Has This Been Mentioned on The Ticket?

REMINDER: "ANONYMOUS" POSTS WILL BE DELETED.

Tell the Truth

If you are able to get 96.7 FM, do you still listen to 1310 AM?  Some Confessors said they didn't switch over when The Ticket got its long-pants signal, but is this still the case?

A few quick hits:

A commenter at the end of the last thread beat me to it:  I thought the Norm expense report review on The Hardline yesterday was pretty bad.  Remember when Bob and Dan got yanked off the air when Dan undertook to read an internal memo regarding, as I recall, producers?  This is plainly company-confidential information, and, in my judgment, about as sorry as Dan's disclosure.  I'd be surprised if someone didn't get spoken to.  Also agree with that commenter that the expense report was not all that exceptional.  Kind of made The Hard Ones look like they weren't too hip.

I like it when people say "coach 'em up."

Wish the Dirk "Guess What Day It Is" commercial parodying the GEICO ad with the camel had run more often.  Thought it was absolute genius.  Not only was Dirk extremely funny, not only did he actually walk like that camel, the thing featured a star turn by the too-little-seen-on-major-visual-media-outlets Cash Sirois.

As a Man of the Plains, I have a pretty thick skin after coming on five years of composing this site.  For those who have not heard me say it in the past:  I compose very quickly and do not spend a lot of time on this site.  I listen to The Ticket when I can, which is maybe 2-4 hours a day, almost all of it in drive time.  I do not have time to do much else.  I almost never re-listen or to go back and find things I missed.  And I have listened to precisely one podcast, ever.  This means I will be less knowledgeable than some others who have lots more time to do these things.  I am very grateful that those people visit the site and I appreciate it when my errors are pointed out. 

But really, put a cork in the personal aspersions, OK?  I tend not to delete them because I don't want to seem like a guy who can't take criticism, and because I do get stuff wrong.  But I'm considering greatly increasing the deletions for tone around here.

Thank you, and also for Shopping at My Ticket Confession.

96.7 -- The Dawn of a New Sunset

This is the most important day in Ticket history next to the day it first signed on.  More important than any of the acquisitions.  More important than any of their physical moves.

The Ticket finally has a long-pants signal, 96.7 FM.

This instantly renders 1310 AM irrelevant, except perhaps in certain pockets south of the metro.  And from their discussion of the inauguration of 96.7 FM during Muse in the News this morning, you can tell that the Musers, at least, know it.

Alas, Your Favorite Website did not receive the acknowledgment it was due for sparking demand for this precise change starting in 2011.   They all laughed  .  .  .  .

The signal was clear as a bell all the way downtown -- and, as Junior said, in the parking garage and in my high-rise office.

I do wonder if Cumulus will take a run at the Mavericks when their 103.3 contract is up, since The Ticket may now be heard at night throughout Cool Metro.  I suppose the the Local Management Agreement (LMA) Cumulus has with ESPN for 103.3 plays into that decisionmaking somehow.  Can't see them going for the Rangers -- too many day games.

Would Jerry consider a return to The Ticket for the Cowboys now that it has a long-pants signal?  Mm, guessing no, but Jerry is a practical man, if not a farsighted football man.  We'll take a look at the technical considerations some other time.

Smokin' FM

Who is the happiest guy in Cool Metro today?

Gotta be one T.C. Fleming.

ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

@Plainsman1310

Let Us Revisit the Always Innarestin Subject of Signals

As long-time readers of this site know, I've been banging the drum for signal swap, or signal change, for a long time.  One of the earliest annoying obsessions of My Ticket Confession.

I haven't excited much enthusiasm for this crusade.  And in the course of, um, criticism of my position, we've learned some interesting things from people who seem to know things about radio economics.  (Anon E's Lesson on Radio Economics)

I remained skeptical that giving The Ticket a better signal was unfeasible.  I was willing to sacrifice i93.

