I was happier with AC when "Deja Vu" by Dionne Warwick was part of the format.
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Bob & Sheri out at 107.9 The Link
- Thread starter MarquisP4
- Start date
Bob & Shari go to K-104.7 May 17. All personal will be retained and shifted to other day parts.
Very good news but also disappointing. Glad they will be back on a Charlotte station in their hometown market. But unfortunately the coverage area of 104.7 is smaller than 107.9 due to the directional signal that is limited because of short spacing with Columbia. I can't receive 104.7 in Spartanburg but 107.9 is strong and clear. They will lose Upstate SC listeners past Gaffney. Too bad Beasley could not put them on 95.1 which also has a strong signal in the Upstate. But that is the wrong format and they already have established hosts on that station. But still good Bob and Sheri will be back. There were protests and petitions since they were dropped. Story in the Sunday Observer second section.
The article about Bob and Sheri suggests they already have a Columbia station.
It does not mention the format of K-104.7 or why they think that station would be a better fit.
I'm not linking because you have to be a subscriber, which I am. It was easier just to look at the online version rather than the newspaper.
It does not mention the format of K-104.7 or why they think that station would be a better fit.
I'm not linking because you have to be a subscriber, which I am. It was easier just to look at the online version rather than the newspaper.
With almost no effort I found this on the world wide web.
Ways to Listen to K104.7
I was able to listen on my computer by clicking one button. I think this Internet thing just might catch on...
Testing12
But WLNK has been outbilling them by about 70% or so.
Actually, on 25-54 mornings were outperforming midddays, rather unusual for an AC station.
Historically, Bob & Sheri have over-performed and out-billed the rest of the schedule on WLNK, including Matt & Ramona. I don't understand Radio One's rationale for dropping the show, especially after nearly 30 years. Bob & Sheri, and to a lesser extent Matt & Ramona very much kept that station afloat for all these years.
I remember growing up in the late 90's, early 2000's that my mom would flip between Bob & Sheri and Ace & TJ in the morning. After 10am, we didn't listen to WLNK at all for the rest of the day. I can very much agree with most of the online reactions that state that B&S were the only reason to listen to WLNK. I will say that a large reason for that is that musically, WLNK has always been poorly programmed.
WKQC has been the most consistent ratings wise. They are usually the format leader, both overall and in the demo. WLNK used to outperform WLYT until the flip to WLKO. WLNK has languished in 3rd place format wise since "The Lake" started. WLKO outperformed WKQC for a while, but has fallen back to 2nd in most dayparts.
It's also worth noting that WKQC has a new PD as of January. John Reynolds programmed WKQC for 24 years (since 1997). Jack Daniels is the new PD, and John Reynolds took over WSOC (which Jack previously programmed), in addition to keeping WNKS. iHeart also moved their PDs around in January, with AJ programming WLKO and WHQC, DZL programs WRFX and WEND, and Meg Stevens is back programming WKKT in addition to WUBL in Atlanta. I personally think all of these moves make sense, and WLNK will continue to languish in the ratings and eventually flip. "The Mix" sounds horrible.
I remember growing up in the late 90's, early 2000's that my mom would flip between Bob & Sheri and Ace & TJ in the morning. After 10am, we didn't listen to WLNK at all for the rest of the day. I can very much agree with most of the online reactions that state that B&S were the only reason to listen to WLNK. I will say that a large reason for that is that musically, WLNK has always been poorly programmed.
WKQC has been the most consistent ratings wise. They are usually the format leader, both overall and in the demo. WLNK used to outperform WLYT until the flip to WLKO. WLNK has languished in 3rd place format wise since "The Lake" started. WLKO outperformed WKQC for a while, but has fallen back to 2nd in most dayparts.
It's also worth noting that WKQC has a new PD as of January. John Reynolds programmed WKQC for 24 years (since 1997). Jack Daniels is the new PD, and John Reynolds took over WSOC (which Jack previously programmed), in addition to keeping WNKS. iHeart also moved their PDs around in January, with AJ programming WLKO and WHQC, DZL programs WRFX and WEND, and Meg Stevens is back programming WKKT in addition to WUBL in Atlanta. I personally think all of these moves make sense, and WLNK will continue to languish in the ratings and eventually flip. "The Mix" sounds horrible.
I agree they need to improve the music mix on 107.9. I like 102.9 and 104.7 better for music format. Just wish 104.7 had a better signal. But great move picking up Bob and Sheri. Still doesn't quite make sense why they were dropped unless they think Matt and Ramona will eventually generate better ratings or evolve the format.
I wonder if Beasley could consider adding 104.7 as an HD subchannel on 95.1? That could expand the signal coverage a good bit if you have an HD Radio.
I wonder if Beasley could consider adding 104.7 as an HD subchannel on 95.1? That could expand the signal coverage a good bit if you have an HD Radio.
It has been stated here that WKQC doesn't play many newer songs. It's almost a classic hits station. and WLKO plays "anything", which isn't really AC either.
