Fl Ratings & More

[John FL]

Nielsen lists WMMO-FM (98.9) (Orlando's Classic Hits) as a Classic Hits format. That's a matter of opinion no matter what the slogan says. That's been discussed many times on the board. I won't rehash all that here but for those who believe Classic Hits should be a "Top 40 for Adults" type format, WMMO would not fit the bill. Their focus is clearly on rock hits and rock/rock 'n roll artists. Again, you won't find artists like Michael Jackson and Madonna on WMMO.

When I looked at the history of the station, I was actually surprised at what I found. First off, I recall many old R.D. posts highly praising the station and format. I had the feeling the station was around way longer than 1990. The Orlando of the 90s was certainly different than today but we can say that about virtually every Florida market.


http://cflradio.net/98.9_WMMO_FM.htm - Central Florida Radio - has a perspective from WMMO's founding programmer you may find interesting. Researchers conducted a survey to determine what format preference was underserved, many of the results indicated listeners didn't have a favorite Orlando radio station. The following helped create the original WMMO as reported from the website above:

"It was learned that Orlando's rock stations were too hard, the adult contemporary stations were too soft or pop-oriented for many listeners.....DJ's in Orlando were only interested in their own egos, and that no station respected their music...too much repetition...too much time spent on silly contests."

Remember this was 1990. The company that launched WMMO was Radio Orlando LP, one of a number of owners prior to Cox buying WMMO. It would not surprise me as time moved along that other companies when conducting research found similar results to what was found in Orlando. This kind of information, no doubt, helped in creating a new format, classic hits. As the new century was upon us, traditional oldies formats were falling by the wayside in the same manner we saw Beautiful Music and other formats. Classic Hits was the new gold-driven alternatives.

Likewise, research probably also indicated that growing numbers of listeners who liked AC and its genre variety, wanted a little rock 'n roll in the mix too along with some pop, and soul. Perhaps they didn't want all soft all the time. Much to my personal dismay, listeners have an aversion to softer sounds for quite some time. No doubt, it's why "I love Rock And Roll" plays on practically every bloody format. My stubborn streak still says there should be exceptions to that rule if the station calls itself "Easy," "Lite," etc. Just my opinion.

And so there were two kinds of classic hits that have emerged. The rock-oriented one and the variety-based one that often branded themselves as "The Greatest Hits of All Time" or (The Name of Town's) Greatest Hits.

I wonder how much the station today reflects the tastes of the listeners that helped launch WMMO in the first place. I have never listened to WMMO, not even via streaming. It's not the kind of station from a music perspective that would interest me. When I looked at song's played this is in effect, Cox's "Eagle" without the branding. It's typical "Eagle" - not too many artists in comparison to a more variety-based Greatest Hits/classic hits format.

Here is a sample the artists who played today in exact order:

Pink Floyd
Van Halen
U2
Boston
Tom Petty
Aerosmith
Eddie Money
Fleetwood Mac
Sammy Hagar
Guns N' Roses
ZZ Top
Ac/Dc
Joe Walsh
Stevie Nicks
Tom Petty (Repeated Artist)
Bryan Adams
Led Zepplin
Guns N' Roses (Repeated Artist)
Def Leppard
Van Halen (Repeated Artist)
Aerosmith (Repeated Artist)
ZZ Top (Repeated Artist)

Every picture tells a story. This is pretty much the content but this station appears to be doing well being #3 overall. As Annie Lennix once said "Who Am I To Disagree?"

The amazing "105.9 Sunny FM" is next with the Orlando wrap up. As always, your perspectives about Orlando or other Florida markets we've discussed are welcomed.

 

[John FL]

Orlando radio station WOCL-FM (105.9 Sunny FM) has seen its fair share of posts on Radio Discussions. Ironically, most of them would be found in the North Florida board initiated by yours truly. Part of the North Florida market was able to pick up Orlando stations so that was one reason. The other was that a WOCL type station just didn't exist there. There wasn't anything even close. It was my attempt to point out a hole in the market.

For those of you who have followed my postings over these many years are probably familiar with my many discussions regarding what determines a radio station's success. Long story short, there are many links in that chain that are involved with a radio station. But one thing is clear, everyone from top down have to be vested in the success of that radio station. You can't have any doubters or people involved who just go through the motions.

It was fortunate that WOCL-FM was launched by CBS Radio bringing "Orlando's Greatest Hits" to Central Florida. This happened in January 2008 replacing "O-Rock 105.9." The big guns were brought out. Brian Thomas, one of my heroes who programmed New York's WCBS-FM brilliantly, was also Vice President of Classic Hits programming. Brian oversaw the launch and the on-air presentation (I like to call it vibe) of the station. An on-air team soon followed which in itself was smart.

Rick Stacy became the P.D. just one year later in 2009 and he's been at the helm ever since. He's had radio history with the Orlando market since 1984. His knowledge of the market is simply outstanding. There was a time Brian Thomas was PD at an Orlando station in the 80s. Incidentally, Rick Stacy beat him in the ratings. So, CBS-Radio made the right decision in hiring Rick and that has been obvious all these years later.

Experience is one thing but there has to be the ability to react to changes in the market. That explains Orlando to a tee. It has undergone tremendous change. For those of you who have listened to Sunny over the years will probably agree that the station never got stale. It was always evolving. Some changes appeared to work, some didn't. But, CBS-Radio remained committed to the format. This is not something you always see. Entercom is the new owner and it's good to see they are acting similarly to CBS Radio in a number of ways, especially in giving Rick latitude and support.

In the first part of this string I talked a little bit about creativity. WOCL always seemed to march to the beat of a different drummer. I'd like to share one experience that I still recall many years later. While Sunny's sister stations almost always doing specialty programing such as Top 500 countdowns or A-Z song presentations, Rick avoided that sort of thing. There was even a sweeper that said we don't do countdowns like other stations. I suspect the Orlando radio audience preferred less fanfare.

This must have been around 2013, maybe 2014. I've been on dozens of cruises. One Sunday morning we disembarked at Port Canaveral. It was when the time change took place back to standard time in early November. Because of the extra hour, we actually got on our way earlier than normal. We caught the end of Casey Kasem's AT40- The 70s. Then something very special happened. With the extra hour, a request and dedicated show came on. Back then, there were live jocks on at least some parts of the weekend.

For virtually any other radio station, that extra hour was just one additional hour programed in the wee hours. No big deal. But here something different was tried. There were some ground rules laid out. I remember one was they didn't want to play lots of 60s. The jock used his discretion, no doubt, what was aired. It turned out to be one of the very best hours of radio I ever heard in my life. I don't say that lightly. One of the songs featured was The Kinks "Come Dancing." It's one of my favorite songs from the 80s. Having just come off a cruise, it was like I was given a little more holiday. It's just such a fun song.

My only disappointment was when the station's signal began to evaporate and I knew I was back in Radio Hell. That market will be discussed soon. I emailed the jock complementing him on his great execution of that very special hour. He wrote me back and shared his thoughts about why Sunny is such a great radio station. I will paraphrase all that next as well as do a little wrap up of Orlando next.

 

[John FL]

No matter what we do or did for a living, the "right boss" can make all the difference in the world. It's far better to work in an environment where you can feel your opinions count and that you are a teammate who is contributing to the overall success of the organization. There were at least 3 or 4 instances where various on-air talent corresponded with me in reply to complementing the station, in this case WOCL-FM.

In a nutshell, I heard "Sunny" is a great place to work. There was even a comment that went along the lines "I was never able to do (fill in the blank) where I previously worked." Replies to me, from different people, were almost identical. They talked of latitude and freedom to execute content all while complying with the house rules that are required in radio. In my view, working in a good team environment stimulates creativity.

