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Change May Add Listeners to Christian Radio Station

Posted on: Tuesday, 23 August 2005, 18:00 CDT

The Christian radio station WBNH may have gained audience when it was pushed out of its dial spot, 100.7 FM, in the Bloomington- Normal market this summer.

WBNH radio station manager Scott Krus admits to being anxious when he learned more than a year ago that the station would lose the dial frequency it had occupied since 1993.

The Federal Communications Commission auctioned it to the highest bidder as part of the way the way the regulatory agency auctions spots nationally.

The 100.7 FM spot went to Connoisseur Media of Wesport, Conn. The new radio station, "Magic" 100.7 FM WVMG Radio hit the air Friday with a lineup of contemporary music.

FCC auctions were disputed elsewhere, but Krus said his Christian station lacked the more than $2 million to buy the spot at auction or the means for a legal fight.

So, it turned to the alternative: The station went through the federal bureaucracy to get "bumped" to a spot nearby.

In July, it moved to its new frequency, 100.1 FM.

"If anything, we gained some listeners through changing frequency," Krus said a month after the transition.

The change forced the station into a publicity blitz that included ads in the secular press, direct mail and use of its own air time to inform listeners of the changeover.

The station blends inspirational music with Bible teaching. It is based in Pekin, where its primary signal broadcasts at 88.5. WBNH is an independent station affiliated with the Moody Broadcasting Network.

Its McLean County market runs through a secondary transmitter. The FCC opened secondary-trasmitter spots for auction.

Source: Pantagraph

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