Has the Beat ever been 2nd? What happened to the days when Mix was perennially 1st? (now 5th)
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New Nielsens
- Thread starter Radio Nashville
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Yes. Been a while for the Beat. This particular book is proof that you are reading a flawed system, but it’s what it is. You cannot have these swings and drastic number ebbs and flows. What is interesting is that Mix has been sliding since they began pushing away the older listeners. The country stations numbers make no sense. NRQ is another odd issue. What is interesting is KDF is consistently still the worst rated real 100kwer and needs a funeral when they dig up the old KDF Rock Hearse buried on the properly Cumulus smartly (I said it) sold. The right format on that station could really be huge in every way.
Didn't people say that Jack would never last? Hmmm.
The big surprise to me is that WTN didn't lose listeners after the tragic death of Phil Valentine. Only the latest book shows a drop. Maybe it was a delayed response, but I think he will have big shoes to fill.
It appears the new morning man at The Rock has done a good job. Josh Innes was controversial in Houston and Philadelphia. He's now attracting a crowd in Nashville.
Sad to see that WNXP is still struggling to find an audience. From what I hear, they've invested a lot in that station.
The big surprise to me is that WTN didn't lose listeners after the tragic death of Phil Valentine. Only the latest book shows a drop. Maybe it was a delayed response, but I think he will have big shoes to fill.
It appears the new morning man at The Rock has done a good job. Josh Innes was controversial in Houston and Philadelphia. He's now attracting a crowd in Nashville.
Sad to see that WNXP is still struggling to find an audience. From what I hear, they've invested a lot in that station.
https://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb073
i appreciate ya chimin in, BigA.
This book does bring in the changes at WTN. Not the newest line-up, which will certainly be interesting to see the outcome there. I think it will settle into the middle of the pack.
Jack is interesting. I believe that that really says something about the overall listenership in our market and what choices they have and do not have.
Innes is at least local. That will help here with a classic Rock. Music in the morning will also help. WNRQ is an antique in many ways that keeps finding itself every few books. I attribute some of that to the sample size. What is really telling is that one look at the playlist, which is pretty uneventful, and crazy stop set lengths prevents this station from probably being number one a least a few times a year. A few tweaks and man, ya got something. The fact that Jack actually will often out rock NRQ is another programming note that, if properly applied, could make for some very different numbers. NRQ is basically treated as a station in the closet and that is sad given it’s long heritage.
WNXP and WMOT are in for interesting rides. John Walker and the Roots projects have faltered in Nashville. WNXP is a bit more surprising. I have to believe the issue is the music is not really Nashville friendly and the demo they are reaching with the music is not the exact demo they originally targeted AND the audience that likes this style of music ain’t engaging it on the radio dial. Lightning and WNXA have very little to worry about at this point.
This book does bring in the changes at WTN. Not the newest line-up, which will certainly be interesting to see the outcome there. I think it will settle into the middle of the pack.
Jack is interesting. I believe that that really says something about the overall listenership in our market and what choices they have and do not have.
Innes is at least local. That will help here with a classic Rock. Music in the morning will also help. WNRQ is an antique in many ways that keeps finding itself every few books. I attribute some of that to the sample size. What is really telling is that one look at the playlist, which is pretty uneventful, and crazy stop set lengths prevents this station from probably being number one a least a few times a year. A few tweaks and man, ya got something. The fact that Jack actually will often out rock NRQ is another programming note that, if properly applied, could make for some very different numbers. NRQ is basically treated as a station in the closet and that is sad given it’s long heritage.
WNXP and WMOT are in for interesting rides. John Walker and the Roots projects have faltered in Nashville. WNXP is a bit more surprising. I have to believe the issue is the music is not really Nashville friendly and the demo they are reaching with the music is not the exact demo they originally targeted AND the audience that likes this style of music ain’t engaging it on the radio dial. Lightning and WNXA have very little to worry about at this point.
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It might be time for Nashville Public Radio and MTSU to get together and form some sort of Alliance. Maybe combining the formats of WMOT and WNXP on one of the signals....and making the other Classical/Jazz. I always thought the concept of WNXP was flawed from the beginning. Lightning 100 is by far the better station and the station that sounds like Nashville.
I’ll be the oddball, but I personally prefer the sound of WNXP over Lightning. And I would argue that there is an audience for indie rock in the “new” Nashville. If you follow the indie rock scene, you’ll see there’s quite a few artists in that genre (as well as indie R&B) that are based and recording in Nashville (& more moving there every year). I think the idea that Nashville’s adult alternative sound has to be “rootsy/Americana”, is a somewhat outdated assumption. Now, will this audience translate into ratings. Who knows? This isn’t the audience that cares to bother with ratings services or ppm meters & what not. But what it may translate too instead are donations/memberships & event attendance (which garners sponsors & underwriters). This is the real strategy for the growing number of non-com triple A stations & NPR Music Discovery stations. Some do show good ratings like KUTX, KEXP, & the Current. But you have others like Indie 102.3 Denver & WFUV NY, that are on the same ratings level as WNXP. (And Colorado Public Radio keeps expanding Indie 102.3 statewide on more signals, with a .5 share, so I would think this format may translate into more valuable listeners & underwriters than ratings give credit for). And in a city like Nashville with such a large cohort of artist & music industry employees, that can be a very loyal & supportive audience with donations & underwriting whether or not it translates into high cume ratings. You can argue that classical or jazz had higher numbers, but these are non-commercial entities & I would argue the current formats translate into more active donors & sponsors than the previous ones.
