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Looks like Mix 92.9 is falling fast and hard!

C

Commo Chief

http://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb073

I haven't listen to them in a while so I really don't know what's going on there.
Whatever it is, seems it has taken place since the new owners took over.
Guess the Christmas music can't come soon enough form them this year.
 
They sound the same, and that may be the problem, tastes are changing.
My question is with WNRQ doing so well and WKDF dropping would Cumulus switch KDF to a classic rock station?
 
The numbers on that site don't tell you much of anything that is important. WJXA has been in less than first place on publicly released ratings many times before over many years.
 
I may be misunderstanding what you are trying to say, but I think Mix has held the number one position in the Nashville ratings for two dozen books in the "key" demographics. The recent post-Christmas ratings decline was because of serious and on-going signal issues and since then Mix has had a recovery issue. I also think the Mix music has been really evolving for a couple of years and it is intended to blend well with moms who have teens that listen to The River. That crossover is a smart move for keeping the proper demographic and ensuing national ad revenue.

As for The Rock, that is a demographic that supports the ratings, but doesn't get the love from agencies and that is mainly why you don't see a race to challenge them. Country gets the love and money over any Classic Rock station, online and OTA. If you go by ratings, yes it seems like the smart move. It would be nice to see KDF re-rock. The Rock has been up and down over the years, much more than Mix and I agree - KDF has never been the powerhouse in the ratings since the first few books of going country. I have always wished they would re-Rock it and announce the flip during a Titans game. I guess that would go virtually unnoticed. Now a Preds game....
 
Tibbs4 said:
As for The Rock, that is a demographic that supports the ratings, but doesn't get the love from agencies and that is mainly why you don't see a race to challenge them. Country gets the love and money over any Classic Rock station, online and OTA. If you go by ratings, yes it seems like the smart move. It would be nice to see KDF re-rock. The Rock has been up and down over the years, much more than Mix and I agree - KDF has never been the powerhouse in the ratings since the first few books of going country. I have always wished they would re-Rock it and announce the flip during a Titans game. I guess that would go virtually unnoticed. Now a Preds game....
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Fine points!

All formats are not created equal. Here are top billers from the highest to the lowest. Multiple stations on a line indicate virtual ties.

WGFX
WKXA
WNRQ / WJCK
WRVW/ WUBT / WWTN
WSIX
WBUZ
WSM-FM / WKDF / WQQK
WFFH / WLAC/ WPRT
WRLT

The market, in total bills about $63 million a year. Those stations listed about account for between $53 and $54 million of the billing.
 
Whenever people attack the Jack format, Nashville is the market I bring up. It's been consistently a ratings and revenue winner.

Also interesting to see the disparity between the two sports stations. One has the Titans, the other the Predators. While The Game had a nice bounce during the Stanley Cups, it didn't come close to GFX.
 
Tibbs4 said:
KDF has never been the powerhouse in the ratings since the first few books of going country. I have always wished they would re-Rock it and announce the flip during a Titans game. I guess that would go virtually unnoticed. Now a Preds game....
Click to expand...
That ship has long since sailed, Tibbs. I don't see KDF ever going back to rock. 105.9 has certainly slipped in recent years, but they are still better than the so-called "rock" that KDF was playing.
 
BigA - I have to say, I am surprised that the Nashville Jack-FM has managed to hold so strong for so long. Maybe you could speak to this, but I guess it could be that the Nashville radio dial is so precise that it allows for a large enough hole to draw the numbers.

David - Recently, I have not had time to pay attention to the top $ rankings, but for years Mix and Jack drove the rates in the market and were #1 and #2. I would have expected the River and WSIX to be in the Top 5, especially in the last five years. I can see WSIX not being as strong in the last few years. NRQ seems to have always been on a ratings roller coaster and I am surprised there is that much revenue for that station, demo and format, but it has been on a nice roll. I have always though WGFX was solid at #3 and not #1 during most of the year. Interesting!

Interesting that the three country stations have basically beat themselves down, but combined they still draw in a lot of revenue. So is it worth it to just stay where they are? I am shocked that WBUZ is outperforming QQK, WSM-FM and WKDF. That signal is tough in places and I am surprised Bud is fielding that solid of a sales team. (Not meant as a cut down, more the obstacles of his cluster of stations.) BigA - a fair observation on 102.5 The Game. The poor signal is cursed and has so many technical issues.

Fire - hope you are well. I agree that KDF was never the greatest radio station. I avoided it because it was just too much redneck rock for me back in the day. It totally fell apart in the last three years. I am simply saying it would be interesting to see the station go in a different direction and shake things up. I know it takes money and a lot of effort that may end up being for not. Just my competitive nature, I guess. Polka 103.
 
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Tibbs4 said:
BigA - I have to say, I am surprised that the Nashville Jack-FM has managed to hold so strong for so long. Maybe you could speak to this, but I guess it could be that the Nashville radio dial is so precise that it allows for a large enough hole to draw the numbers.
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What I've been told is that one of the key people in the format actually lives in Nashville and is very involved in the programming of the station. The format as it was designed was supposed to allow for a lot of input from programming, and was supposed to refresh its music frequently to prevent burn. I suspect he's the reason why this station still manages to do so well without any local personalities in a market where other stations put a lot of emphasis on personality.

