Fl Ratings & More

[John FL]

Before moving on to the Sarasota-Bradenton market, I'd like to discuss the major changes that have taken place in several Florida PPM markets. The April book is giving a clearer picture of the effects of Covid-19 on listening.

Early on in this string I talked about how Covid-19 would change listening. I also talked about how people would tune in to their favorite stations and this wouldn't necessarily be the station that's heard in the workplace. That seems to be happening.

In Miami, a Spanish contemporary station, WAMR-FM, is #1 overall. WEZI (Easy 93.1) is a pretty consistent player but has lost a full share which I might add isn't as bad as it could have been. The station has a strong following. An Urban AC has gone up a bit. Another Spanish Contemporary has entered the Top 5 with a nice increase in share. Classic Hits WMXJ has rounded out the top 5. AC WLYF has had their worst book I could ever remember being in the 4 shares. They have their work cut out for them, IMO, if people are not choosing to hear them in their down time.

What does all this mean? To be honest, I believe more will be learned as time moves along. In the Miami board this subject came up. One of the posters, David Eduardo, stated that listening is off 30% in S. Fl. That's pretty substantial. What we do know is the drive to work is down, so that is one affect. Some are working from home. Some have kids who are schooling from home. Then there are others who are unemployed and literally have no place to go. Their listening habits have changed too. Probably they listen a little more than they did before the Covid-19 pandemic.

I have to wonder if there is a correlation between hospitality workers unemployment and the popularity of some formats as a result.

In Tampa, longtime #1 AC WDUV has taken a dive losing almost 3 shares. The station has long been identified as an at work station. Perhaps their harder edge is turning off some of their listener base. Given a choice, they aren't listening as much. Christian Contemporary is now #1 there. Praying during these trying times must be up too. Country has bumped up and so did news/talk. Rock oriented classic hits WXGL (Eagle) has moved up a bit while competitor variety-based classic hits, a likely at work station, WRBQ has moved down a bit.

Again, I believe people are listening more to the stations and formats they prefer when they "control the dial" and not having to listen to that station heard at work.

In Orlando, Urban WCFB leaped two shares to land in the #1 spot for most popular station. Rock-oriented classic hits has gained a little more than two shares as well and is in #2. Talk is up, as one would expect. News stations will do better than average overall as people are puling in info. Variety-based classic hits WOCL has taken an almost 2 share drop bringing them from the #1 spot to 5th. I suspect 105.9 Sunny is a popular at work station.

I haven't looked across the country but it would appear traditional AC is taking a hit. I saw that in NYC's WLTW. Urban and Spanish formats are moving up but so are rock-oriented formats. News/talk I'd say should see a nice increase. Miami is a different animal. News/talk WIOD actually dropped there.

We will probably hear many theories about listening and speculation too. But PPM markets certainly have advantages to diary markets. We are seeing changing listener behavior right before our eyes. We'll get back to our normal discussion soon. It will be interesting to see what happens in Jacksonville and West Palm Beach. I believe their ratings will be reported today or tomorrow.

 

[davideduardo]

In Miami, a Spanish contemporary station, WAMR-FM, is #1 overall. WEZI (Easy 93.1) is a pretty consistent player but has lost a full share which I might add isn't as bad as it could have been. The station has a strong following. An Urban AC has gone up a bit. Another Spanish Contemporary has entered the Top 5 with a nice increase in share. Classic Hits WMXJ has rounded out the top 5. AC WLYF has had their worst book I could ever remember being in the 4 shares. They have their work cut out for them, IMO, if people are not choosing to hear them in their down time.

What does all this mean? To be honest, I believe more will be learned as time moves along. In the Miami board this subject came up. One of the posters, David Eduardo, stated that listening is off 30% in S. Fl. That's pretty substantial. What we do know is the drive to work is down, so that is one affect. Some are working from home. Some have kids who are schooling from home. Then there are others who are unemployed and literally have no place to go. Their listening habits have changed too. Probably they listen a little more than they did before the Covid-19 pandemic.

In various markets, the persons using radio (PUR) has declined between 30% and 50% in the PPM markets.

In Miami, off 30%, you'd need a 4 share in April to be equal in AQH persons to February. So if your station has not gone up by a third in share, then it lost listeners.

On the other hand, if a station goes from a 3 to a 2, they lost half their listening.

For consideration... since you mention hospitality workers... the market is far less dependent on hotel business now. The bigger industries are transportation, export-import, international logistics and the like. But commerce with Latin America and the Caribbean is at a standstill, so there are many workers in those areas that are out of a job. Miami also has very high retail, due mostly to visitors from Latin America, many of whom have residences in Miami.

 

[John FL]

In various markets, the persons using radio (PUR) has declined between 30% and 50% in the PPM markets.

In Miami, off 30%, you'd need a 4 share in April to be equal in AQH persons to February. So if your station has not gone up by a third in share, then it lost listeners.

On the other hand, if a station goes from a 3 to a 2, they lost half their listening.

For consideration... since you mention hospitality workers... the market is far less dependent on hotel business now. The bigger industries are transportation, export-import, international logistics and the like. But commerce with Latin America and the Caribbean is at a standstill, so there are many workers in those areas that are out of a job. Miami also has very high retail, due mostly to visitors from Latin America, many of whom have residences in Miami.

Appreciate the response. I had to read your reply several times and then the light went off. I get it.

As I mentioned earlier, with the ratings in PPM markets rolling out, I was curious what affects would be seen in Jacksonville and West Palm. Perhaps this explains why different radio markets don't behave the same.

The April Jacksonville book showed the top 5 stations remaining in place. The only noticeable change was in news/talk WOKV who increased its share by two giving them over a 13 share. Jacksonville has long been a news and conservative talk town. #2 in the market is AC WEJZ and they only lost fractional shares getting just under a 10 share. Country formats took a big hit. The long time country leader in Jacksonville, WQIK, is down into the 3's. I've never seen them do so poorly. This may not have as much to do with changes in behavior resulting from Covid-19 but because of a changing demographic in the community and an over-saturation of stations offering country.

Similarly, in West Palm, the Top 5 stations have not changed from the last book. The market leader is Classic Hits WEAT-FM. NewsTalk WJNO-AM is up more than a share but not getting anything close to the kind of numbers seen in Jax. AC WOLL is acting like Miami's AC WFEZ dropping a share.

To sum it up. Miami, Tampa, and Orlando showed the wildest fluctuations in a book that represented a time of lock down because of Covid-19. Jacksonville and West Palm Beach had some fluctuations but it looked like the kind of thing you'd find in "normal" situations. Apparently, the listeners in those markets have their favorite stations no matter what's going on.

We took a little diversion from what we were doing. I thought it was timely given this is a ratings string. We'll take a look at our next market, Sarasota, soon.

