark Howard to the schedule.
The WYTS website now shows the new "Fox Sports Radio 1230" logo...and nothing else, yet...
ONE MORE TO GO: That rumbling in Congress to move the digital TV transition date now has one important vote behind it, and could well end up on President Obama's desk soon.
The U.S. Senate has weighed in, voting "unanimously" to move the digital transition deadline from February 17th to June 12th.
The issue still has to be considered in the House, which has been kicking around its own DTV-related bills, but, according to the Associated Press:
...Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., has vowed to work with House leaders to bring (Senate Commerce Committee chair Sen. Jay) Rockefeller's bill up for a floor vote on Tuesday.
If the DTV delay bill passes in the House, President Obama is expected to sign it.
As we pointed out last time this proposal was mentioned here:
(Sen.) Rockefeller managed to ease some of these concerns by allowing broadcast stations to make the switch from analog to digital signals sooner than the June deadline if they choose...
The concerns come from places like PBS, where the AP quotes president/CEO Paula Kerger that a delay to June 12th could cost public broadcasters some $22 million in extra costs.
The upshot is that right now, it does appear that television stations can abandon analog for good on their own under the new plan, and those watching the moves say that hundreds of stations have already made it clear to the FCC that they are going to shut down analog on February 17th or sooner...like WNEO/45 Alliance and WMFD/68 Mansfield have done already in Northeast Ohio.
But, what about the complicated situations? What about Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3, which has been trying to put up the tower holding its digital antenna set for RF channel 17 (we haven't checked on its progress as of late) for some time?
Is TBN O&O WDLI/17 Canton signing off its analog side on the night of February 17th, or will they wait until June?
We won't know that answer probably until after the date change bill is signed into law by President Obama, but if they hang around after the 17th of next month, WKYC won't be able to budge from its anemic temporary digital home on interference-plagued DT 2 until WDLI's analog 17 is gone... though it does have the authority to operate on the pre-transition DT 2 past February 17th in an STA...
"THIS" IS IT FOR WUAB-DT2: One of the folks keeping track of the digital TV application status is Virginia resident Trip Ericson, proprietor of the RabbitEars site with various TV station facilities listings.
Trip also lets us know that Raycom Media Cleveland market MyNetwork TV affiliate WUAB/43 has found new programming for its long-abandoned digital subchannel 43.2.
After the continual months-long run of a digital slide telling viewers that no, WUAB didn't kill "The Tube" music video channel, WUAB parent Raycom has signed a deal to air MGM's "This TV" service on 43.2 - and 14 other stations. TVNewsday reports the deals with Raycom, Tribune and two smaller groups give the so-called "diginet" over 60% national clearance.
"This TV" airs a number of movies and reruns, mainly from the MGM vaults. Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting, which runs a local rerun subchannel called "Me-TV" in Chicago and Milwaukee, is also involved in the new channel.
"Me-TV" carries more sitcoms and hour-long classic TV dramas than "This". Many of the programs it carries are seen on the Retro Television Network (RTN), which is aired subchannels of Toledo Barrington NBC affiliate WNWO-DT', and of Steubenville Cox NBC affiliate WSTV-DT.
Despite that similarity, MGM/Weigel's "This TV" and RTN are competitors.
We don't know when "This TV" will start on WUAB. It may already be up, but we're out of range of Cleveland local over-air digital signals at this writing...
But, we did manage to put some "breaking news" up here before it happened on Monday, didn't we? And as usual, our physical exit from Ohio prompted a major change...sorry, Columbus, we should have warned you!
THE SPORTS HIT THE FM FAN: And as reported here Monday, Dispatch hot AC WBNS-FM/97.1 Columbus "Mix 97.1" faded into oblivion as scheduled at 4 PM on Monday.
Those who were listening to the FM side (or its streaming audio) told us that the "Mix" format went out without any live air personalities...as we'd mentioned, we're hearing the entire FM-side staff was let go earlier that morning.
OMW readers tell us a medley of Ohio State University Buckeyes-related music, fight songs, etc. led into the new "Sports Radio 97.1 The Fan" at 4 PM - a full simulcast of the long-running "1460 The Fan" on WBNS' AM side.Given the station's Ohio State sports contract, you could say the new two-headed "Fan" is "Powered by the Buckeyes"...an obsession in Ohio's capital city like no other.
Speaking of "power", and for that matter, former Buckeyes, "The Fan's" afternoon drive team members - including Chris Spielman and Kirk Herbstreit - gushed about the wide availability of the station on its new FM signal, and looked forward to the end of complaints from areas even relatively close to Columbus which are cut off from the tightly directional 1460 AM night pattern.
Not gushing at all were fans of the music format blown off the FM dial in the latest move of an AM sports station to a big FM signal.
Station officials issued a statement on the former "Mix 97.1" website:
Anytime there is a dramatic change in direction for a business, there will be those that are happy, and those that are disappointed. We do not make changes of this magnitude without weighing both sides of the equation.
In the end, making this format change to Mix 97.1 was about providing central Ohio with what central Ohio has continued to ask for, a "sports" radio station on the FM dial. We realize there will be disappointed music listeners, as well as many very happy sports fans that are finally getting what they want.
The site even contains a helpful feedback dialog - just in case you're a former "Mix" listener who wants to try to spit into the wind and return the old format.
With the primary branding now on the FM side for WBNS' "Fan" format, we're among those wondering if 1460 will go off in a different direction. Right now, we have no indication that will happen.
Sports radio on FM has become a Big Deal in the past few months. CBS Radio started the latest fire by flipping another 97.1 FM, Detroit's FM talker WKRK, to sports as WXYT "97.1 The Ticket", a move from its old 1270 AM home (which like 1460 now with its new 97.1 home, still simulcasts its FM side today).
That station has been so successful on FM that Clear Channel's recent "restructuring" restructured a long time sports format competitor, WDFN/1130, right out of the local sports talk radio business.
CBS Radio quickly followed by flipping another FM talker to sports in Baltimore (WJZ-FM), then one in Dallas (KRLD-FM). The troubled broadcasting giant reportedly acted quickly after seeing positive PPM (Portable People Meter) returns out of Detroit's FM "Ticket".
Long-time readers know that we've been watching traditional AM spoken word formats (news/talk/sports) and their success on FM.
Just down the Ohio and Pennsylvania Turnpikes from OMW World Headquarters, Clear Channel has reaped quite a reward pairing a popular conservative talk local morning show with a fairly traditional Clear Channel AM talk lineup on Pittsburgh's WPGB/104.7, taking a lot of wind out of the sails of CBS Radio's legendary talk KDKA/1020...particularly in younger still-talk-friendly demos.
And the march continues.
Meanwhile, we don't know if it was prompted by "The Fan"'s move to FM, but Clear Channel flipped talk WYTS/1230 to sports on Monday afternoon, featuring the Fox Sports Radio lineup - and presumably, Premiere mainstay Jim Rome sticks around to anchor the new sports format.WYTS had been running mostly a second-tier lineup of syndicated conservative hosts...the name hosts over on big brother talker WTVN/610. WYTS had just started the new year with additions of United Stations' Lou Dobbs, and Dial Global's Neal Boortz and Clark Howard to the schedule.
The WYTS website now shows the new "Fox Sports Radio 1230" logo...and nothing else, yet...
ONE MORE TO GO: That rumbling in Congress to move the digital TV transition date now has one important vote behind it, and could well end up on President Obama's desk soon.
The U.S. Senate has weighed in, voting "unanimously" to move the digital transition deadline from February 17th to June 12th.
The issue still has to be considered in the House, which has been kicking around its own DTV-related bills, but, according to the Associated Press:
...Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., has vowed to work with House leaders to bring (Senate Commerce Committee chair Sen. Jay) Rockefeller's bill up for a floor vote on Tuesday.
If the DTV delay bill passes in the House, President Obama is expected to sign it.
As we pointed out last time this proposal was mentioned here:
(Sen.) Rockefeller managed to ease some of these concerns by allowing broadcast stations to make the switch from analog to digital signals sooner than the June deadline if they choose...
The concerns come from places like PBS, where the AP quotes president/CEO Paula Kerger that a delay to June 12th could cost public broadcasters some $22 million in extra costs.
The upshot is that right now, it does appear that television stations can abandon analog for good on their own under the new plan, and those watching the moves say that hundreds of stations have already made it clear to the FCC that they are going to shut down analog on February 17th or sooner...like WNEO/45 Alliance and WMFD/68 Mansfield have done already in Northeast Ohio.
But, what about the complicated situations? What about Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3, which has been trying to put up the tower holding its digital antenna set for RF channel 17 (we haven't checked on its progress as of late) for some time?
Is TBN O&O WDLI/17 Canton signing off its analog side on the night of February 17th, or will they wait until June?
We won't know that answer probably until after the date change bill is signed into law by President Obama, but if they hang around after the 17th of next month, WKYC won't be able to budge from its anemic temporary digital home on interference-plagued DT 2 until WDLI's analog 17 is gone... though it does have the authority to operate on the pre-transition DT 2 past February 17th in an STA...
