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 Imaging re-launch of WOWI...  DaSho Creations CEO and WJLB Detroit Creative Services Director Jason Alexander and Pat Garrett, signed an exclusive imaging deal to re-launch Clear Channel's urban '103Jamz' WOWI. The launch will take place tomorrow (11/1). Some of DaSho clients include other Clear Channel urban properites like WGCI Chicago, 'Q93' WQUE New Orleans, '92-7 The Beat' WJBT Jacksonville and '106-5 The Beat WBTJ Richmond. You can listen to the package here (~1.58MB).... (10/31/02)FCC chairman proposes overhaul of policy on airwaves...  From AP (Associated Press)... The government's top communications regulator wants to revamp the nation's current policy on the airwaves. FCC Chairman Michael Powell says he rejects the notion that there are not enough airwaves to go around for broadcasters who want them. He says recent FCC tests in five major U-S cities found that there are many unused spectrum "holes," especially when some airwaves are used only at certain times and are otherwise left empty. Powell is proposing an overhaul of telecommunications policy involving the range of radio frequencies used for everything from television broadcasts to wireless Internet devices. Powell says he hopes technology and new FCC policies will take advantage of empty airwaves. Consumer advocates praise that position. They say that more efficient uses of the radio spectrum could bring us lower prices and more competition for telephone, video and broadband Internet services..... (10/31/02)More on the possible Richmond radio station move-in... Joby Cunningham of the Free Lance-Star gets more on the scoop about a possible signal move-in to Richmond. VARTV first reported this late last week and seems that in addition to what was reported it involves a couple of more stations in a station-swap. Joyner Radio out of North Carolina is buying adult standards WCVA-AM and country 'C103' WCUL -FM in Culpeper from Culpeper Broadcasting. Piedmont Communications is buying 'Country 105' WLSA-FM Louisa from Mid-Virginia Broadcasting. Piedmont already owns oldies WVCV-AM and country WJMA-FM both in Orange. With that said, the companies have worked out a deal where Piedmont would swap WJMA to Joyner and Piedmont would take over WCVA-AM and WCUL-FM. Eventually, Joyner plans to move WJMA from Orange to Midlothian and in all likelihood drop the country format already heard on 98.9. Read Joby's entire article at fredericksburg.com..... (10/31/02) New website...  Great Scott Broadcasting's Soft AC 'Lite Rock 107.5 & 103.5' WKHI (& WJNE Bethany Beach DE) now has a website at literockdelmarva.com. They recently flipped from a satellite fed Hot AC format to Soft Rock. WKHI can be heard on most of VA's Eastern Shore. Still in the VA's Eastern Shore "market," the new station on 90.1 Nassawadox owned by religious programmer CSN (Calvary Satellite Network) has taken the new calls of WJCN..... (10/31/02)Corporate bungle...  Larry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot wrote if you worked for The Family Channel (now ABC Family) when it operated out of Virginia Beach, you should get a good laugh from this news: According to the Disney brass, the channel is " a chronically underperforming cable network" for which Disney paid too much. When Pat Robertson and his son, Tim, ran The Family Channel from offices in the Lynnhaven section of Virginia Beach, it was successful. The Robertsons' International Family Entertainment sold the channel to FOX/Saban, which in turn peddled the channel to Disney for $5.2 billion in July 2001. The Disney thinking was to repurpose (time-/day-shift) programming from it's other networks ABC, ESPN etc..... (10/30/02)Richmond media news... New reporter joins WFLS... From WFLS... WFLS News welcomes Bob Jones to its award winning staff of reporters. Formerly of (Mid-Atlantic Network's Hot AC) WINC-FM, MSNBC and (Bonneville's news) WTOP, Bob brings years of knowledge and experience to the team. Listeners will find him anchoring the morning news on (sister stations alternative) '99-3 WYSK' and ('Classic Rock 96.9') WWUZ-FM as well as filing reports for WFLS-FM. We're still looking for the right person to fill the part-time news opening on staff... The ad for that position can be found in the Classified Ads section of VARTV..... (10/30/02) A must see... Mal Vincent, the Virginian-Pilot movie critic gave the new release "Jackass: The Movie" a NO star rating. Yep... no stars. It's an on going joke in Hampton Roads if Vincent gives a movie 5-stars - don't see it and vice-versa. With a no-star rating it must be really good. The movie is based on the TV series that airs on MTV by the same name..... (10/30/02) Game 7 of World Series was the #1 primetime program... The top 10 shows for the week of October 21-27 were... (show, network, rating) World Series Game 7: San Francisco at Anaheim, Fox, 17.9; "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 15.6; "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 13.7; "CSI: Miami," CBS, 12.4; World Series Game 4: Anaheim at San Francisco, Fox, 11.8; World Series Game 6: San Francisco at Anaheim, Fox, 11.8; "Survivor: Thailand," CBS, 11.7; "Friends," NBC, 11.5; "Law & Order: SVU," NBC, 11.5; "Law & Order," NBC, 11.3. For the week, FOX averaged 16.3 million viewers (10.2 rating, 16 share). CBS 12.6 million (8.4, 13), NBC 11 million (7.5, 12), ABC 9.4 million (5.9, 10), The WB 4.6 million (2.9, 4), UPN 3.9 million (2.5, 4) and PAX TV had 1.2 million (0.9, 1). NBC's "Nightly News" won the evening news ratings race, averaging 11 million viewers (7.9 rating, 15 share). ABC's "World News Tonight" had 10.6 million viewers (7.5, 15) and the "CBS Evening News" had 8.8 million (6.2, 12). The entire prime-time TV ratings list for the week can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle..... (10/30/02) Former 'B101.5' Breakfast Flakes co-host resurfaces...  And guess where? In Fredericksburg at cross-town rival WFLS. VARTV hears that Bridget Dean is now the new Promotions Director at Free Lance-Star's country '93WFLS.' She started on Monday. Dean use to co-host WBQB's popular morning show with Alan Baxter. That slot over there has not been permanently been filled yet.... (10/29/02)Someone's using RDS...   Sinclair Telecable's AAA '93-7 The Coast' WKOC and sister alternative '96X' WROX started to utilize the RDS feature on car radios at the beginning of this week - again. RDS - Radio Data System - which allows radio stations to broadcast simple text messages i.e. station call letters, format, title & track of current artist playing, traffic etc... to newer car radios hasn't caught in this country as it has in Europe. Right now, The Coast and The X are using it to show station moniker ('93-7 | THECOAST' and '96X | 96-1 & | 106-1 FM') and the title & artist of the current track playing on the air. This isn't the first time that they've done this. It was tried earlier this year on those two stations but didn't last very long at all - maybe a couple of weeks. One of the biggest fears years ago was if a station was going to broadcast the tracks it was playing, a competitor could "copy" that list and use it to their advantage. Well times have changed. That information isn't too hard to get your hands on these days. By the way, RDS does not work on the AM band..... (10/29/02)Remember Elden A Hale? He was WTKR's (3/CBS) GM in the mid-90s. He's most remembered for firing popular meteorologist Dr Duane Harding. The thinking at the time is that he wanted someone younger, hello Dave Parker - their current chief meteorologist. However, the move outraged viewers and was the beginning of the mass exodus of very popular AND talented personalities. Hale was also the one who instituted the "Rooftop Weather" where the meteorologists would do the weather segments on the roof of the Channel 3 studios - no matter what the conditions outside were. Just plain stupid and ridiculous. Anyways, he's been picked to run another CBS affiliate, another channel 3 but this time it's in the Hartford CT market - 'Eyewitness News' WFSB. WFSB is the dominating local news outlet in the nation's 28th largest TV market..... (10/29/02) Russ Cassidy honored...  AllAccess.com reported that the Virginia Country Music Association recently awarded Barnstable's heritage country WCMS middayer Russ Cassidy with their coveted Pioneer Award. Cassidy has been with CMS since 1970 and was given this honor for his continuing efforts in the promotion country music. Speaking of WCMS and adult standards '1050 The Fog' WFOG for that matter, PD Jack Prater sits down with AllAccess.com for their "10 Questions With..." in the Country section..... (10/28/02)A TV first in Hampton Roads...  