Plan D - Part Three

It's all a WBIG nothing

The one thing driving the media empire was the thing no one could hear while driving; this empire was in decline before it ever rose. Curly R's series on Dan Snyder's media empire continues.

Part One: Out of Suitors
Part Two: Overestimating
Part Three: Underwhelming
Part Four: If You Can't Beat Em, Buy Em

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Plan C: If those fools won't pay 10 million a year for the Redskins broadcasts and the radio network we created on our own broadcasts signals so weak no one can hear the games, then we shall find a more powerful station on which to broadcast the games! Muwahahaha!

The Redskins limped through the 2006 season, literally and figuratively with the team limping to a 5-11 record and the team's game broadcasts and associated radio properties stuck in purgatory on frequencies no one could hear. Someone had to do something.

And that man was Dan Snyder. Shortly after Triple X ESPN radio had come into being, Dan recognized the coverage was not ideal and in October 2006 Red Zebra had applied to the FCC to increase WXTR AM 730's meager signals, 8000 Watts during the day and 25 Watts at night (at that signal level you can barely get it under the tower) to 28000 Watts during the day and 20000 Watts at night, this would have been plenty to bolster the weak signal and bring back the Redskins to the radio loving people of the area. Here is WXTR's FCC licensing page, note the daytime and nighttime signal levels.

In tandem with this effort, Dan began to look for other stations to purchase, one or ones with stronger signals, to add to the stable of Red Zebra stations. By December 2006 Dan was in final talks with Bonneville Communications over purchasing WGMS FM, a station that broadcasts on two adjacent FM channels in the Washington DC area, 103.9 and 104.1. WGMS had been classical music for six decades, now changing demographics in Washington had forced Bonneville to explore retooling or selling the property.

The deal ultimately fell through and Dan could not complete the purchase, and if I read thisWashington Post piece on it correctly, it looks as though the main reason the deal was not completed was that an anonymous Bonneville executive cited with bemusement to the WaPo that Dan was offering a ridiculous premium for the station, to the point of overpayment absurdity. Dan had offered 48 million dollars for the station, Bonneville had not accepted the deal and then they were insulting Dan for being willing to offer so much. All somewhat confusing since at the time Bonneville was considering killing off the classical format and changing to sports talk (which would have put them in direct competition with Red Zebra and WTEM) or possibly pop or rock formats or possibly selling the station.

Eventually Bonneville terminated WGMS, ceased operations on 103.9 FM and transitioned 104.1 FM to WPRS, broadcasting in the Urban Gospel format. Kinda seems like they blew this one, they were looking at 48 million simoleons free and clear.

Meanwhile back at the ranch and unfortunately for Dan Snyder and Red Zebra, Loudon County Virginia zoning officials were not enthusiastic about Dan's plan to build a big new radio tower and rejected Red Zebra's zoning application (see 22 June 2007), this must have frustrated Dan Snyder, a man very much used to getting his way and when he cannot get you to give it to him will buy it instead. Dan subsequently pulled his application for WXTR from the FCC. WXTR's applications page is here, the application to increase the signal is on top, number BP 20061020ACB, the application itself is here and notes the proposed signal strength increases. For you real engineering nerds here are the signal strength patterns for the proposed new tower, daytime and nighttime (both PDF).

Swing and a miss.

But never leave it to Dan Snyder to be without options. Right from the outset, Red Zebra knew the three original Triple X stations had weak signals and may need to consider quote time buys unquote where station one pays station B to run content from station one. One of the stations listed as a possible partner was WTEM SportsTalk 980, with the signal strength and built in audience. A year later though and after a difficult first year, Red Zebra did not want to do their main competitor SportsTalk 980 any favors so they were off the table.

Instead in June 2007 Red Zebra announced a partnership with WBIG 100.3 FM aka Big 100.3, to run Redskins games (op. cit.). Red Zebra was going to rent a regular spot on Big 100.3 whenever the Redskins played. WBIG had been an oldies station, playing 1950s to 1970s and switched to classic rock 1960s to 1980s (the definitions slide as the decades wear on) in April 2006.

Although Dan's deal did not directly enrich SportsTalk 980, both Big 100.3 and SportsTalk 980 are Clear Channel stations, it did so indirectly. Putting the Redskins games on SportsTalk 980 would have been like throwing red meat at a room full of Jaguars fans, they would have done their superior and independent pregame and their superior and independent post game and had a good laugh or two at Dan Snyder in the process.

And so the Redskins 2007 season games were broadcast on four stations in the area. And I have no idea how that went. As a Sirius subscriber I get both feeds for each Redskins game so when I am filled with impotent rage at the absence of Frank Herzog I can switch over and hear the other team's broadcast. I never have to try and find the needle in a haystack Redskins broadcast over the air.

Anecdotally it appears to have gone well ok. Looking at the Arbitron ratings it was meh. At this link click the Market dropdown and scroll down to Washington, DC. You can sort on ratings for the past four quarters. In Spring 2007, before the deal was signed, Big 100.3 was 15th in the DC market with a 1.9 (%) share. Big 100.3 jumped five tenths of a share to 2.6 and 13th place in the summer, after the deal was signed but before the regular season started so Red Zebra can hardly take credit for the increase. For the Fall 2007 period, the meaty part of the NFL season, Big 100.3 lost share, falling to a 2.4 and staying in 13th place. For the Winter 2007 period, half of which the Redskins occupied, Big 100.3 went up four tenths of a point to a 2.8 share and staying in 13th place.

So not easy to pull a trend out of there except that the Redskins broadcast appeared not to yield a serious bump to Big 100.3's ratings.

On 14 January 2008 the superlative DC Radio and TV blog ran a letter from a reader:

After the disasterous ratings of The Globe and to a lesser extent WBIG, which even with the Redskins can't get people to listen, you have to wonder how long CBS and Clear Channel will let these disasters continue... WBIG literally repeats the same songs every few hous and in my 45 years of following radio is the poorest programmed music station I have ever heard...

Ouch.

So while this is the opinion of one radio listener or rather one reader of a blog on local radio, it makes me think of something long time WMAL host Chris Core wrote in an editorial about his firing from that station after 33 years:

The rub is that the [Redskins] attracted a huge audience and raised the profile of the station that carried them. People who listened to the Skins on Sunday still had their radios tuned to 630 when they woke up on Monday morning. That kind of carry-over can jump-start a whole week of broadcasting.

Unless your programming sucks and everyone switches away from it immediately when they get into the car.

Then on 15 January, the next day, the Washington Post ran a story on how Triple X and the Redskins did not significantly register any ratings movement over the 2007 season. Big 100.3 is only mentioned in passing and neither its game ratings nor their contribution to the promotion of the Redskins in the DC area are included. Yawn.

The big deal with the high powered station no one listens seems like it was pretty underwhelming. Back to the drawing board.


Dan Snyder's Plan D concludes tomorrow with part four, If You Can't Beat Em, Buy Em.



Image from here.