December Ratings

[DrAkbar]

6+ folks, so consider the source. KEZ on top with All Ho=Ho-Ho. KJZZ tops KTAR in news, while KNAI-AM with its translator, bounces back from the loss of 88~Three. (makes you wonder how much more 102~One will add?). For all the numbers: https://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb057

 

[indieradioguy]

6+ folks, so consider the source. KEZ on top with All Ho=Ho-Ho. KJZZ tops KTAR in news, while KNAI-AM with its translator, bounces back from the loss of 88~Three. (makes you wonder how much more 102~One will add?). For all the numbers: https://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb057

And how does Bonneville celebrate that 3.8? Why, of course - more Beans & Rice Radio to ring in the new year with-! They can't replay any more Best Of's or Year End's -- really?

 

[CAVEMANager]

Big story here has to be the decline of the country music stations. For years KNIX was on top and KMLE was close behind. Are those stations that badly programmed? Or maybe what passes for country music nowadays is so much like pop that there's no point in listening to it.

 

[TheBigA]

Big story here has to be the decline of the country music stations. For years KNIX was on top and KMLE was close behind. Are those stations that badly programmed? Or maybe what passes for country music nowadays is so much like pop that there's no point in listening to it.

Or maybe the problem is less the station or the music and more the demographic changes in the market.

 

[landtuna]

Big story here has to be the decline of the country music stations. For years KNIX was on top and KMLE was close behind. Are those stations that badly programmed? Or maybe what passes for country music nowadays is so much like pop that there's no point in listening to it.

Modern Country sucks just as badly as does modern Pop.

I ran into a 13-year old girl yesterday who was listening to her phone. I asked who she was listening to. Her answer? FRANK SINATRA! MIGOD....there IS hope!!!!

 

[DrAkbar]

Or maybe the problem is less the station or the music and more the demographic changes in the market.

Yes indeedy. KNIX performed extremely well in diary ratings, but not as strong with PPM. Factor in All Ho-Ho-Ho Music, and some of their listeners may have migrated to 99~Nine. But it's I ♥ Debt...so, left pocket or right pocket for the ad dollars?

 

[Fenwick]

What has happened to KSWG?

Big story here has to be the decline of the country music stations. For years KNIX was on top and KMLE was close behind. Are those stations that badly programmed? Or maybe what passes for country music nowadays is so much like pop that there's no point in listening to it.

They used to be a consistent 1 share now 0.3.

 

[Billkex]

I wish they would display the dial position, it would help.
Wow, KFYI has really dropped over the past couple years.

Where is 960 The Patriot? ...or KFNX?

 

[davideduardo]

Or maybe the problem is less the station or the music and more the demographic changes in the market.

Bingo. Please come forward for your prize.

And we can start with the market now being close to 35% Hispanic, mostly first and second generation... country does not start appealing among Hispanics till around third or fourth generation (such as in San Antonio).

 

[EricStein]

They used to be a consistent 1 share now 0.3.

Maybe they fixed their “piracy” problem? Happy now that Barna is falling?

I wish they would display the dial position, it would help.
Wow, KFYI has really dropped over the past couple years.

Where is 960 The Patriot? ...or KFNX?

I don’t think Salem and KFNX subscribe to the Nielsen numbers that allow 6+ ratings to be public. I doubt the other “traditional country” rimshot (KRDE) or the CRC stations do either.

 

[landtuna]

And we can start with the market now being close to 35% Hispanic, mostly first and second generation... country does not start appealing among Hispanics till around third or fourth generation (such as in San Antonio).

You sure about those 'generation' numbers? The third or fourth generation equals approximately 30 to 60 years of radio listening. I really doubt it takes more than one generation to have a significant impact upon music tastes. Perhaps even much less than that. Think what happened from the 1930's to the 1940's to the 1950's: three massive changes in music tastes then once again through the 60's, 70's (with a sub-change in Disco), and 80's. 90's have been different than the 2000's. That is a ton of change in just 3 generations.

Country hasn't changed as much but there are at least 3 or 4 different types of Country in that same time period.

Phoenix tends to be a different type of demographic due mainly to the influx of people from all over the country (including both south and north of the border). I don't think you would find such a big change in places like Mid-America farm country or in rural Texas. Big cities tend to have a much more diverse population so naturally musical tastes would also be represented.

But I think both you and Big A are correct in that it is the mixture of music and demographics that determines the difference and one does not outrank the other.

I still remember when KYA-FM in S.F. went from Classic RnR to Country in the early 80's. I wondered just what market analysis someone used to make that decision as S.F. has to be the largest non-Country demographic in the USA.

 

[DrAkbar]

I still remember when KYA-FM in S.F. went from Classic RnR to Country in the early 80's. I wondered just what market analysis someone used to make that decision as S.F. has to be the largest non-Country demographic in the USA.

Young Country was the next thing after the Urban Cowboy craze, so that explains the reasoning. 93~Three has always been a challenged frequency in the Bay Area. But interestingly enough it's now owned by SBS and features a Spanish language music format, billing itself La Raza.

 

[davideduardo]

You sure about those 'generation' numbers?

Yes. I have been responsible for spending millions of dollars researching Hispanic music tastes in dozens of US markets.

First generation brings their taste with them from the birth country. Second generation acquires elements of parents' taste in the home, and is influenced by peer groups in school; in some highly Hispanic areas, the peers may listen to mostly Spanish language music. But generally, second generation acquires taste for whatever the current blend of CHR is.

Third generation is generally totally English dominant, and music taste may start to broaden depending on both school and work peer groups and "market feel" and that means that country has a bigger chance to pick up Hispanics in Houston than in San Francisco.