WAVY might have the crown when it comes to being the first local station to broadcast a digital signal but WGNT-DT was the first to broadcast an HDTV program that originated in Hampton Roads. And their proud of it. All the digital stations here just "pass-on" the digital signal from their respective network with no local hi-def programming. The program to make it the first was the movie "Witness." The chief engineer for WGNT/WGNT-DT George Randell says, "The movies are recorded here at WGNT on a HD Panasonic D5 tideotape machine. Paramount sends them to us via a CBS HD satellite feed that we record. We don't do any upconversion, as they come to us in HD... we record and air this movie package in 1080i HD. The same film is recorded, from a different satellite feed, onto an NTSC machine, for use on WGNT NTSC Channel 27. Local commercials cut into WGNT-DT are upconverted from the NTSC side." Future movies to broadcasted by WGNT-DT... "Top Gun" 11/9/02 at 8:00P & 11/24/02 at 2P, "North Dallas Forty" 12/15/02 at 2P and "Scrooge" 12/21/02 at 8P & 12/22/02 at 1A. All will be 16:9 aspect ratio/1080i HD..... (10/28/02)CBS' football pre-game show is still playing catch-up... Jerry Lindquist of the Richmond Times-Dispatch rants about the 'The NFL Today' pregame show. In Richmond, "The NFL Today" is pulling a 1.9 rating/4 share on WTVR (6) and is being blown away by "Fox NFL Sunday" (4.3/10) on 'FOX Richmond' WRLH (35). It's really that close. Lindquist's entire article can be found at timesdispatch.com..... (10/28/02) UNC fans listen-up...  If you're craving Tar Heel sports, you might just be in luck. Maranatha Broadcasting's Christian Contemporary 'Praise 105' WFMZ (104.9) now belongs to the Tar Heel Sports Network. This year, WFMZ is carrying the University of North Carolina football games each Saturday and will also carry men's and women's basketball for the 2002-2003 season. Praise puts in a 'rimshot' signal to Hampton Roads..... (10/28/02)Cox Fredericksburg adds channels... Starting this Friday on November 1, Cox Communications will offer two new premium channel options for digital customers. TV Asia will launch on channel 257 at $14.95/mo and The Filipino Channel (TFC) will be available on channel 259 for $11.95/mo. I wonder if there's a rate increase along with channel additions? It's that time of year..... (10/28/02) Nikki Landry heard in DC...  Nikki Landry who was the night jock for Mid-Atlantic Network's Hot AC 'B101.5' WBQB in Fredericksburg - very briefly - has resurfaced in DC. She's started three weeks ago as a part-timer at Clear Channel's country WMZQ. Her regular show is on Sunday nights from 8PM to midnight. She has country on-air experience. Before going to WBQB, she was at Citadel’s ‘Cat Country 96’ WCTO Allentown PA where she co-hosted their morning show under the name Cat Collins..... (10/27/02)WCVE-FM extends fall fund-raising drive... Richmond Public Radio WCVE (88.9) fall membership campaign, a fund-raising drive that was supposed to end today (Saturday), will be extended until Monday and possibly Tuesday. As of yesterday (Friday), the station was only half way to its goal of $300,000..... (10/26/02) Hot 102.1 news...  On Top Communication's (Steve Hegwood) urban 'Hot 102.1' WWHV announces a new midday host - Burgandi. She was already heard doing Saturday mornings from 10AM to 2PM. She replaces Lex Coupe who isn't on the air anymore. It's unknown if she's still with the station. Finally, Hot 102.1 had their best ratings book ever in their short life span - up to a 1.7 from a 1.0 (70% increase). Plowing thru the numbers, they are also up to a 3.7 in the '18-34 All Persons' demo. I just told someone the other day that "Hot's" on-air presentation is sounding better and better. You can listen to WWHV online at hot1021.com. The new on-air looks like this...
(10/25/02) Richmond could be getting a new radio station...Maybe just maybe. Let's break it down. The owners of country WJMA 98.9 (Piedmont Communications) licensed way up in Orange are requesting a change in the community of license to Midlothian and reclassify the license on channel 255B1 (98.9FM with an antenna height up to 328' and 25kW of power or any combination of those two). 98.9 would provide a first local service to Midlothian and in essence provide Richmond with a brand new signal. Piedmont with Old Belt Broadcasting Corp want to shift Old Belt's '98.9 Kiss Country' WKSK South Hill (currently 312' @ 15kW/licensed as a Class C3) to channel 270A (101.9FM). So far so good. Here's the big obstacle. Entercom's urban '102Jamz' WJMH (102.1) Reidsville NC is licensed as a Class C. The FCC has since tweaked that classification making 102Jamz's antenna not high enough under the new guidelines. Piedmont and Old Belt would like to take advantage of this. But, Entercom has 30 days to respond to either say "OK" and WJMH-FM would be reclassified as a Class C0 or put in an application to the FCC to increase it's antenna height which would give them three years to build the CP out and would put an end to this realignment to the FM Table of Allotments for the time being. Stay tuned..... (10/25/02) WBQB looking for morning co-host...  CORRECTED: Mid-Atlantic Network's Hot AC 'B101.5' WBQB is advertising for a morning co-host for its popular "Breakfast Flakes" show. Co-host Bridget Dean is gone. For now, Alan Baxter is solo with Robert Workman with Heather Harwood formerly of CC Charlottesville filling in until a permanent co-host is found. There seems to be a little turnover over at The B recently. Their night jock Nikki Landry recently exited the station only being there for a few months. That spot still hasn't been filled. All that aside, 'B101.5' consistently ranks as the #2 station in the Fredericksburg market behind powerhouse country '93 WFLS'..... (10/25/02)Enough said...  A new #1 radio station in Richmond...  Arbitron's Summer book for Richmond was released earlier today with some surprises. Cox Radio's country 'K95' WKHK is now Richmond's #1 radio station (12+) with a 9.7 rating. CC's AC 'Lite 98' WTVR plumments ratings-wise (12.1-7.7) but ties Radio One's urban 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX for second. 'Lite' had been a solid first the previous three "books." Radio One's urban oldies 'Jammin Oldies Magic 105.7' WJMO continues to improve to take fourth place all by itself. 'NewsRadio 1140 WRVA' rounds out the Top 5. The old 'XL102' WRXL slid again this book to 2.7. Cross-town rival alternative 'Y101' WDYL had its best book in five - up to a 3.7. The entire 12+ ratings can be found at radioandrecords.com ..... (10/24/02)New #1 radio stations in Hampton Roads...  Saga's active rocker 'FM99' WNOR and Clear Channel's urban '103Jamz' WOWI are the new #1 radio stations in Hampton Roads; spring's #1 Entercom's AC '2WD' WWDE falls to 6th. Arbitron released the numbers earlier today which covered June 27 to September 18. There's a crowd forming at the top...
Here's how the Top 10 (12+) shapes up...
3. WGH-F (97-3 The Eagle)... 6.1 4. WAFX (106.9 The Fox) & WXEZ (Star 94.1)... 6.0 6. WWDE (2WD)... 5.9 7. WVKL (95-7 R&B)... 5.7 8. WNVZ (Z104)... 5.4 9. WPTE (94.9 The Point)... 5.3 10. WCMS... 5.2
2. WNOR & WVKL...7.4 4. WWDE... 6.9 5. WPTE & WXEZ... 6.6 7. WGH... 6.5 8. WOWI... 5.2 9. WWSO... 4.7 10. WCMS... 4.3 Some Richmond sports TV ratings... Baseball: For the World Series on FOX , Nielsen numbers show a 25% drop in viewership on the East Coast from last year's contest . After two games, the average national rating for Angels-Giants was 10.7 - down 16% from the 2001 Series between the Yankees and Diamondbacks. The record low is 12.4 for the 2000 Yankees' romp over the Mets. In Richmond, the first three games have averaged just a 9.0 rating (14 share) in the market of 505,000 TV households (1.2 million potential viewers). The games are carried on 'FOX Richmond' WRLH (35)... Football: From Jerry Lindquist of the Richmond Times-Dispatch - Wow! Here's a surprise: The Washington Redskins remain the biggest draw locally, averaging a 15.1 rating/28 share on Fox affiliate WRLH-35. That's up 2% over a comparable time last year. Despite a reworked (again) "The NFL Today" on CBS, the Fox pregame show is showing a 6% increase in this market (4.3/10) while Deion Sanders, Dan Marino and friends are pulling a 1.9/4 - minus 19 percent - on CBS affiliate WTVR-6. That's a reflection, of course, of the drawing power of the Redskins combined with AFC games that seldom, if ever, are must-see. With the Redskins on ESPN's Sunday-night package this week, Channel 35 lucked out with a Saints-Falcons matchup - Aaron Brooks vs. Michael Vick - with lots of local appeal... Soccer: Sunday's MLS Cup 2002 on WRIC (8/ABC) did a 1.5 rating (3 share) in Richmond which is very good for soccer. By the way, The LA Galaxy defeated the New England Revolution 1 to nil in two overtimes..... (10/24/02) Art Bell retiring again... On last nights program, Art Bell, still plagued with unbearable back problems, announced his retirement as host of Coast to Coast AM -- effective December 31,2002. Art informed listeners that Coast to Coast AM's regular fill-in host, George Noory, will be his successor. Bell plans to serve as an occasional guest-host for Noory in the future. Weekends will continue to be hosted by Barbara Simpson. For futher details and quotes go to coasttocoastam.com. Also on this site will be information on George Noory. Coast to Coast AM can be heard locally on 'NewsRadio 560' WGAI from 2AM til 6AM and on 'NewsRadio 790' WNIS from1AM til 5AM..... (10/24/02) VARTV better that ever... Over the last week or so, several improvements have been made to the VARTV pages. First, now on top of the homepage above the news headlines is a new section called "The Latest Technical/Background Changes." This section is dedicated to "behind the scenes" (a la FCC filings, changes within the VARTV pages etc…) & other non-newsy stuff. Second, every frequency listed (AM/FM/TV) on the VARTV market pages now have a link to the FCC database according to a station's Facility ID. The query uses data extracted from the Media Bureau's Consolidated DataBase System (CDBS). It's unofficial but for the most part is accurate. Third, all FM stations are licensed as "channels" i.e. channel 291A means a Class A station located on 106.1FM, channel 290C2 would be a Class C2 licensed station on 105.9FM. All FM stations listed within the VARTV market pages now include the channel number. Finally, all links outside of VARTV open in a new browser window. The HTML coding now conforms to W3C standards. I’m always open for comments and suggestions to make VARTV even better. If you have news, updates, additions or corrections, please e-mail them to vartv@cox.net..... (10/23/02) NE North Carolina news...  