But in the course of mulling this over and thinking about things like the 2011 Citadel deal, we see that there may be a better candidate out there, first identified on this site in June 2011 (More Questions about Signal Swap):  That would be the 96.7 FM simulcast of 820 WBAP.  It's not an ideal signal for the metro as a whole, concentrated on northerly areas (like 104.1), but hugely more powerful:  90,000 watts compared with 104.1's 6200.

WBAP is a huge biller in this market; more, I believe, than The Ticket.  The question is:  Who needs that signal more?  Or rather, which simulcast assignment maximizes Cumulus's profit?  820 AM, a 50,000-watt clear-channel scorcher that can be heard all over the Southwest after hours and clearly throughout the metro and beyond when the sun shines, or Class B KTCK 1310 AM with half that power during the day (and sounds worse even after factoring in the lower power) and almost nothing (5 KW) at night?

I am doubtful that WBAP gets any revenue advantage from simulcasting on 96.7.  Here is its coverage area:

And here is 820 AM's:

Compare the overall map coverage (the 96.7 map covers a smaller area), and you will see that 820 entirely swallows up 96.7 -- even the red strong-signal boundary.  Are advertisers paying more for the duplicate signal for a talk station not requiring FM fidelity that doesn't reach a single additional listener?  

No?

Then Cumulus loses nothing -- nothing -- by reassigning 96.7.

I concede that comparing the KTCK 1310 map to the 96.7 map may not impress one with a gigantic increase in Tickety coverage in the extended metro:

However, coverage maps aside, the evidence of our ears tells us that 1310 isn't nearly as good in those ranges as the map suggests, and 96.7 is quite clear in the indicated boundaries, and it does someewhat extend The Ticket's range in the desirable North Texas/North Suburban market.   And, of course, this is the daytime coverage.  Here's the nighttime coverage for 1310:  

Pretty clear, I think, that simulcasting 96.7 with 1310 -- unlike an 820 simulcast -- at least has the potential to increase station listenership, and would beyond question improve the listening experience. With the potential to (although, again I concede, not the certainty of) also boosting ratings and revenue.  Might even make nighttime sales look a lot rosier.  (Another concession -- post-sundown sales likely aren't robust under any circumstances.)

Anyway, my very patient Confessors, I know that streaming and smartphone listening is on the rise and may be the wave of the future.  But I believe that most radio guys would tell you that good old-fashioned broadcast terrestrial ratings continue to drive sales.

So I haven't given up on signal swap nor entirely abandoned my faith in the common sense of the CTO.  Don't be stunned if someday soon Craig "Junior" "the Joonz" Miller interrupts his courageous report on "The Five Best and Five Worst Brands of Derailleur Sprockets" with some real news, just texted in from the Pan-American Catman -- a long-pants signal for The Ticket.

What's next?  Billboards?

You saw it here first.

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ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

@Plainsman1310

Indulge Me: One More Article on Signals and Swapping

Y’all may be tired of Signal Talk, but Your Plainsman has a soft spot for the business,  technology, and economics of radio from way back, so I want to stay on this topic for at least one more post.

Commenter Anon E was kind enough to provide some thoughts on why a signal swap of 1310 with 93.3 was not a viable solution to the bad Ticket signal.    His/Her point on the necessity – and difficulty – of replacing revenue is sensible.  I’d like to explore it further and perhaps s/he will weigh in with further details:

(1)  How much revenue really needs to be replaced?   Let’s say The Ticket gets 93.3.  Big signal.  But the revenue from the station that used to come from 93.3’s previous tenant doesn’t disappear, does it? If we’re willing to say goodbye to 1310, we have freed up two more frequencies, not just one:   The Ticket’s current frequencies 1310 and 104.1.  (No point in broadcasting on both 93.3 and 104.1).  Now maybe those two frequencies combined don’t make up the whole $5 million that 93.3 used to bring in, but they will sell more than zero dollars.  So our $5 million target (from the now-deceased 93.3 format) is reduced to some degree.  How much?  Hard to know  (see below re thoughts on those freed-up signals), but not nothing.  Meaning that The Ticket on 93.3 doesn’t have to make up the whole loss of the $5 million it used to get from 93.3, unless the two new stations combined (or a single simulcast station, as The Ticket is now) just bill a piddling amount. 

