October 2015 Ratings.....

[deejaywestbrook]

http://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb047

 

[secondchoice]

I guess I will start things.

Caller 10 can breathe a sigh of relief. WSB FM has stopped their slide. Completion in CHR and Country should make the market better. Rock 100 had rebound. I am not a fan of Cumulus but there have been many posts about what WNNX should be playing. 100.5 has a fair signal in Atlanta, but not a great signal. My suggestion: swap with 106.7 and try to dam up The River.* 100.5 in mono could work for a News Radio, or would “Hot AC” bill better than News Talk? When Cumulus restructures some lucky manager with the blessing of the trustee / Judge will be able lead stations in three or four radio wars: CHR, Country, Classic Rock, and possibly Hot AC or AC, or news talk.

*IMHO IF Rock 100 ever succeeds there has to be a serious upgrade of the morning show

 

[littlejohn]

Pick a format that the core city will like. 100.5 covers 285 well, OTP some places are diamonds, some are stones.

 

[acheron1982]

I'm not so sure placing 106.7 on 100.5 will be the best idea. 106.7 has not successfully established itself in ratings and is basically a dud. Cumulus has spent a lot of time imaging that station at 106.7 and changing the frequency to a weaker signal doesn't seem to be the best idea.

Rock 100.5 doesn't appear to be a competitive force for 97.1 The River. Notice how ratings for The River has dropped over the last few books but those listerners are NOT going to 100.5. 100.5 has stayed basically flat (give or take a point or two).

Cumulus needs to scrap 100.5 as a classic rock station and go for an AC or Variety Hits station. I don't believe classic hits (oldies) will work but I think a Variety Hits or AC station that dips into the 80s a lot would suffice. I believe that format should be on 100.5.

For 106.7, I believe it should go active or alternative. Active Rock is not doing that well across the nation (generally speaking) but Atlanta can't handle two alternative stations (though Radio 105.7 is a sorry excuse for alternative). I say 106.7 goes active or alternative/active hybrid. That signal reaches both Atlanta and Athens. Athens has two horrible modern rock stations but I don't know anyone who listens to them. They are cheap and basically all over the place. I don't believe Cumulus has an active/alternative hybrid so it would likely have to be one or the other which I believe active would do the best until Radio 105.7 changes formats which I believe it will in the next year or so. By that point, perhaps if 106.7 active rock format is not working out, they could lean more alternative without a complete format change. I think 106.7 is the best signal for that sorta format because of it's location with Athens and Atlanta.

Note: Westwood has a Variety Hits station. 100.5 could be local during the day and satellite at night. Just an idea....


Also, I want to point out that both Kicks and Q100 have showed improvement.

 

[Firebird61]

When was the last time anyone saw a billboard around town for any of the Cumulus stations? For a company that relies on advertising as a main source of revenue, Cumulus does none of their own. In the short-term, putting up some billboards advertising the current formats is cheaper than overhauling a station, paying off the contracts of the fired talent, and starting from scratch with a format that may fail worse than its predecessor.

 

[kf4rca]

Looks Like WGKA Has Been Flushed!

They should have brought back Mark Levin!
106.7's problem is a lack of PROMOTION. Most listeners don't think of tuning to FM for news. That's an AM thing.
Its very hard to carve out a spot into an established market. Might take 10 years.

 

[Radio_Alex_1990]

I'm not so sure placing 106.7 on 100.5 will be the best idea. 106.7 has not successfully established itself in ratings and is basically a dud. Cumulus has spent a lot of time imaging that station at 106.7 and changing the frequency to a weaker signal doesn't seem to be the best idea.

Rock 100.5 doesn't appear to be a competitive force for 97.1 The River. Notice how ratings for The River has dropped over the last few books but those listerners are NOT going to 100.5. 100.5 has stayed basically flat (give or take a point or two).

Cumulus needs to scrap 100.5 as a classic rock station and go for an AC or Variety Hits station. I don't believe classic hits (oldies) will work but I think a Variety Hits or AC station that dips into the 80s a lot would suffice. I believe that format should be on 100.5.

For 106.7, I believe it should go active or alternative. Active Rock is not doing that well across the nation (generally speaking) but Atlanta can't handle two alternative stations (though Radio 105.7 is a sorry excuse for alternative). I say 106.7 goes active or alternative/active hybrid. That signal reaches both Atlanta and Athens. Athens has two horrible modern rock stations but I don't know anyone who listens to them. They are cheap and basically all over the place. I don't believe Cumulus has an active/alternative hybrid so it would likely have to be one or the other which I believe active would do the best until Radio 105.7 changes formats which I believe it will in the next year or so. By that point, perhaps if 106.7 active rock format is not working out, they could lean more alternative without a complete format change. I think 106.7 is the best signal for that sorta format because of it's location with Athens and Atlanta.