East Carolina Radio's WKJX-FM (96.7) Elizabeth City files minor change to a pending application with the FCC to correct a typo in the longitude for the antenna location. The CP is to change the antenna location, to change the license from a Class A to C2 with an increase of power to 50kW and to increase their HAAT (Height Above Average Terrain).NOTE: When this CP is built out, a predicted signal of 50dBu could cover the entire Southside of Hampton Roads (a la 'Beach 104' WCXL Kill Devil Hills). They simulcast on 95.3 WOBR Wanchese NC, broadcast a rock format as '95.3 & 96.7 - The Rock Experience' with John Boy & Billy in the mornings..... (10/23/02) CSI: Crime Scene Investigation the #1 primetime program... The top 10 shows for the week of October 14-20 were... (show, network, rating) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 18.6; "ER," NBC, 16.2; "Friends," NBC, 16.1; "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 13.6; "Law & Order," NBC, 12.8; "Survivor: Thailand," CBS, 12.8; "CSI: Miami," CBS, 12.7; "Will & Grace," NBC, 12.6; World Series Game 2: San Francisco vs. Anaheim, Fox, 11.9; "Scrubs," NBC, 11.3. For the week, CBS won the Nielsen crown for the fourth straight week, averaging 12.7 million viewers (8.4 rating, 14 share), NBC was second with 12.3 million (8.2, 13), Fox with 10.9 million (6.9, 11). ABC had 9.4 million viewers (6.1, 10), the WB 4.9 million (3.1, 5), UPN 4.1 million (2.6, 4) and Pax TV 1.3 million (0.9, 1). The entire prime-time TV ratings list for the week can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle..... (10/23/02) Things continue to roll at 97-3 The Eagle...  Several news items coming from Barnstable's new country '97-3 The Eagle' WGH-F. First, they have a new music director - its Mark McKay their afternoon jock. Second, they are now sporting a new station logo to coincide with their new on-air imaging as '97-3 The Eagle.' They were previously known as 'Eagle 97.3.' Finally, WGH and sister 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO have a new marketing director - Frankie Ramon. All these changes are in addition to the recently filled night slot with WCMS's Dee Stevens and several weekend shifts including Troy Shannon formerly of Entercom's rhythmic 'Z104' WNVZ. It looks like for now that new Director of Operations for the Barnstable cluster John Shomby has concentrated his efforts on WGH..... (10/22/02)WTVZ names new chief engineer...  Sinclair Broadcast Group announces a new chief engineer for 'WB33' WTVZ-TV and WTVZ-DT - Robert Guzman. He's been on the job for a couple of weeks now. Before arriving to Channel 33, Guzman served as chief engineer for various stations within USA Broadcasting/Univision. VARTV hears he already has his hands full. Also at WTVZ, Bonnie Pihlcrantz has been promoted to traffic manager from staff accountant. She also worked as credit manager for the station..... (10/22/02)No changes planned at The Buzz... Last Saturday expecting to hear FOX Sports Radio on 'Hot Talk & Real Sports - AM 1450 The Buzz' WBVA, several VARTV readers ended up tuning in to a talk program called "The Weekend." Well there are no plans to add more talkers to the weekend line-up. Owner Ronn Cowan told because of equipment changes he had to air that alternate programming. He did apolgize for the interuption and went to tell me that the only time FOX Sports Radio would be interrupted would be by an AHL Norfolk Admirals hockey game or the NFL. The Buzz airs hot talkers like Lex & Terry in the mornings, Don & Mike and Tom Leykis weekdays and FOX Sports radio all weekend long..... (10/22/02) Fall Classic numbers so-so for now...  After registering an 11.2 rating for game one, viewers tuned in for act two of the World Series. Fox averaged an 11.5/18 share for the night. The game, won by the Anaheim Angeles 11-10 over the San Francisco Giants, reached its high point around 10 pm with 16 million people. Ed Goren, president of Fox Sports, said in a recent interview he would like to start the World Series on weeknight instead of Saturday nights, which is dominated by college football and other programs on cable and lack of television viewing for that night. Game Three, Four and Five will take place in San Francisco beginning Tuesday at 8 pm. The series is tied 1-1..... (10/21/02)A new classified ad at VARTV... Free Lance-Star Publishing's radio cluster in Fredericksburg is looking for a part-time news reporter. All the details are on the "Classified Ads" page..... (10/21/02) Changes coming to Cox Cable Hampton Roads...  Cox Cable Hampton Roads announces several pricing changes effective November 1st and channel line-up changes effective November 15th. First the prices. On the 1st, Cox increases the "Cox Expanded Service" by $2.85/mo but decreases the "Cox Plus Service" by 40¢/mo. So the net result for the "Cox Standard Service" (Expanded + Plus) is an increase of $2.45. Other notable prices changes - all premium movie channel packages increase by 50¢/mo, digital cable (any package) increases $1.84/mo (digital package $1.50 + digital receiver $0.34) and a 73¢/mo increase for analog converters. For Cox High Speed Internet, all customers will see an increase of $5/mo ($39.99/mo for cable TV/telephone customers and $49.99/mo for non-customers). If you rent a cable modem, that rate decreases by $5/mo. Purchasing a modem thru Cox is now $119 down $80. The largest increases come with professional home installation situations. Cox Digital Telephone rates are unaffected. Now on to the channel changes. Starting on the 15th, the Encore movie channel will be added to the Digital Movie Package on channel 210. It's still considered a mini-premium service ($1.95) for analog customers. I won't be surprised if Encore is dropped from the analog-tier in the near future.  Showtime Beyond will be added to the Showtime Multi-Channel Premium Package on channel 344. Beyond is devoted exclusively to Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror and "promises to take you 'beyond your wildest dreams'.” FOX Sports World will be added to channel 231 in the Digital Sports & Information Package. This channel features exclusive live soccer coverage, including English Premier League and World Cup qualifying matches. Also on the 15th, two channels will be dropped - MuchMusic/MMUSA on channel 240 and the International Channel on 224. MMUSA will be missed by me. This year they have revamped the channel and I thought they were putting a good product on. I guess Cox's "survey of customers" thought differently. I've noticed that several larger cable systems having been dropping the International Channel from their line-ups including Comcast in NoVA. Coming soon is Entertainment On Demand (EOD) by iCONTROL. As Cox states "bringing you the luxury of viewing movies with the power to order instantly, pause, fast forward, and rewind – without the hassle of going to the video store – and no late fees! EOD includes some of the biggest Hollywood movies, classic films, do-it-yourself, and more." I'm a Cox Cable subscriber with almost all of their services. If I looked at the rate guide correctly, my bill with Cox just went up a whopping $9.45/mo. Ouch! All the changes (for the greater Hampton Roads area) can be viewed online at cox.com/hamptonroads..... (10/21/02)Troy Shannon back on the air...  Shannon last heard in Hampton Roads on Entercom's rhythmic CHR 'Z104' WNVZ has popped-up on Barnstable's new country '97-3 The Eagle' WGH doing weekends. If you recall, Shannon, who was one-third of the Z Morning Zoo, was fired over an incident at The Beachouse in Virginia Beach last July. Shannon was with 'Z-104' in the late 90s, left for awhile for Citadel's rhythmic CHR 'WiLD 97-9' KKLD in Oklahoma City then came back to Hampton Roads for the morning gig at 'Z-104'. Since John Shomby took the post of Director of Operations for the Barnstable cluster, he's been looking to put a spark into WGH i.e. wanting high energy jocks (CHR experience a plus) and even changed the on-air imaging from 'Eagle 97.3' to '97-3 The Eagle.' ..... (10/21/02)FLS was right there... Free Lance-Star's WFLS were the first to broadcast from the scene of the Ashland shooting Saturday night and coverage continued into the early hours of Sunday morning broadcasting the then half-hour press briefings that began at 10PM. On Sunday, FLS covered the press conefrence, breaking into NASCAR coverage of the race from Martinsville. They were ready to go live again for an evening press conference, but were told there would be none... minutes later Moose made his 'cryptic' announcement from Rockville. FLS was told that all info on the Ashland shooting will be handled through the task force in Maryland..... (10/21/02) 96X is back to 'normal'... After stating on-air that their transmitter was on the fritz, alternative '96X' WROX is back to broadcasting its regular signal on 96.1. It was so bad Friday night, that they were broadcasting in mono and that did help - a lot..... (10/20/02) More talk on The Buzz? 