Is WQBE unbeatable?

[Jay Nunley]

Probably...


Station
Format
Owner
Fall 07
Spr 08
Fall 08
Spr 09
Fall 09

WQBE-FM
Country
Bristol
14.4
20.4
18.3
16.9
17.9

WVAF-FM
AC
West Virginia
12.8
8.6
9.0
8.8
10.1

WKLC-FM
Rock
LM Communications
7.4
6.7
6.8
4.4
8.9

WVSR-FM
Top 40/M
Bristol
9.3
9.7
7.9
11.4
8.9

WCHS-AM
N/T
West Virginia
8.2
6.3
6.1
6.3
7.4

WKWS-FM
Country
West Virginia
8.2
6.3
7.9
7.4
5.8

WKAZ-FM
Adult Hits
West Virginia
5.1
4.5
4.0
4.0
5.1

WRVZ-FM
Top 40/R
West Virginia
4.3
5.9
6.8
5.9
5.1

WMXE-FM
Classic Hits
LM Communications
3.1
4.1
2.2
4.4
4.7

WVTS-AM
Talk
Bristol
--
1.9
1.8
1.8
1.6

WZJO-FM
Alternative
Bristol
4.3
2.2
2.5
2.9
1.2

WAMX-FM
Active Rock
Clear Channel
1.2
0.7
1.1
0.7
0.8

WEMM-FM
Religious
Mortenson
1.2
0.7
1.4
1.5
0.8

[The-Hammer]

Station
Format
Spr 09
Fall 09

WKLC-FM
Rock
4.4
8.9

And without a Stewie-shaped translator.

[Big Media]

"Is WQBE unbeatable?"

Yep.


You could bribe Arbitron to sample only your 5 best friends, and somehow, WQBE would still rein supreme. People can't stop writing WQBE and WSAZ. It is the only call letters most Charlestonians know.

[DJSHOCKLEY]

Station
Format
Owner
Fall 07
Spr 08
Fall 08
Spr 09
Fall 09

WZJO-FM
Alternative
Bristol
4.3
2.2
2.5
2.9
1.2

[Mr. Jones]

WZJO-FM
Alternative
Bristol
4.3
2.2
2.5
2.9
1.2

FAIL

[AmpedNow]

So that's why they went talk...

That just don't seem right, though.

[DJSHOCKLEY]

WZJO-FM
Alternative
Bristol
4.3
2.2
2.5
2.9
1.2



After five and a half years of being badly mismanaged Bristol Broadcasting killed Z Rock in 2007..

In the fall of 2009 they finally got around to burying the corpse...

[Bob Campbell]

Nobody's unbeatable Jay.
Ask Clay and his buddies at the Wolf in Greensboro about taking down WTQR, the QBE of market 45.
It does take a real commitment from ownership to invest the time, money and talent to get the job done.

Z-Rock is just a shame. Great signal so poorly run for so long. Damn, I would have loved to program that baby. I think Jay and I could have had a pretty fun rock war.

[Clay JD Walker]

Thanks, Bob for the kind words...it can be done. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication...and an amazing team of people around you, but it can be done.

And it'll always be hard.

That's what she said.

But it can be done.

[Bob Campbell]

Thanks, Bob for the kind words...it can be done. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication...and an amazing team of people around you, but it can be done.

And it'll always be hard.

That's what she said.

But it can be done.

I thought it was nice of me not to say they kicked your ass(12+) in the Fall Book. But you've done a great job of taking down a legendary station. They were ripe for the picking sure, but you guys went out and did it.
There are many stories of legendary market dominators taken down by a dedicated upstart, perhaps the most infamous Tampa's Q-105 being driven out of the CHR format by the Power Pig, WFLZ.
Kidding about the ass kicking Clay.

[AC Carter]

Q105! Blast from the past for this Tampa boy, Bob! If I remember correctly, Q105 ended up going country after its defeat at the hooves of the Pig.

[Clay JD Walker]

Screw...the...Q.

Wonder how we could get by with all of that in today's stuffed shirt corporate world, huh?

[Bob Campbell]

Q105! Blast from the past for this Tampa boy, Bob! If I remember correctly, Q105 ended up going country after its defeat at the hooves of the Pig.

They're the prototype story for taking down a heritage station.
On a smaller scale, we did it at Z-104 in Norfolk to the heritage CHR, WGH. Much easier for us, they were AM and while they had held off a previous CHR incarnation on our frequency, we came in with a great airstaff ( all of whom but the morning guy went directly to Top 10 markets in next few years) and huge marketing ( we debuted with 200, yes I said 200, billboards ). It was major fun.
I also was privileged to be a part of two great CHR wars, in Detroit with WCZY versus WHYT and in Boston with WZOU versus WXKS.
The onset of large clusters protecting each others' flanks and marketing budget cuts, along with a less competitive corporate mindset has pretty much made that cutthroat competition a thing of the past.
If someone were to come into the Charleston market and do what Entercom did here in Greensboro they could take QBE down. There's just no incentive for anybody in the market to do it. WV Radio has their cash cow V-100 so all they need their country to do is chop a couple points off QBE so they can sell their cluster shares. Same thing with the old Z-Rock. They used it basically as a loss leader to protect QBE and 102. A little investment and vision and they could have had 3 of the top 5 stations in the market, but they don't really think that way.

[Jay Nunley]

Of course, no one is literally unbeatable, but WQBE is well programmed, well researched, they have quality air talent whom consistently deliver on audience desire, and they promote and market themselves relentlessly. They also are a country station in a market where twenty or more shares are country exclusive ears and another twenty or so shares spend significant time with country. They also have history, heritage, and familarity. Tough beat no matter what.

[Dave Allen]

Two words......rabbit mites