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VARTV News Archives - 2002
» If you have any news, updates, additions or corrections... e-mail them to editor@VARTV.com.


Enhanced Home Theater

A dawn of a new station...

Sunny 93.5Clear Channel recently blew up new country 'J93' WJLM Roanoke for one of it's "Sunny" clones - an AC format. They're now known as 'Sunny 93.5.' WJLM has an anemic signal compared to sister country WYYD and the mega blowtorch that Mel Wheeler has '94.9 Star Country' WSLC. CC has now pitted 'Sunny 93.5' up against another Mel Wheeler blowtorch - #1 rated AC 'Q99' WSLQ. Good luck..... (12/31/02)

Three CSI repeats leads to a CBS ratings win...

SurvivorThe top 10 shows for the week of December 23rd thru the 29th according to AC Nielsen were... (show, network, rating) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 13.0; "NFL Monday Night Football: Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay," ABC, 11.6; "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" special, CBS, 10.6; "NFL Post-Game Show," Fox, 9.3; "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 9.0; "Friends," NBC, 8.7; "Law & Order: SVU," NBC, 8.5; "Without a Trace," CBS, 8.4; "NFL Monday Showcase," ABC, 8.3; "CSI: Miami," CBS, 8.1.

For the week, CBS averaged 9.9 million viewers (6.4 rating, 12 share), ABC 8.3 million (5.1/9), NBC 8.2 million (5.3/10) NOTE: NBC's rating was higher than ABC's despite fewer viewers, an indication that more people were watching NBC alone, FOX 7.1 million (4.3/8), UPN and The WB 2.9 million each (1.8/3 each) and PAX 1.1 million (0.8/1). A ratings point represents 1,067,000 households, or 1% of the country's estimated 106.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

The entire prime-time TV ratings list for the week can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle..... (12/31/02)

Recent sign-on settles on simulcast...

97Q The BeatMainQuad's brand new WYTT-FM (99.5) Emporia VA signed-on doing an all-holiday format. Now it's after Christmas and they have settled on simulcasting sister station '97Q The Beat' WLGQ-FM (97.9) Gaston NC. '97Q' is exactly what sister station WBBT-FM (107.3) Powhatan VA was - dance and party hits of the 70s and 80s. WBBT was known as 'Dance Hits 107.3.' NOTE: MainQuad has also been simulcasting WSMY-FM (103.1) Alberta as '97Q The Beat' with a legal ID as WLGQ Gaston, WYTT Emporia, and WSMY-FM Alberta all together in the same break. Right now 103.1 is off the air. What's a little puzzling about this simulcast is that both frequencies - 99.5 and 97.9 - have almost identical coverage areas. 97.9's signal is a little father south than 99.5's. Maybe this will be a short lived. For now, the WLGQ/WYTT/WSMY website is at 97qthebeat.com..... (12/31/02)

Slow news...

Star 107.3I was trolling around the web today and ended up at MainQuad's 80s-90s 'Star 107.3' WBBT website. On it, I found something interesting - well I thought so. They have an online "Advertising Presentation;" a Macromedia Flash file on why you should advertise with them and sister station 'Smooth Jazz 93.1' WJZV. When you go to star1073.com, click on the link on the right side of the screen. The Flash file is quite large (~5.57MB)..... (12/31/02)

Lindquist's thoughts...

Jerry Lindquist of the Richmond Times-Dispatch gives us his thoughts from this past weekend's sports. One piece he wrote about and which I too saw is worth rewriting...

Yesterday, while "The NFL Today" on CBS was using animal puppet Alf to explain the AFC playoff picture (forced laughs all around), "Fox NFL Sunday" had comedian Jimmy Kimmel poke at rival network panelist Deion Sanders - and his pregame show - with a big, sharp stick.

"Who does he think he's kidding with this comeback nonsense?" Kimmel said. "When he retired, Deion Sanders was a below-average player on a [bad] team. If you switch channels right now, you'll see he still is."
..... (12/30/02)

Where in the world is Tal White?

Tal WhiteVARTV reported back on 12/17/02 that WTKR's (3/CBS) "This Morning" program seen 5AM-7AM had a new meteorologist - Patrick Rockey. Rockey comes from 'News 4' WYFF (NBC) Greenville SC where he anchored their weekend weather segments. With Rockey's arrival, the morning show now has been completely revamped. I speculated where former "This Morning" meteorologist Jeffrey Prior was. He's still with NewsChannel 3 as their new #4 person behind Dave Parker, Mike Simon and Rockey. So what happened to Tal White the former #4 weather guesser? He appears to be out - of weather anyways. VARTV saw a new weather department on-air promo this weekend and White wasn't in it. He's still on their website but is now listed in the reporter's section. Hmmm..... (12/30/02)

Allen Price is off the air!

Allen PriceThe Richmond Times-Dispatch is reporting that Allen Price, the afternoon drive-time host on Clear Channel's 'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA, has been replaced. PD Randall Bloomquist made the announcement on the air yesterday and said, "We thank him for all of his contributions to the station and hope he will stay with the Clear Channel family." Hmmm. Sounds like it was Price's decision. Price stared at WRVA in April 2000 where his criticism of Richmond council members Bill Johnson, Sa'ad El-Amin and Gwen Hedgepeth, and Richmond's Sheriff Michelle Mitchell garnered a lot of his attention. It was the feud with council member Reva Trammell that made headlines. It began when Price started calling her "Reva Trampell" on-the-air and ended with Trammell filing criminal charges against him for making harassing phone calls to her house. He said there were ONLY three phone calls she said there were five. Even though the charges were just a misdemeanor, a judge eventually dismissed them. Bloomquist said that Michael Graham would be the new afternoon-drive host; the same duties he had at sister station WTNT from 4-7PM in Washington for the past year. He'll be live from Richmond on January 13th.Savage In the meantime, a show called "Local Richmond Talk" will fill the gap. On that same day, the nationally syndicated Michael Savage's show "The Savage Nation" comes back to WRVA - last heard here in 2001- will replace Lionel weeknights 10PM-1AM. Lionel's Saturday afternoon show remains untouched. Savage is a nutritionist and herbalist who founded the Paul Revere Society, which advocates making tax cuts permanent, closing the country's borders, deporting illegal immigrants and requiring all immigrants to sign a loyalty oath. According to Bloomquist, Savage "makes (Rush) Limbaugh sound like a liberal"..... (12/28/02)

FCC business...

International Religious Society Inc filed with the FCC today for a "License to cover" for their outstanding CP for WXRE-LP (channel 250L1 - 97.9 @ 100 watts) Danville VA. When licensed, WXRE-LP will be only the third LPFM in the state. The very first was WKJV-LP Bristol VA owned by Belle Meadows Baptist Church. They were licensed on August 12, 2002. There are two other LPFM stations holding CPs including one in Williamsburg - WJRX-LP (channel 273 - 102.5 @ 100 watts). Owned by the Christian Life Center, their CP expires in mid-February 2003. Now for a little "LPFM-101"... LPFMs (Low-power FM) operate with an ERP (effective radiated power) of 100 watts or less. There are two classes "L1" - 100 watts/"L2" - 10 watts with max facilities of 100 watts ERP at 100 feet HAAT (antenna height above average terrain). The approximate service range of a 100 watt LPFM is 3.5 mile radius; up to 7 miles if "conditions" are right. LPFM stations are available to noncommercial educational entities and public safety & transportation organizations but aren't available to individuals or for commercial operations..... (12/27/02)

National and local HDTV news...

The CEA (Consumer Electronics Association) has reported that DTV product sales totaled 304,920 units in November 2002. This pushes the yearly total to almost 2.2 million units in 2002. The November unit sales were up 56% over the last year. CEA projects that 2.5 million units will be sold in all of 2002 and 4 million in 2003 - reaching 10.5 million by 2006. Note: The CEA defines DTV products as integrated sets and monitors. In local HDTV news, WVEC-DT (41/ABC) has decided to start their broadcast day at 11AM on New Year's Day with of the Tournament of Roses Parade. The parade though will not be broadcasted in high-def by the network..... (12/27/02)

Musical chairs at the #1 spot for Hampton Roads radio...

97-3 EagleThis time its Barnstable's new country '97-3 The Eagle' WGH-F; the #1 radio station (6.5 rating/12+) according to Arbitron which released the numbers earlier today. The Fall Phase II period covers September, October and November. Saga's active rocker 'FM99' WNOR who was alone at top last month drops to second with a 6.4; that's up 0.1 from last month though. Third is Entercom's urban AC '95-7 R&B' WVKL with a 6.1 - up 0.5, 4th is CC's urban '103Jamz' WOWI at 5.9 down 0.1, 5th is Entercom's AC '2WD' WWDE at a 5.8 down 0.4, 6th is sister 'Z104' WNVZ at a 5.2 down 0.4, 7th is Barnstable's Inspirational Contemporary at a 5.0; up 0.1, 8th is Saga's classic hits '106.9 The Fox' WAFX with a 4.8 down 0.1, 9th is Barnstable's heritage country WCMS staying even from last month at a 4.7 and 10th is Entercom's modern AC '94.9 The Point' WPTE down 0.1 to a 4.6. One notable this Trend is the 1.2 increase over at 'NewsRadio 790' WNIS, up to 4.5. That's good news. The rest of the cluster had an "off" month. Alternative '96X' WROX and AAA '93-7 The Coast' WKOC, with its blowtorch signal, each mustered only a 2.2 with talker continuing to hover around a 1, this Trend a 1.1. The entire 12+ ratings can be found at radioandrecords.com..... (12/26/02)

'Lite 98' still on top in Richmond...

Lite 98Arbitron's Fall Phase II numbers for Richmond were released earlier today. CC's AC 'Lite 98' WTVR retains the top spot with an 8.5 rating up 0.2. Radio One's urban 'Power 92-1 Jamz' WCDX is second again at 7.9 up 0.2. Cox Radio's country 'K95' WKHK has leveled off and stays even with a 7.4 for third. 4th is CC's 'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA with a 6.3 up 0.4 and 5th is Cox's classic rocker '96-5 The Planet' WKLR with a 6.1 up 0.1 from last month. A notable, MainQuad's 80s-90s hits 'Star 107.3' WBBT continues to "hold its own," bucking a trend around the country that sees a lot of these stations flipping to some kind of Hot AC. Also, it was recently announced the MainQuad has purchased 'Cat Country 100.3' WARV Petersburg. Will they keep it country? The last two Trends they've garnered a 0.5 with their rimshot Richmond signal. The entire 12+ ratings can be found at radioandrecords.com..... (12/26/02)

Taking a closer look at the annual good, bad and ugly...

Jerry Lindquist of the Richmond Times-Dispatch looks at radio and TV locally and nationally for the year 2002. Read the whole thing at timesdispatch.com.... (12/26/02)

Two Channel 16s come to a compromise...

16vs16WBOC-TV (16) Salisbury MD and WHRO-DT (16) Norfolk VA announced on Christmas Eve that they have set aside their differences and settled an interference dispute. Here's the deal, WHRO-DT licensed to Hampton Roads Educational Telecommunications Association Inc has agreed to cut power levels to 25% (temporarily) in order to eliminate interference caused to WBOC-TV's analog signal operating on the same channel. The dispute was one of several interference problems reported by analog stations when nearby digital stations began service. So far, all of the identified conflicts are in areas with large bodies of water. A well-known phenomenon called "ducting" boosts the range of broadcast signals when transmissions carry over water. Anyways, WHRO-DT is authorized to operate at 950kW. For now, they will only operate at 237.5kW of power during the digital-TV transition. WBOC-TV licensed to Draper Communications will withdraw its objection to WHRO-DT’s license application. Back in June 2002, WBOC-TV asked the FCC to cut WHRO-DT's authorized power in order to eliminate interference it created when they signed on their digital-TV service. WBOC objected to the grant of WHRO-DT’s license application to operate on channel 16 at its maximized power of 950kW. Under the compromise, WHRO-DT will be able to operate at full power on channel 16 when WBOC-TV's analog signal goes dark and switches to digital-only broadcasts on a separate signal - channel 21. The agreement between the two stations still needs the blessing of the FCC..... (12/26/02)

Survivor finale leads CBS ratings win...

SurvivorThe top 10 shows for the week of December 16th thru the 22nd according to AC Nielsen were... (show, network, rating) "Survivor: Thailand," CBS, 13.5; "CSI: Miami," CBS, 11.9; "Survivor: Thailand Reunion," CBS, 11.6; "Raymond," CBS, 11.3; "Monday Night Football: New England at Tennessee," ABC, 11.2; "Friends," NBC, 10.6; "Judging Amy," CBS, 10.1; "Law & Order," NBC, 9.7; "Still Standing," CBS, 9.5; JAG," CBS, 9.2.

For the week, CBS averaged 12.7 million viewers (8.2 rating, 14 share), NBC 9.2 million viewers (6.2/10), ABC 9.1 million (5.9/10), FOX 6.4 million (4.0/7), UPN 3.8 million (2.3/ 4), The WB 3.4 million (2.1/3) and PAX 1.4 million (0.9/2). A ratings point represents 1,067,000 households, or 1% of the country's estimated 106.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

The entire prime-time TV ratings list for the week can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle..... (12/24/02)

DirecTV coming to Richmond?

DirecTVIt appears so anyways. There has been some discussion on two websites including lyngsat.com that the Richmond locals are being tested. At Lyngsat, it shows the channels on DirecTV 5 located at 119° West. The channels listed are:
920-WTVR (6/CBS)   921-WRIC (8/ABC)   922-WWBT (12/NBC/WB)   964-WCVE (23/PBS)
965-WRLH (35/FOX)   966-WCVW (57/PBS)   967-WUPV (65/UPN). Nothing official has come from DirecTV so there's no timeline when it will be rolled-out - maybe January or early February 2003. In Hampton Roads, all the locals except independent 'SKY4' WSKY Manteo NC are already available on DirecTV. And speaking of WSKY, they will be included in the "Norfolk Locals" but there has been a delay in doing so..... (12/24/02)

Beach media firm eyeing another TV station...

Virginia Beach based Max Media has its sights set on a TV station in Portland ME - the 76th largest TV market in the US. Max will have a financial interest in WMPX; currently a PAX O&O but soon to be a FOX affiliate early next year. (UPDATE: WMPX dropped PAX programming right after Christmas). Max is the same company who recently took part ownership in four former Ray-D-O-Biz radio stations in NE NC - Hot AC 'Beach 104' WCXL Kill Devil Hills NC, 'Water Country 94.5' WWOC Hatteras NC, country WQDK Ahoskie NC and full service 'NewsRadio 560' WGAI Elizabeth City NC. Their other TV holdings include 'ABC 18/28' KWYB-TV/LP Butte/Bozeman MT (market #195), 'NBC 16' KTGF-TV/DT Great Falls MT (market #187) and 'ABC 23' KTMF-TV/DT Missoula MT (market #169) and is currently in a deal to buy a TV station in Bowling Green KY (market #180). Back in '97, Max Media had 17 radio and TV properties, including four in Hampton Roads, before selling to Sinclair Broadcast Group in 1998. After a quiet year, Max picked up the five TV stations in Montana. The company is owned by John A Trinder, Gene Loving, Chuck McFadden and Tim Robertson..... (12/23/02)

A new and improved Weather Lab...

13 News Weather LabBelo's WVEC (13/ABC) is now airing on-air teasers that a new and improved '13 News Weather Lab' will be unveiled on Super Bowl Sunday - January 26. The promo didn't say exactly when or what we'll see. There could be a brief news segment within the halftime show of the football game but that's speculation on my part. The show "Alias" gets the sweet time slot right after the Super Bowl festivities then the local news will air. It might not be until then we'll get to see to new on-air "look." In VARTV's personal opinion, they already have the best weather department in Hampton Roads with Jeff Lawson, Evan Stewart, Craig Moeller and Julie Wilcox. In a close second is The Triple Doppler folks including Dave Parker and Mike Simon over at WTKR (3/CBS). As for WAVY (10/NBC)... never mind..... (12/23/02)

Financial picture looks good for Hampton Roads TV market...

Money PileLarry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot reports that TV stations in the market will be bring in an estimated $103.1 million in 2002, up from $98.2 million in 2001. The year 2000 was a big one partly due to political advertising - $110.4 million in local TV revenue. This is according to BIA Financial Network, a company based in Chantilly that estimates revenue for US TV stations. BIA is predicting an increase of 5.1% in revenue for 2002 which could pushed the local intake to $105 million. Larry passes on a little fun fact. WNBC-TV (4), the NBC affiliate in New York, is estimated that it will take in $320 million in 2002. That's three times what ALL of the Hampton Roads TV stations will take in combined..... (12/23/02)

Humorous Holidays...

From our sister site PBRTV, a humorous look at what things might be like if Clear Channel could actually own the holidays..... (12/23/02)

Expanded hours...

WTKR-DTEffective January 2nd, New York Times owned WTKR-DT (40/CBS) will be on the air from 5PM-11:35PM (the end of the 11 o'clock news) daily. Their current schedule is 6PM-11PM. Come March 2003, WTKR-DT will expand from 12N to 12:37AM (the end of "The Late Show with David Letterman")..... (12/23/02)

More reasons to fire up your new HDTV from Christmas...

RCA has stepped up as a sponsor of CBS high-definition-TV broadcasts of the NFL's AFC Divisional Playoffs January 11th and 12th and the AFC Championship Game January 19th. The three telecasts will be a unified broadcast meaning that the commentary and analysis will be the same on both the HD and standard-definition broadcasts. Previously, the high-def broadcasts would have a complete different staff including on-air commentary. Remember, I you do get a new HDTV "monitor" for Christmas, you'll also need a STB (set top box) to receive the OTA signal. Those games will be available on WTKR-DT, WTVR-DT and WUSA-DT..... (12/23/02)

WVBT news...

David NelsonFirst... LIN TVs 'FOX43' WVBT has ended their search for a co-anchor for their 10PM newscast. Beginning January 2nd, David Nelson will join Nicole Livas to co-anchor that newscast. Nelson replaces Kelly Wright whose contract was not renewed earlier this year. Nelson comes from CBS affiliate 'Eyewitness News 3' WFSB Hartford CT - the 27th largest TV market in the country. While there, he anchored the top-rated morning newscast at WFSB. In addition to his anchor duties, he'll work as a weeknight reporter for sister station WAVY (10/NBC). Nelson was born and raised in Nashville TN. He spent seven years working as a broadcaster at several different radio stations in the Nashville area. His first TV job was as an associate producer at WSMV, the NBC affiliate in Nashville. He has worked as a reporter in Panama City FL and as an anchor in Carbondale IL, Amarillo TX and Knoxville TN. Some quirky side notes... Nelson is a huge basketball fan. Not only does he like watching games, at 6' 6", he also likes to play the sport. He's also a big Beatles fan. He still owns every Beatles album ever released on vinyl. I'm not sure how the folks at WAVY/WVBT came across Nelson but there is a station in the Hartford market owned by LIN TV - WTNH (ABC). Lastly, to expand on the November TV sweeps, WVBT's 10PM newscast received a 2.8 rating vs LNC5's 0.7 (0.5 for May 2002)..... (12/23/02)

Hampton Roads has two traffic reporting firms; soon to have three...

Metro Traffic(UPDATED 12/23/02) Deborah Markham of the Virginian-Pilot takes a look at the area traffic reporting networks in today's Virginian-Pilot Business section. Right now, there are two. Metro Networks, based in Houston TX, is the nation's largest traffic information provider with offices in Virginia Beach (and Richmond) has 23 radio stations and three TV stations. Metro, in some markets, use the name "Shadow Broadcast Services." The other provider is "Hampton Roads Traffic Network" which is heard on five stations the Hampton Roads Radio Group (WWSO, WXEZ, WGH-F/A, WCMS & WFOG-A) started. Note: WFOG doesn't provide on-air traffic updates.CC Traffic Starting January 2nd, a third player will enter the Hampton Roads market. "Clear Channel Traffic" will start with the local CC stations - WBHH, WOWI, WSVY & WSVY with intentions to pursue others outside the CC set as well. That shift will drop Metro's stations to 19. Clear Channel Traffic started in 1997 in Atlanta as Total Traffic Network. It's now in 59 cities across the country with new cities opening every month! CC Traffic will be headed up by Brian Kelly, a 26-year radio vet, who will continue as morning personality on CC's smooth jazz/NAC 'CD 107.7' WJCD. The Director of Operations for Metro Norfolk and Richmond is Leila Rice. Almost every major station in Hampton Roads "subsrcibes" to a traffic reporting network. The entire article can be found online at pilotonline.com. Below is the Hampton Roads break-out...

Traffic Networks in Hampton Roads

In Richmond, CC Traffic is already heard on the CC cluster - WRVQ, WTVR-F, WRXL, WBTJ, WRVA-A and WRNL-A. The operations in Richmond is overseen by Scott Stevens, a long time area radio vet, and Paul Richards..... (12/23/02)

KM Broadcasting's LPTV W60BR (25) Cheaspeake VA has filed with the FCC for "License to cover construction permit." They were previously located on channel 60. That section of the TV band is being auctioned off. Besides moving to channel 25, they have been reclassified as a "Class A" licensed facilty. W60BR currently broadcasts MTV2 at 20kW using a directional antenna..... (12/20/02)

Alden Aaroe stories live on...

Ray McAllister of the Richmond Times-Dispatch recently wrote two columns about the late Alden Aaroe who was Richmond's voice of the morning on WRVA-AM. After two columns, he didn't intend to write anymore on him but readers seemed to have "decreed otherwise." For more go to timesdispatch.com..... (12/20/02)

Afternoon slot filled...

Clear Channel's alternative '102.1 The X' WRXL Richmond has a new afternoon jock - Alyssa. The 2-6PM drive had been voice-tracked. Not only will Alyssa be doing afternoons, she is the new Promotions Director for "The X"..... (12/19/02)

Two stations battle for the hearts and minds of Nirvana fans...

Style WeeklyGreg Weatherford of Style Weekly Richmond writes an excellent article about WRXL's shift to '102-1 The X' and going up against Cox Radio's 'Y101' WDYL. Greg contacted me last week for input on the story and I appreciate the VARTV blurb in his article. The entire article is online at styleweekly.com..... (12/18/02)

Suffolk likely to yank cable TV franchise...

CharterThis rarely happens with both sides usually coming to some kind of agreement. It's gone passed that for Charter in Suffolk. The Suffolk City Council is expected to move ahead with the revocation of Charter's franchise with the city. The council is being asked to adopt an ordinance that says Charter violated both the city cable TV rule and the franchise settlement agreement it struck with Suffolk two years ago. The company was supposed to have completed a $12-million digital rebuild of the city's cable system by June 30th. This same ordinance gives the city manager the authority to initiate the search for a new cable provider. Charter officials have said the project was finished by the final deadline. The city says the company failed to meet time limits throughout the process..... (12/18/02)

CSI was the week's most popular show...

The top 10 shows for the week of December 9th thru the 15th according to AC Nielsen were... (show, network, rating) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 16.1; "ER," NBC, 14.7; "Friends," NBC, 14.5; "Law & Order," NBC, 13.0; "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 12.2; "Survivor: Thailand," CBS, 11.1; "Monday Night Football: Chicago at Miami," ABC, 10.7; "Scrubs," NBC, 10.7; "Will & Grace," NBC, 10.7; "The West Wing," NBC, 10.2.

For the week CBS averaged 12.07 million viewers (7.8 rating, 13 share), NBC had 12.04 million viewers (7.9/13) NOTE: NBC's rating was slightly higher because more people were watching alone in their homes, ABC 9.1 million (6.0/10), FOX 8.4 million (5.1/8), The WB 3.7 million (2.3/4), UPN 3.2 million (2.1/3) and PAX 1.3 million (0.9/1). A ratings point represents 1,067,000 households, or 1% of the country's estimated 106.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

The entire prime-time TV ratings list for the week can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle..... (12/18/02)

NewsChannel 3's new morning show weather guy...

Patrick RockeyIt looks like WTKR's (CBS) "This Morning" program seen 5AM-7AM has a new meteorologist - Patrick Rockey. Rockey comes from 'News 4' WYFF (NBC) Greenville SC where he anchored their weekend weather segments. According to his bio, Rockey was born in Virginia where he eventually earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Christopher Newport University. Later he earned a Masters of Science degree in Communications from Murray State University in Kentucky. He first came to WYFF in 1995 as a reporter but it was his fascination of weather to lead him to receive his Meteorology certificate from Mississippi State University in 1999. As a reporter there, he was honored with several awards including a Southern Regional Emmy. Jeffrey Prior With Rockey's arrival, the morning show now has been completely revamped. With this new show in place, the ratings last month during "sweeps" actually went down. The unanswered question is "Where is former morning show weather guy Jeffrey Prior?" He was only at the station for a year and a half previously working in Florida. In my opinion, Prior never seemed to "click." When he first arrived, the station had him doing these ridiculous live reports from the Virginia Beach Boardwalk reporting if it was sunny, hot or windy outside. His delivery was less than smooth - embarrassing is a better choice of words..... (12/17/02)

Fredericksburg Fall Phase I ...

93 WFLSArbitron's Fall Phase II ratings (September/OctoberNovember) for Fredericksburg were released earlier today. First was Free Lance-Star's country '93WFLS' with a 14.2, down from a 15.6 in the 12+ demo. Second, Mid-Atlantic Network's Hot AC 'B-101.5' WBQB creeps up to 10.4 from a 10.2. Infinity's talker WJFK pulls away from Bonneville's news WTOP, 6.5 vs 6.2 (they were previously tied at 5.4). Note: WTOP-FM received a 5.9 and WTOP-AM received a 0.3 for a total of 6.2. Howard University's urban AC WHUR, ABC's 'Smooth Jazz 105.9' and a surprise from Free Lance-Star's alternative '99-3 WYSK' round out the Top 5 - tied at a 3.0. Other local notables... Telemedia's country 'Thunder 104.5' WGRX and Free Lance-Star's 'Classic Rock 96.9' WWUZ are tied at 8th with a 2.7, Mid-Atlantic Network's adult standards/talk 'The Memories Station' WFVA-A is tied at 11th with a 2.1 from a 2.7, Telemedia's "Virginia's Rockin' Oldies" WGRQ is tied at 14th tumbling from a 3.0 to a 1.8, Piedmont's country WJMA is tied at 17th with a 1.5 down 0.3 and Joyner Radio's country 'C103' WCUL & Mega's tropical WBPS are tied at 32th with a 0.6. Who had the best trend? WJFK and WBTJ up 1.2. The worst? WFLS down 1.4. One of those quirky side-notes, a total of 37(!) stations made this list of rated stations this trend. The entire 12+ ratings can be found at radioandrecords.com..... (12/16/02)

Team Broadcasting's WDLZ-FM (98.3) Murfreesboro NC files with the FCC to "License to cover." They had been off-the-air due to a collapsed tower. The new tower is taller to maximize their HAAT (the reason for a new CP and eventually a new license). WDLZ is a Class A with 3kW of power @ 328'. WWDR-AM also shares this tower. WDLZ is on now with all-holiday music and will settle on a new format after the holidays..... (12/16/02)

Clear Channel's struggling hip-hop '92.1 The Beat' WBHH Moyock NC has new on-air imaging. The previous package was done by Fatman Scoop. Sister station urban '103 Jamz' WOWI got a new imaging package last month from Pat Garrett..... (12/16/02)

November ratings are in for Hampton Roads TV...

Hampton Roads November Sweeps As in Richmond, Hampton Roads' NBC affiliate WAVY (10) is the news king here. The Nielsen ratings for the area newscasts were release recently with really no surprises. Out of the six daily newscasts broadcasted, LIN TV's Channel 10 was on top five of those with the noon news going to WTKR (3/CBS). The tightest race last ratings period was at 5PM where Belo Broadcasting's Channel 13 (WVEC/ABC) had the 5 & 5:30 time period and was just one-tenth of a point behind WAVY at 6. That's all gone now. WAVY now leads WVEC at 5PM by one-tenth of a point, has signifcantly pulled away from them at 5:30 (9.0 vs 7.2) and has a comfortable lead over 13 at 6PM (10.0 vs 8.5). The suits over at New York Times owned Channel 3 must be disappointed. They saw their low numbers at 6AM go even lower and this is with a brand new morning team of Chris Hopkins and Cynthia Brooks. The other stations remained nearly steady. 'WAVY News 10 Today' has been the ratings leader in the morning now for over 10 years. With the exception of the 6AM hour, total viewership of the news is up..... (12/16/02)

Bad Redskins bring out best in radio crew...

Jerry Lindquist of the Times-Dispatch says Sonny, Sam and Frank are at their best when the Redskins are at their worst. The trio, who do the radio side of the Washington Redskins games, are based out of Infinity's WJFK-FM (106.7) and is heard throughout Virginia on various affiliates. Read the entire piece at timesdispatch.com..... (12/16/02)

Bruner exits NewsChannel 3...

Portia Bruner who served as WTKR's (CBS) consumer affairs reporter left the station last week. She's now in Atlanta where her husband has a very successful dental practice. There was no word if she was going to seek employment in Atlanta TV..... (12/15/02)

Comcast Richmond to raise cable TV rates...

Comcast plans to raise the monthly cost of its basic television package by $2.59 to $42.21 on January 1st. The cost of its higher-end digital TV service, which offers several digital packages that range from $55.95/mo to $85.95/mo, will increase by $5/mo. Though Comcast and AT&T Broadband are now a single company, they don’t yet have uniform programming packages or pricing structures. AT&T Broadband's customers will continue to operate on their existing programming packages but those prices are also going up. AT&T Broadband's "full standard" basic cable monthly rate is increasing to $37.21 from $34.49. AT&T digital TV packages increases aren't available because the offerings and price structure are being examined as part of the Comcast merger. Both companies say that rising operational expenses, including plant maintenance costs and vehicle expenses as factoring into the rate increases. By the way, with the merger complete, Comcast plans to expand services, such as VOD (video-on-demand) that were only available in Chesterfield County, to the former AT&T system. Read the entire article at timesdispatch.com..... (12/15/02)

Lamonda WilliamsJust shortly announcing the acquisition of KNOU-FM (104.5) in New Orleans, Steve Hegwood, President/CEO of On Top Communications, has more major news coming out of 'The Big Easy.' Lamonda Williams has been tapped to be PD for the station. She was most recently with Radio One's urban 'Power 92-1' WCDX as their PD and midday personality until she exited in March of this year. On Top owns 'Hot 102.1' WWHV Virginia Beach and has other properties in the Jackson MS and Albany GA markets..... (12/14/02)

Hoyt exits The Fox...

Jerry HoytSaga Communications' classic hits '106.9 The Fox' WAFX announces that night jock Jerry Hoyt is leaving to pursue other professional and academic opportunities. Hoyt tells me that he will be pursuing a master's degree in communications at Johns Hopkins University, teaching part-time at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, as well as continuing his part-time air weekend air personality duties at Bonneville's modern AC 'More Music 104' WWZZ in Washington DC. Mike Beck, the PD at The Fox, tells VARTV "We thank him for his many contributions to the Fox over the past 18 months, and we wish him the best." For now, Pat Bankssss will be filling in 7PM-12M until a replacement in found. Pat is a "strong" candidate for the position as well. Beck went on to tell me that "We are accepting applications effective immediately for the 7-12mid position. This is a rare opening at one of the strongest stations in Hampton Roads, including the opportunity to fill-in for Market Icon Mike Arlo and PM Driver, Mike Anthony. Interested professionals should email me at mgbeck@1069thefox.com"..... (12/13/02)

UPDATED (from 12/11/02): Raycom Media's WTVR-DT (25/CBS) files with the FCC for "License to cover construction permit." They will be broadcasting at 400kW of power instead of 410kW as stated in the CP..... (12/13/02)

Olivia Fox will be online today...

Olivia FoxOlivia Fox formerly of the Russ Parr Morning Show will have a live web-chat today. Olivia claims she was “abruptly terminated” from Radio One while they were trying to work out a new contract. Her old one wasn’t up for another year. Fox says she’d accepted Radio One’s offer to increase her pay for next year, but she wanted further hikes in the out-years. That’s when she says Radio One halted the talks and blew her out says InsideRadio.com. She’s hosting the live online chat at 1PM on oliviafox.com..... (12/13/02)

FCC activity...

William & Mary William & Mary's WCWM filed an application for a booster station on channel 215 (90.9). Here's what they want to... They are licensed on 90.7. They have a CP to move for a full broadcast station on channel 215B1 (90.9). The antenna for this location (in Charles City County) is much farther west than 90.7's (in Williamsburg) but will increase their coverage area significantly. But at the same time, the signal around Williamsburg will be reduced somewhat. Once the new facility is constructed for 90.9, they want to use the old facility (their current one now at 90.7) for the booster station. Right now, 90.7 is at 1.6kW @ 125'. The power would be reduced to just 25 watts when the 90.9 frequency comes alive. The booster station's 60dBu contour line will not go outside of the main facility's 60 dBu contour line. The 90.9 frequency will be directional with 13.5 kW of power @ 269' ...
On Top Communications files to shift voluntary control of all its stations (including urban 'Hot 102.1' WWHV Virginia Beach) from Steve Hegwood (President/CEO) to MMG Ventures LP..... (12/12/02)

CBS threatens to stop HDTV...

CBSFaced with a hostile reaction to the broadcast industry’s preferred copy-protection method, Viacom-owned CBS is threatening to cease all high-definition programming during the 2003-2004 season reports Broadcasting & Cable. A CBS boycott of HDTV would be a blow to the government’s effort to generate consumer and equipment-maker interest in the switch to digital transmissions. Besides airing all 18 of its prime time comedies and dramas in HD, CBS has offered an impressive lineup of HD sports. That includes the 2001 Super Bowl, the NCAA Men’s Final Four and the Masters Golf tournament during the last three years. A variety of industry groups, including Silicon Valley companies and consumer-equipment makers, argued that the so-called broadcast flag will not be effective in preventing unauthorized streaming of copied programming over the net and is not necessary to ensure that high-quality digital programming is made available for free over-the-air broadcasts. CBS-HD can be seen on WTKR-DT, WTVR-DT and WUSA-DT..... (12/12/02)

RDS being used by 96X and 93-7 The Coast...

RDSSeveral weeks ago, Sinclair Telecable sisters AAA '93-7 The Coast' WKOC and alternative '96X' WROX implemented the RDS (Radio Data System) feature for car radios. Entercom's 'Z104' WNVZ is the only other station in Hampton Roads ulitilizing RDS. Z104 just displays "Z104" on receivers. With this feature, which is available on most newer cars now, it allows you to read the title and artist information for most of the songs on The Coast and 96X. It also has a whole bunch of additional features like traffic alerts, station moniker etc. I stumbled upon an informative article on the 96X website at 96x.fm explaining the features available with RDS..... (12/12/02)

Another successful food drive...

Barnstable's heritage country WCMS and 13 News WVEC teamed up for the "Feed the Hungry Food Drive." The Drive collected over 93,000 pounds of food - enough to make over 71,000 meals. Congrats to everyone involved especially Jack Prater, Joe Hoppel and Jennifer Roberts of WCMS and Craig Moeller and Evan Stewart at WVEC..... (12/12/02)

A change of heart in Fredericksburg...

John ParkerJohn Parker has decided to put off his retirement a while longer and will remain as morning co-host of WFVA - The Memories Station AM 1230. VARTV had reported back on November 14th that he would will be retiring in early 2003. A month later, he has changed his mind. The legendary Parker's career has already spanned 55 years, including radio and television stints in Michigan and Las Vegas, prior to coming to Fredericksburg 21 years ago. At sister station Hot AC 'B101.5' WBQB, Heather Harwood has been named permanent co-host of the popular 'B101.5 Breakfast Flakes' with Alan Baxter and Robert Workman. Heather has worked in Dayton OH for 'Lite 99.9' WLQT-FM and for 'Mix 107.5' WUMX-FM in Charlottesville prior to joining WBQB in November..... (12/11/02)

97-3 The Eagle listener appreciation concert ...

97-3 The EagleJohn Shomby, Director of Programming and Operations for the Barnstable Norfolk cluster, told AllAccess.com that '97-3 The Eagle' WGH is "gearing up for their first ever listener appreciation concert to be held this Saturday (12/14) at the Beach House. Pinmonkey will be the headlining act for the event and the two openers will include the local winner of USA Networks "Nashville Star" competition and WGH's morning show band, The Ill-Eagles featuring co-hosts Jimmy Ray and Jay"..... (12/11/02)

November ratings are in for Richmond TV...

Richmond November SweepsThings continue to look very good for the folks over at Channel 12 (WWBT/NBC). WWBT's decision to program Dr Phil at 3 and local news at 4PM seems to be paying off. The good doctor is beating both "Guiding Light" on WTVR (6/CBS) and "General Hospital" on WRIC (8/ABC). And the 4PM newscast paired with Inside Edition at 4:30 not only beats the competition, it is doing better than Oprah did in that time period a year ago. WWBT's local newscasts win all their time periods except the noon news, where WTVR's CBS daytime strength has always pulled them to the top. With the exception of that newscast and at 5AM, WWBT's audience is either the same or more than Channels 6 and 8's audiences - combined. In the November book, it appears WWBT continues to close in on WTVR at noon, now only one rating point and one share point behind..... (12/11/02)

Around the Hampton Roads radio dial...

AntennaIt sounds like that 'Hot 102.1' WWHV Virginia Beach is using their old antenna. When they first signed on, they used an antenna located on top of the Dolphin Run Condominiums at Rudee Inlet, literally right on the beach. If this is the case and you're located outside of Virginia Beach, you're out of luck. With an antenna height of just 167', the signal basically just covers Virginia Beach. I was in Chesapeake this morning (I-64) - the signal there was unlistenable (but it was there). On I-264, the closer I got to the beach, the signal greatly improved. On the AM band, Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting's Spanish variety 'Radio Vida' WRJR Claremont was off the air this morning. ¡Dios mio! ..... (12/11/02)

NBC wins weekly TV ratings race...

The top 10 shows for the week of December 2nd thru the 8th according to AC Nielsen were... (show, network, rating) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 18.0; "Friends," NBC, 15.8; "ER," NBC, 15.2; "Prime Time" Special Edition, ABC, 13.7; tied: "Monday Night Football": New York Jets at Oakland, ABC, "Scrubs," NBC, and "Will & Grace," NBC, 12.2; "Survivor: Thailand," CBS, 12.0; "Law & Order," NBC, 11.2; "Law & Order: SVU," NBC, 11.1.

Claiming six of the top 10 shows, NBC took the week with 12 million viewers (7.9 household rating, 13 share), CBS 11.1 million viewers (7.4/12 share), ABC 9.7 million viewers (6.3/10), FOX 7.7 million viewers (4.7/7), The WB 3.7 million viewers (2.3/4), UPN 3.3 million viewers (2.1/3) and PAX 1.5 million viewers (1.0/2 share - one of their stronger showings). A ratings point represents 1,067,000 households, or 1% of the country's estimated 106.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

But perhaps the week's most remarkable ratings coup was by HBO with "The Sopranos." The season finale was seen by 12.5 million cable viewers, beating all the broadcast networks in its time slot. If the cable program were included in the Nielsen rankings, it would have claimed 19th place - even though HBO reaches only about one-third of all the nation's TV households. Wow!

The entire prime-time TV ratings list for the week can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle..... (12/10/02)

Hot 102.1 now on the air at reduced power...

WWHVUPDATE: At 3PM, they are on the air but not at full power. My Sony Walkman, which picked 'Hot 102.1' loud-and clear before, is now barely audible. PREVIOUS: Sometime before noon yesterday (12/9), On Top's urban 'Hot 102.1' WWHV started experiencing problems - being off the air. I heard midday host Burgandi at noon saying something to the effect "We have been experencing some problems..." and started to go into the "Top 5 at Noon." Shortly after the countdown began, the station was going in-and-out again. Around 12:30PM, it was off for good. As of this writing (9:30AM-12/10), they're still off-the-air. If I'm correct, I believe the ratings period just finished up. This wouldn't be good way to wrap up the Fall ratings Book..... (12/10/02)

Richmond HDTV news...

Two stations - WRIC-DT (8/ABC) and WRLH-DT (35/FOX) - began beaming digital signals last month. WTVR-DT (6/CBS) should begin airing a digital signal in the next month or so reports the Times-Dispatch. WTVR-DT recently installed its digital transmitter and is testing it now, said Matt Heffernan, director of operations and technology. The station received another six-month extension from the FCC but Heffernan says "…I would think we should be up in the next month, unless something happens". These stations join WWBT-DT (12/NBC) which has been broadcasting a digital signal since January of this year. The aforementioned stations didn't meet the original deadline because of construction delays. They and Commonwealth Public Broadcasting, which operates WCVE (23) and WCVW (57), formed a partnership to have a digital tower built next to public broadcasting's building in Chesterfield. SpectraSite completed it this fall. The FCC deadline for the public TV stations is May 2003 but Channels 23 & 57 aren't likely to meet that deadline. WCVE (23) should be on the air by midsummer, while WCVW (57) is looking at alternatives - low power - to reduce costs. The cost for Channel 23 for example to go digital is estimated at $2.4 million. Even though WUPV-DT (65/UPN) wasn’t included in the story, they too have been working at the site in Chesterfield County..... (12/10/02)

Successful radiothon...

WPTEEntercom's modern AC '94.9 The Point' WPTE morning show hosts "Chuck & Jenna" raised more than $261,000 for The Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters during a radiothon held over the weekend. The pair kicked things off last Thursday (12/5) and broadcast a total of 50 hours through Sunday (12/8) taking pledges from Point listeners..... (12/9/02)

Showing the 'Skins game was the right call...

Washington RedskinsThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers handedly beat the Atlanta Falcons and Mike Vick or is it Michael on Sunday. It was debated if area FOX stations were going to carry that game or the Redskins vs. NY Giants game. Hampton Roads' 'FOX43' WVBT, DC's 'FOX5' WTTG and 'FOX Richmond' WRLH didn't give it a second thought. 'Skins all the way. It turns out that the Washington game was the good game and the Tampa/Atlanta match-up was a blowout. Stations aren't bound by what games to air. Example, Roanoke. 'FOX 21/27' WFXR/WJPR chose to air the Tampa/Atlanta contest instead of Washington/NY. In hindsight, not a good move... not only was the game a blowout, I'm sure the station heard "about it" from a lot of angry 'Skins fans..... (12/9/02)

AT& T Broadband not to “broad” in Henrico...

AT&T BroadbandComplaints about less than stellar Internet connection speeds have come mostly from western Henrico County but other local subscribers say they have experienced problems so says the Times-Dispatch. AT&T Broadband said "unprecedented demand" for its cable Internet service is bogging down some local subscribers, who have complained their high-speed connections are performing worse than dial-up modems. AT&T's basic cable Internet service offers download speeds of up to 1,500 kbps (or 1.5 mbps) and upload speeds of up to 300 kbps. It also markets a higher speed service. The company on Friday said it is in the process of upgrading a significant part of its local network to add more capacity and "it should relieve the current pressure on the system." Henrico County Supervisor Richard Glover plans to ask the county manager to put AT&T Broadband "on notice" that its recent customer service performance is unacceptable. "I think we're back to probably the level of calls where it was six months ago when AT&T was just totally lax at following up on service," Glover said. Back in February, the county sent AT&T a letter demanding that the company improve its customer service or face fines. The threat of fines was removed in April..... (12/9/02)

Shocker! Olivia Fox exits morning show...

The syndicated Russ Parr Morning Show, heard on 28 radio stations around the country, lost it's co-host Olivia Fox. According to her website oliviafox.com, her departure is to due the decision of management of Radio One. She says on her site, "I'm no longer employed by the Russ Parr Morning Show... Look for me on a new station coming real soon." Fox's last day Friday the 6th. It's been reported that she had at least one more year left on her contract with Radio One. Russ Parr is heard locally on 'Hot 102.1' WWHV Virginia Beach, 'Power 92-1 Jamz' WCDX Richmond and Parr's home station 93-9 WKYS in DC..... (12/7/02)

ODU men's basketball on cable TV...

Old Dominion UniversityFlipping through the channels, I stumbled upon the ECU Pirates vs ODU Monarchs men's basketball game on COX Cable channel 71. This channel is the "Cable Marketplace" designated for local informercials. The game was being televised by Pirates Sports Television Network with local spots being filled by CableRep. This is the first time I've ever heard of this. Was it on channel 71 because someone was broadcasting a game involving the Monarch's or maybe ECU sports matchups will be picked up by COX? ..... (12/7/02)

On Top picks up another station...

Steve Hegwood's On Top Communications has completed the purchase of urban 'U104.5' KNOU New Orleans from JP Broadcasting. On Top owns new urban 'Hot 102.1' WWHV Virginia Beach. The New Orleans market is dominated by CC's urban 'Q93' WQUE. Along with closing on KNOU, On Top has completed a $20 million recapitalization. Hegwood told AllAccess.com, "The acquisition and financing gives the company the resources to realize our goal of creating dominant urban format clusters in our markets." Along with KNOU and WWHV, On Top also has 'Hot 97.7' WRJH//WJXN Jackson MS and 'Hot 106 Jamz' WFFM//WRXZ Albany GA. On Top's world HQs are located in Lanham MD just around the corner of his former employer's HQs - Radio One..... (12/7/02)

The late Alden Aaroe...

Ray McAllister of the Richmond Times-Dispatch has an excellent article today about the late Alden Aaroe who was a WRVA radio icon for 47 years. Aaroe passed in 1993. McAllister had an article on him yesterday (12/5) which prompted many reader responses (12/6). Here's the original article published December 5th and reader reflections on December 6th..... (12/6/02)

Vibe has found their new afternoon drive jock...

Vibe 105.3Jerry Carter formerly middays at urban AC 'Vibe 100.1' WVBE-FM/AM Lynchburg/Roanoke will fill the vacant slot in the afternoons at CC's urban AC'Vibe 105.3' WSVY Norfolk. If you recall, 20-year radio vet Double D was fired from 'Vibe 105.3' a week before Thanksgiving. He served as their production director and on-air talent - heard Monday-Saturday 3PM-7PM. Rumor had it that Double D was let go because of ratings. Vibe's chief competiton is Entercom's urban AC '95-7 R&B' WVKL which is doing quite well. Quite frankly, I didn't think Vibe was going to last. But, WSVY's ratings have been on a steady increase ever since they swapped frequencies with sister smooth jazz/NAC 'CD 107.7' WJCD. Janet stuck with 'em..... (12/6/02)

WGRQ announces new PD...

Telemedia Broadcasting's 'Virginia Rockin' Oldies' WGRQ Colonial Beach has recently promoted Jim Herring to be their new PD. Herring was Director of Sales & Marketing for Telemedia the past two years. Jim will also have future on-air duties. Herring’s programming experience covers a number of years serving as an air personality for Richmond’s classic rock '96.5 The Planet' WKLR, former rocker 'XL-102' WRXL, WVGO, former modern rocker 'The Buzz' WBZU, 'The Bear' WKIK - remember those last four - and country 'K-95' WKHK as well as Charlottesville’s '3WV' WWWV, WOBR Nags Head and WFLS. “With the addition of our new country station, Thunder 104.5 (WGRX-FM), Rockin’ Oldies 95.9 has needed to have a little more focus,” states WGRQ/WGRX GM Tom Cooper. “We believe that Jim’s programming background will enable us to fully utilize his talents in this area in order to serve the needs of Telemedia Broadcasting, Inc. in an even greater capacity.” There are currently plans to launch a new afternoon drive or midday shift in early January with Herring serving as host. Telemedia Broadcasting is based out of Annapolis with their local office in Fredericksburg..... (12/6/02)

Shore radio news..

On Saturday November 30th, Bay Broadcasting's 'Mix 106.5' WKHW flipped back to oldies from classic/modern rock. Now imaged 'Oldies 106.5 - Delmarva's Great Oldies Station', WKHW will primarily play the 60s & 70s along with some hits from the 50s. When owned by Great Scott, 'KHW was a satellite oldies station - Oldies 106.5 - the Bay Broadcasting incarnation will be live & local. Owner Mike Powell does mornings, Adam Riggins & Mike Deane round out the day so reports ESRTV. WKHW will soon mix in some holiday tunes with the oldies. Sister station 'Bay Country 96.9' WBEY Crisfield will go all-holiday on December 24th..... (12/5/02)

Channel 35 chooses Redskins over Vick...

FOX SportsThis comes under the heading of: "You've got to be kidding me!" says Jerry Linquist of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Sunday at 1PM, FOX will carry four games including Atlanta-Tampa Bay and the NY Giants-Washington. In Richmond, who's bigger: Michael Vick or the Redskins? The folks at 'FOX Richmond' WRLH don't have to ask. They know. That's why, as popular as Vick has become nationally, he's no match for three lousy QBs and a disappointing 5-7 record when it comes to area interest. Given a choice between the two games, Channel 35 went burgundy and gold. Station Manager Bille Lane said "We are the Redskins' station... you HAVE to air the Redskins here." OK, so he knows he'll be on the receiving end of some complaints by not opting for the 8-3-1 Falcons (Vick etc) and 9-3 Buccaneers (Sapp etc) . After all, Channel 35 went out of its way to make sure as many Vick . . . sorry, Falcons games as possible (five) could be seen in Richmond this season. But . . . through games of November 11, the average local rating on WRLH for the Redskins was 14.5/26.5 share. Atlanta games did a 7.7/14.8. We're talking a 188% gap in ratings and 179% in share. Talk about a no-brainer. By the way, Hampton Roads' 'FOX43' WVBT and DC's 'FOX5' WTTG are both scheduled to show the NY-'Skins game. Will any of these stations and/or network switch the game?..... (12/5/02)

FCC Daily Digest...

WRLH-DT (26/FOX) is granted a 6-month extension to the CP to build out their DTV. They are already on the air - at low power. Over at WTVR-DT (25/CBS), their request for an extension to build out their CP for the DTV is dismissed. No indication why. They too are on-the-air. And finally, WRIC-DT (22/ABC) is back on the air after a couple of days being dark for equipment replacement and they're back with "rave" reviews..... (12/5/02)

"How do you rate local news coverage?"

That's the question purposed at PilotOnline.com. Rate each station at the following links...
      WAVY (10/NBC)       WVBT (43/FOX)       WTKR (3/CBS)       WVEC (13/ABC)
Larry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot is taking the survey of readers and will publish the results in a later column. A year or two ago, he asked readers to put together their "Dream Team" news team - the best of the best in news anchoring, weather and sports. Pretty cool. The reason for this new poll is that according to a survey of over 100 NDs, the "cheesy" side of local TV news is expanding. Read the entire article at pilotonline.com. You can also leave your personal comments at that link. Gotta go..... (12/5/02)

Local winter weather...

Dave ParkerJeff LawsonOf the local channels here in Hampton Roads, all were pretty much in agreement what was going to happen today - as to who was going to get what and when. As usual, I tuned to Channel 3 (WTKR/CBS) and 13 (WVEC/ABC) for my winter weather forecasts. The best are from the NWS (forecast dicussions). Both Jeff Lawson & Evan Stewart at WVEC and Dave Parker & Mike Simon at WTKR gave solid forecasts that had me watching. Parker and Simon are a solid team; just on the "wrong" channel for me. Does anyone watch Channel 10 (WAVY/NBC) for solid, in-depth weather coverage? Not me..... (12/5/02)

Dwayne Edwards of WPER featured...

WPERAllAccess.com this week chats with MD/morning co-host Dwayne Edwards of Contemporary Christian 89.9 WPER Culpeper. He answers AllAccess' weekly feature called "10 Questions With..." in their Christian programming section. By the way, Edwards first gig in radio was an internship and later a job in 1997 at WXCY. He's been at WPER for almost three years now..... (12/4/02)

The DC City Council unanimously passes a bill banning non-competes...

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TELEVISION AND RADIO ARTISTSFrom InsideRadio... Yesterday afternoon’s tally was 13-0 — despite months of lobbying by players like Radio One, Sinclair and the Maryland-DC-Delaware Broadcasters Association. AFTRA Washington-Baltimore Executive Director Pat O’Donnell tells Inside Radio the “Broadcast Industry Contract Freedom Act of 2002” should affect several hundred workers in the District — anybody who works in radio, TV, cable and some related vendors who’s got a personal services contract. The bill’s language pointedly includes entities that supply news, weather and sports to broadcast stations — meaning Westwood’s Metro/Shadow. The bill goes to Mayor Anthony Williams for his signature, and then a mandatory 30-day review by Congress. O’Donnell believes the bill will be law by early January 2003. She says “I’m pleased the DC Council has recognized the importance of prohibiting non-competes, and allowed all broadcasters in DC the freedom to work.” AFTRA targets Maryland next, then Virginia. No wonder Radio One’s Cathy Hughes was urging the District Council to spike the “Contract Freedom Act” — Radio One’s corporate office moved out of the District several years ago to new quarters in Lanham, MD. That’s the next state that AFTRA’s eyeing for passage of non-compete legislation. They’ll start the drive in the House of Delegates in January. Then it’s on to Virginia. AFTRA’s strategy has been to wage the fight using a state-by-state battle plan. Last year’s victory in Illinois — overturning Governor Ryan’s veto — gave AFTRA significant momentum..... (12/4/02)

CBS has top three shows; wins TV week...

The top 10 shows for the week of November 25th to December 1st according to AC Nielsen were... (show, network, rating) "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 13.0; "CSI: Miami," CBS, 12.4; CBS Sunday Movie: "The Christmas Shoes," CBS, 11.4; "Monday Night Football" (Philadelphia at San Francisco), ABC, 11.4; "Law & Order," NBC, 10.7; "Still Standing," CBS, 10.4; "Judging Amy," CBS, 10.3; "JAG," CBS, 10.1; "60 Minutes," CBS, 9.9; "Frasier," NBC, 9.8.

CBS wins the week with 13.4 million viewers (8.2 household rating, 14 share), NBC 11.9 million viewers (7.1/12), ABC 11.4 million viewers (6/10), FOX 9.2 million viewers (5/8), UPN 4.9 million viewers (2.1/4), The WB 4 million viewers (though it beat UPN with its 2.7 rating, 4 share) and PAX 1.3 million viewers (0.9/2). A ratings point represents 1,067,000 households, or 1% of the country's estimated 106.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

The entire prime-time TV ratings list for the week can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle..... (12/3/02)

BT goes to New Hampshire...

When Clear Channel's rocker 'XL102' WRXL segued to alternative (102-1 The X), BT (Brandon Terry) didn't quite fit-in with the new format. But CC didn't won't to lose him either. Since the flip, BT was helping PD Casey Krukowski during the transition. He has now landed afternoons at sister rocker '100.3 WHEB' in Portsmouth NH. Even though it's a smaller market (#56 to #116), WHEB is second in the 12+ ratings behind a powerhouse country outlet. BT told AllAccess.com back in October, "Clear Channel is a world class organization, and they have treated me like an important member of the team, but sometimes you aren't a part of the vision and such is the case with 'New Rock 102.1 The X.'" WHEB is exactly what WRXL was! BT will continue to voicetrack nights on '98 Rock' WACL Harrisonburg and afternoons on '99.3 The Fox' WFQX Winchester. He starts at WHEB Monday, December 16th..... (12/3/02)

HDTV update in Richmond...

VARTV "hears" that WRIC-DT (22/ABC) will be offline for most of this week due to encoder problems. There has been audio and video drop-outs when WRIC-DT has been on the air. They're getting a new encoder from their vendor. Over at WTVR-DT (25/CBS), for the next three months or so expect them to be "on" only during primetime hours and maybe weekends when the network is beaming HD programming (i.e. football games)..... (12/2/02)

West End cable subs getting answers from the web...

When their high-speed Internet connections slowed to a crawl, AT&T Broadband customers called the company for answers. When they got answers that didn't satisfy them, they turned to the Web. Consumers of all kinds of products and services are going online to discuss their common experiences, malfunctioning products, and good and bad stories. The Internet has become a reliable center for problem solving and a staging area for consumer action. In this case, the group of AT&T subscribers, many of them in western Henrico County, created a discussion topic at BroadbandReports.com, where they commiserated over their broadband problems and analyzed responses from the company. There, they shared and parsed the answers they got from AT&T customer support, reviewed options and planned their next move, as individuals and as a group. McGregor McCance has the rest of the story at timesdispatch.com..... (12/2/02)

Mayflower Marathon is a huge success...

Mayflower MarathonSaga's classic hits '106.9 The Fox' WAFX held their 6th annual Mayflower Marathon ended up with some great results. Over 250 tons (or 375,000 meals) of food and still counting! You can check 1069thefox.com for all information and pictures. This has become the largest food drive in the state of Virginia and per capita, one of the biggest in the country according to GM Dave Paulus. The 53-hour food drive was 'hosted' by The Fox morning "Jeff & MC"..... (12/2/02)

FLS' Annual Shoe Fund Auction starts Monday...

In what has become a Fredericksburg tradition, WFLS will begin its Annual Shoe Fund Auction Monday at 5AM with 25-year veteran morning man Brian Strobel and Penny Wack. Items include autographed items from country artists like Trace Adkins, SheDaisy, The Dixie Chicks, Kathy Mattea and others to autographed footballs from Washington Redskins players and scale cars from Bobby Allison and 2002 Winston Cup Champion Tony Stewart. There are also two tickets (club level) to the December 29th Washington Redskins game vs Dallas Cowboys up for bids. All items and when they can be bid on can be seen at wfls.com Just look for the Shoe Fund Auction items..... (11/30/02)

UPN Richmond back to normal...

WUPVWe're you having trouble watching Richmond's Channel 65? You weren't alone. The station had a fire in its transmission line on Wednesday the 20th. WUPV continued to be available to most cable customers but not to OTA (over-the-air) viewers. The problem was fixed the next day - almost said GM Gerald Walsh. "Viewers in outlying households might have experienced 'diminished' reception. Work was done on the tower Wednesday and Channel 65 was back to full power on Thanksgiving..... (11/29/02)

Cat Country to be sold...

'Cat Country 100.3' WARV Petersburg is being sold to MainQuad Communications. Charles Giddens owned it as Honolulu Broadcasting but passed away from cancer in September 2001. The station is being sold by his widow Joanne to MainQuad for $1.2M. Cox Radio has had a joint sales agreement with WARV. MainQuad also owns 'Smooth Jazz 93.1' WJZV and 80s-90s Hits 'Star 107.3' WBBT in the Richmond area along with four other stations. Way too early to tell if the format will stay..... (11/27/02)

Morning show co-host/anchor-reporter wanted...