'Hot Talk & Real Sports - AM 1450 The Buzz' WBVA usually carries Fox Sports Radio ALL weekend-long to compliment their hot talk format during the week. Something changed this weekend though. They had a program called "The Weekend" on-air yesterday - some sort of talker. I'm not sure how long this program was on but got two emails from VARTV readers stating their displeasure. Today, Sunday, it was back to Fox Sports Radio. An email has been sent to owner Ron Cowan and I'll let know if he responds back. Switching gears but staying with The Buzz, all home and away games of Norfolk's AHL hockey team the Admirals can be heard on WBVA..... (10/20/02) Cox Radio rejects payola-like practice...  Cox Radio plans to sever its ties with independent record promoters to distance itself from a payola-like practice rampant in the music business reports Jeff Leeds of the LA Times. The decision makes Cox the first big broadcaster to revolt against the record labels' three-decade-old practice of hiring independent "middlemen" to push songs to radio programmers. Critics say the promoters' existing deals with major radio companies smack of payola, or undisclosed payments made in exchange for airplay. Cox will not renew contracts with record promoters whose contracts have expired in recent weeks and will end its remaining promotional contracts as they expire during the next year. Independent promoters currently have deals with 14 of Cox's pop, rap and rock music stations and pay Cox an estimated $1 million a year in "promotional" fees. Atlanta-based Cox runs 79 radio stations including country ‘K95’ WKHK, classic rock ’96-5 The Planet’ WKLR, Hot AC ‘B103’ WMXB, alternative 'Y101' WDYL and LMAs ‘Cat Country 100.3’ WARV in Richmond. It ranks seventh nationally in the number of stations owed but is third in sales. The five major record conglomerates now spend about $100 million a year on independent promoters to influence radio airplay. Promoters attempt to sidestep the anti-payola law by paying radio stations annual fees — often exceeding $100,000 — that they say are not tied to airplay of specific songs. In return, stations give promoters advance copies of playlists. Promoters then bill record labels for each new song that gets played. Record executives also criticize Clear Channel and Radio One for requiring record labels to pay designated promoters to pitch songs to their stations..... (10/19/02)Hard to hear 96X... The past several days, if you've tried to hear Sinclair's alternative '96X' WROX and got a lot of static, it's not your radio. According to the on-air jocks it's their transmitter that's dying. DJs Mike and Bob were actually joking how horrible the sound was on the 96.1 frequency and instructed listeners to tune to 106.1 - the 250-watt translator in downtown Norfolk. The new transmitter will be installed tomorrow. It could provide a better sounding signal..... (10/18/02)Deejay to leave 'cabin in the woods' for studio in the city... Rob Hedelt of the Free Lance-Star chats with afternoon jock Dr Henley Smythe of 'Classic Rock 96.9' WWUZ. WWUZ's studios soon will be shifted from out of the woods to Fredericksburg. WWUZ is owned by the parent company of the Free Lance-Star newspaper. Read the entire story at fredericksburg.com..... (10/18/02) Sinclair Telecable vs Tidewater Communications... Initially I thought Sinclair Telecable, the owners of alternative ‘96X’ WROX Cape Charles and 106.1 WEXM Exmore (currently simulcasting ‘93-7 The Coast’ WKOC) wanted to move WEXM’s community of license to Belle Haven – a couple of miles up the road from Exmore. This would have been Belle Haven’s first local aural transmission service. Secondly, they wanted to reallot Channel 241B (96.1) WROX from Cape Charles to Exmore to maintain the community’s sole local aural transmission service. That proposal has been withdrawn. This "thing" is much bigger! This realigning of the table of allotments involves several frequencies (96.1, 96.9, 97.9 98.3, 105.9 and 106.1) and several communities. I reported several months ago that Hampton Roads might lose a signal at 96.1. WRONG! That will NOT happen. What WILL happen (as of right now) if Sinclair gets its way is a new Class A station on 106.1 in Poquoson - yep... Poquoson. There's been just one stumbling block. The owners of WNOR/WAFX/WJOI (Tidewater Communications) don't want to see that happen. Why? Competitive reasons. The thinking might be that the owners of 96X would use the new allocated signal to better their coverage (spotty downtown Norfolk coverage). This isn't over yet..... (10/18/02) New night jock at WRXL... Clear Channel's new alternative '102.1 The X' WRXL announces its new night host Eric Olson. His show called 'The Eric Show' will be heard weeknights 6PM to 10PM on the X starting this coming Monday. Olson was a weekend jock at cross-town rival Cox Radio alternative 'Y101' WDYL..... (10/18/02) New on-air line-up at Power 92-1 Jamz... Radio One's urban 'Power 92-1 Jamz' WCDX announces a new lineup after Zxulu departs to crosstown rival CC's urban '106-5 The Beat' WBTJ....
(10/17/02) Some Richmond sports TV ratings...In Richmond, the race at Lowe's Motor Speedway this past Sunday did a 7.1 rating on 'NBC12' WWBT. That was 15th best out of the top 55 metered markets and clobbered the ALCS final (4.2) and NLCS Game 4 (5.2). The two-hour rain delay (4.4) had more viewers than either of the baseball games as well as the first game (3.0) of an NFL doubleheader on WTVR (6/CBS). But to nobody's surprise, the Redskins/Saints game on FOX Richmond (WRLH 35) blew away the competition with a 14.3 locally..... (10/17/02) Has Tarkenton blown off Channel 8? Still no word on Chip Tarkenton's future at WRIC (8/ABC). The station's sports director since 1988 hasn't been seen on camera since September 16th. His contract expired September 30th, but station brass say it's an ongoing policy at Channel 8 to work without a contract while negotiations are under way. Jerry Linquist of The Richmond Times-Dispatch says last night, for the first time, the ABC affiliate removed any reference to Tarkenton on its news at 6 and 11PM. Second banana Kevin Brandmeyer has been sitting in and, from all indications, could replace Tarkenton. The station is actively pursuing a weekend sports anchor..... (10/17/02) Fredericksburg Summer Book ...  Arbitron's Summer Book (June 27 to September 18) for Fredericksburg were released earlier today. First was Free Lance-Star's country '93WFLS' with a 14.7 in the 12+. Second is Hot AC 'B-101.5' with a 9.8. Infinity's talker JFK flies up to 3rd after being 12th just last month. WTOP was 4th with WGRQ filling out the Top 5. Telemedia's 'Thunder 104.5' WGRX sinks back to where it was last winter after a very promising Spring showing. Free Lance-Star's WWUZ and WYSK were both up solidly this time around. The entire 12+ ratings can be found at radioandrecords.com..... (10/16/02)CSI: Crime Scene Investigation blows past Friends... The top 10 shows for the week of Oct 7-13... (show, network, rating) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 19.4; "Friends," NBC, 16.6; "ER," NBC, 16.1; "Law & Order," NBC, 13.8; "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 13.3; "Will & Grace," NBC, 13.3; "Survivor: Thailand," CBS, 12.3; "CSI: Miami," CBS, 12.1; "Scrubs," NBC, 11.6; "The West Wing," NBC, 10.9. For the week, CBS averaged 13.2 million viewers (8.9 rating, 15 share), NBC 12.4 million (8.3, 14), Fox 10.1 million (6.7, 11), ABC 10 million (6.4, 10), The WB 5.2 million (3.2, 5), UPN 4.2 million (2.6, 4) and Pax had 1.3 million (0.9, 2). The entire prime-time TV ratings list for the week can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle..... (10/15/02) LaRue comes through first of two surgeries with flying colors...  WFLS News Anchor and Reporter Tabitha LaRue is in good spirits following ovarian cancer surgery Monday. LaRue, 28, has stage IV ovarian cancer. Her husband Curtis said the doctors told him "they got it all" and noted that doctors removed cancerous growth from the upper abdominal area and pelvic areas along with several lymph nodes in the pelvic area. There was no damage to any internal organs during the surgery. It'll be about four weeks before LaRue will be healthy enough to undergo another surgery to remove cancerous growth in her neck. Meanwhile, she's recovering at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. On Friday, LaRue was in Denver CO to accept two Clarion Awards from the Association for Women in Communications. The awards are for a radio program on ovarian cancer that aired in July of last year and for her online personal story detailing her battle with the disease. Both can be found at wfls.com. Get well soon Tabitha! (10/15/02)What a long day...  The folks over at Belo's WVEC (13/ABC) must like what they see in Janet Roach. She was originally hired away from Baltimore's WMAR (2/ABC) noon newscast to do mornings from 5AM to 7AM. She came to Hampton Roads to fill the spot vacated by Brittany Suddith. Now WVEC is thinking about having her come back and co-anchor the 5:30PM newscast with David Alan. She's already had a trial run and it looks to be permanent..... (10/15/02)Q94 fills afternoon slot... Travis Dylan returns to his old stomping grounds to the afternoon drive for CC's CHR 'Q94' WRVQ. Travis was previously their MD. He's been doing the 3PM to 7PM slot on Top 40 'K92' WXLK Roanoke where he's #1 in many key demos. Travis fills Q94's 3PM to 7PM slot that PD Billy Surf vacated. Surf is now heard in the mornings who replaced Jeff Wicker. Speaking of a Music Director... while that post is not open, expect Surf to call on his programming prowess for additional input..... (10/14/02) Star jock exits...   