Note: Westwood has a Variety Hits station. 100.5 could be local during the day and satellite at night. Just an idea....


Also, I want to point out that both Kicks and Q100 have showed improvement.

I believe someone told me that Cumulus would not ditch the format on 106.7 because of billing reasons. What a sad joke that is (if that is indeed accurate). Anyhow, IMO Alternative is my best choice for either 100.5 or 106.7! I do think Cumulus will determine the fate within the next few months for both Rock 100.5 and News 106.7 soon - meaning if they will continue their formats. Unlike other Alternatives, Radio 105.7 sounds blah. I do think once November get's rollin, Christmas music on 106.7 will be nice and give management enough time to decide what format will be best.

Thoughts on the "new" Star 94? Too early to conclude that the station is not vastly improving its identity?

 

[acheron1982]

I believe someone told me that Cumulus would not ditch the format on 106.7 because of billing reasons. What a sad joke that is (if that is indeed accurate). Anyhow, IMO Alternative is my best choice for either 100.5 or 106.7! I do think Cumulus will determine the fate within the next few months for both Rock 100.5 and News 106.7 soon - meaning if they will continue their formats. Unlike other Alternatives, Radio 105.7 sounds blah. I do think once November get's rollin, Christmas music on 106.7 will be nice and give management enough time to decide what format will be best.

Thoughts on the "new" Star 94? Too early to conclude that the station is not vastly improving its identity?

I would not go alternative until something happens with Radio 105.7. We had X107 trying that a few months ago and it didn't go anywhere. I also would be pretty aggressive with making sure the modern rock format (active or alternative) is on the 106.7 signal because that signal covers Athens and Atlanta pretty well where as 100.5 only covers Atlanta. Some don't think Athens matters and with most formats, that may be true but with alternative or mainstream rock, I believe it does because a lot of times, especially with alternative music, most of your concerts go to Athens.

I think variety hits or AC, something plentiful on smaller FM sticks in rural areas of Georgia like Athens, would be best on 100.5 which has an in town signal. BTW - 100.5 has an amazing signal range considering it's current power. I can get 100.5 about as far out as 92.9.

Personally, I'm an alternative fan and am holding my breath for Star to ditch Hot AC and go Alternative. A entercom alternative station in Atlanta? OMG! Won't happen though because Star fluctuates but it still pulls in good numbers I think.

I think if 106.7 started of active and in a few years, after Radio 105 bites the dust (which it will), then perhaps Cumulus could tweak the station more in an alternative direction. Regarding the billing - I don't have those numbers for any station. My opinion is based on ratings so perhaps Rock 100.5 and 106.7 (and 105.7 for that matter) are billing very well and the ratings are not the complete story.

If anyone has any billing information on any of these stations (or others), please share.

 

[chrocket87]

The only billing number I've seen posted is for WRDA- and it's a very low $2.1 million.

I wouldn't hold your breath too long on Star flipping- especially to Alternative, given that billing number.

 

[acheron1982]

But do you think WRDA is billing low because alternative doesn't work in Atlanta or perhaps because WRDA is a sorry excuse for an alternative station with it's 100 song playlist that is 70% all hit base 90s and grunge anyway? Would it be fair to say that WRDA could get the hell out of the way and let another company try it?

I'm not holding my breath for STAR but only because I don't see them leaving the HOT AC format. I have no doubt that Entercom would do an amazing job though with an alternative or even active rock format. Entercom is literally the best without going strictly independent or college radio. I actually believe Cumulus does a better job at alternative than Iheart though.

 

[chrocket87]

I think the problem with WRDA is that, with the exception of some heritage stations (KROQ, KTBZ, WWDC), alternative just doesn't bill well at all. WRFF is a great station with pretty good ratings (they were better in 2012-13), but they're still treading water at about $4 million, especially compared to WMMR who is billing about six times as much. It just seems that alternative is very hard to sell. That said, if it can make a little bit of profit on a "cursed" frequency, as 105.7/96.7 areand 104.5 Philly too, iHeart will keep them around for the foreseeable future.

I agree that Entercom and Cumulus (at least in Chicago) put together much better sounding stations, I just don't see either of them launching anything in Atlanta.

Entercom's WLKK/Buffalo is my current stream of choice. Check it out if you have a minute.

 

[Radio_Alex_1990]

But do you think WRDA is billing low because alternative doesn't work in Atlanta or perhaps because WRDA is a sorry excuse for an alternative station with it's 100 song playlist that is 70% all hit base 90s and grunge anyway? Would it be fair to say that WRDA could get the hell out of the way and let another company try it?

I'm not holding my breath for STAR but only because I don't see them leaving the HOT AC format. I have no doubt that Entercom would do an amazing job though with an alternative or even active rock format. Entercom is literally the best without going strictly independent or college radio. I actually believe Cumulus does a better job at alternative than Iheart though.