 

[John FL]

Radio Market #71 is Sarasota-Bradenton. Here is a link to a published ratings report for the area:

https://ratings.****************/content/arb373 Ratings are reported only twice a year.

Population: 738,000. Black: 46,600 (6%). Hispanic: 82,000 (11%)

The median age of Sarasota County is 56.5. The median age of Manatee County (Bradenton) is 48.7, at least in 2018. Bradenton is just south of Tampa Bay and no doubt sees a lot of Tampa radio station listening.

U.S. News and World Reports has ranked Sarasota as the #1 best place to live in Florida, #2 Best Place to Retire, #3 in Fastest Growing Places. I included these findings to reinforce the fact that Florida sees a great deal of change. This has been mentioned in the other markets discussed so far as well.

I’ve never visited Sarasota, Bradenton, or even Venice so I don’t have a song that reminds me of the area as I’ve done for other markets. When I looked at the ratings, it appeared there wasn’t much to discuss. I suspect there are local radio stations but they may not subscribe to Nielsen so we don’t get a true picture.

The Sarasota area is the west coast of Florida version, geographically, of the area I live on the Treasure Coast. Market #71 is part of the Suncoast that also includes the St. Petersburg area. From an identity standpoint, Sarasota and Bradenton are in the shadow of Tampa Bay. It’s only about an hour to Tampa from Sarasota and even less from Bradenton.

From what I can tell, most of the TV stations provided by cable originate from Tampa. Over the air stations can also come from Fort Myers.There are exceptions with local government channels, PBS, and even an ABC affiliate. Many Tampa-St. Petersburg market radio stations are on the Sarasota-Bradenton ratings report.

The ratings don’t present a true picture of radio much at all. There’s a handful of top-tier stations but after that it’s mostly 1 shares and fractional shares that follow. In our last market discussed, Fort Myers-Naples, there were quite a lot of radio stations and various formats to include many contemporary and rock formats. No one thinks of Fort Myers and Naples as being in the shadow of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. There's just enough distance too that helps differentiate the markets.

But, I suspect the people who call the Sarasota area home don’t feel they are in the shadow of a big city such as Tampa. When I first moved to the Treasure Coast of Florida, it took a little getting used to at first. The TV news is mostly about West Palm Beach. I’m around the same distance to West Palm Beach Beach as Sarasota is to Tampa. It’s around an hour’s drive. I don't feel that way anymore. It was just adjusting to smaller market life.

But, there are many local radio stations so that brings a little more sense of identity. So, we’ll look at some of the local radio stations that subscribe to Nielsen. Sarasota-Bradenton is not a market that is discussed much on these radio boards at all. There’s a story to tell no matter where you call home.

We’ll explore some of the uniqueness of the Sarasota-Bradenton radio market next.

 

[John FL]

According to Radio Locator, there are 38 radio stations within close listening range of Sarasota Florida. I've seen some in the 50-60 mile range but I prefer to talk more about the local stations instead.

iHeartMedia’s Classic Hits 107.9 WSRZ-FM (The Suncoast’s Greatest Hits) is the #1 station in the market. Fort Myers-Naples has a sister Premium Choice programmed station there. The only difference from what I can tell is in Sarasota there’s a live and local morning show “Jones and Company” whereas it’s a syndicated team in Fort Myers.

There is an obvious performance difference with classic hits between the two markets. It goes to show that generic (non-market specific), syndicated programming can perform well in some places and not so great in others. Perhaps it’s different demos and different competition. There may be budget differences as well that allow for a live, local morning show in Sarasota but not in Fort Myers.

We don’t hear too much about classic music formats. But it looks like an extremely popular format in the Sarasota-Bradenton market. The format is #2 in popularity and is a University of South Florida non-commercial station at 89.1 on the dial. WSMR-FM utilizes translators and relays and is simulcast in Tampa as well on 89.7.

The University of South Florida also owns a highly rated news/talk NPR WUSF-FM that is licensed in Tampa and performs well there too. That format is currently in 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] place.

Interestingly, there is no local AC format in the market. I suspect Tampa’s 100,000 watt WMTX takes care of the void. From what I read of the signal, the station can be heard as far south as Cape Coral which is south of Sarasota. There’s also not a local urban station as well. Tampa’s WBTP-FM is #4 in Sarasota-Bradenton so it fills a format hole. With just 6% of the market being black,

There’s a local country station, iHeartMedia’s WCTQ-FM (Country Hits from the 90s) that shows an erratic up and down ratings performance. I’ve noticed that in diary markets but it’s not exclusive to just diary. The PPM, especially nowadays, can show fluctuations too.

There’s iHeartMedia's Top 40 103.9 KISS FM (All The Hits) that translates from WSDV-AM. I haven’t seen many cases where a CHR format is offered via a translator. The format only earns fractional shares. No doubt the signal can’t cover the entire market.

There’s Regional Mexican, and Religious formats presented via an FM translator. There’s two LPFM’s as well, one offering Oldies and the other with a variety format.

In our Tampa discussion, I never brought up Cox Media’s WHPT-FM (102.5 The Bone) (Real. Raw. Radio) I’m assuming this is a shock jock talk fest. The station’s transmitter is located in N.W. Sarasota County. It’s a killer signal that can be heard from Tampa Bay and north to as far south as Fort Myers and Naples.

There was no mention of the station in the Fort Myers/Naples ratings. No doubt, Cox concentrates on the Tampa market. I wouldn’t think this talk format would be big in the Sarasota area. But since it looks like a unique kind of format, I thought it was worth mentioning to highlight some uniqueness to Sarasota.

There’s a great deal I don’t know about the market from a radio perspective. But from a tropical paradise perspective, it looks like a wonderful place to visit someday. We don’t hear much about Sarasota on the radio boards but it would still be great if someone in the know can fill in the gaps.

Unless there’s further discussion here, it’s on to Market #86 – Gainseville-Ocala next.

 

[John FL]

We move on to an analysis of the 8[SUP]th[/SUP] Florida market in this string – Market #86 - Gainesville-Ocala. Here is a link to the ratings if you’d like to follow along:

https://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb550

Population: 606,900. Black: 90,300 (15%). Hispanic: 64,400 (11%).

Please note, the ratings link provided does not require a membership sign-on. I get my ratings info from another source of which I’m a member that unfortunately doesn’t seem to work as a link here. The info is fairly close but demo info is usually not the same and for this market, “Radio Online” says this is Market #87 not #86. No matter, it's a close enough but if someone can confirm what is correct, that would be good to know.

While there are surrounding counties that make up the market, I’d like to provide the median age of both Alachua County (Gainesville) and Marion County (Ocala) This information plays importantly in a discussion of ratings. I will also be sure to give you signal strength info as well as transmitter site info for the specific stations we mention. This will prove to be very helpful. This market has some unique situations.