Tibbs4 said:
BigA - a fair observation on 102.5 The Game. The poor signal is cursed and has so many technical issues.
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Plus most of the day is eaten up with syndicated ESPN programming, which can't help.
 
TheBigA said:
What I've been told is that one of the key people in the format actually lives in Nashville and is very involved in the programming of the station. The format as it was designed was supposed to allow for a lot of input from programming, and was supposed to refresh its music frequently to prevent burn. I suspect he's the reason why this station still manages to do so well without any local personalities in a market where other stations put a lot of emphasis on personality.
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Like you have said - sometimes you have to fish in different waters. Compete against a high-energy, personality-driven station with a music intensive station like Jack. In Nashville, Jack has basically had Howard Cogan liners for years, although it has had some new talent mixed in from time to time. You are correct, Big A. Garry Wall, one of the creators of the format lives here, but to my knowledge he is pretty hands off and let's the team at Mix and Jack take the local lead. The music has been pretty much the same since Jack started her, but I do agree that turning off some songs for a period of time has been a smart move.



TheBigA said:
Plus most of the day is eaten up with syndicated ESPN programming, which can't help.
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Correct and Amen! The format is painfully expensive and I wonder if it has ever been profitable for Cromwell.
 
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Tibbs4 said:
Fire - hope you are well. I agree that KDF was never the greatest radio station. I avoided it because it was just too much redneck rock for me back in the day. It totally fell apart in the last three years. I am simply saying it would be interesting to see the station go in a different direction and shake things up. I know it takes money and a lot of effort that may end up being for not. Just my competitive nature, I guess. Polka 103.
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Interesting to note that Classic Hits 93.3 had an entry in this year's July 4th parade here in Pegram. This despite the fact that we are on the wrong side of the ridge from their transmitter on the ch. 4 tower, and the country station from Paducah (!) often overruns their signal here. While the other parade entrants were throwing out candy, 93.3 had their stickers! So I've got more now to donate to the TRHoF! You can probably still see their car on their Facebook page. (Yeah, the Game comes in here really well (we are their COL, after all) but I am not really interested in sports programming. Although I loved it as a broadcaster because it was easy $$$!)
 
If you take away the Preds money, what do you really have left? I have heard that Bud was talked into the sports format by a group of people (mostly all now off the station) and sold a scenario of success based upon WGFX (and prior to that WWTN.) In theory, it should have worked, but as we talk about, times have changed and given the signal issues, advertising expenses being cut and the market just having so many bottom feeders on the sports dial, I guess it never really caught on. I figure it must be a five year contract to lease the air time from Bud. He seems to have not really worried about it.

I have heard that Lightning 100 does bill better than many people think or see in the trades. My guess is because they do some very smart marketing events (concerts, Live on the Green, lots of local music venue remotes, online, etc.) They have taken a cue from the various country sideline (non-OTA) money generators that you have mentioned before.
 
Tibbs4 said:
If you take away the Preds money, what do you really have left? I have heard that Bud was talked into the sports format by a group of people (mostly all now off the station) and sold a scenario of success based upon WGFX (and prior to that WWTN.) In theory, it should have worked, but as we talk about, times have changed and given the signal issues, advertising expenses being cut and the market just having so many bottom feeders on the sports dial, I guess it never really caught on. I figure it must be a five year contract to lease the air time from Bud. He seems to have not really worried about it.
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Two words: George Plaster. He originally went to WGFX to get away from Cumulus, then Cumulus took over Citadel, and he had to move again. So we have two stations in Nashville that busted up their previous formats for George Plaster, and now he is no longer even in radio!
 
firepoint525 said:
Cool, maybe WSM will eventually try again with a sports format, much to the chagrin of all those out-of-towners who so vociferously complained!

I seem to recall that Dave Ramsey once also had that spot.
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If only WSM could get NASCAR back...1010/100.7 is fine, but 650 doesn't die out anywhere in the market with its max power.
 
firepoint525 said:
That ship has long since sailed, Tibbs. I don't see KDF ever going back to rock. 105.9 has certainly slipped in recent years, but they are still better than the so-called "rock" that KDF was playing.
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You must have been listening in the late 70s when KDF/KDA seemed to be all Eagles and Firefall (Acoustic rock) I listened starting about 1970 and the content I heard in the early 70s has never been beat. What was 105.9 in the late 70s? The Buzz? Something about a bumble bee. Remember that rock station?
 
PirateJohnny said:
You must have been listening in the late 70s when KDF/KDA seemed to be all Eagles and Firefall (Acoustic rock) I listened starting about 1970 and the content I heard in the early 70s has never been beat. What was 105.9 in the late 70s? The Buzz? Something about a bumble bee. Remember that rock station?
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I moved here in '92, and they were all grunge by then. I never heard the all Eagles/Firefall, or the "redneck rock" that Tibbs mentioned earlier.

I remember 92.3 in Jackson (I am from west TN) taking a call from a listener in Waverly on a Saturday night back in the '80s who said something to the effect of "y'all are outrockin' 'KDF tonight!" (Worth noting that 92 in Jackson was not a "rock" station at the time, if my memory serves me well.)
 
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