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WKTZ Format Change?

John1 said:
Per radio Insight, WKTZ management is saying they may be forced to sell the station or change formats if they cannot meet their financial goals. They are one of the last remaining beautiful music stations in Jacksonville, Florida. They have been around for decades - Back in the era of beautiful music radio they were on the commercial dial at 96.1. http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/86435/wktz-jacksonville-pleading-for-survival/
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I think you mean one of the last remaining beautiful music stations anywhere. Because no market in this day and age will have more than one.
 
I can't say I'm surprised to hear that things are going the way that they are! This format really started imploding in 1990 and two years later was a mere shadow of its old self! IIRC didn't the ORIGINAL WKTZ at 96.1 go away in 1990? I'll confess I dislike the format for numerous reasons; not the least of which includes lack of innovation and lack of proper and appropriate material. Nevertheless, I have to admire the powers-that-be for hanging in there as long as they have. Frankly, I think the format has more than run its course and I feel there are niches for more innovative programming not available on the air right now that are going unmet. I would advise the college not to sell the station if they can avoid it. If they need to decrease the power, so be it. Just find programming needs that are going unmet that will attract an audience with the funds needed to keep it going. Ideas to consider could include traditional jazz, mellower alternative rock or classical. Block programming might also be an option.

Now something else to consider would be to have WJAX 'pick up some of the slack' where WKTZ left off. If conditions permit, offer a hybrid revenue model where the station survives on both donations and advertisement. Go to an in-house produced format combining both standards and MAYBE some easy listening, but feature ORIGINAL recordings and try to lay off the remakes! Bob Bittner has had success with his stations in Massachusetts and Maine utilizing non-commercial pop-standards formats, maybe this could be an option for 1220.
 
WKTZ is awfully stuffy for what it is. The imaging really needs an overhaul as well as the music selections.
 
WKTZ had already left the 96.1 frequency by 1990. I made a trip to central FL in July of '89, and 96.1 was already WEJZ at that point. It was probably some time in the mid to late 80's when WKTZ moved to 90.9 and 96.1 became WEJZ.
 
It was 1986 when Jones College sold WKTZ-AM 1220 and WKTZ-FM 96.1 to WIN Communications. WKTZ-AM became adult standards WRXJ while WKTZ-FM became adult contemporary WLCS (Class 96.1). It was at this point when Jones Colleges' sole remaining radio station WFAM, which had been programming traditional and fusion jazz, became WKTZ and picked up the beautiful music programming that was previously heard on 96.1. WIN acquired the former WJAX-AM 930, which became the new WRXJ, and donated 1220 back to Jones College. WRXJ 1220 once again became WKTZ creating WKTZ 1220 and WKTZ-FM 90.9. WLCS briefly returned to beautiful music in 1990 as WEJZ before becoming soft AC Lite 96.1 while WKTZ-AM became WJAX once those call letters became available after the former WAPE 690 (now WOKV) relinquished the WJAX call letters in 1987, returning to WAPE.

The current WKTZ has remained unchained for over 27-years, aging with its core audience, and is the only traditional beautiful music FM in the U. S.
 
If Jones College was forced to sell WKTZ or change formats, what about the possibility of moving WKTZ to an online-only format? Many schools and Universities have taken that route...WAWL "The Wall" in Chattanooga being one. If WKTZ went internet-only, the station could save some of the money it currently spends on operating the FM signal. The AM could also be sold off to another party as a means to raise money.
 
passtheword said:
If Jones College was forced to sell WKTZ or change formats, what about the possibility of moving WKTZ to an online-only format? Many schools and Universities have taken that route...WAWL "The Wall" in Chattanooga being one. If WKTZ went internet-only, the station could save some of the money it currently spends on operating the FM signal. The AM could also be sold off to another party as a means to raise money.
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Absolutely. Internet radio has come a long way since its inception. However, the big issue with internet only radio is its mobility. A very large percentage of radio listening is while driving, so, if the format were to leave terrestrial radio and focus solely on internet as a delivery method, station listening is severely limited. With newer technology, however, internet radio will be available via automobile. The question isn't "if" it will happen but, rather, "when".
 
jmtillery said:
The current WKTZ has remained unchained for over 27-years, aging with its core audience, and is the only traditional beautiful music FM in the U. S.
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I was going to say WMUU is another, though it leans heavily toward classical and may be a different style anyway.

And then I realized it's not FM anymore. You have to go online.
 
I believe that if WKTZ did have to make the switch to an online-only format it might go more smoothly than other station's transitions from broadcast to internet. I made a quick stop by WKTZ (actually Jones College Radio's) Facebook page a few days ago and found many posts from their listeners stating they listen to WKTZ via their mobile devices. I would imagine the common belief is that WKTZ appeals to people who are in their 60's and 70's who are averse to technology, the internet, etc, but I did see a comment too from one of their older listeners who had heard WKTZ could be heard all over the world, and they wanted to know how they could listen, too. I am still under the great belief, however, that many of the EZ/BM listeners of today are not elderly folks, but people who are in their 30's and 40's (maybe even 20's) who either grew up with their parents listening to the music...or have found it by other means. I know this to be true because I regularly hear from my listeners who tell me they are in these age brackets I just mentioned. I know several people who do similar online EZ/BM stations and, they are in their 30's and 40's (I am 45). Many of the younger listeners have a broader sense of how to listen to online radio via mobile devices, so, if WKTZ did opt to go internet-only, I believe that many of their listeners would be willing and knowledgeable enough to make the transition.

You are right, though, it is not a question of "if" but "when" internet radio becomes fully mobile. I do tell my listeners, though, if they are unable to listen with their mobile devices while driving, it's always good to download an app such as TuneIn where they can record the station via TuneIn and then play it back in the car. It's not live, but if you don't have access to online radio in the car (or can't afford the bandwidth), it is the way to go.
 
Bongwater said:
WKTZ is awfully stuffy for what it is. The imaging really needs an overhaul as well as the music selections.
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...And therein lies the problem: most of those old stale 'custom recordings' do little, if anything to draw an audience! Most of today's listeners find that kind of material that the station tries to pass off as music offensive. Don't get me wrong; there are SOME remakes that are worth listening to. But most of the rest are just pure garbage! I say you shouldn't do a remake just for the sake of doing a remake! Do the song/selection justice!!! Methinks the powers-that-be at JCR just want to continue operating as they had done in years past. You might win a handful of people over under the age of 65 with that mentality; but those are the exceptions, NOT the rule! In today's day and age when you consider that the Jones College Radio Facebook page has only 355 members as of right now, I think that's pretty damned pathetic! There are smaller stations with almost if not as many members on their pages; and some have more!

If Jones wants to continue with this format, it cannot continue with business as usual! It MUST have a major overhaul - AND I MEAN 'MAJOR'! The 1960s and 1970s are long gone and you cannot continue to attract younger audiences with stuffy, stale and cheesy remakes! Get rid of most of the old orchestral remakes. If a recording has viability, such as Percy Faith's "Theme From a Summer Place", OK. It might not be a bad idea to trash many of the 'smooth jazz' remakes as well. I would add some artists like Acoustic Alchemy and include music from the Dan Fogelberg and Tim Weisberg collaborations. That's just for starters. Another decent example of how EZ listening can work is WEZV Myrtle Beach SC. Maybe with WKTZ being non-commercial, they can be a little more daring.
 
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