Agreed, I think if Cumulus put an Alternative in Atlanta (either 100.5 or 106.7), it would lead to believe that WRDA is room with a lot more potential. They sound different from KTCL in Denver and I thought they were a good sounding iHeart Radio station similar to KTCL-FM. Whatever there smokin' (hehe) in Denver, seems to work. In Atlanta, eh, not so much. I would suggest Classic Hits but to me, Cumulus really took what WLS use to have and made it crap. So that s a no go in Atlanta.

Honestly, I think Cumulus needs to drop dead. They just don't know to run good radio stations. Entercom should consider in buying the Cumulus cluster. But that's a lot to ask for.

 

[secondchoice]

Honestly, I think Cumulus needs to drop dead. They just don't know to run good radio stations. Entercom should consider in buying the Cumulus cluster. But that's a lot to ask for.

With the Dickeys not running Cumulus anymore, and a the new CEO that has Bankruptcy experience, there will be some changes at The Cloud Company. Cumulus is not a basket case in Atlanta. They have the number one Country and CHR stations in the market (this months published 6+). Nationally the old ABC radio stations (usually an AM and a FM) should have had some other market covering FM signals. Yes you can be successful with one FM signal in a market but it takes experienced programmers which Citadel axed when they took over the old ABC radio operations.

 

[TheBigA]

Yes you can be successful with one FM signal in a market but it takes experienced programmers which Citadel axed when they took over the old ABC radio operations.

I'd suggest that Mike McVay is an experienced programmer, and Cumulus has hired some extremely experienced people in their markets. The problems they face aren't strictly programming, but financial. It's like the Braves. Can good pitching overcome bad hitting, or vice versa? Can great programming overcome bad sales? I don't know. But from what I can see, those ABC radio stations are extremely expensive to run. That may have been possible when combined with a TV station, but not as a standalone. And that's what they have.

 

[RadioDoogie]

The Other Side of the River @ 97.7 is a fantastic sounding classic alternative station with a large playlist. The signal is awful though. Doesn't get very far outside Gwinnett County. It really only sounds clear within 10 miles of the WSRV tower before getting choppy.

 

[ATL4Life]

I wish I could say Im hoping for Cumulus to ditch 100.5 or 106.7 but to be honest I cant imagine Cumulus replacing either of these stations with anything worth looking forward to. They already gave us a classic hip-hop station. Like others have been saying, an active rock or hot ac station seems like the likely replacements but i dont really like how cumulus handles either of these formats.

 

[WXAF]

That's mostly because there is a another station on 97.7 that comes from Rome. And also because of 97.9 translator.

 

[trusty]

"When was the last time anyone saw a billboard around town for any of the Cumulus stations? For a company that relies on advertising as a main source of revenue, Cumulus does none of their own.'


I know WTOP in DC is an established station, and DC is a very news-oriented market, BUT its ratings must reflect some promotion:
http://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb015

Just how much promotion did WTOP do when it changed from AM to FM, and what media did it use for its promotion?

 

[davideduardo]

I know WTOP in DC is an established station, and DC is a very news-oriented market, BUT its ratings must reflect some promotion:

The station has been in the high 7's to low 10's for the last decade. They ebb and flow with the amount of news, but there is nothing new about those huge numbers.

Just how much promotion did WTOP do when it changed from AM to FM, and what media did it use for its promotion?

WTOP had been simulcasting on multiple stations prior to its move to FM which included a period of transition. They used their own facility for most of the promotion, but I was told they did some extensive TV when the move was on. Of course, since coverage improved considerably when compared to the poor 1500 AM facility, they were in a position to pick up lots of listeners. On average, WTOP was a mid-3 to 4 share station from the 90's into the early 2000's.


Fall of '05 was a 2.5. Sprint of '06 was a 5.7 and then it just kept growing. The change occurred in January, 2006 and the AM became a new format in March. So the "Promotion" they did was change to FM and vastly expand coverage.

 

[Radio_Alex_1990]

The station has been in the high 7's to low 10's for the last decade. They ebb and flow with the amount of news, but there is nothing new about those huge numbers.




WTOP had been simulcasting on multiple stations prior to its move to FM which included a period of transition. They used their own facility for most of the promotion, but I was told they did some extensive TV when the move was on. Of course, since coverage improved considerably when compared to the poor 1500 AM facility, they were in a position to pick up lots of listeners. On average, WTOP was a mid-3 to 4 share station from the 90's into the early 2000's.


Fall of '05 was a 2.5. Sprint of '06 was a 5.7 and then it just kept growing. The change occurred in January, 2006 and the AM became a new format in March. So the "Promotion" they did was change to FM and vastly expand coverage.[/QUOTE