"THIS" IS IT FOR WUAB-DT2: One of the folks keeping track of the digital TV application status is Virginia resident Trip Ericson, proprietor of the RabbitEars site with various TV station facilities listings.
Trip also lets us know that Raycom Media Cleveland market MyNetwork TV affiliate WUAB/43 has found new programming for its long-abandoned digital subchannel 43.2.
After the continual months-long run of a digital slide telling viewers that no, WUAB didn't kill "The Tube" music video channel, WUAB parent Raycom has signed a deal to air MGM's "This TV" service on 43.2 - and 14 other stations. TVNewsday reports the deals with Raycom, Tribune and two smaller groups give the so-called "diginet" over 60% national clearance.
"This TV" airs a number of movies and reruns, mainly from the MGM vaults. Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting, which runs a local rerun subchannel called "Me-TV" in Chicago and Milwaukee, is also involved in the new channel.
"Me-TV" carries more sitcoms and hour-long classic TV dramas than "This". Many of the programs it carries are seen on the Retro Television Network (RTN), which is aired subchannels of Toledo Barrington NBC affiliate WNWO-DT', and of Steubenville Cox NBC affiliate WSTV-DT.
Despite that similarity, MGM/Weigel's "This TV" and RTN are competitors.
We don't know when "This TV" will start on WUAB. It may already be up, but we're out of range of Cleveland local over-air digital signals at this writing...
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
That Big Day Is Here
We feel kind of short handed on this day, with major news breaking out all over, and just one person to keep track of it - your Primary Editorial Voice(tm).
But we'll do our best...and please, if you hear anything, let us know...
AS SCHEDULED: It's been rumored for weeks, and reported in major newspapers the past few days...and yes, it does appear radio giant Clear Channel has brought out the layoff axe.
Trade websites are starting to line up the job cuts, which are expected to affect roughly 7 percent of the company's 20,000-plus workforce. (We've seen that "total workforce" number cited at anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000.)
As of yet, we've not heard of any layoffs at Ohio's Clear Channel clusters, though they're certainly expected.
OMW hears that "most" Clear Channel clusters are indeed having mandatory meetings later today, and that it is expected - as reported earlier - that the company's sales force will bear the brunt of the job cuts today.
We're hearing that there's one odd "side effect" - the company's FTP servers are down today for "emergency maintenance". Is that cover wording for "sorting out employee access, so people being let go don't do anything nasty on the way out the door"?
Again, nothing yet from Ohio, that we've heard...but unfortunately, we do expect more...
INAUGURATION DAY: The conventional wisdom about today's Clear Channel cuts was that the company wanted to "bury the news" on a day pretty much devoted to the inauguration of incoming president Barack Obama.
That major event will happen just under two hours from this writing in Washington DC, and the coverage won't be lacking.
As thousands of Ohioans descend upon the Nation's Capital today joining the throng, they'll be joined by thousands of reporters - including some from Northeast Ohio stations.
And local TV stations, via their networks, will carry large chunks of today's festivities - much of it preempting programming clear into the evening.
Plain Dealer TV writer Mark Dawidziak delineates your TV viewing options, inauguration-wise, in this rundown. Beacon Journal pop culture writer Rich Heldenfels does the same here, with some guide to how local stations are wrapping around the coverage.
(Note: As Mr. Heldenfels did, we saw an earlier press release from Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5, saying that the station was going to entertainment programming from 7-8 PM - presumably, "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy" - but TV listings this morning show the local station going with ABC's extended "World News Tonight". The listings also show WEWS/5 and WOIO/19 going with network coverage during the day all the way until their local newscasts, but list WKYC/3 airing "Ellen" and "Dr. Phil" as usual.)
If you don't want to wear out the remote, Heldenfels is also "live blogging" the TV coverage on his "Heldenfiles" blog.
And further underlining our New Media World, both the PD's Cleveland.com and the Beacon's Ohio.com feature live video coverage provided by the Associated Press - prominently displayed on each home page.
Radio-wise, we'll assume that every news/talk station in the state will at very least carry their network's live coverage of the Inauguration itself. We've heard both Clear Channel talk WTAM/1100 Cleveland and Media-Com Akron market talk WNIR/100.1 promoting live coverage - WTAM joining FOX News Radio at 11 AM, WNIR joining ABC News Radio at 11:30 AM.
We assume a sweep of the AM radio dial at noon will find the event on nearly every station, on local NPR outlets WKSU/89.7 Kent (and its simulcasters) and WCPN/90.3 Cleveland, and maybe even on some FM music stations. Considering the historic nature of this particular inauguration, we'd be shocked if Radio One's WZAK/93.1 and WENZ/107.9 weren't paying atention to this.
If you miss the inauguration itself, Western Reserve PBS will reportedly replay it at 9 PM tonight on WNEO/45-WEAO/49, with Cleveland PBS outlet WVIZ/25 carrying it live from 11 AM to 2 PM. We're sure C-SPAN will also repeat it.
If you don't want to watch any of this, it looks like your broadcast options are stations like Raycom MyNetwork TV affiliate WUAB/43 and Winston Broadcasting CW affiliate WBNX/55, along with non-news oriented cable networks...
But we'll do our best...and please, if you hear anything, let us know...
AS SCHEDULED: It's been rumored for weeks, and reported in major newspapers the past few days...and yes, it does appear radio giant Clear Channel has brought out the layoff axe.
Trade websites are starting to line up the job cuts, which are expected to affect roughly 7 percent of the company's 20,000-plus workforce. (We've seen that "total workforce" number cited at anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000.)
As of yet, we've not heard of any layoffs at Ohio's Clear Channel clusters, though they're certainly expected.
OMW hears that "most" Clear Channel clusters are indeed having mandatory meetings later today, and that it is expected - as reported earlier - that the company's sales force will bear the brunt of the job cuts today.
We're hearing that there's one odd "side effect" - the company's FTP servers are down today for "emergency maintenance". Is that cover wording for "sorting out employee access, so people being let go don't do anything nasty on the way out the door"?
Again, nothing yet from Ohio, that we've heard...but unfortunately, we do expect more...
INAUGURATION DAY: The conventional wisdom about today's Clear Channel cuts was that the company wanted to "bury the news" on a day pretty much devoted to the inauguration of incoming president Barack Obama.
That major event will happen just under two hours from this writing in Washington DC, and the coverage won't be lacking.
As thousands of Ohioans descend upon the Nation's Capital today joining the throng, they'll be joined by thousands of reporters - including some from Northeast Ohio stations.
And local TV stations, via their networks, will carry large chunks of today's festivities - much of it preempting programming clear into the evening.
Plain Dealer TV writer Mark Dawidziak delineates your TV viewing options, inauguration-wise, in this rundown. Beacon Journal pop culture writer Rich Heldenfels does the same here, with some guide to how local stations are wrapping around the coverage.
(Note: As Mr. Heldenfels did, we saw an earlier press release from Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5, saying that the station was going to entertainment programming from 7-8 PM - presumably, "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy" - but TV listings this morning show the local station going with ABC's extended "World News Tonight". The listings also show WEWS/5 and WOIO/19 going with network coverage during the day all the way until their local newscasts, but list WKYC/3 airing "Ellen" and "Dr. Phil" as usual.)
If you don't want to wear out the remote, Heldenfels is also "live blogging" the TV coverage on his "Heldenfiles" blog.
And further underlining our New Media World, both the PD's Cleveland.com and the Beacon's Ohio.com feature live video coverage provided by the Associated Press - prominently displayed on each home page.
Radio-wise, we'll assume that every news/talk station in the state will at very least carry their network's live coverage of the Inauguration itself. We've heard both Clear Channel talk WTAM/1100 Cleveland and Media-Com Akron market talk WNIR/100.1 promoting live coverage - WTAM joining FOX News Radio at 11 AM, WNIR joining ABC News Radio at 11:30 AM.
We assume a sweep of the AM radio dial at noon will find the event on nearly every station, on local NPR outlets WKSU/89.7 Kent (and its simulcasters) and WCPN/90.3 Cleveland, and maybe even on some FM music stations. Considering the historic nature of this particular inauguration, we'd be shocked if Radio One's WZAK/93.1 and WENZ/107.9 weren't paying atention to this.
If you miss the inauguration itself, Western Reserve PBS will reportedly replay it at 9 PM tonight on WNEO/45-WEAO/49, with Cleveland PBS outlet WVIZ/25 carrying it live from 11 AM to 2 PM. We're sure C-SPAN will also repeat it.
If you don't want to watch any of this, it looks like your broadcast options are stations like Raycom MyNetwork TV affiliate WUAB/43 and Winston Broadcasting CW affiliate WBNX/55, along with non-news oriented cable networks...
Thursday, January 08, 2009
February 17...Or Not?
UPDATE 1/8/09 4:03 PM: As hinted below, President-elect Barack Obama is indeed urging a delay in the DTV transition date.