Afternoon jock Javier Hernandez formerly heard on Main Quad's 80s-90s 'Star 107.3' WBBT has left the station and joined the Army. His goal is to go into the Special Forces. We wish you luck. Joey Butler is now covering the 3PM to 7PM shift vacated by Hernandez. Kelly, formerly of 'Catfish and Kelly' on Cox's country 'K95' WKHK, is on from 10AM to 3PM..... (10/14/02)Networks credit Channel 6...  Richmond's WTVR-Channel 6 lived up to its "News 6 Network" logo Friday when its morning coverage of the shooting near Fredericksburg started appearing on national news channels reportd Douglas Durden of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Both CNN and Fox News as well as CBS used WTVR footage Friday, crediting the station on screen. ND Mark Neerman said "We have been all over the country today... we were the first nationally with live pictures from there." Channel 6 sent three crews to the scene, including the satellite truck, as soon as the first reports came in that there had been another shooting in Northern Virginia. "It's an interesting change in the business that you can have a CBS affiliate that now has its video on both FOX and CNN. The industry has changed so much - the video is shared a lot more than it used to be," he said..... (10/13/02)DJ Bee is coming back to VA...  There has been much speculation where DJ Bee was going land after his departure from Infinity's urban 'X105.7' WXYV Baltimore. Well its back where he started at - CC's urban '103 Jamz' WOWI. Bee will be taking the 6PM-10PM weekday slot. DJ Bee started out at WOWI doing a mix from 5 to 5:30 on Fridays with KJ Holiday formally OM at CC Norfolk, who is now in Detroit at WJLB as PD. He was then shifted to 2AM-6AM and later moved to prime time from 6PM to 10PM where he came up with the name "Tha Block." Bee left 103 Jamz last October for the newly converted ‘X105.7’, which continues to rise there in the ratings. Bee first got started in radio when he moved from Philly to Richmond and worked at the University of Richmond's radio station WDCE-FM 90.1. WOWI was his first commercial job. Bee is well respected and might be the answer to push '103Jamz' back over to #1 in Hampton Roads. The new weekday on-air line-up as of 10/14...
 WFLS will carry today's press conference (regarding the sniper shooting spree) live from Spotsylvania County at 10AM. Also in the market, WFVA carried both of the Spotsylvania police press conferences live. In addition, WFVA's News Director was on the Sean Hannity Show along with Chris Core discussing the story..... (10/12/02)The Eagle fills night jock slot...  Barnstable's newly renamed new country outlet '97-3 The Eagle' WGH-F has found their new energetic night jock. They didn't have to go very far to get her. It's Dee Stevens who was previously heard on sister heritage country WCMS on the weekends. This is effective immediately. Speaking of WGH, Jack Wilson who was heard overnights on The Eagle was fired last week but has landed a new gig at Entercom's Modern AC '94.9 The Point' WPTE doing weekend work..... (10/11/02)FCC OKs digital radio...  As expected, the four-member FCC unanimously passed an order today paving the way for radio broadcasters to immediately begin broadcasting digital transmissions for FM and AM daytime. The three-part order sets 'HD Radio' developed by iBiquity as the digital radio standard. The order also takes into account the resolution of nighttime AM and potential interference to some services, particularly the reading service for the blind. Based in Columbia MD, iBiquity, the sole developer and licenser of digital radio technology, is backed by 15 of the nation's largest radio groups, such as Clear Channel and Infinity Broadcasting. "It's a proud moment for the industry," said Michael Powell, chairman of the FCC. Digital radio promises consumers better sound fidelity and a more robust signal with less interference. In addition, digital radio allows broadcasters the ability to offer consumers interactive services. "This order position terrestrial broadcasters to be in a strong position to respond to the many other new technologies offered consumers," said commissioner Kathleen Abernathy. The first group to commit to the digital radio transition is Radio One. Last month, Radio One said it would adopt HD Radio technology for its stations in Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston, Detroit and Atlanta. More broadcasters are expected to follow suit..... (10/10/02)KK Holiday returns to WKYS...  After a stint with MTV, KK Holiday is back in radio and back at Radio One's 93.9 WKYS Washington DC for nights. Holiday replaces 2 Face and D-Masters, collectively known as the Wild Boyz, who recently exited the station. Holiday did evenings at KYS before heading to Service Broadcasting's 'K104' KKDA Dallas before seguing to MTV for about a year..... (10/10/02)Where in the world is Chip Tarkenton?  Apparently, WRIC's (8/ABC) sports director Chip Tarkenton has gone AWOL. His last appearence on air was Spetember 16th. ND Bill Foy told Jerry Lindquist of RTD, "We haven't heard from Chip in three weeks... He took vacation beginning in mid-September and hasn't come back. We certainly don't have any concerns about his well-being or whereabouts." He went on to say "His contract expired at the end of September but it is not unusual, in fact, it's a matter of routine here that when employees' contracts expire, they continue working." Sources outside the station but familiar with the situation said Tarkenton wasn't officially AWOL until Tuesday the 8th. Tarkenton joined Channel 8 as sports director in September 1988. In the meantime, Kevin Brandmeyer has been sitting in on the 6 and 11PM newscasts. We'll keep you posted..... (10/10/02)Those DC bullies... Someone in the "biz" told me this story about the media that were in Fredericksburg on last Friday covering the shooting of the Spotsylvania woman... It's "stupid" how the national and DC media act in their effort to cover the story. I heard one of the cameramen ask the only Richmond TV station there to drop their mic flag. A Baltimore TV station and myself put our mics up just before the press conference, so nothing was said to us. But what the DC media needs to remember is that they are NOT in their market anymore. They can't ask... no demand was more like it... the local media to adhere to the rules that may apply to them in THEIR market. Sure, if I was in DC I'd oblige by the rules. But when they're 50 miles south of the beltway it's a different story, different rules. BTW, why do they think stations pay $50-$100 for those things for anyway... just to drop them?..... (10/9/02) Hampton Roads media observations...  Has anyone seen the new 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO TV spot? I did last night and one thought crossed my mind... what a waste of time. I really can't remember the commercial even if my life depended on it (that's bad... isn't it?). All I remember is the Oldies 92-9 logo spinning around a couple of times at the end of the spot. Why should I listen though? Do you play great music? Have an entertaining morning show? Is it "fun" to listen to at work? Don't get me started on Barnstable station websites, ugh... Disney recently closed on WHKT-AM (1650). That's their O&O for Radio Disney here and they want everyone to know about it. Billboards have been popping up everywhere - along the Interstates (64,264,464,564 and 664), major highways and I even spotted some on the "mall directories" at MacArthur Center. They're well designed - simple and to the point. They state "Music Kids Love - Not Kids Music" along with a photo of Michelle Branch and Aaron Carter and a big "Now on AM 1650." I've listened to them a bit and noticed they've taken out the cheesy Disney themed music and now play straight G-rated Top 40 music. As I've said before, Hampton Roads is one of the top markets for Radio Disney. With AM 'HD Radio' (digital) less than a year away and will sound like today's FM counterpart, the folks at Disney might have something here - more and more listeners migrating to the AM band???In my cable bill this month, I was informed as a Cox Digital subscriber of a FREE 30-day preview of Showtime and The Movie Channel. Cool! Showtime can be found on Chs. 340-3 (or 69) and The Movie Channel on 360-1 (or 70). The preview period is from November 1st thru the 30th. If this is a Showtime Networks promotion then other cable operators might have a similar offer...A VARTV reader recently spotted the 'Hot 102.1' (WWHV) Ford Explorer and noticed it had Maryland plates on it. I bet ya that truck is OWNED by Steve Hegwood..... (10/9/02) Capital City HD update... It seems there has been some progress. Crews were at the community site (tower) yesterday (10/8) finally starting work on the bridge; an overhead rack to carry the lines from the combiner building to the tower itself. There's a road between the building and the tower and they need to go overhead because there are so many lines running underground. WRIC (8/ABC) is basically finished with