The median age for Alachua County (Gainesville) residents is 31.3. This is the youngest by far we’ve seen in our markets so far. Gainesville is home to the University of Florida and 50,000 + students strong.

The median age for Marion County residents is 49.1. It’s home to farms, especially horse farms, with a number of retirement communities. But it's also growing.

The first time I ever visited Gainesville was work-related back in 1997. It was a re-engineering project I talked about in the Tampa discussion that saw the team visit many areas of Florida. Gainesville was the first market in our research.

Places either interest you or they don’t. Gainesville interested me from the get-go. I got there by plane from Ft. Lauderdale, probably the most fun flight I ever took. We spent a week there. Our work hosts showed us a good time after hours. We did wind up at The University of Florida too. What an amazing campus! By time I was transferred to Jacksonville later that year, I probably visited Gainesville and Ocala at least a dozen times exploring all kinds of things.

On our first night out there, we got into a van to head to a restaurant. It was a fabulous meal. I found the food and hospitality of the area to exceed all expectations. Just before we got to the restaurant the “Dirty Dancing” song “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” played on the radio. We all looked at each other to say that was just the perfect song to describe how we were all feeling.

And so whenever I hear that song, still a personal fav, I think about Gainesville. It’s an interesting place. I believe it’s an interesting radio market too. We’ll take a look at specific stations and mix in some history too next. Have a good weekend!

 

[John FL]

There’s not the usual mix of the same companies running most of the stations in Gainesville-Ocala. There’s Saga South Communications, Marc Radio, Board of Trustees University of Florida, and Gillen Broadcasting. A “familiar” name you’ll find in other markets is Entercom who run two top-tier stations.

At #1 and no surprise is Saga South Communications’ 93.7 WOGK-FM known as “K-Country.” (You live it, we play it.) They are frequently on top enjoying double digit shares. With a 100,000 stick planted in Marion County, the station easily reaches Gainesville, just under 40 miles away plus they cover a good deal of North Central/Central Florida. WOGK has been doing the country format since 1994.

Saga South Communication also has the #2 spot in the market. This is Classic Rock known as Wind-FM. The format is simulcast over two signals. 6,000 watt stick 95.5 COL is Silver Springs near Ocala. In Gainesville, the format is aired on 92.5 with an ERP of 3,200 watts. Lower powered signals are at a disadvantage in the distinctively different cities of Ocala and Gainesville as they can’t be heard well enough in both places.

While the two signals help reach listeners in both population centers, there is the draw of the format itself. While I would think the format is highly popular in Ocala, I wouldn’t be surprised if the format does well in Gainesville too. Classic Rock has been shown to be popular with both older and younger listeners. It would be interesting to see how many listeners there are for the format in each city.

Speaking of rock, the Board of Trustees University of Florida’s WRUF-FM was once a highly popular rock station. Today it’s a country format known as. 103.7 The Gator (Gainesville #1 for New Country). In the latest ratings (Fall Book 2019) the station is in 7[SUP]th[/SUP] place and far down in share from the market leader WOGK.

WRUF became an album-oriented rock station back in 1983 known as “Rock 104.” It was by this time that the station constructed a 1000 ft. tower and the power was increased to 100,000 watts as it is today. The syndicated shock jock team of Lex & Terry were in morning drive and communication majors got credit for interning the remaining dayparts on Rock 104. What a gig that must have been!

Eventually the formatting became Active Rock but still remained in the rock genre until 2010. That’s when the station pulled the plug on rock and flipped to country where it is today. In part, the press release said “Under its new name, "Country 103.7-The Gator," the station will broadcast country music to attract a broader audience and help ensure the economic viability of the media properties for decades to come.”

The demise of Rock 104 generated a lot of listener complaints and it sparked loads of conversation on the North Florida board back in 2010. The former rock format was made available online but obviously, for many loyal listeners they lost something they loved.

Ironically, Rock 104 was extremely popular in the ratings at the time of the flip. They called themselves Gainesville’s Only Country Radio Station which wasn’t really true as WOGK was heard clearly enough in Gainesville. Yeah, I get it. Local sells but still a bit of a truth stretch.

Whether or not this format flip proved to be a correct decision is not something I can answer. But I saw a side of radio I didn’t like. It wouldn’t be the last time I experienced format demise despite its popularity.

More Gainesville-Ocala commentary on the way next!

 

[John FL]

Marc Radio is a relative newcomer to the Gainesville-Ocala radio market having purchased a number of stations from JVC Media who still have a small presence in the market. They emphasize local in their strategy, at least according to their website. Local radio, local reach, local community.

Their highest rated station and 5[SUP]th[/SUP] overall in the market is 3,500 watts 101.3 WTMG-FM. The calls mean “We’re The Magic of Gainesville.” (Magic 101.3 #1 Hits & Hip-Hop). The transmitter is in Levy County around 20 miles to the southwest of Gainesville. This is a rhythmic Top 40 that obviously does well with the younger demos in Gainesville, despite the signal.

Other stations in the cluster are WHHZ-FM with a new alternative format, WPLL-FM with classic country, and WXJZ-FM with a classic hits format, to name a few.

As mentioned earlier, it’s the signal strength, the location of the transmitter, and the format that plays heavily into the success of the station or lack thereof. What I find interesting is Mark Radio’s Classic Country WPLL-FM (I Am Country 106.9) is in 11[SUP]th[/SUP] place earning either fractional shares or shares in the 1’s. In this case, signal strength is not an issue because we’re talking 100,000 watts with the transmitter located over 50 miles away!

It seems like such a waste of such a great signal given it’s not closer to Gainesville and increased population. https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WPLL&service=FM

With the greatest coverage in what seems less populated areas, it’s no wonder the shares don’t look so impressive. Meanwhile Marc Radio’s classic hits format 100.9 WXJZ (Classic His 100.9) is only on a 6000 watt stick but is located in Gainesville. Unfortunately, the signal is a rimshot in Ocala where older listeners are located. This has been one of the issues of the market, especially with Class A stations.

In early 2014, JVC Media debuted Classic Hits on WYGC-FM (104.9 WOW-FM) This was mostly a 70’s/80s mix of variety-based hits. I recall an occasional late 60s song would be played but not too frequently. There was a couple of live personalities and there was syndication too. I listened to the station via streaming when I lived in Jacksonville. The format lasted about 2.5 years.

In my personal opinion, the format was done rather well. What distinguished the station was that they featured pop and soul hits not usually heard elsewhere. They featured AT40 both the 70s and 80s. As time moved along posters on the N. Florida board didn’t give the format much of a chance as it was on a 3200 watt stick and again couldn’t reach into Ocala and lots of upper end 25-54 demos.