I don’t really care how the formats are technically classified. They’re all similar enough and going after basically the same audience. They’ve all had different variations over the years, Soft AC, Hot AC, Classic Hits, Adult Hits, etc. and they’re all considered direct competitors.
They’re not going to do that. WKQC covers the Charlotte market just fine. They’re not worried about neighboring markets.
They could be going after a younger audience. B&S skewed older. I personally think it’s going to backfire, especially with Radio One’s track record and lack of experience in non-urban formats. I think they’ll ride this out for a little bit, and then eventually put an urban format on 107.9. I see something similar with WBT. They’re out of their element, and revenue is already down.
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At the same time, how are people going to hear AC if they do this?
WKQC could end up moving back in a contemporary direction.
I saw something similar in Myrtle Beach. They had Hot AC and Soft AC. I've mentioned Charlotte hasn't had Soft AC since I tried a new barber and didn't like him. "Lite" (now WLKO) had already gone beyond that.
But the Hot AC in Myrtle went talk. For a year, the Soft AC, which was co-owned, was gradually adding songs that didn't truly fit, Then one day, the 70s were pretty much gone and uptempo, newer songs were much more common. And so were uptempo older songs. I don't know whether it sounds good or not, and the market already had two classic hits stations. One was a "we play anything" station, but that station didn't take advantage of the obvious need and they might as well admit what they are.
But like Charlotte, Myrtle has two CHRs. One sounds more Hot AC if you ask me and that might have been good enough. WHQC could do that, because they haven't done well.
Yes I realize Spartanburg is not considered part of the Charlotte market, but both 95.1 and 107.9 have a strong signal there. And over the years Bob and Sheri have attracted listeners in Upstate SC. Even when I lived in Mauldin, SC in Greenville County, my rabbit ears would pull in 95.1 and 107.9, including the HD signals. When I listen to WBT, it is often on WLNK-HD2. So I just thought it would be nice if they would add 104.7 as an HD subchannel on 95.1 like WLNK does with WBT and WFNZ. But I know that is not a priority.
And speaking of WBT, as speculated before, it seems like Urban One is the wrong fit for conservative talk radio that targets mostly white male listeners. Seems like they would trade to someone else. And if ratings remain flat for WLNK, maybe they would move their urban programming to a stronger signal on 107.9. Time will tell.
They would never do this, but the WBT letters could represent "Beat".
Same likely goes for Bob and Sheri listeners down I-77, where most of Chester County gets an unlistenable signal (unless one's radio is stationary) from either WKQC or WNOK. Though weak, WTCB is probably the better B&S option.
Since Urban One doesn't own the show, I suspect Bob & Sheri wanted more cash upfront and/or inventory, or Urban One wanted to offer less of one or both of those. Unless Bob & Sheri got demos that were becoming difficult to sell or were getting different demographics than the rest of the station, Urban One probably didn't actually want to drop the show. My experience has been these situations usually arise due to a difference in opinion over the value of the show, and efforts to bridge that difference came up short.
I actually don't think Mix 107.9 and K104.7 sound particularly bad. Neither are really aimed at me, though, and I usually don't listen to either of them very long when I'm in the mood for that kind of music. I've always thought Bob & Sheri were hot garbage, but I have the wrong plumbing to be in their target audience. They're not targeting me either, and they've been more successful than I ever was in the radio business. So, I can't say they don't know what they're doing.
John Boy & Billy, BTW, aren't for me either. After going to college in Arkansas and Tennessee, I've learned I don't fit in with rural Southerners. There's a reason you don't hear them very many places outside the South. Again, I know they're very good at what they do, but they're not speaking to me.
I’ve heard that R1 wanted to add more music and change the format of the show. B&S were resistant to that. I don’t believe inventory had anything to do with it. It could be that R1 just wanted something that they could control. You can’t really do that with syndication or something you don’t own.
Bob and Sheri are normally top 5 25-54 and 35-64. They were #1 not too long ago. They usually outperform the rest of the station in 35-64 and 65+. A majority of their audience is 50+. Ratings and billing are definitely not the issue.
I’m not in the target demo either, and don’t really listen to any of the AC stations unless I’m just scanning the dial. I can still differentiate between a good sounding station vs a bad sounding one, and WLNK has always sounded bad. The ratings and my thinking usually agree. I listen to country and urban most of the time.
Bob and Sheri are normally top 5 25-54 and 35-64. They were #1 not too long ago. They usually outperform the rest of the station in 35-64 and 65+. A majority of their audience is 50+. Ratings and billing are definitely not the issue.
I’m not in the target demo either, and don’t really listen to any of the AC stations unless I’m just scanning the dial. I can still differentiate between a good sounding station vs a bad sounding one, and WLNK has always sounded bad. The ratings and my thinking usually agree. I listen to country and urban most of the time.
The 12-plus ratings make it pretty obvious WLNK needed to do something. I don't know if a complete format change would have boosted K-104.7 if they continued to play only a few newer songs, and without a move toward less uptempo material by WHQC, which is no longer really going downhill, fans of newer music would have been out in the cold.
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