What is kroq gonna do?

[hotpatrick2004]

I guess it's the fault out of no more Kevin and Bean and people aren't digging Stryker and Klein.
They have fallen well below a 2 share.
What are they gonna do?

Klos doing pretty well and kabc is seeing numbers they haven't seen in years. I think they are pretty good now personally. And kfi is on top. I bet both kfi and kabc doing better because of wanting information on the virus.

 

[TheBigA]

I guess it's the fault out of no more Kevin and Bean and people aren't digging Stryker and Klein.
They have fallen well below a 2 share. What are they gonna do?

It's going to take a while. It took KTWV a few years to transition from smooth jazz to where they are now. It will likely take the same period of time for KROQ to transition. It hurts that radio stations really can't do the kinds of promotions they'd like to do that would involve their listeners. No Weenie Roast this year for example. So it may be a while.

 

[Radionerd408]

We are in the middle of a pandemic with a significant disruption to people's lives and commutes.
Cume (as measured by PPM) is way down for many music stations and KROQ recently lost much of their existing Cume by changing morning shows and adjusting the music. Fewer listeners are in their vehicles and likely sampling fewer stations right now.
I believe KROQ will continue to build their new morning show while fine tuning the music mix and respond to listening behavior when things start to stabilize.

 

[TheBigA]

I believe KROQ will continue to build their new morning show while fine tuning the music mix and respond to listening behavior when things start to stabilize.

I agree with all of that, but I'd add that the station really needs to identify who their audience is. All these changes gives them a chance to really rebuild the station completely. Some have said that the music has been taking on a more pop sound and that may be. The main thing they have to do is differentiate themselves from KYSR. It could be two years or more before this bears any fruit. In the meantime, hopefully the music situation stabilizes and something emerges as a consensus sound they can latch onto.

 

[MarkW]

Many rock based stations saw steady or improved AQH shares this survey. KEGL, WMMR, KTBZ, KLOS, KSAN, WSRV and others all had great books.

Alternative stations, especially Entercom-owned Alternative stations, seem to be laggards. KROQ - way down (yes, the morning show disruption had a LOT to do with that). KVIL Dallas - record low. WNYL New York - down.

Will be interesting to see if these trends hold as additional markets are released this week.

By the way, I am very skeptical that Mike Kaplan has what it takes to fix KROQ. Los Angeles ain't New York or Seattle. His New York station was doing OK at best prior to COVID-19. WPLJ going away gave Alt 92.3 a boost, I suspect.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

Klos doing pretty well and kabc is seeing numbers they haven't seen in years. I think they are pretty good now personally. And kfi is on top. I bet both kfi and kabc doing better because of wanting information on the virus.

Wait a minute there buckaroo. I have been reliably informed on this site for many years that it is impossible for KABC to generate any decent ratings with its poor signal, regardless of format.

 

[davideduardo]

Many rock based stations saw steady or improved AQH shares this survey. KEGL, WMMR, KTBZ, KLOS, KSAN, WSRV and others all had great books.

You are looking for fresh water in the Dead Sea.

KLOS, using one example, lost 47% of its AQH persons.

Or... KSAN off by a third in 25-54 AQH persons.

KEGL did a bit better... only off by 25% in the same demo's AQH persons. And, looking at Dallas as an example, 25-54 AQH persons in the market was off by over 40% compared to February.

As mentioned before, the huge drop in radio usage obligated Nielsen to send a client letter saying in delicate terms that the results for April were not typical and not estimated to be useful for sales purposes in the future.

 

[davideduardo]

Wait a minute there buckaroo. I have been reliably informed on this site for many years that it is impossible for KABC to generate any decent ratings with its poor signal, regardless of format.

Yes, in 25-54 persons they went from 41st in February to 37th in April.

They are so low that one meter can change rank by five or six positions!

 

[TheBigA]

By the way, I am very skeptical that Mike Kaplan has what it takes to fix KROQ. Los Angeles ain't New York or Seattle.

Which can be a good thing. If Kaplan locks himself in the office and tries to program analytically, he may not have a lot of success. If on the other hand he immerses himself in the music and the culture to the point where he knows who he's programming to, he'll be fine. LA is that kind of place where you have to live it to know it.