When we discussed the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood market, I talked about WFEZ-FM and just how good they are. Theirs is a great team and management. The same hold true for Orlando's WOCL-FM. Simply two excellent and extremely well run stations.

In all the years I've tuned into "105.9 Sunny FM," it never grows stale. It can certainly be an issue for gold-based formats. The station is positioned very well, in my view, for the future. I began thinking of all the road trips I took between Jacksonville and the Miami market. In the not too distant past when 70s music was heard with more frequency, it was a joy hearing Sunny. You just never knew when a wow song would come on that would just hit that sweet spot in your memories.

Over the past several days I've not only gone through WOCL's playlist but I must have listened to at least 6 or 7 hours of their "sound." At first I thought it was my imagination but the more I listened, the more I felt I was back in South Florida listening to the old Y-100 of the early 80s. The genius behind all of that of course was Bill Tanner. Now, it's Rick Stacy delivering a truly upbeat and feel-good sound for today's Orlando.

I jotted down songs I really liked. The list got to more than 50 so I thought that would be too long to post here so instead I'll comment on a few songs. The focus of the station is moving a bit more to the rhythmic side which does make sense. Rock hits still play but at a noticeably decreased frequency. There's a huge difference between Sunny and WMMO (all rock) we discussed earlier. Both are designated as "classic hits." The content is like night and day. That content delivers totally different audiences. I suppose gender plays into agency buys where I suspect WMMO is more male oriented and Sunny is more female friendly.

Still, there's a Top 40M and a Top 40R. Interesting there's a designation for CHR but not for classic hits. Can anyone explain the logic of that?

"Bizarre Love Triangle" by New Order is a tune I vividly remember as being hugely popular in the dance clubs. When Miami's WFLC-FM did their 80s weekend, that song played often over time. Fantastic song. There was "Tarzan Boy" by Baltimora, another hugely popular dance tune that is one of my all time 80s favs. Finally, and believe me, I could comment on dozens more, there was The Gap Band's "You Dropped A Bomb On Me." It was Y-100 all over again.

I've read a number of accounts, plus I know at least 6 people, who regularly commute between the Miami area and Orlando to visit family. There is a connection between the two markets and Mr. Stacy apparently is acknowledging that. There appears to also be significant numbers of people who have moved from S. Florida to make a new home in Orlando. Large numbers of people from Puerto Rico have made Central Florida home after hurricane plowed through the island.

Rick Stacy's morning show has two co-hosts who bring a younger perspective to the show. Another role of a PD/Brand Manager is to develop talent. I remember Grace Vasquez co-hosted with Rick and had an hour weekday show. Now she hosts middays. With this younger perspective, there's a whole world of topics that can be discussed without sounding like you're "an old guy trying to sound young." It's not credible and no station can afford that. It's a tough situation when budgets don't allow a morning team. Some can pull it off. Most don't in my view.

Finally in afternoon drive jock's bio, Domino, he says "I remember getting the call from my buddy Rick Stacy, who I worked with in the 80’s at a station in Atlanta. He said, “How would you like to play the music we grew up with, stuff we really like?” That's a powerful statement if you really think about it. Making the music personnel. Music is personnel. This clearly shows the focus is on the listener. Rick has more than demonstrated his ability to figure what people really like in a music station.

105.9 Sunny-FM is currently the most popular station in Orlando. It's been in that position many times over the past year. It takes a lot of hard work and skills to be on top. In my view, they are best classic hits station in all of Florida. The good news is there are a number of excellent runner-ups.

It's on to Market #46 next.

 

[John FL]

We move on to Jacksonville, Fl - Market #46. Here is a link to the ratings: https://ratings.****************/content/arb107

In that report the population is listed as: Population: 1,296,100 (Black: 272,600) (Hispanic: 107,800)

However, according to a ratings report in All Access the population is listed as follows:
Population: 1,319,500 Black: 278,700 (21%) Hispanic: 112,300 (9%) Not sure why there's a difference.

If you recall when we analyzed the Tampa market, I ended with a discussion about working on a project as we finished up our work on North Redington Beach. This was 1997. Apparently, the management was impressed with my performance and offered me a position in Jacksonville as a Project Manager. I was a natural for it. Plus, I needed a change as I was totally burned out in my job in Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale.)

I learned fairly quickly that Jacksonville doesn't enjoy a good reputation, especially for those who live in the southern half of the state. My friends, family, co-workers, and my employees all thought I was nuts to move there. I saw Jacksonville in a different way. There was friendly people, beautiful neighborhoods that reminded me of my youth in New Jersey. For starters, there were deciduous trees all over that were massive. Outside of the beach area, Jacksonville didn't look much like Florida. Perhaps it was the change I was looking for.

From a radio perspective, I thought a lot of it was pretty good. I heard a great deal about the legendary WAPE and I got a chance to listen. My new boss, who looked like JFK Jr, took me around the area showing me the ropes. It's not like I was never there. That four-month project I worked on started out with orientation in Jax. Plus, when we wrapped up a visit to another city, we often circled back to Jax.

While my boss was driving me around "Sweet Home Alabama" came on the radio. That's the song I'll always associate with the Jax market. He was a big Lynyrd Skynyrd fan. Even in 1997, I had never heard of the band or the song. I never put anyone down for their taste in music so I remained polite and acted like I was in the know. Truth is the song does not reflect my taste in music at all. I quickly came to realize Jacksonville was different than anything I ever experienced. Musically, I still had options on the radio. But I realized how little I knew. My musical background wasn't as complete as I thought. We are all a product of where we grow up.

My youth in the NYC radio market featured music that wasn't big on southern rock. There were many country-crossover hits. I loved lots of them. There was "Rambling Man" by The Allman Brothers Band and a couple turntable hits from The Atlanta Rhythm Section. There may have been a couple more but I didn't know Southern Rock from Chicken Rock. A song was a song. Either I liked it or I didn't.

My parents were elderly even in 1997. So, I worked out a stipulation that I worked from South Florida periodically through the year. That was no issue as even back then, we could work virtually in the kind of work I did. For many years on these boards I talked about my many trips between Jax and South Florida. Now you know the why behind that.

I looked at Jacksonville as I look at virtually any other community. There are remnants of the past, for example, those who are born and raised in the area. There are transplants from nearby areas, in this case southern Georgia. And then there are people who move to a community from other parts of the country. Jacksonville has that too. I saw "Two Jacksonville's." I've seen that in the other Florida markets discussed thus far.

I've long believed Jacksonville radio does not truly reflect the community and its changes. I don't think Jacksonville to include northeast Florida is an especially good radio market but that's just my opinion. Perhaps the discussion of the various stations and formats to follow will prove that or not. One thing I do believe is diversity can make for a far more interesting market. Funny thing is Jacksonville seemed to be more inclusive many years ago based on the formats that existed in the past.

More to come...

 

[John FL]

There are a number of unique situations that can describe the Jacksonville market. One is the incredible land mass of the market. Almost without exception, the biggest radio stations in the market are on the biggest sticks covering the entire market and then some. Another is the popularity of the news/talk format.

Cox Media's news/talk WOKV-FM is the most popular station in Jacksonville earning double digit shares. We've already analyzed Miami, Tampa, and Orlando ratings and the news/talk format was far from dominant there. Here's another case that shows the incredible uniqueness that one finds going from market-to-market in Florida.

