Indiana RadioWatch: February 18, 1998

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We'll start this week in Indianapolis, where media coverage of the arrival of Howard Stern is plentiful. The Indianapolis Star & News took a web poll on readers' preferences between Howard Stern, perennial Indy morning show The Bob & Tom Show, or neither. Out of 812 votes, 397 (48%) chose Stern, 362 (44%) voted for Bob & Tom, and 54 (6%) voted for neither. Whether or not Bob & Tom retain their current audience remains to be seen. Ratings show 20% of Indianapolis morning drive listeners listen to the Q-95 duo, currently syndicated to 30 stations. Bob & Tom and Stern complete via syndication in six cities: Fresno, Louisville, Hartford, Toledo, Akron, and the Quad Cities (Illinois/Iowa). In all six cities, Bob & Tom prove victorious (Arbitron 12+ numbers-wise).

Another facet to this story is ownership. Bob & Tom's flagship, WFBQ, is an SFX outlet, whereas WNAP (Stern) is owned by Emmis. Media insiders say Stern's arrival is retaliation for SFX acquiring Indianapolis Colts football broadcast rights. Emmis' WIBC(AM) (1070am, Indianapolis) aired the games for the past 14 years. This fall, WFBQ (94.7fm, Indianapolis) will start doing so.

Over in Wabash, WAYT(AM) and WWIP-FM (1510am, 105.9fm; both Wabash) are being sold for $285,000 to Mid-America Radio.

In Portland, Rob Weaver, an owner of Country/WPGW (1440am, 100.9fm; both Portland) was named Citizen of the Year by the Portland Chamber of Commerce for bringing top-name entertainment to the Jay County Fair.

John Dille, Owner & President of Pathfinder Communications was elected to the NAB Radio Board, starting this June. Pathfinder owns stations in South Bend and Fort Wayne.

The University of Evansville's WUEV will provide coverage of the Missouri Valley Conference basketball tournament on the web. Students from all ten schools will provide the play-by-play coverage after attending a workshop on sports broadcasting. If interested in hearing the broadcast, point your web browser to http://www.evansville.edu

That's it for this issue! See you in two weeks...

Blaine Thompson
Indiana RadioWatch

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