WFVAMid-Atlantic Network is still looking for a morning show co-host for 'The Memories Station' WFVA-AM 1230 Fredericksburg. Their looking for an 'experienced' news anchor/reporter who will not only co-host the morning show on WFVA but anchor the show's newscasts. This person will also serve as a reporter for WFVA and sister station Hot AC 'B101.5' WBQB. It was announced that longtime host John Parker at WFVA will be leaving in early 2003..... (11/27/02)

Oldies 92-9 looking for a PD...

Rany BrooksIronically, they already have one... Randy Brooks. If you remember, Brooks used to program sister stations new country 'Eagle 97.3' (now known as 97-3 The Eagle) WGH and heritage country WCMS. About six months after Barnstable flipped urban oldies 'Soul Classics 92.9’ to 'Oldies 92-9' (WWSO), Randy took on the additional responsibility of PD/afternoon drive at WWSO. Shortly after that, his sole responsibility was to WWSO with John Shomby overseeing things at the country outlets. Yesterday at AllAccess.com, an ad was placed by John Shomby himself for a PD position at Oldies 92-9. So what's happened to Brooks this past year? Was he forced to go to WWSO to be forced out? Will he stay with Barnstable cluster at all? ..... (11/27/02)

More Christmas music...

Contemporary Christian WODC-FM 88.5 "Your Lighthouse" (88.5 Virginia Beach, 97.9 South Norfolk, 103.7 Chesapeake and 103.9 in Norfolk) will begin mixing in Christmas music beginning Sunday December 1st and increase it's frequency until December 15th when it will go all Christmas during regular format and end the Christmas music on December 26th by taking requests of favorite Christmas music. They'll be "Keeping the Christ" in Christmas!..... (11/27/02)

CSI gets knocked down to fourth...

The top 10 shows for the week of November 18th to 24th according to AC Nielsen were... (show, network, rating) "Friends," NBC, 17.0; "ER," NBC, 16.5; "The Bachelor," ABC, 16.3; "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 16.2; "Will & Grace," NBC, 15.5; "Will & Grace" (special), NBC, 14.5; "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 12.8; "Law & Order," NBC, 12.1; "Frasier," NBC, 11.8; "Monday Night Football: Chicago at St. Louis," ABC, 11.7.

Last week overall, CBS led with 13.2 million viewers (8.8 household rating, 14 share), NBC 13.17 million viewers (8.7/14), ABC 12.5 million viewers (7.7/12), FOX 9.1 million viewers (5.5/9), The WB 5.4 million viewers (3.3/5), UPN 4 million viewers (2.5/4) and PAX 1.2 million viewers (0.9/1). A ratings point represents 1,067,000 households, or 1% of the country's estimated 106.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

The entire prime-time TV ratings list for the week can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle..... (11/26/02)

The Shore's '103.3 The Shore' WESR will be adding holiday tunes to their music mix starting after the day after Thanksgiving. WESR will increase the frequency of holiday music until December 23rd when its back-to-back all-holiday music thru Christmas..... (11/26/02)

New software releases...

Do you have AOL's Instant Messenger, MusicMatch Jukebox, RealOne Player? Well, all three have recently been updated with new versions. AOL Instant Messenger, the stand alone version outside of the AOL service, has released version 5.1. MusicMatch has released version 7.5 of its JukeBox. Open the MusicMatch JukeBox, click "Options" then "Update Software." The RealOne Player from RealNetworks has a new 'build' (6.011.830) for Version 2.0. Open the player, click "Tools" then "Check for Update". Remember besides emailing us at editor@vartv.com, you can also reach us on Netscape, AOL, Compuserve (via your Instant Messenger) at screenname VARTV Mobile or on the MSN Network/Windows Messenger at screenname VARTV..... (11/26/02)

Radio One Richmond fills OM/PD slot...

Kevin Gardner joins Radio One's urban oldies 'Magic 105.7' WJMO and urban AC '104.7 Kiss FM' WKJS as their new OM/PD. Gardner comes from Cumulus Tallahassee (gospel 'AM 1410 The Light' WHBT, urban '96.1 Jamz' WHBX & oldies 'Groovin 102' WWLD), where he was PD/MD and afternoon-drive talent. Gardner began his career doing the morning-drive at WOKB Orlando in 1986. For the next four years, he held positions at WWPD Florence SC, KDKO Denver CO and back to South Carolina to WWDM in Columbia. Later, he moved to Washington DC in 1990 to serve as AMD/afternoon-drive for WDJY & WJZE. After spending three years in DC, Gardner headed to his hometown of Philadelphia to work on the morning show at Clear Channel's urban AC WDAS-FM..... (11/25/02)

A fourth Hampton Roads station to belt-out holiday tunes...

WJOISaga's adult standards 'Joy' WJOI-AM 1230 will switch to all-holiday music the day after Thanksgiving. WJOI has a loyal following with it's format geared to the older audience. Is cross-town 'competitor' Barnstable's adult standards 'AM 1050 The Fog' WFOG (1050), who uses Jones Radio's Music of Your Life, going to do the same? (11/25/02)

Virginia Broadcasting's 'NBC29' WVIR-DT 32 Charlottesville VA has been in a testing mode since mid-October. Expect regular programming by the end of this week. Their high-power transmitter (1000 kW) won't be installed until Albemarle County approves a new tower. They hope to be on the air with their high-power transmitter by the end of next year. Right now they're only at 6.5 kW at 1005'..... (11/25/02)

Veteran jock is fired from a Clear Channel station...

Double DSuprised? VARTV has learned that 20-year radio veteran Double D was fired from urban AC 'Vibe 105.3' WSVY. Double D was their production director and on-air talent heard Monday-Saturday 3PM-7PM. Was it ratings? They just came off of a great Trend. In his bio, which by the way you can't read because it has already been taken down at vibezone.com, he stated he began his radio career back in 1982. He was first hired by Vibe in 1997, moved to Philadelphia to do radio in 1999 and came back for "round 2" in June 2000. Here comes the irony. In his bio under the question "Career Accomplishments"; his answer was "Being in radio for 18 years and never being fired." Happy Holidays from Clear Channel Norfolk..... (11/24/02)

Hampton Roads might have THREE full-coverage ALL-holiday music stations...

Oldies 92-9When is the last time that this has happened around here? Never. Starting tomorrow (11/25), Barnstable's 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO will go all-holiday music for the next "31 days." Entercom's AC '2WD' WWDE was to switch to all-holiday music after Thanksgiving but got wind of Oldies 92-9's planned switch on Monday. So at 5PM last Friday, 2WD decided to start the holiday tunes earlier. 2WDNote that the Delilah program heard on WWDE weeknights 7PM to midnight is already in holiday "mode" too. Usually around these parts, it was WWDE adding holiday music to their regular playlist and slowly increasing the frequency of holiday tunes towards December 25th. The rimshot signal from Maranatha Broadcasting's Contemporary Christian 'Praise 105' WFMZ (104.9) played 24/7 Christmas music from Christian artists last year, BBN's WYFI (99.7) featured Christmas music as did Peninsula/Middle Peninsula/Northern Neck area AC 'Xtra 99' WXGM. This might be the first time ever that two full market coverage stations (non-satellite fed) went all-holiday music. Vibe 105.3As I write this, Clear Channel's urban AC 'Vibe 105.3' WSVY is playing back-to-back holiday tunes from Black artists - "Christmas Hits and Jammin' Old School." Are they going all-holiday too? Holy cow! This is getting out of control. SVY might have something here - playing holiday tunes from Black artists. If you're in the VARTV listening area and hear a station playing partial or all-holiday music, let us know! Email us at holidaytunes@vartv.com..... (11/24/02)

WUPV'a OTA signal nowhere to be found...

UPN RichmondIf you used to watching 'UPN Richmond' WUPV over the air, you may have noticed that they have been MIA for the last several days. VARTV heard that earlier last week there was a fire at the station in Ashland and haven't been seen since. Emails have been sent to Channel 65 and were returned back to VARTV as undeliverable..... (11/24/02)

Richmond, the land of wrenchheads...

Anybody who doesn't think this is the land of wrenchheads, think again so says Jerry Lindquist of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond finished ninth among metered markets in NBC's (WWBT/12) Winston Cup coverage this year with a 12-race average rating of 7.5 (15 share). That's 34% better than 2001 and made the Richmond market the second most-improved, trailing only Chicago's 38% to a 3.3. Final national numbers came out earlier today. In overnights of 53 top-metered markets, NBC/TNT combined did 4.5, up 13% over a year ago - the first of the $2.4 billion, six-year NASCAR deal shared with FOX. Greensboro (12.9) and Charlotte (11.1), NC, remained Nos. 1 and 2. No surprise there. Quoting NASCAR-on-NBC/TNT analyst Benny Parsons: "I think being Winston Cup champion is going to be a tough thing for Tony Stewart. It will be interesting to see how [he] handles his role as the sport's leading ambassador..... (11/23/02)

Virginia now has a state-wide Amber Alert program...

Amber AlertGovernor Warner said reports about abducted children will be broadcast immediately on radio & TV and posted on highway message boards under a statewide "Amber Alert" program. Warner said, "With the Amber Alert plan, in the event a child is abducted we want to make sure the public can assist you in the most rapid and coordinated fashion." Police activate the Amber Alert after determining that a child 17 or younger has been abducted and is in danger. Information about the child is sent to radio & TV stations, which interrupt regular programming to report the abduction. VDOT (Virginia Department of Transportation) also will use electronic message signs along major highways to tell motorists to be on the lookout. Warner's initiative expands on regional programs already operating in the Richmond, Northern Virginia, Spotsylvania and Roanoke areas. Attorney General Jerry Kilgore said Wednesday that creation of a statewide Amber Alert will be part of his 2003 legislative agenda. Warner said he does not oppose asking the General Assembly to convert the program from an administrative policy to a law. The Virginia Amber Alert program's website can be found at vaamberalert.com..... (11/23/02)

It's been reported today that WTVR-DT (25/CBS) was on the air around 5:30PM. WTVR would be the fourth DTV in Richmond to sign-on. At 9:30PM, all four of Richmond's DTVs were on the air..... (11/22/02)

Richmond will have at least two all-holiday music stations...

EZ 100.5It looks like Hoffman's adult standards 'EZ 100.5' WZEZ Goochland will be going to an all-holiday music format starting either the day before or the day of Thanksgiving. Lite 98They have a countdown clock on their website at wzezradio.com. They went all-holiday last year at this time with much success ratings wise. Clear Channel's AC 'Lite 98' WTVR will also go all-holiday this coming Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, at 9AM..... (11/22/02)

Lite 98 back on top in Richmond...

Lite 98Arbitron's Fall Phase I numbers for Richmond were released earlier today. CC's AC 'Lite 98' WTVR regains the top spot after plummenting in the Summer book (12.1-7.7) to a 8.3 rating. Radio One's urban 'Power 92-1 Jamz' WCDX is second again at 7.7. Cox Radio's country 'K95' WKHK falls from the top perch in the Summer book to third at 7.4. Cox's classic rocker '96-5 The Planet' WKLR shoots up to fourth with a 6.0 with CC's 'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA rounding out the Top 5 at 5.9. The entire 12+ ratings can be found at radioandrecords.com or insideradio.com..... (11/22/02)

FM99 has the #1 spot all to itself...

FM99Saga's active rocker 'FM99' WNOR is all by itself at the top (6.3 rating/12+) according to Arbitron which released the numbers earlier today. The Fall Phase I period covers August, September and October. WNOR was in a tie with Clear Channel's urban '103Jamz' WOWI for the Summer book. No longer. '103Jamz' slides to 4th with a 6.0 rating. 2nd is Entercom's AC '2WD' WWDE with a 6.2 with 3rd going to Barnstable's new country '97-3 The Eagle' WGH at a 6.1. Rounding out the Top 10 is Entercom sisters urban AC '95-7 R&B' WVKL & rhythmic 'Z104' WNVZ at 5th... 5.6, 7th is 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO... 5.0, 8th is Contemporary Inspirational 'Star 94.1' WXEZ & classic hits '106.9 The Fox' WAFX... 4.9 and 10th country WCMS & modern AC '94.9 The Point' WPTE... 4.7...
    Top 11 25-54 all persons demo...
    1. WGH & WAFX... 7.5
    3. WNOR & WVKL... 7.3
    5. WWDE... 6.8
    6. WWSO... 6.0
    7. WPTE... 5.9
    8. WXEZ... 5.6
    9. WOWI... 5.5
    10. WNVZ... 4.0
    11. WSVY & WNIS... 3.6
The entire 12+ ratings can be found at radioandrecords.com or insideradio.com after 5/6PM..... (11/22/02)

Anchor Ed Hughes treated for colon cancer...

Ed HughesEd Hughes, the anchor who’s been with WTKR (3/CBS) for over 34 years, has colon cancer and underwent surgery this week to remove a tumor from his intestines. Larry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot says he’s resting comfortably at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and expects a full recovery. Hughes who’s 64 said, “I'm upbeat and optimistic.'' He will undergo chemotherapy once a week when he recovers from the 4 1/2 -hour surgery. He expects to be off the job for five to six weeks. Hughes said he’s drawing support from his family and co-workers at WTKR – even WVEC, his competition, sent him flowers..... (11/22/02)

Marathon broadcast...

Mayflower MarathonOn Monday morning, November 25th at 5:30AM, the morning duo Jeff and MC of Saga's classic hits '106.9 The Fox' WAFX will begin their annual 53-hour marathon broadcast to benefit hungry families in Hampton Roads. "The Fox Mayflower Marathon" is the largest food drive in Virginia and one of the largest in the nation. Donations can be dropped off at Pembroke Mall in Virginia Beach and Coliseum Mall next to Bennigan's in Hampton..... (11/21/02)

Cable TV denied...

COX CableAmy Johnson of The Virginia Gazette reports on one family's trouble of simply wanting to get cable TV for their 9-year-old daughter. But never imagined how difficult it would be with Cox Cable. The family lives in Williamsburg. The entire article is online at vagazette.com..... (11/21/02)

LPTV to be sold...

LPTV WVBN-LP (19) Virginia Beach VA files with the FCC to "Voluntary Assignment of License" from Izzo Family Trust to JBS Inc. The selling price is unknown. JBS Inc has two other LPTVs in Hampton Roads - W31BG (19) Yorktown VA and W39BW (39) Newport News VA - that simulcasts each other with locally produced (it looks like a high school production) religious programming and ShopNBC. Channel 19 broadcasts MTV2 with a highly directional antenna off Salem Rd that is only receivable in Virginia Beach. They also hold a CP to move WVBN to channel 18..... (11/21/02)

Don London interviewed...

Don LondonBarry Fiedel and Pat Martine of Hitmakers Magazine interview Don London the Director of Programming at Entercom's rhythmic 'Z104' WNVZ, AC '2WD' WWDE and urban AC '95-7 R&B' WVKL. Modern AC '94.9 The Point' WPTE, the other station in the cluster has its own PD - Steve McKay. Get the entire scoop on Don here at hitmakersmagazine.com..... (11/21/02)

There's a new classified ad today. Click on the "Classified Ads" link on the left navigation panel..... (11/20/02)

VCU sports media news...

VCU RamsVCU's 'Ram Replay,' a taped-delayed telecasts of men's basketball home games, enters its second season with a new home. Last year, the games were seen on 'UPN65' WUPV. This year, they'll on Sundays on WCVW (57/PBS). That's correct: a public broadcasting station, no commercials, etc. "But our sponsors were OK with PBS-style 'acknowledgments' in lieu of regular 'call to action' style advertising," said Associate AD Tom Shupe. "It will be a full-blown, five-camera production of the games in their entirety." The first of 16 will be this Sunday (10AM-noon) of Saturday's exhibition matchup with Virginia Union. Robert Fish calls the action, with Joe Cantafio the analyst. On the radio side, Terry Sisisky begins his 23rd season (WLEE/WHAP) with yet another broadcast partner - John Moreau, who is retiring as a college hoops official after 32 years..... (11/20/02)

Public television in a money war...

The bad blood between Virginia's public television stations has come to a boil says Gregory Robertson of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The issue is state money and who gets how much. On one side is the Richmond-based Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corp which operates five TV stations - including WCVE Richmond and WHTJ Charlottesville, WCVE (88.9) Richmond. On the other side of the dispute are competing stations aligned with the “Virginia Association of Public Television Stations” - WHRO Norfolk, WVPT Harrisonburg, WBRA Roanoke and WETA Washington DC. "They want money and they don't care who get hurts in the process. The bottom line is in hard times, people tend to be greedy," said Westwood Smithers, executive VP of Commonwealth Public Broadcasting. Smithers said WCVE and its affiliate stations are threatened with losing more than $875,000 in state funding under a proposal being pushed by the state's other public television stations. The money would then be redistributed to other public broadcasting stations including WETA, which would receive its first infusion of state money, amounting to about $200,000. The rest of Robertson's article can be found at timesdispatch.com..... (11/20/02)

NBC wins Nielsen week, ABC second...

The top 10 shows for the week of November 11th to 17th were... (show, network, rating) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 18.3; "Friends," NBC, 15.8; "ER," NBC, 15.7; "CSI: Miami," CBS, 13.3; "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 12.9; "Law & Order," NBC, 12.7; "Survivor: Thailand," CBS, 12.5; "NFL Monday Night Football: Oakland at Denver," ABC, 12.4; "Scrubs," NBC, 12.4; "Will & Grace," NBC, 12.1.

Last week overall, NBC averaged 13.6 million viewers (9.0 rating, 14 share), CBS 12.7 million viewers (8.4, 13), ABC 10.6 million (6.8, 11), Fox 7.7 million (4.7, 7), The WB 4.7 million (2.9, 5), UPN 4.2 million (2.6, 4) and PAX 1.2 million (0.9, 1). Remember, a ratings point represents 1,067,000 households, or 1% of the country's estimated 106.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

The entire prime-time TV ratings list for the week can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle..... (11/19/02)

HDTV coming to Cox Cable Hampton Roads...

Cox HDAnd the date looks like February 2003 according to John Chester from A/V dealer Domes in Chesapeake. Last Friday, Domes was visited by several Cox Cable personnel with all kinds of POP (Point Of Purchase) materials; stating "Cox HD Coming Soon!". They told Domes employess that they will not be renting the converter boxes but selling them through local retailers for $499 (That's the same rate for COX customers in Phoenix and Omaha who have the HD service already available to them). John describes the new converter as silver, with composite video, S-video, Sub-D 15 video and component video outputs with Firewire upgradability. Motorola is supplying the converters. Planned stations... all of the local DT stations, HBO-HD, Showtime-HD, Discovery-HD, ESPN-HD (starts in April). Domes can be found online at domesav.com..... (11/19/02)

FCC grants Bell Broadcasting's WUPV-DT (47/UPN) Ashland VA request for an extension of time to complete the construction of their DTV station. They filed as a precaution just in case they couldn't get on the air by December 4th (which they anticipate they will be). The December 4th date is from the first extension they filed last Spring.

2WD to play Christmas music...

2WDUPDATED: (originally posted 11/12/02) Entercom's AC will go ALL "holiday" music starting Friday November 29th. If you lose track, there's a countdown clock on their website at 2wd.com. 2WD never played "holiday" music 24/7 but would increase the frequency of holiday tunes in its playlist the closer it got to Christmas. This year they're switching gears. VARTV hears too that WWDE is avoiding the term "Christmas" to not offend or exclude those who observe Hannukah or Kwanzaa. We also hear that an additional 50 new artists will be added to this year's holiday format... This will give 2WD a great whole market sampling with 13 days left in the ratings period..... (11/19/02)

Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting's Spanish 'Radio Vida' WRJR-AM 670 Claremont VA files with the FCC a "Petition for reconsideration and admendment" for a CP on a new experimental station WR2XJR (nighttime only). Right now they hold a CP for 7 watts (0.007kW) nighttime coverage. The experimental station would increase that to 700 watts (0.700kW) at night. Protection needs to be given to "clear channel" stations in the Northern Hemisphere. Their biggest concern is the blowtorch in Chicago - WSRC-AM 670

Young Broadcasting's WRIC-DT (22/ABC) Petersburg VA files with the FCC to "License to cover construction permit." NOTE: The only other licensed DT in Richmond is WWBT-DT (54/NBC/WB)

Problems at WTKR-DT...

WTKR-DTIf you're a fan of Hi-Def programming from CBS and live in the Hampton Roads area, well you're poop out of luck. The New York Times owned WTKR-DT (40/CBS) will be off the air for the next few nights. They're having encoder/STL problems. Ted has his hands full. Remember, all of CBS' HDTV programming can be found at cbs.com/info/hdtv/..... (11/18/02)

Sky4 to added to DirecTV line-up...

WSKYThe question is when. Independent 'Sky4' WSKY Manteo is installing a microwave link from their distribution tower in Moyock to the DirecTV site on VB Blvd. The equipment is in and ready to go up but they've run into a structural snag with the tower at the DirecTV site which could be will be resolved this week. What WSKY wanted to do is run fiber from their microwave feed at Cox but that caused too much "heartburn" for the people over there. By the way WTKR (3/CBS), WAVY (10/NBC), WVEC (13/ABC), WHRO (15/PBS), WGNT (27/UPN), WTVZ (33/WB), WVBT (43/FOX) and WPXV (49/PAX) are already available on DirecTV. On a second subject … the "little" station just bought a new EFP microwave live truck that you should start seeing around in the next month or so. I say it is new but they purchased it off the Universal Studios Lot in Los Angeles CA where it was being used for the next Jim Carrey movie called “Bruce Almighty” … Sky4 plans to use it in their local programming effort in 2003. This isn’t an ENG type news van … much larger … VARTV will be getting pictures of the truck when it is done … still waiting artwork. Finally, has anyone noticed the much smaller "bug" WSKY superimposes on your screen. "Bugs" are those transparent network and/or local station logos in bottom right-hand corner of your TV screen so you know AND don't forget what channel you're on. Sky's previous bug was quite large..... (11/18/02)

WODC's website gets fresh paint...

UPDATED: (originally posted 11/12/02) Christian Contemporary '88.5 Your Lighthouse' WODC has finally gotten around to throwing fresh paint on their website. They have been promising it for awhile now. The Lighthouse can be heard on 88.5 in Virginia Beach and on repeators at 97.9 South Norfolk, 103.7 Chesapeake and 103.9 in Norfolk. Their website can be found at wodc.com. Speaking of WODC, they're also increasing the power on their 97.9 translator in Portsmouth and have already increased it in Norfolk on 103.9..... (11/17/02)

More Max Media rumblings...

VARTV hears that two former Ray-D-O-Biz stations - Hot AC 'Beach 104' WCXL Kill Devil Hills NC and 'Water Country 94.5' WWOC Hatteras NC - could be getting new LIVE morning shows in the near future. Right now it's the Carolina Virginia Show that's heard on both stations (Editor's opinion - they're awful). As I've said before, I'm really interested to see what happens to WCXL. They put a really good rimshot signal here into Hampton Roads (if "a really good rimshot signal" makes any sense). When owned by Bill Ray, the name "Hampton Roads" was included in the top-of-the-hour ID. By no means do I think they would be a Top 10 station (who knows?), but if the right format was on AND marketed well, they could make an impact here in Hampton Roads. One suggestion - lose the "Beach 104" moniker. Come up with something "catchy." (11/17/02)

Just "Comcast" please...

Comcast OnlyWhen it was announced that AT&T Broadband and Comcast were going to merge, the chosen name for the new company would be "AT&T Comcast." That's been scratched. Not to confuse current and future investors in the company, it's been decided to just call themselves "Comcast Corporation." Good-bye forever the AT&T Broadband name..... (11/16/02)

Another revamped website...

The #1 radio station in Hampton Roads - Saga's active rocker 'FM99' WNOR - has redone their website at fm99.com. Looks good..... (11/15/02)

Some say they can't hear Admirals hockey games...

AHL Norfolk AdmiralsTris Wykes of the Virginian-Pilot reports ever since the games switched from WHKT-AM 1650 (now a Radio Disney O&O) to Ronn Cowan's Hot Talker/Sports '1450 The Buzz' WBVA, some people just get static when trying to tune in. Admirals fans in Western Branch, Deep Creek, Bowers Hill, Suffolk and portions of the Peninsula say they generally had few problems receiving WHKT's signal. Their tower was and is located near the Chesapeake-Portsmouth border not far from Chesapeake Square Mall beaming out 1kW at night. WBVA broadcasts at 1kW from a tower near the intersection of Newtown and Diamond Springs Rds in Virginia Beach - much farther east. Cowan fires back with “there’s always going to be a gap in coverage, and there always was in the past. There were a lot of people in Virginia Beach, myself included, who couldn’t get the games the last few years.’’ The VARTV HQs is near Mt Trashmore in Virginia Beach and WHKT IS hard to pickup. Read the entire 'debate' at pilotonline.com..... (11/15/02)

Congrats to Julian Nieh...

Julien NiehPart-timer/fill-in man Julian Nieh of Entercom's rhythmic 'Z-104' WNVZ won "Best New Talent" in the Washington DC market at the Washington DC 2002 AIR Awards given out on Novemeber 13th. He received this award for performing similiar duties at Clear Channel's CHR 'Hot 99-5' WIHT..... (11/15/02)

NASCAR's ratings continue to grow...

NASCARRain or shine, NASCAR's ratings continue to grow. With Sunday's race from Homestead FL, bringing down the curtain on the 2002 Winston Cup schedule, Nielsen numbers for NBC/TNT's share have grown 13% percent. In Richmond, they've improved 34% to a 7.5 rating (15 share). That makes Richmond, among 50-some metered markets, ninth best in viewership to date say Jerry Lindquist of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. From all indications, the NBC/TNT gang of rain-delay specialists were much-improved from 2001 when, with the notable exception of pit host Bill Weber, they seemed out of sync. Having to follow, and being compared to, the zanies on FOX (WRLH 35) didn't help, of course. The bar was simply set too high - but the gap is closing. "We're having a lot more fun [this year]," booth analyst Benny Parsons said Thursday, "[and] that has helped our broadcasts." One thing Wrenchheads tuning into Sunday's telecast starting at noon on WWBT (12/NBC) can be sure of - NBC will be concentrating on Tony Stewart and Mark Martin, running 1-2 for the championship..... (11/15/02)

Fredericksburg Fall Phase I ...

93 WFLSArbitron's Fall Phase I ratings (August thru October) for Fredericksburg were released earlier today. First was Free Lance-Star's country '93WFLS' with a 15.6 in the 12+. Second, Mid-Atlantic Network's Hot AC 'B-101.5' WBQB edging up to a 10.2. Infinity's talker WJFK and Bonneville's news WTOP tie for third at 5.4. Telemedia's country 'Thunder 104.5' WGRX rounds out the Top 5 at a 3.6. Other local notables... Free Lance-Star's alternative WYSK is tied at 6th with a 3.3, Telemedia's "Virginia's Rockin' Oldies" WGRQ is tied at 8th with a 3.0, Mid-Atlantic Network's adult standards/talk 'The Memories Station' WFVA-A is 10th with a 2.7, Free Lance-Star's 'Classic Rock 96.9' WWUZ is 11th with a 2.4, Piedmont's country WJMA is tied at 15th with a 1.8 and Joyner Radio's country 'C103' WCUL is tied at 29th with a 0.6. Who had the best trend? WGRX. The worst? WWUZ and WGRQ. The entire 12+ ratings can be found at radioandrecords.com..... (11/14/02)

Cox in the news... again.

Virginia Cox bandwidth "abusers" are receiving letters warning them of their gluttony, but more interestingly listing the actual limits of the service (2GB/day and/or 30GB/month of downloads and 1GB/day and/or 7.5GB/month of uploads). While the letter itself lists the hard limits, the Cox website does not and the company's acceptable use policy is traditionally vague: "You must ensure that your activities do not improperly restrict, inhibit, or degrade any other user's use of the Service, nor represent (in the sole judgment of Cox) an unusually large burden on the network itself...." Staying with Cox, in Hampton Roads, customers are blaming the $1 million tax error in Chesapeake for the recent rate hikes starting November 1st. Cox officals say "No." They go on to say that this is a traditional time of year for rate hikes - to cover increased programming costs etc. They're getting almost an extra $10/month from yours truly. Robert McCabe of the Virginian-Pilot has the complete story..... (11/14/02)

Morning host at WFVA to exit...

John ParkerJohn Parker, long time morning host on 'The Memories Station' WFVA-AM (1230) will be retiring in early 2003 after 21 years in Fredericksburg, and 55 years in the business. John has had an illustrious career in radio and television. He got his first big break doing play by play for the Michigan State Spartans football team in the 50s. From Lansing MI, John did evening sports on WWJ-TV in Detroit. In the 60s, John did television and radio broadcasts for the San Diego Padres and the San Diego Chargers. In the 70s, John did basketball play-by-play for University of Las Vegas and gave UNLV its famous nickname - “The Runnin’ Rebels.” While in Vegas, he hung out with Robert Goulet and frequent interviews included Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and Betty Grable. John Parker will be greatly missed by all. Speaking of WFVA, they now have their own website at am1230wfva.com, a brand spanking new logo and revamped webpage..... (11/14/02)

FCC approves AT&T Broadband, Comcast merger ...

AT&T ComcastThe FCC today approved the proposed merger of AT&T Broadband and Comcast Cable, bringing the creation of the country's largest cable TV firm one step closer to reality. The deal still needs approval from the US Department of Justice. The combined entity would serve about 27 million subscribers in 17 of the country's top 20 markets. The next-largest operator, Time-Warner Cable, serves about 13 million subscribers. Since the merger would not eliminate competition in any of the cities affected, analysts expect it will pass review by Justice, which examines whether combinations violate antitrust laws. There was no indication when Justice might rule. Both companies have systems throughout the VARTV coverage area. The largest impacted area will be Richmond. Read all about in the Richmond Times-Dispatch..... (11/14/02)

Cox decides to just 'eat' a $1 million tax error ...

CoxCox Communications has paid $1 million in back taxes to the City of Chesapeake and won't try to recover any of that money from customers. The $1 million is the guesstimate cost of a glitch discovered last month in which Cox residential telephone customers were underbilled for a local consumer utility tax for 2 1/2 years. Somehow at Cox, "25%" became "25 cents.'' A decades-old law mandates that companies offering residential phone service in Chesapeake charge a utility tax of 25% on the first $50 of a monthly bill, up to $12.50. The news is almost too good to be true for a cash-strapped city that only a few months ago weighed an array of tax increases and is still dealing with the impact of budget cuts says Robert McCabe of the Virginian-Pilot. The mistake within Cox was made in early 2000, when they began its residential phone service in Chesapeake and continued until last month. Cox has about 17,000 residential digital telephone customers in Chesapeake..... (11/13/02)

A bigger 'Hampton Roads'...

Hampton Roads FlagThe federal government is redrawing the country’s 280 metropolitan areas from No. 1 New York to No. 280 Enid OK. Under one plan, Hampton Roads could add five counties with nearly 95,00 residents. That would boost the area’s population to almost 1.7 million humans. It could move Hampton Roads up the list of biggest metro areas - becoming 27th-biggest in the country - moving past Orlando, Indianapolis and San Antonio. Two things are for sure. First, our the area will get a new official name – “Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News VA-NC'' It has been “Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News VA-NC.” Still undecided is whether “Hampton Roads'' will be part of that name. The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission endorsed the official name “Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News (Hampton Roads), VA-NC.'' Historically, there’s never been an official metropolitan area name that included a nickname - Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill NC never has been officially known as “The Research Triangle'' and Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point NC never has been officially “The Piedmont Triad.'' Lastly, the government will definitely add at least one more area - Surry County. The feds also will create two new “micropolitan statistical areas'' in North Carolina - the three counties around Elizabeth City (Pasquotank, Perquimans and Camden) and the county surrounding Kill Devil Hills (Dare County, which includes nearly all of the Outer Banks). Those four counties also might be combined with Hampton Roads into a single Combined Statistical Area as mention above with Surry. The last time Hampton Roads grew was when Mathews and Isle of Wight Counties in VA and Currituck County in NC were added. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget will make the final decision, with local input in the spring of 2003..... (11/13/02)

Battle of Brains returns...

Students and schools participating in the newly revamped "Battle of the Brains" come from as far away as Charlottesville, Fredericksburg and Williamsburg. That means they can't even watch the television show they will be on. But this interest that the students are showing is one reason the program is back on the air. The show, which pits students from two high schools against each other in a test of knowledge, was canceled earlier this year by WCVE (23/PBS). Ratings were low, but students, parents and faculty called for it to reappear somewhere on TV. Hello RICH TV (formerly BLAB-TV) - available on channel 7 on AT&T Broadband and channel 8 on Comcast. "Battle of the Brains" will air tonight the season's first two half-hour shows at 9. The show has a new hostess, Michelle Gary, a new theme song, a new set (constructed by technical school students) and a new format..... (11/13/02)

CSI rules the Nielsen ratings...

The top 10 shows for the week of November 4th - November 10th were... (show, network, rating) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 17.2; "Friends," NBC, 17.0; "ER," NBC, 15.5; "Will & Grace," NBC, 13.4; "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 13.1; "Monday Night Football: Miami at Green Bay," ABC, 12.8; "Law & Order," NBC, 12.6; "CSI: Miami," CBS, 12.1; "Law & Order: SVU," NBC, 11.6; "Survivor: Thailand," CBS, 11.3.

Last week overall, CBS led with 14.2 million viewers (9.3 household rating, 15 share), NBC 13.3 million viewers (8.6/14), ABC 10.5 million viewers (6.7/11), FOX with 7.4 million viewers (4.5/7), The WB 5.0 million viewers (2.5/4), UPN 4.2 million viewers (2.5/4) and PAX TV 1.2 million viewers (0.9/1). Remember, a ratings point represents 1,067,000 households, or 1% of the country's estimated 106.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

The entire prime-time TV ratings list for the week can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle..... (11/13/02)

Verizon outlines plans...

VerizonVerizon is counting on the appeal of a single bill. Today they outlined their plans to offer long-distance telephone service in Virginia. It emphasized the benefits of "bundled" services that give customers one bill. That bill might include Verizon telephone, high-speed Internet, corporate data and wireless phone services. Verizon offers just one such bundle now, combining local and long-distance telephone services, but it plans numerous combinations. McGregor McCance of the Richmond Times-Dispatch spells it all out. Here's the Daily Press slant..... (11/12/02)

Ray-D-O-Biz employess now Max Media employees...

It's final! The papers have been signed between Ray-D-O Biz and Max Media. It became offical at noon today as all the employees now work for Max Media. Also Mike Smith has just been announced as the new GM for all 4 stations - Hot AC 'Beach 104' WCXL Kill Devil Hills NC, 'Water Country 94.5' WWOC Hatteras NC, country WQDK Ahoskie NC and full service 'NewsRadio 560' WGAI Elizabeth City NC. He's worked in Greensboro and just recently for the Entercom cluster in Hampton Roads. Still no word on when the 'Carolina Virginia (morning) Show' hosted by previous owner Bill ray will be going... it should be very soon..... (11/12/02)

FCC grants "Voluntary Assignment of License" of WCKO-AM 1110 Norfolk VA from Metropolitan Group to Word Broadcasting Network..... (11/12/02)

Video-on-demand on Comcast in Chesterfield...

ComcastComcast spent more than $3 million in the past year to add VOD (video-on-demand) to the Chesterfield County cable system. VOD lets subscribers rent movies and other programming for a 24-hour period but it requires no disc or tape. Movies and shows are delivered digitally with the same functionality as a regular VHS or DVD rental. They can be paused, restarted or stopped as much as the customer likes within the viewing period. Though Comcast doesn’t release figures for subscribers, new servers let Comcast store 800 hours of VOD programming, up from just 250 a year ago. Without error, the equipment must handle "transactions," which refers to every instance a customer hits "pause," "rewind" or another VOD function. Cable industry analyst Mark Kersey of ARS Inc said Comcast is among the most aggressive companies at rolling out VOD. In Chesterfield, movies recently released for rental cost $4.99 for 24 hours of access. Other VOD programming, including kids' shows, ranges from $1.99 to $2.99. Some say early factors that may affect VOD's early popularity is that movies that leave theaters make a stop in video rental stores before becoming available either through cable company pay-per-view channels or VOD. Whether VOD will be a service added quickly to Richmond-area AT&T Broadband subscribers after the company merges with Comcast is unknown. Oddly, Comcast has emphasized the ongoing importance of VOD as part of its national strategy not AT&T Broadband's fast-selling service – digital telephone. Chesterfield digital cable subscribers have access to two flavors of VOD. One includes movies and other programming that costs for each 24-hour rental. The second is available to those who pay for HBO or Showtime. Each channel includes an inventory of programs available at no extra cost in VOD format. HBO subscribers, for example, can access a limited number of back episodes of "The Sopranos" through video-on-demand..... (11/12/02)

fredericksburg.com was recently redesigned ...

...and I must say as a daily reader it is much improved. The site is run by the same fine folks at the Free Lance-Star..... (11/12/02)

A cool article on Skywire Communications based in the West End...

Holly Carroll of the Richmond Times-Dispatch interviews Jay Silvio and Casey Quinlan, the husband-and-wife team that operates SkyWire Communications Inc, a mobile satellite uplink company that helps TV networks broadcast the news. The entire article can be found at timesdispatch.com..... (11/11/02)

World Series didn't do well in Richmond...

Richmond viewers were even less interested in the all-California World Series than the rest of the country. Nationally, the Anaheim Angels-San Francisco Giants matchup did an all-time low 11.9 rating/20 share. In Richmond, the Series finished with a 9.8 rating/15 share. The seventh game did a 13.1/19 kept it from being worse locally..... (11/11/02)

Channel 13 news...

After a trial run, Janet Roach of WVEC's (ABC) "13 News Daybreak" will continue as co-anchor of the 5:30PM newscast as well. That means working a split shift. Her day starts around 4AM. How is she coping with the long hours? asks Larry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot... "Naps and vitamins,'' said Roach, whose bosses feel the need to showcase her before a larger dinner hour viewership. More from WVEC... Bonita Harris, co-anchor of LNC5 (Local News on Cable) is off the job until January for maternity leave. Congrats to Bonita..... (11/11/02)

Tom Randles... the musician...

Tom RandlesTom Randles, the WTKR (3/CBS) anchorman who's also a recording artist, tells Larry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot his second album, "Starting From Scratch'' is about 50% complete. Want to see him jammin'? "Occasionally, I've been sitting in Friday nights at Jack Quinn's Irish Pub Restaurant in downtown Norfolk with a local band called Big Daddy,'' said Randles..... (11/11/02)

Ralphie is whacked!

SopranosIf you caught last night's episode of HBO's Sopranos, it was a shocker to see that Ralph Cifaretto was whacked at his home by Tony himself. This is exactly what the critics have said was lacking from this season..... (11/10/02)

Lisa, Liz...

Lisa CarrSomeone posted in the DCRTV mailbag that Lisa Carr of Hot AC 'B101.5' WBQB sounded like and looked like Liz Kelly over at Hot AC 'Mix 107.3' WRQX. VARTV did some 'checking' around and well, they are one in the same. Lisa tells me at 'BQB, she's their MD and midday personality and over at 'Mix' she's on Sunday mornings from 6:30-10AM and also fills-in for night girl Amy Paige during the week. Lisa has been in the business for almost 10 years starting out in Tucson - interning - while she earned her BA at The University of Arizona at Tucson. Lisa has come a long way and now is on radio in a Top 10 market. Congratulations! (11/8/02)

Updated logo for WBQB-FM 101.5 Fredericksburg VA in the station description..... (11/8/02)

The latest technical/background changes...

  • Added station logo for Radio One's Urban AC WKJS-FM 104.7 Crewe VA...
  • FCC grants "License to cover construction permit" for Paxson O&O 'PAX49' WPXV-DT 46 Norfolk VA...
  • FCC grants "Voluntary Assignment of License" to Hubert N Hoffman Jr Family Trust for WZEZ-FM 100.5 Goochland VA and WGGM-AM 820 Chester VA. Hubert N Hoffman Sr is deceased...
  • Added a WGAI-AM 560 top-of-the-hour audio clip in its station description...
  • WRLH-DT (FOX/26) in 480i (low-powered) then WRIC-DT (ABC/22) (testing) signed on October 31, 2002. Richmond now has three digital signals - WWBT signed on in January...
  • Willis Broadcasting based in Norfolk is in the process of dumping more radio stations - this time two in Virginia and one in North Carolina...
  • LIN's FOX affiliate WVBT-DT and Belo's ABC affiliate WVEC-DT were granted "licenses to cover construction permit" for their digital TV stations ...
  • Religious/Shop NBC W39BW (39) Newport News VA files with FCC to increase its ERP to 150kW (now 50kW), change to non-directional and lower the height of antenna...
  • Added Delmarva Broadcasting's WXMD-FM 92.5, University of Maryland - Eastern Shore WESM-FM 91.3 Princess Anne MD and WKHW-FM 106.5 Pocomoke City MD to the VA's Eastern Shore market page...
  • Have decided to add WLSA-FM 105.5 Louisa VA to the Fredericksburg market page...
  • Added W05BQ (5) Norfolk VA which is a translator of WJGN-CA (5) Norfolk VA to the Hampton Roads market page...
  • Class A WXOB-LP (17) Richmond is granted "license to cover" by the FCC...
Mark Bradley back in town?

EntercomVARTV hears that Mark Bradley who once was did mornings at Entercom's Hot AC '94.9 The Point' WPTE is back... But in a completely different capacity. We hear that he'll be in sales within the Entercom cluster with nothing to do on the programming end of things. Bradley left The Point to become the PD up in Baltimore on Clear Channel's classic hits 'B104.3' WOCT (now WXFB). He got fired. VARTV is still in the process of getting more details... Stay tuned...... (11/8/02)

Oops...

WRVAYesterday morning there was a little gaffe heard on Clear Channel's 'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA. During the "Richmond's Morning News with Jimmy Barrett," a Rolling Stone magazine writer had just started a phone interview with Barrett when all of a sudden the sound dropped out. Listeners were 'treated' to several minutes of commercials for local businesses like "Carpets on Call" and "BOS - Blinds Our Specialty," followed by a lovely interlude of "techno bumper music." When Barrett came back on the air, obviously embarrassed, he explained the problem was a glitch in their "Prophet Systems" machine..... (11/8/02)

Classic rock in Richmond...

WKLRIf you're a regular listener to Cox's classic rocker '96.5 The Planet' WKLR, you can hear them use the on-air liner "Richmond's ONLY classic rock station." Well, not to be out done, the folks at Free Lance-Star's 'Classic Rock 96.9' WWUZ now has a liner "Fredericksburg's ONLY classic rock station, Richmond's OTHER classic rock station..." I like that! WWUZRichmonders can also receive a third station - Saga's classic hits '106.9 The Fox' WAFX - that plays that "type" of music. Back over at WWUZ, some listeners may think that they have done something with it's power. It hasn't but Monday's switch to a new studio also meant a switch to a new computer system which means the music is on a wave file and makes the songs sound "brighter" and nothing's lost..... (11/7/02)

Sports director and station officially part ways...

WRICJerry Lindquist of the Richmond Times-Dispatch is reporting that it's official that Chip Tarkenton no longer is employed by WRIC (8/ABC), the station's sports director. Channel 8 ND Bill Foy said, "We met with Chip and reached a mutual agreement to part company... we thanked Chip for his many years of service to the station and wished him well." His last appearance on air was September 16th. He went on vacation and didn't return after his contract ran out September 30. Lindquist says "Other people familiar with the situation said, technically, Tarkenton wasn't AWOL until he didn't appear to work Oct. 8." A week later, Channel 8 removed his name from their 6 & 11PM newscasts. Tarkenton had been the sports director for WRIC since 1988. It looks like Kevin Brandmeyer will move up to the station's sports director slot..... (11/7/02)

Some Hampton Roads TV news...

Game 7 of the World Series between the Angels and Giants got a 12.0 rating on 'FOX43' WVBT. But the 'Skins on October 20th at 4 in the afternoon gathered a whopping 18.6. The Washington contest with the Indianapolis Colts on the night of Game 7 of the World Series got a 10.5 on cable(!) - very close to the baseball game...

The new morning duo of Chris Hopkins and Cynthia Brooks of WTKR's 'NewsChannel 3 This Morning' pushed that program's ratings from a 5.2 to a 5.6 in its debut. Both Hopkins and Brooks replaced Kurt Williams (now co-anchoring the area's #1 nooncast with Ed Hughes) in the morning. Even though the network, CBS, has debuted four new anchors (Harry Smith, Julie Chen, Hannah Storm and ReneSyler) for "The Early Show," WTKR will continue to co-opt the 7AM hour with CBS, filling it mostly with local news, weather and sports...

Remember military reporter Sharyn Alfonsi who left WVEC (13/ABC) three years ago? She left Channel 13 for a station in Seattle. Since June, she's been in the nation's 6th largest TV market - Boston - as a general assignment reporter for CBS O&O WBZ..... (11/6/02)

Beach 104 has a new owner...

Beach 104It became official today that NCRB has taken over ownership of all Ray-D-O-Biz radio stations. Located in NE North Carolina, the stations are Hot AC 'Beach 104' WCXL Kill Devil Hills, 'Water Country 94.5' WWOC Hatteras (both are 100kW blowtorches), country WQDK Ahoskie and full service 'NewsRadio 560' WGAI Elizabeth City. All three of the FMs, for the most part, are satellite fed - no live jocks. Bill Ray and wife Lisa are Ray-D-O-Biz. Eugene Loving heads NCRB, a subsidiary of MaxMedia. Before this transfer, NCRB had a 50% controlling interest in these stations - now it's 100%. Say "bye-bye" to the ridiculous "Carolina Virginia Morning Show' hosted by Bill Ray himself. The show's last day either was today or will be this Friday. Good-bye to the Ray Comm Sports Network too. What will the new owners do with these stations, if anything? Time will tell of course. In my personal opinion, WCXL is the most promising of the group. With the right format and marketing, they can continue as one of the market leaders in NE NC but also be a player in the Hampton Roads radio landscape too. WWOC's stick is in the middle of nowhere with almost half of its signal over the Atlantic Ocean. WQDK has its niche around Ahoskie and then there's WGAI. The Elizabeth City market (#249) has been rated three times now with GAI garnering a 0.6 each time - just plain lousy. Even out-of-market 'NewsRadio 790' WNIS did better in GAI's home turf..... (11/6/02)

CBS, NBC vie to control Thursdays...

The top 10 shows for the week of October 28 - November 3 were... (show, network, rating) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 17.3; "Friends," NBC, 15.6; "ER," NBC, 15.3; "Law & Order," NBC, 13.5; "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS, 12.7; "CSI: Miami," CBS, 12.2; "Scrubs," NBC, 11.4; "Law & Order: SVU," NBC, 10.9; "Monday Night Football: N.Y. Giants vs. Philadelphia," ABC, 10.9; "Will & Grace," NBC, 10.9.

For the week, CBS averaged 12.8 million viewers (8.4 rating, 14 share), NBC 12.4 million (8.3, 13), ABC 10.4 million (6.5, 11), Fox 9 million (5.5, 9), the WB 4.3 million (2.7, 4), UPN 4 million (2.5, 4) and Pax TV 1.4 million (0.9, 1).

The entire prime-time TV ratings list for the week can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle..... (11/6/02)

Election on Richmond TV...

Look for hourlong news specials devoted to national election coverage at 10 tonight on CBS (WTVR-Channel 6), ABC (WRIC-Channel 8), and NBC (WWBT-Channel 12). The local affiliates also will carry crawls at the bottom of the screen during primetime with election news. Channel 12 also will have live updates at 8 and 9PM, Channel 8 plans special announcements for winners in key races, Channel 6 also plans cut-ins. Election coverage will dominate the late-night newscasts as well. WCVE-Channel 23 and WCVE-Radio (88.9 FM) will simulcast a wrap-up of state election returns at 10PM. At 10:30, Channel 23's "Perspective" will feature an interview with Virginia's new speaker of the House, Del. William Howell..... (11/5/02)

New transmitter maps...

VARTV has updated some of it's transmitter maps with many thanks going out to Parris B Wood for putting them together. They're always accessable using the left navigation panel..... (11/5/02)

CVE meets membership drive goal...

WCVE (88.9 FM), Richmond's public radio station, finally met its $300,000 fall fund-raising goal - but it took three extra days. Well... not exactly. According to Sarah Bartenstein, director of communications for the Community Idea Stations (WCVE-TV 23, WCVE 88.9, WCVW-TV 57), the fall membership drive is normally 12 days. This year, the station was optimistically hoping to do it in nine days - too optimistically, as it turned out..... (11/4/02)

NBC acquires Bravo...

BravoRumored for weeks, NBC has come to terms with Cablevision to acquire Bravo, the film and arts cable network, for $1.25 billion. Bravo has a distribution of 68 million households. The addition of Bravo means NBC now has three national cable properties -- news channels MSNBC and CNBC, in addition to Bravo. NBC also has minority stakes in ValueVision, which it operates as Shop NBC, the A&E Network, and the History Channel. Bravo is its first cable entertainment outlet. NBC president Andrew Lack said the network plans to share programming and resources with Bravo. It gives NBC a platform for its NBC Studios and NBC Enterprises to develop crossover projects for both original scripted programming and reality shows. NBC could air some Bravo-developed projects and Bravo could be used for additional NBC sports programming. Bravo can also be used to air repurposed NBC primetime programming to try to reach a broader audience..... (11/4/02)

VA Sniper and Washington DC mic flag policy...

The following was emailed to me in response to a comment made about "mic flags." For the original comment made on VARTV, scroll down the page to the headline "Those DC Bullies..." (10/9/02)

I don't agree with the tone reportedly used at Fredricksburg, but it might be useful to give some history to the no-flag strategy around Washington to better understand the basis for it.

More than 20 years ago, in response to the congregation at bigger news events of local radio and Washington and Baltimore television stations, there was a voluntary cooperative agreement to forego mic flags in order to simply create more room on the mic stand. This was in the early days of when thoughtful TV crews began proffering a light stand to make a mic tree, and the move was seen as allowing more mics, goosenecks, and Rowi clamps on such trees before they'd topple over.

Before that, reporters and producers generally crowded a newsmaker with handheld mics, making it tougher not only to get the sound but also to get a decent video or film shot.

As a newsgatherer in the Washington, D.C. area for nearly 25 years, I'have been at "out of town" stakeouts and news conferences, most notably in Baltimore, where the no-mic flag agreement does not apply. It's not a pretty sight.

Hopefully the Fredricksburg encounter was intended to be a chance to make room for more folks on the stand, since the no-flag rule really helps everyone in a field situation. Most crews shoot tight, when you think about it, and so do the still photographers, so the chance to get free visibility for a station at such venues is really not very strong. Save the flag to promote your station in the field during one-on-ones, the liveshots, or for back in the studio when you've got a newsmaker guest interview...
(11/4/02)

Late kickoff for Sunday's playoff games...

NFLAfter the success of last years late start for Saturday NFL postseason games, the league will push back the times for Sunday games. Last years experiment generated a six percent increase in viewership. The league hopes the same magic will deliver on Sunday’s, the most watched day/night of television viewing. “Our belief is that the Sunday games will be available to more,” said Dennis Lewin, NFL senior vice president of broadcasting. “It’s great for networks and the league.”
NFL Playoff Schedule:
Saturday, Jan 4
NFL Wild-Card games at 4:30PM & 8PM (ABC)

Sunday, Jan 5
NFL Wild-Card games at 1PM & 4:30PM (FOX & CBS)

Saturday, Jan 11
NFL Divisional Playoffs at 4:30PM & 8PM (FOX & CBS)

Sunday, Jan 12
NFL Divisional Playoffs at 1PM & 4:30PM (FOX & CBS)

Sunday, Jan 19
NFC Conference Championship Game at 3PM (FOX)
AFC Conference Championship Game at 6:30PM (CBS)

Sunday. Jan 26
Super Bowl XXXVII at San Diego 6:15PM (ABC) ..... (11/4/02)
Gotta pay up...

Eure Family Limited Partnership sees its application for review of its $8,000 FCC fine for lack of red obstruction lighting on its tower for WXEZ-FM Yorktown (which it sold in October) denied. Eure had claimed that it leased space to Bullseye Broadcasting for oldies 'Surf 92.3' WSRV Deltaville and that Bullseye was supposed to monitor the tower lights..... (11/2/02)

New hosts for RVA's "Home Improvement Show"...

WRVASome changes have been made in the hosts of 'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA's Home Improvement Show. Starting tomorrow (11/2), the show will be hosted by Richard and Charles McKann, a pair of amusing local characters who also happen to be plumbing and electrical contractors. They replace the guys from Mr Handyman who have hosted the show since this past spring. The show is delivers two hours of tips and ideas for improving your home. It's heard every Saturday from 7AM to 9AM..... (11/1/02)

Moving...

Free Lance-Star's 'Classic Rock 96.9' WWUZ will be broadcasting from their brand new studios in Fredericksburg beginning this coming Monday. Right now they're still in a "cabin in the woods"..... (11/1/02)

Imaging re-launch of WOWI...

103JamzDaSho 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...

FCCFrom 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...

Lite Rock 107.5 & 103.5Great 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...

The Family ChannelLarry 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...

  • "The Bopst Show" an eclectic music show hosted by Chris Bopst is adding a second show to adult standards 'Unforgettable 1320' WVNZ. Starting tomorrow, it can be heard from 2-5PM every Thursday and 4-6PM every Friday...
  • "The John Boy and Billy Big Show" heard on classic hits '96-5 The Planet' WKLR ( and 96.7 WKJX NE NC) is among radio shows invited to participate in The White House's "Radio Day," being held today in Washington...
  • "Weakest Link," which airs at 10AM weekdays on Channel 6 WTVR (CBS) [and WSKY (4/IND) 6 & 6:30PM] will feature three Richmond contestants during November: Richmonder Carolyn Henderson on Monday, University of Richmond student Sarah Glick on Nov. 13, and Louis Dowdy of Petersburg on Nov. 7...
  • ABC's "Good Morning America" will broadcast live from Lexington on Veterans Day, November 11th. The broadcast is part of a special ABC project, "50 States-One Nation-One Year," exploring life in America today..... (10/30/02)

    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...

    Bridget deanAnd 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...

    The Coast96XSinclair 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...

    Russ CassidyAllAccess.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...

    WGNT-DTWAVY 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...

    Praise 105If 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 LandryNikki 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...

    Hot 102.1On 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...

    Russ Parr Morning Show w/ Olivia Fox
    Burgandi
    Spank-Luva
    Pezo Coconutz
    Herkules
    6AM-10AM
    10AM-3PM
    3PM-6PM
    6PM-10PM
    10PM-2AM

    (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...

    Breakfast FlakesCORRECTED: 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...
    Captured!

    A new #1 radio station in Richmond...

    K95Arbitron'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...

    FM99Saga'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...
      1. WNOR (FM99) & WOWI (103Jamz) with a 6.3
      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
    Top 10 25-54 all persons demo...
      1. WAFX... 9.0
      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
    Cluster totals... #1 Barnstable (23.1) [WWSO/WXEZ/WGH-F/ WGH-A/WCMS/WFOG-A], #2 Entercom (22.3) [WNVZ/WVKL/WWDE/WPTE], #3 Saga (13.6) [WNOR/WAFX/WJOI-A], #4 Clear Channel (13.0) [WOWI/WSVY/WJCD/WBHH] and #5 Sinclair (9.3) [WNIS-A/WROX/WKOC/WTAR-A]. The entire 12+ ratings can be found at radioandrecords.com or insideradio.com ..... (10/24/02)

    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...

    WOBR/WKJXEast 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...

    97-3 The EagleSeveral 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...

    WB33Sinclair 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...

    World SeriesAfter 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...

    CoxCox 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. FOX Sports WorldShowtime 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...

    Troy ShannonShannon 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 RadioCox 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...

    96XThe 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....
    Russ Parr Morning Show w/ Olivia Fox
    Talus Knight
    Terry Foxx
    Bad Boyz w/ Big Nat & DJ Foot
    Rosetta Divine
    6AM-10AM
    10AM-2PM
    2PM-6PM
    6PM-10PM
    10PM-2AM

    (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 ...

    93 WFLSArbitron'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...

    Tabitha LaRueWFLS 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...

    Janet RoachThe 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...

    KellyJoey ButlerAfternoon 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...

    News 6 NetworkRichmond'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...

    DJ BeeThere 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...
    • The Supreme Team 6AM-10AM
    • Chris Caliente 10AM-2PM
    • The Boodah Brothers (Big B & DJ Law) 2PM-6PM
    • DJ Bee 6PM-10PM
    • Big Dose 10PM-2AM                                             ..... (10/13/02)
    News...

    WFVAWFLS 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...

    Dee StevensBarnstable'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...

    iBiquityAs 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...

    93.9 WKYSAfter 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?

    Chip TarkentonApparently, 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...

    WWSOHas 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...

    Radio DisneyDisney 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???

    CoxIn 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...

    Tony SopranoIn 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 In The MorningElliot 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...

    Chris HopkinsUPDATED: 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...

    Karen MayOn 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...
    • Elliot In The Morning 5:45AM-10AM
    • PD Casey Krukowski 10AM-2PM
    • LeeAnn Curtis (VT-ed from DC101/The X is looking for local talent) 2PM-6PM
    • Music (the new night host will be announced soon) 6PM-10PM
    • Loveline 10PM-12M
    BT (Brandon Terry) is out but they are helping him find a new gig. BT told AllAccess.com, "Clear Channel is a world class organization, and they have treated me like an important member of the team, but sometimes you aren't a part of the vision and such is the case with 'New Rock 102.1 The X.'" BT will continue to help acting PD Casey Krukowski during the transition. Speaking of BT, he will continue to voicetrack nights on '98 Rock' WACL Harrisonburg and afternoons on '99.3 The Fox' WFQX Winchester for now..... (10/4/02)

    WUPV-DT files for another extension...

    UPN RichmondThe 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...

