why is wcco off the air

Theyre looking for someone to change it without changing anything, Bloom says. Just wondering if you guys have any insight! This is not a transition where you wing it, says Tom Langmyer, CEO of Great Lakes Media. WCCO-TV, a television station (channel 32, virtual channel 4) licensed to serve Minneapolis, Minnesota. Lee is a native of Hatton, North Dakota, the son of a rural mailman. One reason youre unlikely to see a major programming shift from WCCO is that the only space not occupied by a more robust competitor is the one it holds. Cable systems are allowed to carry out-of-market stations if they are on the list for their county or city. Nonetheless, its recently departed program director told on-air talent to imagine they were aspirationally programming for a 42-year-old man. It is common for some problems to be reported throughout the day. Moms of autistic kids form support group in Alexandria. WCCO (AM), a radio station (830 AM) licensed to serve Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Usually when these things happen it is one of the following: 1.) In a large area stretching from northern Minnesota to the Twin Cities, fine particles are expected to reach the "Purple AQI category", which is a level considered very unhealthy for everyone. CCOs power ratios [the revenue premium it derives above what ratings metrics would dictate] are what make it hard to change, says former programming boss Andy Bloom, whom Knoepke hired in 2018, but was replaced in less than a year. Howard Viken, Maynard Speece, Charlie Boone and Roger Erickson, Jergen Nash, Joyce Lamont, and Randy Merriman became household names. [17] WCCO programming is also simulcast on 102.9 KMNB-HD2. As one empathetic competitor put it, [WCCO is] programming for the audience available to them.. Paul) Radio Stations, Some Recorded Off The Air by Rick . There are only two AM stations left in the region that even attract a substantial audience:CCO and iHearts conservative talker, KTLK. Thats why [KFANs] Dan [Barreiro] is the best show in town right now.. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. ), One current WCCO employee who requested anonymity says that given its modest ratings and weak demographics, Entercom was shocked at WCCOs top-line [revenue] when they bought it.. When he finishes, just before 9 a.m., it will not just mark the end of his workweek, but the end of a radio career that dates back to 1973, at KRAD in Grand Forks. The air quality alert is extended until at least 3 p.m. Tuesday. World Conference for Cancer Organisations. 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Discussing the one-year anniversary of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Vascellaro was supposed to say "insurrection" but unfortunately, cut off the "ins-." It has to be distinctive, even memorable. You do something else. Even Lee calls it an opportunity to recreate the format.. A decade ago, the world was WCCOs oyster, competitively. As Lee moves from drive time to a photo on the stations wall of fame, WCCO faces the same question it has faced throughout the last quarter-century: What is the cure for its chronic audience atrophy, and is it worse than the disease? On September 15, 2011, WCCO was awarded the NAB Marconi Radio Award for Large Market Station of the Year. For the first time in its history, WCCOs biggest programming niches are owned by competitors. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Will it make the city a more affordable place to live? Knoepke was rather unforthcoming inTCBsinterviews, conducted by phone and email, with David Heim, Entercoms corporate communications vice president, monitoring; she declined to talk about ratings, audience data, revenue, nor, unsurprisingly, candidates to replace Lee. But the CBS network signal has been coming through KCCO off a tower near Westport in Pope County. The FCCs order concerns only WCCO-TV and does not affect Minneapolis FOX affiliate KMSP, which is also carried on Rochester cable. Knoepke focused on key themes like trust, reliability, and tradition, but did not articulate an interest in change. WCCO needs to get on FM. Morning drive is responsible for one-third to one-half of the billings at most radio stations says Anselmo, and WCCO is no exception. They would need only to rescan for stations that have new channel locations. Im nave enough to think sponsorships are real friendships, he says. July 31, 2021 / 8:30 AM Obvious local radio competitors thatTCBspoke to are uninterested or hemmed in by noncompete clauses or contracts. Theyll take a look at it.. According to data archived by local radio historian Jay Philpott, in 1968, WCCO attracted a 51 share, meaning more than half of the people listening to radio in the Twin Cities at any given time were listening to WCCO. Dave was the reason we moved a lot of our advertising to WCCO. Longtime WCCO-TV news anchor Frank Vascellaro is probably going to wind up being featured on a late night talk show after he misspoke during Thursday's 10 p.m. newscast. People selling cars, boats, and other specific advertisers want that audience. By contrast, the advent of digital music and streaming services has devastated music radio, its programming commodified and often presented by disc jockeys recording air segments from studios hundreds of miles away. Since then, the KCCO tower has been transmitting the WCCO programming from the Twin Cities. A major risk needs to be taken to capture new audience, says Sunday host Roshini Rajkumar, within our tradition of voices of authenticity. She said if there is a long-term vision for the station, she is unaware of it. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has issued an air quality alert that is set to last through Friday afternoon. The stations will be dark from 1 to 5 a.m. Friday, 1 to 11 a.m. Saturday and 6 to 11 a.m. Sunday for over-the-air antenna users and DirecTV and DISH subscribers, Channel 13 said. they gave me a number to talk to video repair which is just the generic help line which weaves you through the madness of robots until you finally get to a human, and they have no explanation as to why this is happening. WCCO is the flagship radio station for the Minnesota Twins baseball team and the Minnesota Timberwolves basketball team. But competition has hollowed out that position. Dont think we dont smell blood in the water., Lee says he will continue to do endorsements for the station as long as both sides find it mutually satisfying, which gives Knoepke a measure of confidence. When Knoepke says she has no concerns about revenues rebounding, it must be taken with a grain of salt for a single reason: Dave Lee is retiring. This is the same tower used today, although the broadcast frequency was changed to 830kHz as a result of the 1941 North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement-. This is a turning point, says former program director Jon Quick. In that vein, theres some talk that WCCO will go to more of a continuous newscast in AM drive and might not immediately designate a successor. WCCO became the radio home of Minnesota Timberwolves basketball team starting with the 20112012 season, acquiring the broadcast rights from rival AM 1130 KFAN. TV stations including 20 in Twin Cities -, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Submit to Stumbleupon (Opens in new window), TV stations including 20 in Twin Cities being paid for going off the air, Volunteers improve habitat in hopes sharp-tailed grouse will return, What to know about prescription drugs promising weight loss, Texas mass shooting suspect could be anywhere, sheriff says, What to know about tick, Lyme season following a mild winter, Investor ordered to pay SEC $8.3M for defrauding Hmong-American investors, Forest Lake school bus driver strike averted as tentative agreement reached, Why hemp farmers worry about MN legalizing cannabis, Five questions Wild must answer this offseason, Ward 1 convention ends in walk-out, no endorsement after grueling 9 1/2 hours, Minnesota Senate passes bill to legalize recreational marijuana, Charley Walters: Way too early to judge Vikings' pick of Jordan Addison, 'Forever chemicals' exacerbate water issues in Lake Elmo, development still on pause, Norman Quack's Chophouse closes its Stillwater location, NFL draft: Vikings swap down, then up, to nab pair of LSU defenders, 'Smiley-face killer' theorist accused of St. Paul sex assault at time of Zamlen search, For sale: A green thumb's house on Summit Avenue (with a conservatory! First published on July 31, 2021 / 8:30 AM. The AM deficit is so significant that when Twins baseball returned to WCCO in 2018, the team required an out clause if WCCO could not get an FM simulcast by 2020. Langmyer listened to WCCO over several days before agreeing to share his thoughts withTCB. Im in favor of diversity in our content, but Im against tokenism, says Rajkumar, a communications consultant in her weekday job. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". If you want to look at building new audience, you need to be on FM.. There are two ways to accomplish this buy a station or use one of parent company Entercoms. MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has issued an air quality alert for nearly all of Minnesota, including the Twin Cities. CBS affiliate WCCO is turning off its KCCO-TV signal for the Alexandria area at the end of the year, but Selective TV based in Douglas County is hopeful it will be able to relay WCCO programming. WCCO delivers the decision-makers the company is trying to reach. And he does them better than anyone.. Jason DeRusha, the longtime WCCO-TV morning news anchor and co-host of "WCCO Mid-Morning," announced on Tuesday that he was leaving the television station he's been with for nearly 20 years. Its driven by a generation of budget cuts across the industry., Theres one other problem, and its a big one. Broadcasters can relinquish their current channels in order to share channels with other broadcasters after the auction; or. After nearly a year of work to outfit the station and prepare programming in stereo, on October 2, 1985, WCCO began broadcasting in AM stereo using the Motorola C-QUAM system. If you have questions, emaileditors@minnpost.com. Jun 1, 2022 Current Conditions FC - - Feels. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. In the 1980s, the playlist shifted from middle-of-the-road music toward adult contemporary. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. KNOW had yet to become a major competitive presence. In the 1950s, as network programming was shifting from radio to television, WCCO switched to a full-service middle-of-the-road format, including popular music, news, sports, and talk. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. News Talk 830 WCCO is Minnesota's source for news, traffic and weather plus Twins and Timberwolves. WCCO-TV morning anchor Kim Johnson has been fired. Selective TV asks that people using its service make a $10 per month contribution to the organization. Historically, solid radio signals sell for large multiples, so Entercom could never hope to pick up a competitors signal for a song, if you will. This means that with the conversion to digital, a station like WCCO in the Twin Cities can retain its Channel 4 brand identity, while also offering additional over-the-air content on a Channel 4.2 . I have no concerns, she notes. In 1952, CBS sold majority control of WCCO to the Murphy and McNally families, who formed Midwest Radio and Television as a holding company for WCCO radio and its new co-owned television station, Channel 4 WCCO-TV. And then he wasn't. "Back in October, actually late September, I went in for my annual physical," Huppert said . This is a game of shelf space. WCCO engineers were experimenting with frequency modulation by 1939, operating W9XHW at 42.3MHz, but at just 50 watts. In 1983, it became WLTE 102.9 Lite-FM, an identity it kept until Christmas 2011, when it switched to a country music format as BUZ'N @ 102.9 with the new call letters KMNB. CBS was forced to sell off its stake in the WCCO stations in 1954 due to Federal Communications Commission ownership limits in effect at the time. Washburn Crosby Company, forerunner of General Mills, took over the station and switched the call sign to WCCO for the company's initials. Knoepke is regarded by competitors and staff as a capable executive but her background is entirely in sales. More health-related information on air quality can be found here. Member donations are crucial to the work of our nonprofit newsroom. Lane spent the bulk of his radio career at KSTP/Hubbard Broadcasting in a variety of on- and off-air roles. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. The auction could well reverse much of this progress if some or all of the stations in a particular market stopped broadcasting over the air. The sale was conducted using a Reverse Morris Trust to shield the deal from taxes. WCCO (830 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and owned by Audacy, Inc.[1] Its studios and offices are located on Second Avenue South in Downtown Minneapolis. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. One can debate the merits ofCCOs programming and its role in a 50-year ratings slide, but the real driving force was competitive pressure. Though the bulk of radio listening happens in cars, there are now car manufacturers that do not include AM bands on their sound systems. Accordingly, we conclude that the Petitioner has met its burden and demonstrates that WCCO-TV fails to meet the requirements to maintain its status as significantly viewed in Rochester. World and national news is supplied by CBS News Radio. With the move to Division I starting in the 2021 season, the football games would move to KSTP. 2.) The Pohlads found it difficult to make money in radio, and recouping their investment proved no easier. CCO held a 20 share as late as 1991, but by 1998, with Steve Cannon and Boone & Erickson all retired from their drive-time strongholds, the station had fallen to a 10 share. He is an absolute natural. Congress passed a law a couple of years ago that essentially forces many TV stations across the country to give up their broadcast frequencies, so that wireless companies can use them to meet the. Why then is the biggest question around town not CCOs direction, but whether Entercom intends to sell its historic studio building in downtown Minneapolis to raise cash? Today, the station is boxed in. Reports from the Oakland (Mich.) Press, Julio Ojeda Zapata and Dan Bauman were compiled for this story. Knoepke dismissed John Hanson during the winter, the third programming exec she has replaced during her six-year tenure. WCCO features a talk radio format, with frequent newscasts and sports programming. Listen 24/7 for free on Audacy. Still, the local industry was shocked when Northern Lights sold both frequencies to a nonprofit religious broadcaster for just $2.45 million. For most businesses, losing 90 percent of market share would be catastrophic; so would bleeding 83 percent of its customer traffic (see sidebar By the Numbers, below). WCCO is a Class A clear-channel station. See our full republication guidelines for more information. Rate it: WCCO. Because the data is proprietary and WCCO refuses to comment, there is no way to settle the question. When he took over the WCCO morning show in 1998, he says, then-general manager Steve Goldstein told me Im responsible for revenue and other peoples livelihoods, Lee recalls. . (Entercom says the age is 53, perhaps relying on a lesser used metric known as median cume, which was under 54 for one month in 2020.) Also in 1979, Hubbard-owned KSTP-FM became KS95 and, under program director Chuck Knapp, emerged as the towns first FM station that did more than just play music. Selective TV has made a proposal to CBS to pick up transmission of the WCCO signal but a deal has not been finalized. There was one FM station reporting miniscule ratings that fall, Entercom music station WAYL, known by the tagline The Beautiful Whale. (Prior to the CBS merger, Entercom was an owner of mostly music stations in midsized markets.) The affected WXXI . [12][13], In 2018, WCCO returned to the moniker "News/Talk 830 WCCO" with its logo reflecting the change.