Quoting an Associated Press article we found on the TVNewsday trade news website:
In a letter to key lawmakers, transition team co-chair John Podesta warned Thursday that too many Americans who rely on analog TV sets to pick up over-the-air broadcasts won't be ready.
The letter to Congress reportedly focuses on two reasons for delay: the reported problems with the government's converter box coupon program (detailed below), and a lack of government help for those needing assistance with the transition.
Our original item is below...
---------------
The buzz in the world of broadcast TV today is over a proposed, potential move of the digital TV transition date.
Just about everyone knows - even those who watch no broadcast TV - that "TV will change" on February 17, 2009. The date has been pounded into Americans' heads. We've talked to dozens of people who don't really know all the details of what's going on, but know it'll happen on that date.
Will it?
This Broadcasting and Cable article puts it in a nutshell.
The folks at Consumers Union are pushing a delay of that date, and are getting reception from key members of Congress on the idea. Quoting:
In a letter to Rep. (Ed) Markey, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committe, and others, the CU requested that Congress consider a delay "until a plan is in place to minimize the number of consumers who will lose TV signals, particularly by fixing the flaws in the federal coupon program created to offset the cost of this transition."
As such, B&C quotes Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, as saying the February 17 date "may have to move". It looks like the parties involved are looking at about a four month delay, says the article, which would push the "new" date to somewhere in June...perhaps the 1st, over Memorial Day weekend.
None of this is reality, as of yet...though it seems that the FCC transition team for the incoming Obama adminstration may be receptive to this idea. It seems plausible, as the B&C article suggests, that they don't want a DTV mess dumped upon them a month after Barack Obama moves into the White House.
One of the big problems is hinted at, in the quoted material above.
The federal government program to give consumers up to two $40 coupons to defray the cost of converters has now run out of money it can spend, and people who sign up now are being put on a waiting list.
The problem is not necessarily one of no money. The program has a set budget, and various rules prevent the agency running the DTV Coupon program from spending money it expects to get back in the future, when unused coupons expire.
But the calendar both on our computer desktop, and on the wall, tells us it's January 8th, and the current transition date is February 17th. Quoting the earlier B&C article:
It would be tough to make the move at this late date. The broadcasting and cable industries and the government have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and donated airtime on hammering home that Feb. 17 date, putting it on Web sites, billboards, and even a race car. Some broadcasters have already made the switch early (Wilmington, N.C.), or are about to (Hawaii on Jan. 15), and some of the spectrum has already been auctioned for advanced services.
And here in Northeast Ohio, two stations have already consigned analog to the scrap heap - Mansfield's WMFD/68 is now only WMFD-DT (RF 12/68.1), and Alliance-licensed WNEO/45 is now only on digital 45.
And the other problem? This IS going to have to happen, at some point.
The analog stations will have to go away, be it on February 17, June 1 or whenever. The spectrum freed up by those stations - particularly in the ranges of channels being abandoned, such as 52-69 - has already been auctioned off. The commercial and public safety interests getting the new spectrum are waiting. You can't unring that bell.
Even if coupon program hadn't moved to a waiting list, there's no guarantee that consumers who waited until now to apply for the $40 coupons would get them by February 17th. (And for that matter, if the date moved to June 1, there would STILL be those who put it off.)
There are myriad offshoots of this news from Northeast Ohio...among them, stations like WKYC/3 are rushing to complete tower work for a new broadcast facility - on a digital channel they won't be able to use until a nearby analog channel (WDLI/17) goes off the air.
WKYC, of course, has applied for a temporary permit to keep running WKYC-DT on channel 2 through the construction...if it lasts past February 17th, which is almost looking likely right now. With no transition on that date, they can't turn on WKYC-DT (RF 17) until WDLI analog is gone.
All of this comes on the same week when FCC chairman Kevin Martin is visiting Ohio, talking up the DTV transition...which, at least at this moment, unless we've missed it, still on 2/17.
In this story on his local visit by WJW/8's "MyFoxCleveland.com", he doesn't seem to offer any new or solid information...but lots of, well, sympathy. To be fair, this is really only bubbling up to the surface in the past couple of days, news-wise.
Keep watching...we know we will be watching, certainly!
Quoting an Associated Press article we found on the TVNewsday trade news website:
In a letter to key lawmakers, transition team co-chair John Podesta warned Thursday that too many Americans who rely on analog TV sets to pick up over-the-air broadcasts won't be ready.
The letter to Congress reportedly focuses on two reasons for delay: the reported problems with the government's converter box coupon program (detailed below), and a lack of government help for those needing assistance with the transition.
Our original item is below...
---------------
The buzz in the world of broadcast TV today is over a proposed, potential move of the digital TV transition date.
Just about everyone knows - even those who watch no broadcast TV - that "TV will change" on February 17, 2009. The date has been pounded into Americans' heads. We've talked to dozens of people who don't really know all the details of what's going on, but know it'll happen on that date.
Will it?
This Broadcasting and Cable article puts it in a nutshell.
The folks at Consumers Union are pushing a delay of that date, and are getting reception from key members of Congress on the idea. Quoting:
In a letter to Rep. (Ed) Markey, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committe, and others, the CU requested that Congress consider a delay "until a plan is in place to minimize the number of consumers who will lose TV signals, particularly by fixing the flaws in the federal coupon program created to offset the cost of this transition."
As such, B&C quotes Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, as saying the February 17 date "may have to move". It looks like the parties involved are looking at about a four month delay, says the article, which would push the "new" date to somewhere in June...perhaps the 1st, over Memorial Day weekend.
None of this is reality, as of yet...though it seems that the FCC transition team for the incoming Obama adminstration may be receptive to this idea. It seems plausible, as the B&C article suggests, that they don't want a DTV mess dumped upon them a month after Barack Obama moves into the White House.
One of the big problems is hinted at, in the quoted material above.
The federal government program to give consumers up to two $40 coupons to defray the cost of converters has now run out of money it can spend, and people who sign up now are being put on a waiting list.
The problem is not necessarily one of no money. The program has a set budget, and various rules prevent the agency running the DTV Coupon program from spending money it expects to get back in the future, when unused coupons expire.
But the calendar both on our computer desktop, and on the wall, tells us it's January 8th, and the current transition date is February 17th. Quoting the earlier B&C article:
It would be tough to make the move at this late date. The broadcasting and cable industries and the government have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and donated airtime on hammering home that Feb. 17 date, putting it on Web sites, billboards, and even a race car. Some broadcasters have already made the switch early (Wilmington, N.C.), or are about to (Hawaii on Jan. 15), and some of the spectrum has already been auctioned for advanced services.
And here in Northeast Ohio, two stations have already consigned analog to the scrap heap - Mansfield's WMFD/68 is now only WMFD-DT (RF 12/68.1), and Alliance-licensed WNEO/45 is now only on digital 45.
And the other problem? This IS going to have to happen, at some point.
The analog stations will have to go away, be it on February 17, June 1 or whenever. The spectrum freed up by those stations - particularly in the ranges of channels being abandoned, such as 52-69 - has already been auctioned off. The commercial and public safety interests getting the new spectrum are waiting. You can't unring that bell.
Even if coupon program hadn't moved to a waiting list, there's no guarantee that consumers who waited until now to apply for the $40 coupons would get them by February 17th. (And for that matter, if the date moved to June 1, there would STILL be those who put it off.)
There are myriad offshoots of this news from Northeast Ohio...among them, stations like WKYC/3 are rushing to complete tower work for a new broadcast facility - on a digital channel they won't be able to use until a nearby analog channel (WDLI/17) goes off the air.
WKYC, of course, has applied for a temporary permit to keep running WKYC-DT on channel 2 through the construction...if it lasts past February 17th, which is almost looking likely right now. With no transition on that date, they can't turn on WKYC-DT (RF 17) until WDLI analog is gone.
All of this comes on the same week when FCC chairman Kevin Martin is visiting Ohio, talking up the DTV transition...which, at least at this moment, unless we've missed it, still on 2/17.
In this story on his local visit by WJW/8's "MyFoxCleveland.com", he doesn't seem to offer any new or solid information...but lots of, well, sympathy. To be fair, this is really only bubbling up to the surface in the past couple of days, news-wise.
Keep watching...we know we will be watching, certainly!
Time Warner HD
Here at OMW, it's definitely one of our most Frequently Asked Questions:
When is the local Time Warner Cable operation in Northeast Ohio going to add more HD channels?
OMW readers are a well-informed bunch, as a rule. They know that satellite providers have added a number of HD channels over the past year or so. They know other cable systems - even those owned by Time Warner, like the Columbus-based Mid-Ohio system - have added many more channels.
(To be fair, not only is the Mid-Ohio system mostly the company's original system - give or taken some Adelphia pieces, we think - but it has many less bandwidth-stealing analog "must carry" channels than the company's Northeast Ohio systems.)
On a recent visit to our long-time friend and colleague Scott Fybush's home in Rochester NY, we saw a Time Warner Cable HD lineup with about three or four times more channels than we get in Northeast Ohio.
Why not us?