In Ocala, JVC Media owns 92.9 WMFQ-FM (The calls originally translated to “We Mean Fine Quality.”) It’s a 50,000 watt Top 40 station. While JVC doesn’t subscribe to Nielsen in Ocala/Gainesville, the station wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire with shares at their highest in the 3’s. That frequency was oldies up until 2011. They had a long run with oldies that I heard whenever I was in the area.

Oldies are still offered in Ocala via a translator via WXUS-FM. This is “True Oldies Y 100.1.” WXUS-FM, by the way is another country music format that features southern rock in the mix.

In virtually all the radio markets we’ve covered so far, the classic hits format is among the most popular format in the market. It’s an extremely hard nut to crack in northern Florida. Unless it’s a classic rock hybrid, there doesn’t seem much interest or support. This is from management. I’m of the opinion that if there is quality, support, and a great signal, the listeners will come. We’ve seen that model work elsewhere.


More Gainesville-Ocala to come including the wrap-up.

 

[John FL]

Entercom has two top-tier radio stations in the Gainesville-Ocala market. In some ways, they almost look out of place there with only a two-station cluster.

There’s AC WKTK (98.5 KTK) (80’s, 90’s, and Now) At 100,000 watts, the calls meaning of Koast-To-Koast probably make sense. The stick is in Chrystal River, Florida which is on Florida’s west coast and The Gulf of Mexico. The signal is reported as strong enough to be picked up in portions of Orlando, Jacksonville, and Tampa Bay. Joy in the market is 100,000 watts for sure. The station is currently in 4[SUP]th[/SUP] place.

Entercom also owns 50,000 watt news/talk WSKY-FM (97.3 WSKY FM News Talk). The stick is in Micanopy, just to the south of Gainesville. In my view, it’s a perfect place for a transmitter, especially if the signal is not full market. At 50,000 watts, there’s decent coverage of the two major cities. The station is currently in 3rd place. I’ve been to Micanopy at least three or four times. You’ll know why in the next market we discuss.

There’s a local news hour in the 5AM hour and local news and talk from 6-10 AM. The rest of the midday schedule is conservative talkers Brian Kilmeade, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, and Michael Savage. Reaching well enough into Marion County and Ocala is a must. Marion County is solidly red politically. Alachua County and Gainesville is solidly blue. It tends to be the nature of university towns. During national elections I’m always amazed at the little dot of blue surrounded by massive red in Gainesville’s neighboring counties.

There’s a good deal more I would have liked to have discussed about the Gainesville and Ocala areas but unfortunately, I came upon contradictory and incomplete information. This was not as easy a market to discuss as I thought and I strive for accuracy. Unfortunately, you can’t rely on posters to answer questions. Interestingly, I came upon many of my own posts on Radio Discussions in researching. I never knew many of these conversations were cached.

Back in 2015, I initiated a string in the North Florida board about the previously discussed WOW-FM. WYGC-FM (104.9 WOW-FM) It generated a good amount of response. Those were the days! A radio consultant posted the following:

“JVC is a class act and clearly has its act together; understanding personality radio and is making radio local and live once again with its stations in all of its markets. JVC's WOTW Orlando is already off to a great start, and locally in Gainesville, WOW-FM is virtually a carbon copy of personality driven Top 40 radio from the '70s and early '80s which attracts a larger listener base which makes advertisers very happy. Everyone wins.”

I give JVC credit for trying. But it’s the uniqueness of the market that probably did them in. If there’s anything that’s true, it’s that a strong signal is an absolute must. Unfortunately, ‘WOW” was on a crappy signal and served a community with lots of young people.

Gainesville-Ocala is comprised of two separate TV markets. It’s another wall of difference between the two areas. Marion County/Ocala are a part of the Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne Top 20 TV market. Marion County’s southern “neighbor” is Sumpter County. As of the 2010 census, it had the oldest median age (62.7 years) of any US county and the highest percentage of residents aged 65 and older.

A major reason for this is the expansive “The Villages” retirement community, a portion of which is in Marion County. It may explain why Oldies did so well there for so long and why one is still offered even if by translator. A good variety-based classic hits station on a powerful signal would seem a natural given older adults, especially in Marion County. Time will tell if someone makes that happen. Unfortunately, there's lots of headwinds the format faces in North Florida. It's not uncommon to see 4 or 5 country formats instead. And so it goes.

In Gainesville, they have their own major network affiliates including PBS and of course local news. This is TV market #156 and besides Gainesville’s Alachua County, there’s surrounding Dixie, Gilcrest, and Levy counties. The “market” reaches to the Gulf of Mexico. So when you think of the geography and land mass of the entire area representing the communities that are in the Gainesville-Ocala market, there’s many world apart situations at many levels.

It’s a wonderful area to visit. A number of things I especially enjoyed about both Gainesville and Ocala also brought me one time to Lakeland, Florida. It just so happens market #88 – Lakeland/Winter Haven is next up.

 

[John FL]

Market #88, Lakeland/Winter Haven is almost halfway between Orlando and Tampa in Central Florida although the market has a good deal of Tampa influence and their blowtorch signals. Lakeland is only 40 miles from Tampa. Winter Haven which is further to the east is only 29 miles from Disney World in the Orlando area but still around 50 miles+ away from downtown Orlando.

Here’s a link to the radio ratings for the area: https://ratings.****************/content/arb311

Population: 603,200. Black: 88, 800 (15%) Hispanic: 123,000 (20%) And as we’ve seen in other markets there are data and market designation discrepancies between the ratings report provided by “Radio Online” to the one provided by “All Access.” Because All Access requires membership, posting a link doesn’t work.

Both communities are in Polk County. When I checked demos for the area, I came away a bit surprised. The median age of Polk County is 40.2. Both Lakeland and Winter Haven are close to this median age with Winter Haven just very slightly older.

We may engage in stereotype when we think of “bedroom communities” and areas that lack the big cities as being a place older people would naturally settle. There’s almost a 5% annual growth in the county. From what I read, younger families are settling into the area getting away from the urban sprawl.It probably explains the popularity of one of the local formats will discuss in the next post.

In some ways I can understand why younger families are moving there. I visited the area only once and it was after a week of corporate training in Orlando. One of my teammates was born and raised in Polk County and knew of my love of historic areas to include the architecture of the buildings, and antique shops. She encouraged me to take a look. That's what brought me to places in the Gainesville/Ocala area. I must have visited St. Augustine 100 times. History fascinates me. I’ve lived in big city areas most of my life but I love getting away to rural areas.

This was back in 1995. We had Friday at leisure/travel day back home. So, instead of heading to an interstate, I took a little detour to Lakeland. My only regret was that I couldn’t spend a little more time there. It was an interesting enough place.

I’ve been mentioning songs that will always remind me of a community visited. While at the antique shop, I noticed they were featuring “in-house” music and to my delight it was The Beatles “Revolver” album. The store owner looked like a character out of Rod Serling’s “Night Gallery.” Despite his eccentricities, he was informative about music, a subject we got on. He realized my appreciation and knowledge of music went way beyond the typical person. He was an interesting chap.