[14]. Your local TV weather forecaster is ad . Though Knoepke is well-liked and described as a leader by most of the staffTCBinterviewed, it is unclear how much decision-making authority Entercom cedes to local management. Listeners would call in during severe weather events and describe what they were seeing at their locations, supplementing information from the National Weather Service. Selective TV is a non-profit over-the-air television programming system supported by viewer contributions. At that point, WCCO could have made a format pivot and occupied any market niche it wanted. Now all that information is available on a smartphone;CCO dropped farm reports two generations ago. The Selective TV signal covers about a 40-mile radius from its tower near Garfield. [10][11] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on November 17. Sports anchor Mark Rosen plans to leave WCCO-TV after roughly 50 years on the air. In the analog era, WCCOs former VHF Low analog signal may have been easier to receive than the present-day UHF digital signal. ICYMI: An air quality alert is in effect through Tuesday, with conditions being called unprecedented. [8] In the 1930s, two additional 300-foot towers were added to increase the range of the station's signal. Tax credits of up to $1,500 for e-bikes added to Minnesota Senate transportation budget, Minnesota Gov. Our reporters are only able to do their work thanks to support at all levels. But in late 2020, the opportunity presented itself. There are other issues. That WCCO (830 AM) had no replacement for Lee lined up just two weeks before that important day speaks volumes. The consensus in the industry is she needs an equally capable programming executive to manage the burden of talent development and strategy. I want us to think big, address diversity and inclusion with smart, qualified hosts. Minnesotas agricultural sector long relied on CCO for commodity and crop prices. Water City Chamber Orchestra. The home of. Overnight, two syndicated shows are carried: Our American Stories with Lee Habeeb and America in the Morning with John Trout. Keep it clean, keep it Minnesotan, please. It does not store any personal data. The following year, WCCO experienced an enormous ratings drop. CBS bought WCCO from General Mills in 1932, and switched its network affiliation to the CBS Radio Network. WCCO first signed on the air on September 4, 1922, as WLAG, known as "the Call of the North". "They are married. That said, there are others in the industry who mistrust BIAs data, pointing to iffy revenue estimates BIA circulates for ratings leader KFAN, which most of the industry believes bills in excess of WCCO but who BIA says bills much less. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. This Site Primarily Contains a Collection of Airchecks of Numerous Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. His retirement is not merely a symbolic break with the past, but a critical fork in the road that will determine the stations future. Jason joined WCCO as a reporter in 2003 and was able to mark an impression on the public. WCCOs inability to develop its next generation of program hosts is at the core of the stations audience struggles. Though WCCOs ratings do not include listeners outside the metro counties, its programming often seems equally geared to Greater Minnesota. Big changes at WCCO Radio were announced Tuesday morning as "The Good Neighbor" formally introduced longtime morning television anchor Jason DeRusha as its new afternoon drive host. WCCO is missing from my lineup - why? From . With the transition from analog to digital over-the-air signals, those who use home antennas can receive pristine (and, in many cases, high-definition) television broadcasts. CBS and Entercom both told us youll never make up the lost revenue with a simulcast, says former WCCO sales exec Ethan Adam. The advertising load in morning drive is particularly heavy. The Federal Communications Commission is inviting 2,197 of them nationwide including 20 in the Twin Cities and another 16 elsewhere in Minnesota to give up their broadcast bandwidth in exchange for money a lot of money. The final factor limiting WCCOs reach is that, like most radio stations in America, it is owned by an overleveraged media company that reported miserable 2020 results. It was reassigned to 830 AM in 1941. Windy Cold Crushes Optimizers. Pilots flying over the Upper Midwest reported watching the lights go out all over the region each night when Adams finished his 10 pm newscast. Weve used WCCO for over 50 years, Fetters says. This left WCCO with a 4 to 6 share of the audience, which it has held for most of the last decade, though periods between 34 shares have not been uncommon. The affected area is all of Minnesota, including the tribal nations of Grand Portage, Fond du Lac, Upper Sioux, Leech Lake, Red Lake, Mille Lacs, and Prairie Island. News Talk 830 WCCO is Minnesota's source for breaking news, compelling talk, the very latest traffic and weather plus Twins and Timberwolves. For a series of live public-service emergency broadcasts in 1965 the St. Patrick's Day blizzard, the record April floods on the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, and the May 6 onslaught of 24 tornado touchdowns in the Twin Cities area the station earned the George Foster Peabody, DuPont, and Sigma Delta Chi awards. 