WOKV has remained popular for quite some time. There was a simulcast to FM in 2006 at 106.5 which was not a full market signal at just 6000 watts. The AM at 690 was the former home of WAPE during its music heyday. Still, I recall WOKV being #1 or darn close to it in many ratings reports. It shows that significant numbers tuned in on the AM. I've heard as well as suspected that a lot of WOKV's audience is in the surrounding suburban areas. WOKV-FM is now at 104.5 FM, a full market signal, and former home to the heritage "Rock 105." Looking back, it was clear "Rock's" days were numbered as WOKV was a long and strong player in the Cox cluster.

There's a morning news block that has a history of excellence and a syndicated conservative line-up during the day. There's also a local talk/call-in show that airs just prior to Rush's show. I've never heard it but it's probably a mix of local events with national politics. It's probably a great move. Local talk has advantages.

I'm aware of another news/talk format in Jax but they don't subscribe to Nielsen. It's WBOB-AM and they're on FM via a translator. I recall when WBOB did subscribe to Nielsen and I never remember them ever being close to WOKV's popularity. Clearly, that's the case today. WOKV is getting tremendous numbers.

Another success story is Renda's AC WEJZ-FM. They have clearly positioned themselves as the official holiday station in the market. This past season they were not too far from a 20 share! Amazing numbers. They are currently in double digit shares and have been there numerous times. Morning host Arthur Crofton has been doing morning drive for 30 years! He's an interesting fellow. For starters he has a British accent, although it's been Americanized considerably. On paper, things may not always look like they would work. Someone took a chance on Mr. Crofton and it was a wise choice. There's been many female co-hosts along the way but Arthur has been a constant. A rarity in radio.

You would never think WEJZ has an AC competitor given the numbers they are getting but they do. For years, no one challenged WEJZ. It was hard to figure why that was. Ironically, I never recall them getting these kinds of numbers when they had no competition. I checked out their music and the answer is there. Oh, there's still an occasional Bon Jovi title in the mix, but it's moved more along a traditional AC station. The listeners are obviously loving it. While there were many periods in their history where I felt WEJZ was going through the motions. That's not now.

They have a "new voice" on in middays. Based on the info I saw and a little research, it would appear "Jordan Kline" either voicetracks the shift or is part of some kind of syndication. Changing times but they don't miss a beat. The guy who owned that daypart for years is either on overnights or weekends now. He used to do a live request show at noon. Now that seems like a lifetime ago.

There's a new host on in the afternoon too. Looks local but replaced a Jax veteran broadcaster. I can't remember his name and it's probably typical of 99% of listeners outside of morning drive who have no idea who's on the air.

WEJZ has proven to be a formidable competitor. They make it look "easy." More commentary about a few more stations and formats, many of them are heritage, on the way.

 

[John FL]

In the last post, I talked mainly about the top two stations in the Jacksonville market. At #2 in the latest book was AC WEJZ with more than an 11 share. That's pretty incredible considering it doesn't even reflect the holiday season.

At #3 overall is a classic rock type format that uses the Classic Hits designation - WJGL (96.9 The Eagle). It's like the conversation we've had in Orlando discussing WMMO. There are marked differences between what I consider "true" classic hits that is variety-based and stations like Eagle. The station's success is something I will never understand but it's there. Classic rock is a popular format and there is no denying it. I recall only one time when The Eagle had a classic hits competitor when iHeart brought "Magic" to the market in 2010. By 2011, Eagle was bumped out of the Top 5 spot to #6. A rarity for them yet iHeart never saw the potential they had. They pulled the plug on classic hits way too early. And so it goes.

Over the years, I've seen a number of listener reviews. I kept this one in my file because it summed up what many said. "Eagle plays lots of the same songs over and over again but I like those songs." That statement explains programming to a tee. Feature the songs listeners love in a tight format and it will generate great numbers. In many of my Jacksonville posts, I often called Eagle "the most stale station on FM." It was like that for quite some time. But apparently none of it mattered to the number of listeners who enjoy what they offer.

One of the biggest disappointments I had with the Jax radio market is there wasn't a CBS Radio there as there was in Orlando that believed in "Sunny" or a Jefferson Pilot in Miami who firmly believed in their "Magic." Unlike all the markets discussed thus far, Jacksonville does not have a variety-based classic hits station on a major stick.

There's a translator station but it's a horrible signal as I recall with lots of distortion that's getting just fractional shares. When WJGH (Jacksonville's Greatest Hits) went away in 2012 it left a definite hole in the market. Despite the tremendous popularity and success we see in the format, no one is rising to the occasion to give Eagle and even indirectly WEJZ a challenge.

iHeart's Urban AC WSOL-FM (V101.5 Jacksonville's R&B and Throwbacks) is often in the Top 5. It's proven over the years to be extremely popular. I found myself listening to them on occasion. Every once in a while a song would play that would bring back great memories and a song that wasn't heard anywhere else in town.

Outside of AC WEJZ who have long played artists of color in their mix and I'm sure the two CHR stations in town, I noticed Jacksonville was not color blind when it came to playlists. There was a time as I recall there were four rock stations in town, including Eagle. None of them would be featuring Motown/soul due to the nature of the format. There were times there were multiple country stations and predictably they've returned to that again. Country is not a place you'll find a lot of African-American artists.

The work place shows the diversity that is in the community. WEJZ does an outstanding job in that regard. While I haven't been in Jax for more than two years now, I could recall 'EJZ being heard in practically every doctor's office, restaurant, and business I would visit. In many respects, they are the only game in town. "Easy" is in Jacksonville but as far as I'm concerned many mistakes were made. I'll discuss them later during the Jax wrap-up. WEZI-M (Easy 102.9) is currently in the Top 5 in the market but AC WEJZ is getting more than double their share. They may be there too because of WQIK's decline.

A constant in Jacksonville radio is Country format WQIK-FM. When I mentioned the double digit ratings of both news/talk WOKV and AC WEJZ, these were the kind of numbers WQIK normally got. The station is now behind Renda's WGNE who also (one of many) does a country format. I have no idea what is happening there. It would great if someone could explain it. Maybe WGNE is going commercial free. Maybe there's a new batch of PPM panelists...just a guess.

The ratings don't tell the full story. There's a number of country stations that don't subscribe to Nielsen. Chesapeake Portsmouth Broadcasting offers a country format on 94.1 WSOS-FM (Jacksonville's Real Country) This station was once owned by Renda Broadcasting. It's a shame they didn't do something with it. Not the greatest signal, there was never much in the way of support. I have a feeling they were happy to get rid of it, even with pennies on the dollar.

Classic Country is now being served on 105.3, a frequency that has seen more formats over the past 20 years than you can imagine. The calls are now WYKB-FM (Jax 105.3) That tells you everything? At only 3900 watts, the station never did well in most of Jax and its large mass area. It covers the northern part of Jax and into Nassau county, just to the north of Duval County.

Flagler Broadcasting offers two country stations. One has been around awhile that serves Flagler County. That's just north of Daytona and practically out of Jax's MSA so that one makes sense. They now have a St. Augustine station, just to the south of Jax by around 25 miles as I remember. Country 106.3 "Featuring hits from the 80’s through today, with a focus on country stars and icons from the 1990s through 2000s, such as George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Keith Urban and more." I couldn't find any calls, perhaps it's a translator station.

While I understand smaller companies in local markets are all about super-serving that local community, there's quite a lot of country signals in and around Jax. Maybe all of these collectively have harmed WQIK. Maybe QIK's listeners are locked more into news/talk. Country listeners tend to be conservative from what I have read over the years. Maybe politics has them tuning elsewhere. I don't believe the March numbers adequately reflect Covid-19 changes in radio habits. I could be wrong.