It has to make up some lesser number.  Let’s say it has to make up $2 million.  Maybe that’s optimistic, maybe not, but let’s just say.  That’s asking the much-improved Ticket with a big-boy signal to do an additional 10% (of the assumed $20 million billings).  Anon E has said that better signal doesn’t necessarily equal bigger billings, especially when you’re already number 1 and pushing the envelope on rates, but wouldn’t some improvement be expected with much better coverage?  Which suggests the next question:

(2)  Would a better signal mean better ratings?  The foregoing (admittedly uninformed) speculation in some bump in revenue prompts a question on how ratings are measured.    Ratings presumably affect billing rates, at least up to a point (there will come a point at which advertisers will balk even with titanic ratings), so I’m wondering how ratings get measured.    Do ratings depend on how many people total listen to the station?   Suggesting that ratings should improve if more people can hear it, or hear it regularly.    Or are ratings only measured in core metro areas where some combination of The Ticket’s lousy signals get to most of DFW most of the time, so that pulling in additional listeners from most distant areas would not be expected to affect ratings?  If it’s the latter, then I can see why a better signal might not translate to better rates and Anon E’s point is bolstered.

(3)  What would be the effect of an improvement in ratings on The Ticket’s rates?   With The Ticket at the top of the heap in the most important demo, Anon E points out that The Ticket’s rates are already reflect that winner’s premium.  Have they bumped up against an invisible cap that would prevent them from asking even more even if it could demonstrate materially improved signal coverage (and more people listening to the station)?  Again, a “yes” answer would tend to support Anon E’s point.

(4)  What about the freed-up old Ticket signals?    Anon E sensibly asks what a proponent of signal switch would do to replace the revenue lost from 93.3.   How about imaginative, innovative programming on the two newly-free channels?  Something that people might actually want to listen to?   Of course, the signals are weak, so maybe one wouldn’t want to invest too much.  But those two frequencies now equal The Ticket, the Bigfoot of DFW radio.  It can be done.  And you have two stations to play with, you wouldn’t have to simulcast.

(5)   Attention, Gordon:  a hypothetical:   So I think:  If I started with two formats -- a proven Ticket formula and a vanilla rock station -- and I were offered 93.3, 104.1, and 1310, how would I allocate my properties among those frequencies?   Wouldn’t I give the gold-plated property the frequency that would exploit the talent?  Or would I take my award-winning station and give it two cobbled-together frequencies, neither of which is much good, so I could coddle my weak performer with a much better signal?

(6)  Does the Citadel deal open up more possibilities?    Anon E’s comment to the last post states:  “Who do you think needs that 96.7 signal more: #1 A 50 thousand watt flamethrower of a station that uses it as an auxiliary signal to the top biller in the market, a station BTW which faces no real ratings competition in the market, or #2 an underpowered, signal-map challenged station that has 2 other stations in it's format already on the fm band?”   If I am reading A.E. correctly, s/he is saying:  “Who needs 96.7 more:  WBAP-AM 820, or The Ticket?” 

Well, let’s think about that:  Citadel’s 96.7 FM, after service as “The Texas Twister” and “Platinum Oldies” format over the past few years, switched to simulcasting WBAP-AM 820 in March 2010.  So not a lot of goodwill built up with the FM signal for WBAP.  It's licensed to Flower Mound and the transmitter is located near where Montague, Cook, and Wise Counties intersect – a bit of a hike from DFW.  The “service contour” from the FCC website just barely reaches Plano and does not reach downtown.    

Even so:  The numbers do suggest that a 104.1 / 96.7 swap, keeping The Ticket at 1310 AM, would be a significant improvement over 104.1 as a simulcast partner.    96.7 is 90,000 watts – more than respectable compared with 104.1’s 6200 watts (source:  RadioLocator).

Or:

(7)  Does The Ticket like being a coverage underdog?   Does it want to be “The Little Ticket.” 

