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Latest Chicago Radio Ratings
- Thread starter Dr Wayne
- Start date
I'm not aware if iHeart has any stations in that format. They tried it on a translator once, but it was mainly an 80s/90s country station. It didn't last long.
But they're not strictly a classic country station. Last month, Big95.5 began adding some classics to their playlist. So perhaps that is their model.
If so, it hasn't improved their ratings.
That's because Big 95.5 still plays this stuff during the work week:
https://big955chicago.iheart.com/music/recently-played/
(Yuck.)
Hardly anything in common with the playlist of the Austin station.
https://big955chicago.iheart.com/music/recently-played/
(Yuck.)
Hardly anything in common with the playlist of the Austin station.
I've spent time in both Austin and Chicago. Hardly anything in common with the two places.
Big 95.5 promotes itself as "Chicago's New Country." That's what they play. Every one of those songs is a hit.
But it is a niche type format that works in Austin which has to "play nice" with sister station KASE.
In 25-54, KASE beats KVET by about a share on average. KASE is a pretty "normal" country station while KVET is in many ways unique to the market.
KASE also shows that iHeart is able to adapt programming intelligently at the local level. They are not morons. They just live in a new world where radio has less listening and more competition and less revenue and more expenses.
Maybe that format is wearing a little thin. Tine to ditch those obscure album cuts? I compare the MeTV-FM approach to a station I listen to online 2CH from Sydney Australia. Similar music mix with more newscasts. Deep playlist of 60s-70s and some 80s, but no album cuts. Live jocks except for overnights. But even the morning drive guy keeps the chatter to a minimum.
Then there's WGN. Up 50% over the last two books. Either Nextar knows what they're doing or the oldsters go there to talk about the effects of the lockdowns, (I can say "oldsters" become I'm in the "highly undesirable demo myself"
my guess is the audience is watching Me TV instead of listening to the radio.
Maybe that format is wearing a little thin. Tine to ditch those obscure album cuts? I compare the MeTV-FM approach to a station I listen to online 2CH from Sydney Australia. Similar music mix with more newscasts. Deep playlist of 60s-70s and some 80s, but no album cuts. Live jocks except for overnights. But even the morning drive guy keeps the chatter to a minimum.
Then there's WGN. Up 50% over the last two books. Either Nextar knows what they're doing or the oldsters go there to talk about the effects of the lockdowns, (I can say "oldsters" become I'm in the "highly undesirable demo myself"
Yes I'm very undesirable also
Stations that share cume are not like tides that ebb one place and rise in another. Usually as many listeners reduce usage of one favorite and increase with another as those who, at the same time, increase listening to the first station and decrease listening to the second one.
Most listeners have two or three dominantly used stations. Over time, use of each one will ebb and flow but the total radio usage remains the same.
I find it difficult to believe that MeTV FM wouldn't have a lot better ratings if you didn't have to practically break your dial to tune it in. I think other stations (not WGN) are adjusting their playlists to skew a little older so as to bring back listeners from MeTV FM. Stations in the 1960s like Top 40, MOR/AC, R & B, and C & W would adjust rotation up or down of borderline crossovers to get or keep their listeners from tuning out. That may have been only one or two chart entries, but it made a difference. Chicken Rock (Top 40/AC Hybrid), Salt and Pepper, and Progressive Country were some of the hybrid formats that were developed by the 1970s.
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I suspect you're right especially since some tuners can't even get it clearly.
My problem exactly. My older car was able to tune 87.7 perfectly. But the stock radio Chevy Equinox I bought new two years ago can't handle the 87.7 frequency. Even though it's otherwise a good radio on both the AM and FM bands. My radios at home....even the good ones...either won't go below 87.9 or can't deliver a hiss-free signal.
Too bad because I like the format. But the inability to tune MeTV-FM is what drove me online to find something similar. Which I eventually did....with a similar deep playlist. (Aussie station 2CH)
Then again, nobody talked about this when the ratings were good.
My car has the same problem. My wife's car can tune it in well.
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