their transmitter. WTVR (6/CBS) is finishing their installation now. Apparently, WRLH (35/FOX) has their transmitter on site, but it's basically still "in the box." The transmitters go to a combiner, which combines the signals to allow them to share the tower. There are two separate antennas on the tower, which will be shared by four stations. The overall plan is to add a 3rd antenna, which will allow for maybe six stations to go up on the same tower. Those six are WTVR, WRIC, WRLH, WUPV and the two PBS stations - WCVE and WCVW. Channels 6, 8, 35 and 65 are still shooting for November as a sign-on time but ALL four have recently filed six-month extensions with the FCC just in case. WWBT-DT is the only digital TV signal in Richmond. They've been on the air since December 2001..... (10/9/02) Channel 6's GM resigns... Douglas Durden of the Richmond Times-Dispatch is reporting Mark Pimentel; the GM at ‘News 6’ WTVR (CBS) is no longer with them. According to Jeff Rosser, group vice president for Raycom Media, which owns WTVR, said Pimentel resigned on Monday. He had been GM there since April 1999, when he replaced Sheila Oliver. "I really enjoyed my 3½ years at WTVR. We made a great run, and the ratings increased. I'm happy about my time there and the people at the station now. There's a good team in place," Pimentel said yesterday. "My contract is up, and I decided to move on and pursue some other things. I wish the station well." When Pimentel first came to Richmond, he said improving Channel 6’s news ratings would be a top priority. After 3½ years, Channel 6's 6 and 11PM newscasts were still unable to change NBC12’s (WWBT) lead in the market. Pimentel was responsible for several key changes in the anchor lineups. Shortly after his arrival, evening co-anchor Angie Miles announced she would not be renewing her contract. Soon after that, longtime anchor Charles Fishburne was let go. Stephanie Rochon and Ray Collins were hired in their places. Rosser will be in charge of WTVR until a new GM is hired. Rosser said, “We're very pleased with the management team at the station. From all indications, we believe we'll continue to achieve stability at the station and don't anticipate any changes." (10/9/02) Friends & CSI neck-n-neck... The top 10 shows for the week of Sept 30-Oct 6 were: "Friends," NBC, 17.6; "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 17.4; "ER," NBC, 15.9; "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 14.3; "CSI: Miami," CBS, 13.2; "Will & Grace," NBC, 13.2; "Law & Order," NBC, 13.1; "Survivor: Thailand," CBS, 12.5; "Still Standing," CBS, 12.0; "Scrubs," NBC, 11.8. For the week, CBS averaged 13.3 million viewers (8.8 rating, 15 share), NBC had 12.6 million viewers (8.4, 14), ABC had 9.5 million (6.2, 10), Fox had 8.1 million (5.5, 9), the WB had 5 million (3.2, 5), UPN had 4.1 million (2.6, 4) and Pax TV had 1 million (0.7, 1). The entire prime-time TV ratings list for the week can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle..... (10/8/02) Question du jour... Larry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot wrote the following this past Sunday... Am I the only one who thinks that flying local news anchors to high school games in a helicopter to pass out souvenir footballs is as small-timey as it is unprofessional? Such is WAVY's (10/NBC) "Friday Night Flights." This isn't Paducah.VARTV response: I agree 100%..... (10/8/02) Tony Soprano eats Krispy Kreme doughnuts...  In last night's episode, Tony Soprano went to the dorms at Columbia University to visit his daughter Meadow. With him, he brought a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Not only are they the BEST doughnuts on the planet, I own stock in KKD. A great plug for Krispy Kreme. In an earlier episode last year, Tony was heard listening to Clear Channel's classic rocker 'Q104-3' WAXQ. WAXQ actually used that fact for on-air promos. Now if I could get Tony behind a computer reading VARTV... bada-bing! (10/7/02)Elliot In The Morning...  Elliot debuts on CC's alternative '102.1 The X' WRXL. It was rumored for awhile that this was going to happen and it finally has. Based out of Washington's 'DC101' WWDC, this is Segal's first station he's syndicated to. It was a very low-key welcome to Richmond. The first mention was when news-reader Diane was giving the forecast she mentioned Richmond and Elliot said "Oh, yeah we're on Richmond now." He field several callers from outside of DC and wanted to know who is was up against. The elliotinthemorning.com website is back up this morning but not much on it though. By the way, Elliott been heard on 'DC101' since June 1999, when he departed from sister New York station 'Z100' WHTZ. He was heard on their Z-Morning Zoo..... (10/7/02)Mikenna off Q94... VARTV hears that Mikenna will no longer be heard part-time on the air at Clear Channel's CHR 'Q94' WRVQ. We're not quite sure the exact reason but it stemmed from a incident at a 'Q94' club night. Mikenna will continue to produce the Allen Price Show on sister AMer 'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA. Mikenna recently replaced former producer Josh Johnson who left to persue other oppurtunities - school. If you recall, Troy Shannon formerly of Z-104's Z Morning Zoo (WNVZ), was fired due to an incident at a station-sponsored event..... (10/6/02) Several new faces coming to NewsChannel 3...  UPDATED: Starting the 28th of this month, 'NewsChannel 3 In The Morning' (WTKR/CBS) will have two new faces to wake-up to. Both are from Florida and CBS affiliates - Cynthia Brooks from 'News 12' WPEC West Palm Beach and Chris Hopkins from 'Wink TV' WINK (11) Ft Myers. Brooks had been doing mornings and the noon newscast at WPEC and Hopkins been doing the 5AM, 6AM and noon newscasts for WINK. Hopkins is no stranger to Hampton Roads. He graduated from Kempsville High and NSU and started his broadcasting career at WTAR where he rose to news director. With these new additions, current morning anchor Kurt Williams will be shifted to the # 1 rated noon newscast with Ed Hughes. Lee Mahaffey, Kurt's former co-anchor, is now in Richmond. Both of these new anchors have their plates full. Channel 3's morning show is rated third out of three morning programs. In the latest ratings, dominant WAVY with "WAVY News 10 Today" posted a 7.0 to WTKR's "NewsChannel 3 This Morning's" meager 3.2 at 6AM... On the weekends there's another change. ND John Wessling will welcome new anchor Karen May. She'll take over at 6AM Saturday and 7AM Sunday for Brian Farrell. He'll return to reporting from the Peninsula. May comes from 'Eyewitness News 5' WTVH Syracuse NY (yet another from a CBS affiliate) where she co-anchored in the mornings and at noon. She began her career as a reporter for 'ABC19' WHOI Peoria IL. Prior to her first job, May received her Bachelors degree in journalism from The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She also earned a Masters from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University..... (10/6/02)Wait & see... Well the FCC has heard all of the arguments from both sides to the WHRO-DT vs WBOC-TV "conflict." Shortly, they will render a decision in the case. WBOC (16/CBS) Salisbury was complaining interference from WHRO (16/PBS) Norfolk. WHRO countered back with a lot of 'Shore' residents have their antennas oriented incorrectly - to try to pick-up Baltimore TV stations - the closest large market to them. During this investigation which included a lot of field-testing on both sides, WHRO-DT had to reduce their power down to 25% from 950kW to just 237.5kW. For the Hampton Roads area, this didn't affect viewers. It was areas like Williamsburg, VA's Eastern Shore and the Outer Banks that couldn't receive the WHRO-DT signal anymore. Remember with digital it's basically all or nothing when it comes to TV signals - you get it or you don't. Now that the decision is in the hands of the FCC, WHRO-DT has returned to full-power; hopefully to stay that why unless the FCC has something to say..... (10/6/02) 102.1 The X's new on-air line-up... It was this morning on Washington's 'DC101' WWDC that Elliot Segal finally came out and said he will be also be heard on WRXL. The following will be the immediate on-air line up for the X starting Monday...
WUPV-DT files for another extension...  The owners of WUPV-DT (UPN), Bell Broadcasting, call this filing "a precautionary measure." They blame final tower modifications and a receipt of a certificate of occupancy for their transmitter building for the extension. SpectraSite whose building out the site only has to build a "bridge" that's necessary to run the transmission line between the transmitter and the tower. Because of complications relating to the positioning of underground utilities, SpectraSite has been delayed in constructing the foundations for the bridge. WUPV-DT's current 6-month extension expires December 4, 2002. If there are no delays, WUPV-DT should be on-the-air by then..... (10/4/02)More changes at Clear Channel Norfolk...  If you are a regular listener of popular personality Bobby J of CC's urban AC 'Vibe 105.3' WSVY then you noticed something different this week. His show 'Oldies but Goodies' show has been bumped - to midnights to 4AM (Monday-Thursday). In his place, Vibe has shifted "The Quiet Storm" with Phil Nelson to 7PM to midnight. It was heard 9PM to 2AM. It appears that the weekend sked has not been touched. Here's the new line-up on Vibe 105.3...