No matter how you slice it, there's lots of country formats yet no room for a good classic hits station like they have in Miami, Tampa or Orlando, and even West Palm, all the other PPM markets. It's easy to say a market doesn't support this or that. But with success comes a lot of work, commitment and $$$ expeditures. Revenue just might not be enough in Jacksonville to hire an airteam that's required for the format and be prepared to do battle with heritage stations. The demand is there and has been for a long time. I saw it with my own eyes in research done as part of my job. Anyway, Jax is a very complicated market on many levels.

More Jax on the way.

 

[John FL]

Top 40 is an interesting format. Have you noticed CHR sometimes performs exceedingly well? Other times it can lag a number of other formats. It's usually the same situation in markets across the country. So far in all the markets discussed, CHR is behind AC and classic hits. Miami has been more of an exception with a lot more formats ahead of them.

Most would probably agree CHR formats are dependent on the quality of new music. Every once in a while, there is just that incredible year for new music. A new star comes along, sometimes a new sound takes over too. It's an interesting situation if you make it a habit to look at ratings from markets big and small.

When anyone thinks of Top 40 radio in Jacksonville, WAPE-FM (The Big Ape) is the response. It's a heritage station with an incredible history. I heard many airchecks mainly from the 70s and I was impressed. There was that "big town sound." Currently, WAPE ranks in 7th place in popularity. While that means very little, I suspect the station performs well in demos in 18-34. This is a Cox Media Group station.

There's another CHR in Jax. iHeartMedia's WKSL-FM(97.9 Kiss FM) in 11th place. They've always been in APE's shadow. For many years, Kiss was discussed as needing to flip to something else. I was in that camp believing a Hot AC format would give them a better showing. Nothing ever happened.

As I thought about WAPE and my early years living in Jax, songs started coming to mind. The WAPE of the late 90s was a very popular station. The late 90s also saw an incredible wave of really good hit music. That was one of many ingredients that came together creating the ratings juggernaut that was WAPE.

I thought you might enjoy this since we're discussing ratings for Jacksonville from August 1999: https://bit.ly/3b8mN56

These are the top 10 stations in Jax back in 1999. It also shows you how many stations have survived the test of time. If you recall the biggest hits of the time in 1999, it was no wonder, WAPE saw such incredible popularity. These songs are a good example of the hits that played on WAPE and I really love all of them - "No Scrubbs" - TLC, "Believe" - Cher, "Livin' La Vida Loca" - Ricky Martin, "Smooth" - Santana and Rob Thomas, "Genie In A Bottle" - Christina Arguilera, "Kiss Me" - Sixpence None The Richer, "Every Morning - Sugar Ray. Obviously there were more. The music just shouts mass-appeal. It may have been the last truly mass-appeal quality for CHR.

That was the last year I listened to CHR on a regular basis. I'm assuming the music changed and that's what turned me off. Then we change too. It's the nature of CHR formats. People just grow out of it over time.

It was not too long into the new century that Jacksonville radio began changing considerably. The boards can be loaded with anti-big company conversations and I don't want to go there. I prefer to think big companies have their advantages and their disadvantages. If you noticed, WOKV back in 1999 was only on AM. They were in 10th place. Cox eventually purchased WOKV. Large companies had the money and the resources small companies did not have. Cox's dedication and support to the news/talk format helped helped bring WOKV to the respected news leader it is today.

Big companies aren't perfect either. You'll notice WFYV (Rock 105) as the #2 station. Rock 105 was a highly popular station for many years. There were a number of decisions made by Cox that saw Rock's numbers decline until it was replaced with WOKV and that great 104.5 signal.

There was much fanfare when Alernative format "X" was brought to Jacksonville by Cox. Originally the format landed on full-signal 102.9. This wound up killing WPLA (Planet Radio) (Clear Channel) that was doing a rock format. Today, it's on a 6000 watt station earning low 1 shares. Planet is back on a full market signal 107.3 after being on a translator station. This is Planet's second rodeo on the 107.3 signal.

With that great signal, the station earns high 2's. This is significantly less than what Classic Hits Magic earned them and even Jack-FM and various brands of Adult Hits. In Magic's short time as classic hits, they hovered near a 5 share. It makes you wonder how these format decisions are made.

For those of you who are familiar with Jacksonville radio, that ratings report from 1999 can make you nostalgic and even a little sad knowing what would occur in just a few short years. If there's one thing we should all agree it's that decisions have impacts that can be felt for many years. Some decisions are proven right and in my view, in Jacksonville, way too many have been proven wrong.

Next: "Easy 102.9" and final comments on Jacksonville.

 

[John FL]

I've found radio press releases to be mildly amusing as most follow a template. Some form of the word "excitement" is almost always contained in the announcement. It doesn't matter if it's for the hiring of a new manager or talent or notifying the radio community of a new format. I've learned to take media announcements with a grain of salt.

When a new AC came to Jax in 2015 with the "Easy" (WEZI) brand name, the OM wrote “We couldn’t be more excited to bring this incredible music back to the listeners of Jacksonville.” “The New Easy 106.5’s unique blend of Refreshing and Relaxing music, paralleled with its dedication to community involvement and social engagement, will help it quickly become an at-work and at-play favorite to many on the First Coast.”

That statement as written was actually correct as far as the bringing back of incredible music. Jacksonville lost a variety-based classic hits station with an AC lean, Magic 107.3, in early 2012. 96.9 The Eagle was tilting heavier into rock. AC WEJZ was moving further and further away from the music they played when Magic was a competitor. So, on paper, "Easy" appeared to fill a void. For what it's worth, I thought Easy's opening months were great from a music perspective. Yes, there were many songs that hadn't been heard in the market for years.

My cynical side had grown during my time in Jacksonville. There were many reasons for that. Almost always, marketing announcements rarely equate to reality. Things change. But sitting where I do, it's hard figuring where the catalysts for change occur. Is it senor management edicts, the PD, or perhaps a combination of both? But WEZI did change.

What I believe happened was WFEZ's incredible success in Miami doing a softer version of AC opened up opportunity for the format in Jax. By 2017, Easy wound up on a great stick at 102.9. The playlist and station's focus was changing even prior to the move. I don't think Easy 102.9 is currently playing anything they first featured on the station. In my view, changes happened way too fast.

The Easy brand may have been damaged in the minds of at least some listeners. Then again, Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name" is still a popular song for those who grew up in the 80s and Easy's target audience. After all is said and done, there are titles that have been featured on the playlist that aren't exactly befitting the image of "refreshing and relaxing music" as described in the presser.

In the meantime, I did notice there's a little more "easiness" to the music. Over the last few months, the OM/PD left Cox supposedly by mutual agreement. The station is or will be soon in the hands of another individual. Whether something competitor WEJZ has done to see their numbers go through the roof or something WEZI did that sent a whole bunch of listeners to "EJZ, I can't be sure.

I try not to compare other stations in the market with those I'm familiar with elsewhere. In this case, I avoided talking about what WFEZ in Miami does or the kind of airteam they hire etc. because it's more like comparing apples to oranges and not apples to apples. Bigger radio markets have a lot more advantages, especially along budget lines. Still, there's a great deal the PD/Brand Manager can control.

None of us know what actually happened behind the scenes. WEZI is still young. I believe they should get back to their roots to offer a sound more in keeping with their brand. If that's not an option, perhaps a brand name change is in order. We'll have to see how this all pans out. Cox has done a great job with "Easy" making it sound cool to listen to, even among younger demos. The ratings gap should eventually tighten unless something stupid is done.

There were a number of bad business practices I experienced during my time in Jacksonville. The few bad apples can skew your opinion of a radio community to the negative. Perhaps every market has its share of those who don't always take the high road. Jacksonville is an incredibly complex radio market. As much as many of the radio decisions were illogical to me, I miss a number of radio friends and all those soapbox moments.

