I have to be really hot when I go out for winter storms.". [8] In the 1930s, two additional 300-foot towers were added to increase the range of the station's signal. Minnesotas agricultural sector long relied on CCO for commodity and crop prices. 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. Something in the next five years is going to change. Hubbard isnt going anywhere, and could be a buyer, but Anselmo says Entercom or Cumulus may choose to exit the market, to then grow in another. There are two ways to accomplish this buy a station or use one of parent company Entercoms. Western Wisconsin is also under an air quality alert. Usually when these things happen it is one of the following: 1.) We never really recovered, says former WCCO program director Jon Quick. Though Knoepke is well-liked and described as a leader by most of the staffTCBinterviewed, it is unclear how much decision-making authority Entercom cedes to local management. Said one CCO insider, he had the misfortune to arrive with a sports-oriented mentality in a period when hard news became primary., Knoepke says she intends to replace Hanson with a leader with forward vision.. Does anyone know what happened to WCCO meteorologist Molly Rosenblatt? Miscellaneous Unclassified. The disappearance of Molly is disturbing at best, but the fact that WCCO refuses to address this is equally troubling. Robert Ridder became president of WCCO in 1952.[7]. Not [be] sappy and placating, but challenge people to think for themselves.. Scan this QR code to download the app now. Overnight, two syndicated shows are carried: Our American Stories with Lee Habeeb and America in the Morning with John Trout. In the 1980s, the playlist shifted from middle-of-the-road music toward adult contemporary. The AM deficit is so significant that when Twins baseball returned to WCCO in 2018, the team required an out clause if WCCO could not get an FM simulcast by 2020. The stations farm director was feted across the states ag belt and held down important on-air segments each day. Bandwidth auctions, 84 of them in the past 20 years, have been to wireless Internet and phone carriers. We are a neutral grounds where Sotans come from all four corners of our great state to discuss the latest news, share great photographyand memes, discuss politics, the outdoors, and so much more! As of Friday morning, air quality conditions were listed as unhealthy around the Twin Cities and in north-central Minnesota. 4.) WCCO Radio recently made significant changes to its on-air lineup. One reason for CCOs strength, says a competing radio programmer in town who did not want to be quoted publicly on a competitor, is that everything is for sale, and there is so much to sell. WCCO has more commercial inventory than any station in town. Some observers and past employees believe it is very little; others say its near-absolute. I have had a very long aggravating chat with Kyla on the spectrum app, have gone into rochester to the spectrum store. Accordingly, we conclude that the Petitioner has met its burden and demonstrates that WCCO-TV fails to meet the requirements to maintain its status as significantly viewed in Rochester. KNOW had yet to become a major competitive presence. Our biggest challenge is letting people know what were doing and finding a new audience, says Hepola, referring to the challenges of getting the word out about his new program. Disclosure: Jon Ellis is an employee of Gray Television. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Lane spent the bulk of his radio career at KSTP/Hubbard Broadcasting in a variety of on- and off-air roles. Jason joined WCCO as a reporter in 2003 and was able to mark an impression on the public. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. WCCO hasnt focused on ratings for many years, says Shannon Knoepke, the stations market manager (essentially its COO). And most car radios do not allow you to switch between stations on different bands easily. (Edison Research found in 2019 that as many people were listening to radio on a mobile device as on a radio.) ), One current WCCO employee who requested anonymity says that given its modest ratings and weak demographics, Entercom was shocked at WCCOs top-line [revenue] when they bought it.. Longtime WCCO-TV anchor Jason DeRusha switched to radio and now hosts the afternoon drive program, replacing Paul Douglas and Jordana Green. Frank Vascellaro and Amelia Santaniello are on. 2023 NorthPine: Upper Midwest Broadcasting. We see that you have javascript disabled. Here's how to restore reception with your TV antenna when - KOMO After years of programming to the least diverse aspects of Minnesotas population, WCCO