Missing formats

[vchimpanzee]

I just remembered! My library was subscribing to the AJC back then, and once I started adding content to Wikipedia I was the one who added the history of 1160 and 1170.

 

[MVB13]

Alternative- a REAL alternative station

 

[chrocket87]

Alternative- a REAL alternative station

LOL. The two Alternative stations had a combined 1.0 share. Definitely not a hole there.

 

[Radionerd408]

LOL. The two Alternative stations had a combined 1.0 share. Definitely not a hole there.

There's more to that story than what you see with the 1 shares. Signal challenges/horrible management decisions (i.e. Woody Show). This is not a declaration that the format is prime for re-launch, but you can not discount based on your example either.

 

[TheBigA]

There's more to that story than what you see with the 1 shares. Signal challenges/horrible management decisions (i.e. Woody Show). This is not a declaration that the format is prime for re-launch, but you can not discount based on your example either.

However, when you look around the country, beyond Atlanta, the format is pretty stagnant. The format is stagnant because the music is stagnant. You can put a bad format on a great signal, with legendary heritage management and talent, and it struggles, as was the case in LA with KROQ.

 

[acheron1982]

Five formats missing in Atlanta:

A modern rock alternative to straight alternative or active rock. A hybrid. Yeah, alt is crappy around the country and frankly, so is active rock (those that are left) but The Buzz in Houston and The Point in St. Louis are doing well. They have something in common.

A true classic rock station. KZ106 or KSHE. Vinyl Classic Rock (iHeartRadio) programming with a deeper dig.

Variety Hits. Think of The Lake but it could be localized much like The Arch in St. Louis. Very well programmed radio station and local.

Soft AC - I'll be honest with you - I don't think soft ac will work in Atlanta. I think you will need to depend on a rim signal from one of the burbs

Classic Hits (pop) - Again, just like with Soft AC, I think a rim shooter would be the best signal for this format. 105.3 or 104.1 as examples. Maybe 107.1.

I just don't see soft ac or classic hits (pop) doing well in urban areas of Atlanta. Not the population.

 

[TheBigA]

Five formats missing in Atlanta:

Someone else posted a similar list, and my comment to their list is the same: Almost all of those formats aim old. Unless a new owner buys some Atlanta stations, the current ones don't need any more old demo formats in their clusters.

 

[davideduardo]

Someone else posted a similar list, and my comment to their list is the same: Almost all of those formats aim old. Unless a new owner buys some Atlanta stations, the current ones don't need any more old demo formats in their clusters.

Movie suggestion: "Old and Older" Two radio formats go fist to fist in a magnificent battle for Atlanta's senior listeners. Don't miss the ambulance chases and the fight over the single radio in the retirement home's rec room!

 

[MarkW]

The success of 97.1 The River in A25-54 and to a lesser degree A18-34 invalidates such a notion. One of the stations with the OLDEST median song age scores GREAT ratings.

 

[TheBigA]

The success of 97.1 The River in A25-54 and to a lesser degree A18-34 invalidates such a notion. One of the stations with the OLDEST median song age scores GREAT ratings.

Then playing older songs is not a missing format. It's already being done.

 

[CTListener]

Then playing older songs is not a missing format. It's already being done.

But is it doing a "deep dig" into those older songs? Because we all know how listeners love deep cuts and chart stiffs.

 

[gr8oldies]

interesting that there are 2 Three Dog Night songs released a few months apart. One can only be on 60s at 6 and the other can only be on 70s at 7 (among the SiriusXM decade channels).

I think that the decades only formats work when you can jump between them... 60's and 70's or maybe 70's and 80's. But they are too narrow for terrestrial because one owner is not going to have an FM for the 60's, another for the 70's and so on.

The other issue is that the decades don't define music trends. 1955 to 1964 was one set, not 50's separate from 60's. And early 50's was Patty Page, not the early rock 'n roll era. And 1964 to 1972 or maybe 1973 was another era. There was a pause before we got 74's "Rock the Boat" which took us to 1980 and "Funkytown!"

So decades don't define music; that is an artificial set of bookends.

The problem is that a lot of songs from each era are ones that most listeners don't ever, ever, want to hear again.

Example: I really liked the Carpenters back when the songs were current and I was doing AC. I really don't want to hear those songs again, though. Same goes for Tom Jones or Neil Diamond or Mr. Humperwhatever...

 

[CTListener]

interesting that there are 2 Three Dog Night songs released a few months apart. One can only be on 60s at 6 and the other can only be on 70s at 7 (among the SiriusXM decade channels).

There are Grass Roots songs that are separated for no good reason as well. The '50s channel extends into the early '60s, but the decades channels from the '60s on are prohibited from playing songs released in any other decade. I've always thought the cusp (ending in 0) years should be shared. It's not like radio everywhere stopped playing "Someday We'll Be Together" the moment 1969 turned into 1970, yet the song is only played on '60s on 6. I assume the whole concept was Lee Abrams' brainchild, as he was in charge of music programming at XM when it launched, about a year before Sirius, which apparently copied what Abrams did but tightened the playlist to eliminate a lot of the mid-charters Abrams loved to hear his oldies channels play.