It's off to market #48- West Palm Beach next.

 

[John FL]

We continue with our last Florida market in the PPM. Market #48 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton. Here is the link to the published Nielsen ratings: https://ratings.****************/content/arb299

Population: 1,308,400 Black: 239,200 (18%) Hispanic: 277,200 (21%) This info was provided by "All Access" and their ratings listing. I have a feeling it's more accurate. No one answered my question I posed earlier why various cites post different demo info in their ratings reporting.

In the previous four markets discussed, I've been mentioning a song that I associate with the market. Here, the song is "On My Own," a #1 tune from 1986 featuring Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald. It's long been a personal fav of mine. It got lots of airplay on various West Palm stations for quite some time. I heard the song often on my way to my Aunt and Uncle's house. Plus, my Aunt had the album and would play it.

One of the stations I remember hearing the song on was WRLX-FM. As the calls would indicate, it signified "relax" and so the music reflected that brand name. Today, it's Spanish Contemporary and a perennial Top 10 station.

I live in the West Palm TV market and every once in a while I hear news stories that could have impacts to radio. While migration from New York to Florida is not new, WPTV NewsChannel 5, ran an extensive feature prior to Covid-19 being front and center about Palm Beach County's changing demos. Northern Palm Beach county in communities such as Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, and Tequesta are seeing a substantial amount of migration of extremely wealthy individuals who are CEOs etc of corporations. No surprise, they are escaping the high taxes of New York.

From a radio perspective that may not have much impact but for the thousands of jobs that can result from relocation of business also brings people who have various tastes in music that may or may not be satisfied by current format offerings. Florida is in constant flux with people moving in and out. The report also indicated many employees of those companies would relocate to Florida too.

Just yesterday WPTV ran a story regarding hard economic times caused by Covid-19 to include loss of hours or even loss of livelihood. One of these "economic experts" talked about ways to reduce expenses deemed not necessary. At the top of the list was cancelling a SiriusXM subscription. $25 here, $50 there...it all adds up. What this all means for radio? Well, it could mean one of your competitors has negative impacts and that can be a lifeline to you. Anyway, I threw these out because Palm Beach County has been especially hit hard given all the restaurants and tourist-related economy.

On the subject of ratings, I've long wished there were published ratings for SiriusXM to include cume info. I suspect there can be challenging days ahead for other platforms. It's anyone's guess but I believe we are seeing some early signs of that now. Time will tell. A good indicator as far as ratings go will be to see if more people listen longer.

If there's anything unique and exciting about the West Palm Beach radio market, it's that there's a major player in town that's not iHeart, Cox, or Entercom. That's Hubbard Radio who own a nice cluster of stations. I looked ahead to the markets that would follow West Palm in our ratings discussion. That would be Southwest Florida and Sarasota. I'm familiar with the classic hits stations in both markets.

I had one of those V8 moments as I looked at last songs played and realized both markets were playing the same songs at the same time. I checked out my own classic hits station here on The Treasure Coast and it was the same thing. Obviously, they are all utilizing Premium Choice programming. It didn't look like anyone was on live and/or local in Sarasota and S.W. Florida. Still, the ratings look solid enough.

Still, something looked off. Maybe I'm thinking lost opportunity. I'll hold further discussion on that for now until we get to subsequent markets.

We'll take a look at Hubbard's cluster next.

 

[John FL]

It was only last year that Hubbard Radio came to the West Palm Beach radio market. With all that's happened, it seems like a long time ago now. It was a big event considering the extensive TV advertising blitz promoting a number of their newly acquired stations and formats. The advertising has stopped. In another market, there's conversations going on about extensive layoffs by the company.

Austerity measures have been around long before Covid-19 came on the scene. Still, it's made a tough situation even worse for not only radio but virtually any business that depends on public visitation. It's easy to make judgements about a radio station(s) based on what is heard over the speaker. Probably the best move Hubbard Radio made was flipping WEAT-FM from AC to Classic Hits. This helped differentiate from their Hot AC WRMF-FM. Both stations, by the way, have a history of performing exceeding well in West Palm.

In fact, WEAT and WRMF are in a tie for first place (share wise) with iHeart's AC WOLL-FM. Hubbard, in my opinion, has done an outstanding job in programming WEAT (Sunny 107.9) (The Greatest Hits of the 70's, 80's, and 90's) It's an incredible mix of genres and what I believe represents what classic hits should be, an Adult Top 40. Great songs with the heaviest concentration on the 80s. What I especially like is there is a subtle AC lean to the mix. Yes, there's rock titles but done sparingly and wisely. Much of the rock offerings are very mainstream. The bottom line is it all works.

Like everywhere the days of three hour jock shifts is a thing of the past. One of their personalities is on from 9AM - 5 PM. That's Tracy St. George who I believe is the PD. She has history in the market from sister WRMF. Unless WRMF's webpages haven't been updated, it looks like she's on at part of the same time. I've seen that before too but mostly someone is on during separate dayparts at a sister station.

No subject about ratings can be complete without talking about revenue too. We don't hear enough about sales teams. In fact my radio knowledge probably requires a crash course in the subject of billing. Simply, there's a lot I don't know. But I've always realized the importance of the sponsor. I can't tell you how many times I've visited a store or a restaurant and letting them know I heard about them on the radio on station XXXX.

Covid-19 has changed much. I would imagine a number of spots have been stopped because the business can't afford it. In my time in Jacksonville, I referred three businesses to the old Clear Channel for their new classic hits station. In all three cases, sponsorship never happened. I never got the full story as these people were more acquaintances than friends. There were issues with expenses. One said he thought the sales guy had a bad attitude and didn't listen.

I don't know exactly what happened except that station didn't last very long. I learned then that the right sales team is a must. So, in these very difficult times, I have to wonder if sales people involved in direct, local market selling are receiving tips on closing the deal while being sensitive to what business people are going through. Likewise, I have to wonder if concessions are being made at an initial discounted rate until things return to some kind of normalcy. It's better to get a discounted sale than no sale at all. At least that's my way of thinking.

Both Sunny and WRMF have live and local morning teams. As has been said numerous times on the board, most of the salary budget goes to morning drive. It's easy to see why there are long shifts the rest of the day with people who have other responsibilities in the cluster. WEAT and WRMF look like the hottest properties in the cluster. They both complement each other with one being the older sister to the other. Where Sunny leaves off chronologically in the music, WRMF picks it up. There's no music overlap, as I could tell. WRMF is "The Best Variety of the 2000's, 10's and today. Sunny sporadically features 90s as their most "modern" songs.

Hubbard spent a good deal on promoting their country station WIRK-FM. It resulted in a bump in the ratings some time ago. Since the advertising has stopped the station has been trending downward. WIRK was once among the very top stations in the market. It's a heritage station and currently in 10th place overall. This, no doubt, reflects the demo changes experienced in the West Palm Beach market over the years. Still, I suspect the format brings in listeners that can be (hopefully) sold to. How long that remains will be answered over time.

Hubbard's remaining cluster has an Urban AC, Rhythmic CHR (not a good signal)AM news/talk and sports.

Before Covid-19 there was extensive radio advertising for political candidates. 2020 is an election year. From a revenue perspective, light is at the end of the tunnel. That's the optimist in me. The big chain restaurants will probably talk of their cleanliness and safety. As of this writing Palm Beach County remains "closed." The county government has requested to reopen to the governor. Outside of S.E. Florida (Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties), the rest of Florida is in Phase One of reopening. I've heard some advertising for restaurants and other business on local radio where I am just north of Palm Beach already.

