Posted by Jeremy Andrews on November 11, 2012 at 18:35:28:
In Reply to: BREAKING: Portland's Clear Channel-owned KPOJ Progressive Talk Station Flipped to Fox Sports posted by Paul on November 11, 2012 at 14:22:50:
There's a few things to think about here.
1. Clear Channel WAS going to flip WXXM to Fox Sports Radio a few years ago. There was major backlash which made them change their mind.
2. KPOJ's ratings were lower than WXXM's ratings, and Portland is a much larger market than Madison. KPOJ is on a 25kw AM signal that can cover a large portion of it's state, not unlike WTMJ (Actually they share a frequency, 620)
You got a strong AM signal in a larger market that isn't performing very well in the ratings (I think KPOJ was below a 1 share overall), you're gonna flip it faster than you will an FM with better ratings in a much smaller market.
3. WXXM has some dedicated advertisers. These are the advertisers that keep WXXM on the air. They advertise on WXXM simply because it's a progressive talk station. That is a somewhat unique thing.
For now, I believe WXXM, or at least it's format is safe in Madison for the time being. If changes are made, they'll probably swap frequencies with 1070 (the Fox Sports Radio affiliate in Madison), which at this point doesn't seem likely, unless they want to better compete with WTLX.
Mad Radio even has is's third position on the dial on WIBA HD-2. Yes, that thing called HD Radio fills voids. WXXM is also simulcast in Milwaukee on WKKV HD-2, another void covering the reletively left wing Milwaukee and Kenosha Counties, which are islands in this half of the state.
Last but not least, WXXM is also probably the cheapest station in Madison to operate. All they really need is board ops, and some news and weather resources which they already have in WIBA's corner.