CCOs air talent was long-tenured and had copious amounts of vacation. As Lee moves from drive time to a photo on the stations wall of fame, WCCO faces the same question it has faced throughout the last quarter-century: What is the cure for its chronic audience atrophy, and is it worse than the disease? In 1927, WCCO was one of the original 21 stations of the NBC Red Network. Certain conditions can make the signal reach much farther. Under the right conditions, it reaches into portions of South Dakota. Reporter Jason Derusha bid goodbye to WCCO This Morning on June 23 after 19 years of his service on the TV network. This site has some photos and recordings. An inability to maintain programming leadership with a consistent vision is another factor. Can supporters move ahead without them? When you're out for as long as we are, that helps you stay dry. But competition has hollowed out that position. The vendor provider (Spectrum) no longer has a contract to carry the station. Theyll take a look at it.. KIMT is the official CBS affiliate for Rochester and presents newscasts from a studio in the city, but has long competed for CBS viewership on cable due to the status of WCCO-TV/4 (Minneapolis) as a significantly-viewed station in Rochester. And despite CCOs audience shrinkage, BIAs estimates of historical revenues at the station show a much smaller decline. KFAN was still struggling on the AM band. What is your zip code? Having six stations in town is key to maximizing revenue, explains Anselmo. The large national radio groupsiHeart, Entercom, and Cumulus Mediacontrol most of the key dial positions in the Twin Cities. Much of Minnesota remains under drought conditions. You cant replace Dave, says Anselmo. The FCCs order concerns only WCCO-TV and does not affect Minneapolis FOX affiliate KMSP, which is also carried on Rochester cable. CBS bought WCCO from General Mills in 1932, and switched its network affiliation to the CBS Radio Network. Relatively affluent cord cutters using over-the-air signals by choice could find viewing alternatives with relative ease, but the poor who use free over-the-air TV because they cant afford to pay for TV might see their viewing choices dwindle. Sign in or register to get started. Most of that decline is not being on the FM dial, says Mick Anselmo, who ran WCCO from 20082015 and spent 23 years prior building the powerhouse group of stations that is the local iHeartMedia cluster, whose flagship KFAN is the most dominant sports radio station in the country by audience share. Hes an extrovert. Retiring morning host Dave Lee will not be around to broadcast over it, but I think you do need an FM signal, he says. Today Friday, April 30 Dave Lee will wake up at his southeast suburban home, walk to his basement studio, and begin his three-hour air shift at WCCO Radio. WCCO also is the only news/talk station in town to provide live and local programming in the evenings and much of the weekend. I have no concerns, she notes. After nearly a year of work to outfit the station and prepare programming in stereo, on October 2, 1985, WCCO began broadcasting in AM stereo using the Motorola C-QUAM system. The format is not conducive to [comedy] bits anymore.. The alert goes into effect Wednesday at 10. http://wcco.com/local/wcco.tv.transmitter.2.1710777.html wcco.com I went on the road to listen to radio, like a baseball scout. Quick found Lee in Fargo and former midday host John Williams, now at WGN, in Peoria, Illinois. "We have a strong team because you put us there," co-host Heather Brown said Tuesday morning on the air. The station hired Brad Lane as market manager for WCCO from WTMJ in Milwaukee. Thats why [KFANs] Dan [Barreiro] is the best show in town right now.. There are probably fewer than 10 stations in the country of CCOs scale and format. And then he wasn't. "Back in October, actually late September, I went in for my annual physical," Huppert said . Each time the. Morning drive has pretty much transitioned to news, Lee says. The petition from Allen Media's KIMT/3 (Mason City, IA) was first reported here last year. they gave me a number to talk to video repair which is just the generic help line which weaves you through the madness of robots until you finally get to a human, and they have no explanation as to why this is happening. Jim Borgrud, president of Selective TV, said that is a reference to the potential deal with Selective TV. More health-related information on air quality can be found here. In January, WCCOs average listener, per Nielsen data, was 65 older than any other major media entity in town; 68 percent were 65+. Development of talent is an industrywide problem, says Bloom. DeRusha, who announced last week that he's leaving his role as the lead anchor of WCCO This Morning, will anchor his final television broadcast on June 23. People selling cars, boats, and other specific advertisers want that audience. By contrast, the advent of digital music and streaming services has devastated music radio, its programming commodified and often presented by disc jockeys