    Vibe 105.3If 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...
    • Tom Joyner Morning Show 6AM-10AM
    • Chaz Saunders 10AM-2/3PM
    • Double D 2/3PM-7PM
    • The Quiet Storm w/ Phil Nelson 7PM-12M
    • Oldies But Goodies w/ Bobby J 12M-4AM..... (10/4/02)

    Carlito Gee IS gone...

    Carlito GeeThe 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...

    WBYMHampton 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...

    97-3 The EagleDirector 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...

    Elliot In The MorningIt 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...

    ESPN Radio 1310Those 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?

    K95Lite 98Arbitron'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...

    Hot 102.1Arbitron'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 ...

    NBC12Frank 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.
    Eagle 97.3What'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...

    Julie WilcoxJude 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...

    NielsenWith 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...

    WHRO-DTWBOC-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...

    NetscapeI 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!

    Elliot SegalOh 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"...

    Over the past week or so Clear Channel's hip-hop '92.1 The Beat' WBHH, can be heard with a lot of static in its audio. Last night, it sounds like sister Urban AC 'Vibe 105.3' WSVY caught the same bug. One reader of VARTV said last night of WSVY "Vibe 105.3 is experiencing HARSH technical problems... their music sounds very screwed up... it has this noise in it." I guess Bobby J's 'Oldies but Goodies' show wasn't coming in too well last night. No word what's going on at 1003 Norfolk Square..... (09/23/02)

    "Technical Difficulties" Part II...

    Speaking of station problems, Ronn Cowans' Hot Talker '1450 The Buzz' WBVA which features Lex & Terry in the mornings and Don & Mike live in the afternoons has been off the air all morning today. Late last week in the morning they were also off the air but apparently came on a little later in the day. Over on sister station '1550 CNN Radio' WVAB, a 'dot' - 'dot dot' - 'dot dot dot' was embedded in the audio signal. Also during commercial breaks, it was only dead-air heard..... (09/23/02)

    freelancestar.com gets made-over...

    Free Lance-Star Publishing's online presence at freelancestar.com just recently received a sutle but improved makeover to their website. Interesting to note, that a sister site - fredericksburg.com has not been redesigned. Free Lance-Star also owns four radio stations - country '93 WFLS', 'Classic Rock 96.9' WWUZ and alternative '99-3 WYSK'/WYSK-AM..... (09/22/02)

    A new VARTV maps...

    The transmitter maps for the Virginia portion of the Eastern Shore, Elizabeth City/Ahoskie and Currituck/Manteo are now available for you viewing pleasure. Many thanks to Parris B Wood for putting them together..... (09/21/02)

    Richmond's Beat announces new on-air line-up...

    106-5 The BeatClear Channel's '106-5 The Beat' WBTJ has an all new all-star line up starting this Monday September 23rd. The big addition is Zxulu from Radio One's 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX will now be heard on The Beat. Zxulu joins other defectors from WCDX - Mike Street and Aaron Maxwell who used to be Power's PD. Here's the new starting Monday...
  • Doug Banks In The Morning 6AM-10AM
  • Sir RJ (Live for now) 10AM-2PM
  • Mike Street (Live) 2PM-6PM
  • Zxulu (Live) 6PM-10PM
  • 106 After Hours w/ Theo (VT from LA) 10PM-2AM
  • Carline (voice-tracked) 2AM-6AM
  • (09/20/02)

    NASCAR programming is HOT in Richmond...

    NASCARThe NBC network would like you to know that Richmond viewership of Sunday's pre-NASCAR race show left "tire marks" all over the national NFL pregame shows on WTVR (6/CBS) and 'FOX Richmond' (WRLH/35). The New Hampshire Winston Cup warm-up did a 5.7 Richmond rating on WWBT (12), hammering "Fox NFL Today" on Channel 35 which did a 4.5 (27% less viewers) and CBS "The NFL Today" on Channel 3 which garnered a 3.4 (68% less viewers). For the race itself, the Richmond market did a 7.6 rating (13 share), which tied for third nationally with Nashville TN - behind Greensboro NC [(10.1/18) - traditionally the #1 NASCAR market in viewership] and Charlotte NC (7.9/13)..... (09/20/02)

    Position at WTVZ filled...

    WB33Kat Brumback has been named marketing & research director at Sinclair Broadcasting's 'WB33' WTVZ in Norfolk. She was pormoted from account executive. Before joining Channel 33, Brumback was an account executive at Viacom's O&O 'UPN27' WGNT..... (09/20/02)

    As expected "Dr Phil" is doing quite well...

    Dr Phil ShowAfter two days, the new syndicated "Dr. Phil" show is reportedly doing well in the metered markets around the country. In Richmond, on WWBT (12/NBC) at 3PM, Dr Phil did a 7.9 rating on Monday and a 6.9 on Tuesday easily winning the time period against network Soaps on both WRIC (8/ABC) ABC and WTVR (6/CBS). Phil's "lead-out" appears to benefit too. NBC12's new 4pm newscast 'First News @ 4' did an 8.3 and a 5.8 and to win the time period both days. The "news" gets even much better for Channel 12 at 5, 5:30PM and 6PM. Dr Phil's numbers for Washington, shown on 'NBC4' WRC, are on DCRTV. His show is also seen in Hampton Roads on WVEC (13/ABC) at a much earlier time of 10AM. Below is a market sampling for Richmond on Monday 9/16...

    (09/19/02)

    Fredericksburg Summer Book Phase II...

    93 WFLSArbitron's Summer Phase II trends (June/July/August) for Fredericksburg were released earlier today. Much remained the same. The "locals" continue to rise with Telemedia's 'Rockin Oldies' WGRQ and 'country 'Thunder 104.5' WGRX placing 4th and 5th respectively. Second is Hot AC 'B-101.5' and Infinity's talker JFK slides all the way down to 12th! Free Lance-Star's recently converted to alternative '99-3 WYSK' continues to climb. For the most complete and detailed 12+ rankings anywhere (Yes, better than R&R's), click here..... (09/18/02)

    UPN finally unveils their new website...

    UPN27Viacom's UPN "arm" recently unveiled their new network website at upn.com. It's much more 'jazzier' than their previous one. On a side note, UPN O&O WGNT just a couple of weeks ago, too, redesigned their logo. But it has been redone again to now incorporate "DT" (for their digital TV station WGNT-DT) in the logo..... (09/18/02)

    Speaking of new websites...

    New active rocker '102.1 The X' WRXL 's website has gone live but as of this writing none of the links were active within the site. The new website can be found at 1021thex.com..... (09/18/02)

    Cox woes...

    From late afternoon to about 9:30PM last night accessing VARTV was to say the least - non-existent. This was a Cox issue where all of VARTV's webpages reside. It was frustrating when the emails and IM's started coming in. People wanted their VARTV fix and couldn't get it and I'm sorry for that. Hopefully, everything is "fixed". I'm not sure what happened yesterday except for all of "Cox.net" was out in the area..... (09/18/02)

    Primetime TV ratings...

    Monday Night Football on ABC grabs 1st & 2nd places in last week's TV ratings. CBS grabs the next six spots after that. HBO drew the largest audience in its 30-year history for Sunday night's season premiere of "The Sopranos," a turnout that sent tremors through the television world. The episode drew an estimated 13.4 million viewers, and was believed to be the first time an HBO telecast drew a larger audience than any of the broadcast networks at the same time. HBO, as a pay cable service, is available in about one-third of the nation's homes with televisions. Click on the following link for the complete prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of September 9 to September 15, 2002 courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle..... (09/17/02)

    New Arbitron population estimates...

    ArbitronArbitron recently released new market population estimates that will be used for the Fall 2002 thru Summer 2003 Books (surveys). The bad news continues for Hampton Roads. They slip two notches to #40 with a new estimated population of 1,266,200 up an anemic 0.13%. Ouch! The black "break-out" increased 0.1% to 31.5% of the total population. In Richmond, the market will remain at #56 with an increase of 1.5% to 863,000 people. The black population dropped 0.1% to 29.8% of all people. In Fredericksburg, they will slip a notch to #166 with an increase of 1.5% to 231,100 folks. The black population drops 0.5% to 15.4% of all residents. Down in the Elizabeth City-Nags Head market, bad news - they will slip four spots to #247 with a decrease of 0.2% to 121,900. In other area markets, Greenville-New Bern stays at #84 (-0.06%), Roanoke-Lynchburg will remain at #110, Winchester down one to #225, Harrisonburg will stay at #263, DC will remain at #8 (+1.7%) and Baltimore up one to #19 (+1.3%). To stir up things for the DCRTV folks, if there was ever a "BalWash," that market would place at #4 - behind New York, LA and Chicago. Wow! The complete list of new estimates can be found at arbitron.com..... (09/17/02)

    An opening at the Barnstable cluster...

    All Access is reporting that PD Jack Prater is looking for a night board-op/announcer/swing talent. "The ideal candidate will have 2-3 years of on air experience already under their belt...rush T&R's to: Michelle Kelsey 5589 Greenwich Rd #200, Virginia Beach VA 23462." The cluster includes heritage country WCMS-F, new country 'Eagle 97.3' WGH-F, 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO, all-sports 'ESPN Radio 1310' WGH-A and nostalgic 'AM 1050 The Fog' WFOG..... (09/17/02)

    ABC closes on WHKT/WPMH...

    ABC closes on its $1,075,000 purchase of WHKT-AM 1650 and 'Christian Talk Radio' WPMH-AM 1010, both licensed to Portsmouth. WHKT had already been airing Radio Disney programming in an LMA, and now WHKT becomes an O&O. Its sibling is WPMH, which ABC is LMA-ing back to Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting. That’s the Epperson family, and it will continue doing religious programming on 1010 until the license for the 1010 “sunsets” and goes off the air (in five years). By the way, Hampton Roads is one of the nation's most successful markets, if you want to call it that, for the Radio Disney format..... (09/17/02)

    Z104 fills morning show opening...

    Z104JJ KincaidEntercom's rhythmic 'Z104' WNVZ has filled their opening in what some call the 'Z Boring Zoo'. JJ Kincaid now heard in the afternoons on Clear Channel's CHR '96-1 KISS-FM' WKST in Pittsburgh, will join the Tricia and Shaggy starting October 1st. Troy Shannon who led the 'Zoo' was fired last month over an incident at The Beachouse in Virginia Beach. That still leaves an opening for middays since Michael Byran left for a sister station in New Orleans. And even more Z news, there's a rumor that midday fill-in guy Zack Daniels (usually late nights) was seen on Basie Rd in Richmond maybe to fill the vacancy in the afternoons on 'Q-94' WRVQ since Billy Surf shifted to mornings??? (09/16/02)

    Congrats to Ted Hand...

    SBETed D Hand CPBE who is the Director of Engineering over at New York Times owned WTKR (3/CBS) was recently elected to the national Board of Directors of the Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE). The newly elected officers and directors including Ted will be inducted on Thursday, October 17th during the SBE Annual Membership Meeting in Phoenix AZ. The SBE is an individual membership professional organization with more than 5,300 members working at broadcast stations, post production, corporate and other related facilities. Members are active in the United States and more than 30 other countries. SBE is widely recognized in the broadcast industry for its certification, education and frequency coordination programs. More than 4,700 industry engineers and technicians are currently certified by SBE. Wow. Congratulations again Ted..... (09/16/02)

    Richmond International Raceway TV ratings...

    TNT should be downright giddy with its two-night stand at the RIR (Richmond International Raceway) - and is. Last Saturday's Winston Cup 400 did a 4.2 cable rating (about 3.6 million households), which was a 20% improvement over last year. Friday's Busch Series race soared 47 percent to 2.2..... (09/16/02)

    Renegades games — 9/14 — For the second consecutive season, the Richmond Renegades ECHL hockey games will be on Petersburg's 'Cat Country 100.3' WARV for all regular-season and playoff games. The further north you are in Richmond, make sure you aim your radio antennas south.....

    102.1 The X Ch-ch-changes at WRXL — 9/13 — Hello "102.1 The X"... We heard this morning that CC's rocker WRXL is now sounding closer to Cox's 'Y101' WDYL or better yet Hampton Roads' active rocker 'FM99' WNOR. The jocks are off the air. This morning they played "This is the End" by the Doors. After the song was over an announcement came on saying that 'XL102' was dead at which time "In the End" by the Beatles came on. After that song, was an announcement saying that "in the end, something great rises from the ashes of the dead" - a 60-second countdown ensued and at the end "New Rock - 102.1 The X" was born. "We found that the rock market was flat and that there was an opportunity to capture a market not yet tapped," said PD John Lassman for the shift. The X's new website 1021thex.com is up and running but under construction. It's strongly rumored that Elliot Segal of 'DC101' WWDC will be heard weekday mornings starting September 23rd at 6AM.....

    Redskins Where are the Skins games? — 9/12 — There was some confusion last Sunday in Richmond when a lot of people tuned in to CC’s ‘NewsRadio 1140’ WRVA and didn't find them there. They used to carry the Skins games. No luck on either on sister station ‘SportsTalk 910’ WRNL. The game was on but no Sonny, Sam and Frank. Radio One’s urban oldies outlet ‘Magic 105.7’ WJMO snagged the rights to the games. CC’s Randall Bloomquist said "I got a couple of e-mails from people who thought Sonny, Sam and Frank had been fired." Over at WRNL, they were carrying Westwood One's early game, which just happened to be the Arizona-Washington contest. Dave Sims and Dock Walker called the game for Westwood One. The station has not sold all of its local commercial spots but management remains optimistic. Some potential advertisers have been on the cautious side but the station believes once people realize the games have moved to WJMO they'll gain momentum based on ratings and revenue. By the way, the Skins games in Hampton Roads are on Peninsula based stations 'Classic Hit Country AM 1490 The Gold Mine' WBYM. and AC 'Xtra 99.1' WXGM.....

    FM99's "Living Flag" — 9/11 — A huge success at the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater this morning. It started at 5AM and was complete at 8:46AM. Here's the photo courtesy Genevieve Ross / The Virginian-Pilot.....

    WGNT-DT off-the-air — 9/11 — Viacom's UPN O&O WGNT-DT will be off the air until they find the cause of some RF system problems that have occurred. They could be down for several days. No "Enterprise" in SDTV tonight. Speaking of digital TV, Sinclair Broadcasting's WTVZ-DT (WB) has been off the air and no one knows why.....

    Primetime TV ratings — 9/10 — FOX's "American Idol" grabs 1st (Wednesday) & 2nd (Tuesday) place in last week's TV ratings race as expected. CBS grabs the next four spots with three showings of "CSI" (3rd, 4th & 6th places) and "Everybody Loves Raymond" taking 5th. Click on the following link for the complete prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of September 2 to September 8, 2002.....

    Radio responds to September 11th — 9/10 — 96XOver at CC's 'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA,' Jimmy Barret will be LIVE from New York for morning and afternoon show - Allen Price will be live from the Pentagon along with reporter Matt Demlein. Price will just be doing drops and interview segments from the Nation's capitol. At 8:44AM on Wednesday, September 11, 2002 Clear Channel radio stations throughout the US will air a special, two-minute audio montage honoring the victims and heroes of last year's attacks. At 8:46AM, the stations will pause for silence then broadcast a message from the President... Over at Sinclair Telecable's alternative '96X' WROX, firefighters, police officers, rescue and military personnel will be guest DJs tomorrow after Mancow from 10AM to 10PM. Owner Bob Sinclair says he came up with the idea to thank the community by observing 9/11 with a protectors appreciation day.....

    Bubba coming to XL102 won't go away... — 9/10 — ... and 'XL102' added fuel to the fire yesterday by mentioning the name "Bubba." (Ambulancechaser: I liked how the comment was worded ... and as far as an 'industry source?'... now that's pushing it a little. Since I live in Virginia Beach, reading the posts gives me some insight into Richmond Radio. I enjoy reading it! I'll give credit where credit is due and I thank you for bringing it to my attention first.) VARTV hears that it's really going to be Elliot Segal doing the station's morning show come 9/23. In fact, XL is planning a whole format flip scare come Friday the 13th and will even go jockless. But it'll be Elliot from CC's DC101 doing syndicated mornings and (some sort of) rock music the rest of the day when the dust settles. The fun begins 6AM Friday morning.....

    WTKR WTKR-TV gets a complete make-over — 9/9 — New York Times owned WTKR (3/CBS) announces today a new logo and graphic look, including new news opens, theme music, ids and banner/web graphics. This is first logo change since 1995. The new on-air look starts at 12:30 this afternoon with the CBS soup "Young And The Restless". The 'big and noticable' changes come at 5PM. Tune to Channel 3 for the new look and to wtkr.com for the new look online.....

    Speaking of make-overs... — 9/9 — Entercom's Modern AC '94.9 The Point' WPTE has completely revamped their website. At pointradio.com, it's a big-time improvement over the old site.....

    Sorting out Richmond TV changes — 9/9 — Well Fall is fastly approaching with its new programming. With this new programming its out with the 'old' and in with the 'new'. Here's a brief break down happening at each station...
  • WTVRChannel 6 (WTVR/CBS) - This fall, Channel 6 is concentrating on game shows by adding the newly syndicated "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," featuring "The View's" Meredith Vieira as host, at 7:30 weeknights, and "$100,000 Pyramid," featuring Donny Osmond as host, at 10 a.m. weekdays. Both shows premiere in Richmond on September 16th. Also new to Channel 6, but not to Richmond, is "Soul Train" [formerly on WRIC (8/ABC)], which will air at 11:30 Saturdays beginning September 21st. Other changes include "Judge Joe Brown," now airing at 7PM as well as 9AM, which moves "The Weakest Link" to 10:30AM...

  • WRICChannel 8 (WRIC/ABC) - "The Oprah Winfrey Show" is back on 8 when it first debuted in 1986. Her talk show now airs at 5PM weekdays on WRIC. Newcomers include "Celebrity Justice," based on a segment from the "Extra" series, at 1:05AM weeknights, and "Hollywood Squares," initially at 1:35AM weeknights. "Hollywood Squares" will move to 2:35AM once Channel 8 starts airing back-to-back episodes of "Dharma & Greg" at 1:35AM. Last but not least: Although "The View" doesn't fall under the heading of syndication (it's an ABC series), its fans will want to know that, finally, Channel 8 will air the daytime show during the daytime - 11AM weekdays. "Jerry Springer" moves to 10AM...

  • WWBTChannel 12 (WWBT/NBC) - Not too much happening here. Syndicated newcomer "Dr. Phil," an hourlong weekday series from Dr Phil McGraw, a therapist known for his no-nonsense advice on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" joins WWBT's schedule at 3PM weekdays beginning September 16th. Earlier this summer, Channel 12 added a 4PM newscast, followed by "Inside Edition" at 4:30PM...

  • WCVE/CVWChannel 23/57 (WCVE-WCVW/PBS) - After 11 years on the same night, WCVE-TV's award-winning "Virginia Currents" moved. The newsmagazine now airs at 8PM Thursdays instead of 9PM Fridays - and it's a move driven by ratings. Between July 2001 and July 2002, Channel 23 lost 45 percent of its audience on Friday nights. At 8:30PM, "Ethically Speaking," a new Idea Stations-produced series has also premiered. Moving to Fridays are the BBC version of "Antiques Roadshow" at 9PM and "Bargain Hunt," another British import, at 9:30PM...

  • FOX RichmondChannel 35 (WRLH/FOX) - FOX Richmond has three hourlong syndicated newcomers. "The Caroline Rhea Show," now airing at 10AM weekdays, features the comedian and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" regular in her own talk show. "John Walsh," premiered today at 11AM, is an issue-oriented talk show from the host of "America's Most Wanted." "Life Moments," premiering at later today at 2PM, features real-life women in inspirational, life-changing stories...

  • UPN RichmondChannel 65 (WUPV/UPN) - UPN Richmond has snagged the syndie rights to NBC's popular "Will & Grace," starting September 23 at 11 and 11:30PM weeknights. Channel 65 has also acquired the 'King of Queens' for 2003 and 'Friends' for 2004." Also, beginning September 16th, "The Hughleys" will air at 7PM weeknights...
  • New syndies at 10AM in Hampton Roads — 9/9 — Starting next Monday September 16th, WTKR (3/CBS) will air the new "Pyramid" with Donnie Osmond as host at 10AM followed by Meredith Vieira's (of The View) half-hour "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" at 10:30. Those two shows will go up against Maury on WAVY (10/NBC) and the much highly anticipated "Dr Phil" show on Channel 13 (WVEC/ABC).....

    Richmond's September 11th TV coverage — 9/9 — Douglas Durden of the Richmond Times-Dispatch examines all of the September 11th tradegy anniversery TV specials on the Richmond airwaves. The whole article is at timesdispatch.com.....

    Former WRVA employees doing well... thank you — 9/9 — Bob Rayner of the Richmond Times-Dispatch writes about the people who had made 'NewsRadio 1140' a Richmond institution took a hike. The exodus included on-air folks and behind-the-scenes business types. A group of the station's key players with decades of local radio experience decided to get together and see if all that media and marketing expertise might lend itself to a little money-making. So they started an advertising agency. After 16 months in business, Free Agents is exceeding even its energetic founders' opti mistic expectations. Read the entire article online at timesdispatch.com.....

    No Virginia Union games on 4M Communications — 9/9 — Apparently someone within the company thought the Virginia Union football games were going to broadcasted on one of their stations this fall. This turned out to be NOT true.....

    Hampton Roads' September 11th tradegy news coverage — 9/9 — Hampton Roads TV news will have extensive coverage of the September 11th anniversary and it started last night. Both WAVY (10/NBC) and WTKR (3/CBS) began four days of coverage from both New York and The Pentagon. Channel 3 also had a report from Shanksville PA. For Channel 10, they sent Les Smith to New York and Andy Fox to the Pentagon to start broadcasting tomorrow. WAVY will do a September 11th special Tuesday night at 8PM with Les Smith. Buy his side, will be sister station WVBT's (43/FOX) Nicole Livas and Andy Fox. Over at WVEC (13/ABC) starting tomorrow, David Alan and Doug Aronson will be in New York starting their broadcast at 5PM with Regina Mobley and Janet Roach will be at the Pentagon and the White House. At Channel 3, Antwan Lewis will be reporting from Shanksville PA, Bob Matthews from New York and Mike Mather will be at the Pentagon. Larry Bonko of The Virginian-Pilot says the primary focus for all of the stations is to "dig out" local stories connected to the tragedy. On the radio side, don't forget that rocker 'FM99' WNOR has arranged for a 'living flag' tribute at the Amphitheater in Virginia Beach on Wednesday. Forming of the flag will start at 5AM and finish at 8:46 - when the first hijacked aircraft stuck the World Trade Center.....

    Changes at UPN65 ...er, UPN Richmond — 9/7 — WUPVThe biggest news for WUPV may be that its new analog transmitter is up and running as of yesterday - plus the addition of a new on-air look and reimaging as "UPN Richmond" (just like WRLH's "FOX Richmond" - channel 35). "Although we did not receive a power upgrade from the FCC, by investing in a new transmitter we will double the strength of our existing signal," said GM Gerald Walsh, promising that people who previously had trouble receiving the WUPV signal should no longer have a problem. This all coincides with Channel 65's new syndies it has also acquired. Starting Sept 23, NBC's popular "Will & Grace" arrives in a syndicated version at 11 and 11:30 p.m. weeknights on 65. "The addition of 'Will & Grace' to our lineup adds the A-level quality programming that we feel will bring Must See TV to the station every night," said Walsh. 'Will & Grace' fits in perfectly with our acquisition of 'King of Queens' for 2003 and 'Friends' for 2004." Also, beginning Sept 16, "The Hughleys" will air at 7PM weeknights. WUPV's new website - upnrichmond.com is now up and running.....

    New FOX branding launches with NFL — 9/6 — As the St Louis Rams and Denver Broncos fight it out on the football field Sunday during the first FOX-televised NFL game of the season, the network will launch its own battle plan for the 2002-03 season with the unveiling of a new overall branding campaign and on-air graphics. FOX's new look marks the first major overhaul of the network's on-air image in three seasons. This comes on the heels of Viacom's UPN network sporting it's newly redesigned network logo.....

    WRLH-DT files for another extension — 9/6 — The owners of WRLH-DT (FOX), Sinclair Broadcast Group, call this filing "an abundance of caution." As with WTVR-DT, this filing is just to cover their a@@ if there are any significant delays. WRLH-DT's main concern now is to sign a lease with SpectraSite within the next week to utilize the facilities. At that time, WRLH will work to relocate the WRLH-DT transmitting antenna to the new tower and install its new DTV transmitter. Again, if there are no delays, WRLH-DT should be on-the-air by November 1st.....

    WRIC-DT files for another extension — 9/6 — The owners of WRIC-DT (ABC), Young 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. They're now projecting the project to be finished by October 8th. If there are no delays, WRIC-DT should be on-the-air by November 1st.....

    WTVR-DT files for another extension — 9/6 — The owners of WTVR-DT (CBS), Elcom (a wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Raycom Media Inc), call this filing "an abundance of caution." They have a pending modification request to the CP with the FCC. Elcom is concerned that if the FCC doesn't react on that pending modification in time, they will be unable to sign-on by November 1, 2002. So just to cover their a@@, they're filing for this 6-month extension. The first extension was for six months from the original May 1, 2002 deadline. Elcom states that if the modification is granted in time, they will withdrawal this new extension request. Since Elcom’s last request for an extension, independent contractor SpectraSite Broadcast Group has nearly completed construction of a new community tower and accompanying building, and installation of WTVR-DT’s digital facilities is substantially underway. If the FCC acts soon, WTVR-DT should be on-the-air by November 1st....

    More CBS sports broadcasts in HD — 9/5 — It has just been announced that two NCAA basketball match-ups will be broadcasted in High-Def on CBS. Saturday December 14th's game between Florida and Maryland and the following Saturday UCLA vs Kansas. By then Richmond's WTVR-DT should be on-the-air. Hampton Roads and NoVA residents already receive a HD CBS signal.....

    Jeff Wicker exits — 9/5 — UPDATED: Jeff Wicker of the 'Wicker In The Morning' show has left CHR 'Q94' WRVQ after six years. PD Billy Surf will replace Wicker with... himself. Yep! Still in mornings with Surf are co-hosts Betty Bodine, Melissa Chase, and Skip Sher. No word yet why Wicker left and to where he's going. He has disappeared from the wrvq94.com website which by the way has been made-over. The new morning show is now called "Q94 In The Morning." With Surf shifting to mornings, it leaves an opening in the afternoon slot for a jock.....

    AT&T gives broadband a speed boost... — 9/5 — AT&T Broadband...for a price. AT&T Broadband this week began offering a high-speed Internet service in Richmond that doubles its current standard in download speed and price. This service called "The UltraLink" costs $79.99/month, $82.99/month for those who lease a cable modem from the company. The new option includes a maximum download speed of 3 Mbps, with an upload speed of 384 Kbps. AT&T Broadband's current standard is 1.5 Mbps for downloads and 256 Kbps for uploads. That costs $42.95/month, or $45.95/month for users who lease modems. The broadband industry has been moving toward offering tiered services for some time, hoping to increase the customer base by providing more choices at different speeds and prices. For AT&T Broadband, this is the first extra tier offered in the Richmond market, which includes the city and several surrounding counties. Comcast which offers high-speed Net service in Chesterfield County, hasn't yet begun offering additional service tiers. The company does offer a business-grade service for $95/month, which has a 3 megabit-per-second download speed. AT&T said it will offer lower speed and price tiers this year; details on price, speed and timing are unknown right now.....

    WTKR-DT WTKR-DT knocked off-the-air — 9/5 — WTKR-DT got knocked off-the-air during the storm last night and didn't come back up. They lost a low-voltage power supply and some other minor items. The repairs will be completed before the US Open Tennis coverage and NCAA football this weekend. By the way, WTKR-DT's Closed Captioning was nowhere to be found recently. Apparently there was a bad cable but has been repaired. All digital channels are required to provide CC text.....

    Primetime TV ratings — 9/5 — FOX's "American Idol" grabs 1st place (Wednesday) and 5th place (Tuesday show). Next week, the show will more than likely grab spots 1 and 2 with Kelly Clarkson being chosen as the "American Idol" on Wednesday's (9/4) show by a margin of 58% to 42% over Justin Guarini. Anyways, 2nd was CBS' "Everybody Loves Raymond", 3rd "CSI" and 4th NBC's "Law & Order". Click on the following link for the complete prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of August 26 to September 1, 2002.....

    XL expected to add Elliot in the morning — 9/5 — XL102Once technical issues are ironed out, look for rocker 'XL102' WRXL to simulcast Elliot in the Morning from CC co-owned 'DC101' WWDC in Washington. Programmers at both stations won’t comment on plans to extend coverage of DC’s leading 18-34 male morning show to Richmond. "I'm the guy who replaced The Greaseman," Elliot Segal told FMQB. "So now, if I’m able to replace Dee Snider, it would take my career up another notch." Clear Channel appears to be taking a cautious approach to syndicating Segal, who arrived in Washington from 'Z100' WHTZ's Z Morning Zoo three years ago, preferring to first exploit his show in a smaller regional market before testing his syndication appeal in a larger city.....

    The Beat adds "Quiet Storm" — 9/3 — Theo106 After HoursClear Channel's urban '106-5 The Beat' WBTJ has started "106 After Hours" with Theo, a cyberjock out of LA, a couple of weeks ago. This program is similiar to the "Quiet Strom." Theo originates from CC's urban/urban AC 'Hot 92 Jamz' KHHT. VARTV hears that he gets high ratings there because he's been in the market for a long time. He's also voicetracked to new urban 'Power 105-1' WWPR in NYC. You can hear "106 After Hours" Sunday thru Thursday nights 10PM-2AM on 'The Beat'.....

    Channel 20 & 27's new logos — 9/3 — UPN20UPN27Viacom's UPN O&O 'UPN27' WGNT and Washington's 'UPN20' WDCA are sporting a new logos. UPN announced last spring that they would have a new network logo but have been slow in unveiling it. At upn.com, it still has a mixture of the old and new logos throughout its website. Richmond's 'UPN65' WUPV is just using the new UPN logo (NOTE: For some reason their website is down.) The other UPN affiliate in Virginia - Roanoke - is already using the redesigned graphic.....

    Broadband dilemma — 9/1 — McGregor McCance of the Richmond Times-Dispatch contemplates the need for speed. The need just isn't there like it use be. Read it at timesdispatch.com.....

    DirecTV puttin' the squeeze on — 9/1 — DirecTV started to offer locals (OTA - over the air) to its Hampton Roads area last Wednesday with a lot of anticipation from subscribers and non-subscribers. Many folks subscribe to DirecTV's service and have cable's "lifeline" service for their local channels. With DirecTV offering "locals", one could drop the lifeline service from cable, subscribe to the "locals" package (eight channels) and get a much better picture and convenience. Well VARTV hears its not quite working out that way. We hear that DirecTV is "squeezing the hell" out of the channels to maximize bandwidth and picture quality is suffering. One subscriber wrote in a forum that he's going to drop the "locals" package from DirecTV and go back to the "lifeline" service he had with his cable company. This is not good news for DirecTV but good for cable companies like Cox who can retain a potential customer for more services. Here's another draw back. If you have more than one service (TV, Internet, telephone) through cable like Cox, they offer a customer a discount for having multiple services through them. For example, if you subscribe to Cox's "lifeline" service, have their Cox High Speed Internet and drop the cable TV your Internet access rate would increase $10 a month. Something to consider.....

    WWBT Channel 12 still the news leader — 9/1 — NBC affiliate 'News 12' WWBT continues to be the news leader in the Capital city. With the exception of the noon newscast, Channel 12 was tops in every hour that they broadcasted a newscast.

    Some notables: At 10PM, 'FOX News at Ten' which WWBT produces receivced a 6 rating/9 share. At 4PM, it continues to be very competative. A recent early overnight numbers (8/29), WWBT's brand new 'First News @ 4' garnered a 4.6; good for second place for that half-hour. Montel on Channel 6 was tops with a 4.8 and not too far behind was Maury Povich at a 4.3 on Channel 8.....

    Tommy & Rumble to mark September 11th anniversary with “Living Flag” — 8/29 — A press release from Saga Communications heard first here on VARTV...
    In 1991, thousands of members of our community left their families and friends to proudly serve their country in the Gulf War. To show support for those brave men and women, FM99 invited our listeners to gather at Mt. Trashmore and form a “Living Flag”. The brainchild of morning man Tommy Griffiths, the “Living Flag” drew thousands and galvanized the community. It remains one of the most memorable events in which the station has ever been involved. Recently, FM99 conducted a massive web poll to determine the best way to acknowledge the anniversary of 9/11. The single most popular suggestion was to recreate the “Living Flag” — and that’s exactly what we’re going to do! The event will take place Wednesday morning, September 11, 2002 at the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater. (Mt. Trashmore is unavailable due to recapping.) The amphitheater parking lot will open at 5am, and listeners are urged to arrive as early as possible. Plans are to have everyone in place by 8:46am. We’ll observe a moment of silence followed by the Pledge Of Allegiance and a performance by FM99’s renowned singer Chrystall Laurie. Members of the armed forces, police, firefighters, and emergency services will all be on hand. Overhead photos will be taken, and a poster will be created to commemorate the event.
    New classified — 8/29 — A new "help wanted" ad was placed today. Click on "Classified Ads" on the navigation panel to the left.....

    Hampton Roads Summer Book Phase I — 8/29 — 2WDArbitron's Summer Phase 1 trends for Hampton Roads were released yesterday. Entercom's AC '2WD' WWDE holds a razor-thin lead over CC's urban '103 Jamz' WOWI... 7.0 vs 6.9. Urban AC '95-7 R&B' WVKL continues to rise but slips to 3rd with a bigger increase coming from WOWI. The feeling over at the Barnstable HQ must be mixed. Heritage country WCMS, contemporary inspirational 'Star 94.1' WXEZ and new country 'Eagle 97.3' WGH-F all saw good increases. But on the flipside, 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO continues its slide downward. One of the problems... JOCKS! They only have two... yes TWO and they're not suited for the oldies format. The rest of the time, it's the computer playing music. There's no 'fun' coming out of the 92.9 frequency. Other notables... Entercom's rhythmic 'Z-104' WNVZ continues to slowly slide. They have an urbanish playlist and all white jocks. Problem? I think so. These jocks with maybe the exception of Mike Klein at night can't even relate to their targeted audience. One night, I heard Mike Klein state he was going to play a "hot new joint" and I almost died of laughter. It's just not natural. If CC would pull the plug on hip-hop '92.1 The Beat' WBHH (which is only there for 'Hot 102.1' WWHV to toy with) and flip it to a rhythmic CHR or something a la Hot 99-5 WIHT in DC watch out "Z". It could be a battle. It looks like so far that Barnstable’s flip of WFOG-A (AM 1050 The Fog) to adult standards has had no effect on Saga's adult standards formatted WJOI-A - "Hampton Roads' Joy". 'Hot 102.1' , what's the problem? Signal or lack of? Just an overcrowded urban formatted market? Jocks? It's not the music - it sounds great! WWHV holds steady at a 1.0. For the most complete and detailed 12+ rankings anywhere (Yes, better than R&R's), click here.....

    New classified — 8/30 — A new "help wanted" ad was placed today for a position at Channel 3 in Hampton Roads. Click on "Classified Ads" on the navigation panel to the left.....

    Richmond starts 'Amber' alert — 8/29 — Amber AlertTwenty area police agencies are banding together with local radio stations to put out alerts starting today in confirmed abduction cases. The alerts will include suspect and child descriptions, certain specifics of the case and the phone hotline numbers. The joint effort comes at a time of heightened national attention on child abductions and just a couple weeks after the announcement that three Spotsylvania girls died in 1996 and 1997 at the hands of Richard Marc Evonitz. AMBER stands for "America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response." Companies representing more than 30 area radio stations are participating. Joining them are law-enforcement agencies as far north and south as Caroline and Dinwiddie counties and as far east and west as New Kent and Goochland counties.....

    Richmond Summer Book Phase I — 8/28 — Lite 98Arbitron's Summer Phase 1 trends for Richmond were released earlier today. Thanks in part to large leads during the morning and afternoon drive times, CC's AC 'Lite 98' WTVR easily placed No. 1 again with Cox's country 'K-95' WKHK shooting up to 2nd place with a 9.8 rating. The top three stations in the key morning and afternoon drive times mirrored the overall ratings: WTVR, WKHK and WCDX in the first, second and third spots, respectively. WCVE-FM (88.9 FM), a noncommercial station that isn't included in the report released to commercial stations, garnered a 6.0 share. For the most complete and detailed 12+ rankings anywhere (Yes, better than R&R's), click here.....

    Segal to be heard in Richmond? — 8/28 — VARTV hears from several sources that Clear Channel's Elliot Segal based on DC rocker 'DC-101' WWDC will be filling the morning airwaves on 'XL-102' WRXL in the weeks to come. Dee Snider's last day was last Friday. CC did not renew his contract. His now former station WMRQ is filling their mornings with WTXB's (Tampa Bay FL) shock-jock Bubba The Love Sponge. WRXL was looking for something 'softer' for their mainstream rocker a la Hampton Roads' 'Tommy & Rumble' on WNOR (which yours truly thinks is an outstanding show but not a listerner of WNOR). The Bob & Tom Show has also been talked about.....

    Heather Gooze moves on — 8/28 — Former new country 'Eagle 97.3' WGH, all-sports 'ESPN RADIO 1310' WGH-A and 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO Promotions/Marketing Director Heather Gooze heads to the Metroplex of Dallas/Ft Worth. She landed at Susquehanna's Talk 'TalkRadio 570' KLIF-A/DALLAS for similar duties. She has her hands full. KLIF barely registers a 1.0 in a very crowded Dallas market with three other news/talk stations.....

    Primetime TV ratings — 8/27 — CBS has the Top 2 spots in last week's TV ratings. Tops is "Everybody Loves Raymond" then CSI's Monday edition, NBC's "Law & Order", FOX's American Idol-Tuesday then CBS' "Becker." Click on the following link for the complete prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of August 19 to August 25, 2002.....

    Partial partial TV ratings — 8/27 — In Hampton Roads, No. 1 at 6 o'clock was WAVY (10/NBC) with an 8.5 followed very closely by WVEC (13/ABC) with an 8.2 and WTKR (3/CBS) far behind with a 4.2. I'm sure Judge Judy seen on 'UPN27' WGNT at 6 also beat the news on Channel 3. At 5PM, with a lead-in from Oprah, WVEC is No. 1 with a razor-thin lead of 7.8 over WAVY's showing of 7.7. Channel 10's lead-in is Montel Williams. WAVY also was tops at 5:30 and 11PM. More than likely, WTKR (3/CBS) was again No. 1 at noon with The Price Is Right lead-in.....

    DirecTV Hampton Roads locals on DirecTV starting tomorrow — 8/27 — Starting tomorrow, DirecTV will do something it promised a coupled of months ago - to beam Hampton Roads' local free OTA TV stations to its customers. What was surprising is that eight(!) stations will be offered. They are...
    WTKR 3/CBS
    WAVY 10/NBC
    WVEC 13/ABC
    WHRO 15/PBS
    WGNT 27/UPN
    WTVZ 33/WB
    WVBT 43/FOX
    WPXV 49/PAX
    I was a little surprised that the PAX affil was included in this line-up since DirecTV carries the national feed. And in another surprise where's independent 'Sky4' WSKY? Recent surveys indicate that 10% of the TV households in Hampton Roads have a DBS service. To add the locals, DirecTV customers will pay an additional $6 a month as part as the 'Total Choice' package. If you already own a DirecTV system, you'll need an 18x24 elliptical dish instead of the 18" pizza pie dish.

    Music in the mornings for XL-102... for now — 8/27 — Bubba The Love SpongeThis is an update from yesterday. See below. Dee Snider is gone from mornings. He still has other gigs like voice work for MSNBC. Anyways, Snider's 'old' station WMRQ is staying alternative but bringing in Bubba The Love Sponge from Tampa's WXTB for mornings. No word yet on what PD John Lassman will do in mornings. I was listening online (WMRQ) to the sweepers of Bubba and thought I was listening to Mancow out of Chicago. Will WRXL follow WMRQ's direction or go a separate way? Right now it's Casey playing music.....

    Barnstable fills spot — 8/26 — Barnstable Broadcasting names John Shomby as Director of Programming for the Hampton Roads cluster starting Sept 16th. Shomby is expected to personally handle PD duties for new country 'Eagle 97.3' (Randy Brooks shifted from WGH to WWSO as their new PD) and oversee programming at all-sports 'ESPN Radio 1310' WGH-AM, heritage country WCMS, adult standards 'AM 1050 The Fog' WFOG, contemporary inspirational 'Star 94.1' WXEZ and 60s-70s oldies 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO. Shomby leaves as Operations Director for the Cumulus cluster in Flint/Kalamazoo MI on September 12th. Shomby told All Access, "I leave Cumulus with mixed emotions. I am genuinely excited about the opportunity to work with the great staff led by market manager Andy Graham in a radio market as strong as Norfolk for a company with the reputation of Barnstable. Cumulus ranks up there as one of the best, if not the best company I've worked for to date. John Dickey is one of the smartest radio people I've ever met. I'll miss everyone associated with Fliny and Kalamazoo and Cumulus-corporate. Thanks for a great two years!"

    Dee Snider Dee Snider off the air — 8/26 — If you're a regular listener of the Dee Snider Morning Show on CC's rocker 'XL-102' WRXL, you didn't hear him this morning. His 'home-base' station, modern rocker WMRQ, is stunting towards a new format. At 'New Rock Radio 104', all the jocks including Snider have been pulled off the air. No word yet what WRXL will do for mornings. The following statement is posted on their website wrxl.com...
    Dee Snider Radio is no longer with XL102. Keep listening for further developments. Thanks for your patience!
    WRVA site sale near? — 8/23 — It looks as if the former WRVA radio building perched atop Church Hill may be sold soon. Real estate sources say the building, which has been vacant since early 2001, is under contract. A deal could be completed in the next month or so. The 20,000-square-foot building, which has a commanding view of the city from 22nd and East Grace streets, was designed by internationally known architect Philip Johnson. Clear Channel Communications owns the building. The original asking price was $1.4 million; the current asking price is $975,000.....

    Hot 102.1 turns 1 — 8/23 — Hot 102.1On Top Communication's urban 'Hot 102.1' WWHV turned one year-old on Monday the 18th. It's been quiet as far as any celebrating is concerned. Early in 2001, the President of On Top, Steve Hegwood, bought the CP for 102.1 from religious broadcaster Willis Broadcasting for $3M. The Bishop was and still is starving for cash. Anyways, 'Hot 102.1' signed on into a very crowded urban radio market. Since their sign-on, one station already threw in the towel that was urban oriented - urban oldies 'Soul Classics 92.9' WWSO (now 60s-70s oldies 'Oldies92-9'). WWHV's PD Parrish Brown came from that now defunct station. WWHV hasn't made an impact on Hampton Roads radio... yet... Steve Hegwood, from what I hear, is a smart man. I see them only moving up. Speaking of birthdays, it's Herkules birthday today. He's on-air Sunday thru Thursday nights 10PM-2AM and also is their Promotion's Director. Happy B-day Herk.....

    AT&T Comcast You've Got Comcast — 8/22 — Looks like area AT&T Broadband & Comcast subscribers will soon be able to get high-speed AOL via their cable modems. Their concentration of cable services including the Internet by far is the Richmond market. Details from USA Today.....

    WTKR-DTWMGM Here we go again — 8/22 — Hampton Roads' digital stations can't get a break. First, it was CBS affil WBOC-TV Salisbury on channel 16 complaining about interference from WHRO-DT - also on channel 16. That issue has NOT been resolved yet. Now comes a new battle. VARTV hears recently that New York Times' CBS affil WTKR-DT on channel 40 has had to reduce their power to 40% in the evenings because of complaints from a TV station in Atlantic City. Tiny NBC affiliate WMGM-TV (grade B coverage extends just 24 miles from their tower) has complained to the FCC that its signal is being interfered with by WTKR-DT's. The FCC "told" WTKR-DT to power down in the evenings until this is worked out. The distance between these two stations is beyond 180km but there's not much of anything, just water, to block WTKR-DT's signal from interfering with WMGM's - so says WMGM. Field tests are being conducted as of right now at both stations. Now operating at 290kW from 725kW; WTKR-DT has lost a chunk of audience (Williamsburg, Eastern Shore, Outer Banks...) and they can't be happy about it. With the new fall season just a month away plus NFL football on Sunday's and the CBS network as a whole the most committed to HDTV, this is BAD timing! I'm sure Ted Hand is pulling his hair out over this one.....

    Changes at WRVA — 8/22 — Josh Johnson, Producer of the Allen Price Show heard from 3PM to 7PM, is leaving Clear Channel's 'NewsRadio 1140' to persue other oppurtunities - school. Taking his place is former 'Q-94 Wicker in The Morning' Producer Mikenna. Good luck Josh!

    WB will air some fall shows in HD — 8/22 — WB NetworkThe WB network is getting into high-definition broadcasting for the first time. Five hours of The WB's 2002-03 lineup will be broadcast in high-definition digital format. The shows are: "Family Affair" (debuts Sept. 12), "Everwood" (Sept. 16), "Reba" (Sept. 20) and "Smallville" (Sept. 24). "Everwood," the much hyped family drama starring Treat Williams and sophomore hit "Smallville" will repeat Sundays in HDTV. "The cinematic scope of our programs lends itself to this vibrant format," WB President Jed Petrick said. "We look forward to expanding high-definition delivery in the future." The high definition broadcasts will be available in more than 30 markets, which represents nearly half of the country, including WTVZ-DT in Hampton Roads? and WBDC-DT in NoVA. Unfortunately though, word has it that WTVZ-DT might not have the equipment to "pass-through" the HD network signal. That equipment is very expensive and to top that WTVZ is looking for a new Chief Engineer. They are broadcasting a digital signal but its SD - Standard Definition.....

    Entercom Entercom plans anniversary tribute — 8/22 — On the morning of September 11, all 101 radio stations of Entercom Communications Corp will pay tribute to the nation and the victims and heroes of last year's terrorist attacks by playing America the Beautiful at 8:45AM EST. In addition, the stations will broadcast special programming, including interviews with community leaders and recording artists and renditions of The Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America. Entercom stations raised more than $3 million for 9/11 victim-relief funds. The Entercom cluster in Hampton Roads includes modern AC '94.9 The Point' WPTE, AC '2WD' WWDE, urban AC '95-7 R&B' WVKL and rhythmic 'Z-104' WNVZ.....

    AP buys Capitol News — 8/22 — The four-year-old web-based Capitol Wire is a new media company specializing in news about government, politics and business from the state capitals of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg), New York (Albany), New Jersey (Trenton), Ohio (Columbus) and Virginia — on a subscription basis. For AP, it’s a chance to expand its content offerings in regional markets, and will be marketed through the AP’s Information Services Department.....

    Jimmy Barrett on TV — 8/21 — Look for Clear Channel's news/talk 'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA morning man Jimmy Barrett on CNN with a new weekly local news and topics segment. Every Thursday at 5:36AM he'll do a 3-minute simulcast with CNN's early morning show, hosted by Carol Costello and Chad Myers.....

    Top cable nets — 8/21 — For the week of Aug 12 through 18, according to Nielsen, here are the Top 5 prime-time cable networks...
    1- Lifetime - 2.0 rating
    2(t) - ESPN, USA Network, TNT (Turner Network Television), Nickelodeon - 1.8
    TNT's coverage of the NASCAR's Pepsi 400 on the Aug 18 scored a 5.3 rating, making it last week's highest-rated cable show.....

    Updated maps — 8/21 — The transmitter maps for the VARTV area have been updated. Many many thanks to Parris Wood for putting them together for us!

    CMT truck to visit Richmond — 8/21 — CMTThe CMT: Country Music Television promotional truck, a 53-foot fifth wheel mobile unit, will be at two Richmond locations this week, featuring a video wall with two private viewing stations where fans can watch CMT programs. In addition, CMT staff members will conduct several games and giveaways, helping to publicize the fact that CMT was recently added to AT&T Broadband's cable lineup in the Richmond area on channel 79. Today (8/21) from 4-8PM, the truck will be at the Circuit City store at 9900 W Broad and tomorrow from4-8PM it will be at Virginia Center Commons mall near the food court.....

    B101.593 WFLS Fredericksburg Summer Book Phase I — 8/20 — Arbitron's Summer Phase I trends for Fredericksburg were released earlier today. WFLS stays on top but its audience share slips 15% to a 15.2. Second is Hot AC 'B-101.5' and talker JFK slips into third just ahead of WTOP. Telemedia's 'Virginia's Rockin' Oldies' WGRQ continues to rise among the 'locals' - now up to a 4.3 in this Trend but sister station rock country 'Thunder 104.5' WGRX slips to a 3.0 after their best ever Book in the Spring (4.4). Another notable is Piedmont's country WJMA in Orange County. They had a good book for the Winter (2.4) but have continue to slide since then - now down to just a blip on the radar - 0.7. Free Lance-Star's '99-3 WYSK' bounces back after a disappointing Spring since shifting to alternative in March. It looks like the format shift was a good move for them. Washington's 'DC-101' WWDC usually placed in the Top 10 here but no more since the new WYSK came along. They're now 20th in the Trend. For the most complete and detailed 12+ rankings anywhere (Yes, better than R&R's), click here.....

    Primetime TV ratings — 8/20 — CBS takes three out of the Top 5 spots in last week's TV ratings. Tops is "CSI", "Everybody Loves Raymond", NBC's "Dateline NBC - Tuesday" then "Law & Order" and "60 Minutes". Click on the following link for the complete prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of August 12 to August 18, 2002.....

    Nielsen to update estimates — 8/20 — Nielsen Media Research will release updated national universe estimates for the 2001-2002 season on September 1. Those estimates are derived from new US Census Bureau data, compiled in the 2000 census but only released last March, as the season was drawing to a close. Those estimates are expected to include increases in certain crucial younger demos, according to an insider, and, in certain cases, might prompt the re-opening of make-good negotiations between agencies and networks. Certain networks could use the updated data to claim they did not under-deliver in the promised younger demos. Nielsen, of course, is only the messenger when it comes to demographic and other data and would not itself be a party to any network-advertiser negotiations or re-negotiations. Nielsen also will issue universe estimates for the upcoming 2002-2003 season based on the new Census Bureau data. Those estimates are scheduled to be released later this month.....

    Charter cable's future in Suffolk still in the air — 8/20 — CharterThe deadline on Charter Communication's cable TV franchise in Suffolk ran out Monday, but the company's future in the city is still unclear. Two months ago, the Suffolk City Council revoked Charter's franchise - the agreement that lets the company operate in the city - pending a 60-day period during which Charter would have to show that the company is improving its service. Mayor E. Dana Dickens said City Council members will discuss Charter's future during a closed-door meeting before Wednesday night's regular council meeting. If Charter's franchise remains revoked, service will continue, said Charter spokeswoman Deb Seidel. There are about 9,000 subscribers in Suffolk. Charter seems to think they have met all of the demands of the City Council with the exception on how much the company owes the city in fines for not properly letting the city know about several things, including progress on the system upgrade, picture quality and customer-service response time. Suffolk officials say the company owes Suffolk $340,000. Company officials have agreed to pay $145,000 in fines for reporting problems in fiscal year 2000-2001.....

    Barnstable dumps Metro Traffic — 8/19 — The Barnstable cluster which includes heritage country WCMS, new country 'Eagle 97.3' WGH, 60s-70s oldies 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO, all-sports 'ESPN Radio 1310' WGH and standards 'AM 1050 The Fog' WFOG pulled the plug on Metro's services. VARTV hears that they now are doing traffic in house. Dee Stevens (who worked in Richmond, etc) heads up the Hampton Roads Traffic Network which will do traffic for all of the Barnstable stations including the AMs. I don't think Metro Traffic was heard on their AMs but don't quote me on that one. This is a loss for Metro but how big? Will jobs be lost because of this 'lost' work? Barnstable's three FMers are solid performers. VARTV also hears that Clear Channel's contract with Metro is up this December. Could there be more bleeding if CC doesn't renew? Clear Channel does have their own traffic company. In fact, they just opened an office in Baltimore. But, they still use Metro in DC for their reports. Why? Who knows. The company was traffic.com but is now known as Traffic Pulse Networks.....

    Who's No. 1? — 8/19 — Have you ever wondered what local TV channel is the most watched? The following are the rankings for the local Hampton Roads TV stations from "sign-on to sign-off" (6AM-midnight). These were as of February 2002...



    TV numbers — 8/19 — VARTV is looking for the recently wrapped up July Nielsen ratings for the local TV news outlets. If your in Richmond or Hampton Roads AND kind enough, please email any information you have to vartv@cox.net or IM (instant message) me at VARTV Mobile. No names or sources will be mentioned. I'm really just looking for general numbers... All households for 5AM-7AM, 12N, 5PM, 5:30PM, 6PM 10PM and 11PM. Anything would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

    Chris Roth WNVZ news continues — 8/17 — Was that Chris Roth formerly the night slammer on ABC's Hot AC 'Mix 107.3' WRQX Washington heard on Entercom's 'Z-104' Saturday afternoon? Could he be learning the ropes for a permanent position on the Z Morning Zoo? For the time being, nighttime guru Mike Klein was filling in on the Zoo with Tricia and Shaggy. Stay tuned.....

    News in for Imus on MSNBC — 8/17 — Rather than repeat old installments of "Imus in the Morning" when Don Imus is on vacation next week, MSNBC will fill the 7AM to 8AM hour with news anchored by new MSNBC anchor Christy Musumeci, who has been Imus' anchor and news director for nearly two years. She's the same Christy (Carlo) that work at WAVY - anchoring their early news programs in the late 90s. Musumeci continues to be the No. 1 search term for Internet surfers visiting VARTV.com.....

    Hardcore tennis fans listen up! — 8/16 — US Open TennisIf you love tennis and digitial television, you're in heaven in the up coming weeks! The CBS network announced the other day that the US Open Tennis Championship will be broadcasted in HDTV. The series is played up in New York at the National Tennis Center from August 26th to September 8th. The matches will also be broadcasted on USA Network. The entire US Open TV sked can be found at usopen.org. Both WTKR-DT in Hampton Roads (at full power during the daylight hours and at a FCC mandated 40% of power in the evening) and WUSA-DT (NoVA) will carry the event.....

    Z104 More changes at Z-104 — 8/16 — The revolving jock door at Entercom's churban 'Z-104' WNVZ continues. Several weeks ago Troy Shannon, one-half of the Z Morning Zoo, was fired over an incident at the Beachouse here in Virginia Beach and now Michael Byran exits. He's still with Entercom but now in New Orleans as APD of CHR 'B-97' WEZB. With the exception of Mike Klein AND APD/MD Jay West, no one at the "Z" has really any "time" over there.....

    SKY4 Website remodeled — 8/16 — Independent 'SKY4' WSKY has done a little website remodeling; more like dressing up. Located at wsky4.com, you can check out some of the Fall shows that SKY is programming including the talker "The Other Half" weeknights at 5PM and new syndie "The Weakest Link" at 6.....

    WTKR-DT update — 8/14 — WTKR-DTNew York Times' WTKR-DT (40/CBS) will be operating at 40% of its full power. Now operating at 290kW from 725kW; it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that WTKR-DT just lost a chunk of audience (Williamsburg, Eastern Shore, Outer Banks...) and they can't be happy about it. With the new Fall season just a month away plus NFL football on Sunday's and the CBS network as-a-whole the most committed to HDTV, this is BAD timing! Chief Engineer Ted Hand tells me that it will be this way until further notice. Oh, by the way, for folks in Williamsburg, maybe as early as next month Richmond's CBS affil WTVR-DT could be signing on (sorry Ted). "Stay tuned".....

    Former '95-7 RnB' PD now in Nashville — 8/14 — Former Entercom urban AC '95-7' WVKL PD Derrick Corbett is the new PD for Cumulus' urban AC '92Q' WQQK. Corbett replaces Kevin Fox who left after the station changed directions to urban AC. In Nashville, Clear Channel flipped contemporary Christian '101.1 The Light' to urban '101.1 The Beat' WUBT and shot up to second place. Heritage urban '92Q' knew they couldn't battle back and flipped to an urban AC a couple of months ago. As far as WVKL is concerned, Corbett is the one responsible for WVKL skyrocketing to seconfd place in the Spring 2002 Arbitron Book for Hampton Roads. No one is sure why he left WVKL in the first place.....

    WCUL and WCVA-AM to be sold — 8/13 — C103Tom Joyner of Joyner Radio Inc, a Raliegh NC based radio station owner, has purchased Culpeper's country 'C-103' WCUL (a Class A) and nostalgic/talk WCVA-AM 1490 (a 1kW full-time) from Culpeper Broadcasting for $1.2 million. No word yet on format changes - too early in the stage of the game. Joyner Radio has five other stations here in Virginia including a country, oldies and gospel outlets. Culpeper Broadcasting has no other broadcast interests.....

    Primetime TV ratings — 8/13 — CBS takes four out of the Top 5 spots in last week's TV ratings - again. Tops is "CSI", then "60 Minutes", "Everybody Loves Raymond", NBC's "Law & Order" and Monday's "48 Hours." Click on the following link for the complete prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of August 5 to August 11, 2002.....

    Virginia's radio call-in show changes days — 8/13 — CavTalkUVA’s Greg Waters hopes you'll note his "CavTalk", Virginia’s radio call-in talk show, is moving to Wednesdays (from Tuesdays) on WXGI-AM 950 from 7-9PM. Actually, the season's first "CavTalk", a special preseason show, will be Thursday Aug 22 from 5-7PM on location from Scott Stadium, site of the season opener. Waters is counting on coaches Al Groh (UVA) and Sonny Lubick (Colorado State) to be his featured guests with recruiting analyst Mike Farrell. This will be the third consecutive season on WXGI. "We're going to be changing our focus a little bit this year," Waters said. "We used to spend a lot of time rehashing the last game, but our listeners are telling us they'd rather concentrate on who's coming next." By the way, if you can't receive WXGI, go to the CavTalk radio page on CavTalk.com to listen online. Speaking of State football... The dueling Virginia Tech Hokie shows continue. On CC’s ‘SportsRadio 910’ WRNL there’s "Tech Talk Tuesday" and on WXGI there’s "Tech Sports Tonight"....