There's plenty of speculation behind the delay in addition of HD channels on Time Warner's Northeast Ohio system, but we decided to go for the facts...and TWC local spokesman Bill Jasso was very forthcoming.
Jasso tells OMW the base reason for the delay in adding HD channels, and it's basically what we thought:
It's all about switched digital video. The problem is the former Adelphia and Comcast systems are still not compatible with the legacy Time Warner system from a switched perspective. The need to introduce OCAP -- the open systems platform, also threw a monkey wrench into the works.
For those not familiar, "Switched Digital Video" or SDV is the main driver that allows cable systems to add large numbers of new channels.
SDV means that cable companies can move lesser used channels off the main feed. When your digital cable box tunes to one of those channels, with SDV, it'll go out and grab that feed and send it to your home directly. If no one is watching the channel, it doesn't "sit there" and take bandwidth.
And that means cable operators can free up that bandwidth...for HD channels, and other digital services.
The explanation is kind of simplistic, and we probably got a detail or two wrong, but that's basically how it works.
The complexity of Time Warner Cable's giant Northeast Ohio system, which was brought together from the Time Warner "legacy" system, the former Adelphia system and the former Comcast system, all with different equipment types, is one reason SDV hasn't been fully implemented yet, which would pave the way for more HD channels.
TWC's Jasso tells OMW:
What we don't want to do is treat our Akron and Cleveland systems differently, so we won't move to a "switched" system until we can do it area wide.
As such, Jasso says though he's hesitant to make any projections, the SDV work in Northeast Ohio could be done "by early/mid March".
We'll help Bill out here, and warn that ANY such projected dates for any complex television/technology project could pretty much be written in pencil.
We've run into this before at OMW...with the tower construction that eventually gave Clear Channel Canton market AC WHOF/101.7 and rock WRQK/106.9 their new home, and currently, with the tower work for Cleveland NBC affiliate WKYC/3 and PBS affiliate WVIZ/25 at WKYC's Parma site.
You can give a projected date, and Things Happen Beyond Your Control. Any complex project sees it.
So, don't come back here in April if the TWC SDV project isn't complete yet, and shout stuff like "HE TOLD US IT WOULD BE DONE IN MARCH!"...because it's just a projected date. They ARE working on it, and Mr. Jasso was kind enough to give us a very general expected timeline.
We don't know, at this time, how long it'd be between the completion of the SDV project and the addition of new channels, but we suspect it wouldn't be that long. TWC clearly feels the pressure from competitors like DirecTV and Dish Network, AT&T U-verse, WOW Cable, etc...and many of the company's HD channel carriage deals are already done with the company nationwide.
Jasso tells us that the SDV project will, when completed, not only provide more room for HDTV channels and other digital services...it'll also allow the company's "StartOver" feature to be implemented here in Northeast Ohio.
"StartOver" will allow TWC digital cable subscribers to "go back" to the start of a show they joined in progress, even if their cable box wasn't tuned to the channel at the start. We've seen it in action in Rochester, at the Fybush Media World Headquarters, and it's actually a good feature.
Finally, TWC's Bill Jasso tells us that he's looking for input on HD channels, and which ones our readership would like to see.
Jasso is actually a new HD set owner himself, and says he's personally sensitive to "fake HD" channels - which stretch or otherwise manipulate non-HD programming to fill the screen as a bulk of their programming.
You can, of course, use the usual ways to give feedback to TWC. If you'd like to weigh in directly here, either add comments to this item, or E-Mail us, and we'll pass your wishes along to Mr. Jasso.
By tbe way, about the comments feature here...a few months ago, we changed it so you can use "OpenID" to log in so you can add comments. You don't have to sign up for Blogger.
If you have another blog account (LiveJournal, WordPress and the like), or have an AOL/AIM ID, you can use that instead...
When is the local Time Warner Cable operation in Northeast Ohio going to add more HD channels?
OMW readers are a well-informed bunch, as a rule. They know that satellite providers have added a number of HD channels over the past year or so. They know other cable systems - even those owned by Time Warner, like the Columbus-based Mid-Ohio system - have added many more channels.
(To be fair, not only is the Mid-Ohio system mostly the company's original system - give or taken some Adelphia pieces, we think - but it has many less bandwidth-stealing analog "must carry" channels than the company's Northeast Ohio systems.)
On a recent visit to our long-time friend and colleague Scott Fybush's home in Rochester NY, we saw a Time Warner Cable HD lineup with about three or four times more channels than we get in Northeast Ohio.
Why not us?
There's plenty of speculation behind the delay in addition of HD channels on Time Warner's Northeast Ohio system, but we decided to go for the facts...and TWC local spokesman Bill Jasso was very forthcoming.
Jasso tells OMW the base reason for the delay in adding HD channels, and it's basically what we thought:
It's all about switched digital video. The problem is the former Adelphia and Comcast systems are still not compatible with the legacy Time Warner system from a switched perspective. The need to introduce OCAP -- the open systems platform, also threw a monkey wrench into the works.
For those not familiar, "Switched Digital Video" or SDV is the main driver that allows cable systems to add large numbers of new channels.
SDV means that cable companies can move lesser used channels off the main feed. When your digital cable box tunes to one of those channels, with SDV, it'll go out and grab that feed and send it to your home directly. If no one is watching the channel, it doesn't "sit there" and take bandwidth.
And that means cable operators can free up that bandwidth...for HD channels, and other digital services.
The explanation is kind of simplistic, and we probably got a detail or two wrong, but that's basically how it works.
The complexity of Time Warner Cable's giant Northeast Ohio system, which was brought together from the Time Warner "legacy" system, the former Adelphia system and the former Comcast system, all with different equipment types, is one reason SDV hasn't been fully implemented yet, which would pave the way for more HD channels.
TWC's Jasso tells OMW:
What we don't want to do is treat our Akron and Cleveland systems differently, so we won't move to a "switched" system until we can do it area wide.
As such, Jasso says though he's hesitant to make any projections, the SDV work in Northeast Ohio could be done "by early/mid March".
We'll help Bill out here, and warn that ANY such projected dates for any complex television/technology project could pretty much be written in pencil.
We've run into this before at OMW...with the tower construction that eventually gave Clear Channel Canton market AC WHOF/101.7 and rock WRQK/106.9 their new home, and currently, with the tower work for Cleveland NBC affiliate WKYC/3 and PBS affiliate WVIZ/25 at WKYC's Parma site.
You can give a projected date, and Things Happen Beyond Your Control. Any complex project sees it.
So, don't come back here in April if the TWC SDV project isn't complete yet, and shout stuff like "HE TOLD US IT WOULD BE DONE IN MARCH!"...because it's just a projected date. They ARE working on it, and Mr. Jasso was kind enough to give us a very general expected timeline.
We don't know, at this time, how long it'd be between the completion of the SDV project and the addition of new channels, but we suspect it wouldn't be that long. TWC clearly feels the pressure from competitors like DirecTV and Dish Network, AT&T U-verse, WOW Cable, etc...and many of the company's HD channel carriage deals are already done with the company nationwide.
Jasso tells us that the SDV project will, when completed, not only provide more room for HDTV channels and other digital services...it'll also allow the company's "StartOver" feature to be implemented here in Northeast Ohio.
"StartOver" will allow TWC digital cable subscribers to "go back" to the start of a show they joined in progress, even if their cable box wasn't tuned to the channel at the start. We've seen it in action in Rochester, at the Fybush Media World Headquarters, and it's actually a good feature.
Finally, TWC's Bill Jasso tells us that he's looking for input on HD channels, and which ones our readership would like to see.
Jasso is actually a new HD set owner himself, and says he's personally sensitive to "fake HD" channels - which stretch or otherwise manipulate non-HD programming to fill the screen as a bulk of their programming.
You can, of course, use the usual ways to give feedback to TWC. If you'd like to weigh in directly here, either add comments to this item, or E-Mail us, and we'll pass your wishes along to Mr. Jasso.
By tbe way, about the comments feature here...a few months ago, we changed it so you can use "OpenID" to log in so you can add comments. You don't have to sign up for Blogger.
If you have another blog account (LiveJournal, WordPress and the like), or have an AOL/AIM ID, you can use that instead...
Monday, December 22, 2008
WNEO's Continuing Transition Work
UPDATE 12/22/08 10:08 AM: OMW hears from Western Reserve PBS that Time Warner Cable is indeed now using the station's digital feed to feed the station to its analog cable subscribers.
It's not known yet, however, when (or if) TWC's former Adelphia systems in the Cleveland area will add the HD version of WEAO/49.
TWC systems in other parts of Northeast Ohio already carry the HD feed of Western Reserve PBS. When Time Warner took over the Adelphia systems, it added the HD feed of WEAO to the paper lineup cards almost immediately, but never actually added the station for former Adelphia subscribers.
The addition has become somewhat more critical for Western Reserve PBS, because of the recent end of the 24/7 PBS HD feed - which basically turned the digital/HD sides of WNEO/WEAO and Cleveland's WVIZ/25 into a simulcast until the past month or so...