 The rumors are true. Anthony Moore, his real name and a mixer at Clear Channel's urban '103 Jamz' WOWI and hip-hop '92.1 The Beat' WBHH, is out. No word yet why... his decision or WOWI's decision. His name and bio have already been pulled from the WOWI's website. Rumor has it that he was seen on Birdneck Rd (Steve Hegwood's Hot 102.1 WWHV)..... (10/3/02)WBYM getting new tower and equipment...  Hampton Radio II owned classic country '1490 The Goldmine' WBYM-A Hampton is in the midst of building a new tower and installing new equipment. John McIntyre told me "it's a huge project and if it can go wrong so far it has... This is my first tower project and hope it's the last." With the new tower being built right next to the old one and the new equipment, John says WBYM will have "a solid 30 mile radius from the (Hampton) Coliseum." It will increase their daytime coverage by 60% and nighttime coverage by 35%. Completion date is somewhere around 30 to 45 days from now. This is good news for Washington Redskins fans; WBYM carries their games. This is the first of four years the games will be on The Goldmine. They'll more than likely pick-up listeners in their current fringe area that would rather not listen to them now because of a weak signal. By the way, they also recently revamped their website at 1490thegoldmine.com..... (10/3/02)Cahill named CC Regional VP of Programming for Virginia... Clear Channel VP of Operations for Virginia Bill Cahill has been upped to Regional VP of Programming for the Virginia Trading Area. The reclassification continues Clear Channel’s previously announced new national programming structure. Clear Channel has stations in Hampton Roads, Richmond, Roanoke/Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Blacksburg and Harrisonburg. Cahill is based in Richmond..... (10/1/02) Friends on top of the season's first primetime TV ratings... The top 10 shows were "Friends," NBC, 20.3; "CSI," CBS, 18.2; "ER," NBC, 16.9; "Everybody Loves Raymond" special, CBS, 15.3; "CSI: Miami," CBS, 14.9; "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 14.7; "Frasier," NBC, 14.1; "Will & Grace," NBC, 13.9; "Scrubs," NBC, 13.8; "MNF: St Louis vs. Tampa Bay," ABC, 12.5. Networks CBS, 13.9 million viewers (9.1 rating, 15 share); NBC, 13.4 mil (8.9, 15); ABC, 9.9 mil (6.6, 11); Fox, 7.1 mil (4.5, 7); the WB, 4.5 mil (2.8, 4), UPN, 4.2 mil (2.6, 4); Pax TV, 1.2 mil (0.9, 1). The entire prime-time TV ratings list for the week of September 23 to 29th can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle..... (10/1/02) WGH-F is reimaged... Director of Operations John Shomby continues to make changes at the Barnstable cluster. New country WGH-F is now known as 'Today's Country 97-3 The Eagle.' They were known as 'New Country Eagle 97.3' for the longest time. Also at GH, the syndicated Lia, the country music version of the AC format's Delilah, has been shifted to sister heritage country WCMS-FM (100.5). Shomby is looking for someone to fill the 7 to 12 slot at WGH - a high energetic person with CHR experience being a plus. Tonight and tomorrow night Nathan James will be filling in..... (10/1/02)Practice makes perfect... It was heard this morning on 'DC101' WWDC that Elliot stopped using 'DC101' on-air and now promoting a new toll-free number... 866-2 ELLIOT. As one reading of VARTV called it "...it's all part of the transition folks." Sounds like Elliot is getting ready for syndication. First stop - 102.1 The X? Interesting to note, the URL down below for "Elliot In The Morning" came back with an error message - "You are not authorized to view this page"..... (10/1/02) Just when I thought it was over with... It was brought to VARTV's attention yesterday of this website - elliotinthemorning.com. It's heavily rumored that he'll be heard on '102.1 The X' WRXL. It could be early as next Monday? ..... (10/1/02)Lucky 7... Being the President, CEO, CFO & COO of VARTV, I can do this – so here it goes. Today is I and my wife's wedding anniversary. I have been married to my best friend now for seven years with many many more to come. If it wasn’t for her, there wouldn't be any VARTV. Brenda, I love you very much and Happy Anniversary! (does she read VARTV?) (9/30/02) 102.1 The X... VARTV is just going to sit back and see what happens over there at WRXL for mornings..... (9/30/02) TV Sweeps Hell... I found this RealAudio file... It's funny. Those folks in newsrooms have a sense of humor. Click here to listen..... (9/29/02) Richmond radio news from our 'source'... Let's start with The X (WRXL), the hot topic at the moment... Buddy Rizer, DC101 PD, is the brand manager for The X. Casey is interim PD, but people says permanent stripes may be tagged to Casey. Jon Ballard said that all will be revealed in a few days pertaining to Elliot (Segal). Roche said Monday at 6, we will know more about Elliot's syndication deal. Casey said that B.T. is still employed by CC and will probably still do afternoons at the station. Roche from DC101 may VT evenings for The X, more than likely nights will be VT'ed at The X... On to Q94 (WRVQ)... Could Zack Daniels come back home and do afternoons at Q94? RXL??? Time will tell... The Beat (WBTJ)... I talked to Mike Street the other day. Mike said that the Xzulu deal had been brewing for quite a while. He's been talking to the "Big Lip Bandit" since February! Seems like Xzulu wanted to flee R1 (Radio One) Richmond badly. That cluster has had bad times in the last 6 months. Former PD Lamonda is at PGC (WPGC Washington DC) right now..... (9/27/02) 'ESPN Radio 1310' WGH-AM to increase power...  Those are the headlines coming out of the Barnstable cluster this morning. The all-sports station has received approval from the FCC to increase its power from 5,000 watts to 20,000 watts. This will significantly improve the quality of the signal and coverage area for WGH-A. They'll be installing a new digital transmitter as part of its power increase. This will allow the station to transmit its current analog signal and 'HD Radio' (a digital AM signal) once a digital standard has been approved. Construction has already started with the upgrade expected to be completed early 2003. GM Andy Graham said “This upgrade will not only allow us to reach a wider geographical area but will provide a noticeable improvement to the areas we already cover. This investment will provide additional value to our listeners and our advertisers.” (9/27/02)A new radio war brewing in Richmond?  Arbitron's Summer Phase II trends for Richmond were released earlier today with some more surprises. Cox Radio's country 'K95' WKHK is now just one-tenth of a ratings point from being the top station in the Capital City. CC's AC 'Lite 98' WTVR is still # 1 - barely - after slipping 1.4 points. Radio One's urban oldies 'Jammin Oldies Magic 105.7' WJMO slid ahead of sister 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX for a solid third place. With that said, that drops Power another notch to fourth - CC's '106-5 The Beat' WBTJ is sixth! With Zxula shifting to The Beat, will his arrival also shift more listeners to WBTJ? Do listeners care? WRXL had a miserable Phase II slipping to a 2.2. I can hear the suits now at CC saying it was a good move to shift XL102 from rock to '102.1 The X' - an active rocker. Time will time on that one. The entire 12+ ratings can be found at radioandrecords.com ..... (9/26/02)Hampton Roads Summer Book Phase II... Arbitron's Summer Phase II trends for Hampton Roads were released earlier today. Entercom's AC '2WD' WWDE holds that razor-thin lead over CC's urban '103 Jamz' WOWI again... 6.6 vs 6.5. Both stations slipped. The biggest increase comes from Steve Hegwood's On Top Communications owned 'Hot 102.1 WWHV. Even though they just saw an increase of 0.4, it's so hugh because of their small audience. Every day they sound better and better. The biggest drop comes from Entercom's urban AC '95-7 R&B' WVKL - down 0.8. In the adult standards format war - ok, I'm overdoing it a bit - Barnstable's new 'AM1050 The Fog' WFOG has finally shown up in the 12+ numbers and its taken a chuck of Saga's 'Joy' WJOI-A 1230 audience. For the most complete and detailed 12+ rankings anywhere (Yes, better than R&R's), click here..... (9/26/02)NBC12 was knocked off-the-air ...  