Tidbits

It’s been a rough weekend. Did I ever mention how much I hate being under the weather? Anyhow, let me catch you up on a few things that I may have missed because it hurt to look at a computer screen.

• Broadcast Communications, Inc. closed on the sale of translators W231BM (94.1) Clairton and W248AR (97.5) Monroeville. Tom Taylor reports that the price was $310,000 payable to Educational Media Foundation. EMF used to use the signals to carry its K-Love format into the area, but didn’t need them once an LMA was made with Keymarket for the use of WPKV (98.3 Duquesne). Over the last couple of years, the two translators have carried WKHB (620 Irwin) and WKFB (770 Jeannette) respectively. BCI had moved 97.5’s transmitter from the Seco Road tower in Monroeville to its WKHB/WKFB tower a year or two ago. The 94.1 transmitter has recently been moved from a tower near South Allegheny High School to one in Calvary Cemetery.
• Speaking of sales, Tom Taylor points out a rather challenging proposed-purchase situation in nearby Morgantown, WV. Go ahead and read the article on wvgazette.com. I’ll wait… Interesting huh?
• Listeners of WPGB-FM (104.7) don’t seem to like some recent changes to the station’s daily lineup. (Check out the Facebook Page.) While the daytime mainstays are in place (Quinn, Beck, Limbaugh, and Hannity) the evenings have been primarily taken over by Dave Ramsey (8:00 – 11:00 p.m.) who has been dropped by WMNY (1360 McKeesport) and WAVL (910 Apollo) as those stations change hands and formats. Meanwhile, WPGB has either dropped or moved Michael Savage, Jerry Doyle, and Andy Dean. The latter-most is now on beginning at 11:00 p.m. with Coast-to-Coast following at 1:00 a.m. Meanwhile, SportsNight is on from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
  No doubt a ratings move. Some observers say there’s a drop in listenership for conservative talk radio. Still others maintain that the format is viable. Ratings for WPGB show a pretty steady reading for April/May/June 2013 with a 3.3/3.7/3.5. For June that was 11th place with the stations publicly displayed in the ratings. It could be a lower ranking if a couple of the non-subscribers listed.