I knew what song was coming up and asked for a little quiet while I browsed around. The shopkeeper understood. The song was “Here, There And Everywhere.” In my opinion, the song is pure genius at many levels. From the chord progression to the explanation of each word of the song title, it's a song that I felt was "under-appreciated" on the radio. There's lots of reasons for that. Album cuts as they were called may not have been as familiar to a general audience. Each of us have our favorite songs and probably think everyone should love them as much as we do.

This market brought back some nice personal memories. All it takes is recalling a song. When I think of how many times I played both Revolver and Rubber Soul, my two favorite Beatles albums, it's no wonder these memories remain strong.

So, while the ratings don’t look like there’s much to the market given all the Tampa and Orlando area stations, there’s always a story to tell. Stay tuned for that.

 

[John FL]

The major player in the Lakeland-Winter Haven radio market is Hall Communications. This is a female family-owned company operating in states such as Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Vermont. Lakeland Florida is home to their corporate offices. There are four stations in the Lakeland cluster. Here is a link to their story and history you may find interesting:

https://www.hallradio.com/Our-History

97.5 WPCV-FM is #1 in the market doing the country format. (Your Hometown Country Station). It’s 100,000 watts transmitting in Polk County (Haines City). It’s reported that WPCV is one of a very few radio stations in Central Florida to reach the Atlantic and Gulf Coast. Just like in our previous market discussion, there are certain areas of the state where the country format performs well and its reward is often the best signal.

8 Florida radio markets have been discussed prior to Lakeland-Winter Haven. This is the first market to offer an Adult Hits format. Hall Communications’ Adult Hits WWRZ-FM (Max 98.3) (Playin’ It All) is the #2 station in the market. It just may be one of those market situations where Adult Hits work. Both Miami and Jacksonville tried it and the format just didn't work. Jax unfortunately started out with Jack-FM before they did a "homegrown" Adults Hits format. The younger median age of Lakeland/Winter Haven probably helps. But then Max 98.3 takes a different and better approach in my view than the Jack-FM's of the world.

Max 98.3 has jocks and some local personality. The voice imaging doesn’t resort to indifference and dry humor that you find on a Jack brand Adult Hits. I listened to Max via streaming the last two days. There’s just a couple of Hot AC-ish songs per hour. Most songs were familiar to me and I heard some favorites too that didn’t make me feel like I was out of touch musically. Most of the music fits into what I consider a good, variety-based classic hits format and one that reflects Top 40 for adults. There are those who are very much in the Jack-FM camp because of the numbers that brand delivers. That's fine and probably directed more by market situations than anything else. I just don't like their presentation style. Those one-liners can get old and tired real fast but that's just my view.

Max has a pop lean covering multiple decades. I heard songs from the 70s to near today. There’s some rock but it’s on the lighter side. It’s done well and one of the better Adult Hits formats I’ve come across. It was good hearing artists of color such as Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Lionel Ritchie, and Kool & The Gang. That’s not always the case with many doing the format as it’s taken on a decided harder rock direction.

News/talk doesn’t appear to be a big format in Lakeland/Winter Haven but then diary markets are not timelier in their reporting. With Covid-19, news formats have seen an upswing in audience. Hall Communications owns News/Talk WLKF 1430 AM and via translator on 96.7. They have an interesting named morning show called “Mayhem in the AM.” Actually many mornings can be that way. There’s a syndicated conservative lineup of Brian Kilmeade, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity.

That probably reflects the conservative political lean of the area. In the 2016 Presidential election, registered Democrats slightly outpaced Republicans at the polls. But Trump won around 54% of the vote and Hillary Clinton got around 40%.

Finally, there’s a station that’s been around since the 1940’s. WONN-AM 1230 and via a translator is available on FM at 107.1 It’s an Adult Standards nostalgia station, featuring the music of Frank Sinatra, The Carpenters, Barbara Streisand other exiled from radio artists. They don’t stream. It would have been nice to give them a listen. I’m happy to see the community at least has that listening option.

Anyway, it’s a nice little cluster in a nice little town. Some closing thoughts on Market #88 next.

 

[John FL]

8 Florida radio markets have been discussed prior to Lakeland-Winter Haven. This is the first market to offer an Adult Hits format.

I neglected to mention this was for Nielsen subscribing stations. There's a couple of Adult Hits formats that I'm aware of south of Jacksonville, one being near the Daytona market. The company doesn't subscribe to Nielsen. Still, Adult Hits is not as prevalent as Classic Hits. That's the case for Florida too.

In looking at Radio-Locator.com there are not that many stations you can call local to the market. Sandwiched between Orlando and Tampa, there's not that much signal wiggle room. There's a number of Tampa stations that do so well in Lakeland-Winter Haven that they are in the local ratings. The listeners there have lots of options for sure.

From a local perspective, there are a number of Religious formats to include Christian Contemporary, and Regional Mexican but that's just about it.

My time in the area was brief but enjoyable nonetheless. On my trip home to South Florida, I decided to go Supertramp and “take the long way home.” I wound up on U.S. 27 and literally drove down the spine of the state. It gave me such an incredible perspective of the state of Florida. It differs greatly from one place to another.

It was only a couple years later when I flew into Gainesville from Ft. Lauderdale that I looked down at the ground below and I recognized much of the terrain. The flight followed Alligator Alley for quite a ways, a road I travelled on many times. Then it moved north in what looked like U.S. 27. Urban sprawl one minute and then rural as far as the eye can see the next. It’s another reason I find Florida to be such an interesting radio market. It’s different on many levels and depends on where you are.

I appreciate the good number of views this subject has generated. We will surpass 2000 views at least. Thank you for your interest. There have been many challenges putting this together. One is to try and keep things interesting. I would have much preferred to have had participation from those who have local expertise of the various markets.

Sometimes it just takes time for the right people to discover a topic of interest on these boards. So, we’ll see what happens. We have, if my math is correct, 7 more markets to go. Who knows what interesting tidbits await us.

With the Memorial Day weekend soon upon us, this is the perfect time to take a little break. I certainly need it and I’m sure you do too. There’s lots of reading in this string. We’ll resume with Market #93 after Memorial Day.

Stay well and stay safe.

 

[John FL]

Welcome back. Long holiday weekends can be therapeutic.

Radio market #93 - Daytona Beach. I usually provide a link to the ratings to follow along. However, there was a repeat of the same station in the top 3 spots and ownership wasn’t correct so we’ll skip it.

Here’s demo info instead: Population: 588,000. Black: 61,700 (10%) Hispanic: 71,400 (12%) The median age of Volusia County residents in which Daytona Beach is the largest city is 46.6.