2023 NorthPine: Upper Midwest Broadcasting. It looks like you're new here. Some observers and past employees believe it is very little; others say its near-absolute. December 18, 2020 1:18 pm. WCCO Radio recently made significant changes to its on-air lineup. The move apparently took many of CCOs occasional listeners off AM permanently. The fine particles in the smoke can be harmful to people with lung or heart issues, and they can also affect the elderly and young children. View a list of Minnesota TV Channels available by TV Antenna. In the February 2021 Nielsen ratings, released as this issue ofTCBwent to press, Minnesota Public Radios all-news KNOW-FM was the #2-rated local station, while iHeart Medias mostly sports KFAN was #3, and CCO was tied for ninth (with sister station Jack FM; Hubbards KS95 was #1). ), Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. So, why can the government do this? Today Friday, April 30 Dave Lee will wake up at his southeast suburban home, walk to his basement studio, and begin his three-hour air shift at WCCO Radio. I recently noticed that she doesnt seem to work for the station anymore, but there is next to no information regarding her departure. learn about all our free newsletter options, Forced sale in Hennepin County prompts Supreme Court to decide constitutionality of Minnesotas forfeiture law. The industrys fiscal state is constraining its capacity to spend, says former CBS Radio executive Tom Langmyer: There have just been very few transactions of this type in the past few years, period., This story appears in the April/May 2021 issue with the title The Shrinking Neighbor.. Were happy to make this story available to republish for free under anAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons licenseas long as you follow ourrepublishing guidelines. KFAN works so well because its not about a formula, says Hartman, its about talent.. (Most news/talk stations attract a disproportionately male audience.) Programmers in town told TCBthat by simulcasting Twins baseball, Entercom has effectively killed The Wolfs ability to hold an all-day audience. WCCO's Director of Meteorology Mike Augustyniak says those in the purple areas should stay indoors as much as possible. The threat to WCCO long-term may not be the age or size of its audience, but an owner who sees it as a pawn or rook on an industry chess board. This has never been done anywhere in the world, Meisch said. You cant replace Dave, says Anselmo. Just found this after my wife asked me what happened to Molly. They need to hire someone with a track record of success, with a vision, and get out of the way.. For WCCO Radio, the day will be tinged with a sense of foreboding. Gallery: WCCO's Mark Rosen said he planned to wrap up his 50-year broadcasting career in April following coverage . Family track or fast track? Hes taken that admonition to heart and turned maintenance of those relationships into an art form. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. If it can stave off additional audience erosion, it can tread water for a long time before sinking below the horizon. The alert goes into effect Wednesday at 10. CBS affiliate WCCO is turning off its KCCO-TV signal for the Alexandria area at the end of the year, but Selective TV based in Douglas County is hopeful it will be able to relay WCCO. Jim Borgrud, president of Selective TV, said that is a reference to the potential deal with Selective TV. The significantly-viewed list was originally developed in 1972, showing which stations had significant broadcast viewership in each location. [WCCO] overachieves in revenue vs. audience size, says Mark Fratrik, chief economist at BIA Kelsey, a consulting firm that advises the industry. Bandwidth auctions, 84 of them in the past 20 years, have been to wireless Internet and phone carriers. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. The FCC notes that broadcasters can choose not to participate but that they may have their channels reassigned after the auction is completed. Archived post. 75% of the state is experiencing severe drought. Can supporters move ahead without them? The radio station was founded 99 years ago as WLAG at 710 AM; it became WCCO in 1924, its call letters reflecting its owners, the Washburn Crosby Co., a predecessor of General Mills. The statements and views expressed in this posting are my own and do not reflect those of Gray Television. Certain conditions can make the signal reach much farther. Public radio started acting like real radio, promoting, employing formatics [programming techniques to hold listeners attention], says Bloom. As of Friday morning, air quality conditions were listed as unhealthy around the Twin Cities and in north-central Minnesota. PM drive cohost Jordana Green is a highly observant Jew, Cory Hepola is in a mixed-race marriage and is father to Black children, and late evening host Henry Lake is Black.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Gibbs Reflective Cycle, Houses For Rent By Owner Tularosa, Nm, American Legion Honor Guard Uniform Regulations, Articles W