Knoxville Ratings

[Ktownradioman]

Check out the latest ratings. The Wolf and Duke are seeing some of the highest numbers I've seen them get in a while. Merle is the worst it has ever been. Also 93.1 changes does not seem to be helping them but mostly just killing them. I would love to see where the Loud Media stations are sitting, but they didn't subscribe.
https://ratings.****************/content/arb121

 

[davideduardo]

Check out the latest ratings. The Wolf and Duke are seeing some of the highest numbers I've seen them get in a while. Merle is the worst it has ever been. Also 93.1 changes does not seem to be helping them but mostly just killing them. I would love to see where the Loud Media stations are sitting, but they didn't subscribe. 1

Remember, those are shares. Actual listening, shown as ratings, is still considerably below the pre-virus norm. So shares are irrelevant for comparison.

 

[RMarino]

The Loud Media stations were showing up a few months ago. WKCE had like a 0.1 and WVLZ was around 0.5. Don't quote me on those! I don't recall the exact numbers but they were somewhere in that range.

 

[davideduardo]

The Loud Media stations were showing up a few months ago. WKCE had like a 0.1 and WVLZ was around 0.5. Don't quote me on those! I don't recall the exact numbers but they were somewhere in that range.

If a station does not get significant shares, they are not going to get on the buys that are based on ratings. So why spend the money?

 

[gr8oldies]

I'm not sure what to think about Merle. Locally owned is good but being the 5th out of 5 country stations has to hurt. Loyd Ford was consulting them awhile back, I don't know if he still is. It seems to be all the 3kW flankers are cancelling each other out.

 

[Ktownradioman]

I'm not sure what to think about Merle. Locally owned is good but being the 5th out of 5 country stations has to hurt. Loyd Ford was consulting them awhile back, I don't know if he still is. It seems to be all the 3kW flankers are cancelling each other out.

I actually like Merle better than I did before they changed up the music. They sound in a way like a Nash Icon station, but maybe other people aren't a fan. I mean, look at the ratings of Nash Icon in the Tri-Cities and Chattanooga for example. The other classic country stations in both markets are beating them by a good percent. I really am curious about Q104.9 though even though they don't have a great coverage of the whole market.

 

[gr8oldies]

Ron should have beat Duke to its Nash Icon soundalike format

I actually like Merle better than I did before they changed up the music. They sound in a way like a Nash Icon station, but maybe other people aren't a fan. I mean, look at the ratings of Nash Icon in the Tri-Cities and Chattanooga for example. The other classic country stations in both markets are beating them by a good percent. I really am curious about Q104.9 though even though they don't have a great coverage of the whole market.

 

[RMarino]

Ron should have beat Duke to its Nash Icon soundalike format

Nash Icon is a mix of old and new and sounds more like Merle, not Duke.

But you are correct in that Merle should have nailed down Classic Country before Duke came to town. Ron was already doing it at WYSH so it would have made sense for Merle to do the same.

 

[Ktownradioman]

Merle should honesty drop country if it doesn't improve. They could do Hot AC but better than the River did or they could try and fill the AAA 105.3 left.

 

[gr8oldies]

Did anyone even know The River existed? With a Hot A/C leaning CHR and a regular A/C, I don't see how there's room for a rimshot A/C that mostly covers Clinton.

Merle should honesty drop country if it doesn't improve. They could do Hot AC but better than the River did or they could try and fill the AAA 105.3 left.

 

[BRH]

Something with either an alternative or AAA lean would be nice to fill that hole. 106.1’s Active Rock format really is not a factor as the sound & audience of that format has very little to do with today’s alternative or AAA formats. On a side note, I’m always pleased to see WUOT doing well as usual & posting great numbers for an NPR/public station. And the HD2 even shows up. Would be nice if they could acquire a translator for the WUOT2 format & provide all day NPR talk for those wanting it.