Just like the previous market, Lakeland-Winter Haven, Daytona Beach’s big player is not a well-known company. “Southern Stone” has a five station cluster in the market. If you’re interested in learning about them, here’s a link to their website: https://www.daytonaradio.com/

The company has the #1 station in the market. WHOG-FM (95.7). The Hog (95.7 Rocks). The format is listed as classic rock in the ratings summary. There’s an airteam and based on their bios, they are live and local. I recognized one of the names as a former Jacksonville talent.

The station has been playing rock and/or classic rock since 1998. This replaced the oldies format in Daytona Beach back in 1997. Interestingly, oldies launched in 1996 with the calls WTSN. (The Sun) Perhaps the format looked good on paper but it wasn’t in the cards for a long-term option as the format met demise across the country in the early 00s. This format lasted only two years. In one of my visits to nearby New Smyrna Beach, I recall hearing it at an outdoor festival.

Currently #3 in the market is 99.5 WLOV-FM (Daytona’s Greatest Hits) The company website lists the format as “Soft Adult Contemporary” but the ratings report indicates it to be “classic hits.” After listening to the station, Soft AC is the correct designation. The voice imaging refers to themselves as classic hits. It doesn’t matter what they call themselves. I was especially impressed with the overall sound of the station.

WLOV is only 2200 watts. However, based on the location of the transmitter, the signal would come in decently in Ormond Beach, a community to the north of Daytona. I’m familiar with that city and it’s known to attract retirees. The median age is 51.5 so upper end 25-54 and female is the likely target.

“You’re search for great radio ends here” was heard in their voice imaging. John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High” then played. It was one of those “wow” programing moments, at least for me. Song popularity is personal but I was amazed to hear many “lost hits” in my sample listening. The station is not for everybody and that’s why there are X number of formats on the radio. There’s something for almost everybody.

There’s major differences between the larger PPM markets and the smaller diary markets across many levels. A WLOV doesn’t exist where the “stakes” are higher. I’ve come to appreciate smaller market radio. Whether radio is better or not based on market size is a matter of personal taste and opinion. Other smaller companies in smaller markets have been highlighted in this string. More will follow. I’m happy they are able to bring a different approach and perspective to the business of radio.

More Daytona Beach analysis on the way…

 

[John FL]

We continue our ratings journey across Florida with the Daytona Beach market and the Southern Stone cluster. Signal strength is an interesting subject, especially as we explore these smaller markets. My assumption has long been that that only “blowtorch” powerful signals were the only ones that could travel way beyond their coverage area.

Southern Stone’s Country format WKRO-FM (93.1) (Coast Country) is in 4[SUP]th[/SUP] place overall. At 24,500 watts, WKRO is obviously not a full market signal but based on the coverage map, it's adequate for coastal Volusia County, where the population is, and even into Flagler County to the north.

Still, I can pick up the station sometimes where I live around 120 miles south of Daytona Beach. 93.1 is a car preset for Miami’s WFEZ (“Easy 93.1.) Sometimes “Easy” comes in like a local, even with Miami a little further away than Daytona. Easy’s 100,000 watts could be the reason. Sometimes no station comes through. It’s like signals have a life and mind of their own.

Tied with WKRO is Southern Stone’s Top 40 WVYB-FM (103.3 The Vibe) (All The Hits). I don’t think I’ve ever heard that brand name (The Vibe) and I like it. It conveys an upbeat image! There’s a local on-air talent. As is the case elsewhere, talent is on the roster at multiple stations in the cluster. This is a 6000 watt signal that apparently is enough to do the job locally.

In the morning show host’s bio, he talks about waking up Daytona AND Flagler County. This is the county to the north of Volusia County. Outside of bigger market signals from Orlando and even Jacksonville, I don’t believe Flagler County has its own CHR format. It doesn’t have its own AC either. Perhaps WLOV comes into play in at least southern Flagler.

Flagler County is included in the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach, FL (MSA) metropolitan statistical area, and is also included in the Orlando-Deltona-Daytona Beach, FL Combined Statistical Area. Flagler County is in Orlando’s TV market as is Daytona Beach/Volusia County.

I’ve often wondered if merging Flagler County into the Daytona Beach radio market would make sense. I don’t know how that works or if its’ even worth considering. Flagler County is super-served by a company called “Flagler County Broadcasting, LLC.” Over the years, they have been growing. Some of their stations can be heard from northern Volusia to the southern part of Jacksonville.

In Flagler County, one of their formats is a news/talk station on FM translating via 1550 AM. The AM is 5000 watts during the day. Southern Stone also has a news/talk station WNDB-AM 1150 (News Daytona Beach) and an FM presence via translator at 93.5. The station earns mostly 1 shares on average.

Flagler Broadcasting does not subscribe to Nielsen. There may be impacts on Southern Stone’s news/talk format. Perhaps there’s listening in northern Volusia to Flagler’s Country format, their Adult Hits, or even their oldies format. Signals don’t stop at the county line but are competition nonetheless.

Southern Stone also offers an Urban format offered via translator - WHOG-HD2 at 94.1. (Hot Daytona) (Hip-Hop and R&B) The local PD also has an air shift. The format doesn’t earn high numbers but it does offer a local option to the urban community. Jacksonville’s Urban WJBT-FM (93.3 The Beat) is listed in the ratings earning fractional shares but not far behind the local station.

More on Daytona Beach next...

 

[John FL]

Central Florida Educational Foundation Inc., and Z ministries are both non-profit corporations that own and operate a number of radio stations. In the Daytona Beach ratings, 88.3 WPOZ-FM (Positive Hits) is #2 in the market. This is a radio station in Orlando Florida which broadcasts Contemporary Christian music known as Z 88.3. One of their taglines is "Safe for the little ears."

In addition to 88.3 MHz, WPOZ-FM also broadcasts on other frequencies in different areas of Central Florida: WDOZ (91.7) Pierson, Florida. This is a small town N.W. of Daytona in Volusia County near the Flagler County border. WHYZ 91.1 FM Palm Coast, Florida (Flagler County) There’s also WMYZ 88.7 FM in The Villages, Florida, and an expansive retirement community we talked about in Gainesville-Ocala ratings.

WPOZ-HD2 broadcasts a Christian rhythmic contemporary format as Hot 95.9 on a number of translators serving Melbourne (Brevard County to the south), Orlando, and Palm Coast (Flagler County to the north)

WPOZ-FM is a 100,000 watt signal. It wasn’t always that way. The FCC granted this in 2008. It involved closing down a station Central Florida Educational owned and the use a “beam tilt.” I read the definition of a beam tilt and it wasn’t exactly clear. In my own career, we often had the technology folks at the table. They spoke a language of their own. Still, it’s amazing what can be done enhancing signals.