--------
After switching one of its two signals to digital-only, Western Reserve PBS still has more to do.
And as expected, the Kent-based PBS outlet has officially filed to ask for an early 500 kW power increase for Youngstown market outlet WNEO/45 Alliance, which shut off its analog and original digital signal in mid-November in favor of its previously-approved 44 kW digital signal from its tower in Salem...a digital signal move to the former analog 45.
Like many local stations, WNEO had already filed for what the TV engineering/FCC folks call "maximization", aiming to take advantage of the maximum allowed power for a digital facility.
In WNEO's case, the increased power level of 500 kW got FCC approval for a construction permit recently...but that permit, as we reported earlier, specified that it couldn't go on the air until the digital transition, late in the night on February 17th/morning of February 18th next year.
Last week, WNEO parent Northeastern Educational Television of Ohio, Inc. (Western Reserve Public Media) filed a request for a special temporary authority - to light up the station's 500 kW construction permit power level before the February digital transition.
Despite the fact that a few fortunate souls even far afield from Salem have been pleasantly surprised at the current 44 kW facility's performance, the new signal has also generated a host of viewer complaints from any number of people directly in the Youngstown/Warren area - the target market for WNEO/45.
The Western Reserve PBS folks helpfully point this out in detail, in the filing (PDF file) asking for the early 500 kW power-up:
Transition Related Viewer Reception Difficulties. Since November 19, 2008, when WNEO ceased analog and pre-transition digital broadcasts, WNEO’s call center has received roughly 150 calls from over-the-air viewers reporting reception problems.
The station’s call center staff attempted to determine the number of reception problems that were caused by viewer errors, and found there were very few, if any.
NETO believes that the majority of viewers who have contacted the call center cannot receive the WNEO-DT signal because of the signal strength of the post-transition 44 kW facility. In addition, the station has received several dozen e-mails from viewers who also reported similar reception issues.
Attachment A (found in the linked PDF file) lists locations where viewers have complained about the interim signal. The list pretty much includes every community in the Youngstown/Warren market including - and this is odd - both Alliance, WNEO's city of license, and Salem, the location of WNEO's transmitter site.
(We're no engineering experts, but we could see terrain issues in there, somewhere, causing difficulties even in those two communities.)
Meanwhile, Western Reserve PBS has one other digital problem on its plate - and it's a problem many other stations have.
Though it recently switched digital 45.1/49.1 to run the station's regular schedule in upconverted SD and many PBS shows in HD, the station has a number of PBS programs it does not run live off the satellite - and has to record for later use.
Though shows like "NewsHour" and PBS prime-time shows are aired by WNEO/WEAO live in pattern, in HD, off the PBS satellite feed - the following shows are recorded and converted:
Nature
Nova
Antiques Roadshow
Austin City Limits
Soundstage
This Old House Hour
All kids programs that are fed in HD, which the station is not airing in HD
All how-to programs
The good news is that this situation is temporary.
Western Reserve PBS station manager Bill O'Neil tells OMW that the station is readying the ability to record/timeshift PBS shows in HD:
We have HD capable servers in place. We are now moving to upgrade our station router to HD capability. We have quotes and are about ready to order. We’d like to have it all in place by February 17th.
It's a similar problem to one faced by commercial stations, which are having to deploy HD recording/timeshifting capability to run syndicated programs in HD.
Mr. O'Neil also tells us that they're awaiting word on when Time Warner Cable will, as it has with other stations, use new equipment to create a new analog feed for cable viewers - pulling a "center cut" from the station's digital/HD feed to drive analog cable channel 9 (in Cleveland).
TWC is apparently now using this method to create the analog/downconverted feed for a number of local stations that we don't believe have a direct fiber feed, including CW affiliate WBNX/55 and the other Northeast Ohio PBS affiliate, WVIZ/25.
(WVIZ just converted its 25.1 digital channel to the same mixed feed WNEO/WEAO has been using...we're told that the 24/7 PBS HD feed was pulled nationwide last Wednesday.)
Though the goal is not necessarily to improve analog picture quality - it's to ensure continued carriage for analog cable subscribers after February 17th - the move has dramatically improved picture quality for the stations listed above...at least in our eyes.
As far as the 500 kW pre-transition upgrade for Western Reserve PBS' WNEO/45, Mr. O'Neil tells us:
We have high hopes that the FCC will move quickly on the STA for WNEO’s power. Medical facilities have been notified as required by the CP. The transmitter manufacturer has indicated the ability to provide an engineer quickly to “turn up the juice”.
Of course, even if the FCC doesn't act quickly, WNEO will be able to make the power increase at the February 17th transition...
It's not known yet, however, when (or if) TWC's former Adelphia systems in the Cleveland area will add the HD version of WEAO/49.
TWC systems in other parts of Northeast Ohio already carry the HD feed of Western Reserve PBS. When Time Warner took over the Adelphia systems, it added the HD feed of WEAO to the paper lineup cards almost immediately, but never actually added the station for former Adelphia subscribers.
The addition has become somewhat more critical for Western Reserve PBS, because of the recent end of the 24/7 PBS HD feed - which basically turned the digital/HD sides of WNEO/WEAO and Cleveland's WVIZ/25 into a simulcast until the past month or so...
--------
After switching one of its two signals to digital-only, Western Reserve PBS still has more to do.
And as expected, the Kent-based PBS outlet has officially filed to ask for an early 500 kW power increase for Youngstown market outlet WNEO/45 Alliance, which shut off its analog and original digital signal in mid-November in favor of its previously-approved 44 kW digital signal from its tower in Salem...a digital signal move to the former analog 45.
Like many local stations, WNEO had already filed for what the TV engineering/FCC folks call "maximization", aiming to take advantage of the maximum allowed power for a digital facility.
In WNEO's case, the increased power level of 500 kW got FCC approval for a construction permit recently...but that permit, as we reported earlier, specified that it couldn't go on the air until the digital transition, late in the night on February 17th/morning of February 18th next year.
Last week, WNEO parent Northeastern Educational Television of Ohio, Inc. (Western Reserve Public Media) filed a request for a special temporary authority - to light up the station's 500 kW construction permit power level before the February digital transition.
Despite the fact that a few fortunate souls even far afield from Salem have been pleasantly surprised at the current 44 kW facility's performance, the new signal has also generated a host of viewer complaints from any number of people directly in the Youngstown/Warren area - the target market for WNEO/45.
The Western Reserve PBS folks helpfully point this out in detail, in the filing (PDF file) asking for the early 500 kW power-up:
Transition Related Viewer Reception Difficulties. Since November 19, 2008, when WNEO ceased analog and pre-transition digital broadcasts, WNEO’s call center has received roughly 150 calls from over-the-air viewers reporting reception problems.
The station’s call center staff attempted to determine the number of reception problems that were caused by viewer errors, and found there were very few, if any.
NETO believes that the majority of viewers who have contacted the call center cannot receive the WNEO-DT signal because of the signal strength of the post-transition 44 kW facility. In addition, the station has received several dozen e-mails from viewers who also reported similar reception issues.
Attachment A (found in the linked PDF file) lists locations where viewers have complained about the interim signal. The list pretty much includes every community in the Youngstown/Warren market including - and this is odd - both Alliance, WNEO's city of license, and Salem, the location of WNEO's transmitter site.
(We're no engineering experts, but we could see terrain issues in there, somewhere, causing difficulties even in those two communities.)
Meanwhile, Western Reserve PBS has one other digital problem on its plate - and it's a problem many other stations have.
Though it recently switched digital 45.1/49.1 to run the station's regular schedule in upconverted SD and many PBS shows in HD, the station has a number of PBS programs it does not run live off the satellite - and has to record for later use.
Though shows like "NewsHour" and PBS prime-time shows are aired by WNEO/WEAO live in pattern, in HD, off the PBS satellite feed - the following shows are recorded and converted:
Nature
Nova
Antiques Roadshow
Austin City Limits
Soundstage
This Old House Hour
All kids programs that are fed in HD, which the station is not airing in HD
All how-to programs
The good news is that this situation is temporary.
Western Reserve PBS station manager Bill O'Neil tells OMW that the station is readying the ability to record/timeshift PBS shows in HD:
We have HD capable servers in place. We are now moving to upgrade our station router to HD capability. We have quotes and are about ready to order. We’d like to have it all in place by February 17th.
It's a similar problem to one faced by commercial stations, which are having to deploy HD recording/timeshifting capability to run syndicated programs in HD.
Mr. O'Neil also tells us that they're awaiting word on when Time Warner Cable will, as it has with other stations, use new equipment to create a new analog feed for cable viewers - pulling a "center cut" from the station's digital/HD feed to drive analog cable channel 9 (in Cleveland).
TWC is apparently now using this method to create the analog/downconverted feed for a number of local stations that we don't believe have a direct fiber feed, including CW affiliate WBNX/55 and the other Northeast Ohio PBS affiliate, WVIZ/25.
(WVIZ just converted its 25.1 digital channel to the same mixed feed WNEO/WEAO has been using...we're told that the 24/7 PBS HD feed was pulled nationwide last Wednesday.)
