For 50 years Jerry Lee spent his way to number one in ratings and revenue in Philadelphia with one radio station doing things that were proven to be counterintuitive for radio.
Radio wisdom says cut. Lee said spend and the results are indisputable. Over the years more than 10 times well-funded and orchestrated attacks on his FM station were launched and Lee won leaving the others defeated. In less than 2 years the new owners did what competitors couldn’t do for 50 years – totally tank WBEB-FM. It isn’t as simple as just cutbacks being the culprit. It is totally misunderstanding the stations DNA. With the pressure on due to coronavirus-related advertising shortfalls, studying the decline of WBEB could be lifesaving for others.
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