The bottom line is religious formats have a large following in some of the markets we’ve covered so far. In Tampa, we reported the format was #2 even in a large market like that. In the latest ratings it’s tied for #1 with WDUV-FM. While Covid-19 is changing listening habits that is noticeable now in the PPM, the Dove’s brand has been damaged. The station's future performance will be interesting to watch.

Unless there are questions, corrections, or comments, this will conclude our ratings discussion of the Daytona Beach market.

The first time I ever set foot into Daytona Beach was in 1997 during that project I spoke of earlier. The beach area reminded me of my youth visiting the “Jersey Shore” in the summer. The boardwalk, arcades and rides were a big part of the beach experience and there it was all over again. Driving on the beach itself was something I never experienced anywhere else. Also, what a rush to get up close to the Daytona International Speedway.

At one of the concession stands, oldies music played in the background. The one song I do remember was Freddy Cannon’s huge 1962 hit “Palisades Park.” Simply a fun song talking about the Roller-Coaster, Ferris Wheel and hot dog stands and of course falling in love in the Tunnel of Love. The team thought that song described Daytona to a tee. It's what was all around us. For the younger readers who may not be familiar with the song, it was about an amusement park in New Jersey right by the Hudson River overlooking The Big Apple. It was a helluva place and so much fun. Today a very tall condominium stands where "all the action" was.

In the few times I visited Daytona, I had flashbacks to more youthful days. It’s an interesting place. Radio is there as it serves all communities. Being local sets radio apart from incredible competition and I believe it is radio's best advantage.

Our next stop is a radio market I now call home. In fact, moving there changed my perspectives about radio, especially smaller markets. We’ll explore radio market #96 next.

 

[John FL]

Market #96 – Ft .Pierce-Stuart-Vero Beach. We’ve arrived to my new hometown. I’ve lived in big markets all my life. I’ve adjusted quite nicely to small town living on “The Treasure Coast.” I’ve also taken a liking to small market radio. And this is a good one.

The published ratings had a number of discrepancies so here’s demo info instead:

Population: 564,400. Black: 73,900 (13%). Hispanic: 80,800 (14%).

I had a head start getting to know at least one radio station in this market long before moving here. That’s iHeartMedia’s 103.7 WQOL (The Treasure Coast’s Greatest Hits). In my many trips on I-95, I knew every major gold-based format outside of Jacksonville (Radio Hell) all the way to Ft. Lauderdale /Broward County. Before computer screen radio, I had an “FM2” set to all the stations I would tune in to along the way.

There were stark difference between WQOL and Orlando’s WOCL over the years. Orlando’s Sunny FM always seemed to be in a state of change with the music and focus. Sometimes I liked what I heard and sometimes I didn’t. The constant was WQOL. It was almost relief picking them up as I knew my journey south was heading down to the homestretch.

There’s a number of jocks I remember both locally and via Premium Choice who had many years with Clear Channel/iHeart. So many are gone now. There is just one local talent remaining on WQOL. Heath West has been a personality on The Treasure Coast for 25 years! He has a 6 hour midday shift (becoming more typical) and also does PM drive on their sister country station, WAVW-FM with another 5 hour shift. It’s radio in lots of places. I’m happy Heath survived. He’s got a great personality and I consider him an asset. Obviously, iHeart thinks so too.

I was only living on the Treasure Coast for about a month when WQOL shed its oldies brand and became classic hits. This was in March of 2018. It was only a matter of time we’d see lots of changes musically. I understand why these things happen but I was looking forward to hearing the “old” station on a more permanent basis. The music tweaks took place gradually over time which was smart.

Premium Choice syndicated programing of the past was not that good in my opinion. It was way too generic, predictable and repetitive. Today, it’s gotten a lot better. WQOL is the third Premium Choice Classic Hits format we’ve discussed in this string.

Fort Myers/Naples and Sarasota/Bradenton offer iHeart’s Premium Choice Classic Hits format too. It doesn’t perform well in Fort Myers but it’s the #1 station in Sarasota as it is here on the Treasure Coast. As Meatloaf once said “Two out of Three Ain’t Bad.” Syndicated programing can do well in some places and not so well in others. There are market situations that differ and an argument for those who say one size does not fit all.

WQOL has been a popular station for a long time on The Treasure Coast. They have been doing nostalgia music since 1991. I consider their playlist decent with good mix. The 90s are not overdone. As this is syndicated programming, it seems to fit this area well given the competition and the public agrees.

The song that will remind me of my travels through The Treasure Coast is the Beatles “Come Together.” I don’t believe there was ever a trip through the market that I didn’t hear that song. It’s not a favorite of mine but I won’t hold it against them. It’s a good station.

More on Market #96 next. We’ll explore a mom & Pop cluster and acquaint you with “The Mayor of the Airwaves.”

 

[John FL]

The biggest player on The Treasure Coast is “Treasure And Space Coast Radio.” In various ratings reports they may be referred to as “Vero Beach” or “Vero Beach Broadcasters.” The term I used above is the DBA name. It’s a private company owned by a husband and wife. Their ventures revolve around entertainment. It probably explains their interest in radio.

They also own Hollywood.com (An entertainment news website), Home Town Cable TV in Port St. Lucie (The Treasure Coast) and other media interests. Research indicated the couple founded the Sci-Fi Channel, now SyFy.

Wikepdia stated “In 1989, in Boca Raton, Florida, communications attorney Mitchell Rubenstein and his wife Laurie Silvers devised the concept for the Sci-Fi Channel.” Due to lack of resources, the concept was picked up by the USA Network in 1992. I never knew one of my fav channels had roots in Florida!

I’ve often wondered what motivates smaller operators to get into radio ownership. It’s an investment like anything else but I also wonder if there are clear understandings of the business of radio. You’ve probably seen mom & pop restaurant owners who haven’t a clue how to run a restaurant.

But in the case of Treasure And Space Coast Radio, there has been both entertainment experience and proficiency in the law. I’ve learned that a communications lawyer is to help clients navigate and comply with laws and regulation concerning electronic communication. So there you are.

The company describes themselves as “the biggest mouth in Vero Beach, Florida with ownership of 5 stations that all cover the Vero area exceedingly well." In alignable.com, I saw client testimonials praising their marketing campaigns. The company states that their ideal customer is “anyone who owns a business.”

As a listener, I recall hearing lots of spots for all kinds of local products and services. It would appear the company has developed a winning sales culture. What I don’t know is if smaller companies in smaller markets are feeling the squeeze even more as a result of Covid-19 than their larger counterparts. Smaller markets depend on local direct (selling) and not agency billing. From casual listening, I can’t tell if there has been a decrease in the stopset time.

Stations in the cluster are:

• Hot AC WGYL (93-7 GYL) (Today’s Best Music) targeting women 25-49. The station is in 8[SUP]th[/SUP] place in share.

• Adult Hits WJKD (99.7 Jack-FM) in 7[SUP]th[/SUP] place. The format targets adults 25-54.