 

[hotpatrick2004]

When Mike Kaplan aka Mike the show killer was programming alt 98.7 woody of the Woody show said mike was a great guy but horrible at his job.

Maybe there is something to that for ever since Lisa took over as PD of ALT they get better numbers then when show killer ran the show most of the time.

 

[mjb1124]

Since KROQ are the "heritage" Alt station, maybe it would be wise for them to aim for an older audience than KYSR. Find the sweet spot between AAA and Alternative for those who grew up with the latter format in its heyday.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

Since KROQ are the "heritage" Alt station, maybe it would be wise for them to aim for an older audience than KYSR. Find the sweet spot between AAA and Alternative for those who grew up with the latter format in its heyday.

Growing old with your audience is a great long-term strategy. I give you KOST as an example.

Refusing to grow old with your audience can leave you left behind in a cloud of dust sooner than you think. I give you Rick Dees as an example.

 

[TheBigA]

Since KROQ are the "heritage" Alt station, maybe it would be wise for them to aim for an older audience than KYSR. Find the sweet spot between AAA and Alternative for those who grew up with the latter format in its heyday.

I think if that was the goal, they would have kept Kevin.

 

[davideduardo]

Growing old with your audience is a great long-term strategy. I give you KOST as an example.

Refusing to grow old with your audience can leave you left behind in a cloud of dust sooner than you think. I give you Rick Dees as an example.

But KOST has always targeted a core in the 35-54 range, with fringes at both sides. As time goes on, they revise the playlist for both age and style to keep the focus on a 44-year-old female.

They definitely don't grow old with the audience or they would sill be playing Manilow and The Carpenters.

 

[Radionerd408]

I think if that was the goal, they would have kept Kevin.

According to trade magazines, Kevin left voluntarily to take the job of Head of North American Programming for Spotify. There are also reports that he was the highest paid Program Director in the US and that Entercom would not want to keep paying that high of a salary.

 

[TheBigA]

According to trade magazines, Kevin left voluntarily to take the job of Head of North American Programming for Spotify.

Kevin of Kevin & Bean, not Weatherly.

 

[macattack]

With today's adds KROQ is basically WNYL West. A lot of heritage songs have also been jettisoned for WNYL's Alt Nation-lite playlist. This is definitely a new KROQ now, and although the final demise of the Kevin & Bean morning show definitely was the primary factor in the ratings plunge, I have to wonder how much of a factor the music is.

It won't be clear whether Mike Kaplan can properly program KROQ in addition to WNYL, much less get the station where it needs to be, for months if not years. I have to wonder how much patience Entercom is willing to give him.

 

[radiojomo]

What is KROQ going to do? Probably try to survive like every other business out there. Business probably won’t come back as usual until end of summer, most likely. That’s if it recovers at all.

Money talks, at the moment. Cutting or minimizing costs are most likely the priority over number watching for most station GMs at the moment, IMO.

Even companies that are well-capitalized are drawing back their ad spends and freezing budgets. No point in having monster ratings if no company has anything to sell!

 

[TheBigA]

It won't be clear whether Mike Kaplan can properly program KROQ in addition to WNYL, much less get the station where it needs to be, for months if not years. I have to wonder how much patience Entercom is willing to give him.

It's not really one person by himself. He has a staff, and he has air personalities. It's a team. In my view, alternative radio stations don't get much help from the music industry or the artists. So if KROQ is going to rebound in some way, it will do so on the strength of its personalities and its outreach to the community. I think it might be worth investigating the creation of a 21st century version of Loveline or something similar. Something unique to the station that people can't get somewhere else. Something that inspires excitement among the audience. Because the music alone won't do that.

 

[macattack]

It's not really one person by himself. He has a staff, and he has air personalities. It's a team. In my view, alternative radio stations don't get much help from the music industry or the artists. So if KROQ is going to rebound in some way, it will do so on the strength of its personalities and its outreach to the community. I think it might be worth investigating the creation of a 21st century version of Loveline or something similar. Something unique to the station that people can't get somewhere else. Something that inspires excitement among the audience. Because the music alone won't do that.

I agree with you. The question is what that can be.

KROQ's disc jockeys from 1980 to roughly 2007 were legendary; I'm not sure if anyone out there has a compelling enough presence to make people listen to them. Who can be Adam Corolla? Who can be Kevin and Bean? Who can be Kat?