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93.7 The River

Format was stale on Day 1. People who are repelled by
petrified playlists won't be impressed by The River.

AAA requires an NPR approach. Commercial Radio must think
it's not worth the effort to try something fresh...
 
Format was stale on Day 1. People who are repelled by
petrified playlists won't be impressed by The River.

AAA requires an NPR approach. Commercial Radio must think
it's not worth the effort to try something fresh...

I've turned it on twice and heard the same song... I tend to agree.

Ultimately, I only care how a station sounds (processing, signal, etc). Program it with whatever you want. :)
 
Format was stale on Day 1. People who are repelled by
petrified playlists won't be impressed by The River.

AAA requires an NPR approach. Commercial Radio must think
it's not worth the effort to try something fresh...

I think some AAA variation can be done a number of ways. I like KTHX in Reno, I listen whenever I'm in Tahoe and it seems to work well for that market. I've also heard classic rock stations with a AAA lean. Kind of like what KZHP does (although that would be more of an album rock station with AAA lean). This approach works for classic rock stations since much of the newer stuff by the classic rock artists fits the AAA mold. And many of the AAA artists are band-oriented and blend well with guitar driven classic rock.

It's too bad The River doesn't offer much beyond your standard 400-song classic rock library. The "10 at 10" feature doesn't go very deep in album cuts.
 
Format was stale on Day 1. People who are repelled by
petrified playlists won't be impressed by The River.

AAA requires an NPR approach. Commercial Radio must think
it's not worth the effort to try something fresh...

I think some AAA variation can be done a number of ways. I like KTHX in Reno, I listen whenever I'm in Tahoe and it seems to work well for that market. I've also heard classic rock stations with a AAA lean. Kind of like what KZHP does (although that would be more of an album rock station with AAA lean). This approach works for classic rock stations since much of the newer stuff by the classic rock artists fits the AAA mold. And many of the AAA artists are band-oriented and blend well with guitar driven classic rock.

It's too bad The River doesn't offer much beyond your standard 400-song classic rock library. The "10 at 10" feature doesn't go very deep in album cuts.
 
I think some AAA variation can be done a number of ways. I like KTHX in Reno, I listen whenever I'm in Tahoe and it seems to work well for that market.

Reno is a diary market, while Sacramento is a PPM market.

AAA stations may work in diary markets simply because their partisans tend to be enthusiastic, almost fanatical, and write down lots of listening in the diary.

In Reno, KTHX was just recently sold for an amount that was the same as its last year's billings. In other words, it sold for stick value, not for the profitability of the format. The buyer owns the market's other two rock stations, so this may be a "cheap price to control a market segment" or they may decide later to modify the under-performing format.

In any case, from an owner's perspective, KTHX was not a successful station. And AAA is not an option in a PPM market.
 
What exactly is a viable format these days? Corporate Radio has
massive debt and declining revenue.

A quality AAA format might get some non Radio users
passionate about the product again. David thinks
it's bad if listeners CARE about quality. Why have a
steak at a fine restaurant when you can have a hot dog?

AAA formats can often have the highest qualitative audience.
That should make it "viable"...
 
What exactly is a viable format these days? Corporate Radio has
massive debt and declining revenue.

I define that as some form of revenue.

If you're satisfied with the revenue you get and you can pay the bills, it's successful. :) I operate a Internet oldies station and it makes VERY little (if any) money. But I find ways to cover the cost of operating it (which is very different than this example) and the thousands of listeners I have love it. So I consider it viable.
 
KTHX has been so "unsuccessful" that multiple owners have kept the format for over 2 decades..

You're point is made and I agree. How do you define success? If you cover your operation costs and make some money then you're good to go. I know I'm over simplying it but not everyone is a major radio company trying to make millions. So much of radio is knee jerk these days. That's part of why people leave radio in droves for other content.
 
You're point is made and I agree. How do you define success? If you cover your operation costs and make some money then you're good to go. I know I'm over simplying it but not everyone is a major radio company trying to make millions. So much of radio is knee jerk these days. That's part of why people leave radio in droves for other content.

