Clear Channel like many obese radio chains has been in hot pursuit of Non-traditional revenue sources. As a matter of fact, Google that Phrase and see how many radio services pop up. It's a sign of the epidemic.
So CC's Rochester cluster has been trying some very new non-traditional revenue sources on 107.3 WCRR a tiny class A in South Bristol Township. the station is to the distant south of Rochester, almost audible in Corning, NY. It's spent most of this summer as "Labatt Blue Country 107.3," having co-opted it's own branding in the name of a beer sponsor. I cant decide if this is a money maker or just sad. I 'm leaning toward sad. http://www.mycountryfm.com/
Their low standards became evident last year when they stunted with the "Wheel Of Formats." Durring the stunt they used the brand "Huge 107.3" co-branding with a local automobile dealership. After six days of thsi horror the wheel stopped on CHR/Pop. Gag.
Way back in the 1950s WCRR (as WVBT) they were a part of the Rural Radio Network. It was the first all radio, no wireline radio network in the world. It was meant to serve the agricultural areas of upstate New York. It was broken up and sold off in the early 1980s. More on that tomorrow.
For the record, WCRR-FM has relation to college radio 1600 WCRR-AM http://wcrr.fit.edu/
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WCRR is using the same transmitter site that Rural Radio Network did, but it's not really the same station, which actually explains (to an extent) why it's in the pickle it's in.
ReplyDeleteRemember that the RRN facility up there, a full class B, was on 95.1. That station ended up as WNVE, licensed to South Bristol and owned by Jacor/Clear Channel...which also ended up with a Rochester class A rimshotter on 107.3, WRCD/WMAX-FM/WFXF Honeoye Falls.
The CC engineering folks figured out that they could swap cities of license and move the big 95.1B signal closer to Rochester, so it became the "Honeoye Falls" station, sharing a site with WVOR 100.5 (now WDVI) Rochester and turning into a full-market signal.
But to maintain the mythical "first local service" to South Bristol, 107.3A had to be moved even further out from the city, taking over the Bristol Mountain Rural Radio site.
That site was chosen so well that i still does better than expected with a few hundred watts on 107.3, but the signal from up there remains essentially a throwaway, sacrificed to create a big signal on 95.1.
And if you follow continuity of license and all that, it's that 95.1 signal (now WFXF, which is a call that also used to be on 107.3, confusingly enough) that is the proper descendant of WVBT, etc.