The nature of products and services are changing. I've been seeing TV advertising that feature companies who do "deep cleaning" services. I would imagine, radio could play into these companies advertising strategies too. There are companies who are hiring lots of people. They are busier than ever before. That's how it goes.

In the end, I believe quality radio programming that delivers good ratings will attract sponsors. It's always been that way. Perhaps more optimism, but I believe Hubbard is in a decent position in the West Palm market.

More on the West Palm Beach radio market to come.

 

[John FL]

As mentioned in the last post, iHeart Media's AC WOLL-FM (KOOL 105.5) (More Variety From The 80s to Now) is in a tie for first place (in share) along with Hubbard's Hot AC, WRMF and their classic hits WEAT, a former heritage AC format.

KOOL has undergone an almost complete change in the talent roster. In the past such changes would have made listeners uncomfortable often resulting in ratings trending downward. The station has actually been trending upwards and they are enjoying one of their best books right now.

It should be obvious that it’s the content that delivers the desired listeners to a radio station. Content is many things besides a playlist. But whenever I looked at a radio station’s success whether we are talking this year or decades ago, the music is a critical piece. It's a station's bread and butter. But there's more.

WOLL has a highly successful morning show. The married duo of “Mo & Sally” are the longest running morning show in the Palm Beaches having begun in 1999. That’s the major local component to the station. Obviously this is enough for today’s audiences. The merits of "Live and local" have been discussed very often on the radio boards.While I have personal preferences, I'm not as firm as I once was that live and local was the only option to success. I follow ratings closely and have done so for many decades. I shake my head and acknowledge today's radio listeners have their preferences too. And radio has listened.

Those who are lucky enough to have a gig on iHeart’s Premium Choice syndicated programming, were most likely chosen not only because they interviewed well, or even had a good resume. Just like music selection, there’s probably a focus-group testing where typical listeners gravitate toward a certain personality. Those are the folks who have a higher chance at being hired.

The stakes are high. It’s not just one station a talent is hired for but it can be one hundred or even more. On the surface, it looks like good decisions are being made. And numbers don’t lie. It's an interesting dynamic.

iHeart also owns the #4 station in the market, classic rock WKGR-FM (Gater 98.7 ) (The Palm Beach’s Rock Station) A little trivia – the “G” did not originally apply to Gater but rather “Gourmet.” Years ago, maybe the 80s, I remember they were known as Gourmet Rock. Someone could clarify. Given all the demographic changes in Palm Beach County over the years, the station continues to do well.

Another iHeart heritage station and worthy of discussion and rounding out the Top 5 is WJNO-AM. (The Palm Beach’s News Source) Here’s another station that has been a constant “up the list” in the ratings. With its syndicated conservative talk lineup, there is a following in Palm Beach County.

Although Palm Beach County is very “blue,” it’s the most conservative of all the South Florida counties based on voting results. There are large areas, especially in N. Palm Beach County, that are quite “red.” WJNO and news/talk is another format that has lasted the test of time while only broadcasting on the AM band. Competition is Education station (PBS) WLRN-FM that you would think would be ahead of WJNO but is not.

iHeart owns another "Talker" in WZZR-FM (Real Radio 94.3 - Real Talk For The Palm Beaches) Lex & Terry (shock jocks) are on the schedule. I suppose this would be the logical place for WJNO to have a home on FM but while WZZR only averages 2 shares, I would suspect a younger audience is delivered compared to WJNO. Hubbard owns a news talk format, WFTL-AM. But they get fractional shares.

We’ll cover a few more Palm Beach stations and a wrap-up of Palm Beach County upcoming!

 

[John FL]

West Palm is behaving similarly to the other PPM Florida we’ve visited when it comes to CHR. The format as far as popularity goes falls behind Classic Hits and AC. In this market, even classic rock is a bit more popular. There is only one Top 40 in the Palm Beaches and that’s iHeart’s WLDI-FM (Wild 95.5) (The Palm Beach’s #1 Hit Music Station).

The 95.5 frequency has had a number of calls and formats. There’s nothing unusual about that except there appears to be an increased frequency of flips in the past compared to today. The new call letters of WLDI heralded the new Top 40 format back in 1998.

There was a 9,500 song marathon (Representing 95.5) which was concluded with a $25,000 prize to a lucky winner. It seems like a world ago that saw these big promotions, almost across the board at many stations. It’s more the rarity today. When a format would launch in the past, it was like that old Carole King tune about feeling the earth move. It felt just like that sometimes. .

The Palm Beach’s proximity to the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale market have shown in the ratings. Although years ago, it was far more noticeable. On the subject of CHR, Miami’s Y-100 long made inroads into the Palm Beach’s as it does today. What’s been missing for quite some time now is Classic Hits WMXJ.

It’s not surprising due to the nature of the Palm Beach market. “South County” consists of the towns of Boca Raton and Delray Beach. Some definitions include Boynton Beach. There’s a large number of senior citizens in that area, the oldest in the county and among the oldest in the state. When WMXJ was Magic 102.7, their numbers in Palm Beach were close to what they got in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale. That probably wasn't such a good thing being so popular among the geriatric set.

Today, WMXJ doesn’t show up in West Palm’s book. Now that it’s 102.7 The Beach with an updated and edgier sound, it’s apparently a turn-off to most of those South Country residents. A number of co-workers and even family lived in that area. They didn’t identify with West Palm Beach but Ft. Lauderdale instead. I’ve read a number of reports about this too. It’s one of those unique situations to the market.

The most popular urban station in West Palm is in 7[SUP]th[/SUP] position overall getting 3 shares. That’s Hubbard’s Urban AC WMBX-FM (X102.3) (Today’s R&B and Throwbacks). Unless there’s a station that doesn’t subscribe to Nielsen, it appears West Palm does not have a stand-alone Urban Contemporary station.

Miami’s WMIB is currently in 12[SUP]th[/SUP] place in West Palm’s book. (1035 The Beat) (Miami’s New #1 For Hip-Hop, R&B, and The Breakfast Club) Unless there’s something I’m not seeing, it would appear the Urban community is under-served in the West Palm radio market.

From the south end of the county to the north, Palm Beach County has a good deal of diversity in its residents. There’s also a large rural land area that’s loaded with farms that go as far as touching the everglades.

Florida has seen such incredible change. Every market offers various formats. The question is ‘How representative radio is to the market it serves?’ That’s a subject all on its’ own.

Unless there is further discussion, this concludes our analysis of our last PPM radio market, West Palm/Boca Raton. It’s on to diary markets and we will continue as we have by market size order next.

 

[TheBigA]

Hubbard spent a good deal on promoting their country station WIRK-FM. It resulted in a bump in the ratings some time ago. Since the advertising has stopped the station has been trending downward. WIRK was once among the very top stations in the market. It's a heritage station and currently in 10th place overall. This, no doubt, reflects the demo changes experienced in the West Palm Beach market over the years.

I don't know about the demo change. The 2-point drop in ratings occurred in just the past three months. Prior to that, it was a Top 5 station. That's a pretty quick change. Must have been a lot of moving trucks in the area during the last 3 months. During the exact same time, WWKA in Orlando experienced a 2-point jump! Same format, same songs, different results.

I wonder if the ratings change at WIRK is a reflection of the new morning show. For several years, the station ran a syndicated AC morning team of Brooke & Jubal from Seattle. (Yes they ran an AC morning show on a country station) Last June, they replaced syndication with a live & local show hosted by Tim Leary. Maybe the demo prefers syndication?