Though the goal is not necessarily to improve analog picture quality - it's to ensure continued carriage for analog cable subscribers after February 17th - the move has dramatically improved picture quality for the stations listed above...at least in our eyes.
As far as the 500 kW pre-transition upgrade for Western Reserve PBS' WNEO/45, Mr. O'Neil tells us:
We have high hopes that the FCC will move quickly on the STA for WNEO’s power. Medical facilities have been notified as required by the CP. The transmitter manufacturer has indicated the ability to provide an engineer quickly to “turn up the juice”.
Of course, even if the FCC doesn't act quickly, WNEO will be able to make the power increase at the February 17th transition...
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Booking It
It's been a very busy couple of weeks or so, media news-wise, so let's step down for just a bit and talk about media-related books...and some other items.
The folks at Cleveland's Gray and Company remind us of their latest book focusing on Cleveland TV, "Big Chuck! My Favorite Stories from 47 Years on Cleveland TV" by Chuck Schodowski (with Plain Dealer writer Tom Feran).
Quoting their release about the book by the now-retired WJW/8 mainstay:
The book includes hundreds of funny and surprising stories from Chuck's career in television.
Since 1960, Chuck has been on camera, behind the camera, and in the director’s chair. He collaborated with Ernie Anderson on the groundbreaking “Ghoulardi” show, and continued to host a late-night show with popular co-hosts Bob “Hoolihan” Wells and then Lil’ John Rinaldi across four decades—the longest such run in TV history.
He worked alongside a wide range of talented people, from Tim Conway to Burgess Meredith to Muhammad Ali. He wrote and directed two thousand hilarious sketches that were watched religiously by adoring fans, including Drew Carey, Tom Hanks, Meat Loaf, Don King, and even two of NASA’s top astronauts. His honors are almost too many to mention: dozens of Emmys, film and television festival awards, even a Grammy nomination—for a polka record, what else?
Chuck’s stories are packed with details that will take readers of several generations back in time. They revisit favorite characters including the Kielbasy Kid, Certain Ethnic Guy, Ben Crazy, and many more.
OMW is getting our Primary Editorial Voice(tm) hands on a review copy of the book, and we'll talk about it more after we've read it. Even the above press release likely brings a flood of memories to adult readers in Northeast Ohio.
Plus, Chuck's been "good to us", even if he doesn't realize he has. We'll revisit this book later.
We'd also like to use the OMW Stage to plug a book written by a Friend of OMW.
McKeesport PA resident Jason Togyer not only dabbles in radio in the Pittsburgh market, he's also a noted expert on his suburban Pittsburgh hometown and the nearby "Mon-Yough" area. (Though we get the idea that folks there would bristle at the description of McKeesport as a "Pittsburgh suburb".)
Jason is the editor of Tube City Online, an extensive website solely devoted to that part of Western Pennsylvania - McKeesport and its nearby area. Your hometown should be covered so extensively online. There's a good reason McKeesport is known as "Tube City", a good reason you can find by going to Jason's site. (Hint: "think steel")
He's also the author of "For the Love of Murphy's: The Behind-The-Counter Story of a Great American Retailer", a hardcover book about one-time retailing great G.C. Murphy's, which was founded there. More from Jason himself on his site.
Though it's not radio related, it should hold interest for those in Northeast Ohio - we're pretty sure G.C. Murphy's made some inroads here back in the day.
And we're all about supporting our friends - Jason's a great guy, and the book is a wonderful gift for anyone interested in retailing's history, the building of a retail giant or just history in general.
While we're supporting Friends of OMW, you need a wall calendar, don't you? If you're a regular here, why haven't you already picked up the 2009 Tower Site Calendar?
It's put together with care by Scott Fybush, a long-time personal and professional Friend of OMW who is well-known for his work as editor of NorthEast Radio Watch, numerous articles in radio trade magazines, and as editor of the radio listings site 100000watts.com.
And that's not even half of what he does related to the radio industry.
The calendar features a number of full-color, professional pictures of broadcast transmitter sites all over the nation, each picture taken in person by Mr. Fybush.
(And most years, your Primary Editorial Voice[tm] is behind the scenes with him at a few of the chosen sites. We think we have two on the "We Were There" list for 2009. We said "behind the scenes" - we're not pictured, thankfully for Scott's camera lens.)
Quick - click on over to the Fybush.com store to order your 2009 Tower Site Calendar.
And no, Scott didn't pay us for this mention. He doesn't even know we're putting it up. It's heartfelt and free, like good things in life should be. And besides, "NERW" was one of the major inspirations for this Mighty Blog[tm]...
The folks at Cleveland's Gray and Company remind us of their latest book focusing on Cleveland TV, "Big Chuck! My Favorite Stories from 47 Years on Cleveland TV" by Chuck Schodowski (with Plain Dealer writer Tom Feran).Quoting their release about the book by the now-retired WJW/8 mainstay:
The book includes hundreds of funny and surprising stories from Chuck's career in television.
Since 1960, Chuck has been on camera, behind the camera, and in the director’s chair. He collaborated with Ernie Anderson on the groundbreaking “Ghoulardi” show, and continued to host a late-night show with popular co-hosts Bob “Hoolihan” Wells and then Lil’ John Rinaldi across four decades—the longest such run in TV history.
He worked alongside a wide range of talented people, from Tim Conway to Burgess Meredith to Muhammad Ali. He wrote and directed two thousand hilarious sketches that were watched religiously by adoring fans, including Drew Carey, Tom Hanks, Meat Loaf, Don King, and even two of NASA’s top astronauts. His honors are almost too many to mention: dozens of Emmys, film and television festival awards, even a Grammy nomination—for a polka record, what else?
Chuck’s stories are packed with details that will take readers of several generations back in time. They revisit favorite characters including the Kielbasy Kid, Certain Ethnic Guy, Ben Crazy, and many more.
OMW is getting our Primary Editorial Voice(tm) hands on a review copy of the book, and we'll talk about it more after we've read it. Even the above press release likely brings a flood of memories to adult readers in Northeast Ohio.
Plus, Chuck's been "good to us", even if he doesn't realize he has. We'll revisit this book later.
We'd also like to use the OMW Stage to plug a book written by a Friend of OMW.
McKeesport PA resident Jason Togyer not only dabbles in radio in the Pittsburgh market, he's also a noted expert on his suburban Pittsburgh hometown and the nearby "Mon-Yough" area. (Though we get the idea that folks there would bristle at the description of McKeesport as a "Pittsburgh suburb".)
Jason is the editor of Tube City Online, an extensive website solely devoted to that part of Western Pennsylvania - McKeesport and its nearby area. Your hometown should be covered so extensively online. There's a good reason McKeesport is known as "Tube City", a good reason you can find by going to Jason's site. (Hint: "think steel")
He's also the author of "For the Love of Murphy's: The Behind-The-Counter Story of a Great American Retailer", a hardcover book about one-time retailing great G.C. Murphy's, which was founded there. More from Jason himself on his site.Though it's not radio related, it should hold interest for those in Northeast Ohio - we're pretty sure G.C. Murphy's made some inroads here back in the day.
And we're all about supporting our friends - Jason's a great guy, and the book is a wonderful gift for anyone interested in retailing's history, the building of a retail giant or just history in general.
While we're supporting Friends of OMW, you need a wall calendar, don't you? If you're a regular here, why haven't you already picked up the 2009 Tower Site Calendar?
It's put together with care by Scott Fybush, a long-time personal and professional Friend of OMW who is well-known for his work as editor of NorthEast Radio Watch, numerous articles in radio trade magazines, and as editor of the radio listings site 100000watts.com.And that's not even half of what he does related to the radio industry.
The calendar features a number of full-color, professional pictures of broadcast transmitter sites all over the nation, each picture taken in person by Mr. Fybush.
(And most years, your Primary Editorial Voice[tm] is behind the scenes with him at a few of the chosen sites. We think we have two on the "We Were There" list for 2009. We said "behind the scenes" - we're not pictured, thankfully for Scott's camera lens.)
Quick - click on over to the Fybush.com store to order your 2009 Tower Site Calendar.
And no, Scott didn't pay us for this mention. He doesn't even know we're putting it up. It's heartfelt and free, like good things in life should be. And besides, "NERW" was one of the major inspirations for this Mighty Blog[tm]...
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
A Packed Wednesday
This one's full of both radio and TV items, news updates and enough to make us want to charge you for it. Hey, a Primary Editorial Voice(tm)'s gotta eat somehow.
But alas, fortunately for you, OMW is free, as always...
MORE 92.3 FALLOUT: It's not really a format change, per se...just a deeper playlist and a more shallow staff list. But we're still picking out the details from the changes of the newly revamped CBS Radio alt-rocker WKRK/92.3, now known as "Radio 92.3".
As befitting the bare bones name (a la the Clear Channel "Radio" rockers in the Columbus and Cincinnati markets), 92.3's new on-air voice is doing sort of an alt-rock version of the voice of the adult hits "JACK FM"' format.