Frank Hammon of WFLS News is reporting that WWBT had been "dark" for nearly 15 hours since early this morning when it's main (yesterday) and backup (today) transmitters were struck by power surges. Their OTA signal came back up shortly before 5PM. Frank's entire article can be found at wfls.com. There's also a brief update at nbc12.com..... (9/26/02)Alternative? Modern Rock? New Rock? Active Rock? Will the real WRXL please stand up. There seems to be confusion over the actual name of the format over at '102.1 The X' WRXL. Clear Channel considers it 'Active Rock.' All of the ads, news headlines, etc on 1021thex.com are from CC's 'Active Rock' HTML generator. They do have an 'Alternative' generator (WXDX Pittsburgh, WBZY Atlanta). WRXL is listed as an activer rocker on the VARTV Richmond market page. By the way, the old XL102 website was getting fed with HTML coding from the "AOR" generator - Album Oriented Rock..... (9/26/02) NIGHTS ON THE BEACH!!!!... This ad was placed on All Access.com yesterday afternoon... Barnstable Broadcasting's Hot Country (Eagle 97.3) WGH-FM is looking for an up and coming 7p-Midnight personality. CHR experience is a plus. Working the phones a must! If you're anywhere near the area, we want to talk to you NOW!!! Get your resume and tape as quickly as possible to : John Shomby, Director of Programming and Operations, Hampton Roads Radio Group, 5589 Greenwich Rd., Suite 200, Virginia Beach, VA 23462 or e-mail and MP3 the info to jshomby@eagle97.com. No Calls Please!! Barnstable Broadcasting is an equal opportunity employer. What's interesting is that the 7PM to midnight slot has Lia from Jones Radio Network. Her show just started seven months ago on WGH. Former WGH PD Randy Brooks took several jocks from WGH and WCMS to fill spots over on sister 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO. Was Lia ment to be a temporary solution or does Shomby look at it as it was bad decision by Brooks to bring Lia on in the first place? Shomby - don't stop there..... (9/26/02)Convergent Broadcasting buys two NE North Carolina stations... The President/COO of Convergent Broadcasting, Bruce Biette, announced that the company has entered into a purchase agreement with OBX Broadcasting/Finney broadcasting to acquire two stations in NE North Carolina, soft AC '92.3 The Wind' WYND in Nags Head and 'Classic Hit Country' WNHW-F in Hatteras. These are his first two stations. “We are excited about entering the Elizabeth City/Nags Head market,” Biette said. “The Outer Banks is an area rich in history and one of America’s premiere vacation destinations. We look forward to becoming an integral part of the community.” Convergent was founded in January 2002 by Biette for the purpose of acquiring and operating radio stations in small and medium-size markets. These stations aren't burning up the ratings chart. WYND is near the bottom of the Elizabeth City/Nags Head market (#247) with a 1.1 12+ share and WNHW at 1.7..... (9/26/02) Jude Redfield exits the WeatherLab; replacement is announced...  Jude Redfield, the number four meteorologist of the 13 News WeatherLab, had his last broadcast Sunday morning on LNC5. Anchor Eric Turner had a huge cake on the news desk gave some nice parting words to Jude. Redfield exited WVEC (13/ABC) to return to his hometown of Cincinnati OH to be a meteorologist for Clear Channel's powerhouse WKRC (12/CBS). He'll be part of their 'Doppler 12 Weather Center.' In Hampton Roads for just over a year, Redfield came to Belo's Channel 13 from WSIL-TV (3/ABC) in Southern Illinois. With his exit, WVEC announces his replacement - Julie Wilcox of Grapevine TX, part of the Dallas-Ft Worth Metroplex. After graduating from Syracuse University, she worked as a reporter for NBC affiliate WNYT Albany NY. She left two years ago to study meteorology at Texas A&M. Wilcox is the only female meteorologist on-air in Hampton Roads. This isn't the first time that WVEC has had a female meteorologist. Several years ago, Chikage Windler was on the staff before leaving for TXCN in Texas and now can be seen on NBC4 WRC in Washington DC..... (9/25/02)New 2003 population estimates for TV DMAs...  With the start of the new Fall 2002 TV season a couple of days ago, AC Nielsen recently released revised population estimates for the country's 210 TV DMAs. In the State's capital, Richmond slips a notch to #59. With an increase of just 0.075%, Richmond now has 504,990 TV "homes". They were #60 in 2001. In Hampton Roads, they jump back up to #41, as they were in 2001, with an increase of 3.6% "homes" to 677,610. Hampton Roads was #42 last year. Other notable markets... Roanoke/Lynchburg remains at #67, Tri-Cities TN-VA jumps three spots to #90 and Harrisonburg remains even at #178. The complete list of all 210 TV markets can be found at nielsenmedia.com..... (9/25/02)Emmy's come out on top of the primetime TV ratings... ABC jumped the gun on the new fall season and found itself somewhere unusual in the week's ratings - first place in viewership. The Emmy awards, broadcast Sunday on the eve of the new season, drew just under 20 million viewers to take fist place. Over on HBO, second episode of The Sopranos on Sunday drew 11.2 million viewers, down from the 13.4 million people who watched the first week. Still not bad - they were going up against the Emmy Awards show. The entire prime-time TV ratings list for the week of September 16 to September 22, 2002 can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle..... (9/25/02) CE Cummings Sr, a founder of WKIE, dies at 70... Dr Charles E Cummings Sr, a physician and radio station executive, died Friday in Richmond. He was one of eight black Richmond businessmen who founded Richmond's first black-owned radio station WKIE-AM 1540 in 1977. The station first started with R&B with gospel on Sundays. Later, it was the first all-rap station in the country. The group purchased two additional area radio stations, WSOJ-FM and WKJS-FM. A funeral will be held next Tuesday at 12N at the Allix B James Chapel in Coburn Hall at Virginia Union. The burial will follow at Forest Lawn Cemetery. The complete story can be found at times-dispatch.com..... (9/24/02) A new classified ad at VARTV... Free Lance-Star Publishing's radio cluster in Fredericksburg is looking for a News Anchor/Reporter. All the details are on the "Classified Ads" page..... (9/24/02) John Lassman out at WRXL... As we reported yesterday, citing budgetary reasons, CC let go PD John Lassman. MD Casey Krukowski has been named Interim PD. 'DC101' WWDC PD Buddy Rizer is assisting the station as a 'Brand Manager', working with Regional VP/ Programming Bill Cahill. John joined XL last February 2000 after working as Director of Marketing at Detroit rocker '101 WRIF' and before that at ABC's now defunct modern rocker trimulcast 'Zone 105' KZNR/KZNT/KZNZ Minneapolis MN. Word has it that the new '102.1 The X' will announce a new morning show later this week, presumably Elliot Segal from 'DC101'..... (9/24/02) It's all about interpretation...  WBOC-TV (CBS) Salisbury MD, operating in analog on channel 16, insisted that a new interference study proved that WHRO-DT (PBS) Norfolk, on digital channel 16, is creating illegal interference to its signal. WBOC dismissed WHRO’s earlier interpretation of a Wallace & Associates report suggesting that misdirected antennas among the markets viewers are largely to blame for interference. WHRO went on to suggest to educate viewers about proper antenna orientation but WBOC lawyers fired back with 'not only is that infeasible, but also is a wholly ineffective cure to the real problems - new interference from WHRO.' Back on September 13th, WHRO told the FCC the Wallace study showed that WHRO isn’t the source of interference. Instead, many viewers on the Eastern Shore point antennas - both at cable headends and oceanfront high-rise buildings toward Baltimore, the closest major market. By the way, both stations funded this study. In the meantime, WHRO-DT continues to broadcast at 25% of power (237.5kW vs 950kW) and the stations haven’t reached a long-term solution either..... (9/24/02)Website problems have been fixed...  I heard from VARTV readers who use Netscape's Communicator 4.79 and older that the text on the page was literally disappearing. After banging my head on the desk all morning, I decided to just download an older version of Communicator and try to figure out what the hell was going on. I finally figured out that it was some JavaScript on the page "messing" things up. I want to thank everyone who helped me figure out this mess! I'm going to keep this old version on my computer to hopefully avoid this problem again. By the way, the site renders correctly in IE 6.0SP1, Netscape 7.0 and Opera 6.05..... (9/23/02)Where's Elliot Segal? and RXL's PD is out!  Oh those rumors... Rumor had it that Elliot Segal from CC's 'DC101' WWDC was going to be heard on sister Richmond active rocker '102.1 The X' WRXL. Well... this wasn't the case. It was just music. Due to budgetary cuts PD John Lassman is out..... (09/23/02)Congrats to FLS' Tabitha LaRue WFLS News found out that it will be awarded with a SECOND prestigious Clarion Award from The Association for Women in Communications. This award is related to the one announced earlier. Last month, they learned it had won one of this year's awards in the category of "Women's Issues Radio Program, One Time" for the broadcast of "Focus: Ovarian Cancer Causes and Detection." Anchor/reporter Tabitha LaRue wrote and produced the 15-minute segment that aired last year. The second award is in the category "On-line Journalism Special Feature Section" for Tabitha's Story: In Her Own Words. Tabitha shares her feelings as she battles ovarian cancer. Since that orginial story came out, it has been updated three times. The six-inch tall glass crystal awards will be presented on October 11 in Denver CO. All of this year's Clarion winners can be found at womcom.org..... (9/23/02) "Technical Difficulties"... |
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