    Harrisonburg & Charlottesville Arbrition ratings — 8/12 — These two markets are out of the VARTV coverage area but I have posted them here because...

    "VARTV (whoosh!) Is On Your Side (whoosh!)...


    Anyways, both markets are measured twice a year. In Harrisonburg, VerStandig takes the No.1 and 2 spots with news/talk 'NewsRadio 550' WSVA and CHR 'Q-101' WQPO. 3rd is CC's classic hits '98 Rock' WACL, 4th is sister country '104.3 Country KCY' WKCY and 5th is VerStandig's 50s-70s oldies 'Magic 96.1' WBHB. For the complete 12+ listing check it out at Radio & Records - Harrisonburg. In Charlottesville, CC's country outlet 'Country 99.7' WCYK takes over the No. 1 spot from Eure's rocker '3WV" WWWV which drops to fourth. 2nd is UVA's urban AC '92.7 KISS FM' WUVA, 3rd is Eure's Soft AC 'Lite Rock Z95' WQMZ and CC's CHR 'Hot 101.9' WHTE rounds out the Top 5. For the complete 12+ listing check it out at Radio & Records - Charlottesville.....

    Jude Redfield Jude Redfield moving on — 8/12 — VARTV hears that Jude Redfield, the No. 4 out of four meteorologists at the '13 News WeatherLab,' is going back home. He's returning 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 WVEC (13/ABC) from WSIL-TV (3/ABC) in Southern Illinois. No word yet if Channel 13 will replace him or just leave the "Team" at three forecasters....

    "Oh, that Larry Bonko" — 8/12 — The Virginian-PilotI had to take a page out of Dave Hughes of DCRTV.com's book. Any time The (Washington) Post would run a story late - days or weeks after posted on DCRTV.com - Dave will use the expression "Oh, that (Washington) Post." Well, I find it appropriate now to use it on VARTV. Larry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot usually runs little news blurbs in the Sunday paper about the media. This past Sunday was no exception. In one of the blurbs, he writes that the Hampton Roads TV market has "slipped" to No. 42 (from #41) in size. I stopped and thought, "I have written about this on VARTV". I couldn't remember when so I started to go through my 2002 News Archives for this year. Nothing. Then I started going through the "2001 News Archives" and finally I found it. It was my very first news article I ever wrote for VARTV! There it was at the very bottom of the page - Hampton Roads drops a notch from #41 to #42 - 14 months(!) before Larry Bonko reports it. Dave, The Post can't beat that.....

    American... er... Richmond Idol — 8/10 — Borrowing a note from Fox's "American Idol" competition, 'FOX Richmond' WRLH and CC's CHR 'Q-94' WRVQ are holding a "Richmond Idol" contest. The winner will sing the national anthem at the Funai 250 NASCAR Busch Series race at Richmond International Raceway on Sept. 6th. Starting Monday, folks between the ages 16 and 34 can preregister for the competition at Southpark Mall or by listening to 'Q-94' for a cue to call in and register. The auditions, being held the morning of Aug 27, will require participants to sing the following part of the national anthem a cappella: "And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there." Five semifinalists will compete by singing the entire national anthem live on Q-94's "Wicker in the Morning" between 7:30 and 8:30AM Aug 28th. Listeners will then have the chance to call in or vote online for their favorite. The winner will be announced on that night's "Fox News at Ten."

    LPTV gets new calls — 8/9 — National Minority TVNational Minority TV's recent Richmond LPTV sign-on on channel 39 has new calls of W39CO. They were known as W40BP. You may recall that Channel 39 signed on in June. The original CP for the station was applied for in March 1993 and granted in March 1994; over nine years! Originally, they were going to be located on channel 40 until the FCC modified the DTV table of allotments for WTKR-DT to change from channel 58 to 40 in Hampton Roads (September 2000). Remember, LPTVs are the low-man on the totem pole so they applied for channel 39. W39CO carries the religious network TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) 24/7. Channel 39 is best seen in the immediate Richmond Metro area.....

    Do topless drivers cross over the line? — 8/9 — Y-101Recently every Wednesday on Cox's modern rocker 'Y-101' WDYL, DJ Keith Dakin asked for women to drive topless down Broad St or Midlothian Turnpike. It was during the five-week "In the Buff for Free Stuff" contest. "The response was overwhelming," Dakin said. "Everybody was calling in. Guys. Girls. It was amazing." It ended up being pulled two weeks ago after many listeners and advertisers complained. WDYL is now No. 2 up from No. 4 among young adults, especially young men, in local afternoon drive-time ratings. Ray McAllister of the Richmond Times-Dispatch has the whole story.....

    Happy birthday to me — 8/9 — Yep! It's my birthday today. All of the VARTV offices are closed today for this observence and will reopen Monday morning. I share my birthday with three knuckle-head celebrities that I really don't care for - Whitney Houston, Melanie Griffith and Gillian Anderson... woo-hoo!

    70% of Richmonders have Internet access — 8/8 — A new VCU poll shows that seven of every 10 people in Richmond have access to the Internet or a commercial online service. That’s up from 38% five years ago. The poll of 763 randomly-selected adults also suggests that the Richmond area does have a digital divide, a term ‘coined’ to describe a gap between those who do and don't have Internet access. The divide is based on level of education and income. This year's poll, which they have done since 1997, shows that more than 90% of college graduates have Internet access, compared to 32% of those with no high school diploma. In addition, 87% of those from families with income above $50,000 a year have Net access. Just 28 % have access from families with income of less than $20,000.....

    TOWER More DTV choices coming to Richmond... soon — 8/8 — VARTV hears the tower that will hold WRIC-DT (22/ABC), WTVR-DT (25/CBS) and WRLH-DT (26/FOX) antennas is complete; the transmitter is in place and things are moving along. WRIC-DT was recently working on the bridgework between the studio and the transmitter. They also have to install two combiners and some other minor work. After completed, there will be some tweaking and testing. Daryl Cheney, the chief engineer at WRIC, says that he really thinks that all of the major delays are behind them, and he expects that both WRIC-DT and WTVR-DT will go live sometime in September. No word on when WRLH-DT will go live or for that matter any of the other full-time TV outlets (WUPV-DT 47, WCVE-DT 42, WCVW-DT 44). WRIC-DT will be upconverting the SD broadcasts (just as WWBT-DT is now doing) during the times when no HD is available. WWBT-DT is the only station in Richmond beaming out a digital signal. If you punch in channel 54 on your STB, it will remap to channel 12-1. 12-1 is WWBT’s DTV channel, 12-2 is First Warning Doppler radar and 12-3 is SkyCam.....

    Julie BraggGene Cox Channel 12 to add 4PM newscast — 8/8 — This seems to be a new trend going around the country - stations adding a 4PM newscast to their skeds. Welcome, Richmond to this trend. Beginning on August 19th, Jefferson-Pilot's 'NBC12' WWBT fires up their 4PM newscast with Gene Cox and Julie Bragg. The newscast, plus Inside Edition at 4:30, will replace Oprah Winfrey's show" which will shift to Channel 8 (WRIC/ABC) at 5PM starting September 3rd. 'First @ 4', as it will be called, will follow Dr Phil, the new syndicated series from Oprah guest Dr Phillip McGraw, which will air at 3. Channel 12's GM, Don Richards, was faced with an Oprah Winfrey who was either retiring or cutting back on her schedule (as it turned out, Winfrey will produce her show through 2006, but with fewer new episodes), WWBT decided to go ahead with its plan to add the newscast. Richards went on to say that "We also looked at the other syndication available at 4 o'clock and didn't see anything that would match up with our 5 o'clock news".....

    Primetime TV ratings — 8/7 — CBS takes four out of the Top 5 spots in last week's TV ratings. Click on the following link for the complete prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of July 29 to August 4, 2002.....

    WSKY segues ownership to SKY Television LLC — 8/6 — Sky4Independent 'Sky4' WSKY Manteo NC files with the FCC to shift control from DanBeth Communications to SKY Television LLC. The name DanBeth as you may have already figured out was the first name of the original owners. The CP for channel 4 was originally awarded to DanBeth as the high bidder at auction #25. Prior to the auction, it was determined and agreed that certain investors would receive shares of a newly-created Class B Common Stock in DanBeth in exchange for providing financial resources to DanBeth, and DanBeth’s original application was amended to reflect this agreement. The Class B Common Stock in DanBeth has never been issued. Instead, the parties agreed, for tax and other business reasons, to form SKY Television LLC as a new company, and that DanBeth would contribute the station’s FCC licenses and other assets to SKY. WSKY's website is at wsky4.com.....

    Local legend Dr Madblood comes to prime-time on WSKY — 8/5 — Dr MadbloodIndependent ‘Sky4’ WSKY brings local legend Dr Madblood to prime-time starting Friday, September 27th at 8PM. Dr Madblood, the lovable resident mad scientist of Pungo, brings his offbeat humor and wacky cast of characters to Sky4 to host classic episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Boris Karloff’s Thriller.” Joining Dr. Madblood (award winning producer and director Jerry Harrell), will be Count LaCudra, Dusty the Crop Duster, and Toulouse Latrine (all portrayed by Mike Arlo, well-known radio personality on ‘Classic Hits 106.9 The Fox’); Nurse Patience Dream (Penny Palen); Brain, Dr. Roach, and Waldo Monster (Craig T. Adams of Fuzz and Stuffing Puppets); and a host of other characters. Glenn Holterhaus, president of WSKY, made the announcement at the opening of the Dr Madblood Exhibition at the Chesapeake Museum on Saturday August 3rd. While Dr Madblood’s TV set moves from the ‘WB33’ WTVZ studios to WSKY’s, the show will originate from the Museum.....

    On Top Communications enter New Orleans — 8/5 — Seven months after the rumor surfaced, Steve Hegwood expands into New Orleans. The former Radio One chief programmer’s On Top Communications, which signed-on urban 'Hot 102.1' WWHV Virginia Beach back in August 2001 buys urban 'U104' KNOU-FM (104.5) from JP Broadcasting. KNOU was purchased in December 2000 for $3.5M. On Top pays $8.5M. KNOU is a class C2 licensed to Empire LA. On Top enters another market with a large share of Black residents. Hampton Roads is #14 out of the Top 25 MSAs and New Orleans is #15. Unlike the Hampton Roads market, which is oversaturated with urban formatted stations, KNOU has a good chance to fill a niche in that market. They are going up against CC's urban 'Q93' WQUE, CC's urban AC 'FM98' WYLD and Wilks urban oldies 'Old School 102.9' KMEZ. By the way, those happen to be the Top 3 stations there. KNOU was doing - and not very well ratings wise - CHR/Rhythmic until January (the same time that the rumors started). VARTV hears KNOU will be rebranded 'Hot 104.5'.....

    Dixie 105.7 still number 1 — 8/2 — Dixie 105.7Beach 104Arbitron released it's biannual radio ratings for NE North Carolina (Elizabeth City-Nags Head) today with East Carolina Radio's country 'Dixie 105.7' WRSF still on top. Ray-D-O-Biz's Hot AC 'Beach 104' WCXL surged to second with a strong 7.8 rating. Third was heritage country WCMS (5.6), 4th... 50s-70s oldies '102.5 the Shark' WERX (4.4) and rounding out the Top 5 is a tied between adult standards simulcast sisters WCNC-A/WZBO-A and urban '103 Jamz' WOWI with a 3.9. East Carolina Radio by far was the cluster winner. For the most complete and detailed 12+ rankings anywhere (can't find it on R&R) click here.....

    Happy birthday 2WD — 8/1 — It was yesterday (7/31) 24 years ago on July 31, 1978 that Entercom's AC '2WD' WWDE signed-on with their current format. Amazingly, they're still going strong. They just unseated CC's urban '103 Jamz' WOWI as the No 1 rated station in Hampton Roads. WOWI had been there since 1990!

    What's going on at Clear Channel Richmond? — 8/1 — From All Access... "Is the format wheel gonna spin in RICHMOND? Is a CLEAR CHANNEL station about to go Country, or Christian?". There were rumors before that a station in Richmond was going to flip to country or Christian (see VARTV news headline April 19, 2002). Here we go again. Last time it was MAYBE rocker 'XL-102' WRXL. CC's Richmond properties are soft AC 'Lite 98' WTVR, 'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA, heritage CHR 'Q-94' WRVQ, urban '106-5 The Beat' WBTJ, WRXL and sports 'SportRadio 910' WRNL. Who's a candidate for a format switch?

    Can we all just get along — 8/1 — On July 3, 2001, the Free Lance-Star filed a complaint against Telemedia (WGRQ-FM 95.9 Colonial Beach) and Rappahannock River Broadcasting (WGRX-FM 104.5 Falmouth), both headed by Carl Hurlebaus. Free Lance-star alleged that Telemedia failed to maintain a proper main studio for WGRQ, failed to maintain and provide public access to a complete local public inspection file for WGRQ and that Rappahannock filed a frivolous pleading to delay another FCC item Rappahannock filed against Free Lance-Star. The outcome is that Telemedia is reprimanded for not providing access to the entire local public inspection file and the FCC throws out the other two complaints. Read the entire ruling from the FCC here.....

    95-7 R&B2WD Entercom goes 1,2 & 4 in Spring Book! — 8/1 — Entercom's AC '2WD' WWDE captures the Spring Book with sister urban AC '95-7 R&B' WVKL taking second - up from 8th place. CC's '103 Jamz' WOWI slips to third(!) with another Entercom property at 4th... Hot AC '94.9 The Point' WPTE! I hear they were having a party at the TRC Office Park on Clearfield Ave here at the Beach! Other notables... CC's rising star continues to be urban AC 'Vibe 105' WSVY. Now at a 3.9, they have doubled their audience from just one year ago. Who would have ever thought... not me. The Coast (WKOC) finishes with a 3.0. Wow. It wasn't looking too good just 3 to 6 months ago. But for their sister AM stations, the news is not so good. Both 'NewsRadio' 790 WNIS and 'TalkRadio 850' WTAR fell. WNIS was down 24% and WTAR was down 37%. Ouch! 92.1 The BeatFor the two newest urbans - CC's hip-hop '92.1 The Beat' WBHH and On Top's 'Hot 102.1' WWHV continue to struggle. Steve Hegwood came into this market that was overcrowded with urban formatted stations and still decided to sign-on as an Urban. They really sound much better than a 1.0 station. Maybe it's their lousy signal or lack of something unique that couldn't already be found elsewhere on the dial. How long do you continue to run a station around a 1.0 share? And The Beat - their heads are just above the water. Here's my armchair suggestion on the Beat - pull the plug - no need to worry about Hot 102.1... put the best of the Beat back on WOWI and bring back the glory days of '103Jamz' - that was just 18 months ago! For the most complete and detailed 12+ rankings anywhere (Yes, better than R&R's) plus some breakout demos, click here.....

    Praise 105 Audio trouble at Praise 105 — 7/31 — Many thanks to Ernest Jones at WRCS-AM 970 for passing this along to me. Maranatha's contemporary Christian 'Praise 105' WFMZ Hertford has been experiencing some audio problems this afternoon. Left channel audio is fine but the right is totally distorted. A person at Praise 105 was blaming the heat which was affecting their equipment. They're working on cooling the equipment. WFMZ puts in a 'rimshot' signal here in Hampton Roads. It's listenable here at the VARTV World HQs. Ernest was kind enough to pass along a clip of their broadcast... enjoy!

    That didn't take long — 7/31 — Thank you for the several inquiries I have already received about asking for break-out demos from Arbitron. You guys do have GUTS! Anyways, it's very appreciated and again no names will be mentioned. Please keep them coming at vartv@cox.net or using AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) VARTV Mobile. Thanks!

    All in the family — 7/31 — A couple of days ago, 4M Communications filed with the FCC to shift (‘voluntary control’) its radio stations from each station being its own entity to all under the 4M Communications umbrella. 4M Communications4M owns Hot Talk simulcast WHAP-AM 1340 Hopewell (listed as China Cat Communications) & WLEE-AM 990 Richmond (already listed as 4M of Richmond), black gospel ‘Rejoice Radio’ WREJ-AM 1540 Richmond (listed as Radio Richmond 1540), adult standards ‘Unforgettable 1320’ WVNZ-AM Richmond (listed as Radio Richmond 1320) and a new AM-er at 1480kHz Glen Allen (listed as Radio Richmond 1480). A note: WLEE will be changing their community of license to Short Pump with an increased coverage area soon. Speaking of the new AM-er, when is sign-on and what will it be… Jim.....

    Hampton Roads' Arbitron numbers — 7/31 — The Spring Book for Hampton Roads' will be released shortly and will be posted here on VARTV. Can Entercom's AC '2WD' WWDE hold its lead that it had in the Phase II trends or will CC's urban '103 Jamz' WOWI pull out a huge victory with a very strong Phase III. Remember, even though ‘103Jamz’ was unseated as the 12+ No. 1 last month, it's the complete Book that really matters. It combines the two Phases’ that were posted here on VARTV earlier and a third Phase that really is never posted just the final numbers. Help… VARTV has developed a nice little network of 'contacts' and 'moles' and now is asking for a huge favor. If anyone out there has access to the break down of all of the demos (18-34, 25-54, morning drive etc), it would be greatly appreciated if those could be passed along to me. You name will NOT be listed. I’m looking for three markets… Fredericksburg, Richmond and Hampton Roads. If anyone has the GUTS, please email me at vartv@cox.net or using AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) VARTV Mobile.....

    Richmond’s Arbitron numbers — 7/30 — Lite 98K-95Richmond's Spring book was released today. Clear Channel's AC 'Lite 98' WTVR solidifies its lead in Richmond up 2.1 points (21%) to a commanding lead over Cox's country 'K-95' WKHK by 3.6 ratings points. Spring was good to WKHK who saw their numbers increase by 25%. Radio One's 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX cracks the Top 3 with a 7.0 rating... up 8%. For the most part, things remain the same with a few exceptions. CC's 'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA took a dive from a 7.0 to 5.5... a drop of 22%. Another notable was Cox's Hot AC 'B103' WMXB. They, too, saw their audience shrink from 4.5 to 3.4 - a loss of 24%. For the most complete and detailed 12+ rankings anywhere (Yes, better than R&R's), click here.....

    Primetime TV ratings — 7/30 — CSI on CBS is again the top ranked prime-time show. Click on the following link for the complete prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of July 22 to July 28, 2002.....

    New radio station coming to VA's Eastern Shore — 7/29 — 980825MHThe original CP for 90.1 Nassawadox was awarded on 4/17/02 to non-profit Nassawadox FM Inc in Florida headed up by William R Lacy. Lacy turns around and sells the CP to CSN International... Calvary Satellite Network. Price? Cheap... $80,000. Founded in 1993, CSN is a non-profit organization, an outreach of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa CA and Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls ID. They broadcast biblical teaching and praise & worship music. Since '93, CSN has expanded rapidly with over two-dozen full-power radio stations across the country. They recently acquired the Virginia religious "Joy-FM" network in Fredericksburg; adding three full-power stations and a handful of translators to their portfolio. CSN kept this network together by renaming it "Praise-FM" and tweaking the format to their taste. There's no word yet if this frequency will join this statewide network or simulcast KAWZ-FM in Twin Falls ID like all other CSN properties do. This station will be on 90.1 with 25kW of power with an antenna height of 436'. This will cover the entire Virginia portion of the Eastern Shore.....

    ESPN Radio 1310 ESPN Radio launches a website... again — 7/29 — I just stumbled on this one. Barnstable's all-sports 'ESPN Radio 1310' WGH-AM recently relaunched their website... espnradio1310.com. Several years ago, they had one but just took it down. This is the third station in this cluster of five that the web-design company NetTek has done for Barnstable. The others are contemporary inspirational 'Star 94.1' WXEZ (star941.com) and 60s-70s oldies 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO (929oldies.com). All of these websites get a "D" for creativity. I'm available for the right salary?!....

    Ironic! — 7/28 — A couple of weeks ago VARTV and a TV engineer were shooting the breeze about some things when the conversation turn to the on going battle between CBS affil WBOC-TV 16 in Salisbury and PBS WHRO-DT 16 in Hampton Roads. WBOC is alleging interference from WHRO's digital signal. Here's a new twist. Virginia Beach has been allotted a new analog TV channel on 21. Originally awarded to Winstar Broadcasting until they filed for bankruptcy. Therefore, the FCC awarded channel 21 to runner-up Robert O Copeland and can possibly be on the air by early next year. Anyways... guess what channel WBOC's digital station is on? Yep! 21.....

    WTKR-DT update — 7/26 — After being down for two nights, WTKR-DT will be back on the air tonight beginning at 6 o'clock. The transmitter wasn't the problem but the output board on their flexcoder. Unfortunately, CBS isn't offering any true HDTV programming tonight (cbs.com/hdtv). But that's OK... The picture is still way better than analog.....

    WBOC vs WHRO-DT continues — 7/26 — The Daily Press has their take on the 'battle' between the two stations. The article stated that WHRO-DT is now running at only 25% of it's power (until a solution is found) but that probably hasn't affected viewers in the immediate Hampton Roads area with DTV sets. Read the article online from The Daily Press.....

    Richmond TV sports events ratings — 7/25 — Some tidbits from Jerry Lindquist of RTD. From the British Open and the worst day in Tiger Woods' professional career, local ratings were slightly behind the overnight national curve for that Saturday - a 4.2 nationally, 4.1 on WRIC (8/ABC). Sunday, when ABC did a 4.9, the metered Richmond market turned in a 5.0 that included a spike of an 8.4 during the five-hole playoff. Several people called Channel 8 to complain about the work of Curtis Strange, ABC's lead golf analyst who is from Virginia. What was WRIC going to do about that? In MLB, ratings are up about 12% for the 'Saturday Game of the Week' on Fox. Through the first half of the network's schedule, it averaged a 2.8. Last Saturday's Yankees-Red Sox game did a 4.5 in Richmond, beating the British Open (and Woods) over on 8. Last year, 'FOX Richmond' WRLH (35) averaged a 1.0 rating (7 share) for four baseball games in July. No wonder Fox suits are nervous about the likelihood of a major-league players' strike. By the way, WRLH usually tries to carry an Atlanta Braves' game, if it's available - that is, unless there's a compelling marquee matchup - like the Yankees and Red Sox.....

    WCTV-48 WCTV-48 now available on the Internet — 7/25 — Wednesday evening at 6:30, Chesapeake's municipal cable channel, WCTV-48, was available on the Internet as part of the city's newly launched, upgraded website, CityOfChesapeake.net. This live video feed brings coverage of city council, planning commission and school board meetings. Channel 48 programming also includes news, public affairs and informational telecasts produced locally for Chesapeake residents. In addition, WCTV airs a variety of regional and national programs, along with a community bulletin board, highlighting upcoming events in Chesapeake.....

    WTKR-DT WTKR-DT off the air... — 7/24 — for tonight (7/24) and tomorrow (7/25). Seems that when the transmitter came on at 6 tonight there was no video, no 'NewsChannel 3 at 6'. The transmitter is OK though. WTKR-DT broadcasts daily from 6PM to 11PM.....

    Randy Brooks to take helm at WWSO — 7/24 — Oldies 92-9VARTV hears that more than likely Randy Brooks, the acting PD at 60s-70s oldies 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO and full-time PD of new country 'Eagle 97.3' WGH and heritage country WCMS, will get to drop the "acting" from his title at WWSO. With his segue, Barnstable Broadcasting has decided to have Brooks concentrate only on 'Oldies 92-9' and will relinquish his posts from the country outlets. Neither of the two have had a good Spring Arbitrend so far - relatively speaking anyways. Brooks will continue to program the country twins while Barnstable looks for someone to fill a newly created position billed as Director/Market Programming. With this new position not only will this person be PD/MD for the country outlets they will oversee all programming in the 5-station cluster. Anyone interested?

    Hot 102.1 Hot 102.1 is looking for a GSM — 7/23 — Steve Hegwood's outlet urban 'Hot 102.1' WWHV first was Bill Reed. He had 30 years of media advertising experience, having worked at WNWV in Cleveland OH, WAPE & WHJX in Jacksonville FL and WTMP Tampa FL to name a few. Apparently he's left the building or will be leaving. Yours truly stumbled across an ad in a radio trade publication for an opening for a GSM. WWHV has very small spot loads with two stop-sets an hour. Is this due to hard ad sale times? A small signal reach? Crappy sales staff?.....

    Primetime TV ratings — 7/23 — Click on the following link for the complete prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of July 15 to July 21 2002.....

    No ABC HDTV for a couple of days — 7/23 — Due to maintenance work in New York, the ABC network will not be offering HDTV feeds of network programs today, tomorrow (7/24) or Thursday (7/25) of this week. As far as WVEC-DT is concerned, they will be broadcasting on those dates but the broadcasts will be upconverted from SD (Standard Definition) feeds. Oh well, 'The Mole' in SDTV will be fine.....

    Troy Shannon Troy Shannon exits — 7/23 — VARTV hears that Troy Shannon, one-third of the Z Morning Zoo at Entercom's 'Z-104' WNVZ, was fired over an incident at The BeacHouse in Virginia Beach last Friday. His 'pic' is already gone from the z104.com website. Troy and side-kick Tricia also have their own webpage at troyandtricia.com and that's still up. Shannon was with 'Z-104' in the late 90s, left for awhile for Citadel's 'WiLD 97-9' KKLD in Oklahoma City then came back to Hampton Roads for the morning gig at 'Z-104'.....

    Fredericksburg Spring Book — 7/22 — Thunder 104.5Arbitron's Spring Book for Fredericksburg was released earlier today. The Top 3 stations remain the same from the Fall. The big surprise is Telemedia's rockish country 'Thunder 104.5' WGRX. They saw their 12+ demo increase 109% to place them now 4th among all radio stations listened to. Their increase though apparently had no affect on WFLS' numbers. They remained the same as Winter - a 17.9 share. WGRX's increase could have come from the expense of smaller country outlets in the area like WJMA (down 1.1) or WCUL (failed to get the 'nod'). Free Lance-Star's recently realigned 'Classic Rock 96.9' WWUZ (formerly classic hits) also saw a hugh increase from a dismal 1.0 in the Winter to a 2.8 this Spring. The Top 5 stations are country WFLS, Hot AC WBQB, news WTOP, country WGRX and hot talker WJFK. For the most complete and detailed 12+ rankings anywhere (Yes, better than R&R's), click here.....

    New classified — 7/22 — A new classified ad was placed today. Click on "Classified Ads" on the navigation panel to the left.....

    Bankruptcy filed — 7/22 — JBS Inc owners of two LPTVs on the Peninsula declared Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy on July 15th. Their assets and liabilities were unavailable. The two stations, W31BG (channel 19) Yorktown and W39BW Newport News broadcast the home shopping channel ShopNBC and local religious programming. Several years ago they had a third station in Williamsburg - WHTV-LP (formerly W19BX). No word yet if the stations will fall victim to their reorganization plans.....

    WFLS/WYSK/WWUZ owners expanding — 7/21 — ...but not in the radio business. The Free Lance-Star already has three radio properties, an Internet presence - fredericksburg.com and of course the newspaper. Now they want to publish a telephone directory starting next spring. They cited customer concerns that it was hard to reach Verizon sales reps and higher advertising rates for some of the reasons why they have jump into the directory publishing business. You can read the entire article online at fredericksburg.com.....

    WPER Happy Birthday! — 7/19 — Contemporary Christian '89.9 WPER - Christian Music Radio' Culpeper celebrates their third year of broadcasting on August 9th, same as yours truly by the way. The station is having their 3rd birthday party along side the Summer Jam Tour on July 24th at the Christian Fellowship Church in Ashburn. The Summer Jam Tour features Christian artists Newsong, Rachael Lampa (being compared to Amy Grant), Freddie Colloca, True Vibe and Brother's Keeper.....

    Ntelos Ntelos won't add more wireless-cable customers — 7/19 — Ntelos announced that it is not adding more customers to its wireless cable TV system in the four markets it serves... the Roanoke Valley, the Shenandoah Valley, Charlottesville and Richmond. They said it wants to concentrate its resources in its three core areas: wireless PCS (personal communications service), Internet, and local telephone service to businesses. The company said that if the right sales opportunity presented itself, it would consider selling its wireless cable TV business, the Roanoke Times reported. The company has 7,000 wireless-cable customers.....

    New classified — 7/18 — A new classified ad was placed today. Click on "Classified Ads" on the navigation panel to the left.....

    Primetime TV ratings — 7/16 — Click on the following link for the complete prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of July 8 to July 14 2002.....

    Lex & Terry news — 7/16 — Lex & TerryCox Radio's syndicated morning team Lex & Terry heard in Hampton Roads on hot talk 'AM 1450 The Buzz' WBVA get slapped with a cease and desist letter from lawyers for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen for selling T-shirts declaring "open season" on the "Full House" twins on the occasion of their 18th birthday. The letter claims that the shirts infringe on the actresses' trademarked name "Olsen Twins" and threatens “civil damage and penalties.” As of this writing, the links and photos for the T-shirts have already been taken down at lexandterry.com. Lex Staley & Terry Jaymes have for three years been counting down the days until the twins reach adulthood. Lex says “I never thought they would get legal before they got legal.”.....

    Hot 102.1 Hot 102.1 expanding coverage? — 7/16 — That's what was being said on-air today at urban 'Hot 102.1' WWHV. Some time after 10 o'clock this morning the emails to VARTV started to come in, a statment was made to this affect "We know we are experiencing technical difficulties, our engineers are working to fix it and expand our coverage area..." I don't think so. They are already broadcasting at full-power with their directional antenna which they can NOT move. Probably some kind of problem at their tower or studio. Sorry Newport News.....

    Lee Mahaffey Lee Mahaffey has left the building — 7/16 — Lee Mahaffey's just over two-year career as reporter and recent morning co-anchor ended at 'NewsChannel 3' WTKR (CBS) last week. Soon she'll be joining 'News 6' WTVR (CBS) up I-64 in Richmond. Also on October 19th of this year, Mahaffey palns to get married in her hometown of Atlanta GA. She will be most remembered here when she isolated herself in a Portsmouth apartment where a computer was her only link to the outside world. She lived solely using the Internet for two weeks.....

    Congratulations! — 7/16 — Metro Networks-Norfolk/Virginia Beach's traffic anchor Kristen Bishop is a new mom. She gave birth to Nicholas Joseph Sunday afternoon (7/14) at 4:20PM. He weighed in at 7 pounds 9 ounces. Both mom and baby are doing just fine. Since she is now on maternity leave for the next 3 months, and TV sweeps are on, Nathan James will be filling her shoes at Metro doing her radio and TV reports for Channel 13 (WVEC/ABC) until her return in mid-October.....

    CC brings streaming to Hampton Roads — 7/15 — WJCDClear Channel - a while back - made a statement about bringing Internet audio streaming from their stations into the Top 50 markets. Well they're finally getting around to Hampton Roads. CC has four properties here... Smooth Jazz 'CD107.7' WJCD, urban '103 Jamz' WOWI, hip-hop '92.1 The Beat' WBHH and urban AC 'Vibe 105.3' WSVY. Right now, only WJCD's audio stream is up and running with a "listen live" link on their homepage. WOWI (http://www.103jamz.com/jacor-common/streaming_disclaimer.html), WBHH (http://www.921thebeat.com/jacor-common/streaming_disclaimer.html) and WSVY (http://www.vibezone.com/jacor-common/streaming_disclaimer.html) are not ready yet.....

    WCKO sold — 7/15 — Following the August 2000 death of founder Gary Acker, Metropolitan Radio group sells big-wattage daytime AMs in two more markets. Metropolitan’s getting $1,250,000 for two black gospel AMs that bill themselves as “The Power Company.” The first is WCKO here in Hampton Roads, a 50-kw daytimer at 1110. The other one is WOBS, Jacksonville, a 50-kw daytimer at 1530. The buyer of both is Louisville-based Word Broadcasting Network (WBN). No word yet if there is going to be any format realignment.....

    Kelly Wright will exit — 7/15 — Nicole Livas & Kelly WrightLarry Bonko of The Virginian-Pilot is reporting that Kelly Wright of WVBT (43/FOX) will be leaving the station. Co-anchor of 'Fox 43 News at 10', Wright will exit on August 9th. Wright, who signed on WVBT's first newscast four years ago on August 31, 1998, leaves with no successor in sight. That will leave co-anchor Nicole Livas to go it alone. There's no comment coming from WAVY/WVBT except Wright saying "We just decided to part company". VARTV has learned that his contact too expires August 9th. His bio has already been taken down at fox43tv.com... Ouch! The Rev. Kelly Wright has interests outside TV news including his ministry and his music. He's been a reporter/anchor for more than 20 years.....

    Tracey Lewis Tracey Lewis shows up in Charlotte — 7/15 — I received an email from a VARTV reader last month informing me that meteorologist Tracey Lewis of 'News 6' (WTVR-TV) was leaving the station and headed for North Carolina. Well the email was saved but in a different folder in my Outlook program and was lost... until now. So better late than never, Lewis did leave the Raycom Media owned CBS outlet early last month and landed a job at Cox owned 'Eyewitness News 9' WSOC (ABC) in Charlotte. She has a short bio on their station's website. Not a bad move at all for her. She moves from market #56 (Richmond) to #27 (Charlotte). And by the way, WSOC-TV is the No. 1 news outlet in Charlotte.....

    13 News Strretcchhinng the truth — 7/13 — Larry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot says "WVEC's new news promo - "More viewers watch 13 News a 5, 5:30 and 6" - stretches the truth just a little. Bonko says if you add the household numbers for Channel 13 during the 90 minutes from 5 to 6:30PM, WVEC (ABC) has the edge (22.8) over NBC affiliate WAVY-TV 10 (22.2). However, WAVY is No. 1 at 6 o'clock by 0.2 of a percentage point.....

    Expanding — 7/13 — Undaunted by LNC5's (Local News on Cable) anemic ratings, Belo Broadcasting is about to venture into another cable news operation. This one is the second one Texas - their home state - to be called "News 24 Houston." Belo-owned WVEC, Cox Communications and The Virginian-Pilot partnered up to create LNC. Belo's two 24-hour regional cable channels appear to get a lot more attention. TXCN (Texas Cable News) in Dallas and NWCN (Northwest Cable News) in Seattle have very informative, interactive and attractive websites. LNC's... well see for yourself. They're considered a local cable news outlet not regional. In the latest Neilsens, LNC's 10PM newscasts was seen by less than 1% of Hampton Roads' TV households. They compete with WVBT's "Fox 43 News at 10". There's no contest. WVBT's newscasts win hands-down. They usually garner around 3.1% of households.....

    Star 94.1 Star 94.1 adjusts on-air line-up — 7/12 — Barnstable's black gospel, they call it contemporary inspirational, 'Star 94.1' WXEZ has made some minor jock adjustments. Carla Isaac gets a shorter shift starting now at 5:30AM-10AM (was 6AM-12N). Mark Rawlinson, too gets a shorter shift. He can now be heard at 10AM to 3PM. New PD Dale Murray who had a brief stay as an afternooner at sister 60s-70s oldies outlet 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO is on the air at 3PM to 7PM. If you thought Clear Channel was bad about voice-tracking, you won't hear ANY jocks on 'Star 94.1' or 'Oldies 92-9' for that matter later in the evenings, through the overnights or weekends - just songs and sweepers. Maybe their thinking at Barnstable is why fill the spots - look at our ratings. But I'm not going to go there. That'll open up a new can of worms. An additional note, 'Star' has now added Metro Traffic to their afternoons....

    Cory Autry Autry's novel experience — 7/12 — Cory Autry who co-anchors the "Fox 35 News at 10" on WRLH and is 'NBC12' WWBT's medical reporter is now a first-time novelist. His book 'The Reunion' is due in bookstores this week. He says he spent three years writing the book - mostly at night at home after his newscasts. Douglas Durden of the Richmond Times-Dispatch has the entire story online.....

    3rd time's a charm — 7/12 — Gary StokesGM Ed Munson of WAVY (10/NBC) has named a replacement for ND Jim Turpin. Turpin who left the station abruptly on April 15th of this year moved from market #42 to market #41 by accepting a new gig at 'ABC24 News' WPTY Memphis TN. The 'new ' guy isn't new to WAVY. This is his third there. Who is he? Gary Stokes and will start his new position this coming Monday. Stokes first worked for WAVY as an executive producer from '89 to '91. He then left for WJZ in Baltimore, moved on to KTRK in Houston and made full circle coming back to WAVY in August 1994 to become their ND. After leaving WAVY again in 1995, Stokes was ND for WIVB in Buffalo NY. He didn't say long. In 1996, he moved to 'NBC13' WVTM in Birmingham AL and quickly rose from ND to GM. After leaving WVTM, Stokes, who's 44 and with a degree in criminal justice at the University of Dayton, became a professional volunteer he says. He served on the executive committee of the United Way of Central Alabama and was president of the Birmingham Big Brothers and Sisters. It's interesting to note when Stokes left WVTM in November, his station was third in the hours that there were newscasts broadcasted (5-5:30, 6-6:30 and 10-10:30); feeling pressure from the fouth place WB affiliate (WTTO). At 6, WVTM had just a 0.2(!) rating share edge over WTTO. In that market, the FOX affiliate (WBRC) is the news leader followed closely by the ABC affil (WBMA combo). The CBS affiliate (WIAT) there has some serious problems; placing FIFTH when their newscast are on. At 6, they lead the PAX affiliate (WPXH) by just one point and seventh place UPN WABM by only 1.4... ouch!

    A new radio syndie program? — 7/12 — SportsTalk 980Clear Channels' "SportsTalk 980" WTEM Washington is starting up a new show on Friday nights which it hopes to take into syndication later this year. It is called "X-treme Gaming Radio," and will be making its debut today on WTEM following its scheduled broadcast of a Baltimore Orioles baseball game. It will also be heard on sister station "SportsRadio 910" WRNL in Richmond. The show, hosted by Robert "Paligap" Kirschenbaum, will feature talk about all aspects of video games and will include call-ins.....

    Hampton Roads DTV update — 7/11 — Last week WTKR-DT was the first DTV station in Hampton Roads to broadcast Closed Captioning of its digital signal... WGNT-DT began testing their signal today. Punch in channel 50 on your HDTV tuner and it will remap to 27-1. WGNT-DT was granted by the FCC for a six-month extension to the May 1st deadline. Expect them to be broadcasting on a regular basis shortly.....

    Cox to replace boxes that may shock users — 7/11 — Cox CommunicationsReported here last month, Cox has made the decision to personally visit all the homes that have been determined to have defective digital cable boxes - Motorola DCT-2000. "We have identified roughly 3,000 boxes in Hampton Roads installed in customers' homes," said Cox Communications VP Thom Prevette. "We will call and direct mail and visit each of those 3,000 homes." He went on to say, “This is a very small percentage of our digital cable customers. Even though there are 3,000 boxes, only 2-3 percent of those are going to fail the test when the representative comes out there - maybe 60 of the 3,000 boxes." Motorola suits have said "normal operation" of the boxes should pose no safety risk for customers. Motorola will pay for the cost of swapping boxes - it's their recall. Customers have no way of knowing whether their set-top box has one of the faulty parts until a Cox representative inspects the unit. The defective units were delivered to cable companies in 15 states from March 1 to June 19 this year. Phone calls to affected customers began Monday the 8th. Folks wanting more information can log on to www.cox.com/digitalcable/motorola or call 1-888-830-9528.....

    WPTX spins the format wheel — 7/11 — WPTX-AM 1690 in Lexington Park MD has switched from all sports using SNN (Sporting News Network) to news/talk with CNN Headline News and G Gordan Liddy 10AM to 2PM. 1690 puts in a good signal on the Northern Neck. WPTX is owned by Somar Communications who have a handful of stations in Southern Maryland.....

    Cable merger approved — 7/11 — The AT&T/Comcast cable merger is approved. There was never any doubt. Brian Roberts and his family control 86.7% of Comcast's stock. Read the Associated Press' story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.....

    Jeff McKee returns to radio... — 7/11 — ...for only a day. Last September Clear Channel gave him the ax from rocker 'XL102' WRXL and replaced him with 80s band leader Dee Synder (Twisted Sister) out of Connecticut. In a twist of irony, Jeff will return tomorrow afternoon as a one-day substitute on the Allen Price Show heard on 'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA... another Clear Channel property. Yesterday, the guest host was 'Cooter' from the popular 80s show The Dukes Of Hazzard... By the way, The Allen Price Show is heard weekdays from 3PM to 7PM with WRVA easily received in Hampton Roads too. Ray McAllister of the Times-Dispatch has a two-part story on Jeff McKee... Part I which ran on July 11th and Part II which ran on the 12th.....

    National Minority TV Finally! — 7/10 — National Minority TV which owns over two dozen TV stations around the country (all but one are LPTVs) signed on W40BP last month in Richmond on channel 39. The original CP for the station was applied for in March 1993 and granted in March 1994; over nine years! Originally, they were going to be located on channel 40 until the FCC modified the DTV table of allotments for WTKR-DT to change from channel 58 to 40 in Hampton Roads (September 2000). Remember, LPTVs are the low-man on the totem pole so they applied for channel 39. After that, they went through several modifications and interference studies. W40BP will carry the religious network TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) 24/7. All of National Minority's properties carry some sort of religious programming including the other outlet they have here in Virginia... W18BS in Hampton.....

    Primetime TV ratings — 7/9 — Click on the following link for the complete prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of July 1 to July 7 2002.....

    WBOC fires back in DTV-interference battle — 7/8 — WBOC-TV vs WHRO-DTCBS affil WBOC-TV (16) Salisbury MD that brought the original complaint to the FCC filed a reply July 3 to the June 21 reply of WHRO-DT (16/PBS). WHRO had told the FCC that it had complied with the agency’s regulations, that WBOC hadn’t demonstrated a reception problem that required FCC intervention and that even if it had, 'there is no legal basis for the FCC to declared WHRO-DT to be ‘at fault’... so long as WHRO’s facilities are in compliance with FCC rules.' In a 98-page (!) document, WBOC’s attorneys argued that WHRO’s response is wrong 'as a matter of policy and law' and 'does not make sense.' WBOC submitted additional evidence of harm, including interference reports, electronic mails, charts and a sworn statement from a Comcast exec saying that the MSO 'has observed significant levels of interference with WBOC-TV’s signal from late April through the present' and that 'over 2,000 complaints regarding WBOC’s picture' have been received from cable viewers.....

    Broadcasting awards announced CONTINUED — 7/8 — To expand on the awards given out at the the VAB (Virginia Association of Broadcasters) annual awards banquet held in Virginia Beach last week, here is a more complete list of winners throughout the Commonwealth. I have to thank the NOW imfamous "No name, no source". How can this person be in several places at once? Hmmm.....

    AT&T, Comcast deal just waiting on votes — 7/8 — The Richmond Times-Dispatch ran a story from the Associated Press this weekend about the AT&T/Comcast mega-merger. AT&T Broadband has about 150,000 customers in the Richmond area and Comcast has roughly 75,000.....

    Broadcasting awards announced — 7/7 — 93 WFLSCountry ‘93 WFLS’ and other Fredericksburg area stations won big last weekend. WFLS received two awards at the VAB (Virginia Association of Broadcasters) annual awards banquet held in Virginia Beach. In the medium market category, for stations outside of metropolitan districts, WFLS news reporter Tabitha LaRue won the Best Documentary or Public Affairs Award for "Focus: Ovarian Cancer Causes and Detection." This program is now a four-time winner. WFLS will also be presented with a national Clarion award from the Association for Women in Communications in October for the program. WFLS-FM production director Shelly Bynum won the award for Best Commercial for a series of commercials for Ledo Pizza. Also in the medium market category, 50s-70s oldies WGRQ and ‘Thunder 104.5’ WGRX received Best Station/Contest for their "Happy Harley Days." Orange County station country ’98.9 WJMA’ took home the award for outstanding news operation in the small market category. Since the Free Lance-Star was first to report these awards, only Fredericksburg area stations were mentioned in the article.....

    Food Network Fort Lee event on Food Network — 7/6 — 'Army Cook-Off' airing at 9PM tomorrow on the Food Network will focus on the US Army Culinary Arts Competition held at Fort Lee back in March. The show includes profiles of competitors, judges and teams and a history of food service in the Army. Most cable systems now carry Food Network - check it out.....

    Softball tournament to benefit charity — 7/6 — Local law-enforcement officers will square off against TV personalities from WAVY, WVEC and WTKR on tomorrow (7/7) in a softball tournament at War Memorial Stadium on Pembroke Ave in Hampton to raise money for Special Olympics of Virginia. The winner will play against the winner of a game between Carquest Auto Parts employees and radio celebrities from 'FM99' WNOR, '106.9 The Fox' WAFX and 'Eagle 97' WGH. The public is invited to watch the games which take place at 11AM and 1PM. The championship will be played at 3:30PM. Admission is only a buck. A Carquest rep (the sponsor of the games) said their goal is to raise $2,000.....

    Greensboro is #1 — 7/5 — I received an email the other day from "Egghead" and they were wondering what are the top NASCAR markets were as far as TV was concerned. Well I did find that Greensboro NC is the number 1 TV market with a 15.6 share up from 14.4 last year; an increase of 8.3%. Charlotte has seen an increase of 22%(!) in viewership from this time last year.....

    Irving B Hill Hill retires as king of Cox cable — 7/5 — Last week, Larry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot profiled a VERY familiar face to Hampton Roads residents... Irving B Hill. Hill was Norfolk's mayor for 22 months (Sept 74-June 76). He was president and GM of WCMS-FM/AM for 16 years. Later he was consultant for radio stations here and in Petersburg as president of Irvine B Hill Inc. In 1983, he joined Cox Communications and was there ever since. Read the article online by Larry Bonko.....

    Who was first — 7/4 — As far as the breaking news was concerned with the deadly shooting at LAX, MSNBC was first to air the incident. Followed closely by CNN. Fox News Channel was a distant third - several minutes behind 'America's News Channel' MSNBC.....

    UPN27 WGNT-DT on the air by July 15th? — 7/4 — Sources tell me that WGNT-DT, Hampton Roads' last TV station to go digital, could be on the air by next weekend. Their antenna/transmission line is up and working. Test signals should start on Tuesday or Wednesday with regular broadcasting by that weekend. Since independent 'Sky4' WSKY signed on after the DTV table of allotments was formed, they would have to turn their analog signal off to start broadcasting in digital. WGNT's digital channel is 50 and will remap to 27-1.....

    Weather on Sky4? — 7/4 — Sky4At first, I thought I had the wrong channel on. Maybe I was watching WTKR (3/CBS) or a recycled newscast on LNC5. Nope... my Cox converter box was on channel 4. Several VARTV readers and yours truly have seen short weather segments starting to pop up on the independent station. They're a 30-seconds long and put together well. They're using the same graphics as NewsChannel 3 was using last year in their "Triple Doppler 3D" forecast days. They're using WeatherVision who cater to stations with no newscast and offer several different types of weather packages from 30 seconds to 5 minutes long. I was very curious and l had to find out more from the "mole" over there at WSKY. He told me... "we started local weather Monday (7/1/02) … as with the rest of our projects, we have started it with little fanfare until we can get bugs worked out … Right now we are doing weather updates at 6:58p and 8:58p and will expand to run weather at the top of the primetime hours 7 days by the end of the month. Plans are to add it to our website once our other changes are made to our website in the next month or so. So far, they have been right on the money on forecasts but we will see if it catches on. So far, the response has been good." I asked the "mole" if maybe a newscast was in the future. He said, "…not in our immediate plans but this does start our effort to develop more original and locally related programming. We will have a couple of announcements along that line in the next month or so." That'll make Larry Bonko at the Virginian-Pilot happy. He can be a little critical. He expects WSKY to be like WTBS (TBS Superstation) overnight. For competitive reasons, the "mole" couldn't tell me exactly who they are using but did say, "...we are using a service/relationship that has a 24 hour satellite feed backhall." Oh by the way, my mole at WSKY is the President and managing partner... Glenn Holterhaus. Glenn, thanks for you very quick response to my inquiries.....

    Primetime TV ratings — 7/3 — Click on the following link for the complete prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of June 24 to June 30 2002.....

    From the "How about that?" file — 7/2 — Averaging an 8.8 rating on WRLH (35/FOX), Richmond is the ninth highest-rated market for NASCAR Winston Cup races on FOX this season. Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds and the gang complete their second season on FOX with Saturday night's Pepsi 400 from Daytona Beach.....

    Trammell complaint dismissed — 7/2 — A charge was dismissed today against Allen Price a 'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA radio talk show host who had been accused of making annoying phone calls to Richmond City Councilwoman Reva Trammell. Richmond General District Court Judge Coy Kiser Jr dismissed the charge against Price but admonished him not to call Trammell's home again. Both Trammell and Price claimed victory based on the judge's ruling. UPDATE: Read the article online from the Times-Dispatch.....

    Melvin Moore Melvin Moore passed away — 7/1 — Kirby Carmichael passed this along to me... I'm sad to report the promo man of all promo men is gone. Melvin Moore passed away Thursday, June 27, 2002, after a brief stay in the hospital. Melvin will long be remembered from his days getting the Chilites, Tyrone Davis, Barbara Acklin, the Lost Generation to name a few artist on Brunswick Records he worked to get played. Melvin Moore will be missed by his wife Irene of 54 years and the many lives he touched in the record industry. Uncle Mel as some called him was 84 years old. Melvin's wake and funeral will be July 2nd from 4-7PM at Lance's Funeral Home on 109th and West 132nd St NY NY 10451... 212-281-7070.....

    Henry 'The Bull' Del Toro dead! — 6/29 — Henry 'The Bull' Del Toro, once a popular and controversial figure in Hampton Roads radio, was found dead Friday evening. He was 44 years old. The entire article is online at pilotonline.com.....

    Off the air — 6/28 — Just after 2 o'clock this afternoon, urban 'Hot 102.1' WWHV has been off-the-air. The T-1 line between the station and the tower is down. It was supposed to be up by 5 but that didn't happened. Finally, just before 8:30 in the evening they were back up.....

    2WD Hampton Roads radio Phase II Arbitrends — 6/28 — 103 Jamz falls from number 1! Now, a full share separates the new #1 AC '2WD' WWDE and WOWI. Entercom's urban AC '95-7 R&B' WVKL is just three-tenths out from '103 Jamz.' Where has WOWI's audience gone to? Not to sister hip-hip '92.1 The Beat' WBHH. They slid down to a 2.0. And not to 'Hot 102.1' WWHV. They dropped a notch to 1.2. Questions. Questions. For the most COMPLETE and DETAILED 12+ rankings anywhere for Hampton Roads click here.....

    K95 Richmond radio Phase II Arbitrends — 6/28 — Status quo in Richmond... 'K95' WKHK had a good month - up one full ratings point to take over second place. For the most COMPLETE and DETAILED 12+ rankings anywhere for Richmond click here.....

    Ch-ch-changes coming to AT&T Broadband Richmond — 6/28 — AT&T ComcastCountry Music Television is being added to AT&T Broadband basic channel line-up beginning Monday on channel 79. With CMT now on channel 79, it's bye-bye to The Game Show Network, at least on standard cable, where it aired part time on 79. The Game Show Network is already available on AT&T's digital lineup on 83. It will remain on digital basic but move to channel 161. AT&T is also adding a major new package to its digital tiers - the Hispanic Tier, offering nine channels of Hispanic programming. Included are Discovery en Español, Fox Sports World Español, VH1 en Español and CNN en Español. This tier will cost $6.99/month for customers who subscribe to AT&T's digital service. With this new Hispanic programming, AT&T is adding HBO Latino to the digital premium package. These are some of the many changes being made to AT&T's lineup between Monday and sometime in August. The digital tiers are getting an overhaul. Right now, digital customers can order three tiers of channels in addition to Digital Basic: Movies & Music, Sports & Information, and Family & Variety. Those three are being merged into two: Variety tier (which adds Nicktoons, MBC, NUE, The Word Network and Great American Country) and Premier tier (which includes three new Fox Sports packages). MBC offers programming aimed at African-Americans, The Word Network offers urban ministries and gospel music, and NUE considers itself a competitor to BET. Even though the new Variety tier offers most of the music channels on the old movies and music tier (MTV2, VHI Country, MTV Jams, VHI Classic Rock and VHI Soul), MuchMusic and BET on Jazz are on the Premier tier. The new tiers will be offered to new customers beginning Monday. Existing customers will see the changes in their August billing cycle. Three new channels are being added to Digital Basic: G4 (focuses on the latest information about electronic games), Wisdom (focuses on personal growth and healthier living) and ShopNBC (a home shopping service formerly ValueVision. AT&T is adding three additional 'screens' of Showtime... Next, Family and Women. Along with programming changes, there are price changes. The Digital Platinum service, the highest level, is increasing from $79.99 to $82.99/month. The price of the other digital packages all remain the same.....

    Watch-out Cox! — 6/28 — DirecTV announced the other day that it will be offering local channels to the Hampton Roads market by late August of this year. The Hampton Roads market will receive local channels from DirecTV's satellite at the 119- degree West Longitude (WL) orbital slot, requiring the use of a multi-satellite capable DirecTV System, which includes a single 18-by-24-inch dish and receiver. The press release did not state exactly what 'local' channels were going to be offered. In Raleigh and Nashville for example, DirecTV is even carrying independents. Will they carry independent 'Sky4' WSKY? 'PAX49' WPXV? How 'bout PBS 'UNC-TV' WUND? The company does not know how many local channels it will carry because DirecTV sends out letters to area broadcasters asking for their participation, and they are asked to respond within 60 days. A company spokesperson said that "Typically, most stations in a market with a strong enough signal say yes." The 'locals' package costs $5.99/month.....

    UPDATE: From unnamed sources… WVEC (13/ABC), WAVY (10/NBC), WTKR (3/CBS), WVBT (43/Fox), WSKY (4/Ind) and WHRO (15/PBS) are a ‘go’ for the DirecTV locals line-up. These stations will ‘fiber’ from their studios to a site in VA Beach where the signals will be multiplexed together into one signal to be fibered to El Segundo CO. ‘Sky4’ WSKY will microwave their signal from Currituck County NC to the VA Beach site. ‘PAX49’ WPVX will not be on the Norfolk feed – which I can’t make sense of. A national PAX feed is available to all markets on 255. Also heard, ‘UNC-TV’ WUND (2/PBS) in Columbia NC will not be on the Norfolk feed. The decision to be carried again is up to the local broadcaster and I can’t figure out why WUND would not want to be. They ‘pushed’ Cox Communications to have signal added to the Cox system. This would mean more EYEBALLS! No word yet at ‘WB33’ WTVZ or ‘UPN27’ WGNT. However, the WB and UPN stations are on most ‘locals’ that DirecTV carries.....

    95-7R&B rumblings — 6/27 — 95-7R&BDerrick Corbett (DC) -- PD of Entercom's urban AC '95-7R&B' WVKL has been out of the post for 3 weeks now and is out of the building. No word why though. His afternoon slot is currently being handled by Charles Black (a part-timer). Paul Lewis is out as Assistant Promotions Coordinator. He was bumped about a month ago, again top secret. He will not be directly replaced. 3 part-timers are filling his slot. Mitch Allen (formerly middays of 'blown-up' oldies Kool 95.7) is out as of this Friday. He has been swing and production since the Kool flip to '95-7 R&B' last year. He joins Clear Channel's 50s-70s oldies '3WS' in Pittsburgh for APD/Nights as well as some other duties.....

    Oldies 92-9Star 94.1 The shuffling at the Barnstable cluster continues — 6/27 — Fans of the new 60s-70s oldies ‘Oldies 92-9’ WWSO might have been wondering why Dale Murray has been off the air. VARTV hears that Murray got the PD post at sister black gospel or as they called it ‘Contemporary Inspirational’ ‘Star 94.1’ WXEZ. Carla Isaac (formerly Carla Clarke from defunct Soul Classics 92.9) handles mornings, Mark Rawlison moved back to afternoons. Karla Fox was their former PD but left in April. As of now, both Isaac and Rawlison are pulling long shifts – Isaac 6AM-12N and Rawlison 12N-6PM. Once Murray settles in, possibly mid-days could be in his future but Barnstable is in no hurry to staff up a station that does well without a staff. As my source says “Problem is, they can't sell the station.” I’ve heard the gospel format is a very hard sell. Over at ‘Oldies 92-9’, Amy York moved from afternoons to mid-days as her new permanent post. They’re currently on a search for a PD/Afternooner, which is why they are having Guest DJ's fill the slot – Kurt Williams from WTKR (3/CBS) and Kerri Mattson from WAVY (10/NBC). My source and I agree that someone may have already been inked. Nights over at WWSO are wide-open. Maybe they’ll get that spot filled before their one-year anniversary. Barnstable is the slow in getting things done.....

    Hot 102.1 Listen to Hot 102.1 — 6/26 — Listen to new urban 'Hot 102.1' WWHV live on the Internet. Goto hot1021.com and click on the Listen Live link. You need to have Windows Media player installed on your computer. It helps too that Windows Media player is your default player for audio streams that start with "mms://..." These audio streams are encoded in the WMA format.....

    Primetime TV ratings — 6/26 — Click on the following link for the complete prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of June 17 to June 23 2002.....

    Where's Dale Murray? — 6/25 — Kurt WilliamsKerri MattsonDale Murray can longer be heard on Barnstable's 60s 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO. They have shifted Amy York from nights to middays. She really doesn't have that 'oldies' sound. Right now, WWSO is featuring guest DJs. Heard yesterday and today is Kurt Williams from early mornings on WTKR (3/CBS), Norfolk Sheriff Bob McCabe will be on Friday (6/28). Next week, WAVY's (10/NBC) Kerri Mattson will be in the hot seat all week long. According to their website, WWSO has 'exciting' things in the works for the afternoon drive.....

    Joe Hoppel Joe Hoppel — 6/24 — Reported here back in late February, longtime personality Joe Hoppel of WCMS is being inducted into the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame this Thursday June 27th. It is a well-deserved honor. Each inductee must have served at least 25 years in country radio and contributed to radio's growth as well as helping develop and preserve the enhancement of country music. Joe has been waking up WCMS listeners on the station's 'Wake Up Crew' for 47(!) years. He came to this area from WLOW in Pennsylvania when he was 18. As Joe would say 'Have yourself a nice day, why don't ya? Ya got a nice day for it.' Again, Ccngratulations, Joe!

