What happened to 910 am

[LakeJack]

I flipped on my radio this morning expecting Mike and Mike and got way old country. What is going on?

[1stRowFANatic]

Re: What happened to 910 am

Changed format

http://www.brookingsradio.com/910-am.html

Appears the local morning sports show will still be on the air.

[Nidaros]

Re: What happened to 910 am

I like this change to Classic Country. Way too many rockers trying to be C&W and they give us something other than C&W.

[LakeJack]

Re: What happened to 910 am

I hate it, bring back ESPN!

[SUPERBUNNY]

Re: What happened to 910 am

Just what the world needs, another crackly classic country music station. Time to re-up the Sirius Satellite Radio in the car.

SUPERBUNNY

[1stRowFANatic]

Re: What happened to 910 am

From what recall from what I've read on-line (no links, sorry), ESPN is making it very difficult for small market stations to remain affiliates. Cost is going up and they are allowing less and less time for local programs sports coverage. I'm guessing Mike H could provide much better information.

[MikeHenriksen]

Re: What happened to 910 am

1stRow is right. Three Eagles is the owner of 910. They are dumping ESPN, including in their home base of Lincoln.

http://www.huskerextra.com/articles/...b191459924.txt

This same discussion came up when KWSN switched affiliates. Check back on that thread.

[Jack4Life]

Re: What happened to 910 am

Just what the world needs, another crackly classic country music station. Time to re-up the Sirius Satellite Radio in the car.

SUPERBUNNY

I had Sirius in my last vehicle and just got a new vehicle that came with XM. I am on the road a lot and without the satellite, I would be lost. There are 100+ stations and I mainly listen to ESPN. The nice thing about satellite is you get the same reception in Atkinson, NE as you do in LeMars, IA. No static.

[2002jack]

Re: What happened to 910 am

I hate it, bring back ESPN!

I'm upset as well, as I listened to 910 about 90% of my time in the car. I enjoy ESPN radio, and will not be tuning in to classic country. Time to look at satellite radio.

[jackmd]

Re: What happened to 910 am

Use your smart phone and get the iheartradio app, listen to whatever you want whenever you want for free. Does drain the battery a bit so be aware.

Ice fishing the other day and listened to ESPN radio out of Michigan followed by Jim Rome.

[Nidaros]

Re: What happened to 910 am

I'm upset as well, as I listened to 910 about 90% of my time in the car. I enjoy ESPN radio, and will not be tuning in to classic country. Time to look at satellite radio.

Sorry 2002 Jack, I am not upset, but maybe a generation thing and here is why.


After being gone from eastern SD for decades and coming back permentantly in 2005, and not being much on FM, I discovered that the AM signal has limited choices. I became a big WNAX AM fan since this what my parents listened before TV came into existence and I was preschooler, but except for the farm news and SDSU sports, WNAX has a bunch of crap for programing with these right wing fear mongers like Glenn Beck and Lars Larson talking every night. Thank god for the Twins prempting these two clowns. Jim Bohanan is about the only reasonable one in WNAX programing that I can stomache, and Coast to Coast seems to have people on that are little screwy upstairs, or they scare the bejebbers out of you. Sunday night Billy Cunningham comes on and this guy is really a zoo with fear talk. Thank god Three Eagles can not afford these synicated guys. Yes I would prefer ESPN, but I believe Mike H explained the sitution quite well. Oh one thing more, TV productions has a show on Sunday night called Boomer Bable which is not to bad, Ginger Thompson and her hubby are the producers and even have Nick's commericals. That I might still listen too, if I think of it.

Sooner or later some of these bad talk show hosts are going to price each others out of existence as I would think its expensive for a radio show to sign a syndicated contract with them and advertizers no doubt want to know how many people are listening. Thanks to KJJQ new format, I will not have to listen Glenn Beck and Lars Larson. Class ic Western has a chance of drawing older listeners, but maybe not the young ones. Its got to be tough to keep your profit margin in radio now days, as people are changing what they like to listen too, plus we got so much to watch besides, but good radio is a friend when you are doing windshield time in order to make a living.

KJJQ new format gives me an excellent alternative but then I am an old guy and not right of center politically so if KJJQ goes back to ESPN, I will still listen though as I like sports talk too. The best I have listened to WHB 810 in Kansas City, there you get nothing but hot sports talk.