recording air segments from studios hundreds of miles away. MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has extended and upgraded the air quality alert in much of the state due to "unprecedented" conditions caused by wildfire smoke. This Site Primarily Contains a Collection of Airchecks of Numerous Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. St. Paul wants more missing middle housing. What were trying to do here is realign the use of the spectrum in a way that lets the market decide how much the supply will be and the demand will be, said Charles Meisch, spokesman for the FCC. He can host any time slot. The permanent impact of the 2008 recession is notable in the data, but also notable is that the falloff in audience is far steeper than revenue. As long as people think of WCCO as their grandparents station, Bloom says, then it is., The question is whether CCO leadership is trying to have it both ways. WCCO (AM), a radio station (830 AM) licensed to serve Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Its a weekly conversation. Another way of measuring a radio stations impact is cume the number of individuals listening per week an important stat for many advertisers trying to reach the greatest number of ears. Fees asked for by the station may have been too high to renew a contract. It looks like you're new here. Broadcasters have until Tuesday to indicate their interest in participating in the March 29 reverse auction. Opinions are myriad. Public radio started acting like real radio, promoting, employing formatics [programming techniques to hold listeners attention], says Bloom. Its closest competitor, KSTP Radio (1500 AM), had just under an eight share. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. And he does them better than anyone.. Now all that information is available on a smartphone;CCO dropped farm reports two generations ago. News and talk listeners are in higher demand, he says. There are only two AM stations left in the region that even attract a substantial audience:CCO and iHearts conservative talker, KTLK. TV watchers that use an antenna in Douglas County get most of their channels from the Selective TV tower. Its not work for me., One such friendship is with Owatonna-based Federated Insurance and its chairman, Jeff Fetters. In 2005, WCCO began broadcasting its signal in the HD Radio format. In 1952, CBS sold majority control of WCCO to the Murphy and McNally families, who formed Midwest Radio and Television as a holding company for WCCO radio and its new co-owned television station, Channel 4 WCCO-TV. Scan this QR code to download the app now. FCC Order Cuts Duplicate CBS Programming from Rochester Cable, Weekly Log: WCCO Dropped from Rochester Cable; NBC Stronger in Mankato NorthPine: Upper Midwest Broadcasting, Off Topic: Lessons Learned for Camping Roadtrip Packing, Weekly Log: 1 Rochester Arrival, 2 Des Moines Departures, 3 Radio Bosses, Public Radio Changes Take Effect May 1 in Quad Cities, FCC Monitor: Price of Neb. And thats where attracting marquee talent to AM drive is a challenge. Entercom doesnt understand the legacy, says Quick, but if Shannon [Knoepke] can sell the heck out of it, it doesnt matter. Your local TV weather forecaster is ad . December 18, 2020 1:18 pm. WCCO. You want a compelling talent who loves to perform, says Quick, but its not really a job a performer is going to want. In essence, 1989s Dave Lee might not want 2021 Dave Lees job. They would need only to rescan for stations that have new channel locations. He said succession planning is key in a transition like Lees. "They told me they wanted to go in a different direction," Johnson said Monday . 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Morning drive will continue to be our strongest daypart, she says. With 50,000 watts of power (the maximum permitted) and a nondirectional signal, WCCO reaches much of Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin and Iowa by day, along with a wide area of the Central United States and Central Canada at night. World Conference for Cancer Organisations. Not [be] sappy and placating, but challenge people to think for themselves.. The Federal Communications Commission is inviting 2,197 of them nationwide including 20 in the Twin Cities and another 16 elsewhere in Minnesota to give up their broadcast bandwidth in exchange for money a lot of money. CBS and Entercom both told us youll never make up the lost revenue with a simulcast, says former WCCO sales exec Ethan Adam. The agency encourages people who are affected by unhealthy air quality, such as the elderly or those with respiratory or heart conditions, to limit their physical activity and take the proper precautions. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Tax credits of up to $1,500 for e-bikes added to Minnesota Senate transportation budget, Minnesota Gov. Every format element is a small piggy bank. Finally in 1973, WCCO-FM station moved its antenna to 1,250 feet near the top of the Shoreview, Minnesota, Twin Cities antenna farm, with a power of 100,000 watts. He takes the time to understand the business hes representing. Personally, I'm glad to see her off the air. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Dont think we dont smell blood in the water., Lee says he will continue to do endorsements for the station as long as both sides find it mutually satisfying, which gives Knoepke a measure of confidence. As noted here previously, the Rochester area makes up about half of the households in the Rochester-Austin-Mason City market. The biggest problem is finding people qualified to update a heritage brand, says Langmyer. For WCCO to survive the next decade, the consensus is the station needs an FM signal. The FCCs memorandum opinion and order approving KIMTs petition for relief does not specify when WCCO-TVs CBS and syndicated programming must be dropped from Spectrums Rochester cable system. [15] The move by the large market dominating WCCO to adopt AM stereo received attention from local and national news outlets. The statements and views expressed in this posting are my own and do not reflect those of Gray Television. Its their reputation and the trust in the community that we hope conveys to us, Fetters says. 1,867 were here. Channel 4 is completely gone from the lineup. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The Free Dictionary. CBS affiliate WCCO is turning off its KCCO-TV signal for the Alexandria area at the end of the year, but Selective TV based in Douglas County is hopeful it will be able to relay WCCO. It began broadcasting with 50,000 watts for the first time in September 1932. The stations will be dark from 1 to 5 a.m. Friday, 1 to 11 a.m. Saturday and 6 to 11 a.m. Sunday for over-the-air antenna users and DirecTV and DISH subscribers, Channel 13 said. It was only six years ago that the United States completed a transition from analog to digital over-the-air signals. With the move to Division I starting in the 2021 season, the football games would move to KSTP. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". How can I pause and rewind live TV using the Spectrum TV app? (Edison Research found in 2019 that as many people were listening to radio on a mobile device as on a radio.) Other factors had an impact as well. WCCO had been the radio flagship of the Minnesota Vikings football team from 1961 to 1969, 1976 to 1984, 1988 to 1990, and 1996 to 2000. The petition from Allen Medias KIMT/3 (Mason City, IA) was first reported here last year. Since then, the KCCO tower has been transmitting the WCCO programming from the Twin Cities. If it can stave off additional audience erosion, it can tread water for a long time before sinking below the horizon. [citation needed] One sign of the changing times: the well-known farm report was dropped in early 2004, reflecting the fact that many farmers began to rely more on the Internet for such information and that the number of farmers in Minnesota has drastically shrunk since the station first began broadcasting (although agriculture remains vital to the region). Gallery: WCCO's Mark Rosen said he planned to wrap up his 50-year broadcasting career in April following coverage . Thats hard to listen to.. A look at just HOW dry we have been, a few raindrops possible today, and the return of the heat is in my forecast https://t.co/Cx5NJc1Iwo #mnwx #wiwx. FM Sale; Black Hills AM Remains Silent, Third Northwestern Wisconsin Cabin Opens for Cabin Season, Weekly Log: Several TV Anchors Move; Crystal Awards for KS95, WTMJ, Data Dump: Top Nebraska Radio Station Owners, FCC Monitor: Several FM Signals Return, One AM Goes Silent, Broadcast History: Cities That Never Got Their Allotted TV Stations, Weekly Log: Total Hits in the Twin Cities, Several People Moves. In the January 2021 ratings, that number had sunk to 181,000, a drop of 83 percent. The move apparently took many of CCOs occasional listeners off AM permanently. The FCC notes that broadcasters can choose not to participate but that they may have their channels reassigned after the auction is completed. Usually when these things happen it is one of the following: 1.) The station is dedicated to providing accurate and unbiased news coverage, as well as expert analysis and commentary. Paul) Radio Stations, Some Recorded Off The Air by Rick . Knoepke has no choice but to replace Lee, but given the lack of an obvious in-house successor, the question is, where to turn? The disappearance of Molly is disturbing at best, but the fact that WCCO refuses to address this is equally troubling. Reach Agweek reporter Jeff Beach at jbeach@agweek.com or call 701-451-5651. I am having the same issue. Historically, solid radio signals sell for large multiples, so Entercom could never hope to pick up a competitors signal for a song, if you will. