The New Easy 106.5 Jacksonville

[John FL]

A couple days ago, I returned back to Jax. I was locked into SiriusXM virtually the entire trip from South Florida. When I got to the St. Augustine Outlets, I tuned into the new Easy 106.5. The reception was fair and that was so disappointing.

It proves what I see as a competitive disadvantage in terrestrial radio. The signal improved by the WGV. For listeners who commute long distances to get to work and for those who listen at work on traditional table-top radios, full-market signals have the advantage. If the circumstances were different where Cox did not purchase TV stations and the news operations, Soft AC on 104.5 would probably have resulted in a market situation similiar to what is seen in S. Fla between heritage WLYF and WFEZ.

As we all know, Cox Media is a totally strategic company. The debut of Easy 106.5 does not represent a new awakening by them where they now embrace pop oldies. It’s not about offering music to under-served listeners but rather peeling off key listeners from a competitor that has grown to a point where certain key demos are no longer a slam dunk for their CHR WAPE. It’s the business of radio pure and simple.

I immediately noticed Susan Wise from their South Florida sister station WFEZ (Easy 93.1) doing part of the voice imaging on Easy 106.5. It’s my nature to think big. I’m also highly competitive by nature. Oh, the possibilities! Susan masterfully does the morning show on WFEZ. She’s been a part of the South Radio scene since 1997 and I totally respect her talents and strong community involvement.

Will Easy 106.5 offer personality into the music mix? Will they have a real, local community presence? History tells us Jacksonville has been trending in the direction of not making talent investments on stations with a Class A stick for example. I have a lot of issues with that type thinking because the true potential of the format may never be truly realized.

Decisions are made based on ratings and billing performance. If a format is held back because proper investments are not made, no one should be surprised at the results. Remember Sunny 94.1 and the disastrous decisions that virtually killed a really good niche for the market? Let’s hope history doesn’t once again repeat.

On my wish list, I would encourage Cox to hire a female morning show host who has name recognition in Jax. I would still love to see Susan Wise get a VT shift like PM drive. What a voice and she’s so beautiful! I had the pleasure meeting Susan a number of times. She's great with the public There’s a lot of great talent on South Florida’s Easy. Granted, theirs is a full market signal but an automated jukebox will guarantee at best a middle of the pack result.

I absolutely love the music. It’s a tough balancing act for sure. The station promotes itself as the place to hear songs not heard anywhere else on the radio. Well, that’s not exactly true. Music overlap is a reality but as long as someone ensures the music stays “refreshing” and that will happen with smart rotations and repetition that doesn’t discourage listening more.

Before I returned to Jax, I sent a blast email to around 140 people whom have participated over the years in listener panel research to determine listener preferences. Most had no clue about Easy 106.5. I would hope an advertising campaign is underway. I watch so very little TV. Maybe it's already going. Some of my vocal members expressed skepticism and that concerns me. It’s also something I’ve talked at length about on these boards over the years.

One said “in 8 months they’ll probably do something else just like they did with Magic.” Another said “It doesn’t pay to get excited over this as they are always pulling the plug on stations like this.” There’s a lot of resentment out there over the killing of a number of adult-based formats over the years in Jax. Cox has a lot of work ahead of them if they truly want to give Soft AC a shot. I wish them well. Regardless of strategy, I’m happy Jax finally has this format. Listeners deserve choices. You know I’ll be listening. I’m also not afraid to tell it like it is.

 

[John FL]

We continue. A number of questions remain. The biggest one is whether Easy 106.5 will have a talent lineup. For Jacksonville listeners, I’ve seen enough evidence to tell me upper end 25-54 and beyond chose a station not only for the kind of music featured but for personality as well. There are those who tune in specifically to hear their favorite morning show. A bond is formed between that voice/voices and them. Jukebox radio has economic advantages perhaps but listeners have lots of alternatives nowadays to include radio from other markets.

In the first post I mentioned Susan Wise from WFEZ in South Florida. She was very popular for many years on competing AC WLYF. When she arrived at Easy 93.1, a lot of the WLYF audience went with her. This was demonstrated in both the ratings and the incredible number of social media posts from the listeners. Clearly, the right talent is an asset and not a liability helping accelerate the station’s overnight success. Will we just go through the motions or will bold moves be made?

For a long time, I was not a fan of syndicated hosts. I’ve talked a lot about the merits of Tom Kent’s program. While his is geared for a Greatest Hits format, still M.I.A in Jax, I’ve also grown to appreciate Delilah. I spent most of the summer in South Florida sadly because of family illness and a passing. She was like medicine. I listened late into the evening on Easy 93.1 and she helped calm my nerves. She was the perfect accompaniment to the soft music. She’s #1 in that market. I’m not surprised because she relates to people when they need a friend. That beats jukebox radio and it helps get the ratings.

Delilah has been a long-time fixture on WEJZ. Probably the only way she could move to Easy 106.5 is if the station moved to a better signal and/or a fantastic deal was created for her. The most logical frequency on the dial is 102.9 if the signals eventually swap.When it was clear “102.9 The Point” was on its’ way out, I really believed AC would find a home there. In my view, that would have paid bigger dividends over time than X102.9. But again, corporate strategy is not always known. Rock 105 was squeezed further with more rock in the market but the big plan was to give their news/talk format a blowtorch stick at 104.5. And so it goes.

Another question revolves around Christmas programming. Like it or not, that will begin next month. WEJZ has established itself as “Jacksonville’s Official Christmas Music Station” or something to that affect. It generates big numbers for them. Do you compete directly? We saw Magic 107.3’s audience literally bail when they went all Christmas. The ratings didn’t improve until the week before Christmas. The station/format I believe is too new to start messing with the programming. I have a feeling Easy 106.5 will offer a Christmas song or two each hour and perhaps go all Christmas around a 12 Days of Christmas theme if even taken that far. Just a guess.

So, what will the ultimate impacts of Easy 106.5 be? That will be interesting to see. Thoughts?

 

[bclark71.]

WEJZ has established itself as “Jacksonville’s Official Christmas Music Station” or something to that affect. It generates big numbers for them. Do you compete directly? We saw Magic 107.3’s audience literally bail when they went all Christmas. The ratings didn’t improve until the week before Christmas. The station/format I believe is too new to start messing with the programming. I have a feeling Easy 106.5 will offer a Christmas song or two each hour and perhaps go all Christmas around a 12 Days of Christmas theme if even taken that far. Just a guess.

Conversely, will WEJZ close up shop on AC to go all-Chirstmas and leave AC listeners to go looking for something else to listen to? With a new competitor in town, that doesn't seem smart. 96.1 and 106.5 are night and day from a music perspective, but maybe some WEJZ listeners are there because they don't know of any other station that plays any sore of AC?