• Country WPHR (B 94.7 Fresh Country) in 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] place and not far behind iHeart’s second place country format WAVW. Adults 25-49 are targeted.

• In 5[SUP]th[/SUP] place is Soft AC WOSN (97.1 Ocean FM Light Favorites) targeting adults 50+. More on this station upcoming.

• News/talk WTTB-AM (Newsradio WTTB) translating on 105.7. Target is Adults 35+. The station has syndicated conservative talkers but not Rush Limbaugh. There’s a local news magazine show in the mornings. The station is in 12[SUP]th[/SUP] place currently.

It’s a nice varied cluster. While the Treasure Coast consists of just 3 counties that aren't very long from north to south, there are differences and it adds to a little complexity to the market. More on all of this upcoming.

 

[John FL]

In the previous segment I mentioned Treasure and Space Coast’s “elevator statement” about themselves as “the biggest mouth in Vero Beach.” There’s much more to the Treasure Coast than the Vero area. But the company obviously devotes their efforts to portions of the Treasure Coast due to the signal limitations covering all of the T.C., especially the southern part.

A little geography and demo info is probably in order. The Treasure Coast is a three-county area in S.E. Florida beginning just north of Jupiter in Palm Beach County. Martin County is the southernmost county of the T.C. Stuart is the county’s largest city. Martin County’s median age is 51.9. Black is 5.2 Hispanic is 13.4.

None of the Treasure and Space Coast’s radio stations’ signal gets past Stuart which is in very northern Martin County. So, the reality is hard being #1 if you can’t reach it all, so concentrate on where you reach which is what they do. It would seem logical that more emphasis is placed on developing an effective sales team than concentrating on ratings that are only reported twice a year. Ratings provide audience data but the focus is probably more about super-serving and selling to a local community.

There are no Urban stations listed in the ratings. Ft. Pierce is a city in St. Lucie County, the county to the north of Martin County. The city is 40.9% Black. There’s a 50,000 watt Ft. Pierce station owned by Midway Broadcasting Company. This is WFLM ( 104.5 The Flame) (Hot R&B Hits & Oldies) WFLM obviously does not subscribe to Nielsen but I would think performs quite well.

Hubbard Broadcasting in West Palm has a powerful 100,000 watt Urban AC station – WMBX (X102.). Its stick is in southern Martin County on The Treasure Coast. According to Radio Locator, coverage in Ft. Pierce is considered local. Interesting that the station doesn’t show in T.C’s ratings, even if just fractional shares. West Palm’s AC WOLL makes a fractional share showing but you’d think you’d see more Palm Beach stations in the T.C.’s numbers. I have a feeling diaries have a limited distribution south of Stuart. Just a guess.

It probably makes sense that Treasure and Space Coast Radio does not offer an Urban format. Indian River County, home to Vero Beach, is 8.19% Black. WFLM coverage allows for it to come into Indian River County like a local. It would probably be a hard sell.

But, instead a Soft AC format is offered. This is WOSN (97.1 Ocean FM Light Favorites). About the best way I can describe the station is that it has a Tampa “Dove-like” quality from years ago, before they decided to play songs like “I Love Rock And Roll” and “Another One Bites The Dust.” Ocean FM stays true to their brand of light favorites.

If you recall, I mentioned the station targets 50+ Adults. That more than qualifies me as a listener so I admit to loving their sound, and virtually everything they play. The Ocean is my favorite T.C. radio station. Indian River’s median age where Vero Beach is the largest city is 52.9 so there you go!

The station’s morning host is Hamp Elliott who has been a T.C. morning show veteran for over 40 years. It’s impressive and not something you see too much. There are live and local hosts on weekends including Bill Dake, a Treasure Coast broadcast veteran for over 35 years. He hosts a Sunday morning “Sunday Jazz Brunch” show. He’s done that for over 20 years.

There’s something very special about smooth jazz on Sunday morning. I’ve been listening since I arrived. Many stations offered that feature at one time. I’m fortunate to live in a place that still offers jazz on Sunday morning and still provides a true Soft AC format too. There's even two variety-based classic hits stations heard on most of the Treasure Coast.

More Treasure Coast radio on the way.

 

[John FL]

WHLG-FM is a traditional AC station and it’s one of the few stations that reach to the very southern part of the Treasure Coast. Coast 101.3 is owned by a company with the same name as the calls. It’s a one-station ultimate mom & pop operator.

The station also blankets most of St. Lucie County and so their much pronounced contemporary lean, as compared to Vero’s WOSN, is a good fit since St. Lucie County’s median age is younger than the other two T.C. counties at 45.2.

iHeartMedia owns and operates 1000 watt daytime news/talk WZTA-AM. It’s only 74 watts at night but the station is also on FM via translator at 107.9. It’s kind of a crazy branding but then it’s an unusual station. It’s WAXE (pronounced waksē) 107.9 FM/1370 AM WZTA. (Vero’s Talk Station)

Among the unusual features to the station is iHeart Podcast channel programming, standards/oldies music at times, garden shows and then at noon and repeated on weekends is Rush Limbaugh. I mentioned Newsradio WTTB earlier. They have the usual conservative talk show lineup without Rush. Now you know why.

Rhett Palmer is the morning host and is known as the “Mayor of The Airwaves.” He’s a 25 year radio veteran at the station and well-known and respected in the business community. He’s interviewed former Presidents, nationally known political figures, singers, songwriters, TV stars, you name it. They know him too and they all seem like friends. It's like there is a local celebrity, although I never heard of him when I moved to the Treasure Coast.

Rhett had connections with the advertising community having written jingles for a number of commercials. He is publisher of “Vero’s Voice” magazine. The mission statement of the magazine states “To broadcast the voice of our community with concise articles – to entertain, inform, and promote local businesses of integrity in a glossy, easy-to-read format.”

You’d think iHeart would not have a live and local morning show with a cast of characters serving a limited audience because of the signal and focus on Vero Beach. It has to come down to the advertising he brings to the station. Rhett has won two Gold ADDY awards which are American Advertising Awards. I’ve heard personal endorsements. Bringing in advertisers weighs favorably.

Rhett started his radio career at the age of 40. I suppose it’s never too late. The station often announced the need for morning hosts and talked about mornings being the most listened to time of the day. “Call me, Rhett and we can discuss it” was the close and it was so persuasive. I came close to calling a few times. But the reality is being on the air didn’t interest me much except when I was a kid.

Some final thoughts about radio and life on the Treasure Coast next.

 

[Oldiesaholic]

I use to do the same thing with my FM2 &FM3 buttons driving between Atlanta and Central/South Florida.
If I was in a zone where I could get two or more oldies stations I referred to it as a "radio heaven" zone.
The playlists varied enough from station to station that it would not get repetitious.