Minor updates 1/3 at 5:00pm. SYRACUSE -- It's been expected for quite some time now, and at 7:00 this evening, it happened: Clear Channel heritage news/talker 570 WSYR is now being simulcast on the FM dial. But you'd almost think it was the other way around -- with new liners and a new logo branding the station "FM Newsradio 106.9 WSYR," with almost no mention of the AM dial.
The only mention of AM we heard on Sunday night was during the top-of-hour legal ID / news open. It's now "WPHR-FM Solvay Syracuse, WSYR-AM Syracuse, FM Newsradio 106.9 WSYR." Previously, ID's started with WSYR (omitting the AM, as "AM" is never required in a legal ID), followed by WPHR-FM HD2.
With the change, WSYR programming is now heard on 570 AM, 106.9 FM and 106.9 HD-1. The HD2 channel, which formerly carried WSYR, is now carrying urban AC "Power 620," which used to be Power 106.9.
If you're confused about the above and you haven't been following the story since it all started nearly two weeks ago, here's a recap. Click the dates to read previous CNYRadio.com stories.
Thanks to the loyal CNYRadio.com readers who sent email moments after the 7pm changes took place.
Even WGY, which is simulcasting on FM, begins it's IDs with "810 WGY" before including that they're also on 103.1 (or whatever it is).
Presumably either this is meant to be an in-your-face to WXTL, or there is some long-range plan to use the 570-AM signal for something else.
Out of curiousity, anyone know offhand where WHEN and WPHR fell in the last ratings books? Maybe I should look for that here.
They just keep on generating buzz, don't they?
Well, that's one way to put it, but you have to wonder how good it is when the buzz is mostly "What the heck are they thinking? Don't they get anything?"
Sadly, I'm missing Jim Rome out of all of this. It would be very nice if even 105.9 picks up the entire Fox Sports Net and get rid of the talk lineup, with the exception of Gary Nolan. Or even put on Dan Patrick and Jim Rome before Gary's show. As it stands now, I have to subscribe to "jungle insider" or stream Clear Channel Rochester's WHTK (which really did a smart thing by flipping their 107.3 to simulcast their AM 1280 signal. But I'm sure Citadel won't do a thing.
Citadel owns 1260 WNSS which is sports already - with half the stuff WHEN already had thrown away, all the local people - but it is a good candidate to pick up the FOX affiliation, assuming Clearchannel doesn't have some kind of strangle hold on it.
I kind of suspect Syracuse can no more support three talk stations than it can three sports stations, but a lot of these guys struggled on for ages with very low ratings in the Eastlan books, so I wouldn't be surprised if things hold steady for a while.
Well, it took two weeks, but a letter appeared in the editorial section of the 1/15 Post Standard criticizing Clear Channel's shifting things around. In the first paragraph said exactly what I predicted they'd say about this move: That it sends listeners of the urban format "to the back of the bus" ....
http://blog.syracuse.com/opinion/2011/01/commentary_jb_mccampbell_says.html