I agree also, it seems like everyone tries to pick a "safe" format with limited songs, like Classic Rock, they stick to the same "Rock Gods" that were real big, about 300-400 song playlist, just like the River playing almost the same as The Eagle, no originallity, at least Jack played the 80s New Wave and Mainstream hits that are ignored by Classic Rock, and for the AAA format it still works for KFOG 104.5 and KPIG.
 
I agree also, it seems like everyone tries to pick a "safe" format with limited songs, like Classic Rock, they stick to the same "Rock Gods" that were real big, about 300-400 song playlist, just like the River playing almost the same as The Eagle, no originallity, at least Jack played the 80s New Wave and Mainstream hits that are ignored by Classic Rock, and for the AAA format it still works for KFOG 104.5 and KPIG.


There is nothing new here. Stations will play all the songs that are not decidedly a tune-out for their core audience.

When progeressive rock stations played whatever the jock wanted, along came Lee Abrams who created the "Superstars" approach while in Raleigh, NC. That rapidly grew into a huge group of very high rated AOR stations in the biggest markets. The formula was to play the biggest, consensus hits. And that was in the early to mid 70's.

The progressive stations flipped, died or, occasionally, held out for a few more years.
 
David doesn't seem to understand it's now 2017.
Burned out formats are a huge TUNE OUT to many people.

Radio has far more competition now.
Rolling out another tired format won't bring in new listeners.
It might steal a few from the OTHER stale station, but that's all.
Everyone else moved on long ago...
 
Radio has far more competition now.

Yes it does! And most of the competition is NOT other stations. Millennials could care less about radio. My kids (Age 8 and 10) could ALSO care less. My point -- these demos they're trying to reach are aging out. 15-20 years and FM and AM (if it's still alive) are where religious stations and talk radio will reside.

iHeart is one of the smartest broadcasters to focus on the iHeart App. Ultimately, the content wins, the delivery does not. The way content is monitized also changes. The days of the 5 minute spot block are fading fast.
 
I would predict radio will be around long after TV dies. With sports leagues signing deals with services like Google and networks putting more product online while demanding increased reverse comp, TV could have a lot of problems in the not too distant future.

That's not to say radio doesn't have problems. Broadcasters need to start thinking of themselves as content providers more than transmitters (and I agree with you that iHeart is a good idea, though it's not hugely profitable right now), but radio can provide quality programming and good talent more cheaply than TV, and that will sustain it a lot longer.
 
I would predict radio will be around long after TV dies. With sports leagues signing deals with services like Google and networks putting more product online while demanding increased reverse comp, TV could have a lot of problems in the not too distant future.

That's not to say radio doesn't have problems. Broadcasters need to start thinking of themselves as content providers more than transmitters (and I agree with you that iHeart is a good idea, though it's not hugely profitable right now), but radio can provide quality programming and good talent more cheaply than TV, and that will sustain it a lot longer.

All good points. I hadn't really thought about TV but you're absolutely right. We're really not far off from true IPTV service with all the main networks, local news, etc...
 
Yes it does! And most of the competition is NOT other stations. Millennials could care less about radio. My kids (Age 8 and 10) could ALSO care less. My point -- these demos they're trying to reach are aging out. 15-20 years and FM and AM (if it's still alive) are where religious stations and talk radio will reside.

iHeart is one of the smartest broadcasters to focus on the iHeart App. Ultimately, the content wins, the delivery does not. The way content is monitized also changes. The days of the 5 minute spot block are fading fast.

If religious stations and talk radio take over in 15 or 20 years, Most Stations on FM might end up going off the air
 
No No I don't think so, Free radio doesn't use minutes on the phone blue tooth to car, I like Iheart, and if you like Casey Kasum, Mix 107.7 WMMX will have a classic show from April 23 1983 at 3AM this morning , and if you cant stay up JACK-FM 102.7 Baltimore has it at 5PM on Sunday, anyways FM radio will always will be around and AM too, you need both, without the broadcast radio there's no IHeart, or Radio.com (CBS) makes sense I hope!!!
 
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No No I don't think so, Free radio doesn't use minutes on the phone blue tooth to car,

Streaming, whether using a newer car built in feature or via Bluetooth from your mobile device does not use minutes. It uses a portion of your data plan, in audio streaming which is very compressed does not rapidly deplete most plans.
 
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