[SoDakJack]

Re: What happened to 910 am

The problem, as I see it, lies in the fact that without a true locally programmed sports talk station it is difficult for Sports talk to survive in an area like Brookings. I liked ESPN radio, but nationally syndicated programs are not the best revenue generators.

With the economy being the way it has been, advertisers are trying to find the most bang for the dollar. I believe that they see an actual body talking about their products as a more effective use of the money than a 30sec commercial in the middle of Mike and Mike.

Now, if KJJQ could have had live and local sports programming for a majority of the day then the revenue would be there. With the drying up of advertising, this just is not feasable for smaller stations all over the country.

[Nidaros]

Re: What happened to 910 am

The problem, as I see it, lies in the fact that without a true locally programmed sports talk station it is difficult for Sports talk to survive in an area like Brookings. I liked ESPN radio, but nationally syndicated programs are not the best revenue generators.

With the economy being the way it has been, advertisers are trying to find the most bang for the dollar. I believe that they see an actual body talking about their products as a more effective use of the money than a 30sec commercial in the middle of Mike and Mike.

Now, if KJJQ could have had live and local sports programming for a majority of the day then the revenue would be there. With the drying up of advertising, this just is not feasable for smaller stations all over the country.

Very good points, and any business that advertizes wants to reach people who will buy their product and service. This fact and the economy have to make radio programming difficult. I too would like see more local programming and it would not necessary have to be sports. I believe in Fargo AM 740 is local sports, but with UND and NDSU, plus Concorida and Moorhead State, plus pro sport, its seem difficult to keep an interested audicence.

[SoDakJack]

Re: What happened to 910 am

Very good points, and any business that advertizes wants to reach people who will buy their product and service. This fact and the economy have to make radio programming difficult. I too would like see more local programming and it would not necessary have to be sports. I believe in Fargo AM 740 is local sports, but with UND and NDSU, plus Concorida and Moorhead State, plus pro sport, its seem difficult to keep an interested audicence, plus

Personally I enjoyed the old format of KJJQ. It used to be Scotty in the mornings doing all kinds of local things from ag reports to community events. It was a very local, knowledgable morning show. Then, it was followed by the Sports Show which we all can agree is one of the best local sports shows. Then there was also a live noon hour with news, sports, and other local stuff. And you can't forget the "Afternoon Smorgasboard" with Grant Peterson in the afternoon. Then they just ran ESPN the rest of the day.

It never really targeted an age range. It was more of a target for people who wanted to know what was going on. It was more of a straight talk station than any other format.

[filbert]

Re: What happened to 910 am

Pretty much unless your name is Rush Limbaugh, radio stations get talk or music syndicated programs essentially free--it's called "barter." There are, say, 15 minutes of ad time per hour, the syndicator takes 8 or 10 of those to sell national ads, and basically gives the radio stations the remaining 5-7 minutes to sell locally. (The time splits vary, but the concept is the same.)

So, if you're running a small radio station your costs are pretty much your studio building, your satellite receiver to receive the programming, a computer to run your satellite receiver and schedule the ads, your transmitter, your ad sales person/people, and the guy/gal running the meter to make sure the FCC doesn't come calling, and however much you spend for bookkeeping and other usual back-room business expenses. If you've got money left over, you can hire on-air talent to read the local forecasts, the news, and maybe if you're in really good shape, a local call-in show.

Radio is an EXTREMELY low margin business and exceptionally hard to make money in, especially in smaller markets. (That's why AM radio was all but dead before Limbaugh's syndicated talk program came around and found an underserved audience that would tune in.)

The low-margin nature of the business is why station managers' ears WILL perk up if a significant number of SDSU fans in their local listening areas would write them asking for SDSU games to be broadcast--AND promising to frequent and spend money at any local advertisers on those SDSU broadcasts--(I say write a letter instead of call because then the station sales person/people can wave the letter in front of prospective advertisers). The basic concept will work if you're in Sioux Falls or in Huron or in Lemmon. Advertisers want to see audience--radio stations want to deliver audience to advertisers. That's how the radio world goes around.

I'm lead to believe that the current "impediment" to a Jackrabbit (Men's Basketball/Football) Network is the current contract with WNAX. However, if both WNAX/Saga Communications and SDSU can see advantages in re-negotiating that contract early, they'll do that, too.

With that word "advantages," see dollar signs.