 

[John FL]

I don't know about the demo change. The 2-point drop in ratings occurred in just the past three months. Prior to that, it was a Top 5 station. That's a pretty quick change. Must have been a lot of moving trucks in the area during the last 3 months. During the exact same time, WWKA in Orlando experienced a 2-point jump! Same format, same songs, different results.

I wonder if the ratings change at WIRK is a reflection of the new morning show. For several years, the station ran a syndicated AC morning team of Brooke & Jubal from Seattle. (Yes they ran an AC morning show on a country station) Last June, they replaced syndication with a live & local show hosted by Tim Leary. Maybe the demo prefers syndication?

Interesting. Maybe typical listeners just prefer something better regardless if it's syndicated or live/local. Trying to figure ratings is like a crap-shoot. Maybe it's just a fluke or maybe there were some changes in the PPM panel.

 

[radiofan86]

Whether something competitor WEJZ has done to see their numbers go through the roof or something WEZI did that sent a whole bunch of listeners to "EJZ, I can't be sure.

Loving this thread, John. Thank you for the great reading.
Regarding WEJZ, it would appear they've lost some of their "edge" in recent months. I don't mean that from a ratings standpoint, it appears some of the edgier, riskier music has been removed. They've become a safe, consistent AC station. When you turn the station on, nothing will sound out of place or jarring. That's a good thing. It's not uncommon to hear a song like "I Swear", from All-4-One, which was a song lost from AC radio for a number of years. Many other examples. You can partly blame Soft AC formats for helping to gently soften out Mainstream AC in many markets nationwide.

It is interesting that WEZI has become "Classic AC" more than Soft AC.
Musically, both WEJZ and WEZI are good sounding radio stations. The audience for that type of music has two very solid options. Cox is a company that heavily researches their products, and something in their research must have told them to kick up the tempo and energy on "Easy".

 

[John FL]

Loving this thread, John. Thank you for the great reading.
Regarding WEJZ, it would appear they've lost some of their "edge" in recent months. I don't mean that from a ratings standpoint, it appears some of the edgier, riskier music has been removed. They've become a safe, consistent AC station. When you turn the station on, nothing will sound out of place or jarring. That's a good thing. It's not uncommon to hear a song like "I Swear", from All-4-One, which was a song lost from AC radio for a number of years. Many other examples. You can partly blame Soft AC formats for helping to gently soften out Mainstream AC in many markets nationwide.

It is interesting that WEZI has become "Classic AC" more than Soft AC.
Musically, both WEJZ and WEZI are good sounding radio stations. The audience for that type of music has two very solid options. Cox is a company that heavily researches their products, and something in their research must have told them to kick up the tempo and energy on "Easy".

Thanks very much. For the benefit of the readers, because this string has discussed many markets and stations, the last poster is referring to Jacksonville and the competition between two AC formats.

As I had mentioned earlier, I reviewed WEJZ's playlist and found it solid. I would agree that the overall sound of the station is more in keeping with a traditional AC. This is just speculation on my part but if we look at history, I believe WEJZ is reacting to a new competitor by marginalizing them. If you recall, it was in August 2010 the former Clear Channel launched WJGH (Jacksonville's Greatest Hits) (Magic 107.3) that had an AC lean.

At the time, WEJZ began emphasizing more on the 80s and beyond. With Magic's debut, they started playing a lot more 70s. This went on all during Magic's presence. I also have a feeling Renda knew CC didn't have the patience to wait so WEJZ had all the time in the world to do what they did. Renda was right. CC gave up quickly. When Magic was flipped to Adult Hits in early 2012, WEJZ took up where they left off getting more contemporary and edgier.

Cox's Classic Hits Eagle reacted to new competition as well by returning to their roots playing less harder rock in favor of the rock hits. They countered with a commercial free presentation just about when Magic did theirs. The competition took Magic seriously. It's a shame CC didn't realize what they had.

Easy 102.9 unfortunately lost its way making too many changes too quickly. WEJZ simply took advantage of that. Easy's PD is gone and now they have throttled back with all the rock, too much in my opinion if your brand name is "Easy." It took four years for them to get a morning show. I'm sure the person they hired is a nice lady but she's not big market material in my opinion. Plus, not everyone can do a solo morning show. It's not easy. "Arthur and Yvonne" on WEJZ are the known quantity, incredible chemistry, and they are very relatable.

Both stations have undergone talent changes. WEJZ has "new voices" in both middays and PM drive. Perhaps these were smart moves too. I haven't listened. Renda Broadcasting will protect their cash cow WEJZ to the max. Cox believes in their "Easy" brand. With good competition, the listeners tend to win.

 

[John FL]

Fort Myers – Naples is market #57. Here is a link to the ratings:
https://ratings.****************/content/arb515

Population: 1,006,700. Black: 75,900 (8%). Hispanic: 211, 600 (21%).

What’s interesting is I’ve noticed the ratings report show a monthly update as you would find in a PPM market and not diary. Perhaps, market #57 is on the way to become a PPM market. Clarification is needed.

It’s only 75 miles from tollgate to tollgate on the highway known as “Alligator Alley” which connects southeast Florida with southwest Florida. But the two locations are like a world apart. Once I visited Naples, I wound up visiting southwest Florida often as both a day-trip and to vacation. I must have traveled there at least a dozen times.

On my first trip to Marco Island, the song “La Isla Bonita” by Madonna played from my personal stash just as I was making my way to the bridge. That song perfectly described the tropical vibe I saw. As I have been doing with each market so far, there is that one song that identifies with the market and “La Isla Bonita” nails it for Ft. Myers-Naples. Incidentally there’s a Bonita Springs in the market too.

It came as no surprise to find the #1 station in the market is Sun Broadcasting’s WFSX-FM (92.5 Fox News.) There’s a typical morning news block then followed by weekday conservative syndicated talkers Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity. S.W. Florida is solidly "red."

When I talked to the locals about the area I frequently heard about “quiet money.” I never heard that expression before but it describes wealthy people who are not snobby or showy about it – not like New Yawkers – their words. In fact as I mentioned in the Tampa discussion, many residents who made Florida their home over time, appeared to have moved geographically.

The east coast of Florida has a more northeast (NY, NJ, and Conn) presence than Florida’s west coast who have residents hailing from the so called “Fly-Over Country.” I haven’t been to S.W. Florida for easily 10 years. I’m sure much has changed. Mine are very fine memories. It’s quite beautiful there. There was a time I wanted to move to the Naples area but it's funny how your job can change your plans.

I recall Renda Broadcasting owned a cluster in Ft. Myers-Naples. I was familiar with the company from my time in Jacksonville. While I don’t know the reason for selling off, I suspect billing isn’t exceptionally good. In just casual observation, the Naples/Marco Island area had a large senior population. I checked on stats. Today, the Naples median age is 65.3 and in Ft. Myers it’s 39.2. A huge difference. Ft. Myers’ population is estimated at just under 89,000, not enough to tip the scales younger for Lee and Collier Counties. There's lot of bedroom, retirement communities galore.

Ironically, I don’t remember much about radio there. The market had an oldies station I tuned into occasionally but much of the music was from the 50s when checked out in the 80s and maybe even 90s. From a hit music perspective, the 50s just wasn’t my thing. Almost always the radio was off on my visits. That must have been by choice.

We're off the ground with Naples and Fort Myers. We’ll explore a bit more in market # 57 upcoming.

 

[John FL]

In the last segment, I talked a little bit about median age but I limited it to the two principal cities of Fort Myers and Naples. But as I looked at the ratings report, there seemed many AC and CHR formats. I wasn’t so surprised about AC but why so many CHR formats? Researching demos by county I found the following: Collier County has a median age of 51.6. Lee County has a median age of 48.1 years and Charlotte County has a median age of 58.1.