has made strides in recent years to diversify its air talent. After working for almost 10 years as a weekend anchor and reporter for the WCCO Good Question program, he started working as a morning anchor. Quick heard him in 1984 and thought Lee had the chops to fit right in at CCO. WCCO 830 AM (CBS) One of the nation's great stations and a big part of Twin Cities and Minnesota radio history. Opinions are myriad. WCCO needs to get on FM. Unfortunatelyfor WCCOs branding needs, thats under the umbrella of radio.com, Entercoms digital streaming brand. KFAN was still struggling on the AM band. Meanwhile, several local FM stations had already boosted their power to 100,000 watts and were airing new formats on FM, such as beautiful music and progressive rock. KMNB, a radio station (102.9 FM) licensed to serve Minneapolis, Minnesota, which used the call sign WCCO-FM from May 1969 to November 1983. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. 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. Will you help us keep it this way by supporting our nonprofit newsroom with a tax-deductible donation today? People have been writing WCCO off for years.. When you're out for as long as we are, that helps you stay dry. FCC Order Cuts Duplicate CBS Programming from Rochester Cable But from a scale standpoint, its reach is limited. Sports anchor Mark Rosen plans to leave WCCO-TV after roughly 50 years on the air. And thats where attracting marquee talent to AM drive is a challenge. This is not a transition where you wing it, says Tom Langmyer, CEO of Great Lakes Media. Cable systems are allowed to carry out-of-market stations if they are on the list for their county or city. Morning drive will continue to be our strongest daypart, she says. Theres not a future in bland. The divisive Trump presidency, COVID-19, and now the year of the trials connected to the death of George Floyd have provided an extraordinary opportunity for news-driven stations to reintroduce themselves to the market. Hes an extrovert. Rate it: WCCO. WCCO is a Class A clear-channel station. If you feel you have received this message in error, please contact the customer support team at 1-833-248-7801. Radio is most threatened by people in leadership roles who only account for it as a commodity and see stations as real estate assets, says Langmyer, speaking of the industry in general. Officials advise that people in sensitive groups limit time outside and avoid strenuous exercise or activity. Selective TV is a non-profit over-the-air television programming system supported by viewer contributions. (Digital revenues, recalls Adam, account for 1020 percent of station revenues. This is a turning point, says former program director Jon Quick. (Entercom says the age is 53, perhaps relying on a lesser used metric known as median cume, which was under 54 for one month in 2020.) WCCO has a tattered rep replacing marquee talent. This means that with the conversion to digital, a station like WCCO in the Twin Cities can retain its Channel 4 brand identity, while also offering additional over-the-air content on a Channel 4.2 . Will it make the city a more affordable place to live? The fine particles in the smoke can be harmful to people with lung or heart issues, and they can also affect the elderly and young children. The petition included ratings data showing that WCCO no longer meets the threshold of broadcast viewership to be considered significantly-viewed in Rochester. As of the latest U.S. Drought Monitor Report, 75% of the state is experiencing severe drought. The FCCs order concerns only WCCO-TV and does not affect Minneapolis FOX affiliate KMSP, which is also carried on Rochester cable. WCCO-TV's Jason DeRusha talks about his decision to leave: 'It's been Knoepke was rather unforthcoming inTCBsinterviews, conducted by phone and email, with David Heim, Entercoms corporate communications vice president, monitoring; she declined to talk about ratings, audience data, revenue, nor, unsurprisingly, candidates to replace Lee. The decline of AM radio has been happening for decades. For a decade then, CCO routinely rated in the upper single digits, but between 20122013,CCO saw more audience loss, concurrent with competitor KFANs move from AM to FM. 