Bonneville unites with WaPo, kisses Rock good-bye
In Washington, Bonneville All-Newser WTOP and Classical WGMS-FM are moving, Modern Rock Z104 is going away and the Washington Post is entering the picture. The broad outline: WTOP moves to WGMS slot, which moves to Z104 slot, while WaPo takes over the abandoned WTOP digs. The main thrust of the move is to put Bonneville's flagship WTOP on the group's strongest Washington signal - - 103.5 mHz. It will also remain on Frederick AM 820 kHz. Washington Post will get WTOP's longtime roost at directional clear AM 1500 kHz, along with its more recently added 107.7 mHz signal, which mainly reaches DC's Virginia suburbs from its Warrenton VA city of license. The WaPo arrangement will be called Washington Post Radio, and the Post staff will provide "in-depth news and analysis" there beginning 3/30/06 under Bonneville's ownership and management (it will also be heard on an FM translator on 104.3, reaching other parts of northern Virginia). Until March, WTOP will simulcast on this entire collection of stations. WGMS-FM abandons 103.5 and takes over the Washington-oriented 104.1 mHz, with a simulcast on 103.9 mHz out of Frederick, which also reaches parts of Montgomery County MD in the northern portion of the DC market. Bonneville is working on a signal upgrade to expand the Frederick station's reach. WGMS will also feature a pair of HD split-stream offerings, one focusing on in-depth Classical music and the other on opera and choral works, which will go by the name Viva La Voce. The only station going on as is will be highly-specialized WFED-AM 1050, aimed at the city's federal workforce.
RBR observation:
We thought it odd, particularly in the wake of the exit of WHFS-FM from the Rock wars, that Bonneville would elect to exit the Modern Rock format in order to basically compete with itself in the News arena. Bonneville Washington marketing exec Mary Kay LeMay told RBR that the group will be exiting what is still a stiff battle in the market in the contemporary music arena, citing Clear Channel's WWDC-FM & WIHT-FM, along with ABC/Disney's WRQX-FM. This move is designed to enhance what is already a strength. This happens two ways - - first by giving WTOP a better signal, and second by partnering with one of the premier print news outlets in the country. Meanwhile, the group preserves one of the nation's legendary commercial Classical franchises. Ten years ago, putting an All News station on the FM side pretty much exclusively would have been unthinkable. The fact that it is happening here can be seen as a reflection of changes in the way people get their music these days, and as a small fissure in the symbiotic relationship between radio and the music industry.
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