This was the last letter from Ben Reid before the flip posted yesterday at 6:29am:


Judging from the response on social media, there's LOTS of people who truly loved 102.7 The Pole and are dissapointed that it turned into The Lake as you can see from these comments on their Facebook page:



From what we are seeing so far, they should seriously consider keeping the Pole, at least during evenings and possibly weekends as well.

I would also come up with a catchier and less common name for the station than "the Lake", pehaps call it "the Mast".

Last edited by PwrSurge (March 18, 2023 11:25 am)

They managed to create a solid group of raving fans in a short period of time.  LOL.   When KISS was flipped no one seemed to care.   Could stripper music be a real format?

It is nice to see people passionate about radio.

paterson1 wrote:

Not sure if the new ownership has actually been approved by the FCC as yet.  I wasn't aware that Canadians could own a US radio station, or maybe the new owners are dual citizens or still have some American partners?   Anyway I wish them lots of luck and hope Lake FM is a big success. 

My information might be out of date, but it's to my understanding that Canadians can rent an American radio station but not actually own it. 
If this is true, they only need an American partner to declare ownership and collect rent, allowing them to run the station freely as if they own it. 
 

RadioQuiz wrote:

Looking at the Kingston landscape... seems like an obvious hole.

Playing the hits is never a bad strategy. Playing the hits w/o CanCon is even better.

Listening for about an hour and the imaging is really good. My wife loved every song. She's 47. Center of the demo.

Guess we'll see.

Unless it's another stunt.

Two factors to determine if a new station has found a viable music hole:
1) Does if offer a sustainable library of genuine hits?
2) Will the station own most of those hits in the market?

Lake checks them both off.

By contrast, TODAY Toronto scores a 0% on #2.

 

CKLC and CKWS were the CHUM and CFTR of Kingston..
 

Last edited by paterson1 (March 19, 2023 2:35 pm)

Mr Barlow, what you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it.

Radiowiz wrote:

paterson1 wrote:

Not sure if the new ownership has actually been approved by the FCC as yet.  I wasn't aware that Canadians could own a US radio station, or maybe the new owners are dual citizens or still have some American partners?   Anyway I wish them lots of luck and hope Lake FM is a big success. 

My information might be out of date, but it's to my understanding that Canadians can rent an American radio station but not actually own it. 
If this is true, they only need an American partner to declare ownership and collect rent, allowing them to run the station freely as if they own it. 
 

I did some digging and it looks like foreigners can in fact own a US radio or TV station or even a small chain.  It hasn't happened often but does happen usually because of extenuating circumstances.  In 2017 the FCC relaxed the rules of foreign ownership which had been at 20% for decades.

All of the articles in the US trades said that Mr. Pole and Dickson bought Border International Broadcasting the owners of WLYK for $325,000.  The new company and owner is 1234567 Corporation which is owned by Pole and Dickson.  However I am not sure the approval has come as yet from the FCC. 

Could be that the US owner of WLYK wanted out and Rogers being a large conglomerate possibly would have been block by the FCC had they tried to buy the station.  Rogers had a 20% share of WLYK and ran the station for Border International for 9 years.  Or maybe Rogers had no interest buying WLYK which has had a history of  hanging on by a thread and even went dark for over 3 years in the 90's.  The station signed on in January 1989 as WKGG.

Here is an article from Womble Bond Dickinson explaining how and when the FCC does now allow 100% foreign ownership. 

https://www.womblebonddickinson.com/us/insights/articles-and-briefings/regulators-open-airwaves-increased-foreign-ownership?utm_source=mondaq&utm_medium=syndication&utm_term=Media-Telecoms-IT-Entertainment&utm_content=articleoriginal&utm_campaign=article
  


 

Last edited by paterson1 (March 21, 2023 5:46 pm)

Tomas Barlow wrote:

RadioQuiz wrote:

Mr Barlow, what you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it.

Mr. Quiz, old men who think music peaked in 1975 aren't good judges of what a 25 or even a 40 year-old woman is listening to today.  Women in that age range aren't knitting sweaters, checking on the roast in the oven and watching soap operas like they were in the 60's and 70's, and they aren't listening to Grover Washington Junior or Anita Ward.  They don't even know who those people are.  They are hearing Flowers by Miley Cyrus for the 400th time on TikTok.  If you think a John Pole station playing songs from half a century ago three times an hour is going to beat Corus, Rogers and Bell Hot AC and country stations for women 25 to 54 you're out to lunch. Were you listening to music from 1925 in the 70’s? I seriously doubt it.

25-54 isn't a programming demo. Nobody's pretending this station's targeting 25 years olds.

It will absolutely to better than #7 25-54, given that there are only 7 rated stations and Bell's Country station is DOA.

It will drive huge hours tuned F45-54 which with radio's aging demos will juice the 25-54 pretty well, and they can sell locally older than that too.