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. The WCCO-TV signal is back to full power again after being out for several hours on Sunday for people who watch over-the-air or through satellite companies that receive the signal from the transmitter. "Smoke from Canadian wildfires lingers over most of Minnesota. In 2019 WCCO-TV had no measurable viewing, and in 2020 it reached a 0.02 percent share of total viewing hours and 1.81 percent net weekly circulation including one standard error. Listen 24/7 for free on Audacy. Who will be moving into Alexandria Viking Plaza? Why then is the biggest question around town not CCOs direction, but whether Entercom intends to sell its historic studio building in downtown Minneapolis to raise cash? Langmyer was the vice president of CBS Radios news/talk group in the 2000s (including WCCO) and ran KMOX in St. Louis and WGN in Chicago, two of a handful of similar heritage AM stations left in the country. 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. WCCO-TV, a television station (channel 32, virtual channel 4) licensed to serve Minneapolis, Minnesota. WCCO viewers keep asking why Frank and Amelia aren't social distancing WCCO (830 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and owned by Audacy, Inc. [1] Its studios and offices are located on Second Avenue South in Downtown Minneapolis. It is common for some problems to be reported throughout the day. The FCC has granted a petition for special relief from the Rochester markets CBS affiliate and issued an order that will result in WCCO-TVs CBS programming being dropped from cable in the Med City. [12][13], In 2018, WCCO returned to the moniker "News/Talk 830 WCCO" with its logo reflecting the change.[14]. THERE'S NO SCRIPT. One reason youre unlikely to see a major programming shift from WCCO is that the only space not occupied by a more robust competitor is the one it holds. Windy Cold Crushes Optimizers. When he finishes, just before 9 a.m., it will not just mark the end of his workweek, but the end of a radio career that dates back to 1973, at KRAD in Grand Forks. The consensus in the industry is she needs an equally capable programming executive to manage the burden of talent development and strategy. WCCO delivers the decision-makers the company is trying to reach. . Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. CCOs power ratios [the revenue premium it derives above what ratings metrics would dictate] are what make it hard to change, says former programming boss Andy Bloom, whom Knoepke hired in 2018, but was replaced in less than a year. Pilots flying over the Upper Midwest reported watching the lights go out all over the region each night when Adams finished his 10 pm newscast. Because that would require, at least temporarily, sacrificing the several million dollars The Wolf bills. It seems kinda weird, I dunno. Strike-weary listeners sampled the better fidelity of the FM band, and realized it offered weather, traffic, and news, and some stayed. Still, the local industry was shocked when Northern Lights sold both frequencies to a nonprofit religious broadcaster for just $2.45 million. 75% of the state is experiencing severe drought. This site has some photos and recordings. CBS was forced to sell off its stake in the WCCO stations in 1954 due to Federal Communications Commission ownership limits in effect at the time. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. ICYMI: An air quality alert is in effect through Tuesday, with conditions being called unprecedented. Local television personality Boyd Huppert of Kare-11 called into WCCO Friday afternoon to reveal heartbreaking news that has kept him off the air for weeks: He was diagnosed with probable lung cancer. 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. More will be added, so check back. Paul Douglas loses his job at WCCO - Star Tribune Knoepke is clearly talking about revenues, because CCO does not win in any key daypart. WCCO seized the opportunity, curating a lineup of legends and dominance in audience metrics. Moms of autistic kids form support group in Alexandria. The vendor provider (Spectrum) no longer has a contract to carry the station. / CBS Minnesota. Development of talent is an industrywide problem, says Bloom. Those continuing to use over-the-air TV would not be required to purchase any new equipment, as many consumers did during the 2009 transition from analog to digital broadcasts. It has to be distinctive, even memorable. The time may come when one does not preclude the other WCCO broadcasters were known across the Midwest. The supposition is that to maximize the economic leverage of owning an urban radio cluster, one or another of these groups will engage in a sale or swap to produce a second six-station cluster. Theyll take a look at it.. Same issue. The . 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. The Frank and Amelia show: Inside the marriage of WCCO's power couple Channel 4 is completely gone from the lineup. A full day's programming of music and a large news operation could be heard clearly for 150 miles in all directions.