Star 94.7-FM struggles despite strong ratings

For Skip Bednarczyk, it’s a time of celebration and disappointment.

The owner and operator of Star 94.7-FM, the Mahoning Valley’s only Adult-Urban Contemporary radio station, recently achieved his goal of starting a station and making it a market leader. In the fall 2015 Nielsen ratings book, Star 94.7 finished second among the Valley’s 14 stations, behind country kingpin WQXK-FM (K105).

Not bad for a station that didn’t even exist two years ago. Bednarczyk is a lifelong radio pro and a turnaround specialist who revived the late JAMZ 101.9-FM, only to see it get sold.

He decided to take his destiny in his own hands in 2014 when he bought WGFT-AM and an FM translator (that’s a device that sends the signal out on the FM band). He specifically targeted the Valley’s adult black listeners – 35 and older – with a mix of current and classic R&B.

It’s different from JAMZ, which was a hip-hop station that had a much younger-skewing audience.

Bednarczyk’s gamble worked, as the Nielsen book proves. He had the highest market share for an FM translator in the entire country, and also the highest share of any black station in Ohio and the five states that surround it.

What’s more, Star 94.7 carved out a niche as a small independent company in a radio market dominated by national chains.

The problem is, while he caught the ears of listeners, he has struggled to get advertisers. As a result, Star 94.7 is a break-even proposition despite its solid base of local folks who tune it in.

Last year, the Federal Communications Commission eased its rules on the sale and transfer of AM stations with FM translators, and Bednarczyk has been getting a steady stream of offers for his. In a moment of weakness, he accepted one for $325,000 that would have moved the station to Latrobe, Pa. But the offer had technical flaws and was rejected by the FCC.

Bednarczyk said this week that he has since changed his mind about selling and is glad the deal fell through. He wants to give it another shot by bolstering his sales efforts. With the Ohio primary looming, he could be in for a windfall of political ads.

But he is definitely frustrated. It’s evident in his voice.

Like all old media, radio stations are fighting over a rapidly shrinking advertiser base. And there is also the unmistakable fact that many advertisers just aren’t interested in Star 94.7’s demographics, despite his reasonable ad rates.

Bednarczyk, who is white, won’t name names, but he knows the score. But he refuses to play the race card.

Star 94.7 listeners are mostly mothers and fathers, working people with careers and money to spend, he said. But advertisers just aren’t getting on board.

For now, Bednarczyk will keep Star 94.7-FM on the air. But its future is murky at best.