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Boston Radio Ratings October 2019
- Thread starter freqlost
- Start date
Not gonna lie, I’m quite surprised that WODS is that low in the ratings. Considering that they seem to be more in line with what’s big on iTunes, Spotify and the Billboard charts, I would’ve thought they’d be higher. But sincd the station is anchored by the frivolous TJ Show, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised.
The "problematic" stations continue to be problematic. One of them, WAAF, just announced today that they're going to be doing 50th anniversary features all through 2020. We'll see if that actually happens.
I agree about 103.3 though, time to try something else. Alt may be the answer, for now.
I agree about 103.3 though, time to try something else. Alt may be the answer, for now.
Swap a small but heavily young and female audience -- the gulliblest, impulse-buyingest, trendiest demo there is -- for a small but young and cynical male audience -- very difficult to convince with a sales pitch? Not happening, I'd think. There really isn't a format hole in which Amp could do any better in Boston, as far as I can see.
I see your point. To go back to Tomgsinger, while WODS, and I'll throw in Jam'n 94.5, may be playing much of the music that's popular on streaming and downloading platforms, that's actually what's causing them to not get ratings. Their potential listeners, mainly teens, are using Spotify, YouTube, and SoundCloud to listen to music. If they were to flip to alternative, there at least is some potential in that they can appeal to slightly older demos, mixed male and female. Not the "dude heavy" route that Alt 92.9 was going in its final year as "alternative."
As if they don't also use streaming sites for music? The NPR folks have been talking about "classic alt," but that's for non-commercial radio.
You can't assume that young people will automatically use streaming. FM is still much easier to receive and use, especially in the car at 70 miles an hour.
And, that’s on secondary city roads and residential side streets. On the highways nowadays it’s 90 - 100 mph.
Has anyone listened to WNYL in New York? Great station! Playing mostly late 90s, early 2000s female leaning alternative clearly targeting 25-35.
Could definitely work in Boston... but not on a station that's down the hall from WAAF.
Could definitely work in Boston... but not on a station that's down the hall from WAAF.
WAAF or WODS (103.3) will be flipped to Alt before 2020 is over if either station keeps this up. Entercom is alt-happy to the core and it can't have escaped their notice that Boston doesn't have an actual alternative station.
What I would personally do is give WAAF a half-flip to active/alt (that way it can continue to rock while mixing in tracks from Cage the Elephant, White Reaper, Meg Myers, etc.) and try to rescue WODS with some Evolution-style music as mentioned earlier (still mixed with CHR). These radio stations need re-invigoration, not to be blown up, considering their histories and past successes. Also WODS' format is usually quite successful nationwide so I would question if the issues lie more with presentation than the music itself.
Such a move won't improve their ratings. If you look at Entercom's alt stations in places like NY or LA, they're the lowest rated FMs in town.
And in LA, we're talking about a heritage station: KROQ.
Although alt may do a bit better than that in a less black/Latino market like Boston, with its huge college population.
Remember that, for the most part, college students who are not permanent residents of an area are not recruited for PPM rated markets.
I don't know the percentages, but many of the local colleges have predominantly out-of-town and out-of-state students. For the PPM, there has to be an expectation that the household will be "local" for up to 24 months, the maximum tenure of a PPM panelist.
There is also the issue that alternative rock is not necessarily the preferred music at colleges any more. At most colleges, it isn't.
Radio 92.9 generally earned numbers in the upper 2's, and Alt 92.9 also was earning numbers in that ballpark toward the end (once the station finally dumped its super tight, 90's heavy playlist and began playing currents & recurrents).
If 103.3's ratings remain in the mid 1's, their billing will eventually turn to garbage.
Options, you say?
For 103.3 - Alt and Soft AC seem like logical options. (WPLM doesn't have a full market signal and shouldn't act as a deterrent for going the Soft AC route.)
For 107.3 - Keep WAAF there until the station is on its last leg. Few listeners in Greater Boston are going to tolerate a static-riddled FM station to hear Rock music or any other mass appeal format. Once WAAF has outlived its usefulness, sell the darn stick to EMF.
Part of me would like to see how well WAAF would fare on a true Class B full market signal. My guess is it'd be capable of attracting no better than mid-pack rankings in Men 25-54 and would probably be worth of a ~2.2 share in ages 6+. The station did routinely grab low & mid 2's when 107.3 & 97.7 were still paired, but that was long before 92.9 got its act together.
If 103.3's ratings remain in the mid 1's, their billing will eventually turn to garbage.
Options, you say?
For 103.3 - Alt and Soft AC seem like logical options. (WPLM doesn't have a full market signal and shouldn't act as a deterrent for going the Soft AC route.)
For 107.3 - Keep WAAF there until the station is on its last leg. Few listeners in Greater Boston are going to tolerate a static-riddled FM station to hear Rock music or any other mass appeal format. Once WAAF has outlived its usefulness, sell the darn stick to EMF.
Part of me would like to see how well WAAF would fare on a true Class B full market signal. My guess is it'd be capable of attracting no better than mid-pack rankings in Men 25-54 and would probably be worth of a ~2.2 share in ages 6+. The station did routinely grab low & mid 2's when 107.3 & 97.7 were still paired, but that was long before 92.9 got its act together.
I still feel that rock can be done right. WMMR in Philly has been consistently in the top 5 for some time now, and more recently, WIYY/Baltimore (98 Rock) has rocketed into the top 3. Both stations are playing a good amount of currents and recurrents. Yes, they're different markets, but Boston has long been a consistent home for rock for quite some time, one would think that a rock station that plays newer music should do pretty well. WAAF, which his signal limitations, should be able to still pull 3's 6+ (double-digits in Worcester) if done correctly, but right now it's basically Mistress Carrie and Mike Hsu trying to patch holes and keep things afloat.
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