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103.3 Boston flips to "Variety Hits" (aka Jack)....

I doubt Entercom would ever make this change, but just for argument's sake, if they did, could the two stations coexist like Jack and KRTH in Los Angeles?

Yes, and those two stations in LA share only a small piece of each other's audience. Different listeners.
 
Yes, and those two stations in LA share only a small piece of each other's audience. Different listeners.

That surprises me given how close musically Classic and Adult Hits are now. Is this unique to LA (the fact that they don't share much audience) or are you seeing this nationally too?
 
That surprises me given how close musically Classic and Adult Hits are now. Is this unique to LA (the fact that they don't share much audience) or are you seeing this nationally too?

Classic hits and Adult hits are different formats. Classic hits for the most part are centered around the 80's. In the case of the new new 103.3 (adult top 40) features more 90's and 00's and currents/recurrents. You won't find Pink. Maroon 5, Lady Gaga, Beyonce or Shakira on a classic hits station.

103.3 sounds nothing like a "Jack" formatted station.
 
I know they are different formats, but they are similar. The one in my market is centered in the '80s like Classic Hits is. I can't speak for 103.3 because I haven't heard it yet.
 
If this format were to return to New York, it could be viewed as an alternative to Q104.3, for a somewhat younger audience. The music is primarily rock and alternative from the 80's through the 90's, with some pop and hip-hop in the mix. it sounds very different from a classic hits format, both musically, and in terms of imaging.
The issue is probably whether it would be worth dropping the alternative format on 92.3, which has been gradually gaining, for this one.
 
There were already too few places on the NYC radio dial for new commercial formats, made even worse by 95.5 going to EMF/K-Love.

Alt is not going away on 92.3 anytime soon, and there's nowhere else for variety hits right now. NY needs a real rock station first, and I've heard others say they'd like to hear a soft AC/Breeze too. Barf, but you get the point.
 
There were already too few places on the NYC radio dial for new commercial formats, made even worse by 95.5 going to EMF/K-Love.

Alt is not going away on 92.3 anytime soon, and there's nowhere else for variety hits right now. NY needs a real rock station first, and I've heard others say they'd like to hear a soft AC/Breeze too. Barf, but you get the point.

WNYL leans so heavily to pop that even an Alternative with some Active hot sauce is viable, not just a real rock station. The opening for either option is there and New York has the audience, the question is who'll take it... And is willing to accept 10th place.
 
WNYL leans so heavily to pop that even an Alternative with some Active hot sauce is viable, not just a real rock station. The opening for either option is there and New York has the audience, the question is who'll take it... And is willing to accept 10th place.

This is the kind of thing that works in the NY suburbs, such as WDHA.

Having said that, if the music changed a bit, and some new unknown superstar created something we can't anticipate, it could lead to a lot of other things.
 
It would seem to me that many of the NY quarter hours from PPM meters would be associated with the suburbs from NJ, Westchester, Long Island and CT, as these are the people most likely to be in vehicles.
 
It would seem to me that many of the NY quarter hours from PPM meters would be associated with the suburbs from NJ, Westchester, Long Island and CT, as these are the people most likely to be in vehicles.

NYC commuters tend to use public transportation. Traffic, tolls ($16), and parking costs dissuade commuters from using their cars. Buses, trains, subways, PATH, LIR, lots of systems that bypass car radios. If they listen to radio during the commute, it's mainly through earbuds. Typical commute might involve drive to train, train to subway, subway to office. Not much opportunity for local radio. Once they get to the office, it's hard to pick up the suburban stations. But for people who live and work in the suburbs, these stations tend to do very well. Some show up in the NY ratings book, but usually down near the bottom.
 
NYC commuters tend to use public transportation. Traffic, tolls ($16), and parking costs dissuade commuters from using their cars.

So most of that non-truck, non-bus -- "car" -- traffic tying up the roads into NYC every morning and late afternoon isn't being driven by commuters? Really? Then who IS in all those cars? There certainly seem to be enough of them for radio to make some serious coin (in normal times) selling stuff to.
 
Then who IS in all those cars? There certainly seem to be enough of them for radio to make some serious coin (in normal times) selling stuff to.

The issue has to do with people from the suburbs listening to suburban stations while commuting into NYC. If you're in one of those cars going over the GWB or in the Lincoln Tunnel, you're more likely to listen to a NYC station that has traffic reports related to those specific crossings, rather than WDHA or a similar station that's mainly focused on the suburban traffic. So yes you make the case for advertising on NYC stations if you want to hit those people.
 
Here's a recent Nielsen ratings analysis about AM/FM listening during the virus:

https://www.westwoodone.com/2020/05...e-new-york-city-coronavirus-am-fm-radio-myth/

Combining the just-released April diary data with recent May PPM audiences to form a national perspective, American AM/FM radio has retained 93% of pre-COVID-19 reach levels and 86% of pre-COVID-19 average quarter-hour audiences.

The article also says driving outside the Top 25 has returned to pre-COVID levels:

Miles traveled in the top 25 markets is -25% lower than the prior year. Outside the top 26 markets, miles traveled volumes match or exceed the prior year. The top ten markets are not representative of America.

NYC driving is 77% of what it was before COVID.
 
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NYC commuters tend to use public transportation. Traffic, tolls ($16), and parking costs dissuade commuters from using their cars. Buses, trains, subways, PATH, LIR, lots of systems that bypass car radios. If they listen to radio during the commute, it's mainly through earbuds. Typical commute might involve drive to train, train to subway, subway to office. Not much opportunity for local radio. Once they get to the office, it's hard to pick up the suburban stations. But for people who live and work in the suburbs, these stations tend to do very well. Some show up in the NY ratings book, but usually down near the bottom.

In "normal" times, if we jump back to when there were diaries in all markets... allowing a like-kind comparison... in all but one market there was about 34% of all TSL in cars. But in NYC, it was around 24%.

Obviously, things have changed in twelve years, with fewer listening incidents at home and more alternatives at work lessening fixed location AM and FM listening. But my point is to confirm your observation that the NYC Metro Survey Area shows about a third less in-car listening than the rest of the nation and is totally atypical.
 
But my point is to confirm your observation that the NYC Metro Survey Area shows about a third less in-car listening than the rest of the nation and is totally atypical.

It'll be interesting to see how many NYC companies allow their employees to continue "telecommuting" after this passes. I expect quite a few. The cost of commuting can be huge, and companies spend a ton on office space.
 
So most of that non-truck, non-bus -- "car" -- traffic tying up the roads into NYC every morning and late afternoon isn't being driven by commuters? Really? Then who IS in all those cars? There certainly seem to be enough of them for radio to make some serious coin (in normal times) selling stuff to.

Sure, there are commuters. But there is a lesser percentage of in-car listening historically in NYC than in any other market due to the huge percentage of people using public transportation.

In the past, when we could distinguish away from home listening between in-car and at-work we knew that NYC had about a third less in-car listening than the average of all other markets.
 
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