We've heard the voice assure listeners that unlike other stations, "Radio 92.3" won't talk over song intros and outros. The "JACK FM" attitude isn't QUITE there...it's more of a "sit back and listen to the music" thing, with no "hype". (Isn't a "too cool for the room" FM station with a stylized logo a bit of "hype" on its own? Just wondering.)
Anyway, OMW has confirmed that yes, the weekend specialty local music show "The Inner Sanctum" will continue to be heard on 92.3, which has been its home since it lost alt-rocker "The End" (WENZ/107.9) when it changed to hip-hop "Z107.9" a few years ago.
We hear the composition of the show hasn't changed, with Pat The Producer, Jim Benson and Matt Wardlaw still aboard...and some new things are in the works.
As for "Radio 92.3", we wouldn't have minded a brief format stunt of playing TV theme songs, something Clear Channel Columbus market rocker WRXS/106.9 Dublin did before it started its new format - using the moniker "Television 106.9".
(That's a nod to OMW reader - we think he still is, though we've definitely been off his Christmas Card list - John Crenshaw, CC's Columbus operations manager...)
WHILE WE'RE AT CBS CLEVELAND: OMW can also confirm that classic rock WNCX/98.5's morning drive show has officially slimmed to two hosts - Scott Miller and Mike Olszewski.
We're hearing from inside the station that the show's third host, Kim Mihalik, is no longer with WNCX. The reason? She's a victim of what we'd call, if it weren't for the general state of the economy and the media business, "CBS Radio Disease".
Yes, Mihalik is out due to CBS Radio budget cuts.
A quick look at the AllAccess "Net News" scroll shows she's among dozens the company has released nationwide just in the past few weeks due to the chain slimming staff sizes pretty much everywhere.
Among the latest moves - "major staff changes" at the New York City "K-Rock" sister station to our local 92.3, WXRK/92.3. The Cleveland market station carried those calls during the New York station's run as "Free FM" talk WFNY, before becoming WKRI, and eventually, taking the WKRK calls from Detroit's former "Free FM" talker, now sports WXYT-FM.
CBS Radio is obviously not alone in sending a lot of people to radio's beach, which isn't feeling very playful these days. But the company's size and reach makes the list larger...a list that Clear Channel employees, for example, hope won't be duplicated on their side of the ledger in this current economic environment.
Mihalik joined the WNCX Morning Show at its start, first co-hosting a program also known as "Mud, Mihalik and Mike"...the local replacement after CBS Radio canned former "Van Halen" frontman David Lee Roth's attempt to replace Howard Stern. (Of course, one of the other Stern replacements was Shane "Rover" French, who, well, eventually left 92.3 for Clear Channel and WMMS/100.7.)
"Mud" was the artist formerly known as Wynn Richards ("M105", WGAR/1220)...who was replaced a while back by former WDOK/102.1 "Soft Rock 102.1" programmer Scott Miller.
And Mihalik is remembered, of course, from her long stint as Clear Channel talk WTAM/1100's afternoon co-host alongside Mike Trivisonno...
SPEAKING OF JOB CUTS: A former Northeast Ohio sportscaster and radio personality was recently the victim of one, and you know it's bad in radio when someone like Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton has to actively announce his availability.
But yes, he did, via AllAccess:
Sports talk radio veteran LEE "HACKSAW" HAMILTON is available now for fill-ins and auditions for the holidays and beyond (and full-time as well).
The 22 year vet of sports radio has been doing some work lately appearing on SIRIUS XM RADIO's MAD DOG SPORTS channel and on XM's HOME PLATE baseball talk channel, and has been filling in at FOX SPORTS RADIO and at NPR affiliate KPBS-F/SAN DIEGO.
His resume includes a long run on the various incarnations of XTRA SPORTS in SAN DIEGO (on XETRA-A and, most recently, KLSD-A, where he was caught in the recent CLEAR CHANNEL budget cutting) and on KLAC-A/LOS ANGELES.
It's been a long time since Hamilton was here in Northeast Ohio, where he did play-by-play for the World Hockey Association's Cleveland Crusaders (via then-WWWE/1100 "3WE", today's Clear Channel talk WTAM), and also did a regular weeknight sports talk show in the mid-1970's on Akron's WHLO/640 "News/Talk 64", then owned by Susquehanna (today, a company that is now part of Cumulus).
WHLO went from talk to all news to middle of the road music before being sold to religious operator Mortenson, then to Salem...it, of course, is a talk station today under Clear Channel's ownership.
After a stint in Phoenix, "Hacksaw" landed in Southern California...with the very extensive resume listed above - and some stuff not listed, including some NFL play-by-play experience.
It was thought he would be joining Sirius XM's "Mad Dog Sports" channel on a full-time basis, but that apparently never came to fruition aside from some of the fill-ins mentioned above.
"Mad Dog Sports" is the channel featuring former WFAN/660 New York City sports talker Christopher Russo, best known as for his long stint as "Mad Dog" of the station's "Mike and the Mad Dog" afternoon drive show.
Anyway, it's a symptom of the state of the radio industry that a "name" veteran like Lee Hamilton has to go out and actively solicit fill-in or full-time gigs...
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BILL DRAKE: Tributes have been pouring out from all over the radio industry about the man who could basically be called the architect of top 40 radio in the late 1960's and 1970's, Bill Drake.
The Associated Press reports that Drake died over the weekend at age 71.
Local media consultant and former WMMS program director John Gorman weighs in on his Gorman Media Blog:
The secret to Bill Drake’s format was that it wasn’t complex. It was, quite unmistakably, logical. Play the hits in a structured format that refined one’s air personality. The fewer words one uses makes each word more important. He perfected top 40’s forward motion.
Anyone with any involvement in radio, or any knowledge of that time frame, knows that Drake crafted and cared for a number of stations with tight-sounding, high-energy top 40 formats that made the music, well, "sing"....not to mention making both the station and on-air personality seem "larger than life".
He was the creator of the "Boss Radio" concept, mostly used out west (the air personalities were "Boss Jocks" out there), but his influence on top 40 radio spread coast to coast.
It never directly spread to Cleveland, but it had a major influence here in Northeast Ohio anyway.
Top 40 here was exemplified by stations like WIXY/1260, but the region was well within earshot of a Drake-consulted powerhouse - CKLW/800 "The Big 8", booming its 50,000 watts across much of the eastern U.S. from just across the river from Detroit, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The open waters of Lake Erie delivered the CKLW signal like an express train right into much of Northern Ohio.
CKLW is nowhere near its "Big 8" days now, as a local talk station targeting listeners only in Canada, if you don't count a stray American fan of Dr. Joy Browne, Clark Howard or George Noory, U.S. syndicated talkers heard in today's "AM 800" lineup.
But the success the station had this far south and east of Windsor/Detroit in its top 40 music days was immense. Former CKLW staffer Steve Hunter talks about it in an article on the "Classic CKLW" web site:
One of the most important and unique facts about CKLW: for a long, relatively uninterrupted time in the late 1960's and early 1970's, the Big 8 was not only #1 in the ratings in Detroit, but also #1 or, occasionally, just below #1, in Cleveland and Toledo and Akron/Canton. This was practically unheard-of at the time, even in the days of powerhouse AM rockers, and drew a LOT of attention to CKLW from other programmers, bringing even more renown to Bill Drake.
It brought a lengthy Cleveland career to one Larry Morrow, who was doing nights on CKLW as "Duke Windsor". WIXY/1260's Norman Wain lured him to Cleveland after seeing his CKLW nighttime show top the ratings here from its home base far from Northeast Ohio.
Apparently, Larry Morrow wasn't the only evening air personality Wain imported from "The Big 8" - the Steve Hunter article linked above says he made the same move - CKLW to WIXY - as well.
As such, Bill Drake's influence was felt both directly and indirectly in Cleveland radio - even if he never set foot in Northeast Ohio...
But alas, fortunately for you, OMW is free, as always...
MORE 92.3 FALLOUT: It's not really a format change, per se...just a deeper playlist and a more shallow staff list. But we're still picking out the details from the changes of the newly revamped CBS Radio alt-rocker WKRK/92.3, now known as "Radio 92.3".
As befitting the bare bones name (a la the Clear Channel "Radio" rockers in the Columbus and Cincinnati markets), 92.3's new on-air voice is doing sort of an alt-rock version of the voice of the adult hits "JACK FM"' format.
We've heard the voice assure listeners that unlike other stations, "Radio 92.3" won't talk over song intros and outros. The "JACK FM" attitude isn't QUITE there...it's more of a "sit back and listen to the music" thing, with no "hype". (Isn't a "too cool for the room" FM station with a stylized logo a bit of "hype" on its own? Just wondering.)
Anyway, OMW has confirmed that yes, the weekend specialty local music show "The Inner Sanctum" will continue to be heard on 92.3, which has been its home since it lost alt-rocker "The End" (WENZ/107.9) when it changed to hip-hop "Z107.9" a few years ago.