You make an interesting point here. A lot of what you hear on Lightning is "rootsy/Americana" but they have pulled in a number of local bands that really aren't - Luthi certainly isn't and Nordista Freeze (last year's Music City Mayhem winner) isn't either. But I would agree that 91.1 goes further.
To my ear, WNXP is better than I expected based on past listening to WFPK, KKXT or WXPN. I could live on it if I had to... hey, I've lived where there was *nothing*, we're spoiled rotten.... but personally I still strongly prefer Lightning 100 over WNXP if I had to pick one. But hey, if I can really keep both... GREAT!!
I certainly enjoy Lighting 100 as well & agree having both in the market is wonderful. I actually live over in East TN, so most of my listening is via streaming. And I certainly sympathize with the point of many markets having no options for indie/AAA. That’s sadly the case here in Knoxville (except for UT’s student station WUTK). I’d gladly take either over here in this market.
And as far as WNXP goes. I suspect the somewhat lackluster debut so far may have them slightly tinkering with & adjusting the format. I’ve noticed a change musically in the last couple of months. They’ve added more traditional AAA type stuff & more indie/Alt gold music. There’s not quite as much indie pop sounding stuff & also there’s less of the indie R&B/hip hop. Overall, it’s still indie sounding, but with a bit of a more rock lean & a few more familiar gold artists added in. I suspect this is some minute tweaking to try & continue to serve the music industry & indie audience while possibly drawing in a few more listeners & ratings by being a bit more familiar. We’ll see how it works. But I do hope they stay committed to the format & station & I also hope they continue expanding WPLN’s local offerings & news dept as they’ve spoken about doing.
And as far as WNXP goes. I suspect the somewhat lackluster debut so far may have them slightly tinkering with & adjusting the format. I’ve noticed a change musically in the last couple of months. They’ve added more traditional AAA type stuff & more indie/Alt gold music. There’s not quite as much indie pop sounding stuff & also there’s less of the indie R&B/hip hop. Overall, it’s still indie sounding, but with a bit of a more rock lean & a few more familiar gold artists added in. I suspect this is some minute tweaking to try & continue to serve the music industry & indie audience while possibly drawing in a few more listeners & ratings by being a bit more familiar. We’ll see how it works. But I do hope they stay committed to the format & station & I also hope they continue expanding WPLN’s local offerings & news dept as they’ve spoken about doing.
I have to laugh that the most commentary is on two radio stations that
a) one doesn’t subscribe to the ratings
b) the other one has no listeners according to the ratings
What a book this time around. Look at some of those unreal ratings changes. The ratings are not friendly to WNRQ. But, just 30 days ago, they were rocking along. Mix has finally settled into the pack and their changes a few years ago have not helped. Jack is unstoppable. It often out rocks WNRQ many times per hour. I won’t comment on a certain country waste of a station.
a) one doesn’t subscribe to the ratings
b) the other one has no listeners according to the ratings
What a book this time around. Look at some of those unreal ratings changes. The ratings are not friendly to WNRQ. But, just 30 days ago, they were rocking along. Mix has finally settled into the pack and their changes a few years ago have not helped. Jack is unstoppable. It often out rocks WNRQ many times per hour. I won’t comment on a certain country waste of a station.
Amy Paige may be respected by music folks, but the radio station is NOT. And on a list of things that should come back, KDF as a rock station and Opryland theme park are still top of the charts. It’s been so long that you would think it would not matter. The $34M question now is when will someone realize that selling the old KDF property could lift the curse off the station and format it to what it is supposed to have always been. 2022 is starting out to be a year of old call letter/station/format comeback. I love Amy Paige, BigA. Great soul and heart and talented. Let her ROCK. LOL.
Not gonna happen. Rock is not what it once was. If iHeart didn't already have 105.9, KDF might go that way. But iHeart has the bases covered. What they miss gets played on Jack. Yes there's current rock, and that's what they play on The Buzz, Lightning, and the ill-fated NXP. And then there's Hippie Radio! So all of the bases are covered. The other thing is you want them to be what they were, and that would take passion, commitment and money. Who do you think has that today? Sorry to be the blast of reality.
I moved here in the '90s, and 'KDF, as a rocker, was already well over the shark. Honestly, I didn't know what all the fuss was over it. And I'm told that they were wimpy even in the '80s. Talk about running on past glories! I was FAR more impressed with Memphis' Rock 103 in the '80s. And now, my west TN cousin is going to send me his old Rock 103 license plate just any day now, from what he tells me. He knows that I collect radio station memorabilia for the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame.
I think that Tibbs just likes to pull your chain!
He does that to me, too, but we still keep him around!
On the way back here to Texas in 1983, I stopped and received a tour of KDF. The person conducting the tour mentioned they had a 294 song rotation: that seemed awful tight for an AOR in 1983; although one could not argue with their ratings in the 80’s.
From 91-96, KDF sounded quite good. They had weeded out the Top 40 that had been part of their playlist since the early 70’s.
Burkhart Abrams signed WKDF as a client in 1982, and their goal was to tighten the playlist. Blame Lee Abrams.
Lee's view then was that rock stations had become lazy and sloppy. They needed to do the tighten up.
If you checked other BA clients in the 80s that number was about right. It was also heavily currents/recurrents.
Apparently Burkhart Abrams succeeded. I was looking at the KDF surveys from 1984 and the currents were roughly 36; definitely some Top 40 sprinkled in.
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