    Music Choice Music Choice will revamp line-up — 6/24 — If your cable company carries Music Choice then you’ll notice big changes coming to their line-up starting Wednesday July 24th. On that day, Music Choice will be adding formats, changing the names of formats and completely dropping others. This comes on the heels of a brand new graphics scheme just recently launched. The service is adding Mainstream Rock, New Wave, Bluegrass, R&B and Hip-Hop, Rhythmic AC, Opera, Show Tunes, Rock en Espanol and Latin Love Songs. Getting new names are Showcase (now only one channel), Americana (former American Originals – Bluegrass now gets its own channel), all the R&B formats, Power Rock, Electronica, Big Band & Swing, Smooth Jazz, Reggae, Soundscapes and Salsa Merengue. A handful of ethnic programming is dropped. VARTV editor’s favorite channel is Light Classical now on MC33 (was MC30). However, that channel might get a run from the new New Wave channel (MC22). Out of all the different types of 80s music (dance, rock, rhythmic, European etc), my favorite is Euro-rock/pop as I call it. This format was called Retroactive and only programmed in 3-hour blocks a couple of times a week. Now it’s 24/7. The main reason I don’t like 80s stations is that they are programmed towards a ‘rock’ lean. For the most part, Star 107.3’ WBBT in Richmond suffers from the same draw back. That’s my two-cents worth. Cox has listed the new line-up on their Hampton Roads page.....

    Not local but cool — 6/21 — If a movie's original soundtrack had 5.1-channel audio, Showtime Networks will broadcast it with Dolby Digital 5.1 on ALL 32 of its channels. They include all time-zone feeds of SHO HDTV as well as all those of the standard-definition channels: Showtime, Showtime Too, Showcase, Extreme, Beyond, Next, Women, FamilyZone, The Movie Channel, TMC Xtra, Sundance and Flix. That's pretty cool!

    Here we go again — 6/21 — The Suffolk City Council voted Wednesday to revoke the city’s cable franchise, Charter Communications, if it can't show within 60 days that it has improved service. This is not the first time that the City Council has made this threat. Since buying the Falcon Cable system two years ago, customers have complained about numerous cable outages, snowy channels, disappearing channels and even switching channels along with poor customer service. During an hour-long public hearing, most came out to support the cable provider – the 4th largest in the country. However, council based their decision on staff reports citing persistent complaints about customer service and repair schedules. Also at the meeting Charter was disputing $340,000 in fines imposed on them by the City. Within the past two years, the company said it has spent $10 million on rebuilding the city's 17-year-old cable system with over 9,000+ subscribers. Councilman Thomas L Woodward Jr said, "They don't deliver basic cable service the way they're supposed to... It's time for Charter to go.'' He went on to tell council members, "It's the same routine over and over again… How many chances are they supposed to get? Let's do the right thing and get rid of Charter Communications.''

    ’The Gold Mine’ picks up syndie — 6/21 — WBYMClassic country ‘The Gold Mine’ WBYM-AM (1490) has picked up Colleen’s Classic Country USA syndicated 3-hour show. Colleen Addair doubles as MD/midday jock at Citadel’s country WIVK Knoxville. Classic Country USA is a weekly syndicated show that features country hits from the 50's through the 80's. WBYM does stream their audio over the Internet (classichitcountry.com) but as of this writing nothin’ was coming outta the speakers.....

    "Walk-on Week" talk-show host — 6/21 — Douglas Durden of the Times-Dispatch talks to 'SportsRadio 910' WRNL's first walk-on talk show host - Ryan Alger. He did quite well. Read the entire article online from the Times-Dispatch.....

    Fredericksburg Arbitrends — 6/20 — The Spring 2002 Phase II Arbitrends were released to Fredericksburg today. This trend covers March, April and May. Not much changes from last month at all. The top 5... 1) WFLS 2) The B 3) WTOP 4) WJFK and 5) WFVA-AM. For the most COMPLETE and DETAILED 12+ rankings anywhere click here.....

    Fred Yco Fred Yco found GUILTY! — 6/20 — WAVY (10/NBC) meteorologist Fred Yco pleaded guilty Tuesday to a single misdemeanor charge of larceny by check. Yco who lives in the 2700 block of Broad Bay Road in Virginia Beach, was charged last month with three counts of grand larceny by check. Yco cashed three checks totaling $10,500 at a Wachovia bank in April, according to court records. He 'said' the charges stemmed from a dispute between his bank and credit-card company. He could not be reached Wednesday for comment. Yco paid back the money, according to a spokesman for the commonwealth's attorney's office. Yco was not prosecuted on two of the felonies, and the third charge was reduced to a misdemeanor, the spokesman said. A judge gave Yco a six-month suspended jail sentence, unsupervised probation for 12 months and is required to take a financial responsibility class. Yco, 35, joined WAVY in 1998.....

    WBOC-TV: Muzzle WHRO-DT — 6/20 — WBOC-TVCBS affiliate WBOC-TV (16) in Salisbury MD has asked the FCC to power down or shut down non-commercial WHRO-DT (16/PBS) in Norfolk saying that interference from the digital station is degrading its signal to both over-the-air and cable customers. In its complaint, WBOC-TV said the interference is causing "the severe impairment or destruction of the local [service], CBS network and other highly valued service." The station said it has received complaints from viewers and from cable provider Comcast, adding that the interference is widespread and exceeds the FCC’s interference standard. WBOC also said WHRO’s interference study "dramatically underestimated" the level of interference. If the FCC does not act immediately, the station said, it would be caused "irreparable harm." WHRO stands by its engineer’s interference study. I'll keep you updated.....

    Two new 'Stars' — 6/20 — Star 94.1Star 107.3Richmond's 80s-90s Hits 'Star 107.3' WBBT and Hampton Roads' Black Gospel 'Star 94.1' WXEZ have made-over websites. The 'Star 107.3' logo has changed slightly. The webmaster's email address has an '@richmond.edu' extension. Did a student from the University Of Richmond design their new website? Star 94.1's website is now being redesigned by the same folks that their sister station 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO is using... Nettek. With WWSO and WXEZ using Nettek are the new country 'Eagle 97.3' WGH and heritage country WCMS' websites next in line? When I visited WXEZ's website they describe their format as 'contemporary inspirational'. I like that. That SOUNDS good. Just like a garbage man is a 'sanitation supervisor'.....

    Primetime TV ratings — 6/19 — Click on the following link for the complete prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for the week of June 10 to June 16 2002.....

    UPN UPN unveils new logo — 6/19 — Recently, the UPN network which now does NOT stand for United Paramount Network (the United part 'broke-off') unveiled a new logo - the one on the right. There was talk in the past to rename the struggling network to 'The Paramount Network' but that fell through. Even though this logo has been introduced, it's hard to find. The O&O 'UPN27' WGNT, 'UPN65' WUPV and 'UPN20' WDCA aren't using it; either is any other UPN affiliate. Expect to see more of it in the upcoming weeks. UPN is owned by Viacom who also runs CBS.....

    Ed Munson Did you know — 6/19 — Ed Munson who not only runs WAVY (10/NBC), "FOX43' WVBT and has a JSA with 'PAX49' WPXV, he's also overseeing operations at 'CBS12' WPRI and 'FOX Providence' WNAC in Providence RI. It doesn't stop there. Recently, the suits at LIN TV gave him even more responsibility in overseeing 'NewsChannel 8' WTNH (ABC) and WCTX (59/UPN) in New Haven CT. Talk about frequent flying miles.....

    Did you know - Part II — 6/19 — Tom Randles Barbara CiaraThe median salary for a TV reporter in a market size like Hampton Roads is $32,250 according to a survey of newsrooms by the Radio And Television News Directors Association... For anchors it's $65,000. Aren't both Tom Randles and Barbara Ciara over there at 'NewsChannel 3' WTKR (CBS) making over $200K a year??? Is that why they're smiling in these photos???

    AT&T Broadband plans tiered service — 6/18 — AT&T Broadband, which provides cable Internet service in Richmond and several surrounding counties, said it plans to begin offering tiered service as soon as this summer. Whether Richmond will be among the first markets hasn’t been decided. AT&T spokesperson Julia Torres Barden said, "We'd like to create three price points that are most accommodating for our customers… We're going to approach the tiered-pricing scenario in a 'fast, faster, fastest' scenario so we accommodate customers across the board. “Analysts expect all cable Internet providers nationally to move toward tiered pricing. AT&T is not alone. Folks in Chesterfield County likely can expect to have a range of price plans from Comcast in the future. Comcast spokesperson Jenni Moyer said, "We've not announced any plans. But like others, it's something that we're looking at." By the way, AT&T Broadband and Comcast plan to merge in the near future. Charter has offered tiered pricing for a couple of years. In Suffolk, Charter charges $24.95 for 256 kbps downloads/128 kbps uploads. That compares to about $20 for most dial-up connections, which have maximum downloads of 56 kbps. Not a bad deal at all. Charter also charges $34.95 for 512 kbps downloads/128 kbps uploads and $44.95 for 1 Mbps downloads/256 kbps upload. The second tier will increase to 768 kbps for downloads and the third tier to 1.5 Mbps this summer. At this time, Cox Communications in Hampton Roads and Fredericksburg and Adelphia don’t offer tiered pricing. Tiered pricing is nothing new to DSL providers like Verizon and Cavalier. Verizon currently offers two speeds and prices for your home while Cavalier offers three. Covad too will start offering tiered options in the near future.....

    Sky 13 vs Chopper 10 — 6/17 — Chopper 10Starting October 15th, WVEC (13/ABC) will have their helicopter ‘Sky 13’ all to themselves. Until then, WVEC will continue to lease the chopper from HeloAir, which also operates helicopters in Richmond, Atlanta and DC. As of now, it’s on a first come-first served basis meaning the chopper is not always available. Response time will be quicker. WAVY (10/NBC) purchased their chopper in 2000 – a Bell 206-L3 Long Ranger. Sky 13’s is a Bell 206 Jet Ranger. WAVY said, ‘It (Chopper 10) has enough cutting edge technology to make NASA green with envy.” Both stations finished in a virtual dead heat at 6 o’clock in the latest news ratings. The stations are searching for the slimmest advantage over the other. As a viewer, I don’t like how WAVY presents their news – it’s over-sensationalized, in-your-face, scared-to-death-watching-their-promos-to-stay-tuned-at-11… BUT I do admit their chopper is a big asset to them. As a fan of the newscasts on WVEC, Sky 13, full-time, will be a great addition. The comment coming out of WTKR (3/CBS) about a helicopter is "We're looking at our options". Like WVEC, they too lease a chopper but with another service.....

    Colonial Downs on ESPN2 — 6/17 — ESPN2 is coming to our little corner of the world July 13 to telecast the fifth running of the Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs. The $500,000 Thoroughbred race will be seen only slightly delayed on ESPN2 as part of its "NTRA 2Day at the Races." This is the first time the Derby will be seen on national TV. Post time is 5:40PM with ‘The Deuce’ picking up the replay during the 6PM show. Host Chris Lincoln will preview the Derby on his weekly "Wire To Wire" program (July 10th at 2PM) then spotlight the 1¼-mile race for 3-year-olds on turf in a special "At The Track" segment of the July 17th edition. "Wire To Wire" attracts a weekly audience of more than 650,000 viewers. This should good exposure for the Track. The only other time the Derby was on TV, it was 1998 when regional HTS (Home Team Sports now Comcast Sports Net) taped the event. Later that year, ESPN was there for harness racing's $3.2 million Breeders Crown.....

    SportsRadio 910 12 'Joe Blows' take host offer on WRNL — 6/17 — An Army officer, a bartender, a computer training expert and a financial analyst are among the 12 ‘SportsRadio 910’ WRNL listeners to plunk down $100 for the chance to serve as hosts of their own hour of a sports talk show. "Walk-On Week" starts at 7PM tonight. Additional shows are scheduled for 8 and 9 tonight; tomorrow and Wednesday at 7; Friday at 7, 8 and 9PM; Saturday at 10 and 11AM and June 24th at 7PM. "We provide the signal, you provide the smack," is how 910 promoted the opportunity, promising to provide everything else needed for a radio show. "The guest host should bring strong, informed opinions on whatever they want to talk about," said PD Randy Bloomquist. A portion of each $100 fee goes to benefit the Richmond Police Athletic League, according to Bloomquist, who also pointed out that a typical hour, if sold to a business, would cost approximately $500.....

    WCDX gets a new PD — 6/17 — Radio One’s powerhouse urban ‘Power 92-1 Jamz’ WCDX names Terry Foxx as its new program director. Foxx will report directly to GM Bob Rich. Foxx, who replaces departed Lamonda Williams, comes from the West Coast via Clear Channel’s urban AC ‘V101.1’ KHYL. Before that, he spent two years at Cumulus' urban 92Q WQQK and 'Kiss 106.7' as Operations Director in Nashville. He has also held different on-air shifts such as afternoon drive at Infinity's 'B96' WBBM-FM in Chicago from '93-99, middays for Service Broadcasting's urban 'K104FM' KKDA in Dallas from '91 to '92, late nights for ABC's WPLJ in New York from '90 to '91 and overnights for Nationwide's 'BJ105' in Orlando from '86 to '88. GM Bob Rich said, "We're very excited to have Terry Foxx join the WCDX team in Richmond. In addition to his obvious talents and abilities, Terry brings an infectious enthusiasm everyday. He has worked at great radio stations, and Power 92.1 will benefit from his experiences." He puts the PD name badge on starting June 24th.....

    Richmond's own... — 6/13 — Look for Nick Broughton, assistant special agent in charge of the Richmond office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, on today's "Montel Williams Show" airing at 4PM on WTVR (6/CBS).....

    Red Wings! — 6/13 — The Detroit Redwings take, I mean earn, the 2002 Stanley Cup beating the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 in Game 5 taking the series 4-1. Commentators Gary Thorne and Bill Clement of ESPN/ABC in my book did an outstanding job calling the games.....

    2002 Stanley Cup Detroit Redwings


    Hot 9-9-3 gets a new PD — 6/13 — JD Kunes, the Operations Manager for Radio One’s Dayton OH cluster takes over as PD of hip-hop ‘Hot 9-9-3’ WRHH. He replaces Darrell Johnson, who left for Nashville to the Cumulus cluster. Big Nat will remain as the music director for WRHH. JD will continue to oversee urban ‘Power 92 Jamz’ WCDX as well as Louisville sisters modern rocker ‘105-1LRS’ WLRS and Hot AC outlet ‘102.3 The Max’ WULV.....

    Freddysburg's city council approves Cox rate hikes — 6/13 — Cox Communications Fredericksburg customers will see an increase in their cable bills starting Aug 1st. The director of operations for Cox, Ed Riley, said the company must raise prices to balance out the rising cost of providing services. He said quote, "Programming costs have increased, and we have invested money in carrying a lot of additional channels that we have added throughout this year." The price of basic cable will be increased from $11.55 to $12.70, an increase of $1.15. Expanded service will go from $20.95 to $22.25 - an increase of $1.30. Premium channels, HBO, Cinemax, STARZ! and Showtime will cost an extra $1 each. The largest rate increase is for "The Big Deal" package, which includes all the channels in expanded service, digital cable plus a greater variety of PPV offerings. Its price will go up $5.70, from $76.49 to $82.19. The Fredericksburg City Council gave its ‘blessing’ to the price increase Tuesday night. These changes will affect 17,275 Cox customers in Fredericksburg and the counties of Spotsylvania and Stafford. All of this information about the new pricing scale will be mailed out next month to customers in their billing statements.....

    Help wanted — 6/12 — There's a new classified ad listed on VARTV. Check out all of VARTV's classifieds on our Opportunities page.....

    Dave Parker Dave Parker to speak — 6/12 — Meteorologist Dave Parker of WTKR (3/CBS) will be speaking at the Great Bridge Baptist Church about a special Hurricane Readiness meeting. The church is located at 640 S Battlefield Blvd in Chesapeake – just south of Mt Pleasant Rd. Joining Dave will be Hui’shan Walker of the Chesapeake Crisis Management office. A light lunch will be available for a fee. Reservations are needed for this meeting by Friday the 14th – 757-463-6525.....

    Primetime TV ratings — 6/12 — Click on the following link for the prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for June 3 to June 9 2002.....

    More value — 6/12 — Cox Communications announced late last month that if you are a digital cable/single premium customer, you will now get ALL screens of that premium channel at no additional cost. See the chart below for the complete multiple screen line-up...

    Cox multiple screen line-up


    Motorola digital cable set-top box advisory — 6/12 — MotorolaIf you have a Motorola digital cable converter (DCT-2000) and it was installed between March 1 and May 31, 2002, your box may be defective. What exactly is the problem? Well, when removing the power cord from the back of the converter boxes there's the possibility that a pin in the power supply may become disengaged from the converter box, remaining attached to the power cord. If the cord hasn't first been unplugged from the power outlet, there is a 'potential' shock hazard. General Instruments also produces a very similar looking converter - it is NOT included in this advisory. Cox Communications, one of several major cable companies using the boxes, is reporting about a dozen and a half markets being affected by this. Hampton Roads and Roanoke are included - Fredericksburg is not. A complete FAQ has been posted on Cox's homepage. Comcast released a press release on the 7th as did Motorola.....

    Cox, TV stations launch info campaign — 6/12 — Cox Communications hopes to begin providing high-definition programming to cable customers by the first half of next year, said Cox General Manager Frank Bowers. Bowers joined the managers of seven local TV stations and two electronics retailers at a press conference Monday at WHRO, Hampton Roads’ public broadcasting station. The event ‘kicked-off’ a campaign to inform people about the advantages of hi-def TV and other aspects of digital technology. Bowers said Cox is working with Motorola to develop the boxes for use in cable customers' homes. The cable company probably will offer a tier of digital and analog programming, he said. The press conference received a lot of media attention. All four stations with newscasts ran stories on the conference along with newspaper coverage in the area’s two largest papers, The Virginian-Pilot and The Daily Press. .....

    Don Bentley Sr passes — 6/10 — Condolences to friends and family of former radio broadcaster Donald Michael Bentley Sr, who died this past Saturday at the age of 69 at his home in Williamsburg . Bentley moved to Williamsburg in 1965 as general manager of WBCI-FM (96.5) and WMBG-AM (740) radio and later was general partner of Williamsburg Broadcasting Limited, which owned the William and Mary Sports Network. and also did color commentary for William & Mary's football games. Don also served as a past President of the VBA (Virginia Broadcasters Association).....

    WUPV-DT — 6/10 — TV 65 Broadcasting's WUPV-DT was granted an extension for their digital TV station to be located on channel 47. This CP extension is good for six months. WWBT-DT is still Richmond's only digital signal. For those of you keeping track, Hampton Roads has eight.....

    Good Luck — 6/10 — R&RSeveral VARTV-land personalities/stations have been nominated for the Radio & Records Industry Achievement Awards. They recognize the excellence in both the radio and record industries. The awards process begins each February, when R&R's readers nominate those industry professionals, radio stations and record labels to the annual ballot. The top six vote-getters in each category then make it to the final ballot. At the end of April, the final ballots were mailed to all R&R subscribers. The winners will be announced at R&R Convention 2002 held this year on Thursday June 13th through Saturday June 15th in Beverly Hills. The following are the categories with local nominations.....

    PD OF THE YEAR - CLASSIC ROCK
    Mike Beck - '106.9 The Fox' WAFX
    Jeff Couch - KRXO/Oklahoma City
    Carey Curelop - KZOK/Seattle-Tacoma
    Garner Goin - KRFX/Denver-Boulder
    Jeff Sanders - WSFL/Greenville, NC
    Mike Thomas - WFBQ/Indianapolis

    MUSIC DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR - AC
    Jim Doyle - KEZK/St. Louis
    Mark Lawrence - WMJX/Boston
    Brenda Matthews - WMGF/Orlando
    Chad Perry - WEAT/West Palm Beach
    Jeff Moreau - '2WD' WWDE
    Stella Schwartz - KOST/Los Angeles

    STATION OF THE YEAR - ACTIVE ROCK
    KRAB/Bakersfield
    KQRC/Kansas City
    KXXR/Minneapolis
    'FM99' WNOR
    KISS/San Antonio
    KHTQ/Spokane

    AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR - ACTIVE ROCK
    Bubba The Love Sponge - WXTB/Tampa
    Drew & Mike - WRIF/Detroit
    Johnny Dare - KQRC/Kansas City
    Rob, Arnie & Dawn - KRXQ/Sacramento
    Tommy & Rumble - 'FM99' WNOR
    Lisle & Hahn - KISS/San Antonio


    WAVYWVEC It’s a horse race! — 6/10 — That’s how Larry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot and the exes at WVEC (13/ABC) and WAVY (10/NBC) call it. The May sweeps have come up big for ’13 News’. WVEC took both the 5 and 5:30PM newscasts and came within two-tenths of a ratings point at 6PM. Channel 13 is also up at 6AM and on their noon newscasts. In the early morning hours, WVEC recently added Janet Roach from Baltimore. They still trail powerhouse ‘WAVY News 10 Today’ by 3½ points. At 6PM since WVEC hired David Alan to replace Terry Zahn (who passed away), they have shaved almost four points off WAVY’s lead. At 5:30PM, WVEC is the leader by two-tenths of a point. For David Alan as Larry puts it “He does the news in shirt-sleeves, strolling the newsroom for one-on-one chats with reporters. It’s a little hokey, but it works.” All three stations, including WTKR (3/CBS), have a newscast at 5:30. WVEC’s by far is the newest of the three. At 11PM and in the early morning (5AM-7AM), WAVY is still king. WAVY has won 66 of the last 70 ratings periods. Including weekend newscasts, Channel 10 came on top eight different times. For WTKR, well much can’t be said. They were last five out of their six daily newscasts. Only their noon news placed first with a great lead-in from ‘The Price Is Right’. I use the word ‘last’ and not ‘third’ because at 6PM, Judge Judy on ‘UPN27’ WGNT consistently beats their newscasts. At times, they also are beaten by ‘The Simpsons’ on ‘FOX43’ WVBT. Here are the May sweeps results.....
    Newscast
    Hour

    6AM



    Noon



    5PM



    5:30PM



    6PM




    11PM
    Rank/
    Station

    1. WAVY
    2. WVEC
    3. WTKR

    1. WTKR
    2. WAVY
    3. WTKR

    1. WVEC
    2. WAVY
    3. WTKR

    1. WVEC
    2. WAVY
    3. WTKR

    1. WAVY
    2. WVEC
    3. WGNT
    4. WTKR

    1. WAVY
    2. WVEC
    3. WTKR
    2001
    Rating

    9.5
    4.9
    4.1

    6.5
    3.4
    3.2

    7.2
    7.2
    4.2

    5.0
    8.9
    5.0

    10.6
    6.9
    5.6
    5.3

    9.3
    7.6
    7.3
    2002
    Rating

    8.1
    5.6
    4.1

    6.3
    4.0
    3.7

    7.3
    6.7
    5.0

    7.4
    7.2
    4.9

    8.3
    8.1
    6.0
    4.6

    9.6
    7.2
    6.4
    96X Could Hampton Roads LOSE a radio station? — 6/7 — Some very interesting information coming from the FCC today. Apparently, Sinclair Telecable, the owners of alternative ‘96X’ WROX Cape Charles and 106.1 WEXM Exmore (currently simulcasting ‘93-7 The Coast’ WKOC) wants to amend the FM Table of Allotments for Exmore and Belle Haven. Both of those localities are located halfway up Virginia’s Eastern Shore – out of the Hampton Roads market. Here’s what they are proposing. They want to move WEXM’s community of license to Belle Haven – a couple of miles up the road from Exmore. This would be Belle Haven’s first local aural transmission service. Secondly, they want to reallot Channel 241B (96.1) WROX from Cape Charles to Exmore to maintain the community’s sole local aural transmission service. WROX’s license would, too, reflect the change in communities. As far as Cape Charles goes, they still would have Contemporary Christian ‘K-Love’ WAZP as a local voice. These changes have the blessing of the FCC but are seeking objections from the public for the next six weeks. What all this means is that Hampton Roads would lose the signal at 96.1. Then what would happen? Does 96X just go away? 96X is more successful than sister AAA ’93-7 The Coast’. Could the format now heard on 96X replace the Coast’s on the 93.7 blowtorch? What happens to the translator at 106.1 that 96X uses for downtown Norfolk coverage? Will they keep that to relay the new WROX located in Exmore? This is going to get interesting later this summer. Read the FCC statement online about the proposed rulemaking.....

    Richmond's 4M Communications is profiled — 6/7 — Radio RichmondDouglas Durden of the Times-Dispatch profiles Richmond's 4M Communications. Their properties include 'Hot Talk & Sports 990 WLEE' WLEE//WHAP-AM 1340, adult standards 'Unforgettable 1320' WVNZ and Richmond's #1 gospel outlet 'Rejoice Radio 1540' WREJ. They will have a fifth station coming online in the next few months at AM1480. No call letters yet. Speaking of AM 1480, Jim Jacobs tells RTD that the format is still undetermined... hmmm. He wants suggestions from the public. How about all-Spanish/ethnic? Hampton Roads just got one - 'Radio Vida' WRJR-AM 670. Could Richmond support one? Move all of the ethnic programming and sports (R-Braves Spanish broadcasts) on WVNZ-AM 1320 to the new 1480. WVNZ-AM does quite well with its MOYL format. Expanding it 24/7 definitely couldn't hurt. Just my two cents worth. Anyways, the entire article can be found online at timesdispatch.com.....

    Don & Mike The 'Don & Mike' saga — 6/7 — As you have probably been reading, the big question is what's up with Don & Mike? To be updated with their whereabouts please continue to read the DCRTV mainpage and mailbag. For now the 'Best Of...' can be heard in Hampton Roads on 'AM 1450 The Buzz' WBVA.....

    Is the 'Dance' format radio's next hottest format? — 6/5 — About 18 months ago, Chicago was the first market to get an ALL dance formatted station. This was thanks to Clear Channel flipping the 103.5 frequency to their KISS jukebox. It forced Big City Radio's WDEK/WKIE/WKIF trimulcast to flip to dance as Energy 92-7&5. Fast-forward to December 2001 when Cox Radio Miami blow-up a classical station to start up 'Party 93-1' WPYM. Just a couple of weeks '92-7 Party' KPTI in the San Francisco area came to life after breaking off a trimulcast. Now dance fever has hit Denver. After a very unsuccessful sign-on of rhythmic 'U102', KXUU spun the format wheel to '102.1X - Denver's Pure Dance Channel' KXDC. What makes these stations different from the aforementioned is that they are PURE dance stations - not hybrids like KTU in New York, '95-3 Party' Orlando and 'Power 96' Miami. I can think of several frequencies here in Hampton Roads that should be contemplating a format change.....

    Condolences to Daisy Davis — 6/5 — VARTV extends our deepest sympathies to urban '103 Jamz' WOWI's PD Daisy Davis on the loss of her brother, Robert McCow from brain cancer at age 34. The funeral will be held tomorrow at the Cathedral of Joy, 1918 Kedzie, Flossmore IL 60422 (708-957-9555). You can email your condolences to Daisy at ezadd@aol.com.....

    Route 58 — 6/5 — Reporter/columnist Bill Lohmann and senior staff photographer Bob Brown of the Richmond Times-Dispatch are on a road trip, and they want you to come along with weekly installments chronicling their travels along US 58, the common thread that winds some 500 miles across southern Virginia from the Atlantic Ocean to the Cumberland Gap. Every Sunday starting June 2nd until the end of October, they’ll show you and tell you about the people and places they encounter along the way. They started their journey right here in Virginia Beach. Follow their entire expedition “Common Thread: Route 58” online.....

    Atmosphere playing tricks — 6/5 — If you haven’t noticed already, the atmosphere this morning was playing havoc on local radio stations. I noticed if the station’s tower wasn’t in the immediate area, it was subject to interference. I think the hardest hit was alternative 96X WROX. They were getting over-run by the blow torch rocker ‘96 Rock’ WBBB out of Raleigh NC. The ironic thing is that 96X has a downtown translator at 106.1 to help reception in Norfolk and many times can be used as an alternative. Not today. It was being clobbered by another Raleigh rocker, ‘106-1 RDU’ WRDU. WROX wasn’t alone. Classic hits ‘106.9 The Fox’ WAFX with their stick out in Suffolk had a static signal as to did black gospel ‘Star 94.1’ WXEZ with their tower on the Peninsula. And poor WODC. The Contemporary Christian outlet has a translator at 103.7 for the residents of Chesapeake. Instead, this morning they got a booming signal from CHR ’The Carolina's #1 Hit Music Station - The Hot FM’ (WRHT//WCBZ) in eastern North Carolina. A great CHR by the way. It seems that most of the signals were coming from Raleigh, eastern North Carolina and even as far south as Myrtle Beach SC. Hot AC ‘Mix 97.7’ WWXM was coming in quite well from there. I’m sure the situation was different depending upon were one was but it was quite a unique morning.....

    Primetime TV ratings — 6/5 — Click on the following link for the prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for May 27 to June 2 2002.....

    Thank you — 6/4 — Many thanks goes out to Ted Hand of WTKR-DT. He recently sent his digital station's logo to VARTV. I like it. It has a classy, simple look to it. It definitely works. Thanks again. If there are any other station 'suits' out there that has a special logo for the digital TV station, please email them to VARTV.....

    WTKR-DT

    Dead heat in Hampton Roads radio — 6/3 — AC '2WD' WWDE and long time number 1 urban '103 Jamz' WOWI are in a dead heat - both at a 6.7 rating in Arbitron's 12+ Arbitrend released today for Hampton Roads. Recently flipped 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO continues to grow - now just a half of a rating point between the leaders - WOW! Barnstable country twins took a big hit this round - with new country 'Eagle 97.3' WGH down 1.4 points and heritage country WCMS down 1.1. In another surprise, Urban AC 'Vibe 105' WSVY continues to show strong growth now up to a 3.5 in the 12+ numbers. Other notables, Bob Sinclair's personal jukebox AAA '93-7 The Coast' WKOC continues their turnaround from a low of 1.6 in the Fall to now a 2.6. New urban 'Hot 102.1' WWHV improves to a 1.3 with its very limited Peninsula coverage. Even though small, it looks like that 'Hot 102.1' has had some effect on '103 Jamz' numbers. View the complete and DETAILED numbers for Hampton Roads.....

    WCDX bounces back to second overall — 6/3 — Not too many changes in the Richmond Arbrtrends which cover February, March and April. AC 'Lite 98' WTVR is the clear leader but with a drop of 0.5 and 'Power 92' WCDX' gain of 0.9 the distance between the two shorten. View the complete and DETAILED numbers for Richmond.....

    Entercom calls a complete halt to streaming, ASAP — 5/30 — EntercomToo much uncertainty, not enough return and now it's getting out of the pool completely. Entercom will concentrate on reaching listeners by mail, e-mail and loyalty marketing. Entercom's Internet chief Amy Van Hook tells the RAIN newsletter "We can reach multitudes more people with our weekly newsletter" and loyalty marketing program. Entercom has four stations in the Hampton Roads area – modern AC ’94.9 The Point’ WPTE, AC ‘2WD’ WWDE, urban AC ’95-7 R&B’ WVKL and rhythmic ‘Z-104’ WNVZ. This decision doesn’t affect these stations. They had already suspended their audio streams a while ago.....

    Nikki Landry B-101.5 has new night jockette? — 5/30 — Mid-Atlantic Network’s Hot AC ‘B-101.5’ welcomed Nikki Landry back in March(!) to their 7PM to midnight slot but AllAccess.com finally gets around to announcing it now. Anyways, she came from Citadel’s ‘Cat Country 96’ WCTO Allentown PA when she co-hosted their morning show under the name Cat Collins. WCTO is a very sucessful country station in that market - usually placing 1st, 2nd or 3rd. Allentown is #69 in market size according to Arbitron, Fredericksburg is #165.....

    AT&T Broadband plans Internet service fee increase Aug 1st — 5/30 — High-speed Internet service will become more expensive for some AT&T Broadband customers. They plan to raise the rate of cable Internet service by $7/month across the country. For modem owners, the monthly subscription fee will change from $35.95/month to $42.95/month beginning on Aug 1st. To help ease the transition, AT&T Broadband plans to credit modem owners $7/month for six months. Folks who lease cable modems $45.95/month won’t change. Legg Mason analyst Timm Bechter believes that AT&T is interested in having more control over what kinds of cable modems are in subscriber homes. He went on to say, "Clearly, AT&T Broadband wants people to lease rather than own the modem." Newer versions of cable modems can support more advanced features, including tiered pricing. A new option in just a few areas now, tiered pricing means cable Internet customers have different download and upload speeds from which to choose. Faster links would cost more. ATTBI plans to introduce tiered pricing in the Richmond market in the summer. AT&T offers cable TV and high-speed Internet services in Richmond and several surrounding counties. It has more than 17,000 Internet customers here, and more than 150,000 TV subscribers. Comcast offers the same services in Chesterfield County and said it doesn’t have plans to raise Internet service fees or modem lease rates. They don’t disclose the number of high-speed Internet customers but has about 77,000 cable TV customers. A cable Internet connection in Chesterfield costs $39.95/month for those who also subscribe to cable TV. The monthly fee is $15 higher for those who do not subscribe to cable TV. This is also similar to Cox Communications in Hampton Roads. Comcast modem leases are $5 per month for all customers.....

    Primetime TV ratings — 5/30 — Click on the following link for the prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for May 20 to May 26.....

    Jon Reed - PD of WYSK is profiled on AllAccess.com — 5/29 — Shawn Alexander a writer for the 'Alternative' section of AllAccess.com chatted with PD Jon Reed. Here's how it went...
    TITLE: Program Director
    STATION: 99-3 WYSK
    MARKET: Fredericksburg VA (#163) -- Just starting second year as a continuously measured market
    COMPANY: Free Lance-Star Publishing Company (Free Lance-Star newspaper) Family owned, nice.
    BORN: Three Rivers, MI
    RAISED: Three Rivers, MI
    BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS: Top 40 guy when AM ruled. WTIX/New Orleans, KIMN/ Denver, among others. Got into Country in Kansas City in the mid-'70s, and spent about 14 years programming Country at WONE/Dayton, OH.
    LAST NON-INDUSTRY JOB: Hardware store clerk while still in high school.

    1. How did you become interested in radio?
    I was an avid radio listener and just became more and more interested in how those radio people did what they did. I followed that up by doing inter-dorm radio at Western Michigan and got hooked.
    2. Why did the station switch from Hot AC to Alternative?
    We needed to establish a station identity. We were getting lost among the AC signals out of DC and Richmond as well as in Fredericksburg. This is a unique market because a large numbers of our listeners commute to DC. We're close on the dial to WHFS, but their signal doesn't come in too well in Fredericksburg. We share most our audience with DC 101.
    3. How would you describe the music on WYSK?
    We are basically Alternative, but we will draw from Rock and Active Rock occasionally, as well.
    4. What songs are really working well on the station right now and what is your criteria for adding new music?
    Creed "One Last Breath," Chad Kroeger f/Josey Scott "Hero," and Godsmack "I Stand Alone" are doing well right now. I have no preconceived notions on how the station has to sound. I'm watching what others stations are doing that are nearby. I have some music help from our jocks who are dealing with listeners every day. We don't have a lot of music brought to our attention, because we are not a monitored station. We have to go out and find a lot of new music. We could sure use some help with record service.
    5. What has been the station's biggest accomplishment since switching to Alternative?
    We have been making some steady progress, and now we are making some impact. We're looking very nice in our 18-34 target demo. We should have done this before, it's fun.
    6. What would surprise people most about the station?
    The age of the Program Director, and I'm not going to talk about it.
    7. How do you divide your time programming an Alternative and Country station?
    By relying on staff members. We have some very talented and dedicated people that are an enormous aid.
    8. If you wanted to get one message across about WYSK, what would it be?
    That we are here, alive and breathing, competing, and succeeding.
    9. You are the remaining survivor on a remote tropical island with no chance for rescue. What five CDs are a "must" to have with you?
    Roy Orbison "Greatest Hits, Nickelback "Silver Side Up," Patty Loveless "Classics," Mozart, and Haydn.
    10. If you wanted to completely change careers today what would you do?
    I'd be putting my commercial pilots license to good use.
    BONUS QUESTION: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
    If I had spare time I would go flying, play golf, watch DVDs, and my computer is a good entertainment device. If my favorite team, the Detroit Tigers were closer, I would go watch them play.

    WWSO’s website goes live today — 5/29 — Oldies 92-9Well its been five and a half months since WWSO jettisoned urban oldies ‘Soul Classics 92.9’ for 70s-60s ‘Oldies 92-9’ and they have finally gotten around to put up a website. As of this writing, there were only three photos of the jocks that they currently have on-air... that’s it. The music sounds great - now Barnstable needs to do something with this station. Acting PD Randy Brooks has his hands full with two other stations in the cluster, which he has done a great job with by the way and those are new country ‘Eagle 97.3’ WGH and heritage country WCMS. They need a PD given flexibility to give this station some direction. The honeymoon is over and now it’s time to get down to business.....

    Fred Yco What happened to Fred Yco’s case? — 5/29 — Reported here earlier this month, WAVY-TV (10/NBC) meteorologist Fred Yco was charged Thursday with three counts of grand larceny by check. He was released on a $3,500 unsecured bond and had a scheduled court hearing for a May 17th. I haven’t heard anything about the outcome. Yco said he expected the matter to be resolved within a week. Who knows…? I’ll contact The Virginian-Pilot and follow-up on it. Maybe I’ll call WTKR (3/CBS) and WVEC (13/ABC) while I’m at it.....

    Nate Custer Here's an interesting blurbs — 5/29 — Larry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot reported... So great is the flux at WTKR (3/CBS) that Peninsula reporter Nate Custer has seen 12(!) news directors come and go since joining the station back in 1966 when it was known as WTAR-TV. Custer lives in Yorktown and is married with two children... The 'Survivor: Marquesas' had a big draw in Hampton Roads. WTKR (3/CBS) garnered a 16.1 for the season finale - 18th highest rating in the country. What market had the highest? Cincinnati's Channel 12, CBS affiliate WKRC. They posted a 28.3 rating - tops in the country.....

    Sinclair Telecable shuffled AM line-ups — 5/29 — With the addition of Bill O’ Reilly’s “The Radio Factor” talk show earlier this month, Sinclair Telecable’s ‘NewsRadio 790’ WNIS and ‘TalkRadio 850’ WTAR had to realign their skeds. WNIS airs O’ Reilly from 5PM to 7PM. That displaced Ken Hamlin’s show, which now can be heard from 3PM to 5PM on WTAR. Now on WTAR, it’s Dr Laura Schlessinger at noon followed by Hamblin at 3. On WNIS, it’s Sean Hannity at 3 followed by O ‘Reilly at 5.....

    Late TV sign-ons could get new digital allotment — 5/28 — I received this email from the President/Managing Partner of independent ‘Sky4’ WSKY in Manteo NC about late TV sign-ons getting a separate digital TV allotment…

    It is a passed house bill (expected to be passed by the Senate and signed by Bush) that could allow those of us that did not get a second "digital" channel in the first pass of allotments to launch DTV sooner than the end of 2006 (actually 18 months from when the bill is enacted). Winners of Auction 25 and other license holders that received their licenses after a date in 1997 were not given a second DTV channel to work with and were expected to use our existing analog allocation to convert to DTV. It’s interesting in that the law change is buried in a Bioterrorism bill. It reads:
    "Subtitle C (a) Pair Assignment required-In order to further promote the orderly transition to digital television, and to promote the equitable allocation and use of digital channels by television broadcast permittees and licensees, the FCC, at the request of an eligible licensee or permittee, shall, within 90 days of the date of enactment of this act, allot, if necessary, and assign a paired digital television channel to that licensee or permittee provided that…
    (1) such channel can be allotted and assigned without further modification of the tables of allotments....
    (2) such allotment and assignment is otherwise consistent with the commission's rules....
    (b) Eligible licensee or permittee-For purposes of subsection (a), the term "eligible licensee or permittee" means only a full-power licensee or permittee."
    This bill could help Channel 4 get on-the-air with a digital channel much sooner than 2006. This same Bill would affect Robert Copeland's newly awarded Channel 21 in Virginia Beach.....

    Brokaw to stay with NBC through 2004 - Williams then will succeed him — 5/28 — Tom BrokawTom Brokaw has signed a new contract that will keep him as anchor of the NBC Nightly News through the Nov 2004 presidential election, at which time Brian Williams will succeed him as anchor. At that point, Brokaw will continue to be affiliated with NBC News, doing primetime news specials. Williams, who currently hosts a nightly news program on MSNBC and CNBC, immediately will take on a larger role for NBC Nightly News, not only filling in for Brokaw as anchor, but also covering more news events, which will give him more exposure to the broadcast audience. Williams' nightly news program will now air only on CNBC at 10PM. Neal Shapiro, president of NBC News, said a decision was made to no longer split the Williams nightly news show between the two cable networks, choosing CNBC because it was felt that the audience was a better fit. Brokaw can been seen on WWBT-12 in Richmond, WRC-4 in Fredericksburg and on WAVY-10 in Hampton Roads.....

    WRAR-AM wants to move their tower — 5/28 — WRAR-AM 1000 licensed to Tappahannock wants to move their tower from their current location - dead smack between Warsaw and Tappahannock - to their FM counterparts tower WRAR-FM 105.5 - about 7.3 miles to the southeast. To do this, they are also requesting a decrease in power from 500 watts to 300 watts to protect adjacent channels (WLEE 990 Richmond VA, WPMH 1010 Portsmouth VA and WOLB 1010 Baltimore MD). The computed 5 mV/m daytime contours shows that the proposed WRAR-AM operation encompasses over 90% (FCC rules) of the city limits of Tappahannock... 94% to be exact. Right now, that contour covers the entire town. WRAR-AM has a nostalgic/big band format... 'Music Of The Golden Years'.....

    Walk-On Week at WRNL — 5/28 — SportsRadio 910From Jerry Lindquist of the Times-Dispatch… So you think being a sports-talk host is a snap? You know you can do it better than some of the national and local call-in yappers. Just about, anyone can sit and run off at the mouth about games people play. Do it all the time, right? How tough can it be? For a price (of course), ‘SportsRadio 910’ WRNL is going to give you the airtime. WRNL is calling it "Walk-On Week," where listeners will have the opportunity to be the host for a one-hour program and satisfy their curiosity. From June 17-22, a limited number of evening and Saturday hours will be available to sports-talk wannabes on a first-come, first-served basis. The cost is $100, "a portion of which will benefit the Richmond Police Athletic League," according to a station news release. "We provide the studio and the signal. You provide the smack," station program director Randall Bloomquist said. First come, first served? It would be a hoot if Al Coleman, Bob Black and Robert Fish, not to mention some other local favorites given the boot by Clear Channel and Bloomquist, would apply. If Kathleen Willey comes up with 10 sawbucks, could she get another chance? Oh, never mind.....

    Lee Mahaffey WTKR shifts Mahaffey — 5/28 — Lee Mahaffey has been shifted out of WTKR's (3/CBS) early morning newscast. ND John Wessling says, "In her new assignment, she's one of three reporters working out of the Virginia Beach office... We've made a heavy commitment to covering Virginia Beach." Mahaffey will now work nights gathering stories for 'NewsChannel 3 News @ 11'. Mahaffey joined WTKR in March of 2000.....

    Ex-WAVY ND gets a new gig… quickly — 5/28 — Jim Turpin who abruptly resigned from the WAVY (10/NBC) newsroom April 15th, two days later seals up a job in Memphis TN. In advancing a notch from market #42 to # 41, Turpin will have an uphill battle… literally. Jim TurpinOut of four stations in that market his is fourth. He will now oversee ‘ABC 24 News’ WPTY. How bad is their news operation? Tom Walter of the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper describes WPTY’s news operation as the pits. “Below the pits, if that’s possible.” This will be a big change for Turpin. His newscasts at WAVY were all rated number one (except at noon… that belongs to WTKR [3/CBS]). WPTY crews produce a 5, 6 and 10PM newscasts plus the 9PM news for UPN affiliate WLMT, ‘UPN 30 News’. Turpin was asked why he left WAVY so quickly and politely responded “It was time to go… To say more would create hurt feelings. I’ll not respond to rumors about my leaving. I wish only the best for those at WAVY I leave behind. It’s a powerful, successful news operation. A side note Turpin said the Hampton Roads real estate market is bullish… his home sold in one day…..

    New faces at Channel 12 — 5/24 — NBC12Jefferson-Pilot's 'NBC12' WWBT has a couple of new faces. First is Tracy Lynn - she is Channel 12's new traffic reporter, who comes to the station after seven years doing Richmond radio traffic reports for Metro Traffic and Lisa Scullin - Channel 12's new Nightside reporter, who was formerly anchor-reporter for CBS Affiliate WBOC (16) in Salisbury MD.....

    Fredericksburg Arbitrends — 5/23 — The Spring 2002 Phase 1 Arbitrends were released to Fredericksburg today. This trend covers February, March and April. For the most COMPLETE and DETAILED 12+ rankings anywhere click here.....

    Popular PD Steve Crumbley finds a new home — 5/23 — Smooth 98.3Steve Crumbley who made a name for himself here in Hampton Roads with stops at urban '103 Jamz' WOWI and most recently with now defunct urban oldies 'Soul Classics 92.9' WWSO (flipped to 70s-60s oldies ‘Oldies 92-9’) has found a new home in the deep South. Cumulus' urban AC ‘Smooth 98.3’ WDLT Mobile AL has named him their new PD. Even though the Mobile is smaller than Hampton Roads #38 to #92, ‘Smooth 98.3’ is a powerhouse there, consistently placing second in the Arbitrons behind sister urban station ’93 BLX Jamz’ WBLX.....

    Broadcasters named to Hall of Fame — 5/22 — John Ogle of the Richmond Times-Dispatch; longtime news anchor Gene Cox; and the late Norman "Bob-a-lou" Freedlander, a familiar radio presence until his death earlier this year, were recipients of the Frank Soden Lifetime Achievement Awards at Monday’s induction by The Richmond Broadcasters Hall of Fame. In their 10th year, The Lifetime Achievement Awards are given to local radio and television broadcasters with at least 10 years of experience in the Richmond market. This year's Broadcaster of the Year award went to Adam Stubbs, APD and afternoon jock at AC ‘Lite 98’ WTVR-FM. Stubbs, who has been with WTVR since 1994, is also the senior promotions director for the Clear Channel Richmond Radio Group. Freedlander, known as Bob-a-lou on the air, had a broadcasting career spanning more than three decades when he died earlier this year at the age of 52. As a high school student, he ran errands for WEET-AM in Richmond. His first on-air job was with WTVR-AM and FM and WGOE-AM. Other stations he worked for in his lengthy career included Richmond's WLEE-AM, WTVR, WKIE-AM and WVMX, plus WBBM in Chicago. However, he was most closely associated with’Q-94’ WRVQ, where his positions included MD and PD, as well as popular on-air personality.....

    Hot 102.1 Hot 102.1 completes their weekday on-air line-up — 5/22 — Well after nine months, new urban sign-on 'Hot 102.1' WWHV has finally filled their weekday on-air slots. This is their current line-up...
    6AM-10AM... Russ Parr Morning Show w/ Olivia Fox and Ray Jeezy morning show producer
    10AM-3PM... Lex Coupe
    3PM-6PM... Spank-Luva (Program Director)
    6PM-10PM... Peezo Coconutz
    10PM-2AM... Herkules (Promotions Director)
    2AM-6AM... automated
    Saturday's major dayparts shape up like this...
    10AM-2PM... Burgandi
    2PM-6PM... Peezo Coconutz
    6PM-10PM... Nino Brown
    This up coming weekend is big for 'Hot 102.1'. They will have a major presense at this year's Afr' AM Fest 2002 at Towne Point Park in Norfolk which usually is dominated by Clear Channel outlets - urban '103 Jamz' WOWI, 'Vibe 105' WSVY and 'CD 107.7' WJCD.....

    Primetime TV ratings — 5/22 — Click on the following link for the prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for May 13 to May 19.....

    Thank you — 5/21 — A big thanks goes out to Ted Hand of WTKR-DT for his help and insight on his station's DTV status and background information on some Hampton Roads media properties.....

    Super Doppler Sun Warning Alert! — 5/21 — Today in the Virginian-Pilot letters to the editor section I saw this comment from Brian Carrera of Norfolk. I got a laugh out of it.....

    HD Update — 5/19 — It's been quiet the last couple of days. I want to personally thank John J Heimerl of WHRO-DT for his help and insight on his station's DTV status. I reported on the 9th about the DTV status here in Hampton Roads but was unaware that his station is also on-the-air. It has been on since March 22nd. This is what he wrote back to me...
    WHRO-DT operates with 950 kW at 1192 feet (center of radiation) above sea level, which is the highest-power DTV on-the-air in the Norfolk market. At this time, the PBS 1080i HD loop is being shown, and HD/SD specials in prime-time, some with 5.1 Dolby surround sound. So at the moment, WHRO may be the only digital channel in Hampton Roads with continuous 1080i video and part-time 5.1 audio at this time... The channel is identified as 80-3 on most receivers. WHRO plans to begin local origination in the fall, and plans are to multicast SD during the daytime and program full HD at night, when the digital studio is completed.
    In Hampton Roads, there are EIGHT stations broadcasting in digital...
    WAVY-DT 31... NBC (10-1, 10-2, 10-3)
    WVEC-DT 41... ABC (13-1, 13-2)
    WTKR-DT 40... CBS (3-1, 3-2)
    WHRO-DT 16... PBS
    WVBT-DT 29... Fox
    WTVZ-DT 38... WB
    WPXV-DT 46... PAX
    WUND-DT 20... PBS (2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 2-4, 2-5)
    This is pretty impressive. That leaves only 'UPN27' WGNT (granted a 6-month extension) and recent sign-on 'independent 'Sky4' WSKY (they're not required until 2006) as the only TV outlets not broadcasting a digital signal. (In Richmond, there's only ONE station broadcasting digital - WWBT-DT 54... NBC (12-1, 12-2, 12-3). Here's the downside... the general public is unaware of this and it's a shame. I think an awareness campaign needs to come from ALL sides. The TV stations themselves should let the public know that there out there. Set up demonstrations at a Best Buy or Circuit City... maybe short blurbs on your analog channels. I personally, have only seen ONE instance of anything related to digital TV on any of our local stations and that is WTKR (3/CBS) has added "WTKR-DT" to their station ID... that's it! Here in Hampton Roads, Cox Communications, the dominant cable provider, will play a big part. I'm sure stations are already in discussions with Cox to get their digital signal on the system. Here's a kink in that. Is Cox (or any cable provider) going to carry ALL the multicasted channels a station offers or just a TV station's main HD channel? Running 24/7 radars, to me, is NOT 'value TV'. With eight digital channels now on-the-air multiplied by (up to) six multicasting channels per station... that's (up to) 48 new channels that would potentially be added to the Cox system. Wow!

    Primetime TV ratings — 5/16 — Click on the following link for the prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for May 6 to May 12.....

    Fire at WXGI yesterday morning? — 5/16 — WXGINo quite… Yesterday, during his ‘SportsPhone’ call-in show on WXGI-AM 950, ‘Big Al’ Coleman had one of his ‘fine sponsors’ in the studio, cooking on an open grill. Next thing they knew the fire alarm went off, and the Richmond fire department answered the call. “He was in a little side room. There was no ventilation, and he had a lot of good, hot flame, cooking beef, and it got to smoking a whole lot," Coleman said. "The hook and ladder showed up with three firemen. I apologized and told them we could offer them a steak burrito if they wanted it.".....

    Tides games on two frequencies — 5/15 — Norfolk TidesIf you’re a loyal Norfolk Tides radio listener you might already know this. When ABC/Disney agreed to buy AM 1650 WHKT and flip that format to Radio Disney, the Tides had lost their local outlet for their broadcasts. However, it wasn’t for very long. Barnstable’s ‘ESPN Radio 1310’ WGH agreed to carry them. One problem though, as far as Barnstable was concerned, was market coverage. They thought just having the games on WGH wasn’t enough. Their solution was to simulcast every Tides game on AM 1050 WFOG. Since WFOG flipped to ‘Music of Your Life – AM 1450 – The Fog, it’s a better fit than what was on… black gospel. Maybe the folks over at Barnstable know something that I don’t. Looking at the ‘predicted’ daytime and nighttime coverage patterns of both stations, they are very similar. My point? If you can’t get the games well on WGH, you have an alternative… WFOG.....

    WTKR-DT has received a new STA — 5/14 — WTKR-DT just received a STA (Special Temporary Authority) from the FCC. The output power of the antenna in Driver VA has increased from 400kW to 725kW. Their antenna tops out at 1273' above sea level. The digital channel is also still working on ‘Closed-Caption’ for channel 3-1 but have so far been unsuccessful. This from Ted Hand…Domes Satellite at 109 Volvo Pkwy in Chesapeake is having a Technology Nite on Thursday May 16 and Friday May 17 from 7-9PM. Reservations are required. This is NOT a sales pitch but a presentation of information / Q&A forum concerning DTV and HDTV. Fujitsu, Crestron and WTKR-DT will be presenting sessions. If you have questions concerning DTV, HDTV or WTKR-DT, please feel free to attend. Call 548-2020 or e-mail: bev@domesav.com for more info.....

    Rudolph McCollum Mayor yields on TV coverage — 5/14 — "Monday Night Live" will remain on air for now in Richmond. Mayor Rudolph C McCollum Jr says he no longer wants to cut the funding for televising City Council meetings. Last week, he proposed taking the council off the air to speed up its meetings and make them more focused. Fellow council members and city residents persuaded the mayor to back off his proposal. The show provides more access to city government, the mayor said, and it serves handicapped people, single parents and the elderly who cannot come to City Hall. "I've talked to a number of my [council] colleagues and it doesn't seem there is support," McCollum said. The city pays WCVW-Channel 57 $32,000 annually to broadcast the show every second and fourth Monday. Some residents of the city and neighboring counties say they watch the show strictly for entertainment. The meetings have featured satirical speeches, verbal sparring and emotional ramblings.....

    Richmond beat reporter Arthur Willis chats with Jim Jacobs — 5/13 — I spoke with Jim earlier today, and we were chatting about the arrival of Tony Kornheiser, O' Reilly, and Sean Hannity (to WLEE). While the conversation did not go exactly like this here's the gist of it :
    AW: Will the Sports Junkies run any longer on WLEE?
    JJ: The Sports Junkies has been canceled nationwide by its syndicator, we didn't want to carry it until its bitter end, so we will no longer carry the Sports Junkies. Its last airing on the station was Friday, and now we will run Sporting News Radio from 9pm to 6am.
    AW: Since the addititon of Tony Kornheiser, will ESPN Radio soon take the place of Sporting News Radio nights and weekends?JJ: For right now, Sporting News Radio will remain in its current spot, and as of right now, the only show we are running from ESPN Radio will be Tony Kornheiser.
    AW: Will you think about adding Laura Ingraham or any other talkers to your lineup soon?
    JJ: As of now, no.
    AW: When will 1480 debut, and what will be its format?
    JJ: 1480 will debut in a few months, and we haven't come to a final decision on what the format will be. Do you have any suggestions?
    AW: I was thinking Sports.
    JJ: (laughing) Do you think we can handle another sports station in Richmond?
    AW: Well, there is a market for it, isn't it?
    JJ: Yes, but Sports doesn't do spectacular in Richmond, or it wouldn't do as good as you would think. I mean, there's Big Al and the [Richmond] Braves on WXGI, full-time sports on WRNL, NASCAR on XL102, there's alot of sports in the market already.
    AW: When I talked to Randall Bloomquist a while back, he said his reasons for dropping ESPN Radio altogether was because he couldn't carry both. If that was the case, how can you carry ESPN and Sporting News Radio?
    JJ: Well, it wasn't that he couldn't carry it, it was just that he didn't want to carry it. Premiere owns Fox Sports Radio by the way. They basically wanted to be 100% Fox Sports Radio.
    AW: I see. I appreciate all of your help.
    JJ: Anytime. Thank you.....
    RadioRichmond Radio Richmond files to modify a CP — 5/13 — Radio Richmond, which holds a CP for facilities at AM 1480 in Glen Allen VA (Richmond), wants to increase the power from 5kW/1.8kW to 10kW/5kW. This application was 'accepted for filing' by the FCC but not 'granted' yet. Radio Richmond's other holdings include 'Hot Talk & Sports' WLEE//WHAP (990//1340), 'Unforgettable 1320'/'La Primera 1320 AM' WVNZ and urban gospel ‘Rejoice Radio 1540' WREJ. No word yet what will be on 1480 but speculation has the ‘format wheel’ stopping on some sort of sports format. Time will tell.....

    The Weather Channel fell far short... for me — 5/13 — TWCWas it me or did The Weather Channel's 20th anniversary special that aired last night at 8PM fall short? It ended up being just one big plug for them. Where were the interviews with past and present OCM's (On-Camera Meteorologist)? I wanted to see more old footage of OCM's on the air. Instead, they counted down the top 11, yes 11 events of The Weather Channel history, useless interviews from people on the streets and endless plugs how important their service has become to people and other organizations. Where were Dave Schwartz and Jim Cantore??? As several readers pointed out and I agree the Bill Cosby bit about the female anchors becoming pregnant, leaving and coming back after a few months with no mention whatsoever if their child was a boy or girl or who the father is?