We hear the composition of the show hasn't changed, with Pat The Producer, Jim Benson and Matt Wardlaw still aboard...and some new things are in the works.
As for "Radio 92.3", we wouldn't have minded a brief format stunt of playing TV theme songs, something Clear Channel Columbus market rocker WRXS/106.9 Dublin did before it started its new format - using the moniker "Television 106.9".
(That's a nod to OMW reader - we think he still is, though we've definitely been off his Christmas Card list - John Crenshaw, CC's Columbus operations manager...)
WHILE WE'RE AT CBS CLEVELAND: OMW can also confirm that classic rock WNCX/98.5's morning drive show has officially slimmed to two hosts - Scott Miller and Mike Olszewski.
We're hearing from inside the station that the show's third host, Kim Mihalik, is no longer with WNCX. The reason? She's a victim of what we'd call, if it weren't for the general state of the economy and the media business, "CBS Radio Disease".
Yes, Mihalik is out due to CBS Radio budget cuts.
A quick look at the AllAccess "Net News" scroll shows she's among dozens the company has released nationwide just in the past few weeks due to the chain slimming staff sizes pretty much everywhere.
Among the latest moves - "major staff changes" at the New York City "K-Rock" sister station to our local 92.3, WXRK/92.3. The Cleveland market station carried those calls during the New York station's run as "Free FM" talk WFNY, before becoming WKRI, and eventually, taking the WKRK calls from Detroit's former "Free FM" talker, now sports WXYT-FM.
CBS Radio is obviously not alone in sending a lot of people to radio's beach, which isn't feeling very playful these days. But the company's size and reach makes the list larger...a list that Clear Channel employees, for example, hope won't be duplicated on their side of the ledger in this current economic environment.
Mihalik joined the WNCX Morning Show at its start, first co-hosting a program also known as "Mud, Mihalik and Mike"...the local replacement after CBS Radio canned former "Van Halen" frontman David Lee Roth's attempt to replace Howard Stern. (Of course, one of the other Stern replacements was Shane "Rover" French, who, well, eventually left 92.3 for Clear Channel and WMMS/100.7.)
"Mud" was the artist formerly known as Wynn Richards ("M105", WGAR/1220)...who was replaced a while back by former WDOK/102.1 "Soft Rock 102.1" programmer Scott Miller.
And Mihalik is remembered, of course, from her long stint as Clear Channel talk WTAM/1100's afternoon co-host alongside Mike Trivisonno...
SPEAKING OF JOB CUTS: A former Northeast Ohio sportscaster and radio personality was recently the victim of one, and you know it's bad in radio when someone like Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton has to actively announce his availability.
But yes, he did, via AllAccess:
Sports talk radio veteran LEE "HACKSAW" HAMILTON is available now for fill-ins and auditions for the holidays and beyond (and full-time as well).
The 22 year vet of sports radio has been doing some work lately appearing on SIRIUS XM RADIO's MAD DOG SPORTS channel and on XM's HOME PLATE baseball talk channel, and has been filling in at FOX SPORTS RADIO and at NPR affiliate KPBS-F/SAN DIEGO.
His resume includes a long run on the various incarnations of XTRA SPORTS in SAN DIEGO (on XETRA-A and, most recently, KLSD-A, where he was caught in the recent CLEAR CHANNEL budget cutting) and on KLAC-A/LOS ANGELES.
It's been a long time since Hamilton was here in Northeast Ohio, where he did play-by-play for the World Hockey Association's Cleveland Crusaders (via then-WWWE/1100 "3WE", today's Clear Channel talk WTAM), and also did a regular weeknight sports talk show in the mid-1970's on Akron's WHLO/640 "News/Talk 64", then owned by Susquehanna (today, a company that is now part of Cumulus).
WHLO went from talk to all news to middle of the road music before being sold to religious operator Mortenson, then to Salem...it, of course, is a talk station today under Clear Channel's ownership.
After a stint in Phoenix, "Hacksaw" landed in Southern California...with the very extensive resume listed above - and some stuff not listed, including some NFL play-by-play experience.
It was thought he would be joining Sirius XM's "Mad Dog Sports" channel on a full-time basis, but that apparently never came to fruition aside from some of the fill-ins mentioned above.
"Mad Dog Sports" is the channel featuring former WFAN/660 New York City sports talker Christopher Russo, best known as for his long stint as "Mad Dog" of the station's "Mike and the Mad Dog" afternoon drive show.
Anyway, it's a symptom of the state of the radio industry that a "name" veteran like Lee Hamilton has to go out and actively solicit fill-in or full-time gigs...
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BILL DRAKE: Tributes have been pouring out from all over the radio industry about the man who could basically be called the architect of top 40 radio in the late 1960's and 1970's, Bill Drake.
The Associated Press reports that Drake died over the weekend at age 71.
Local media consultant and former WMMS program director John Gorman weighs in on his Gorman Media Blog:
The secret to Bill Drake’s format was that it wasn’t complex. It was, quite unmistakably, logical. Play the hits in a structured format that refined one’s air personality. The fewer words one uses makes each word more important. He perfected top 40’s forward motion.
Anyone with any involvement in radio, or any knowledge of that time frame, knows that Drake crafted and cared for a number of stations with tight-sounding, high-energy top 40 formats that made the music, well, "sing"....not to mention making both the station and on-air personality seem "larger than life".
He was the creator of the "Boss Radio" concept, mostly used out west (the air personalities were "Boss Jocks" out there), but his influence on top 40 radio spread coast to coast.
It never directly spread to Cleveland, but it had a major influence here in Northeast Ohio anyway.
Top 40 here was exemplified by stations like WIXY/1260, but the region was well within earshot of a Drake-consulted powerhouse - CKLW/800 "The Big 8", booming its 50,000 watts across much of the eastern U.S. from just across the river from Detroit, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The open waters of Lake Erie delivered the CKLW signal like an express train right into much of Northern Ohio.
CKLW is nowhere near its "Big 8" days now, as a local talk station targeting listeners only in Canada, if you don't count a stray American fan of Dr. Joy Browne, Clark Howard or George Noory, U.S. syndicated talkers heard in today's "AM 800" lineup.
But the success the station had this far south and east of Windsor/Detroit in its top 40 music days was immense. Former CKLW staffer Steve Hunter talks about it in an article on the "Classic CKLW" web site:
One of the most important and unique facts about CKLW: for a long, relatively uninterrupted time in the late 1960's and early 1970's, the Big 8 was not only #1 in the ratings in Detroit, but also #1 or, occasionally, just below #1, in Cleveland and Toledo and Akron/Canton. This was practically unheard-of at the time, even in the days of powerhouse AM rockers, and drew a LOT of attention to CKLW from other programmers, bringing even more renown to Bill Drake.
It brought a lengthy Cleveland career to one Larry Morrow, who was doing nights on CKLW as "Duke Windsor". WIXY/1260's Norman Wain lured him to Cleveland after seeing his CKLW nighttime show top the ratings here from its home base far from Northeast Ohio.
Apparently, Larry Morrow wasn't the only evening air personality Wain imported from "The Big 8" - the Steve Hunter article linked above says he made the same move - CKLW to WIXY - as well.
As such, Bill Drake's influence was felt both directly and indirectly in Cleveland radio - even if he never set foot in Northeast Ohio...
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Job Wanted - OMW Ad 1
As promised in our massive update about layoffs and job cuts early this week, OMW will continue to run both "Help Wanted" and "Job Wanted" advertisements as part of our regular content.
It's only fitting that our first "Job Wanted" ad comes from a long-time Friend of OMW, Chuck Matthews. Chuck's last full-time gig was at Cumulus in Toledo, where he was program director of talk WTOD/1560 "SuperTalk 1560" along with his production duties for the entire Cumulus Toledo cluster.
Since then, he's consulted Matrix talk WNWT/1520, also in Toledo, along with continuing to work on his voiceover business.
Here it is:
--------------
OMW faithful CHUCK MATTHEWS is still “beached”, seeking full or part-time in Cleveland, Sandusky, Toledo and all points in between.
Chuck's VO/Production shingle is also out, for station VO, imaging and commercial production.
Demos at chuckmatthews.voices.com and at chuckmatthewsvoice.com.
Contact Chuck via cell at: (419) 350-6188
It's only fitting that our first "Job Wanted" ad comes from a long-time Friend of OMW, Chuck Matthews. Chuck's last full-time gig was at Cumulus in Toledo, where he was program director of talk WTOD/1560 "SuperTalk 1560" along with his production duties for the entire Cumulus Toledo cluster.
Since then, he's consulted Matrix talk WNWT/1520, also in Toledo, along with continuing to work on his voiceover business.
Here it is:
--------------
OMW faithful CHUCK MATTHEWS is still “beached”, seeking full or part-time in Cleveland, Sandusky, Toledo and all points in between.
Chuck's VO/Production shingle is also out, for station VO, imaging and commercial production.
Demos at chuckmatthews.voices.com and at chuckmatthewsvoice.com.
Contact Chuck via cell at: (419) 350-6188
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