The third or fourth generation equals approximately 30 to 60 years of radio listening. I really doubt it takes more than one generation to have a significant impact upon music tastes. Perhaps even much less than that.

As I said, first generation will stick with what they grew up with "in the old country" and not change. If they liked American Top 40 in Mexico, they will listen to Top 40 or CHR oldies in this country. But most will be regional Mexican listeners all their life.

Think what happened from the 1930's to the 1940's to the 1950's: three massive changes in music tastes then once again through the 60's, 70's (with a sub-change in Disco), and 80's. 90's have been different than the 2000's. That is a ton of change in just 3 generations.

You are talking about trends in the US among a stable population. In this case, we are talking about immigrants who, in the first generation bring well-formed music tastes with them.

Country hasn't changed as much but there are at least 3 or 4 different types of Country in that same time period.

But here we are talking about when in the generational chain Hispanics might be exposed to and start liking a music form that is not part of their cultural heritage, a process that involves environment, lifestyle, degree of assimilation and lots of other factors.

Phoenix tends to be a different type of demographic due mainly to the influx of people from all over the country (including both south and north of the border). I don't think you would find such a big change in places like Mid-America farm country or in rural Texas. Big cities tend to have a much more diverse population so naturally musical tastes would also be represented.

That is true to some extent in any Sunbelt growth market, from LA to Miami. But if we look at places like San Antonio, we see that one of the country stations has 50% Hispanic listening. That is a function of a longer and major Hispanic presence in the market and much greater assimilation.

 

[CTListener]

But generally, second generation acquires taste for whatever the current blend of CHR is. .

Was this the case in the '70s and '80s, when there was much more rock and white-bread pop and much less rhythmic in CHR? I can see it with current CHR, which is highly rhythmic and even includes Hispanic American crossover artists like Pitbull and Daddy Yankee. But were those second generation listeners receptive to, say, mid-'80s CHR that was dominated by acts like Phil Collins, Huey Lewis and the News and Cyndi Lauper?

 

[davideduardo]

Was this the case in the '70s and '80s, when there was much more rock and white-bread pop and much less rhythmic in CHR? I can see it with current CHR, which is highly rhythmic and even includes Hispanic American crossover artists like Pitbull and Daddy Yankee. But were those second generation listeners receptive to, say, mid-'80s CHR that was dominated by acts like Phil Collins, Huey Lewis and the News and Cyndi Lauper?

Yes, because of what I mentioned... peer group influence at school.

 

[CAVEMANager]

Might as well throw in a word or two about the decline of KSWG. Two likely factors might be their power decrease which may be temporary. Also the fact that they no longer play classics by such artists as Haggard and Jones and they seem to be more and more like KNIX and KMLE.

If Hispanics were the dominant factor it would seem that most of the top rated stations would be programmed in Spanish. Tucson has an even higher percentage of Mexican-Americans and only one Spanish station is anywhere near the top.

 

[davideduardo]

If Hispanics were the dominant factor it would seem that most of the top rated stations would be programmed in Spanish. Tucson has an even higher percentage of Mexican-Americans and only one Spanish station is anywhere near the top.

In most of the rapid growth Southwestern cities, the total Spanish language share is about half of the total percentage of Hispanics in the market.

So in Phoenix, Hispanics are about 32% of the market, and represent about 16 shares in the important demos like 18-34 and 18-49.

Tucson, with a more mature Hispanic community, reports about 12 shares of Spanish language listening.

An even more mature Hispanic market, San Antonio, has about 9 Spanish language shares in a market that is 51% Hispanic.

In Tucson, about 60% of Hispanics are English dominant or bilingual. They listen to English language radio. And a portion of the Spanish dominant audience likes English language music of different kinds, so they also listen to English language... predominantly rhythmic CHR, CHR, Hot AC and AC stations which mirror stations that play the same music in their country of birth; for example, the top CHR station in Mexico City has 10 English language songs on its top 10 this week.

 

[davideduardo]

Might as well throw in a word or two about the decline of KSWG. Two likely factors might be their power decrease which may be temporary. Also the fact that they no longer play classics by such artists as Haggard and Jones and they seem to be more and more like KNIX and KMLE.

There was a power decrease and change in antenna to put the station back in compliance with the terms of the station license. It had been operating illegally.

At present, the licensed signal puts a 60 dbu signal over less than 15,000 persons. It is amazing they even got what they did.

 

[CTListener]

Might as well throw in a word or two about the decline of KSWG. Two likely factors might be their power decrease which may be temporary. Also the fact that they no longer play classics by such artists as Haggard and Jones and they seem to be more and more like KNIX and KMLE.

I just checked a weekday (last Friday) playlist and it looks like most of the songs they play are 20 to 40 years old, which sounds absolutely right for a station targeting the high end of 25-54 in 2017. Songs newer than that are by people like Miranda Lambert and Kenny Chesney who are generally acceptable to people who liked country music in the '90s. The only song that really raised my eyebrows was Tanya Tucker's 1973 hit "The Man That Turned My Mama On," but it seemed to be a real outlier, as the next-oldest song in the 8 hours I looked at was Ronnie Milsap's "It Was Almost Like a Song," from 1977.

The station would gain nothing from playing songs from Haggard and Jones in their "classic"-making years except more 55+ listeners.

 

[DrAkbar]

There was a power decrease and change in antenna to put the station back in compliance with the terms of the station license. It had been operating illegally.

At present, the licensed signal puts a 60 dbu signal over less than 15,000 persons. It is amazing they even got what they did.

A lot of back and forth listening between Wickenburg and the Valley is our guess. KSWG's own coverage map is so out of whack with reality. However, they openly admit 60% of their listeners are 50+. http://www.963realcountry.com/advertising/