    Larry Bonko talks with Scott Sanders, GM of WTVZ and WRLH — 5/12 — Scott Sanders is the GM of both Sinclair Broadcasting’s ‘WB33’ WTVZ in Hampton Roads and ‘Fox Richmond’ WRLH (35). Larry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot recently chatted with Sanders about the May sweeps. His questions were geared towards Channel 33 and the Hampton Roads market. To be brief, Bonko asked why the May sweeps are important with Sanders answering “We sell for Christmas based on the May numbers.” An interesting fact of the article was out of the 648,000 TV households in Hampton Roads “How many of them have meters and diaries?” Sanders responded back with “In this market, we have 400 metered households and 1,190 with diaries.” That’s not a lot but Nielsen will tell you that, statistically speaking, it’s fair. Sanders noted that Hampton Roads is a young skewing market where approximately 60% of the adults are between the ages of 18 and 49. WTVZ is among the top 10 WB affiliates in women 12-to-34, 18-to-34 and 18-to-49 age groups with Channel 33 No. 1 with adults 18-to-34. Sanders also made a comment that there is too much local news here. Maybe… The ABC, NBC, Fox and CBS affiliates here have at least one newscast with WAVY’s (10/NBC) recycled on ‘PAX49’ WPXV and WVEC’s (13/ABC) recycled on Cox Cable’s ‘LNC5’. Sanders should go to LA. EVERY affiliated station (7 in all) there has at least one newscast plus three in Spanish and one on an independent KCAL-TV 9. Needless to say, don’t expect WTVZ with a newscast anytime soon. His station in Richmond WRLH has one because Sanders says “Fox wants that for its affiliates.” The ‘FOX 43 News at 10’ on WVBT does very well here. If you remember, for a very short time back in the late 90s there was ‘UPN27 News at 10’ on WGNT and produced by WTKR (3/CBS). It failed miserably. On a final note, Sanders said he has acquired ‘Will & Grace’, ‘Dharma & Greg’ and ‘Home Improvement’ (previously on WTKR) from syndication for this fall.....

    Top cable networks — 5/11 — Click on the following link for the top 15 programs on basic cable networks for the week of April 29 through May 5 2002.....

    A new classified ad from Salem — 5/10 — Salem Communication's NOVA radio cluster is looking for a part-time traffic assistant. As always, you can find that ad and others in VARTV's Opportunities section.....

    Fred Yco WAVY weatherman facing charges of grand larceny — 5/10 — WAVY-TV (10/NBC) meteorologist Fred Yco was charged Thursday with three counts of grand larceny by check, police said. Yco turned himself in to authorities. He was released on a $3,500 unsecured bond and is scheduled for a May 17th court hearing. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a $2,500 fine for each charge. Yco said the charges resulted from a dispute between his bank and credit card company. The three checks totaled $10,500 and were written last month. Yco said he expects the matter to be resolved within a week. Yco joined WAVY in 1998 does weather on weekend mornings, fills in during the week and is seen during severe weather.....

    Adelphia Adelphia up for sale in Virginia — 5/10 — Troubled Adelphia Communications, the country's sixth-largest cable-TV provider, wants to sell several of its cable systems, including those in North Stafford and Spotsylvania counties. Adelphia, in a statement, announced plans Wednesday to sell the cable markets in Virginia, Southern California, Florida and the Southeast. There are 575,000 customers in Virginia, including about 41,000 in the local area. Cox Cable serves customers in southern Stafford County, Fredericksburg and portions of Spotsylvania close to the city line. Cox could buy some Adelphia markets, but Cox spokesperson Amy Cohn would not comment. She did say "We've said repeatedly that we're very comfortable at our present size, but we are interested in growth…we are looking at a lot of opportunities out there." Adelphia, based in Coudersport PA, bought Prestige Cable in the Fredericksburg area in 1999. Locally, Fredericksburg-area customers have expressed dissatisfaction with Adelphia, especially its high-speed Internet service. Most complained that the Internet service repeatedly shut down and was staying down for long periods. A stern letter sent to Adelphia in December by Spotsylvania County Administrator Anthony Barrett warned that the problems could be breeches of the franchise agreement. In a letter of response, the local Adelphia GM, Lisa Cash, stated that the Internet access agreement states that there is no guarantee the service will be error-free. "Presumably, by agreeing to this language, customers of the service understand they are getting a residential-level, best-efforts service," she wrote. Wow!

    Don & Mike spice up the Spring book — 5/10 — Leah ReminiDon & Mike will spice Arbitron's Spring book by sharing the microphone with TV sitcom star Leah Remini. She’s 'Carrie Heffernan' on CBS-TV’s “The King of Queens”. A little Viacom/Infinity synergy. It makes for natural cross-promotion — since Don & Mike have done guest turns on two episodes of “The King of Queens.” Remini is between seasons on the TV show so it gives her an opportunity to co-host Westwood’s Don & Mike show for the rest of the Spring book. She starts on Monday May 13th. Don & Mike can be heard in Hampton Roads on 'AM 1450 The Buzz' WBVA and in Fredericksburg and NOVA on of course 106.7 WJFK.....

    Bill O' Reilly O’ Reilly coming to Richmond — 5/10 — 4M Communications’ simulcast twins ‘Hot Talk’ WLEE//WHAP (990//1340) has announced on-air that the new Bill O’ Reilly show has been added to their line-up. With this addition, their schedule has also been shifted. Starting Monday May 13th, their new on-air line-up is as follows…
    Imus In The Morning — 6AM-10AM
    Tony Kornheiser — 10AM-12N
    The Radio Factor With Bill O' Reilly — 12N-2PM
    G Gordon Liddy — 2PM-4PM
    Jim Jacobs (cutback to two hours) — 4PM-6PM
    Sean Hannity — 6PM-9PM
    Poppa Joe Chevalier" (Sporting News Radio) — 9PM-10PM
    The Sports Junkies (for now… anyways) — 10PM-2AM
    No word at all about Mike Gallagher. If dropped by WLEE, would Salem’s WBTK-AM (1380) pick him up? By the way, O' Reilly can be heard in Hampton Roads on 'TalkRadio 850' WNIS.....

    WPER WPER Hits Goal, And Then Some — 5/10 — Culpeper Contemporary Christian outlet WPER (89.9 FM) conducted a three-day early May fundraiser and netted $218K, $8K above its goal. The station even received a $60K anonymous donation, not included in its "Share-A-Thon" total.....

    WCVE gets top honors — 5/10 — WCVE-Channel 23's 'Virginia Currents' won top honors in the recent 23rd annual Telly Awards competition. The awards honor outstanding non-network productions. The weekly newsmagazine received a Silver Telly Award for its "Roosevelt Deployment" segment. Bronze Telly Awards, the second-highest, went to three additional segments: "Ralph White," "Horse Logger" and "Nursing Home Elvis." 'Virginia Currents' also won a first-place station award from the Virginia Association of Broadcasters for its "Melvin Fensom" segment.....

    Live music returns to Hampton — 5/10 — Live-music fans were disappointed to hear that Mill Point Park in Hampton won't host Wednesday evening concerts this month. AAA '93-7 The Coast' WKOC moved them to the nTelos Pavilion in Portsmouth. But here's good news. In conjunction with a new exhibit called "Amazing Music Studio," the Virginia Air & Space Center and 'The Coast' will present a set of concerts at Carousel Park next to the museum. Rock band Dishwalla will kick off the series on Friday May 17th. Tickets are 10 bucks and they're already on sale from Ticketmaster. For more information, visit the museum's Web site at www.vasc.org or call 727-0900.....

    NBC NBC to add HDTV in prime time — 5/9 — NBC will do more of its prime time lineup in high-definition next season, according to network officials. They have been criticized as lagging behind CBS and ABC in HDTV offerings - only one prime time show, Crossing Jordan (They broadcast 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno' in hi-def). NBC officials said no final decisions have been made on which shows will be offered in HDTV, but the orders will be made soon after Monday's upfront. Privately, NBC officials were a little touchy on the criticism they've received over their HDTV offerings. Sure CBS and ABC offer most of their prime time in high-definition, they said, but NBC has been a leader in sports, which, along with movies, is expected to be a better driver of HDTV viewership than regular series. In partnership with Mark Cuban's HDNet (the outspkoken owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks), NBC has carried the Olympic Games, several NBA games and now the Triple Crown in HD. More high-definition sports programming is on the way, as well, network officials said. In VARTV land, NBC-HD can be found on WAVY-DT 31 in Hampton Roads, WWBT-DT 54 in Richmond and WRC-DT 48 in Fredericksburg and NOVA.....

    More digital signals in Hampton Roads — 5/9 — According to 100000watts.com, 'WB33' WTVZ-DT (38) and 'PAX49' WPXV-DT (46) have signed-on. That leaves only 'UPN27' WGNT (granted an extention), PBS affiliate WHRO (15/testing to commence shortly) and recent sign-on 'independent 'Sky4' WSKY (they're not required until 2006) as the only TV outlets not broadcasting a digital signal. Here's how the digital landscape looks like in Hampton Roads...
    WAVY-DT 31... NBC
    WVEC-DT 41... ABC
    WTKR-DT 40... CBS
    WVBT-DT 29... Fox
    WTVZ-DT 38... WB
    WPXV-DT 46... PAX
    WUND-DT 20... PBS
    Richmond radio notes — 5/9 — Junie West's popular 'Race Talk' will return to radio on May 17th on WXGI-AM (950). 'The Frammin and Bammin Show' will be on location at Extra Billy's Barbecue every Friday from 4:05-5:45PM. Sometimes the program will be preempted for Winston Cup qualifying, but West will be there... The 'Hot Talk' twins WLEE//WHAP-AM (990//1340) are adding ESPN Radio's 'Tony Kornhiser Show,' a morning gabfest previously heard on Clear Channel's 'SportRadio 910' WRNL-AM...

    College sports...
    'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA-AM has renewed its contract to carry the University of Virginia Caviliers football and basketball radio broadcasts for another three years... This is the final year of the contracts for the Virginia Tech Hokies football and basketball broadcasts on WXGI (AM/950) and University of Richmond football and hoops on WRNL (AM/910). Some serious shuffling could follow.....

    City Council Losing TV Time? — 5/8 — Maybe Richmond's City Council show has become too entertaining for its own good. The city funding for televising the meetings is on the chopping block. Mayor Rudolph C McCollum Jr is proposing cutting $37,000 out of the city's budget. He wants to speed up the council's meetings and make them more focused. The city pays WCVW-Channel 57 to broadcast the show every second and fourth Monday of each month. Some city residents and others living in neighboring counties admit that they watch the show strictly for entertainment. City council meetings entertaining? Hmmm. The council is expected to adopt an amended budget by the end of this month for next fiscal year.....

    Primetime TV ratings — 5/8 — Click on the following link for the prime-time TV ratings compiled by Nielsen Media Research for April 29 to May 5.....

    Willey That wasn’t long — 5/7 — I guess Randall Bloomquist, 'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA's program director, had enough of on-air "ums," "uhs" and "I means," and canceled Kathleen Willey's radio talk show after just four shows. Bloomquist said "She just wasn't ready yet for a station at our level…What I heard was what you would hear if you plucked anyone off the street and put them on a 50,000-watt radio station.” Ouch! Willey came across on-air as sincere but often tongue-tied and at a loss for the right word. She counters with that she didn't get much help from the radio station. Willey said "I'm certainly disappointed - not devastated, but disappointed…I had a good time, but I don't think the audience that WRVA is trying to draw now is interested in the kind of guests that I was able to bring on the show." Hmmm. If you remember, Willey, 55, figured briefly but prominently in the investigations of former President Bill Clinton's involvement with other women. Willey became a household name after stories circulated that the president allegedly fondled the former White House volunteer and Democratic activist during an unscheduled November 1993 meeting in the Oval Office. She went on to describe the ordeal on national television in a "60 Minutes" interview but undercut her own credibility because of conflicting statements she gave to various federal grand juries. In the meantime, WRVA will go back to their original programming during the two-hour block… 'The Best of Dr. Laura’. The Times-Dispatch asks the question “Should Willey's collapse discourage other talkative prospects like Reva Trammell, Sa'ad El-Amin or former City Councilman Chuck Richardson? Bloomquist replies "Not by any means. Tell'em I'd be interested"…..

    Viacom's MTV adds two more channels — 5/7 — Viacom's MTV networks has launched two new 24-hour digital video channels: "MTVHits and MTVJams." The two add to MTV's "MTV2" (launched in '96) and "MTV Espanol" (launched in '97). The channels will give MTV's CHR and Urban audiences music videos, harder and harder to find on the original MTV. By the way, Cox Communications Hampton Roads carries NONE of these channels.....

    WHRO-TV gets a COO — 5/7 — WHRORegina Brayboy has been named COO (Chief Operating Officer) of WHRO (15/PBS). She has had a 20-year career in public administration. Right now, she's the patient financial services manager at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Hampton. She starts at WHRO June 3rd which will have her overseeing Channel 15's daily operations and with some additional duties.....

    Richmond TV no exception to large weather coverage — 5/5 — This is a special report from Richmond VARTV beat reporter Arthur Willis. Many thanks for his contribution.
    For the first time in a while, the big 3 Richmond TV news departments (well, 2/3rds of it at least-read on for more) began to cover the big storm hovering over Richmond. Here's how I rank the coverage:

    1. WWBT (NBC 12)
    Always on the bat. The reason I like NBC 12 so much is that it has given Jim Duncan (veteran meteorologist) such a prominent role in the daily newscasts that's he's become a household name. So they let Jim Duncan cover the storm solo for the whole 4pm hour (yep, Oprah was a no-show today) and then another meteorologist (I don't know his name) stood behind the green screen (you know, the map) and cover the storm. Ben Hamlin (veteran sportscaster) was live from RIR (Richmond International Raceway) during the storm because of a race going down soon. At 5, NBC 12 switches over to their 90-minute newscasts (broken into 3 30-minute intervals) with a focus on the storm.
    2. NEWS 6 (WTVR)
    "The South's First Television Station" also delivered in the time of need. NBC 12 may have the personality, but NEWS 6 has them beat in the graphics department. They have this Vortex 3D feature (might have something to do with their big "DopplerMax 6" tower out in the countryside of Central Virginia) where they go deeper into the green screen weather map. Mike Goldberg (NEWS 6's "senior" meteorologist-in the weather dept., he's been there the longest, 2 to 3 years at least) came on the air around the same time as NBC 12. And at 5, they also went to their 5pm newscast, with a heavy focus on the storm.
    3. 8 NEWS (WRIC)
    Their coverage was almost NON-EXISTENT! WRIC TV-8 did have some crawls at the bottom of the screen during Maury in the 4pm hour, that same hour when NBC 12 gave up on Oprah and NEWS 6 gave up on Montel and went straight to local coverage of the storm. They came on around 4:55 (nearly an hour after NEWS 6 and NBC 12 began their coverage) and John Benier (he's the best meteorologist in Richmond next to Duncan at WWBT) does a 10-MINUTE recap of the storm (it was over at my Henrico residence around 5), and then makes way for Jerry Springer a little after 5 since they have no 5pm or 5:30pm newscast unlike NEWS 6 and NBC 12, who have both a 5pm & 5:30pm, and of course, all have a 6pm newscast.
    Well, there's my long (but informative) synopsis of the Richmond coverage of the storm…..

    Channel 23 to air Louis Rukeyser — 5/3 — Starting this Sunday at 10:30AM, Channel 23 WCVE (PBS) will air "Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street," a weekly repeat of the series Rukeyser recently launched on CNBC. Rukeyser was let go by MPT - Maryland Public Television who hosted the PBS show "Wall $treet Week". WCVE will continue to air "Wall $treet Week" with a new host at 8:30PM on Fridays.....

    Big storms blow through Hampton Roads — 5/3 — It’s that time of year for severe weather and Hampton Roads was no exception yesterday afternoon. All three major news outlets [‘Triple Doppler’ WTKR (3/CBS), ‘Super Doppler 10’ WAVY (10/NBC) and ’13 News WeatherLab’ WVEC (13/ABC)] devoted much more time to weather during the regular newscasts (5, 5:30 & 6PM) and weather segments. At 6:30 during the national news, all three stations were constantly breaking in updating us on Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Warnings. They were doing this without any regard what was being broadcast at the time — during a commercial or interrupting Tom Brokaw.

    Weather

    This continued many many times up to 8 o’clock. At 8, this is when I have to thank both WAVY and WTKR. In the middle of May sweeps and new programming on both networks at 8, neither station broke during the program but instead used the national commercial breaks for weather updates… thank you. I was impressed. (I don’t watch ABC at 8PM on Thursdays, I’m not sure if Jeff and the gang broke into ABC’s programming) During the programs, all three stations used crawls and weather ‘bugs’ to keep us informed about watches and warnings. Who had the best crawl? WVEC… hands down. It was the least intrusive. Running at the bottom of the screen, it was the smallest and ran at a good speed and their weather ‘bug’ was a map of Hampton Roads and had the city or county highlighted that was under the warning at the time. Pretty cool. Second, was WTKR. Running at the top of the screen, it was slightly larger than Channel 13’s but it too ran at a good speed. They also had a weather bug but it just stated “Tornado Warning” with Channel 3’s logo in the background. Last… Channel 10 (WAVY). Their crawl ran at the top of the screen; it was the largest by far - with large fonts and running the slowest of the three stations – annoying. Their weather bug also the largest simply showed a picture of a tornado in the graphic with the word “tornado” on top. The question to 3 and 10 is “What’s your purpose of the weather bug?” It doesn’t tell me anything and it’s cluttering the screen. If you want graphics on your screen, take a page out of WVEC’s book. Finally, the best on-air presentation, in my opinion, was Dave Parker and Mike Simon at Channel 3 followed very closely by Channel 13. Dave and Mike were professional and come off as very knowledgeable. Don Slater and Fred Yco at Channel 10… never mind…..

    Lite 98 Power 92 dives to 4th!... WRVA rises to 2nd — 5/2 — The Winter 2002 Arbitrons results for Richmond...
    • 1st... by far... AC 'Lite 98' WTVR... 10.0 share (-1.3 from the Fall book)
    • 2nd news/talk 'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA... 7.0 (+1.0)
    • 3rd country 'K95' WKHK... 6.8 (+0.3)
    • 4th urban 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX... 6.5 (-1.0)
    • 5th urban oldies 'Majic 105.7' WJMO... 6.1 (+0.6)
    • 6th classic hits '96.5 The Planet' WKLR... 5.2 (-0.8)
    • 7th heritage mainstream CHR 'Q-94' WRVQ... 4.8 (-0.6)
    • 8th hot AC 'B103' WMXB... 4.5 (-0.1)
    • 9th urban '106-5 The Beat' WBTJ... 4.4 (-0.4)
    • 10th urban AC '104.7 Kiss FM' WKJS... 4.2 (-1.4)
    • 11th alternative 'Y-101' WDYL... 3.1 (-0.3)
    • 12th rock 'XL-102' WRXL... 3.0 (E)
    • 13th 'Smooth Jazz 93.1' WJZV... 2.3 (+0.7)
    • 14th 80s-90s hits 'Star 107.3' WBBT... 2.2 (E) and
      hip-hop 'Hot 99-3' WRHH... 2.2 (+0.5)
    • 16th classic country/bluegrass 'AM 950 WXGI'... 2.0 (+0.4)
    • 17th nostalgia/spanish 'Unforgettable 1320'/'La Primera' WVNZ... 1.8 (E)
    • 18th black gospel 'Star 94.1' WXEZ... 1.4 (+0.5)
    • 19th sports 'SportsRadio 910' WRNL... 1.3 (-0.2)
    • 20th black gospel 'Rejoice Radio AM 1540' WREJ... 1.2 (+0.5)
    • 21st black gospel 'Your Gospel Connection' WGCV-AM... 1.0 (+0.4) and
      talk 'Hot Talk WHAP 1340/Hot Talk WLEE 990' WHAP-AM//WLEE-AM... 1.0 (-0.1)
    • 23rd urban oldies 'The Heart & Soul Of Richmond' WCLM-AM... 0.8 (+0.3) and
      the former classic hits '96.9 The Rock' WWUZ (now Classic Rock 96.9)... 0.8 (NR/+0.8)
    • 25th classic hits '106.9 The Fox' WAFX... 0.5 (-0.1),
      gospel 'The Light' WFTH-AM... 0.5 (+0.2) and
      with the loss of Christmas music adult standards 'EZ-100.5' WZEZ... sinks to 0.5 (-0.6)
    • 28th country 'Cat Country 100.3' WARV... 0.4 (NR/+0.4)
    The biggest gainers were...
    • news/talk 'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA... (+1.0)
    • the former classic hits '96.9 The Rock' WWUZ (now Classic Rock 96.9)... (+0.8) and
    • 'Smooth Jazz 93.1' WJZV... (+0.7)
    The biggest losers were...
    • urban AC '104.7 Kiss FM' WKJS... 4.2 (-1.4)
    • AC 'Lite 98' WTVR... (-1.3) and
    • urban 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX... (-1.0)
    Cluster totals... 1st Clear Channel 30.5 (-1.5), 2nd Radio One 20.4 (-0.5) and 3rd Cox Radio 19.6 (-0.9).....

    103Jamz & The Fox plummet... WWSO audience up 104%... WOWI and WWDE 0.1 share difference!... the 'Star' rises — 5/2 — The Winter 2002 Arbitrons results for Hampton Roads...

    103Jamz 2WD Star 94.1

    The biggest gainers were...
    • 70s-60s oldies 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO... (+2.9)
    • black gospel 'Star 94.1' WXEZ-FM//WFOG-AM... (+1.3) and
    • heritage country 'Country Legends & Today's Favorites' WCMS... (+0.8)
    The biggest losers were...
    • urban '103 Jamz' WOWI... (-2.2)
    • classic hits '106.9 The Fox' WAFX... (-2.0) and
    • AC '2WD' WWDE... (-0.9)
    Cluster totals... Barnstable takes over 1st with 23.3 (+5.5), 2nd Entercom 21.3 (-1.1) 3rd Clear Channel 14.8 (-2.5) and 4th Sinclair Telecable... 11.6 (+1.0).....

    Transmitter maps coming — 5/2 — Well VARTV's Transmitter Maps page is starting to shape up. Many thanks to Parris Wood in getting these maps together. The Southside of Hampton Roads and NE North Carolina maps are in the works.....

    WTKR-DT update — 5/2 — Ted Hand of WTKR-DT tells us that they have expanded its broadcast day. They will now sign-on everyday at 6PM (with NewsChannel 3 News at 6) and sign off at 11PM as before. WTKR-DT also has filed a new STA with the FCC to increase power from 400 kW to 725 kW. They should hear something from the FCC in mid-June. Hand went on to say, “We are still working on the close-caption issue with Channel 3-1. I am waiting on CBS for some information on setup… still no word from CBS concerning HD sporting events in the fall. Upcoming HD movies:
    May 5… 9-11PM… Hallmark Hall Of Fame: Little John
    Hand also passed along some technical info… WTKR-DT broadcasts on Channel 40 (Digital channel 3-1 and 3-2). Channel 3-1 is 1080i, 16x9 showing CBS HD programming or upconverted SD programming depending on time and day. Channel 3-2 is 480i, 4x3 showing Triple Doppler real-time radar images. Our transmitter is located in the Driver section of Northwest Suffolk, with an antenna height of 1250'…..

    Winter 2002 book for Richmond & Hampton Roads — 5/2 — Arbitron's Winter 2002 radio ratings (12+) will be released later today for the Richmond and Hampton Roads markets. The complete break down will be listed here. It will be interesting to see if a couple stations that are on life-support can get out of the 'IC' unit. Check back this afternoon for all of the details.....

    WCVE exceeds fund-raising goal — 5/1 — 88.9 WCVE-FM's membership drive topped its goal of $100,000, bringing in $103,769 in on-air and website pledges, according to Sarah R. Bartenstein, director of communications for the station. The annual public radio fund-raising effort ended last Saturday the 27th.....

    Cox Radio's format flip in Miami is paying off in ratings and revenues — 4/30 — Since flipping classical WTMI to dance 'Party 93-1' WPYM-FM on New Year's Day, the station has seen its audience grow rapidly. Arbitron ratings out this week show it’s the #9 station 12-plus — tied with Clear Channel's heritage 'Y100' WHYI. Bob Neil says it appears revenues are following suit: “The station's May sales are pacing 14% ahead of last year.” Neil is predicting profitability in the third quarter — saying it would have hit that level in Q2 had it not been for the marketing expense. Ok, so why am I writing about WPYM down in Miami? I use to be a club DJ 'back in the day' and dance music will always be in my blood. Cox Radio took a risk flipping from classical to pure dance and it seems to be paying off for them. If gives an online listener like myself an alternative to Energy 92-7&5 in Chicago. You can listen to 'Party 93-1' online at party931.com and Energy 92-7&5 by going to surfernetwork.com.....

    Hear the Hurricanes on radio... kinda — 4/30 — Carolina HurricanesThe adult standards twins 'Music Of Your Life' WCNC (AM-1240) Elizabeth City NC and WZBO (AM-1260) Edenton NC will carry the rest of this season's Carolina Hurricanes NHL Stanley Cup playoff games. Here's the catch... you need a really good AM receiver to get a good listenable signal. Folks in the southern parts of Hampton Roads and of course in NE NC will have the best chances catching the games. If the game is at night, forget about WZBO.....

    Winners of the 2002 Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters awards — 4/29 — I want to give special thanks to Frank Hammon the News Director for WFLS/WWUZ/WYSK-FM/AM cluster for passing on the complete list of winners at the 2002 Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters awards banquet held on Saturday April 26 in Fredericksburg. Click here for the complete of winners.....

    Why is ABC buying affiliates for Radio Disney? — 4/29 — Radio DisneyBecause it has to so reports M Street. Jacksonville, Mobile, Kansas City, Hampton Roads (WHKT-AM 1650), Flint, and now Wichita. Those are all markets ABC’s bought stations in, just in the last month. Why? Convincing owners to add Radio Disney can be a tough sell — Kids radio is a different paradigm from typical AM formats like sports or standards. You don’t live off selling four-week flights of spots — you go to the local McDonalds marketing group and pitch 12-month packages for non-traditional marketing sponsorships. And you don’t get an immediate revenue hit. Disney knows how to do it, and you’ll notice they sometimes hire marketing pros with zero radio background to run their O&Os. Michael Eisner and radio chief John Hare are backing Radio Disney to the hilt — but this recent buying spurt means they’ve concluded that Disneyfying the entire country is going to require a much higher proportion of O&Os. So — they’re buying. By the way, Disney also has an O&O in Richmond - WDZY-AM 1290.....

    Deborah Norville Deborah Norville Coming To Hampton Roads — 4/28 — Inside Edition chose ‘NewsChannel 3’ WTKR (CBS) to produce a special telecast on Tuesday April 30th. The subject will be plus-size models. Inside Edition, hosted by Emmy Award winning journalist Deborah Norville airs weekdays in Hampton Roads at 4PM on Channel 3. It wasn’t always at that time. When WVEC (13/ABC) had the show, they aired at 2:30… AM! Inside Edition airs in Richmond on WRIC (8/ABC) at 12:05AM and on 'ABC7' WJLA at 12 noon.....

    'Coast' moves concert series — 4/28 — Triple A ’93-7 The Coast’ WKOC-FM is moving its May concert series from Hampton's Mill Point Park, which held live-music events Wednesday evenings for four years, to Harbor Center in Portsmouth. Donna Agresto-Seavey, promotions manager for WKOC, said "Hosting 'The Coast' concert series at the nTelos Pavilion (at Portsmouth's Harbor Center) is an opportunity which presented itself once we realized we were not getting the support we needed this year to do a Mill Point Park series… The nTelos Pavilion plaza lends itself beautifully to this type of after-work social event." The following concerts scheduled at the nTelos Pavilion are:
    May 1 - Saffire, The Uppity Blues Women; Michael Clark Band
    May 8 - Corey Harris; Duncan and Danielle
    May 15 - Fighting Gravity; Spookie Daily Pride; Cecilia
    May 22 - Shana Morrison; Barbara Nesbit; Bernie Lee
    Admission to the concerts is $5 with the gates opening at 5:30PM. If you need additional information, call ‘The Coast’ at 640-8500.....

    FM99 morning show commercials — 4/27 — FM99The following three commercials are airing on Hampton Roads TV stations promoting the highly popular 'Tommy & Rumble' morning show on rocker 'FM99' WNOR. They're hilarious. Be warned that these three file are a huge. If you're using a dial-up Internet service, it's best to use a download manager or to 'right-click' the link and save the file to your computer. You will need QuickTime installed to view the following clips... commercial 1, commercial 2 and commercial 3. Do you recognize the actor? He's on commercials in just about every market pitching services for an attorney.....

    Station owner sues over price — 4/26 — The new owner of Channel 21 (allotted to Virginia Beach) which could sign-on a year from now - hopes to buy it for $4.4 million less than what the government is charging. Robert O Copeland, a Virginia Beach real estate developer who won the local television station last month after the winning bidder went bankrupt, has sued the FCC, accusing it of allowing another company to unfairly bid up his offer during a 1999 auction. This is the same auction that new independent ‘Sky 4’ WSKY Manteo NC was up for bids. They’ve been on-the-air since September 2001. Copeland is requesting the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to allow him to buy the station for $806,000, his first bid, rather than $5.2 million, his final bid. The suit, which follows failed appeals to FCC staff and the commission, said the agency should disqualify Winstar Broadcasting, the company that won the 1999 auction with an $8.8 million bid. Before the auction, the suit argues, Winstar transferred 49%of its stock to Equity Broadcasting and gave it an option to buy the remaining 51%; essentially selling itself to a company that hadn't registered to bid in the auction by the required date. A third player also had bid on behalf of another company. So Copeland was bidding against two competitors that had never signed up for the sale, the suit argues. ``I was the only one eligible to bid,'' Copeland said. ``My price was the only legitimate price.'' Winstar countered that it had canceled the 51% option of sale to Equity, and it had bid for and bought Channel 21 under its own name. Since then, its parent company, Winstar Communications, filed for bankruptcy protection, leaving it unable to pay off its multimillion-dollar tab. The commission found last month that Copeland is the default winner of the station. Neither Copeland nor his lawyer agrees the discussion is done though. The appeals court, their last recourse, could take two years to decide that. It’s likely that before the federal judges rule, the FCC will approve the location of Copeland's antenna and ask for the almost $9 million bid for Channel 21, which was first announced seven years ago. ``He would probably pay,'' said Lauren Colby, a Maryland communications law attorney representing Copeland. ``If the courts ruled in his favor, he would get the money back.'' Besides the legal issues, Copeland is still in for a broadcast battle. As he builds the region's 11th television station and the second to be a non-affiliated with a network, he'll have to forage for unique shows, advertising dollars and a viewing public. Because he's accepting the FCC's 35% discount off his purchase price for first-time station owners, Copeland must manage the channel for at least five years before selling even a part of it. He said the station's location, partners and programming are still up in the air, but he hopes to work out details within the next year. Insiders say that's a daring task even for the experienced. While Copeland helped found a company that ran a Knoxville TN station for a year, most of his background lies in real estate and paper wholesaling. ``Most of the syndicated fare has already been eaten up by the guys already here,'' said David A. Hanna, president of Lockwood Broadcast Group in Hampton. ``Mr. Copeland may have a stern challenge in making things work here.'' Lockwood Broadcast Group by the way was one of almost two dozen failed bids for Channel 21. Not surprisingly, one key will be visibility -- something that could work against Channel 21. ``Channel position means a lot,'' said Glenn Holterhaus, president and managing partner of DanBeth Communications, which operates ‘Sky 4’ WSKY and will launch its first marketing campaign this month. People are much more likely to surf through channels 2 through 14, he said. Since Channel 21 is a full-power commercial station, it must be squeezed into Cox Communications’ cable lineup, probably at the expense of another station. Channel 21 could push aside HBO, which now reigns over the 21st spot, or it could vie for another numerical home. Copeland ``has to kind of decide what he wants to do,'' said Frank Bowers, Cox's VP & GM for Hampton Roads. ``There's been no discussion yet.'' Copeland remains optimistic. Plans may be indefinite, he said, but residents from Williamsburg to North Carolina ``will have an opportunity to have programming that they don't have currently.''

    Q-94 is staging 'Survivor' contest — 4/26 — 'Q-94' WRVQ is staging its own 'Survivor' contest starting Monday (4/29). The grand prize is a trip to New York to attend the town-hall meeting of CBS' "Survivor: Marquesas" on May 19 th. The Q-94 contestants, who will compete from 6AM Monday through 10AM next Friday, will be allowed limited clothing, one luxury item and portable-toilet visits. Not allowed: showers or beds. Plus, participants, who will compete in reward challenges, can't leave the Q-94 'island' at 3245 Basie Road. Q-94 Survivor Island will also feature a celebrity guest: 'Big Tom' Buchanan, Virginia's contribution to 'Survivor: Africa.' Buchanan will be a guest on the Q morning show Wednesday and Thursday of next week.....

    Star 94.1's PD exits — 4/25 — Apparently, PD/morning host Karla Fox has left the building. Sources say Friday April 19th was her last day. Afternooner Mark Rawlison is handling wake-ups and no word if there will be a replacement for her. The following Monday, 'Star 94.1' broke their simulcast with AM sister WFOG to become 'Music Of Your Life - AM 1050 - The Fog'. A lot has been going on at Barnstable cluster over the last several months. As of right now, they have two PD openings - one at 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO and now one at 'Star 94.1'.....

    Lex & Terry Lex & Terry coming to Hampton Roads — 4/25 — Ronn Cowan's 'AM 1450 The Buzz' has picked up the morning syndicated show 'Lex and Terry'. They broadcast out of rocker 'Rock 105' WFYV in Jacksonville for 10 years now. They have a handful of affiliates mostly 'rockers' in the South and a couple out West. They say "their not your typical morning show. It is not about 'bits' and 'parodies'. It's just about two average guys, living your lifestyle, talking with listeners about their lives, hearing their stories and trying to solve their problems. It is about relationship advice, sports talk, crazy stunts, poking fun at the absurd and of course 'boys just being boys'." The show sounds like it would be a good fit in the Buzz's new 'Hot Talk & Sports' format. You can hear them online by listening to one of two affiliates that stream their audio over the Internet. Go to lexandterry.com for the links. As far as 'The Buzz' goes, they have put together a good line-up but does anyone know that they are out there?.....

    93 WFLS Most country stations show good gains in Freddysburg — 4/24 — The Winter 2002 Arbitrons results for Fredericksburg...
    • 1st country '93 WFLS' WFLS... 17.9 share (+0.6 from Fall's Book)
    • 2nd as usual hot AC 'B-101.5' WBQB... 8.6 (-0.7)
    • 3rd news WTOP AM/FM... 6.2 (+0.5)
    • 4th talk WJFK-FM... 4.8 (+2.3)
    • 5th modern AC 'Z-104' WWZZ... 3.1 (-0.6)
    • 6th alternative 'DC101' WWDC... 2.7 (-0.4) and
      the former modern rock 'Y-99.3' WYSK (now alternative '99-3 WYSK')... 2.7 (+0.7)
    • 8th urban '106-5 The Beat' WBTJ... 2.5 (+0.4)
    • 9th talk/nostalgia 'The Memories Station' WFVA-AM... 2.4 (+0.4),
      50s-70s oldies 'Virginia's Rockin' Oldies 95.9' WGRQ... 2.4 (-1.3),
      urban AC WHUR... 2.4 (+0.4),
      country 'Your Place In The Country' WJMA... 2.4 (+1.3) and
      rhythmic WPGC-FM... 2.4 (-1.0)
    • 14th rock country 'Thunder 104.5' WGRX... 2.1 (+0.9),
      mainstream CHR 'Hot 99-5' WIHT... 2.1 (+1.0),
      'Smooth Jazz 105.9' WJZW... 2.1 (+0.1) and
      country '98.7MZQ' WMZQ... 2.1 (+1.0)
    • 18th 'Classic Rock 94.7' WARW... 1.7 (E)
    • 19th 50s-70s oldies 'Oldies 100' WBIG... 1.4 (-0.3),
      urban 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX... 1.4 (-1.7),
      mainstream CHR 'Hot 101.9' WHTE... 1.4 (NR),
      urban AC 'Majic 102.3' WMMJ... 1.4 (NR) and
      AC 'Lite 98' WTVR... 1.4 (+0.6)
    • 24th soft AC 'Soft Rock 97.1' WASH... 1.1 (-0.1)
    • 25th 'Classical 103.5' WGMS... 1.0 (-0.2),
      urban WKYS... 1.0 (-1.8),
      rock 'XL-102' WRXL... 1.0 (-0.4),
      the former classic hits '96.9 The Rock' WWUZ (now 'Classic Rock 96.9')... 1.0 (-1.0) and
      rock '3WV' WWWV... 1.0 (NR)
    • 30th contemporary Christian WAVA... 0.7 (-0.4)
    • 31st country "Cruisin' Country C103" WCUL... 0.0 (-0.8)
    The biggest gainers were...
    • talk WJFK-FM... (+2.3)
    • country 'Your Place In The Country' WJMA... (+1.3)
    • mainstream CHR 'Hot 99-5' WIHT... (+1.0) and
    • country '98.7MZQ' WMZQ... (+1.0)
    The biggest losers were...
    • urban WKYS... (-1.8)
    • urban 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX... (-1.7) and
    • 50s-70s oldies 'Virginia's Rockin' Oldies 95.9' WGRQ... (-1.3)
    Cluster totals... 1st Free Lance-Star 21.6 (-2.4), 2nd Clear Channel 15.5 (-0.3), 3rd Mid-Atlantic Network 11.0 (-0.3), 4th Bonneville 10.3 (+1.4) and 5th Infinity 8.9 (+1.1).....

    WODU Happy Birthday WODU — 4/24 — I forgot to pass this one along but Old Dominion's college radio station WODU-AM (1630) this month celebrated 30 years on the air. A couple of Saturdays ago they invited former staffers for a station celebration. Several big names in radio got their start at WODU. For the longest time, they were located at AM1570 but just recently shifting to the expand-band at 1630. WODU can be heard about 2-3 miles outside the campus but can be heard around the world at www.woduradio.com.....

    GM/VP of Channel 13 in a Q&A session — 4/24 — If you can get your hands on the paper edition of the Virginian-Pilot, there's an interesting article by Larry Bonko titled "Why Do They Do That?” Some of those questions that viewers always want to know like...
  • Why are there so many repeats on network TV?
  • Stations going 'on and on' about how great THEY are...
  • Do stations turn up the volume during commercial breaks?
  • How long is too long the banter between an anchor and reporter or meteorologist?
  • Why does new anchor David Alan walk around the newsroom on the 5:30PM newscast?
  • Why are there TWO weather segments during that half hour?
  • During school/business closings, what's your policy on getting the information to the viewer... a use of a 'crawl' or a 'squeeze-back'?
  • The Virginian-Pilot is very slow to get its paper content online. However, if this particular article gets online, I'll pass it on to you.....

    Virginia Wesleyan College A report on getting college radio station WVAW back on-the-air — 4/24 — New co-station managers Rebecca Dawson and Rachel Perdue and a new advisor Stuart Minnis are working to put Virginia Wesleyan’s campus radio station WVAW-AM (640) back on the air that has silent for over a year. "That is our goal," said Minnis. "We're trying to work together to get the hardware and licensing issues taken care of as soon as possible." Back in 96, Bryan O'Neill and Tony Stewart were station manager, DJ, promotions director and the core of WVAW. O'Neill and Stewart spent many hours trying to keep the station going. Months later, it disappeared from the airwaves. "When cable was laid for the campus, that was the first sign of trouble we saw with the station," said Journalism professor Bill Ruehlmann. A new antenna never really worked and some thought it had been hit by lightning. In 2001, the Student Communications Committee appointed two new people to resurrect the defunct station… Amir Alexander as the station manager and newly hired broadcast professor Stu Minnis as advisor. When the new staff was put together, Minnis and Alexander devised a plan of putting WVAW back on the air… webcasting, instead of low-power AM. Minnis said at one of the first meetings, "WVAW is taking a bold step into the 21st century by doing this, and together as a group, we can make this happen." Everything was ready for the webcasting to begin in January except for one thing; there was no bandwidth on the campus and a licensing ‘dilemma’ caused by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which would require Virginian Wesleyan to pay substantial commercial licensing to webcast-copyrighted music. In 2002, Alexander didn’t return to VWC. This left Minnis with the decision of choosing the two co-station managers to assist him. Because of the bandwidth problem, Minnis came up with two plans. The first was taking the signal from the station and airing it on CCTV (closed circuit television) so that students only on campus can hear the station, or fixing the antenna and resorting to low-power AM to which people in the nearby area would be able to listen. He choose the latter. It’s difficult for them because it will be costly to fix the damaged antenna, but also there are legal ramifications with the FCC. As of now, there is no date for WVAW to come back on the air. Co-station manager Perdue said "We are doing all we can to put this station back on the air. When we have solved all the problems and cleared the problems with the FCC, WVAW will be better than ever." Stay tuned.....

    Henrico supervisors seek better service from AT&T Broadband — 4/23 — Here is the story before the outcome last night by Chris Dovi at times-dispatch.com and here's the story of the outcome AFTER the meeting.....

    WTKR-DT to expand hours — 4/23 — Starting May 1st, WTKR-DT will sign on from 6PM to 11PM nightly. No word yet if the 6PM newscast is shot in HD. WTKR-DT is working with CBS to bring CC (closed captioning) to the HD channel. The network is also upgrading affiliate stations with new HD satellite receivers/decoders, so that they can broadcast in Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. However, this will take to the end of 2002, beginning of 2003 to complete. Some viewers of WTKR-DT have written in concerning NFL and NCAA football this fall, CBS hasn't told WTKR of their HD plans for this fall. Ted Hand of the digital channel said, "For those that have written in concerning a SD program channel. We chose only to run a 1080i HD channel (3-1) and a very low resolution, weather radar channel (3-2). If we were to run a SD channel of WTKR-TV programming, it would take away bandwidth (quality) from the HD channel". For the latest update on CBS HD programming, go to cbs.com/info/hdtv.....

    Oxygen struggling for ratings — 4/23 — OxygenThe NY Times had a very interesting article on how bad the Oxygen cable net is struggling. It's bad with an average daily viewer ship at an anemic 26,000 people that's available to 40 million viewers. Cox Communications Hampton Roads recently added this channel to their digital tier last month. I remember back in the 90s, talk was that there would be over 500 channels available to us. Don't think that's gonna happen unless they are subscription-based. Read the entire article online at nytimes.com.....

    Star 94.1 The rumor mill is starting in Hampton Roads — 4/22 — The lone fact that Barnstable Broadcasting's WFOG-AM (1050) broke from a simulcast of co-owned black gospel 'Star 94.1' WXEZ to nostalgic 'Music Of Your Life - AM 1050 - The Fog' isn't the only cause for the rumor mill here to start up. Checking the Spring 2002 SIP's (Station Information Profile) at Arbitron, comes up with more questions. In checking WFOG's SIP, I found that all of the information had already been updated to the new format - MOYL. That was very quick! Just a couple of weeks ago, I checked WXEZ's SIP and under format description, it stated 'Black Gospel'. This is how I found out that they also had a website. Well... going back to it today, now their format is listed as 'Other'... Other? Yep! 'Other' and their URL is not listed on the page anymore. And furthermore, a check of their website star941.com which they just put online TWO months ago, is now down; stating it's 'Under Construction' and to visit later. Is this ALL coincidence or are they up to something? WXEZ's ratings have been doing very well ever since their sign-on as 'Gospel Praise 94.1' back in July 2000 when they blow-up soft AC 'Lite 94'. To broaden audience appeal they dropped the 'Gospel Praise' and started using 'Star' late last year. With this and several other stations in the 'ICU', this could be an interesting year in Hampton Roads radio.....

    Hampton Roads gets a second nostalgic station! — 4/22 — Music Of Your LifeBarnstable Broadcasting which owns Black Gospel 'Star 94.1' WXEZ and WFOG-AM (1050) has decided to break that simulcast they had going for awhile for a nostalgic format 'Music Of Your Life - AM 1050 - The Fog'. What's makes this interesting is that while several larger markets including DC have no 'MOYL' stations, Hampton Roads has found itself with two! The other being Saga Communications' "Joy" WJOI-AM (1230). 'Joy' has been successful in finding a niche in this market; doing well in ratings... relatively speaking. Click here to listen to some of their on-air imaging.....

    Employment opportunity in Richmond — 4/22 — This week VARTV will be introducing a new page with 'Help Wanted', 'Wanted Help'... But in the meantime, Jim Jacobs, the VP/Ops of RadioRichmond ('Hot Talk & Sports 990/1340' WLEE/WHAP, 'Unforgettable 1320/La Primera 1320' WVNZ and 'Rejoice Radio 1540' WREJ), submitted the following employment opportunity on 4/21/2002...
    Engineer- 4 station AM group in Richmond VA. Will soon be building 2 new transmitter sites. Nautel Solid State Transmitters, mostly new studio equipment, full digital, need help with basic maintenance. Part time, full time or possible contract opportunity. Call Jim Jacobs @ (804) 643 0990 or send resume to Jim Jacobs, 306 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA. 23220. Email jjacobs@radiorichmond.com. EOE
    Snider, the attitude guy — 4/22 — When the producers of VH1's upcoming movie about record censorship went looking for someone to play Dee Snider, lead singer for Twisted Sister, they didn't settle for a cheap imitation. They hired the real thing. Snider stars as himself. He has a syndicated weekly radio show 'The House Of Hair' and a daily radio show 'Dee Snider Morning Radio' heard on two radio stations - homebased in Hartford CT on WMRQ-FM and syndicated to rocker 'XL-102' WRXL. He's also MSNBC's version of CNN's James Earl Jones: the voice and provides MSNBC's "You can think for yourself!" tag line. Read the entire online article by Douglas Durden of the Richmond Times-Dispatch online.....

    Station websites in Fredericksburg continue to get makeovers — 4/21 — A VARTV reader, Shawn Sloan, brought it to my attention that Hot AC 'B101.5' WBQB's website got a facelift several weeks ago. Go to b1015.com to check it out. Nothing majorly fancy but an improvement. Doing some checking around, I also notice that rock country 'Thunder 104.5' WGRX's website had been tweaked a little. That site too looks a little better. Check out thunder1045.com for WGRX's improvements. Searching deeper, Telemedia's sister station to 'Thunder 104.5' 50s-70s oldies "Virginia's Rockin' Oldies 95.9" WGRQ over in Colonial Beach also recently a major redesign. This website was the one that needed the changes the most. Their original homepage looked like a bunch of middle school kids put it together. You can find WGRQ's website at oldies959.com. Almost every Fredericksburg area radio stations with websites have now gotten a makeover and to be quite honest they all look good. Fredericksburg is 'moving on up!'.....

    Christy Musumeci Same Christy? — 4/20 — Last week Larry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot said several readers asked if Christy Musumeci who reads the headlines on the 'Imus In The Morning' show on WFAN-AM (660) and on 'America's NewsChannel' MSNBC had any plastic surgery? Bonko commented "Musumeci looks younger and fresher on MSNBC than when she co-anchored WAVY's (10/NBC) (very successful) early morning newscast in the 1990s as Christy Carlo. She lightened her hair color, lost the femme fatale look and dropped 'Carlo' for her family name." As for plastic surgery, Bonko responds "I don't think so".....

    Sky 4 - WSKY Orioles on 'Sky 4' — 4/20 — If you're an Baltimore Orioles fan then you already knew that new independent 'Sky 4' WSKY in Manteo NC is airing more than 50 games this year mostly on the weekends says station manager Glenn Holterhaus. In the Pilot, Larry Bonko states "WSKY (is) the station of reruns on the Outer Banks that brought black and white TV to cable here." Ouch Larry... they are brand new... give 'em some time.....

    Fredericksburg Christian music radio scene is about to change — 4/20 — Joy-FMCSNCSN (Calvary Satellite Network) is close to completing its purchase of ‘Joy-FM’ WJYJ-FM (90.5). It will be rechristened as ‘Praise FM’ and is expected to air on May 1st. This changeover means more preaching programs than music for listeners. CSN (an outreach of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa CA) usually devotes about 90% of its programming to Bible teachings. But since ‘Joy-FM’ has a strong following with its Contemporary Christian format, they plan to keep the talk and music more balanced in Fredericksburg. Pete Stover, who has aired ‘Joy-FM’ from his Gunnery Hill Estates home in Spotsylvania County since 1983, will do a 30-minute show on ‘Praise FM’ and continue to operate international radio ministries. Ted Schubel, station manager for ‘Joy-FM’, will have the same position when they shift to ‘Praise FM’. Michael Slack, the national services manager for CSN, said listeners will notice more teaching on the dial, with local news and weather snippets ‘sprinkled’ throughout the day. As far as the music is concerned, Steven Atkin, the CSN administrative director, said they wanted to keep music on at hours when most of ‘Joy's’ audience listened… this will be from 9:30AM to 11:30AM, 1 to 2PM, 4 to 5PM and 8 to 8:30PM. He went on to say that ‘speakers’ and a live call-in show, “To Every Man An Answer” will fill the non-music slots. What’s interesting is that CSN also owns a translator in Fredericksburg at 91.3 (W217BC). Initially, it will simulcast 90.5 but will break the simulcast and become a ‘harder’ Contemporary Christian station called ‘The Effect’ airing a mixture of alternative and rap-style Christian rock from groups like Skillet, P.O.D. and Audio Adrenaline. No date has been announced for ‘The Effect’ to take effect. 91.3 can be heard in the immediate Fredericksburg and Falmouth areas. CSN is leasing studio space in Central Park for both frequencies…..

    FM99's Sonja gets an 'attagirl' — 4/19 — FM99Hampton Roads' rocker 'FM99' WNOR gives middayer Sonja the Programming Coordinator position. FM99 has been doing very well ratings wise placing 3rd in the 12+ for Hampton Roads. WNOR is owned by Saga Communications along with 'Classic Hits 106.9 The Fox' WAFX and nostalgic 'Joy' WJOI-AM (1230) to make up the Hampton Roads cluster.....

    April 19 2002

    Is a 'Fish' coming to Richmond?

    The FishSeveral rumors have been flying around about some changes in Richmond. One was Clear Channel rocker 'XL-102' WRXL would flip to an urban AC or country - supposely going up against Radio One's urban AC '104.7 Kiss FM' WKJS or Cox Radio's country powerhouse 'K-95' WKHK. Both of those stations have been very successful in Richmond. Nevertheless, sources at Clear Channel Richmond say that will not happen. The other rumor has Salem Communications pursuing, aggressively, to purchase 80s-90s hits 'Star 107.3' WBBT. WBBT, by the way, controls smooth jazz outlet WJZV (93.1). If this becomes true, mark my word they will blow that format up and convert it to a Contemporary Christian with the on-air positioning of '107.3 The Fish - Today's Christian Music'. However,... this is only a rumor. Salem already has a footprint in Richmond with their purchase of WBTK (WVBB at the time - 9/2000). They flipped that from nostalgia to religious talk and the ratings tanked. They've tanked so much that they have stopped showing up the Arbitrons. But, again, on the bright side their Contemporary Christian format has been successful including 'Fishs' in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta and Cleveland. Stay tuned to see what happens.....

    April 19 2002

    Richmond resident spotlighted tonight

    Richmonder Richard Oulton, who fought his homeowners association in Wyndham for the right to fly an American flag from a large flagpole, is featured on tonight's '20/20' report on the growing problems associated with rules set by homeowners associations. The ABC newsmagazine airs at 10 tonight on WRIC (8/ABC).....

    April 19 2002

    Cox drops Starsight's program guide for its own proprietary guide

    I received a small package in the mail yesterday (4/18) from Cox Communications introducing my "new Cox Interactive Program Guide". On April 24th for customers who have a digital cable box, Cox will be dropping Starsight's guide for their own. Starsight's program guide is ancient looking and way outdated compared to what I see in my new, shiny 10-page foldout "Quick Reference Guide". Besides the fresh new look, Cox says it will be faster and easier to read. It also goes on to say to reset any favorite/skipped channels, preferences and pending PPV orders. Cox has set up a comprehensive webpage on the new guide at cox.com/newguide including streaming 'help' videos. For the Cox system here in Hampton Roads, channel 116 is dedicated to customer education and will loop a 30-minute tutorial for TV viewers.....

    April 19 2002

    Speaking of facelifts...

    Music ChoiceIf you are a subscriber to DirecTV or your cable system has Music Choice music channels you might have noticed some changes. Like the outdated guide above, Music Choice's channels also improved on some badly needed updated graphics. Not only do they look 100% better, these channels now include 'Album Art' (if available), artist backgrounds & facts and Music Choice promos on the bottom of the screen. For satellite subscribers, 12 channels are now interactive to where the viewer can purchase the current track playing (no previous played artists). The makeover was much needed! You can read all about the redesign on Music Choice's website at musicchoice.com.....

    April 18 2002

    The death of an online newspaper

    Classic Rock 96.9If my memory serves me correct, WWUZ has never had a 'functional' website. Sure, they had web addresses but nothing on the page. Since Free Lance-Star Publishing adjusted the formats of WYSK from a Hot AC 'Y-99-3' to alternative '99-3 WYSK' and WWUZ from classic hits '96.9 The Rock' to 'Classic Rock 96.9', they have put some effort in those stations' online presence. Even country powerhouse '93 WFLS' website has been made over. All three websites look very good. The cross-promotion between the three radio station properties and the newspaper Free Lance-Star is much more evident now than it has been in the past.....

    April 18 2002

    The death of an online newspaper

    News JournalRay McAllister of the Richmond Times-Dispatch is reporting that the News Journal of Amelia and Powhatan 'online-only' product will be going offline... for good. They dropped their 'paper' edition about a year ago. Read Ray's entire article online.....

    April 15 2002

    ND at Channel 10 resigns

    WAVYThe Daily Press is reporting that Jim Turpin resigned on Friday (4/12) as ND (news director) of WAVY (10/NBC). GM Ed Munson said Turpin's resignation was a personnel matter and he would not elaborate. The WAVY staff learned on Friday that he was gone. Turpin couldn't be reached for comment... Meanwhile, Munson taps assistant news director David Seals for acting news director to fill Turpin's slot until a permanent replacement can be found. Turpin came from a news director's job at 'ABC Kansas' KAKE-TV (10/ABC) in Wichita KS, about 18 months ago, Munson said. Turpin's leaving wasn't because of any changes in WAVY's position in the ratings. Channel 10's news continues to hold the top spot in the Nielsen ratings. In the February sweeps, WAVY came in first place for the 5AM, 6AM, 5PM, 5:30PM, 6PM and 11PM newscasts.....

    April 15 2002

    The shutting down of 100000watts.com

    100000watts.comAs most of you already know, Chip Kelley behind 100000watts.com has decided to shut down his website. This is his message he left readers on Monday (4/15)...
    Thanks for visiting, but it is time to move on. 100000watts.com was a labor of love, but it has grown to the point that it has become too tough to maintain (such as the outage of 4/15) and maintain with the level of excellence I want. I'll keep the pages up for the short term, but will phase out updates. Thanks for having made the site so popular over the years! Chip
    Chip's website was one of the best nationwide resources for US AM/FM/TV stations as far as I'm concern. In addition, his site is quoted numerous times on other media websites including this one. For the amount of information in the field it was covering, it was one of the best sites on the internet. Chip, your website will be deeply missed!

    April 14 2002

    Together again

    As TV news directors, they were wary of publicists. Barbara Hamm and Tracye Fox have gone over to the other side to form Hamm & Fox Communications (Public relations, Marketing, and Community Outreach). Both of them had a go at running the WTKR (3/CBS) newsroom in good times and bad. The coming out party for Hamm & Fox is scheduled in Norfolk for April 25th so reports Larry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot.....

    April 14 2002

    WVEC finds a replacement for Suddith

    Janet RoachLarry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot is reporting that WVEC has finally filled the spot vacated by Brittany Suddith weekday mornings 5AM-7AM and it's Janet Roach. She comes from Baltimore's WMAR (2/ABC) where she has been anchoring their noon newscast. If she looks familiar, it's because she has been here before as a reporter for the very station she's coming back to. After leaving WVEC eight years ago, she left for a station in Milwaukee then to WMAR in 1998. A good question is "How did WVEC persuade her to leave a Top 25 market (Baltimore is #24) to come to Hampton Roads (we're #42)?" Last year she married a man who works in Newport News and has been commuting to the Peninsula on the weekends ever since. Her biggest challenge is to try to unseat WAVY (10/NBC) at the 5AM and 6AM hours. In fact, WAVY has been #1 in the mornings since 1991 finishing with a 9.2 rating in the latest February sweeps, compared to WVEC's 4.7 and WTKR's (3/CBS) 4.0.....

    April 12 2002

    WWGB is sold

    WWGBM Street is reporting that Mortenson sold his 50kW daytimer WWGB (1030) Indian Head MD to Sun Young Joo. Last year, the Rev Sun (of the Assembles of God) bought Philly WPWA (1590) and is doing Korean-language religion on it. "At a guess, Mortenson's WWGB is in for a language change - though it'll probably stay religious" speculates M Street. The sale price was $2.9 million. Even though WWGB targets Washington DC, it is very well-received on the Northern Neck.....

    April 12 2002

    'Praise 105' running at reduced power

    Praise 105If you live in the southern parts of Hampton Roads and are a listener to Christian contemporary 'Praise 105' WFMZ in Hertford NC, you definitely noticed it's now almost impossible to pick-up their signal. Well last Friday (4/5), they experienced a blown tube in the transmitter's transformer. Their engineer replaced the tube, but since then has found other problems. There's no timetable to return to full-power except the statement "hopefully very soon".....

    April 12 2002

    WWBT rides the Olympics' coattail

    WWBTAs expected, with the Olympics, WWBT's (12/NBC) ratings were up in February, dominating prime time as well as most newscasts. Channel 12's 5 and 5:30PM newscasts also won their time periods, according to Nielsen Media Research's quarterly survey of the Richmond TV stations. 'The Jerry Springer Show' over on WRIC (8/ABC) was second against WTVR's (6/CBS) 5 and 5:30PM newscasts. At 10PM, WRLH's (35/FOX) hour-long newscast garnered a 5 rating and an 8 share... not bad. The entire chart of the quarterly survey for newscasts can be found in the paper edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.....