Beasley Media’s Soft AC WJPT-FM (Sunny 106.3) is a popular station in the Fort Myers/Naples market based on ratings history. Currently it’s #2 overall and the #1 music station. As reported last time, news/talk is #1 overall. As I listened to Sunny 106.3 yesterday, I felt the music (mostly 70s and 80s with an occasional 60s, 90s, and “newer” reflected the station’s tagline of “Southwest Florida’s Soft Hits.” I wasn’t surprised in the station’s popularity. The station probably has good appeal among those older-skewing listeners.

There are two other ACs. One is Fort Myers Broadcasting Company’s 96.9 WINK-FM (Today’s Hits & Yesterday’s Favorites.)This is a traditional AC but is less favored by a mile in comparison to WJPT. WINK-FM is 10[SUP]th[/SUP] overall in the market.

iHeart’s WZJZ-FM (Southwest Florida’s Y100.1 - 90’s to Now) is in 13[SUP]th[/SUP] place overall. It would seem the contemporary music piece of the pie is adequately served given the stations that follow:

The overall #3 station in the market is iHeartMedia’s CHR WBTT-FM. (105.5 The Beat – Southwest Florida’s Party Station.) This is a rhythmic Top 40 station. At first, it looked a little out of place but I would think the station attracts a large percentage of the 200,000+ Hispanics who call S.W. Florida home.

There’s also another Top 40 in the market. Beasley Media’s WXKB-FM (B 1039 – The #1 Hit Music Station in Southwest Florida) The station is currently tied in 4[SUP]th[/SUP] place. There’s a local morning zoo type team known as “Big Mama and The Wild Bunch.

According to the bio on the station’s website “Big and his crew ‘The WiLD Bunch’ have scored the highest ratings in station history and won countless awards including The Best Morning Drive team ten years running in the News-Press best of the Southwest.” Obviously CHR is a popular format in S.W. Florida despite median age.

Sun Broadcastings’ WFYY-FM (Fly 98.5 Non-stop Hip-Hop) is listed in the ratings as another Rhythmic CHR. It’s ratings go up and down and currently in 6[SUP]th[/SUP] place. It’s obviously another younger-skewing format. I didn’t notice any Urban format listed but this looks like it would fit the bill. Then again, Hip-Hop has broad appeal especially among younger listeners. There’s less than 75,000 Blacks in the market.

This is the first market in this string where CHR is ahead of classic hits in popularity.

In our next segment, we’ll look at a few more formats, perhaps seeing the pendulum swing more to formats with older adult appeal. In answer to my question above, it’s clear that despite the upper end 25-54 median age and beyond, there are many stations fighting for a piece of 18-34 because it's simply more profitable to do so. Market #57 is turning out to be far more interesting than I thought it would be. More to come!

 

[John FL]

Sun Broadcasting’s 100,000 watt WARO (94.5 The Arrow) (Southwest Florida’s Classic Rock station) is currently in 4[SUP]th[/SUP] place. Although there has been a trend down, the format has been neck and neck sometimes with the previously discussed Soft AC, WJPT at #2. At first blush, this is a little surprising, but then we’re reminded of Classic Rock’s popularity across the nation.

I haven’t heard the “Arrow” brand name in quite some time. There was an “Arrow” in Jacksonville that was a rock format too. Renda Broadcasting was the owner. In looking over the playlist, there are rock-leaning classic hits formats that offer much of the same music. From what I could see, there was literally just a handful of tunes that differentiate the two formats. It’s not much.

Beasley Media’s 96.1 WRXK-FM (96k- Rock (Everything That Rocks) is a Rock/Active Rock format. The station has been rocking Southwest Florida since 1986. This was close to the first time I ever visited the area. So, the fact that all these rock formats surprise me probably has more to do with not even knowing they were on the radio dial.

The station charts just outside the top 10 with 2 shares. While I know very little about Active Rock, except that it plays a combo of hard new rock with a mix of classic rock, I’ve seen commentary about it. For a number of owners and managers, Active Rock didn’t deliver the kind of numbers that benefited the cluster. How prevalent the format is across the country, I don’t know. But apparently, Active Rock still has a place in Southwest Florida.

Sun Broadcasting’s 93.7 WXNX-FM (93X- The Rock Alternative) is an alternative rock station, no surprise. Some sources list the station as active rock. Some say it’s a hybrid of both Alternative and Active Rock so you should get the idea what they are all about.

The station is mired in the low 2’s and not too surprising. Alternative formats don’t get big shares but apparently the audience the format delivers (I would suspect) a younger male audience that doesn’t interfere with other stations in the cluster. They have “jocks” on in various dayparts. It looks like some of them are local to the area.

In 7[SUP]th[/SUP] place and with trending up but still in the 2’s in shares is iHeartMedia’s Classic Hits WOLZ-FM (95.3 – OLZ – Southwest Florida’s Greatest Hits). This is the first market where Classic Hits is not a top-tier format. Programming and talent is provided by iHeart’s Premium Choice syndication. While I understand the economic reasons this is done, it amplifies the fact that market uniqueness does not always support a “one-size fits all” approach.

Premium Choice programming tends to be generic in the sense that the music offered is the well-tested national core hits. But it lacks those local elements that could prove beneficial to attract more listeners. I suspect WOLZ could perform better among Hispanics and their rising presence in S.W. Florida.

If you look at the incredible success of the Classic Hits format in Miami and Orlando, “Freestyle” hits are included in the mix. Premium Choice, for obvious reasons, avoids them. Again, it’s a generic sound of rock and pop with some Bee Gees and K.C thrown in. That's as rhythmic as they get. Locally produced programming looks at their competition as well. Premium Choice offers a lot of rock on the playlist. As we’ve seen, rock is available on many stations in S.W. Florida making it harder to sway new listeners your way since they have so many other alternatives, including lots of song overlap.

In the end, a great deal of analysis probably took place to have WOLZ programmed as it is. Certainly, it’s less expensive than having a dedicated local programmer and having at least a couple of local talent on the air. In the hands of another company, who knows how classic hits in Fort Myers and Naples would perform? There are differences in how companies operate and that’s what makes the business of radio interesting to many of us.

I’ve got some parting thoughts of Fort Myers and Naples on the way. Then we move up the coast a bit.

 

[John FL]

We conclude the ratings analysis for Fort Myers, Naples, and even Marco Island. Southwest Florida is an interesting place and it holds many special memories for me. Also, given some of the research I did on the market, I now consider it an interesting radio market too.

Radio Discussions has a forum for Southwest Florida radio. It’s a shame it’s not utilized much. I only scratched the surface here. In my view, it’s always better to get some local perspective into a radio subject such as this. But if no one is talking on that board, it’s asking a lot to get input here I suppose. Still, I feel I told only a limited story.

Many of us are probably guilty in formulating opinions of places that we really don’t know. I’ve long thought of the Naples area in terms of R&R. In my mind, it was just a big retirement community. I heard mostly mellow tunes in various restaurants, hotels, and stores and so that’s what I assumed people liked in the area.

There’s things we see or want to see as tourists or visitors. And there are many more who make the area their home. What we see format-wise in a market probably comes close to reflecting what the market is really all about. It’s not always complete but it’s close to getting there. At first I was shocked seeing all the contemporary music and rock music stations because it differed from my perceptions of the area that go back quite a few years. Memories have a way of clouding reality.

Anyway, I have this feeling there’s some interesting stories to tell of the Fort Myers/Naples radio market. Hopefully, we’ll hear about them one day.

Our next stop is just up the road. Sarasota-Bradenton and market #71.