N.C. State athletics have parted ways with WPTF 680 AM out of Raleigh and now will make their home at 101.5 FM WRAL. The Wolfpack has been with WPTF as their flagship station forever.
WPTF is a talk station that can be heard in the daylight hours from Greenville to Greensboro and back. WRAL is, “God- forbid”, a music station that I have trouble picking up in my car. WPTF comes through in my car just fine.
The big-shots at N.C. State have said “NO MORE” to loyalty and will have their football and basketball games broadcast on a Music station. Sports carry better on a Talk or All-Sports station. WZTK 101.1 out of Burlington carries sports with the moniker “Static Free” in the ACC. I can see sports being broadcast more over a station that carries Talk than I can a music station, but 101.1 goes ALL JAZZ on the weekends and who wants to hear that mess.(101.1 carries the Carolina Panthers but so does 850 the Buzz(they’re owned by the same people Curtis Media) and I will listen to the Buzz over 101.1 because the Buzz is All-Sports)
WSJS 600/1200 carries the Wolfpack locally here in the Triad and I hope they continue with the arrangement but 600/1200 is owned by Curtis Media and they also own 680 out of Raleigh and they may feel like they have had the rug pulled out from underneath them.
With sports on the FM there is no loyalty or continuity. Listeners tune in just for the games and then tune back out. That does not give you a consistant audience. Today’s, yeterday’s, and tomorrow’s hits and then a big hit on the quarterback by red-shirt freshman tackle Dan Tucker.
Country, Jazz, the 80’s, and Dr. John Hook’s Medicine Show. Who wants to hear that Garbage? The sports audience will tell you on the FM it’s not about the station it’s just give me my games and I’m out of here.
I will stick with the AM dial as long as I can because I still feel like I’m a part of what’s going on there and been for over 20 years. If a man came in and said I’ll give you a 100,00 Watt FM station and you can do what you want with it then I would put All-Sports on it and carry the games and most preferably Virginia Tech football since they aren’t on the air around here.
That man’s not going to walk up and give me that FM blowtorch because the going price on a good FM frequency these days is about 20 million dollars. I’ll stick to the AM until they burn me out and I’ll be loyal to Yahoo over Goggle any day of the week. Yahoo has been there for me so why jump ship when I had Yahoo first and they have served me well.
It’s all about Loyalty. Who’s with me here. Are you going AM or FM?Â