    April 12 2002

    WTKR-DT programming update

    The following CBS movies and mini-series will be available in HDTV and on WTKR-DT...
      Friday April 26... Diagnosis Murder: Without Warning
      Sunday April 28... Living With The Dead, Part I
      Tuesday April 30... Living With The Dead, Part II
      Sunday May 5... Hallmark Hall Of Fame: Little John
    April 12 2002

    News around country 'K95'

    K95'K95' WKHK PD Jim Tice told All Access about the K95 Countryfest. This year’s listener appreciation show will be held on Sunday, July 21st at the Raceway Complex. The line-up features Kellie Coffey, Gabbie Nolan, Emerson Drive and this year’s headliner... Alabama. As always, tickets to this show are free and will be given away at station events. Last year's Countryfest drew over 32,000 listeners. In other 'K95' news, they are now using the Lia show from Jones Radio Networks in the 7PM-Midnight slot. The good thing is that shift was already being voice-tracked; nobody loses a job to a computer. Lia has picked-up several new affiliates over the past several months including new country 'Eagle 97.3' WGH in Hampton Roads. For those of you who don’t know, Lia is to the country music format for Jones as Delilah is to the AC format for them.....

    April 11 2002

    You live in Hampton Roads if...

    Not LocalThis article in The Virginian-Pilot isn't media related but I thought it was kinda funny. For folks who don't live in Hampton Roads, you might not get the whole thing like where and what is "Hampton Roads?" For those of us who do, you'll be nodding you head a lot!

    April 10 2002

    WTVZ up for sale?

    For SaleInsiders report that, in an effort to raise operating capital, Sinclair Broadcasting is considering the sale of some of its larger properties. Discussions have been underway with Tribune Broadcasting, the nation's 4th largest broadcaster, regarding the possible acquisition of WB affiliated stations in top-50 markets. Talks have centered around...
  • KMWB-23-WB in St. Paul-Minneapolis (Market #13)
  • WTTA-38-WB in Tampa (Market #14)
  • WTTV-4-WB in Indianapolis (Market #25)
  • WSTR-64-WB in Cincinnati (Market #32)
  • WTVZ-33-WB in Hampton Roads (Market #42)
  • WTKR-DT programming update - 4/10 - WTKR-DT will broadcast the first two rounds of The Masters in HD from 4-6:30PM Thursday, April 11 and Friday, April 12. On these days, coverage will not be seen on analog WTKR. Saturday and Sunday's coverage can be seen on WTKR TV-3 and in HD on digital 3-1. Digital 3-2 (Triple Doppler radar) will be turned off, unless bad weather is near, to allow more bandwidth to 3-1 for the clearest possible picture.....

    April 9 2002

    'Cat Country 100.3' programming Spanish?

    I received an email from a VARTV reader that WARV Petersburg was broadcasting Spanish programming over the weekend. According to my reader, he contacted Cox Radio (they have a JSA with owners Honolulu Broadcasting) and it was verified that they are going to program the weekends with Spanish (La Primera???) and stick with the country format (Cat Country 100.3) during the weekdays. Hispanic programming here in Hampton Roads has been very successful for a couple of non-coms 88.1 WHOV (Hampton University) and 'Hot 91' WNSB (Norfolk State) who also broadcast Spanish programming just on the weekends. We also received our first 24/7 Spanish radio station on April 1... 'Radio Vida' WRJR-AM (670). I guess besides WARV now, the only other Spanish programming in Richmond is on 'La Primera' WVNZ-AM (1320) also just on the weekends. If there are any other changes at WARV, we'll pass them along.....

    April 8 2002

    UPDATE:

    M Street speculation was right about WHKT. ABC is paying $1,075,000 for both 'Radio Disney' WHKT (1650) and WPMH (1010). ABC will LMA religious WPMH back to Cheaspeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting until WPMH's license is turned in under the FCC's 5-year rule.....

    April 8 2002

    Did you know?

    LNC5LNC5 - Local News on Cable, the joint venture of Cox Communications Hampton Roads, WVEC (13/ABC) and The Virginian-Pilot, just recently turned five years-old. That's really the only good news for the channel; being around that long. They basically rebroadcast the latest WVEC newscast to air. The only live programming is a Monday thru Friday 10PM newscast "Pilot 13 News @ 10" and two weekend newscasts at 8AM. Larry Bonko of The Virginian-Pilot reported that at the 10 o'clock hour where Hampton Roads has two newscasts; the other is 'Fox 43 News @ 10" WVBT, there's no contest for viewers. WVBT averages a 3.2 share with its hour-long program to LNC5's meager 0.7 share. PAX-49 WPXV probably has more viewers than LNC5 at 10PM.....

    April 6 2002

    Hampton Roads gets another digital signal

    According to 100000watts.com, WHRO-DT 16 has signed on-the-air. No word yet what they are broadcasting but pretty sure they will be multicasting most of the day. The following is a list of stations that have a digital signal on-the-air in Hampton Roads...
    • WTKR-DT (40/CBS) 3-0 analog WTKR, 3-1 digital WTKR, 3-2 Triple Doppler radar
    • WAVY-DT (31/NBC)
    • WVEC-DT (41/ABC)
    • WHRO-DT (16/PBS)
    • WVBT-DT (29/FOX)
    • WUND-DT (20/PBS) 20-0 analog WUND, 20-1 digital WUND, 20-2 PBS Kid's Channel, 20-3 PBS You, 20-4 distant/tele-learning (Annenberg/CPB Channel)
    April 5 2002

    Black gospel 'Star 94.1' and 'Oldies 92-9' have a BIG Trend!

    Star 94.1The Winter Phase II ArbiTrends (December/January/February) for Hampton Roads...
    • 1st urban '103 Jamz' WOWI...8.1 share (-0.5 from Phase I)
    • 2nd AC '2WD' WWDE... 7.5 (-0.7)
    • 3rd active rock 'FM99' WNOR... 6.1 (-0.3)
      (next four are ALL Barnstable stations)
    • 4th black gospel 'Star 94.1' WXEZ-FM//WFOG-AM... 5.8 (+1.1) [NOTE: WXEZ-FM received a 5.7 rating and simulcasting WFOG-AM garnered a 0.1]
    • 5th 70s-60s oldies 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO... 5.2 (+1.2)
    • 6th heritage country 'Country Legends & Today's Favorites' WCMS... 4.9 (-0.5) and
      modern country 'Eagle 97.3' WGH... 4.9 (-0.6)
    • 8th talk '790 TalkRadio' WNIS... 4.6 (-0.4),
      rhythmic CHR 'Z-104' WNVZ... 4.6 (-0.2) and
      sister urban AC '95-7 R&B' WVKL... 4.6 (-0.1)
    • 11th classic hits '106.9 The Fox' WAFX... 4.5 (-0.7) and
      hot AC '94.9 The Point' WPTE... 4.5 (+0.1)
    • 13th alternative '96X' WROX... 3.1 (+0.2)
    • 14th urban AC 'Vibe 105' WSVY... 2.5 (E)
    • 15th sister hip-hop '92.1 The Beat' WBHH... 2.2 (+0.4)
    • 16th sister smooth jazz 'CD 107.7' WJCD... 2.1 (-0.6)
    • 17th AAA '93-7 The Coast' WKOC... 1.8 (+0.3)
    • 18th sister news/talk '850 NewsRadio' WTAR... 1.5 (E)
    • 19th nostalgia 'Joy' WJOI-AM... 1.3 (E)
    • 20th sports 'ESPN Radio 1310' WGH-AM... 0.9 (E) and
      black gospel 'Your Inspirational Leader' WPCE-AM... 0.9 (+0.4)
    • 22nd urban 'Hot 102.1' WWHV... 0.8 (+0.3)
    • 23rd black gospel 'Your Gospel Connection' WGPL-AM... 0.6 (NR) and
      AC 'Xtra 99.1' WXGM... 0.6 (+0.2) [NOTE: WXGM-FM received a 0.5 rating and simulcasting WXGM-AM garnered a 0.1]
    • 25th black gospel 'The Power Company' WCKO... 0.5 (NR)
    The biggest gainers were (Both Barnstable outlets)...
    • 70s-60s oldies 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO... (+1.2) &
    • black gospel 'Star 94.1' WXEZ-FM//WFOG-AM... (+1.1)
    The biggest losers were...
    • AC '2WD' WWDE... (-0.7)
    • classic hits '106.9 The Fox' WAFX... (-0.7)
    • smooth jazz 'CD 107.7' WJCD... 2.1 (-0.6)
    • modern country 'Eagle 97.3' WGH... (-0.6)
    Cluster totals... Barnstable takes over 1st with 21.7 (+1.2), 2nd Entercom 21.2 (-1.2) and 3rd Clear Channel 14.9 (-0.5).....

    April 5 2002

    Lite 98 continues to rise and Power 92 still falling in Richmond's Trends

    Lite 98The Winter Phase II ArbiTrends (December/January/February) for Richmond...
    • 1st AC 'Lite 98' WTVR... 11.9 share (+0.6 from Phase I)
    • 2nd urban 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX... 6.6 (-0.6)
    • 3rd country 'K95' WKHK... 6.4 (+0.4)
    • 4th classic hits '96.5 The Planet' WKLR... 6.0 (-0.3) and
      news/talk 'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA... 6.0 (+0.4)
    • 6th urban oldies 'Majic 105.7' WJMO... 5.2 (-0.9)
    • 7th mainstream CHR 'Q-94' WRVQ... 5.0 (-0.5)
    • 8th urban AC '104.7 Kiss FM' WKJS... 4.8 (-0.7)
    • 9th hot AC 'B103' WMXB... 4.4 (+0.1)
    • 10th urban '106-5 The Beat' WBTJ... 4.2 (-0.1)
    • 11th alternative 'Y-101' WDYL... 3.2 (+0.1)
    • 12th rock 'XL-102' WRXL... 3.0 (-0.3)
    • 13th 80s-90s hits 'Star 107.3' WBBT... 2.1 (+0.2) and
      hip-hop 'Hot 99-3' WRHH... 2.1 (+0.2)
    • 15th classic country/bluegrass 'AM 950 WXGI'... 2.0 (+0.3)
    • 16th nostalgia/spanish 'Unforgettable 1320'/'La Primera' WVNZ... 1.9 (-0.5)
    • 17th 'Smooth Jazz 93.1' WJZV... 1.8 (-0.1)
    • 18th sports 'SportsRadio 910' WRNL... 1.5 (+0.2)
    • 19th black gospel 'Star 94.1' WXEZ... 1.3 (+0.2)
    • 20th talk 'Hot Talk WHAP 1340/Hot Talk WLEE 990' WHAP-AM//WLEE-AM... 1.1 (+0.2)
    • 21st urban oldies 'The Heart & Soul Of Richmond' WCLM-AM... 0.8 (+0.2) and
      black gospel 'Rejoice Radio AM 1540' WREJ... 0.8 (+0.2)
    • 23rd black gospel 'Your Gospel Connection' WGCV-AM... 0.7 (E)
    • 24th classic hits '106.9 The Fox' WAFX... 0.6 (NR) and
      gospel 'The Light' WFTH-AM... 0.6 (E)
    • 26th the former classic hits '96.9 The Rock' WWUZ (now Classic Rock 96.9)... 0.5 (+0.1)
    • 27th country 'Cat Country 100.3' WARV... 0.4 (NR) and
      With the loss of Christmas music adult standards 'EZ-100.5' WZEZ... sinks to 0.4 (-0.3)
    The biggest gainer was AC 'Lite 98' WTVR... (+0.6).
    The biggest losers were (ALL Radio One outlets)...
    • urban oldies 'Majic 105.7' WJMO... (-0.9)
    • urban AC '104.7 Kiss FM' WKJS... (-0.7)
    • urban 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX... (-0.6)
    Cluster totals... 1st Clear Channel 31.6 (+0.3), 2nd Cox 20.0 (+0.3) and 3rd Radio One 19.8 (-1.6).....

    April 5 2002

    'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA hires Clinton scandal figure

    Kathleen WilleyKathleen Willey, a resident of Powhatan who appeared on 60 Minutes and discussed to 29 million viewers an alleged sexual assault by then-President Bill Clinton in 1993, will begin hosting a two-hour talk program airing Sundays from noon-2PM on April 7th. Willey will discuss her experience with Clinton and her subsequent role in special prosecutor Kenneth Starr's investigation, in addition to current issues gained from her experience as a Democratic Party fundraiser. ABC Radio Networks' Sean Hannity is expected to appear on Willey's debut show. With WRVA's blowtorch, basically everyone in the VARTV area will be able to listen - from Fredericksburg, down I-95 to the NC border and east to Virginia Beach. Read an online article by The Times-Dispatch....

    April 5 2002

    An update on ABC/Disney's purchase of WHKT

    ABC Radio NetworksM Street is reporting that an ABC Radio press release has announced three new radio station purchases including WHKT (1650) Portsmouth. The part we already knew was the purchase of WHKT and the flip to Radio Disney, which they have been broadcasting since December. The part we didn't know, according to M Street, is that you can't own an expanded-band station by itself, unless it's older cousin has gone dark. Well, WHKT is still tied to its older cousin and that's WPMH, still on-the-air at 1010. M Street is suggesting to look for ABC to file for both WPMH and WHKT and then do something like lease religious WPMH back to Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting, the current owner. M Street also noted that Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting is related to the Epperson family's Truth Broadcasting, a company separate from Salem Communications... I did not know that!

    April 4 2002

    Maxwell returns to Richmond

    106-5 The BeatClear Channel Richmond annouces they have found a replacement PD for DÉJÀ VU who has left urban '106-5 The Beat' WBTJ for yet unannounced on-air duties at newly-flipped urban/hip-hop sister station 'Power 105.1' WTJM in New York. It's Aaron Maxwell from rhythmic sister station '92.7 The Beat Jamz' WJBT in Jacksonville FL. He won't start here though until a replacement is found for the spot in Jacksonville. '92.7 The Beat' just got new competiton up the dial on the 105.7 frequency... urban 'Hot 105.7' WHJX.....

    April 3 2002

    Z-104 picks up new countdown show

    Rick Dees Weekly Top 40Weekend Top 30Rhythmic 'Z-104' WNVZ dumps Rick Dees' Weekly Top 40 for NBG Radio Network's 'Weekend Top 30' with Sean 'Hollywood' Hamilton. The show is distributed in rhythmic & mainstream versions; Z-104 will pick-up the rhythmic one. In a very odd move, Rick Dees stays within the Entercom Norfolk family and is shifted to Hot AC '94.9 The Point' WPTE Sundays 8AM-12N. Rick Dees on The Point just doesn't make sense unless it's for contractual obligations on behalf of Entercom Norfolk.....

    April 4 2002

    Severe thunderstorms in Hampton Roads causes havoc

    A severe line of thunderstorms blow through Hampton Roads yesterday after 5PM. Several broadcast stations were knocked off-the-air including 'CNN Radio 1550' WVAB, 'Radio Disney' WHKT (1650), the cable signal of WHRO (15/PBS) and 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO. Urban AC '95-7 R&B' WVKL experienced a dropped signal a couple of times. The hardest hit was WWSO. The 6 o'clock hour wasn't too kind to them. For most of that hour, they were off-the-air. Then around 6:45 it sounded like they had everything fixed until this happened... an out-of-control computer. After giving it a kick, it was smooth sailing for the rest of the evening. For the other stations, WHRO's cable signal was restored around 7:30PM and WHKT came on just after 8PM with the (AHL Norfolk) Admirals game.....

    April 3 2002

    Cox cable fixture Irvine Hill retiring

    Irvine B HillLarry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot is reporting that Irvine B Hill, whose long career in broadcasting and public service made him a household name in Hampton Roads, announced on Tuesday that he is retiring after 22 years with Cox as vice president of public affairs and community programming for Cox Communications. He'll still serve as a consultant with Cox. "The consulting role will mean the best of both worlds for me,'' said Hill, 75. "I'll be able to continue my relationship with Cox while enjoying a more relaxed pace in life and spending greater time with my family.'' Hill has been with Cox since 1980. He established himself as a local TV personality while hosting "Hampton Roads Speaks Out'' and "Portraits'' on the public service WCOX channel 11. It became his second career, following his time in radio as an account executive with WTAR and later as president and GM WCMS-AM/FM. Shortly before joining Cox, Hill concluded a 16-year career in Norfolk politics including a term as mayor. By then, he was known far and wide in Southside Hampton Roads. His time with Cox extended the Hill presence. "He has proven himself a master of public affairs,'' said Frank Bowers, VP/GM of Cox Communications in Hampton Roads. Hill has been the "spirit and face'' of Cox Communications, said the company. After June 30, Hill will consult in matters of legislative affairs, educational initiatives and projects at Cox technology centers.....

    April 3 2002

    Richmond area local calling expanded

    VerizonVerizon has eliminated toll calling between several Virginia phone exchanges as it enlarges local calling areas. Bell Atlantic and GTE agreed to expand local-calling areas between adjacent exchanges as a condition of their merger to become Verizon in June 2000. Locally, among the other changes occurring are: Ashland expands to include Hanover; Dinwiddie expands to include Stony Creek; Doswell expands to include Ladysmith; Irvington includes Saluda; Lawrenceville incorporates Emporia; Old Church expands to include Dawn, King William, Providence Forge and Richmond; West Point expands to include King William. There were also several changes on the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula. The complete list of changes for Virginia can be viewed online at newscenter.verizon.com.....

    April 3 2002

    Cable Internet links fall in cost in Richmond

    Rates for high-speed Internet connections through cable modems have dropped slightly. Both AT&T Broadband and Comcast said they have stopped paying localities franchise fees that are tied to cable Internet service. What does this mean for you? About $2. Last month, the FCC ruled that cable modem service should be classified as an ‘information’ service rather than a ‘cable’ service meaning localities couldn’t collect franchise fees specifically tied to cable modem service. Sara Eder, an AT&T Broadband spokesperson, said the company already has stopped paying the fee tied to its cable modem service and went on to say that they will credit subscribers for fees they paid after the FCC's March 14 ruling. AT&T’s cable modem service costs $45.95 per month for the connection and a modem lease. The service costs $35.95 for those who own cable modems. AT&T has about 17,000 cable modem subscribers in and around Richmond. Over at Comcast, Mitchell Schmale, a company spokesperson, said they told Chesterfield County officials that it stopped paying the franchise fee as of March 25th and it quit adding the $2.09 fee to subscribers' $39.95 monthly bill. Locally, Comcast only has the system in Chesterfield.....

    April 3 2002

    Fresh new paint

    PAXPaxson Communications which owns and operates the nation’s largest broadcast television station group and the 7th broadcast network PAX TV relaunched their TV network's website on April 1st. It sports a sleek new look, upgraded message boards that you now can create your 'polls' in and a new and improved monthly newsletter among other things. Their new website can be found at PAX.tv.....

    April 2 2002

    Vacated spots filled

    LiaOM/PD Randy Brooks of Barnstable country 'Eagle 97.3' WGH and heritage country WCMS recently took on interim PD duties at sister 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO (read below for the whole story on that) and took several jocks with him to staff the new oldies outlet. In doing so, it left some vacant spots at the country outlets. They are now filled. Brooks brings in (via satellite) Lia from Jones Radio Network for nights (7PM-Midnight) at WGH - the spot Mike Allen had and newcomer John Michael for nights at WCMS vacated by Amy York. By the way, Lia is now heard on over 175 stations....

    April 2 2002

    Couple of Richmond stations get into the April Fool's Day act

    Star 107.3Q-94Were you among the hundreds of Richmonders who thought they were auditioning for a Britney Spears video yesterday? April Fools'! Q-94's (WRVQ-FM) "Wicker in the Morning Show" attracted dozens to hundreds of listeners to three shopping malls yesterday after announcing that Britney was in town. The stunt started last week, according to PD Billy Surf, when the station began promoting a special interview with a major celebrity. Around 7AM yesterday (4/1/2002), Q-94 aired a canned interview with Britney Spears, inserting the information that she was in town to do a music video and needed 25 extras. First stop, the Kmart parking lot at Glenside and West Broad , where, according to Surf, about 70 people were on hand to audition for someone they thought was Britney inside a limousine. Next, the limousine went to Regency Square, where 200 to 300 people showed up followed by a stop at Chesterfield Towne Center, with 500 to 700 people. At 9:30AM, Q-94 had a special announcement from Britney... "It was all an April Fools' prank." Over at 80s-90s hits 'Star 107.3', morning DJ Billy Hoffman started the day by announcing that the station had changed formats to "Kick'n Country, The Best Of The '30s And More" then played songs from the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack. An hour and many phone calls later, the station went back to "The Best Of The '80s And More".....

    March 30 2002

    Winstar Broadcasting loses CP for channel 21

    FCCWinstar has not only lost a CP for a new TV station allocated to channel 21 in Virginia Beach, it will also lose a hefty chunk of change as well. Winstar won the auction for channel 21 with a bid of $8,752,000 back on 9/28/99 and made an initial payment of $1,750,400. Then they were subject to a "petition to deny" from second-place bidder Robert O Copeland. Copeland charged that prior to the auction, Winstar had "engaged in a transfer of control, thereby rendering it ineligible to bid..." and that it was financially unqualified due to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings of its parent companies, WCI and Winstar New Media Inc. Although Copeland's petition was denied, Winstar at the same time failed to meet the both the deadline for paying off its balance as well as the late payment date of 8/1/01. By that time a late fee of $238,600 was tacked on. Missing these deadlines generally results in loss of the license, along with a default assessment. Winstar, seeking to retain its right to the license, argued that its "investment in acquisition and construction of the new station may not be recognized as an asset of the corporation" since it could have lost the license due to the Copeland petition, and that the same threat prevented it from recouping its investment via sale of the license. The FCC shot back, "These bare allegations, unsupoorted by evidence, do not justify a waiver. Moreover, even if these allegations were substantiated, rather than unsupported, they would still not warrant a waiver." The upshot is that Winstar's application is dismissed, Copeland's bid will be honored as the new high, and Winstar will have a bid deficiency payment of $796,000 and the late fee deducted from the cash it has already paid. It will get back $715,720. Read the Opinion and Order by the FCC. By the way, this is the same auction (#25) by the FCC that Danbeth Communications, owners of independent 'Sky 4' WSKY Manteo NC, won their CP. They have been on the air since September 2001. Who knows what will happen now with channel 21?

    March 30 2002

    University of Richmond's WDCE pulls the plug on Internet streaming

    Here is the letter online in making their decision to suspend the Internet audio stream... Dear internet listeners: Unfortunately, WDCE has decided to halt its internet broadcast system as of March 25, 2002. The University administration advised the station in this move because of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act of 1998. As a result of this legislation, members of the recording industry want to place stringent restrictions and fees on stations that broadcast music over the internet. Although the U.S. Copyright Office has yet to approve such guidelines, the University administration feels that it is in the station's best interests to shut down the system until the matter has been resolved. We at WDCE apologize to our listeners for the unfortunate circumstances. We sincerely hope that the Copyright Office will favor a resolution that will allow us to resume broadcasting our signa l over the internet. The WDCE staff 2002.....

    March 29 2002

    Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes at 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO

    Dave Anthony who was the newly announced PD of the recently flipped urban oldies 'Soul Classics 92.9' to 70s-60s oldies 'Oldies 92-9' resigned. He started the position on March 11th! He came to WWSO with 24 years of radio experience from a very successful oldies outlet in York PA... Pioneer Broadcasting's 'Oldies 96.1' WSOX. His previous stints included the launch of WQXL, KOLI 107 FM Ann Arbor MI, and KIX-FM Raleigh NC. Wanna guess where he went to? Yep, back to the station he came from WSOX. WOW! He replaced market vet Steve Crumbley when they where 'Soul Classics'. In the interim, PD Randy Brooks of sisters country 'Eagle 97.3' WGH and heritage country WCMS will take a third station under his wings. 'Oldies 92-9' finally goes live with jocks starting with WGH night guy Mike Allen doing mornings. I remember listening to Mike back in the 80s on Top 40 'Z-104' when I was a teenager. He's been around the dial. Former WWSO Dale Murray is back for middays and Amy York is in for afternoons from nights at WCMS. Their website 929oldies.com is still dark. All three stations mentioned above in addition to 'ESPN Radio 1310' WGH and black gospel 'Star 94.1' WXEZ//WFOG-AM 1050 are owned by Barnstable Broadcasting.....

    March 29 2002

    Speaking of Barnstable...

    WXEZI'm assuming sometime last month (February 2002), black gospel 'Star 94.1' WXEZ's website went live. They flipped from soft AC 'EZ94' to black gospel in July 2000 going by 'Gospel Praise 94.1' for the first year and a half. Their format is simulcasted on sister AM station WFOG (1050). They have been pretty successful ever since bringing gospel to FM 24/7.....

    March 29 2002

    Free Preview

    MLB Extra InningsIf you are a subscriber to a digital cable package, the MLB Extra Innings sports package is free from April 1st thru the 7th. This is in conjunction with the iNDEMAND pay-per-view service. Most major cable systems including Cox, AT&T Broadband, Comcast, Charter and Time-Warner, to name a few, carry iNDEMAND pay-per-view. Check your local listings for the exact channel number the games will be broadcasted on. For the list of games being broadcasted by iNDEMAND go to
    iNDEMAND.com.....

    March 29 2002

    Digital television news

    With the FCC deadline of May 1, 2002 for broadcasters to their digital station on the air, many of them won't make it for one reason or another. WGNT-DT is one of those that won't make it. On March 8, the UPN O&O (Viacom) was granted their request to push back their required sign-on date to November 1, 2002. In their request, they had to state the reason or reasons why they were asking for the extension. In reading the request, almost the first two pages out of three taken up literally boosts about Viacom's offering all kinds of HDTV programming... their leading the industry in HDTV programming among other a@@ kissing statements. Towards the end of the second page and the third page, we get to the real reason why they are requesting an extension... granted a late CP (10/15/2001), unavailability of tower crews among other things. You can read the entire granted extension request PDF File here. WGNT-DT will eventually be found on channel 50. WUPV (65/UPN) in Richmond also filed for an extension. Even though there was no request letter online to review, the application was checked "Other - (e.g. natural disaster)" as to the reason for the delay. They will eventually be found on channel 47. The other station in Richmond granted an extension was WTVR-DT. Their main reason was finding a suitable site to erect their digital antenna. They stated that their current analog tower site is inadequate. They have found a new ‘community’ site just outside of Richmond, which will also include WRIC-DT, WRLH-DT, WCVE-DT and WCVW-DT. Read WTVR-DT's (future channel 25) entire granted extension request PDF File here. Finally, WVBT-DT (29/FOX) has signed-on without any fanfare... nothing! I don't think Fox is broadcasting any Hi-Def programming (don't quote me on that one). This brings the total to "5" for digital TV signals in Hampton Roads.

    March 26 2002

    Oh those 80s

    I found this aircheck on reelradio.com by Steve Sawyer and wanted to give you guys a chance to listen to it. It's MJ Kelli at then CHR '97 Star' WGH in 1988 around the 9 o'clock hour. At the time, '97 Star' was going up against CHR powerhouse 'Z-104' WNVZ who was doing CHR since August of '82. Also to note, while 'Z-104' and WGH were competing for ratings, WGH is where Paul 'Cubby' Bryant got his start in commercial radio. Cubby is now at 'Z-100' WHTZ in New York as APD/MD. Kelli did jump ship briefly (8/88-10/89) to 'Z-104' but then later moved on to have his own morning show at '93-3 FLZ' WFLZ Tampa FL which he still has and now has a syndicated talk show on several stations around the country going by his real name of Todd Schnitt.....

    March 26 2002

    Arbitron seeks station nickname verification

    ArbitronThe ratings company today mailed its spring 2002 Station Name Preview to stations within the 283 markets Arbitron measures each spring and is asking that all information concerning a station's on-air moniker be confirmed by June 19. Arbitron guidelines permit stations to use nicknames heard at least four times an hour on the station and that the names submitted reflect what is said on the air rather than the station's format description. The information becomes effective upon receipt by Arbitron. To see what Arbitron has on file for your favorite radio station goto Arbitron's Station Information Profile page.....

    March 26 2002

    WTKR-DT programming update

    Ted Hand of WTKR-DT writes "After receiving feedback from this weekends NCAA game, WTKR-DT will turn 3-2 off during sporting events unless there is bad weather in SE VA or NE NC, in which case the radar on 3-2 will be on. WTKR-DT will begin a regular schedule tonight (3/25); 8-11pm everynight from here on. Station management will make a decision on earlier sign-ons (5pm for news, etc.) later this week." A full CBS HD schedule can be found at www.cbs.com/hdtv.....

    March 24 2002

    Hampton Roads' gets its first full-time all-Spanish radio station

    On April 1st, the owners of 'Praise 670' WRJR, licensed to Claremont, plan to flip that frequency to all Spanish. 'Radio Vida' ('Radio Life' in English), as it will be called, will offer music, talk, news, weather, religion and sports. GM Dan Narvaez says Radio Vida will offer "a unique, broad-based format to appeal to all Hispanics". He estimates the Spanish-speaking population here at 70,000 with 329,540 in the entire Commonwealth. The DC market has several stations, AM & FM, catering to the Hispanic population full-time. Richmond, too, has a station broadcasting Spanish ('La Primera' WVNZ AM1320) but only full-time on the weekends. Hispanic programming on WRJR is not new; on the weekends, they offered a four-hour block of programming, which was well-received said station owner Henry Hoot of Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasters. Before Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasters sold WHKT (AM 1650) to ABC/Disney that frequency too offered some Hispanic programming on the weekends. What even more Spanish programming? Both 'Hot 91' WNSB (91.1/Norfolk State) and 88.1 WHOV (Hampton University) offer Spanish programming on the weekends. It's unclear what will happen to all of the Christian programming that was on WRJR, their owners do have two other religious properties... 'Christian Talk Radio' WPMH (AM1010) and gospel 'AM 1270 The Light' WTJZ. No word yet either on new call letters to match the new format and on-air positioning. Here's an article online (as long as this link works) from The Daily Press....

    March 23 2002

    Clear Channel Richmond outlets participate in weekly $1,000,000 give-away

    Well if you listen to any of Clear Channel's stations in Richmond, you have a shot to win $1,000,000... right? Just remember this isn't the only market running these contests. You're battling literally hundreds of thousands of listeners across the country. AC 'Lite 98' WTVR is running 'Million Dollar - Vault Song Of The Day', urban '106-5 The Beat' WBTJ 'Million Dollar - Ch-Ching', rocker 'XL-102' WRXL 'Million Dollar - Lay Off Pay Off' and CHR 'Q-94' WRVQ 'Million Dollar 3 Peat'. When Clear Channel first started doing this type of contesting, they really hid the fact that the same contest at the same time was being played across the country. Now after flack especially from the State of Florida, Clear Channel is much more 'open' to the contest rules. In this particular contest, a caller needs to be the 500th caller to win the million dollars at the cue to call. This contest started on March 18th and wraps up on May 3rd. The DC, Baltimore and Hampton Roads markets are also participating in this contest.....

    March 22 2002

    Add WRAR's website to the recent list of face lifts

    WRARRecently, AC '105-5 WRAR's website was redesigned. WRAR serves the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula. You can find their new website here.....

    March 22 2002

    Cox Radio websites get madeover

    Cox RadioLike the Sinclair Telecable radio cluster in Hampton Roads (read a couple of articles down), Cox Radio redesigns country 'K-95' WKHK k95country.com, classic rock '96.5 The Planet' WKLR 965theplanet.com, alternative 'Y-101' WDYL y101rocks.com and Hot AC 'B-103' WMXB richmondsb103.com. Visually they look better plus all of the websites claim that they now offer "a deeper display of 'last songs played' (two days worth!), there's more to do and you can search by artist, title, or specific time. The makeover wasn't market-wide... it was company-wide. Every website of a Cox Radio property received the changes. Note: Cox Radio has a JSA with Honolulu Broadcasting's 'Cat Country 100.3' WARV Petersburg. WARV has no website.....

    March 22 2002

    PAX TV to air Dove Awards

    While not a religious broadcaster per se, the PAX TV network makes no bones about trying to appeal to active Christian viewers with its family-friendly programming. They're airing the Gospel Music Association's 33rd Annual Dove Awards on live at 9PM on April 25th. The hosts for the Dove Awards will be St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner and singer Yolanda Adams, herself a Dove and Grammy winner. This will be the first network TV broadcast for the Dove Awards. PAX TV can be seen on WPXV channel 49 in Hampton Roads, WPXW channel 60 in Fredericksburg and the PAX TV network feed on channel 55 for AT&T Broadband customers in the Richmond area.....

    March 22 2002

    'The Masters' in HDTV

    The MastersThis just in from CBS: CBS Sports will broadcast The Masters in HDTV on Thursday April 11 and Friday April 12 (4-6:30PM each day), Saturday April 13 (3:30-6:30PM) and Sunday April 14 (2:30-7PM) live from Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta GA. Even though these times don't fall within the hours that WTKR-DT (3/CBS) was going to broadcast in true HDTV, they will carry event in HD during those times.....

    March 21 2002

    Cable customers getting UNDER-billed in Richmond?

    AT&T Broadband has notified several customers in the Richmond area that they've been underbilled for cable TV services. In a letter addressed "Dear Valued Customer," the company stated regret for its billing error and said it would absorb the loss from the underbilling. The correct monthly billing amount will appear on April bills. Spokeswoman Julia Torres Barden declined to say how many of AT&T's 150,000 cable customers in the area had been affected. AT&T believes the problem was caused by a coding error that occurred during a billing conversion in July, Barden said. The problem was only recently discovered, she said. All affected customers have been notified of the effort to correct the problem. Ms Barden went on to say "The company has been implementing a number of changes and has been going through some growing pains".....

    March 21 2002

    Given long leash, CBS perfects working the clock

    Jerry Linquist of the Richmond Times-Dispatch examines CBS' jumping from game to game during the NCAA basketball tournament. Why Jerry says, "Commercials, baby. The more they move around, the more they can sell, sell, sell." Read the entire story online from the Times-Dispatch.....

    March 20 2002

    Can't hear 'Hot 102.1'?

    Hot 102.1If you're on the Peninsula, outside of Hampton Roads or just curious, here is an aircheck recorded Wednesday March 20 at 6PM starting with Hot 102.1's top-of-the-hour ID. It's 1 hr 03 min 12 sec long. The file size is HUGE... about 10 megs... recorded in the "WMA" format at 22kbps. Fairly good quality at that bitrate compared to the 'mp3' format. This file will NOT play until fully downloaded. This DJ is Peezo Coconuts. Enjoy!

    March 20 2002

    Country WJMA does well

    WJMAThe Winter Arbitrends Phase II (December/January/February) for Fredericksburg released shows country '93 WFLS' WFLS at number 1 with a 19.0 share (-1.1 from Phase I). 2nd Hot AC 'B-101.5' WBQB... 7.5 (+0.3), 3rd news WTOP AM/FM... 4.3 (-1.1), 4th a tie between talk WJFK-FM... 3.4 (+0.4) and modern AC 'Z-104' WWZZ... 3.4 (+0.4), 6th a three-way tie between oldies 'Virginia's Rockin' Oldies 95.9' WGRQ... 2.8 (+0.1), country 'Your Place In The Country' WJMA... 2.8 (+1.6) and the former modern rock 'Y-99.3' WYSK (now alternative '99-3 WYSK)... 2.8 (+0.7), 9th a three-way tie between country '98.7MZQ' WMZQ... 2.5 (+1.0), rhythmic WPGC-FM... 2.5 (-0.5) and alternative 'DC101' WWDC... 2.5 (-0.8), 12th a four-way tie between urban '106.5 The Beat' WBTJ... 2.2 (-0.2), urban 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX... 2.2 (-0.5), talk/nostalgia 'The Memories Station' WFVA-AM... 2.2 (+0.1) and country 'Thunder 104.5' WGRX... 2.2 (+0.4), 16th a tie between 'Classic Rock 94.7' WARW... 1.9 (+0.1) and soft AC 'Soft Rock 97.1' WASH... 1.9 (+0.4), 18th a three-way tie between urban AC WHUR... 1.6 (-0.2), 'Smooth Jazz 105.9' WJZW... 1.6 (+0.4) and rock 'XL-102' WRXL... 1.6 (-0.5), 21st 'Oldies 100' WBIG... 1.3 (-0.5), 22nd a five-way tie between classical 'Classical 103.5' WGMS... 1.2 (E), mainstream CHR 'Hot 99-5' WIHT... 1.2 (E), urban WKYS... 1.2 (-1.2), urban AC 'Majic 102.3' WMMJ... 1.2 (+0.6) and the former classic hits '96.9 The Rock' WWUZ (now 'Classic Rock 96.9')... 1.2 (-0.6), 27th a four-way tie between mainstream CHR 'Hot 101.9' WHTE... 0.9 (+0.3), classic rock '96.5 The Planet' WKLR... 0.9 (Not Rated), mainstream CHR 'Q-94' WRVQ... 0.9 (E) and AC 'Lite 98' WTVR... 0.9 (E), 31st a tie between contemporary Christian WAVA... 0.6 (-0.6) and rock '3WV' WWWV... 0.6 (E) and 33rd country 'Cruisin' Country C103' WCUL... 0.0 (-0.6). The biggest gainers were country 'Your Place In The Country' WJMA... (+1.6), country '98.7MZQ' WMZQ... (+1.0), classic rock '96.5 The Planet' WKLR... (+0.9) and the former modern rock 'Y-99.3' WYSK (now alternative '99-3 WYSK)... (+0.7). The biggest losers were urban WKYS... (-1.2), country '93 WFLS' WFLS... (-1.1) and news WTOP AM/FM... (-1.1). Cluster totals... 1st Free Lance-Star 23.0 (+0.8), 2nd Clear Channel 15.8 (-0.4) , 3rd Bonneville 8.9 (-0.7), 4th Mid-Atlantic Network 9.7 (+0.4) and 5th Infinity 7.8 (E).....

    March 20 2002

    WTKR-DT goes full steam April 1st

    WTKR-DT is planning seven nights a week programming (8PM - 11PM) beginning April 1st says Ted Hand the Director of Engineering at WTKR-DT. They will still be on Monday and Tuesday night next week (March 25/26) with CBS HD programming. After April 1st, if the CBS network is showing an HD show, WTKR-DT will pass it along in HD, if it is not in HD, they will upconvert the 4:3 SD show into a 16x9 window for broadcast. TripleDoppler real-time radar images can be seen on channel 3-2.....

    March 18 2002

    Internet radio is great, so of course it can't last

    McGregor McCance of the Richmond Times-Dispatch has commentary on Internet radio particularly royalties paid when copyrighted works are transmitted online. Read the entire article online.....

    March 17 2002

    WTKR-DT fires up

    WTKR-DT turned on the digital switch March 11th on a limited basis. They won't be running the digital transmitter 24/7 until later in 2002. They continue to install and test equipment and will be running a limited schedule, which will be mostly evenings from approximately 7PM to about 11:40PM, and that will not happen every day. For most of the test period, WTKR-DT will be operating in a mode where they are up converting their local analog signal to digital for broadcast... booo. Eventually, they will have CBS HD network programming available in true HDTV. Also, CBS is only providing Dolby Digital 2.0 audio streams. They plan to update to 5.1 in late 2002 or early 2003. In the mean time, WTKR-DT is available in true two-channel stereo. When the digital transmitter is on, the digital signal will be on channel 3-1 with TripleDopplerRadar imagery on 3-2. If you have problems getting to channel 3-1 or 3-2. Enter channel 40 on your digital television or set top box (STB), it should then map to channel 3-1 and 3-2. Here's this weeks sked...
  • Mon March 18... 8pm-11pm... The King of Queens, Baby Bob, Everybody Loves Raymond, Becker and Family Law
  • Tues March 19... 8pm-11pm... JAG, The Guardian and Judging Amy
  • Wed March 20... OFF
  • Thurs March 21... 7:30pm-till the end of the last game... NCAA Basketball
  • Fri March 22... OFF
  • Sat March 23... 4pm-11pm... NCAA Basketball, The Agency and The District
  • This is the fourth TV broadcasting station in the Hampton Roads viewing area to go digital; the first was WAVY-DT (31/NBC) last March 22nd (2001), WUND-DT (20/PBS) and WVEC-DT (41/ABC).....

    March 17 2002

    times-dispatch.com gets madeover

    Richmond Times-DispatchLast week the Richmond Times-Dispatch's online version received a makeover. They did solicit online readers for comments and suggestions. It does 'look' better and is better organized.....

    March 16 2002

    Verizon seeks to offer long-distance service in VA

    VerizonVerizon Communications wants the SCC support for its bid to offer long-distance service to its 3 million customers in Virginia. The company filed information about its plans with the state agency Friday. Under the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Verizon can't offer long distance to its own customers until it has shown it has satisfactorily opened its local markets to competitors and gained FCC approval. The SCC's review should take about four months. After that, Verizon plans to file with the FCC which will have 90 days to consider the application. Verizon spokeman Paul Miller said that Verizon could be offering long distance in Virginia by year's end... "This is something a lot of consumers have been wanting for a long time." The SCC filing was met with skepticism by at least one Verizon competitor. "Clearly, we believe they're jumping the gun," said Candi Humphrey, an AT&T spokeswoman. Verizon's Miller fired back that AT&T has a big piece of the market and doesn't want to give any of it up. Verizon already has won approval to offer long-distance service to its local phone customers in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. It has applications pending before the FCC for New Jersey and Vermont, and plans to file soon for support of utility commissions in Maryland, West Virginia and DC. The company has 7.6 million long-distance customers in 41 states, which it says makes it the nation's fourth-largest long-distance company.....

    March 12 2002

    'LA' exits Power 92

    Lamonda WilliamsWell respected Lamonda Williams of Radio One's urban 'Power 92' WCDX leaves. She served as their PD and midday personality. PD Darrell Johnson of sister hip-hop 'Hot 99-3' WRHH takes over as interim PD. JD Kunes, the OM out of Dayton OH, will oversee programming for now.....


    March 11 2002

    More website redesigns

    Sinclair Telecable which owns five radio stations in Hampton Roads... Triple A '93-7 The Coast' WKOC//WEXM (106.1 Exmore VA), modern rock '96X' WROX, '790 WNIS NewsRadio' and '850 WTAR TalkRadio'... revamped three of the four station websites over the weekend. WROX, WTAR and WNIS all received new 'paint'. Along with the new websites, WNIS and WTAR have new and simplier URL's... wnis.com and wtar.com. 96X's page can be found at 96x.fm. For some reason, 'The Coast' didn't get a makeover. Thecoast.com still has the old look. Are they going to keep their old design? Maybe a new site is coming and they are just the last one to be done? Maybe changes are coming to WKOC? Hmmm.....

    March 7 2002

    Editor's thoughts

    In looking over the ArbiTrends released for Hampton Roads, several questions come to mind. First is a good move by WWSO to flip from urban oldies to 70s-60s oldies. They shot up to 4.0 from 2.8. Moreover, their format change came dead smack in the middle of this ratings period... December 16th. What will their final numbers be in a complete Book as an oldies outlet? Second, what's happened to AAA '93-7 The Coast' WKOC's numbers? In the Fall, they finished with a 1.6 and slipped a notch to 1.5 in the latest Trends. I've heard that some triple-A stations resist format flips out of the love for their music. Can they seriously keep their format with mid-1 ratings? Third, last Fall rhythmic 'Z-104' WNVZ garnered an 8.0 but now their down to a 4.8... that's almost half of their audience... GONE! There is too much competition for the urban market here. All of the urban-leaning outlets slipped... '103Jamz' down 1.1(!), 'Z-104' down 0.5, hip-hop '92.1 The Beat' down 0.6... ouch! This 'Trend, WBHH was down to a 1.8. Like WKOC, how long is Clear Channel willing to stick it out with WBHH... hanging around a 2? Fourth, I was a little surprised at recent sign-on 'Hot 102.1' WWHV's 0.5 rating. This ratings period started AFTER their antennae was moved and increased in height. Some stations start off slow. A great example of this would be CHR 'Q100' WWWQ in Atlanta. Ever since their 'moved-in' into the Atlanta market starting with the Fall 2000 Book they received 0.0, 0.6, 1.3, 1.5, 2.0 and a 2.3 in the latest Trends. A very steady and consistent increase. Hampton Roads does have two stations that go by 'Hot'... non-com 'Hot 91' WNSB. Are some diaries crediting 'Hot 91' instead of 'Hot 102.1'? If anyone reading VARTV can get their hands on the non-com's ArbiTrends, please email me. I just thought 'Hot 102.1' would make a big splash onto the Hampton Roads scene. It's been more like mist. Those are just my thoughts....

    March 7 2002

    Congrats to Randy Brooks

    PD Randy Brooks of Barnstable Broadcasting's new country 'Eagle 97.3' WGH and heritage WCMS (100.5 FM) was recognized as a top 10 country programmer. The February edition of Radio Ink Magazine salutes the country industry this go-around. Sponsored by Sony Nashville, the magazine gives recognition to the top 10 programmers of the format. The criterion used includes 'ratings success, continued leadership, professional respect and a reputation for taking risks.' The mag polled a number of professionals in the country community. Again congratulations Randy.....

    March 6 2002

    It's neck-'n-neck in Hampton Roads!

    2WD103JamzThe Winter Phase I ArbiTrends (November/December/January) for Hampton Roads released places urban '103 Jamz' WOWI barely at number 1 with an 8.4 share (-1.1 from the final Fall book). Very close behind at 2nd AC '2WD' WWDE... 8.2 (-0.1), 3rd active rock 'FM99' WNOR... 6.4 (E), 4th country 'Eagle 97.3' WGH... 5.5 (+0.3), 5th sister country 'Country Legends & Today's Favorites' WCMS... 5.4 (+1.0), 6th classic hits '106.9 The Fox' WAFX... 5.2 (-0.9), 7th talk '790 TalkRadio' WNIS... 5.0 (E), 8th rhythmic CHR 'Z-104' WNVZ... 4.8 (-0.5), 9th a tie between urban AC '95-7 R&B' WVKL... 4.7 (+0.3) and black gospel 'Star 94.1' WXEZ-FM... 4.7 (+0.1), 11th hot AC '94.9 The Point' WPTE... 4.4 (E), 12th ½ urban oldies 'Soul Classics 92.9' / ½ 70s-60s oldies 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO... 4.0 (+1.2), 13th alternative '96X' WROX... 2.9 (+0.3), 14th smooth jazz 'CD 107.7' JCD... 2.7 (-0.3), 15th sister urban AC 'Vibe 105' WSVY... 2.5 (+0.1), 16th sister hip-hop '92.1 The Beat' WBHH... 1.8 (-0.6), 17th a tie between AAA '93-7 The Coast' WKOC... 1.5 (-0.1) and sister news/talk '850 NewsRadio' WTAR... 1.5 (+0.1), 19th nostalgia 'Joy' WJOI-AM... 1.3 (-0.2), 20th sports 'ESPN Radio 1310' WGH-AM... 0.9 (+0.1), 21st AC 'Xtra 99.1' WXGM... 0.6 (+0.2) [NOTE: WXGM-FM received a 0.5 rating and simulcasting WXGM-AM garnered a 0.1], 22nd a three-way tie between gospel WPCE-AM... 0.5 (-0.1), oldies 'Surf 92.3' WSRV... 0.5 (-0.1) and urban 'Hot 102.1' WWHV... 0.5 (+0.1). The biggest gainers were ½ urban oldies 'Soul Classics 92.9' / ½ 70s-60s oldies 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO... (+1.2) and country 'Country Legends & Today's Favorites' WCMS... (+1.0). The biggest losers were urban '103 Jamz' WOWI... (-1.1), classic hits '106.9 The Fox' WAFX... (-0.9) and hip-hop '92.1 The Beat' WBHH... (-0.6). The biggest disappointment was recent sign-on urban 'Hot 102.1' WWHV... +0.1 to a 0.5. Cluster totals... 1st Entercom 22.4 (-0.3), 2nd Barnstable 20.5 (+2.7) and 3rd Clear Channel 15.4 (-1.9).....

    March 6 2002

    No major changes in Richmond's ArbiTrends

    Lite 98The Winter Phase I ArbiTrends (November/December/January) for Richmond has AC 'Lite 98' WTVR coming in at number 1 with a 11.3 share (Even from the final Fall book). 2nd urban 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX... 7.2 (-0.3), 3rd classic hits '96.5 The Planet' WKLR... 6.3 (+0.3), 4th urban oldies 'Majic 105.7' WJMO... 6.1 (+0.6), 5th country 'K95' WKHK... 6.0 (-0.5), 6th news/talk 'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA... 5.6 (-0.4), 7th a tie between urban AC '104.7 Kiss FM' WKJS... 5.5 (-0.1) and mainstream CHR 'Q-94' WRVQ... 5.5 (+0.1), 9th a tie between urban '106-5 The Beat' WBTJ... 4.3 (-0.5) and hot AC 'B103' WMXB... 4.3 (-0.3), 11th rock 'XL-102' WRXL... 3.3 (+0.3), 12th alternative 'Y-101' WDYL... 3.1 (-0.3), 13th nostalgia/spanish 'Unforgettable 1320'/'La Primera' WVNZ... 2.4 (+0.6), 14th a three-way tie between 80s-90s hits 'Star 107.3' WBBT... 1.9 (-0.3), 'Smooth Jazz 93.1' WJZV... 1.9 (+0.3) and hip-hop 'Hot 99-3' WRHH... 1.9 (+0.2), 17th classic country/bluegrass 'AM 950 WXGI'... 1.7 (+0.1), 18th sports 'SportsRadio 910' WRNL... 1.3 (-0.2), 19th black gospel 'Star 94.1' WXEZ... 1.1 (+0.2), 20th talk 'Hot Talk WHAP 1340/Hot Talk WLEE 990' and WHAP-AM//WLEE-AM... 1.0 (-0.1), 21st a tie between gospel 'Your Gospel Connection' WGCV-AM... 0.7 (+0.1) and adult standards 'EZ-100.5' WZEZ... 0.7(-0.4), 23rd a three-way tie between urban oldies 'The Heart & Soul Of Richmond' WCLM-AM... 0.6 (+0.1), gospel 'The Light' WFTH-AM... 0.6 (-0.1) and gospel 'Rejoice Radio AM 1540' WREJ... 0.6 (-0.1), 26th the former classic hits '96.9 The Rock' WWUZ... 0.4 (+0.4) and classic hits '106.9 The Fox' WAFX... 0.0 (received votes but not high enough to register). Biggest gainers were urban oldies 'Majic 105.7' WJMO... (+0.6) and nostalgia/spanish 'Unforgettable 1320'/'La Primera' WVNZ... (+0.6) The biggest losers were country 'K95' WKHK... (-0.5), urban '106-5 The Beat' WBTJ... (-0.5), and adult standards 'EZ-100.5' WZEZ... 0.7(-0.4). Cluster totals... 1st Clear Channel 31.3 (-0.7), 2nd Radio One 21.4 (+1.5) and 3rd Cox 19.7 (-0.8).....

    March 5 2002

    Fredericksburg's WWUZ swings back to classic rock!

    96.9 The RockClassic Rock 96.9Just yesterday market WYSK shifted from a modern rock/Hot AC 'Y-99.3' to alternative '99-3 WYSK'. We have now learned that WWUZ has shifted from classic hits '96.9 The Rock' to 'Classic Rock 96.9'. Prior to April 2001, WWUZ was doing classic rock but decided to add a lot more classic 'hits' to their rotation. An email to Promotions Director Bill Michaels confirms the shift and says 'We felt this emphasized our musical goals'. Both WWUZ and WYSK along with market powerhouse country '93 WFLS’ are all owned by The Free Lance-Star newspaper. Like their sister station WYSK, WWUZ hasn't been lighting up the ratings charts. In fact, out-of-market rimshot 'Classic Rock 94.7' WARW Washington scored the same 1.8 rating as WWUZ in the latest ArbiTrends. WWUZ also has a new website www.classicrock969.com though it's virtually a blank page.....

    March 5 2002

    Richmond council member, talk show host contine their feud

    The feud rages on between Richmond City Councilwoman Reva M Trammell and radio talk show host Allen Price of ‘NewsRadio 1140’ WRVA. Price, who can be heard on WRVA afternoons from 3 to 7PM, is scheduled to appear in court March 18th based on a complaint that he made annoying telephone calls to Trammell's home last week. Trammell said Price called her home at least five times. He said he called her just three times, each time to ask her to appear on his show. Earlier, Trammell had threatened to sue Price for libel, slander and defamation of character, complaining about how he called her Reva 'Trampell' and referred to her relationships with married police officers. There are several references to this battle on WRVA's website and in the Times-Dispatch.....

    March 4 2002

    'Y-99.3' segues from modern rock to alternative '99-3 WYSK - The Rock Alternative'

    Y-99.399-3 WYSK - The Rock AlternativeWYSK made the switch today to fill a void in the Fredericksburg market. Ever since Fredericksburg started to get rated by Arbitron last year, their ratings definitely weren't eye popping... 0.6, 1.6, 2.0 and a 2.1 in the latest ArbiTrends released last week. It doesn't help to have a similar format as Hot AC 'B-101.5' WBQB. Oddly, out-of-market 'DC101' WWDC is the fourth highest-rated station in Fredericksburg with its 'alternative' format. Moreover, they put in a weak signal in Fredericksburg. WYSK might have something here... with this new format direction. With this new direction, their website has been completely made over.....

    March 4 2002

    Move over Braves, here come the Orioles

    Baltimore OriolesRejected by the Atlanta Braves, Clear Channel's 'SportRadio 910' WRNL turned to the Baltimore Orioles as a replacement for the Richmond Braves. WRNL will be home for a minimum of 140 Orioles games this year. Also, the station will carry ESPN's major-league baseball Sunday-night game of the week. For the whole story on the Braves vs WRNL story, please read the several articles further down on the VARTV mainpage and the news archives page.....



    March 4 2002

    There's a 'Buzz' in Hampton Roads

    Don & MikeTom LeykisMore changes have come to WBVA (AM 1450) Bayside (Virginia Beach). Apparently they have picked up several syndie 'talkers'... two from Westwood One and one from Premiere Radio Networks... 'Don & Mike', 'The Tom Leykis Show' and Jim Rome. WBVA is airing Rome noon to 3PM, Don & Mike 3PM to 7PM and Tom Leykis 7PM to 11PM. The news breaks for these programs are still being filled by sports updates from FOX Sports Radio and WBVA's mornings are still filled by FOX Sports Radio programming. Are more 'talkers' coming to WBVA? To reflect their reformulated sound, they are now known as 'AM 1450 The Buzz'. Hear there new on-air liners here.....

    March 3 2002

    'Sky4' expands aerial and cable coverage

    Sky 4 - WSKYVARTV received an email from Glenn Holterhaus of independent 'Sky 4' WSKY in Manteo NC updating us on some station news. Amazingly, WSKY is now being carried on Cox (cable) systems in Williamsburg, James City County and upper York County. Williamsburg is almost 100(!) miles (a crow's fly) away from Manteo... WOW! Maybe in a couple of months Glenn will email back announcing agreements with cable systems in Richmond and Raleigh. Hehe. The following is the entire email sent to VARTV... Updates from WSKY-TV ... we were added to Cox systems in Williamsburg, James City County and Upper York County January 28th (2002). Added to Elizabeth City, Murfreesboro and Ahoskie, N.C. as of 2/28/02. We have asked to delay inclusion at the new Suffolk/Franklin/Smithfield (Charter) rebuild headend site until they complete their new headend building which should be just about any day. We are working with Charter on addition to Eastern Shore as well. Sky4 current cable coverage is over 470,000 subscribers. Interference signal problems at the Cox Cable Headend site (at Va Beach) have been solved ... they now reach us by over the air and microwave. Dominion Power has done a great job at working out interference problems with us at that site... We have had fewer and fewer comments about weak reception in the Hampton Roads area ... Calls from Poquoson, Smithfield, and Va Eastern Shore reporting that they can see us. Program changes: Adding Star Trek: Deep Space Nine weeknights at 7pm starting April 1 ... have had good response so far from our additions of "Mork & Mindy", "The Untouchables" and "Wild Wild West" (a favorite of VARTV editor's wife). We have also signed the (Baltimore) Orioles deal to become part of their new in-house TV network. We will carry 55 games... Glenn Holterhaus.....

    March 3 2002

    Channel 13 updates

    Brittany SuddithLaSalle BlanksDoes new reporter Erika Johnson on WVEC (13/ABC) look familiar? She segues from Channel 10 (WAVY/NBC) to WVEC... Monday March 4 is the first day for new ND (news director) Mike Valentine. One of the things on his 'Things To Do List' is to fill the vacancy on '13 News DayBreak'. LaSalle Blanks has been going solo since Brittany Suddith put down the 'pad-and-pen' for work at CHKD. The co-anchoring seat has not been completely empty... Blanks has had several guest anchors recently including the Mayor of Virginia Beach Meyera Oberndorf. Acting ND Bruce Moore said of the opening 'We have several excellent candidates'.....

    March 1 2002

    East Carolina Radio Group gets ready for Tournament

    East Carolina Radio GroupSports Director Sam Walker is headed across the state to Charlotte to offer live pre- and post-game coverage of the ACC college basketball tournament to be broadcasted on the cluster's adult standards simulcast WCNC//WZBO (AM 1240//1260). Walker will also contribute reports to sister stations country 'Dixie 105.7' WRSF and oldies '102.5 The Shark' WERX. NOTE: WCNC, WRSF and WERX all put in a rimshot signal in the southern parts of Hampton Roads.....

    March 1 2002

    WAFX's website is made-over

    Recently the homepage of classic hits '106.9 The Fox' was redone. It is better than previous website. WAFX is a highly-rated station in Hampton Roads and also garners some listeners in Richmond. Check it out here.....

    March 1 2002

    UPDATE:

    VDOTVDOT's 'Highway Advisory Radio' AM 610 for Hampton Roads sounds much better. Their traffic updates are now more speedier and detailed. The last several weeks, besides the normal traffic tie-ups, featured other traveler perils like dense morning fog, smoke from the NC fires and the light snow we received on Wednesday (2/27/2002) which were all included in the recorded traveler updates. Here's the original piece that was run on 2/19/2002... Ultra-hip AM 610 blackout - AM 610? That's VDOT's 'Highway Advisory Radio' KNJR841. They will be on and off-the-air until Thursday morning for software upgrades. The new software, being installed at the Smart Traffic Center, will improve the speed with which you receive information on Hampton Roads' highways. AM 610 is the travelers' information station for Hampton Roads; licensed to the Commonwealth of Virginia. 'TIS' stations are very low power AM stations that share the AM broadcast band with AM broadcast stations. TIS stations are used to transmit information to motorists, such as traffic obstructions, road conditions, and airport or bus terminal information. These licensed stations are only available to governmental and park districts, not individuals or corporations. KNJR841 broadcasts from two tower locations; the I-464 & I-264 Interchange and I-64 & State Rte 17 (J Cylde Morris Blvd) Interchange both with an ERP of 40w. There have been several attempts to increase power to these sites but all have failed. That might all change in the near future. Several new transmitters will be built to make reception clearer in the many 'dead spots' around Hampton Roads. AM 610 is best heard on and along I-64, I-264, I-464, I-564 and I-664.....

