In November 2016, a man named William Ostrander, a 20-year veteran of the media company then-known as Entercom, acquired a once-powerhouse Adult Standards station owned by CBS from 1988 through early 2006. His plan: to refocus this AM radio station with a hyperlocal focus, and use an FM translator to funnel listeners to what would become “Buffalo’s Very Own.”
The $655,000 investment in WECK-AM and its first FM translator paid off. Today, a total of three FM translators rebroadcast WECK, a consistent Top 10 finisher in the Buffalo radio ratings. Now, that success, under the direction of Ostrander, professionally known as Buddy Shula, is poised to be extended to local broadcast television.
A joint sales alliance between WECK licensee Radio One Buffalo and the owner of WBBZ-TV, Code 3 Broadcasting, has been forged.
This is poised to bring new dollars to WBBZ, which uses virtual channel 67 but is branding itself as “Channel 5” thanks to its lineup position on Dish, DirecTV, Verizon FIOS and Charter Communications’ Spectrum cable TV services in Western New York.
And, it could benefit WECK, too, as the alliance is designed “to leverage the tremendous power of the 50+ demo,” the companies announced late Tuesday.
Fueling the effort is the full-service advertising agency aligned with WECK, Media One Buffalo.
Code 3 Broadcasting is owned by Phil Arno, and its DT1 programming comes courtesy of retro-programming specialist MeTV, the Weigel Broadcasting-owned network. While MeTV shows comprise the bulk of the WBBZ programming lineup, local fare including “Polka Buzz” with Ronnie D, “Passionate Living” with Cat Miller, and the Arno-hosted “The Big Picture” also attract viewers. There’s also “BIG WECK’s Buffalo on the Rise,” a WECK-affiliated program hosted by station host and market veteran Joe Chile.
Shula and WECK General Manager Don Tomasulo will lead the sales and marketing arm for WBBZ, giving the opportunity to combine both stations for businesses seeking a “one-stop shop” for reaching the AARP-aged consumer.
In a prepared statement, Shula commented, “BIG WECK has great partnerships with all of the television stations in the area, but the partnership with WBBZ-TV is entirely designed to run the station’s sales division with mind-blowing ideas, affordable advertising rates, and incredible local programming.”
Shula recalled the past radio/TV combos that existed in Buffalo for the NBC, CBS and ABC affiliates. “It’s time to merge like this again to provide advertisers with more tools to promote their business,” he said.
While the companies are not merging, the sales alliances is poised to bring cross-media opportunities in a market where AM radio remains particularly strong, and local TV and the Buffalo News daily newspaper enjoy strong consumer appeal.
“It’s a partnership we’ve always thought would make incredible sense,” Arno said. “Two of Buffalo’s largest independently owned broadcast companies are coming together to serve our local communities even better. Nobody knows local marketing better than Buddy, and nobody does local TV better than WBBZ. Buddy’s systems and processes have helped ‘BIG WECK’ radio shoot into the stratosphere, and we are looking forward to his help and knowledge with WBBZ, which is one of the top affiliates in the entire country for MeTV programming. This partnership begins immediately, and we are already seeing the
power that the alliance can deliver.”