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. WCCO-TV morning anchor Kim Johnson has been fired. The iconic radio station that was once the town square of Minnesota faces a near-term full of challenges. Its legendary air talent over the last four decades made their mark with a schtick rich in Scandinavian dialects and jokes about herring. Revenue matters, and their revenue has held up as the ratings have slid.. At night, the station's signal typically reaches across 28 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. One outsized aspect of the advertising effort at CCO is personal endorsements by program hosts in place of recorded ads. Editors note: Since this article went to press there have been these developments: WCCO Radio parent Entercom Communications announced a corporate rebranding as Audacy Inc.Audacy.comalso replaces radio.com as its streaming brand. After the advent of television in the 1950s, most national radio programming moved to television; local radio stations, previously dependent on networks for much of their programming, were left to fend for themselves. Welcome to the official YouTube channel for WCCO News and CBS News Minnesota, your destination for everything local -- including breaking news and the best o. Broadcasters have never had to do this. Question About Spectrum Voice (Landline) Caller ID Information? There is no band on the internet other than bandwidth, so WCCO is at no competitive disadvantage online, and is increasingly adept at promoting and marketing its digital content. In August 2008, as a cosmetic change to make WCCO in sync with other CBS talk radio stations, the station changed from "News/Talk 830 WCCO" to "News Radio 830 WCCO." (Games are now simulcast over Entercom country station The Wolf at 102.9 FM.). Will it return? A decade ago, the world was WCCOs oyster, competitively. iHeart went bankrupt in 2018, the same year Cumulus emerged from Chapter 11. You can tell he really cares., Federateds approach is refreshingly old-school in todays era of metrics and precise ROI. Washburn Crosby Company, forerunner of General Mills, took over the station and switched the call sign to WCCO for the company's initials. The vendor provider (Spectrum) no longer has a contract to carry the station. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. July 31, 2021 / 8:30 AM 4.) We never really recovered, says former WCCO program director Jon Quick. For decades, WCCO was the place Minnesotans turned for news and sports. But radio has an incredible future when led by smart, creative, visionaries who can build connection with an audience.. But many industry observers believe the only way forward for CCO is a major update and modernization of its sound. 2.) If you have questions, emaileditors@minnpost.com. Once the auction concludes, consumers who receive digital content over the air through a converter box will likely have to re-scan their channels, but their favorite programming should continue on their usual channel numbers. Weve known about this for a year and a half, says Knoepke. 75% of the state is experiencing severe drought. Because that would require, at least temporarily, sacrificing the several million dollars The Wolf bills. They need to hire someone with a track record of success, with a vision, and get out of the way.. WCCO started broadcasting University of St. Thomas football beginning in the 20112012 season. The fine particles in the smoke could cause health problems for people in. MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has extended and upgraded the air quality alert in much of the state due to "unprecedented" conditions caused by wildfire smoke. Hanson declined an interview, but Bloom does not accept the thesis, saying he had numerous detailed conversations with Knoepke before his hire: [She] did not hire me because [she] was satisfied with 180 cume (see sidebar, below) and 4.5 share., Bloom believes he was hired to evolve to a sharper-edged news/current events format, but Knoepke got cold feet. WCCO has a longtime reputation of being the station to tune in for emergency information, especially severe weather and school closings in winter. WCCO is missing from my lineup - why? These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. These doubters suggest WCCO is billing closer to $9 million to $10 million including digital. To republish, copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to MinnPost. CCO suggests it is ready. Former managing editor Steve Murphy says the station has operated with seven to nine news staff (currently seven) throughout most of its recent history. Chicago-based broadcast industry columnist Robert Feder toldTCBthat Entercom-owned market leader WBBM-AM lost its morning drive cohost to retirement a year ago and was not replaced, an apparent cost-cutting move. But the name of the game is revenue, and WCCO remains a formidable force. In a large area stretching from northern Minnesota to the Twin Cities, fine particles are expected to reach the "Purple AQI category", which is a level considered very unhealthy for everyone. In 1983, it became WLTE 102.9 Lite-FM, an identity it kept until Christmas 2011, when it switched to a country music format as BUZ'N @ 102.9 with the new call letters KMNB. Some observers and past employees believe it is very little; others say its near-absolute.