    February 28 2002

    WWSO announces new PD

    Barnstable Broadcasting names Dave Anthony PD of WWSO since flipping from urban oldies 'Soul Classics 92.9' to 70s & 60s oldies 'Oldies 92-9'. He replaces market vet Steve Crumbley. Anthony, with 24 years of radio experience comes, to WWSO from a very successful oldies outlet in York PA... Pioneer Broadcasting's 'Oldies 96.1' WSOX. His previous stints included the launch of WQXL, KOLI 107 FM Ann Arbor MI, KIX-FM Raleigh NC. Anthony will start on March 11th. The difference between these oldies outlets are that WSOX concentrates in the 60s and early 70s where as WWSO plays more tracks from the 70s with some 60s music.....

    February 28 2002

    Central Virginia lagged behind the rest of the country in Winter Olympics ratings

    NBC's national prime-time rating for the 17 days in Salt Lake City was 19.2. Richmond's DMA did a 17.5 [Hampton Roads' WAVY (10/NBC) garnered a 18.6] but WWBT (12/NBC) isn't complaining at all. Channel 12's Marketing Director Paula Hersh said 'We got great response from viewers and advertisers... NBC did a terrific job.' Local to national comparatives... Figure-skating, WWBT had a local high of 25.1 (compared to a national best 26.8) for the women's long program last Thursday night.... Opening (22.0 to 25.2) and closing (17.0 to 22.3) ceremonies... Men's hockey final, which did a 10.7 nationally (highest, including NHL, since the 1980's gold medal game) but 8.1 on Channel 12.....

    February 28 2002

    Modern rocker 'Y-99.3' is looking for a full-time On-Air Personality

    Y 99-3VARTV received the following email from Bill Michaels the Promotions Director for country '93 WFLS' , 'Y-99.3' WYSK and classic hits '96.9 The Rock' WWUZ... On-Air Personality (Full-time)...99-3 WYSK...99-3 WYSK has an immediate opening for an experienced on-air personality. Complete digital studios and team-like atmosphere. Public appearance and production skills necessary. Digital experience a plus. 99-3 WYSK is a modern rock station with a first-class facility. If you have the experience, personality and drive to keep us on top, send air-check cassette/CD and résumé to: Human Resources 99-3 WYSK Radio 616 Amelia Street Fredericksburg, VA 22401. Air-check cassette/CD is required to be considered for this position. Applications are available at 99-3 WYSK, 616 Amelia Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401 or our North Stafford office, 616 Garrisonville Road, Stafford, VA 22554. 99-3 WYSK is an equal opportunity employer.....

    February 28 2002

    'Star 107.3' names OM

    Star 107.3Radio vet Jack Alix has been named OM (Operations Manager) for 80s-90s hits 'Star 107.3' WBBT. Alix's 30-year career in radio has included both on-air and management positions in radio stations around the country. In the late 70s through early 80s, he was host of and helped develop "Rock and Roll Roots," a weekly syndicated radio show produced in Richmond at 'Q-94' WRVQ.....

    February 27 2002

    Updated radio market rankings for the new Winter 2002 ratings period

    ArbitronArbitron recently released new population estimates for the new Winter 2002 ratings period. How do these changes affect VARTV markets? Hampton Roads stays at number 38 up 23,100 listeners to 1,264,600 (+1.83% increase). Richmond stays at number 58 up 2,800 listeners to 850,600 (+0.33%). Fredericksburg drops one place to 165 with 1,700 additional listeners to 227,700 (+0.75%). Down in NC, the Elizabeth City-Nags Head market jumps six(!) spots to 243 with 6,000 additional listeners to 122,100 (+4.91%). Here's the complete list of all 283 markets from Arbitron.....

    February 26 2002

    93FLS' audience is three(!) times as large as B-101.5s

    93 WFLSThe Winter Arbitrends Phase I (November/December/January) for Fredericksburg released shows country '93 WFLS' WFLS at number 1 with a 20.1 share (+2.9 from the Fall Book). 2nd Hot AC 'B-101.5' WBQB... 7.2 (-2.1), 3rd news WTOP AM/FM... 5.4 (-0.3), 4th alternative 'DC101' WWDC... 3.3 (+0.2), 5th a three-way tie between talk WJFK-FM... 3.0 (+0.5), rhythmic WPGC-FM... 3.0 (-0.4) and modern AC 'Z-104' WWZZ... 3.0 (-0.7), 8th a tie between urban 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX... 2.7 (-0.4) and oldies 'Virginia's Rockin' Oldies 95.9' WGRQ... 3.3 (-1.0), 10th a tie between urban '106.5 The Beat' WBTJ... 2.4 (+0.3) and urban WKYS... 2.7 (-0.4), 12th a three-way tie between talk/nostalgia 'The Memories Station' WFVA-AM... 2.1 (+0.1), rock 'XL-102' WRXL... 2.1 (+0.7) and modern rock 'Y-99.3' WYSK... 2.1 (+0.1), 15th a five-way tie between 'Classic Rock 94.7' WARW... 1.8 (+0.1), 'Oldies 100' WBIG... 1.8 (+0.1), country 'Thunder 104.5' WGRX... 1.8 (+0.6), urban AC WHUR... 1.8 (-0.2) and classic hits '96.9 The Rock' WWUZ... 1.8 (-0.2), 20th a tie between soft AC 'Soft Rock 97.1' WASH... 1.5 (+0.3) and country '98.7MZQ' WMZQ... 1.5 (+0.4), 22nd a five-way tie between contemporary Christian WAVA... 1.2 (E), classical 'Classical 103.5' WGMS... 1.2 (E), mainstream CHR 'Hot 99-5' WIHT... 1.2 (+0.1), country 'Your Place In The Country' WJMA... 1.2 (+0.1) and 'Smooth Jazz 105.9' WJZW... 1.2 (-0.8), 27th a tie between mainstream CHR 'Q-94' WRVQ... 0.9 (-0.2) and AC 'Lite 98' WTVR... 0.9 (+0.1), 29th a four-way tie between country 'Cruisin' Country C103' WCUL... 0.6 (-0.2), mainstream CHR 'Hot 101.9' WHTE... 0.6 (E), urban AC 'Majic 102.3' WMMJ... 0.6 (NEW) and rock '3WV' WWWV... 0.6 (+0.6). The biggest gainers were country '93 WFLS' WFLS (+2.9), rock 'XL-102' WRXL... 2.1 (+0.7) and country 'Thunder 104.5' WGRX... 1.8 (+0.6). The biggest losers were Hot AC 'B-101.5' WBQB... (-2.1), oldies 'Virginia's Rockin' Oldies 95.9' WGRQ... (-1.0) and 'Smooth Jazz 105.9' WJZW... (-0.8). Cluster totals... 1st Free Lance-Star 22.2 (+3.0), 2nd Clear Channel 16.2 (+1.6) , 3rd Bonneville 9.6 (-0.9), 4th Mid-Atlantic Network 9.3 (-2.6) and 5th Infinity 7.8 (+0.2).....

    February 26 2002

    TV turn-off week?

    The Virginia Senate killed a resolution to designate April 22 through 28 as 'Virginia TV Turn-Off Week 2002.' The annual TV Turn-Off Week is sponsored by the Washington DC -based TV-Turnoff Network (formerly TV-Free America), a group that uses Nielsen Media Research viewing numbers and other statistics to try to encourage viewers to pull the plug for one week per year. The Virginia House had voted 52-43 to support the week and "encourage all citizens of the commonwealth to find alternatives to watching television during this week." A rep for TV-Turnoff Network knew of no state legislature that has adopted the resolution, although he said some have in past years.....

    February 25 2002

    Big congratulations to Radio One's 'Kiss-FM', 'Power 92 Jamz' and Russ Parr

    GavinThe Gavin Awards (Gavin Magazine) were given out over the weekend for radio's music formats (Best Label, Best OM/PD, Top Station... in a format). Anyways, in the Small Market Urban AC category Radio One's 'Kiss-FM' WKJS snagged two awards... a tie for the top 'OM/PD' Kevin Kofax and Top Station and 'Power 92 Jamz' snags the same awards in the Small Market Mainstream Urban category... Lamonda Williams (OM/PD) and Top Station. Russ Parr takes the Mainstream Urban Radio Air Personality of the Year award. His syndicated morning show can be heard on 'Hot 102.1' WWHV in Hampton Roads, 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX in Richmond and of course 'KYS' WKYS in DC... his homebase. All the winners can be found at Gavin.....

    February 25 2002

    Times-Dispatch reports on the Fall Arbitrons

    Yep, that's right the Fall Arbitron's for Richmond that were released almost five weeks ago on 1/23/2002. People complain that the Washington Post is slow with their media news. It gets worse... The Virginian-Pilot nor the Daily Press have reported on Hampton Roads radio numbers. They were issued the same day as Richmonds. Augh. If you're interested here's the article at the Times-Dispatch.....

    February 25 2002

    Arbitrends for the VARTV markets

    Winter Phase IThe Arbitrends for Fredericksburg will be released tomorrow (2/26/2002). Shouldn't see any surprises. Richmond and Hampton Roads numbers are released on March 6. For Hampton Roads, there's a lot to keep an eye out for. First is WWSO. These Trends cover November, December & January. WWSO flipped from urban oldies 'Soul Classics 92.9' to 70s & 60s oldies 'Oldies 92-9' dead smack in the middle of these Trends... December 16th. Eventually, where are the 'new' listeners going to come from? Very few probably stayed thru the switch. Rumor has it that country WCMS will lose some of their audience to the new WWSO. This would be bad news... WCMS tumbled last book from 6.3 to 4.4... ouch! Where will the old listeners that didn't stay thru the switch go to? More than likely to the two urban AC outlets... Entercom's '95-7 R&B' WVKL and Clear Channel's 'Vibe 105' WSVY. WVKL's audience is twice as large as Vibe 105's. The folks at Clear Channel have no immediate plans to mess with the format on WSVY. They feel they can chip away at WVKL's audience. I wish them luck! The second story is new urban 'Hot 102.1' WWHV. They moved and increased their tower height in October of last year to greatly improve their coverage area. Remember, their targeted audience lives in the very immediate Hampton Roads area NOT in say... Poquoson or Suffolk. Hot 102 had just a .4 rating in the last book. I have a good feeling that will increase. Their on-air line-up continues to fill in and word-of-mouth helps too. I'm curious what the Trends have in store for Hot 102. For Richmond, does AC 'Lite 98' WTVR continue to enjoy it's new crown as number one? Just a gut feeling... I think so.....

    February 25 2002

    Joe Hoppel news

    Joe HoppelLongtime(!) morning DJ Joe Hoppel of heritage country WCMS has had a roller coaster life recently. Not too long ago he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. After successful surgery, he was off the air for a while just recently returning this month. Now comes news that he has been elected to the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame. It is a well-deserved honor. Each inductee must have served at least 25 years in country radio and contributed to radio's growth as well as helping develop and preserve the enhancement of country music. Joe will be inducted on June 27th. Joe has been waking up WCMS listeners on the station's 'Wake Up Crew' for 47 years. He came to this area from WLOW in Pennsylvania when he was 18. As Joe would say 'Have yourself a nice day, why don't ya? Ya got a nice day for it.' Congratulations, Joe!

    February 22 2002

    CBS & UPN to start cross-programming

    CBSUPNCross-programming (repurposing) between Viacom-owned broadcast networks CBS and UPN will begin on Friday March 15, when repeats of the reality series The Amazing Race 2, which will air on CBS earlier that week, will be rebroadcast on UPN. The Amazing Race 2 will premiere on UPN with back-to-back episodes on March 15th from 8PM to 10PM. Those same episodes will have aired on CBS on Monday March 11th and Wednesday March 13th. Beginning on Friday March 22, The Amazing Race 2 will air in repeat every Friday night on UPN at 9PM, following the first-run episode on CBS, which will air Wednesday nights at 9PM. "When we first brought the complementary assets of CBS and UPN together, we said we would look for unique opportunities where each would benefit from the association," said Leslie Moonves, president and chief executive officer, CBS. "We think this is an exciting win-win opportunity for The Amazing Race, for both networks and for their respective viewers." Hampton Roads... (3/CBS, 27/UPN) Richmond (6/CBS, 65/UPN) and Fredericksburg (9/CBS, 20/UPN).....

    February 22 2002

    Atlanta Braves dump 'SportsRadio 910'

    Atlanta BravesHaving dumped the Richmond Braves after 17 years, 'SportsRadio 910' WRNL in turn has been dumped by the parent Atlanta Braves - and Clear Channel management doesn't like it one bit. Station boss Randall Bloomquist actually went on the air yesterday (2/20/02) afternoon to vent his displeasure, saying the Atlanta Braves backed out of an agreement to broadcast their 2002 schedule on 'SportsRadio 910.' He suggested the team was treating local fans like second-class citizens, saying it was all about money and our wallets aren't fat enough. Last night, Bloomquist said he signed a contract with the Atlanta Braves flagship station WSB but learned earlier this week that the team hadn't given its approval. Remember, that the Richmond Braves games will be on WXGI (AM 950) this season, and there is only so much advertising to go around. So why should the organization, in effect, compete against itself? (Richmond Braves games being broadcasted at the same time as Atlanta Braves games.) Bloomquist stated the station was looking at 'other options' about carrying major-league baseball this summer. 'Who - remains to be seen".....

    February 20 2002

    LIN TV going public

    LIN BroadcastingThe parent company of WAVY (10/NBC) had filed plans on Wednesday for a $300 million stock sale with the SEC. Based in Providence RI, LIN owns 26 network affiliate and independent stations across the country. In Hampton Roads, LIN also manages WVBT (43/FOX). LIN TV is currently owned by the New York investment firm Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Inc.....

    February 19 2002

    Betty Bodine returns to 'Q94'!

    Bodine, a popular radio personality on Clear Channel's 'Q-94' WRVQ who left almost two years ago, is returning tomorrow (2/20/2002) as co-host of the "Wicker in the Morning Show" with Jeff Wicker. She's replacing Gia Moretti who quit several weeks ago for a morning radio show in Sacramento CA. Bodine left in April 2000 after 10 years on WRVQ's various morning shows and 17 years with the station to spend more time with her family. Her child who was three at the time, is now in kindergarten. In addition, Bodine says "turns out my marriage was a bad joke" and she needed her job back. Bodine, who has been featured in phone-in segments during her two-year hiatus, said she's both excited and nervous to be returning. "It's been two years. They say it's like riding a bike, but it's not." Should listeners expect anything different? "More of the same..." She holds the prestigious distinction of ‘Broadcaster of the Year’ given to her by the Richmond Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1999.....

    February 19 2002

    Must Radio One PDs get permission to add new spins?

    From the Radio Business Report (RBR)... InsideBlackRadio.com writes that Radio One PDs have been effectively neutered and/or spayed: "Inside Black Radio sources hear that Radio One has made it official, "PD's are not allowed to add any new music without checking with corporate first. A memo was sent to all label executives." Apparently, there was no such letter. The responses: "That is absolutely not true," Radio One DC GM Michelle Williams tells RBR. "I don't know where that came from. We are bringing our research in-house since Strategic went under. And so we're kind of changing some of our systems, but that's not true." "We tried to help Strategic stay afloat last year and it didn't work and so we've been moving towards moving our research in-house," adds Radio One COO Mary Catherine Sneed. "So we're going to change the system around a little bit. We've had some conference calls since we've been involving the PDs in it. So I don't know what that's about. I mean that would be crazy-yeah, we're now going to let our CFO add all the records to the station!" Radio One has four stations in Richmond, urban 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX, hip-hop 'Hot 99-3' WRHH, urban AC '104.7 Kiss FM' WKJS and urban oldies 'Magic 105.7' WJMO plus stations in the DC area.....

    February 19 2002

    Lisa McKay is on the move... again

    McKay the former PD and afternoon drive host at CHR 'Q94' WRVQ last year jumped ship to recently flipped 80s-90s hits 'Star 107.3' WBBT as their new PD. Now she's on the move again to Curtis Media's country powerhouse '94.7QDR' WQDR down in Raleigh NC as their new PD. They put out a huge signal reach and cover all of central North Carolina very well. We wish you well Lisa!....

    February 19 2002

    Several media websites are revamped

    wvec.comThe biggest is wvec.com. The new site looks good and is very imformative and easy to navigate through. But I have to laugh... the reason is the last several weeks, wvec.com has been taking a survey of online readers asking for their input how to improve the website. Of course many folks filled out this survey out. "Your opinion counts!" But wait... there's nothing new about the layout of their new webpage. Belo Interactive, a subsidiary of Belo Broadcasting and owners of WVEC (13/ABC), has been using this same 'layout' for their hand-full of Texas properties for awhile now. This instantly reminds me of 'Survivor Radio' in DC (former WJMO)... the public will have an input in a brand new radio station right? Nope, the format was already determined just like the 'new' layout of wvec.com... And Hot 102.1 is getting things together... slowly! They also have a revamped website at hot1021.com... Finally, 'UPN27' WGNT revamped their website several weeks ago. All UPN O&Os - which WGNT is - got new makeovers plus WGNT is now using their new domain name of upn27.com.....

    February 19 2002

    WWHV announces new GSM

    William Reed is now the General Sales Manager for 'Hot 102.1'. Reed has 30 years of media advertising experience, having worked at WNWV in Cleveland OH, WAPE & WHJX in Jacksonville FL and WTMP Tampa FL.....

    February 18 2002

    Is Clear Channel Norfolk reading VARTV?

    A loyal reader, Parris B Wood, brought it to my attention back on October 25 2001 that Clear Channel's hip-hop '92.1 The Beat' WBHH was not giving a 'legal' top-of-the-hour ID. Their city of license is Moyock NC which is just over the border of Virginia. WBHH was just using 'Norfolk' as the city of license in the IDs. Now Parris tells me and it's confirmed that they have 'fixed' the ID's by dubbing 'Moyock-Norfolk' over the portion of the old IDs that just stated 'Norfolk'. Here's a sample of their new top-of-the-hour ID I recorded at 6PM on 2/18/2002. If you listen closely you can hear the 'dubbed' voice. You can listen to the old WBHH IDs further down this page on October 25 2001.....

    February 17 2002

    The 'Pilot' gets around to announcing new channels coming to Cox

    Reported here three weeks ago, Larry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot writes about the three new channels coming to Cox Cable subscribers; Oxygen, The Hallmark Channel which evolved from the Odyssey Network last March and The Filipino Channel. Larry writes that Oxygen will be available on March 1st... it has already been available since February 1st on channel 248. He did have some interesting facts that there are 47,000 Filipino families in Hampton Roads and about 1,500 subscribers to The Filipino Channel already by satellite.....

    February 17 2002

    Sinking to new lows

    NewsChannel 3Bonko also writes that sometime last week, NewsChannel 3 at 6 (WTKR/CBS) pulled an anemic 3.4 rating! How bad is a 3.4 rating at 6 o'clock in Hampton Roads? Well, that's behind the news on WAVY (10/NBC) and WVEC (13/ABC), 'Judge Judy' on 'UPN27' WGNT and reruns of 'The Simpsons' on 'WB33' WTVZ and 'The Steve Harvey Show' on 'Fox43' WVBT. Bonko went on to say 'In my memory, never before has a local newscast at 6PM registered such a low household number'. By the way, Larry has been with the Pilot for a very very long time. This isn't good news at all for Channel 3. This is in the same time period that WTKR pulled Tom Randles and replaced him with market veteran Ed Hughes (read farther down for that news story). I betcha Tom is smiling ear-to-ear and maybe has Ed Hughes thinking it's time for retirement.....

    February 14 2002

    News BURSTS!

    'Hot 102.1' has new top-of-the-hour IDs. A lot of stations just cram them somewhere in their stop sets about 10 minutes before the hour and if you don't listen hard enough you'll miss it. WWHV's has always been at the top of the hour. The following 'WMA' file is a sample of those IDs. The first two are brand new that they started using this month. The third is the original one used since sign-on back in August of 2001 and is still used today... WDCEThe University Of Richmond has revamped it's radio station (WDCE 90.1) website http://www.student.richmond.edu/~wdce/. I like the old logo they were using, that's the one on the right. They stream their audio over the Internet at 56K (near FM quality). Remember, they are commercial-free and play all kinds of music so check them out!.....

    February 13 2002

    Braves broadcasts move up one notch on the AM dial

    Rumors confirmed... AM 950 WXGI will broadcast all 144 R-Braves games including the Triple All-Star games for the next three years. The Braves and Clear Channel's 'SportRadio 910' WRNL severed a long-term relationship last week. Robert Fish, voice of the R-Braves since 1996, will announce the games. The big disadvantage for the games being broadcasted on WXGI is their nighttime coverage... it's an anemic 45 watts. WXGI, at night, is best heard in the immediate Richmond city limits. Outside these limits the signal drops off fast the farther one goes from Richmond. WRNL, for the most part, didn't have this problem at night. Additional comments about this subject can be found a couple of articles down this page.....

    February 13 2002

    'Hot 102.1' and 'Z-104' sound better

    Both stations have new(er) jingles and imaging. I noticed and so did a loyal reader of VARTV (Mr VA Radio) that 'Z-104' was using new packages. To me, they now sound like a CHR a la 'Hot 99-5' in DC as far as jingles go not a rhythmic station. As far as 'Hot 102', I heard new spots from Pezo Coconut; Hot 102's new night-slammer. He will be coming back to Virginia and joining WWHV Monday thru Fridays from 6PM to 10PM.....

    February 11 2002

    From the "How weird is this' file

    Dee SniderCNN's voice-imaging guy is well-respected James Earl Jones (This is...CNN). MSNBC also wanted a distinctive voice and now has one. Dee Snider, yes, Dee Snider of 80's band 'Twisted Sister'. Val Nicholas, MSNBC's vice president of advertising, promotion and marketing, said "We'd been looking for a voice for a while - something that would cut through the clutter, and we needed something distinctive so people would know where they are... Dee has a voice that speaks to people - it's a forceful, no-nonsense, no b.s. voice that was talking to me when I heard it." Snider can be heard on MSNBC about every 15 minutes during station breaks. Listeners in Richmond have also gotten a chance to hear Dee. 'XL102' WRXL late last year picked up his weekly morning syndicated radio show out of Connecticut and also carries his 'House Of Hair' syndicated show - two hours of 80's metal. Dee has also done voiceover work for the New York Lottery and Sony. NOTE: The 'House Of Hair' radio show can also be heard on '95.3 & 96.7 The Rock' WOBR//WKJX Sundays 6PM-8PM in the very southern parts of Hampton Roads and NE North Carolina.....

    February 11 2002

    WRNL drops Richmond Braves broadcasts

    Richmond Braves'SportsRadio 910' won't be broadcasting Richmond Braves baseball games this season after the Braves and WRNL couldn't come to terms on a new contract. Though the Braves are looking for a new radio home, GM Bruce Baldwin said "We left the door wide open for any future considerations." Rumor has it that 'AM 950 WXGI' might pick-up the games for this year. As reported here before, ¿Entiende usted el español? Because if you do, 'La Primera' (AM 1320 WVNZ) will broadcast all 12 home Sunday games at The Diamond starting April 7th with the Charlotte Knights. Juan Ruiz will call the games for 'La Primera'.....



    February 11 2002

    WVEC-DT 41 comes to life over the weekend

    WVEC WVEC-DT conducted a low-power test of their digital transmitter and related systems on Saturday, February 9 2002 from 8-11 PM. The test was conducted with regular programming provided by the ABC Network. The featured movie for the night was the James Bond movie "Goldfinger". With this test, WVEC was the second station in Hampton Roads to broadcast a digital signal. The first was WAVY-DT 31 on 3/22/2001. Also on that day from 3-5 in the afternoon, WVEC hosted an 'open house' at the transmitter site for the public who were interested in seeing the transmission side of this technology and discussing it with the WVEC engineering staff. WVEC-DT's transmitter site is located at 5225 Nansemond Pkwy (Route 337) in Suffolk. Speaking of new DTV towers, WHRO's is very near completion. This tower will be the 'base' for WHRO-DT (channel 16), the new home for WHRO & WHRV-FMs and five other TV stations for Hampton Roads. You can follow the the progress of the project including viewing construction pictures here.....

    February 10 2002

    News Q-U-I-C-K-I-E-S

    I finally heard a local ad on AM 1450 WBVA. Is ad time really that hard to sell on the 'FOX Sports Radio' outlet. Sister station 'CNN Radio AM 1550' WVAB sounds like they have no trouble at all selling local ad spots.....
    Who will be the new co-host on 'Q-94' WRVQ's 'Wicker In The Morning'? The answer comes on Wednesday the 20th (2/20/2002). Stay tuned.....
    Here's a question to the owners of contemporary Christian/talk WRJR AM 670 in Claremont (Hampton Roads). Are you 'Praise 670', 'Rejoice Radio 670' or both? WRJR is owned by Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting who also own 'Christian Talk Radio' AM 1010 WPMH and 'AM 1270 The Light' WTJZ. They are in the process of selling a fourth property, WHKT AM 1650, to ABC/Disney.....
    Well, I also heard for the first time DJs on new urban 'Hot 102.1' WWHV Virginia Beach. On Friday & Saturday evenings they offer a 'mix' show as does all the other urban-oriented stations in this market rhythmic 'Z-104' WNVZ, urban '103 Jamz' WOWI and sister hip-hop '92.1 The Beat' WBHH. I really don't listen to any of these 'mix' shows but can tell you that the guys at 'Hot 102' have a long way to go.....
    WVEC has hired a new ND. He's Michael Valentine from ABC affiliate 'News 25' WEHT in Evansville IN. Valentine moves up the Nielson market-size ladder from #97 to #42. He has a challenge in front of him...dethroning market leader WAVY (10/NBC). He starts March 4th.....

    February 8 2002

    New urban Hot 102.1's on-air line-up is shaping up

    They have been jockless since sign-on back in August 2001. Just last week, they have added the Russ Parr with Olivia Fox Morning Show 6AM to 10AM weekday mornings. I just received an email from On Top Communications, owners of WWHV, that new PD Parish Brown will be on-the-air from 2PM to 6PM. If you remember Parish is not new to this market; he held the APD title at Barnstable's urban oldies 'Soul Classics 92.9' WWSO but was let go when they flipped formats to oldies. Pezo Coconuts, from highly-rated urban 'Hot 103.9' WHXT in Columbia SC (market size #88), will fill the 6PM to 10PM slot weekdays. The email went on to say 'more to come'.....

    February 6 2002

    Let the Games begin...

    NBC OlympicsNBC is set to broadcast 375½ hours of Olympic coverage beginning on Friday (2/8/2002) over three networks... NBC, CNBC & MSNBC. In the VARTV area, the Games will broadcast over-the-air on Channel 12 WWBT in the Richmond area, Channel 4 WRC in the Fredericksburg area and on Channel 10 WAVY in Hampton Roads. Do you have an HDTV tuner? For most Virginians, there will be an HDTV signal for the High-Definition broadcasts. To see the Games in high-def in Fredericksburg tune to WRC-DT (channel 48), in Richmond WWBT-DT (channel 54) and WAVY-DT (channel 31) in Hampton Roads. For other areas around the Commonwealth, folks in SW VA will be able to see the high-def broadcasts on Channel 28 WCYB-DT and for people far east of Bristol, far south of Petersburg and far west of Hampton Roads might be able to pick-up WNCN-DT channel 55 from Raleigh NC. NBC's complete HDTV telecasts can be found at nbcolympics.com.....

    February 5 2002

    What's going on at WBVA?

    When AM 1450 WBVA dumped Radio Disney, they simulcasted 'CNN Radio' with sister station AM 1550 WVAB. During national commercial breaks, both WBVA and WVAB filled those spots with local ads. WVAB had one set of ads while WBVA was running a totally different set. Since flipping to FOX Sports Radio, WBVA hasn't run one single local ad. We just hear promos for certain shows on FOX Sports Radio... sometimes twice... during a stop-set. Is WBVA having trouble selling ads? Is FOX Sports Radio just a temporary format? WBVA's top-of-the-hour ID is the same one they used when Radio Disney was the format. Stay tuned.....

    February 3 2002

    Ed Munson of WAVY picks up additional duties

    LIN BroadcastingThe GM of Channel 10 will now oversee programming at two stations in the Providence RI market... 'CBS 12' WPRI and 'FOX Providence' WNAC (channel 64). LIN Broadcasting, the owners of WAVY, recently signed a MSA or Management Service Agreement with the owners of Sunrise Television Corp (channels 12 and 64). Munson's plate is getting full. Not only is he 'seeing over' these two new stations, he also programs WAVY, WVBT (43/FOX) and has a JSA with 'PAX 49' WPXV in Hampton Roads. GM's here are not new to overseeing other stations in other markets... Meg LaVigne of 'UPN 27' WGNT also has WUPA in Atlanta and Scott Sanders of 'WB33' WTVZ oversees 'FOX35' WRLH in Richmond.....

    February 3 2002

    Carolyn Castleberry gets the nod

    Carolyn CastleberryAs reported last month on this page, Thomas Roberts who had anchored the 5PM newscast on WAVY (10/NBC) since December 1999 has made the move to HOT-lanta to join CNN Headline News. Cahnnel 10 has made the decision to team up Carolyn Castleberry with Alveta Ewell for the 5PM timeslot. With this pairing, this is the second all-female news anchoring team in Hampton Roads. The other is over at WVEC (13/ABC) at the same time... Regina Mobley and Sandra Parker.....



    February 3 2002

    'W-A-V-Y News 10 at 11' will still be on at 11PM during the Olympics...

    ... but on a different channel. The owners of WAVY (10/NBC), LIN Broadcasting, have a JSA or Joint Sales Agreement with 'PAX 49' WPXV. For awhile now, you can watch the 5 and 5:30PM newscasts live and rebroadcast of the 6PM newscast at 7 and 11PM newscast at 11:30PM of WAVY on 'PAX 49'. Did you get that? So during the Olympics and not to miss a successful beat (number 1 at 11PM 64 out of the last 68 ratings periods), a viewer can watch LIVE the 11PM news by WAVY on Channel 49. NBC is wrapping up Olympic coverage at 11:30PM and WAVY will also do a LIVE newscast at that time on Channel 10. Larry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot points out that weather reporter Don Slater and sports director Bruce Rader pull extra duties. Besides being 'on' live at 11 and 11:30 PM they also appear on WVBT's (43/FOX) 10PM newscast. So let me get this straight, Don and Bruce can be seen at 5, 5:30, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 11:30... AUGH!

    February 1 2002

    Z-104's website gets a face lift

    Z-104Their website went from 'very lame' to 'lame' with their recent makeover. Since I visited, I'll never go back... there's no reason to. Z-104 is owned by Entercom who has three other stations in the market... AC '2WD' WWDE, urban AC '95-7 R&B' WVKL and Hot AC '94.9 The Point' WPTE. All three of those station websites are all alike... boring. A website CAN be a great additional advertsing tool in the sense of listener involvement. There is nothing on any of their websites that make me say "I'm going to check back". Check out Z-104's revamped website at z104.com.....

    January 31 2002

    The Russ Parr with Olivia Fox Morning Show debuts in Hampton Roads

    Rumor had it early on that 'Hot 102.1' was going to carry the 'Russ Parr Morning Show with Olivia Fox'. Steve Hegwood the president of On Top Communications (owners of WWHV) came from Radio One and worked with Washington DC based Russ Parr (urban 93.9 WKYS-FM). Steve still consults for Radio One. Several times this morning, Russ mentioned his new affiliate on-the-air. There was a funny piece about rapper Timberland acting all stupid calling from Virginia Beach. Now with Russ Parr on 'Hot 102.1', the urban-orientated morning show scene here gets a little crowded... there's Doug Banks on Clear Channel's hip-hop '92.1 The Beat' WBHH, Tom Joyner on sister station urban AC 'Vibe 105' WSVY and popular local shows like Clear Channel's 'The Supreme Team' on urban '103Jamz' WOWI.....

    January 28 2002

    Cox Cable Hampton Roads will add three new channels

    OxygenThe Hallmark ChannelThe Filipino ChannelOn February 1st, the Oxygen network (the channel by women for women) will be added to the Cox Digital Cable 'Variety Package' on channel 248. They compete for the same audience as the 800-pound gorilla of women's networks... Lifetime (the 'woman in distress' network). Oxygen had a very slow start with alot of internal problems but seems to have overcome their early hurdles. The following month on March 1st, The Hallmark Channel will be added to the same package on channel 249. Hallmark offers family entertainment and is the exclusive home of the Hallmark Hall of Fame movies. Also on March 1st, The Filipino Channel will be added as a premium service costing additional $10.95/month for Cox Digital Cable customers on channel 392. With the exception of the West Coast, Hampton Roads has the largest concentration of Filipinos in the country especially Virginia Beach. TFC has a potentially big audience here. Cox has recently been more diverse ethnically with recent new channels of MBC Network & NUE-TV geared towards African-Americans, HBO Latino and now The Filipino Channel....

    January 27 2002

    That didn't take long!

    Radio DisneyAs reported on this page several times, ABC/Disney has purchased AM 1650 WHKT Portsmouth for somewhere around $1.2 million from Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting who also owns 'Rejoice 670' WRJR-AM, 'Christian Talk' WPMH-AM 1010 and 'AM 1270 The Light' WTJZ. WHKT was broadcasting a standards format until flipping to Radio Disney in December 2001. The sale should be finalized around April 1. At that time, they will exclusively broadcast Radio Disney... no more sports including AAA baseball team Norfolk Tides & the AHL Norfolk Admirals. The Tides have already found a new home on 'ESPN Radio 1310' WGH this Spring with WHKT fulfilling their contract with the Admirals through the playoffs. WGH has made it known they are interested in picking up the Admirals local broadcast rights. After Radio Disney switched from AM 1450 WBVA to WHKT, it didn't take long at all for Disney to make their move. Since Radio Disney came on-the-air in Hampton Roads, it has been one of the most successful markets for them. WHKT broadcasts 10kW during the day and 1kW at night. I suspect that Disney will change the calls shortly.....

    January 26 2002

    WJYJ-FM Fredericksburg is sold

    Joy-FMCalvery Satellite NetworkWJYJ and WJYA-FM Emporia which were broadcasting Christian contemporary 'Joy-FM' are sold to CSN International for $3.32 million. CSN International, founded in 1993, is a non-profit organization, an outreach of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa and Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls ID which broadcasts biblical teaching and praise and worship music 24 hours a day to communities throughout the United States and the world. The main station of the 'Calvery Satellite Network' is KAWZ-FM in Twin Falls. WJYJ was the main station in the 'Joy-FM' network. They also operated a dozen translators throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia including ones in Richmond & Williamsburg. Did this sale spell the death of the 'Joy-FM' network? I tried to listen to 'Joy-FM' online and their audio streams are no longer in service. CSN has already had a 'little toe-hold' in Virginia. They own the 19 watt matchstick 91.3 W217BC in Fredericksburg.....

    January 25 2002

    COX High Speed Internet wants us to understand

    Apparently the conversion from the '@Home' network to the 'COX.net' network isn't going as smoothly as Cox officials would like. Here's a copy of an email the fine folks at COX High Speed Internet sent me this morning... As you may know, we are in the midst of converting over half a million customers nationwide to our new Cox High Speed Internet service this month. This aggressive timeframe creates a tremendous amount of activity for our customer care centers, which can lead to extended hold times when calling for conversion support. If you have experienced long hold times when calling in for conversion support, we offer our sincere apologies. We understand that long hold times can be frustrating, and we will continue to add resources and alternative communication channels to better support you throughout this process. We expect to return to normal call volumes within the next few weeks. Many of our customers have found that their questions can be answered via our support site. Please click http://email10.flonetwork.com/cgi-bin10/flo?y=eN750DnojM0GYq0eO50Ap for a quick tour of the site and overview of available conversion information. This site can also assist you with the conversion process... Finally, we want to thank you for your patience during this conversion. We're confident that the new features and the nhanced reliability of Cox High Speed Internet will be worth your effort in making the switch. Cox High Speed Internet Team.....

    January 23 2002

    103 Jamz and 2WD make strong gains in the 'Fall' book

    2WDArbitron's Fall book for Hampton Roads released puts urban '103 Jamz' WOWI at number 1 with an 9.5 share (+1.9 from the Summer book). 2nd AC '2WD' WWDE... 8.3 (+2.4), 3rd active rock 'FM99' WNOR... 6.4 (+0.4), 4th sister classic hits '106.9 The Fox' WAFX... 6.1 (-0.2), 5th rhythmic CHR 'Z-104' WNVZ... 5.3 (-0.7), 6th country 'Eagle 97.3' WGH... 5.2 (+0.1), 7th talk '790 TalkRadio' WNIS... 5.0 (+0.5), 8th black gospel 'Star 94.1' WXEZ-FM//WFOG-AM... 4.6 (-1.3), 9th a three-way tie between country 'Country Legends & Today's Favorites' WCMS... 4.4 (-1.9), hot AC '94.9 The Point' WPTE... 4.4 (-0.6) and urban AC '95-7 R&B' WVKL... 4.4 (-0.1), 12th smooth jazz 'CD 107.7' WJCD... 3.0 (+0.4), 13th former urban oldies 'Soul Classics 92.9' WWSO... 2.8 (+0.1), 14th alternative '96X' WROX... 2.6 (E), 15th a tie between hip-hop '92.1 The Beat' WBHH... 2.4 (+0.1) and urban AC 'Vibe 105' WSVY... 2.4 (+0.5), 17th AAA '93-7 The Coast' WKOC... 1.6 (-1.0), 18th nostalgia 'Joy' WJOI-AM... 1.5 (-0.5), 19th news/talk '850 NewsRadio' WTAR... 1.4 (+0.1), 20th sports 'ESPN Radio 1310' WGH-AM... 0.8 (E), 21st oldies 'Surf 92.3' WSRV... 0.6 (+0.1), 22nd gospel WPCE-AM... 0.5 (-0.8), 23rd a tie between urban 'Hot 102.1' WWHV... 0.4 (NEW) and AC 'Xtra 99.1' WXGM... 0.4 (-0.2). Biggest gainers were AC '2WD' WWDE... (+2.4) and urban '103 Jamz' WOWI... (+1.9). The biggest losers were 'Country Legends & Today's Favorites' WCMS... (-1.9), black gospel 'Star 94.1' WXEZ-FM... (-1.3) and AAA '93-7 The Coast' WKOC... (-1.0). Cluster totals... 1st Entercom 22.4 (+0.1), 2nd Barnstable 17.8 (-2.9) and 3rd Clear Channel 17.3 (+2.9). Note: This is the first book that new urban 'Hot 102.1' WWHV showed up in. Time will tell what impact they will have.....

    January 23 2002

    Power 92 Jamz continues to fall; Lite 98 stretches its lead in Richmond

    Lite 98Arbitron's Fall book released for Richmond shows shows AC 'Lite 98' WTVR at number 1 with a 11.3 share (+2.6 from the Summer book). 2nd urban 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX... 7.5 (-1.5), 3rd country 'K95' WKHK... 6.5 (-1.1), 4th a tie between classic hits '96.5 The Planet' WKLR... 6.0 (+1.0) and news/talk 'NewsRadio 1140' WRVA... 6.0 (+0.3), 6th urban AC '104.7 Kiss FM' WKJS... 5.6 (+0.7), 7th sister urban oldies 'Majic 105.7' WJMO... 5.5 (-0.2), 8th mainstream CHR 'Q-94' WRVQ... 5.4 (-1.1), 9th urban '106.5 The Beat' WBTJ... 4.8 (-1.2), 10th hot AC 'B103' WMXB... 4.6 (+0.3), 11th sister alternative 'Y-101' WDYL... 3.4 (+0.6), 12th rock 'XL-102' WRXL... 3.0 (-0.4), 13th 80s & Beyond 'Star 107.3' WBBT... 2.2 (E), 14th nostalgia 'Unforgettable 1320' WVNZ... 1.8 (+0.4), 15th hip-hop 'Hot 99-3' WRHH... 1.7 (-0.4), 16th a tie between 'Smooth Jazz 93.1' WJZV... 1.6 (-0.6) and classic country/bluegrass 'AM 950 WXGI'... 1.6 (E), 18th sports 'SportsRadio 910' WRNL... 1.5 (E), 19th a tie between talk 'Hot Talk WHAP 1340/Hot Talk WLEE 990' and WHAP-AM//WLEE-AM... 1.1 (+0.5) and adult standards 'EZ-100.5' WZEZ... 1.1 (NEW), 21st black gospel 'Star 94.1' WXEZ... 0.9 (+0.3), 22nd a tie between gospel 'The Light' WFTH-AM... 0.7 (E) and religious 'Rejoice Radio AM 1540' WREJ... 0.7 (-0.2), 24th a tie between classic hits '106.9 The Fox' WAFX... 0.6 (NR) and gospel 'Your Gospel Connection' WGCV-AM... 0.6 (+0.1) and 26th urban oldies 'The Heart & Soul Of Richmond' WCLM-AM... 0.6 (+0.1). Biggest gainers were AC 'Lite 98' WTVR... (+2.6), adult standards 'EZ-100.5' WZEZ... (+1.1... never rated before) and classic hits '96.5 The Planet' WKLR... (+1.0). The biggest losers were urban 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX... (-1.5), urban '106.5 The Beat' WBTJ... (-1.2), country 'K95' WKHK... (-1.1) and 'mainstream CHR 'Q-94' WRVQ... (-1.1). Cluster totals... 1st Clear Channel 32. (-0.5), 2nd Radio One 20.9 (-1.6) and 3rd Cox 20.5 (+2.6). Also to note, as a noncommercial station, WCVE (88.9 FM), Richmond's public radio station, isn't included in the ratings book but acccording to figures supplied separately to WCVE, however, the station received a 5.1 share of the 12 and older listeners, which would place them 9th overall. Morning drive numbers put AC 'Lite 98' WTVR first by a wide margin, followed by urban 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX and urban AC 'Kiss-FM' WKJS. Lite 98 dominated afternoon drive by even more, followed by Power 92 and country 'K95' WKHK.....

    January 23 2002

    WWBT-DT is on-the-air

    Chip Kelly's 100000watts.com is reporting that WWBT-DT is broadcasting its regular schedules. The digital station is located on channel 54 but you'll need a digital ready television set to view programming. They're broadcasting in SDTV, not true HDTV. On channel 54-1 you'll find... NBC, on 54-2... The WB and on 54-3 local weather. It is unsure right now if WWBT plans to broadcast in true HDTV during prime-time hours, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno or the XIX Winter Games at the Olympics or continue with their multicasting in SDTV... Stay tuned.....


    January 22 2002

    Check Cox.net's system status online

    To expand on the piece below about problems with Personal Webpages and outages, you can check the status of the Cox.net system online. Access it here at http://status.cox.net/.....

    January 21 2002

    Wolf raps TV liquor ads plan

    Peter Hardin of The Richmond Times-Dispatch takes a look at Virginia congressman Frank R. Wolf's plan to have NBC reconsider its decision to air hard liquor ads on TV. Read the article here.....

    January 20 2002

    Cox high-speed customers in Hampton Roads frustrated by changeover

    After Excite@Home slipped into its financial black hole, Cox sped up plans to build its own $150 million high-speed Internet network. They mailed conversion kits out to its 550,000 customers, who need to convert to the new network by February 28 when @Home disappears. But this hasn't gone without hitches. Local Cox officials said, from their end, the problem lies in the intricacy of the changeover. Hampton Roads was the company's first market to adopt the infant Cox.net system. So it's the first to work out its kinks. Yippy for us! Colette Jelineo, vice president of marketing, said 'You just cannot anticipate every issue that's going to come up... It's like building a new Internet.' Read the entire article online by Vandana Sinha of the Virginian-Pilot. Editor's note: I have experienced the same problems mentioned in Vandana's article about several outages lasting for several hours in the afternoon. I'm also using their 'webspace' but haven't been able to upload anything to it (almost a week now!) since I uploaded my original files just shortly after switching over to Cox.net... augh!.....

    January 19 2002

    An anchor shake-up at 'NewsChannel 3'

    Ed HughesTom RandlesWTKR (3/CBS) shook up its low-rated 6PM newscast by replacing Tom Randles with Ed Hughes, who has been with 'NewsChannel 3' for over 30 years (1967). ND John Wessling said 'We see it as an opportunity to have two local broadcasting icons in Ed and Barbara on the same newscast' and the move was 'not related directly to the ratings'. On-air promos are now taunting the 6PM newscast with almost 60 years of experience. WTKR's management looked to the Randles-Ciara 'combo' to lift the ratings at 6PM ever since Ciara started on-camera July 25, 2001...hired away from WVEC (13/ABC). It never happened. In the November 2001 TV Nielsens, Channel 3 was 4th at 6PM, behind top-rated WAVY (10/NBC), WVEC (13/ABC) and Judge Judy(!) on 'UPN-27' WGNT. You have to go back to November of 1995, to find a time when WTKR came close to challenging WAVY for the No. 1 spot at 6 o' clock. Randles will go it alone at 5PM and be joined by Barbara Ciara at 5:30. As far as Ed Hughes is concerned, as Larry Bonko of the Virginian-Pilot puts it 'His number has come up again'. Hughes is a Navy veteran who's usually at the forefront of WTKR's military coverage. In returning to the 6PM newscast, he's on familiar turf, having co-anchored there in the past with Jane Gardner (remember her?) and Randles, shortly after Randles signed on with Channel 3 over nine years ago from Miami. With the February sweeps fast approaching, we'll see if any of these moves will change Hampton Roads' TV news viewing habits.....

    January 18 2002

    New survey methods change local TV ratings in Richmond

    Last week Douglas Durden reported on what was found in the local news November TV sweeps. For the first time, the ratings were based not only on viewing diaries kept by participants, but even more so on information gathered from in-house meters installed in October.....

    January 18 2002

    Local TV news runs amok! Details right now!

    Dave Addis, a Virginian-Pilot columnist, makes some funny jabs at the always 'over-hyped' TV newscasts. Read the entire article online from the Virginian-Pilot.....

    January 16 2002

    Does Hampton Roads have a second sports station?

    FOX Sports RadioDoing a radio scan today on the AM side, I found that AM 1450 WBVA has ended their simulcast of sister station 'CNN RADIO - AM 1550 WVAB' and are now doing FOX Sports. I spoke with the owner, Ronn Cowan, several months ago about bringing something brand new on WBVA after they dropped Radio Disney. He was referring to some sort of FOX News but that hasn't materialized. Checking the Winter 2002 station information form on file for WBVA with Arbitron also lists them doing FOX Sports Radio. They will go head-to-head with Virginia's only all-sports station 'ESPN Radio 1310' WGH. As Radio Disney, WBVA never showed up in the ratings but was one of the most successful Radio Disney affiliates in the country. Maybe with the right mix of local/state sports and national games, WBVA might be able to get a small share of the pie. In the latest Arbitrends, "ESPN Radio 1310' only managed to garner a 0.9 share. I'll put in an e-mail to the owner and maybe he can shine some light on his plans for WBVA.....

    January 15 2002

    FLS almost doubles its radio share over B-101.5

    WFLSArbitron's Fall book released for Fredericksburg shows country '93 WFLS' again at number 1 with a 17.2 share (+1.7 from the Summer book). 2nd Hot AC 'B-101.5' WBQB... 9.3 (-3.1), 3rd news WTOP AM/FM... 5.7 (-0.2), 4th a tie between oldies 'Virginia's Rockin' Oldies 95.9' WGRQ... 3.7 (+1.2) and 1/3 mainstream CHR - 2/3 modern AC 'Z-104' WWZZ... 3.7 (+1.2), 6th rhythmic CHR WPGC-FM... 3.4 (-0.6), 7th a tie between urban 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX... 3.1 (+1.9) and alternative 'DC101' WWDC... 3.1 (+0.3), 9th urban WKYS... 2.8 (-0.5), 10th talk WJFK-FM... 2.5 (-1.8), 11th a six-way tie between urban '106-5 The Beat' WBTJ... 2.0 (+0.4), talk/nostalgia 'The Memories Station' WFVA-AM... 2.0 (-0.2), urban AC WHUR... 2.0 (+0.4), 'Smooth Jazz 105.9' WJZW... 2.0 (-0.5), classic hits '96.9 The Rock' WWUZ... 2.0 (+0.1) and modern rock 'Y-99.3' WYSK... 2.0 (+0.4), 17th a tie between 'Classic Rock 94.7' WARW... 1.7 (+0.1) and 'Oldies 100' WBIG... 1.7 (NR...+1.7), 19th rock 'XL-102' WRXL... 1.4 (-0.5), 20th a nine-way tie between soft AC 'Soft Rock 97.1' WASH... 1.1 (+0.5), contemporary Christian WAVA... 1.1 (NR... +1.1), classical Dub-JewGMS... 1.1 (-0.1), country 'Thunder 104.5' WGRX... 1.1 (-0.1), mainstream CHR 'Hot 99-5' WIHT... 1.1 (NR... +1.1), country 'Your Place In The Country' WJMA... 1.1 (-0.5), classic rock '96-5 The Planet' WKLR... 1.1 (NR... +1.1), country '98.7 WMZQ' WMZQ... 1.1 (+0.5) and mainstream CHR 'Q-94' WRVQ... 1.1 (+0.2), 29th a three-way tie between country 'Cruisin' Country C103' WCUL... 0.8 (-0.1), Hot AC 'Mix 107.3' WRQX... 0.8 (-0.8) and AC 'Lite 98' WTVR... 0.8 (-0.8), 32nd a four-way tie between mainstream CHR 'Hot 101-9' WHTE... 0.6 (E), Hot AC '92.5 WINC-FM' WINC... 0.6 (NR... +0.6), news/talk WMAL-AM... 0.6 (-0.3) and finally sports 'SportsTalk 980' WTEM... 0.6 (NR... +0.6). The biggest gainers were urban 'Power 92 Jamz' WCDX (+1.9), country '93 WFLS' WFLS (+1.7), 'Oldies 100' WBIG (+1.7) and oldies 'Virginia's Rockin' Oldies 95.9' WGRQ (+1.2). The biggest losers were Hot AC 'B-101.5' WBQB... (-3.1), talk WJFK-FM (-1.8), Hot AC 'Mix 107.3' WRQX (-0.8) and 'AC 'Lite 98' WTVR... 0.8 (-0.8). Cluster totals... 1st Free Lance-Star 19.2 (E), 2nd Clear Channel 14.6 (+2.3), 3rd Mid-Atlantic Network 11.9 (-1.9), 4th Bonneville 10.5 (-0.9) and 5th Infinity 7.6 (-0.2).....

    January 13 2002

    What will January bring to the tube?

    The Virginian-Pilot takes a look at what 2002 will bring us on the 'Boob-Tube'.....

    January 12 2002

    Richmond Braves on radio? . . . hablo Espanol?

    The Richmond Braves still don't have a radio home for next season, but some of their games will be heard locally in Spanish. La Primera Radio (AM 1320/WVNZ) "will carry select games for the Hispanic community," said Braves General Manager Bruce Baldwin. Now, about that alleged extension with 'SportsRadio 910' WRNL... it was thought that it was a done deal. With the season only three months away, is there any chance the team will have a new air address?.....

    January 11 2002

    The first 'adult' R&B radio war casualty

    Soul Classics 92.9Nia Ngina Meeks of the Virginian-Pilot wrote an article of the format flip of 'Soul Classics 92.9' to 'Oldies 92-9' WWSO. Don London, director of programming for Entercom Norfolk which includes urban AC '95-7 R&B' WVKL said "Things just got too intense and someone had to bail out...unfortunately it was them...or, you could say fortunately, for us." Former PD Steve Crumbley of WWSO said that in addition to the ad dollar crunch, listeners lean toward a diversified R&B format. Soul Classics 92.9 played hits from the 60s, 70s and early 80s. Crumbley said that African-Americans also wanted to hear from newer artists like Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys and Usher. That's how '95-7 R&B' and 'Vibe 105' have thrived...mixing it up. Both of those stations did slip in the summer 12+ Arbitron ratings but reps from both stations said the more important point is remaining strong among the adult market...listeners aged 25-54; '95-7 R&B' was fourth and 'Vibe 105' was 16th. Operations Manager for Clear Channel Norfolk, Daisy Davis, said that the Vibe plans to 'pluck' Soul Classics listeners left homeless. She went on to say "We haven't reached our potential...there's still a lot of room for growth with that station (Vibe 105/WSVY). And we plan to take some numbers from 'VKL (95-7 R&B/WVKL)." They have a long way to go to catch '95-7 R&B'. We won't know for awhile what the impact will be with the demise of 'Soul Classics 92.9' but time will only tell.....

    January 10 2002

    Richmond's Bobalou (Norm Freedlander) passes away

    Richmond's Bobalou (Norm Freedlander) passed away yesterday. For many personalities he was a true friend and mentor who was totally unique in the industry. Bobalou worked at mainstream CHR 'Q94' WRVQ in Richmond and, at times, a few other stations in the area, plus a stint at 'B96' WBBM in Chicago in the early 80's. Read the entire article online from the (Richmond Times-Dispatch). Services were held on Friday January 11th.....

    January 9 2002

    Cox High Speed Internet

    As you may know, if you receive your Internet access through '@Home' they are ceasing operations on February 28th and migrating everyone to 'Cox.net'. You'll receive a 'toolbox' looking kit in the mail including a CD, user manual and quick reference guide. I have been through the process and it is fairly easy. If you have multiple email accounts and/or webpages it is a little more involved. Anyways, if you are completely overwhelmed, tune your TV to channel 78. Cox is running a continuous loop of a 10 minute video explaining the conversion process. Because of this, we're losing PIN - Product Information Network... it won't be missed.....

    January 9 2002

    Norfolk Tides find a new home on radio dial

    Norfolk TidesThe Norfolk Tides are moving their radio broadcasts down the dial to sports 'ESPN Radio 1310' WGH after signing a three-year contract. The Tides broke ties with AM 1650 WHKT after WHKT flipped from nostalgia to Radio Disney. The Norfolk Admirals hockey team, which also broadcasts on WHKT, is in the final year of a three-year contract and may opt to go elsewhere on the dial, team sources said. If Disney has its way, the Admirals won't return to WHKT. With the addition of the Tides during the summer months, they fill a gap that 'ESPN Radio 1310' had trouble filling. WGH-AM bills itself as 'Virginia's Only All-Sports Station'. Read the entire article online from The Virginian-Pilot or from the Norfolk Tides.....

    January 4 2002

    TV and 'The Snowstorm'

    Man, did we get clobbered by the snow or what here in Hampton Roads. About 12 hours before the event started, the three main local stations had their weather personalities trying to predict when, what, where and how much snow we were going to get. Here in Virginia Beach it is a little harder to predict snow because we are so close to the warm Atlantic waters so I'll use us as the example. The folks over at WAVY (10/NBC) were forecasting a 'mix' (basically no accumulation) right along the immediate coast. After 10 inches of a 'mix' and Virginia Beach reportedly, as of this story time, spending $350,000 on snow removal, Channel 10... BLEW IT! Sorry Don, Fred and Jim... Jon Cash is spared... he's on vacation. Channel 3 (WTKR/CBS) was better. Dave Parker and the gang also predicted 'some mix' but they also stated we would receive 2 to 5 inches... well short of what we really got. I have to tip my hat off to Jeff Lawson over at Channel 13 (WVEC/ABC). Jeff came on the air and didn't use his "I'm going to go out-on-the-limb" speech and gave us three possible senarios for the entire coverage area. Basically they were all the same... EVERYONE would receive a good amount of snow but each senario varied slightly on amounts and where. Jeff, Craig, Evan and Jude were right-on! And more kudos for Channel 13... they didn't run ANY closings what-so-ever during the Rose Bowl... no 'crawls', 'bugs' or cropping the video to squeeze-in station logos and sponsors... THANK YOU!

    January 1 2002

    Roberta T Vowell of The Virginian-Pilot wrote of LeAnne Rains…the former WTKR anchor

    Rains has one more reason to savor her role as stay-at-home mom... she gave birth to her third child, Marco Benedetto, on Aug. 13. "Two toddlers were a breeze,'' she said with a laugh. "A baby is tough.'' Rains-Benedetto, 36, left the news business in May after 15 years as a television reporter and anchor. "I'm smart enough to know I can't have everything,'' she said at the time. There were rocky moments for the whole family -- LeAnne, Marco, pre-schooler Allie, toddler Juliette, and husband Michael Benedetto, who works in his family's recycling firm. "If you have been making good money all your professional life, making no money is a big adjustment,'' she said. "It's not that we're poor. Far from it. It's just that it was my money.'' Then there was the business of actually keeping house, in Virginia Beach. "I had no idea how dirty my house was,'' Rains-Benedetto said. "I can't believe how much I had to tune out to keep going. . . What your floor looks like. Your cobwebs. I didn't spend that much time here. I was in motion, either going to work or picking the kids up, in and out.'' To relax, she's turned to yoga. "Very calming,'' she said. She's done a few free-lance jobs, but finds that most people don't understand how few hours she wants to work. "They'd call and say, 'I have three days I need you for this week, and 40 hours next week.' I've got to put my family first. “I actually started feeling a sense of sorrow for my spouse. I see how much he's missing. This definitely was the right decision.".....

    January 1 2002

    News blurbs from VARTV area newspapers

    The (Fredericksburg) Free Lance-Star... "Businesses Had Ups and Downs" has a little blurb about all the complaints the Newspaper received earlier this month about Adelphia cable, The (Richmond) Times-Dispatch "Surviving on 'Survivor' - Virginian has chance at winning on show" talks about 'Big Tom' on CBS' show 'Survivor' and The (South Hampton Roads) Virginian-Pilot "TV tastes reflect dose of reality" and "The year in Hampton Roads TV" take a look at the year in review.....

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