 

[Megawatt]

Gents, the stations being operated by local small town "broadcasters" will continue to be a drain on resources and bandwidth. Ron Meredith has never been able to make any inroads due to his lack of understanding on what it takes to have a successful format. The Wolf is still an embarrassment for Summit, along with 93.1. 106.1, 98.7 and 104.9 might as well sign off. They'll never generate enough revenue to keep the transmitters on. Wrong formats. Wrong imaging. Wrong outline. He seems to be a real broadcaster, but firmly rooted in the technical side and not programming, and it really show. Let's face it, if you're a local broadcaster you should start to think about your contingency. Insurance sales, perhaps.

 

[davideduardo]

The Wolf is still an embarrassment for Summit, along with 93.1.

Let's see. Midwest takes 33% of the revenue, Summit takes 25% and Cumulus takes 28%

All three clusters are likely nicely profitable in normal times. Today we look at cluster performance just as much as that of each station. You can't build a Lego structure with just one size; it takes some different strategies and audience sizes in cluster management in radio, too.

That failed Summit country station is tied for 5th in billings in a market with 36 commercial stations.

 

[davideduardo]

106.1, 98.7 and 104.9 might as well sign off. They'll never generate enough revenue to keep the transmitters on.

98.7 billed 4th in the market last year. How is that a failure?

And I do not see a "104.9" licensed anywhere in the MSA.

 

[gr8oldies]

I am puzzled by the inclusion of the market's News-Talk station being a failure. It lost the 100kW signal it used to LMA in the aftermath of the Citadel bankruptcy, but has kept its local staff intact, and has live programming all day (6am-7pm) except for Rush. They, as they do with their all-sports sister, WNML, seem to sell a ton of shift-long remotes. It's the only one of the Big 3 companies we have in Knoxville, but the Cumulus cluster more than likely originates more local programming than all of the others.

104.9 is distant rimshot licensed to LaFollette. It recently sold to Loud Media, which scavenged a 106.1 and the 1120/97.1 and 1180/105.1 operations. 36 stations in Knoxville may be 30 too many.

98.7 billed 4th in the market last year. How is that a failure?

And I do not see a "104.9" licensed anywhere in the MSA.

 

[davideduardo]

36 stations in Knoxville may be 30 too many.

I can recall when we'd have managers meetings for Mooney at WKGN and I noticed that the studios they build on the outskirts of Knoxville were located in a place where, most nights, the station could not be monitored off air!

Mooney had a habit of buying high on the dial AM's... 1450 in Pensacola, 1300 in Nashville, 1320 in San Juan and 1340 in Knoxville. It was not until WBRC-960 in Birmingham was bought that we got a decent AM... and the first FM.

 

[Kent]

All three clusters are likely nicely profitable in normal times. Today we look at cluster performance just as much as that of each station. You can't build a Lego structure with just one size; it takes some different strategies and audience sizes in cluster management in radio, too.

Doesn’t Knoxville also have roughly the same number of owners today as it did prior to Docket 80-90? Granted, it’s more stations per owner, but, like you said, you can’t make the same amount of money with a single station as you could back then.

 

[TheBigA]

It's the only one of the Big 3 companies we have in Knoxville, but the Cumulus cluster more than likely originates more local programming than all of the others.

It's been interesting that since Mary Berner took over as CEO, Cumulus has really dedicated itself to improving the local content of its stations, and has moved further away from the centralized model. Even during COVID, she's stuck with the same game plan. At a time when Entercom is doing exactly the opposite.

 

[ThomasFoolery]

The Sales Manager at NewsTalk is an old pro. That’s why it’s doing well. Everybody’s taking it up the pooper this year though. But a good sales team beats a marginal format.

 

[gr8oldies]

I would like that. Sometimes I can get fringe reception of WUTC, Chattanooga, with their more standard NPR fare.

Something with either an alternative or AAA lean would be nice to fill that hole. 106.1’s Active Rock format really is not a factor as the sound & audience of that format has very little to do with today’s alternative or AAA formats. On a side note, I’m always pleased to see WUOT doing well as usual & posting great numbers for an NPR/public station. And the HD2 even shows up. Would be nice if they could acquire a translator for the WUOT2 format & provide all day NPR talk for those wanting it.