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So:  Innarestin’ things for the Cumulo-Ticket Overlords to mull over as they continue their tireless efforts to serve the loyal P1 and leverage the unique talents of The Ticket. 

Right?

Look, I know my yammering on about signal swaps is naïve and I will welcome further instruction.  Stations swap signals frequently in the U.S., but I understand Anon E’s point that when you’re on top of the market, fiddling with signals may not be in the collective best interest of the company.   I guess I’m just sick of signal roulette as I travel around DFW, and losing the Ticket way before lesser stations start to fade, on a station that’s supposed to be the tops.

Again, my thanks to Anon E for solid information and some radio chops.

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Attention: 

Check in in a few days for an incisive guest post

taking a fresh look at BaD radio. 

Somebody alert Christy!

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Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Wherein the Nation Is Instructed (by Someone Who Seems to Know) -- Yes, It's Another Post About the Ticket's Signal!

I'm not the only one who gripes about The Ticket's signal.  Those gripes long predated this site, and hosts express their dismay at the fluttering coverage.  Some time ago I proposed that Cumulus swap the 104.1 and the 93.3 signals.  I wont' go into my reasoning or the statistics I had at the time, but you can see the original article here:

The Ticket's Lousy Signal -- and What to Do About It

And I mention the topic from time to time.  One of those times commenter Anon E wrote an email as to why that wasn't a viable plan.  In a recent post I mentioned his response and said that I needed to go look it up to refresh my recollection.  Turned out to be unnecessary, because he was kind enough to repeat his point from earlier.  It makes sense and best of all, it has some very good information about the radio marketplace.  I am reproducing it in its entirety below, with my thanks to Anon E for repeating his commentary.  (Corrected a typo or two, otherwise unedited.) 

I had some questions after I read it, but I'm going to save them for the next post, which I'll put up in a few days.    For now, I just want to showcase Anon E's information and analysis.  And thanks again, Anon E, I do appreciate you taking the time and trouble to bring us some of the inside baseball.

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I can explain why it's not viable, and I'll try not to be grumpy while I do it.
The Ticket's average billing for the past few years has been in the 15-20million dollar range. i93 is probably billing this year around 5 million dollars. For the swap to make sense, they need a combination of billing on 93.3 and 1310 that combine to that 25mil total. The Ticket is one of the 2 or 3 highest billers in the market (beat by WBAP and/or KISS), they are already the #1 station with Men 25-54, etc, so JUST switching to FM doesn't necessarily equate to higher ratings, which SOMETIMES equals more revenue.

As is, the reason we have 2 other sports stations in town is because the other stations undercut their spot prices- both ESPN and the Fan offer to advertisers what can be perceived too be a better value in advertising. yes, the Ticket has higher ratings, but those spots come with a higher price tag. So to repeat, a switch to FM may mean slightly better ratings, but that doesn't necessarily translate to higher revenue.

And see above, you need to replace a format on 1310 with something that will replace the majority of i93's billing. If you guys think you know of a format that will bill 4 million dollars a year, let's hear what it is.

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Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @plainsman1310

Maybe It's the Heat

No, not the Miami Heat -- I mean the North Texas summer heat.

I don't know what it is, but the 104.1 FM signal upon which I rely for my commute and downtown listening, if possible, is getting worse.  I used to be able to pull the station in from my workplace during the day, but at least in the morning I end up with that East Texas C&W station.  And it's noticeably worse on the AM and PM commute as well.

AP, were you the confessor who looked up the status of the 1310 AM signal upgrade on the FCC site?  I myself checked into it and must not have guessed the right links.   Any chance you (or anyone else) could update us on that?

I still see zero downside to a signal swap with 93.3 and considerable upside.  Maybe I'll nag you all about that again sometime soon.  The last time I raised this one of our grumpy commenters actually wrote a strong substantive comment  as to why a signal swap wasn't viable.  I didn't buy it, but it was thoughtful and had some good information.  I need to go back and check that. 

Enjoy the parade, everyone.

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Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310