I like the idea of a alt/active format.
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KROQ
- Thread starter CassChopper96
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Average listening times for all formats are in the 15 minute range.
People listen during a commute, and don't continue later. People listen in work situations where they get interrupted (we are thinking of non-office workers, like a delivery driver, stockroom worker, etc., who can listen to talk radio).
In almost all situations, they may listen a lot during the total day, but nearly always in bits and pieces.
The problem is that iHeart can make little adjustments in its three Wall stations to fend off a competitor. There are no gaps to fill between the three iHeart ones, as they have considerable overlap and shared cume.
An article I saw referred to KROQ as a "modern rock" station.
Can modern rock stations play both songs classified as alternative, and active rock?
Where? Publication and website writers and commentators can call it whatever they want. There is no jail sentence for misinformation... just ask Whoopie Goldberg!
Remember, format names are very vague, fuzzy and arbitrary. Stations can call themselves whatever they want, just like a packaged food manufacturer can make claims about taste and aroma. It's called, in the ad profession, "puffery" and is legal.
"The best flavor" or "the smoothest ride" or "the cleanest floors" are examples of that.
In radio, most format names are industry terms. KOST in LA does not say "The best adult contemporary music in Southern California". And KBIG does not say "We are LA's Hot AC station". Those terms are used so advertising agency media buyers who many never have listened can see what they are dealing with.
What I am saying is that those vague terms are not rigid. The best way to evaluate a station is to look at their playlist. And remember, there are many songs that different listeners will classify in different ways... making definitions even more tenuous and vague.
Isn't that KTWV?
First three are very likely, should 106.7 flip.
KDAY has a paltry signal, giving Classic Hip-Hop an opening to be on a better signal. KBIG leans a bit too much on pop rock, especially when you consider LA's ethnic demographics; they are, at times, just a tad less rock than the KYSR of old. Compare KBIG to WKTU, WFLC, or even a Canadian Hot AC like CHUM, CKZZ, CKBE, CING, or CIOO. LA also lacks a tropical format (salsa, merengue, etc.), so if Audacy wants to take a risk, there you go. A Spanish AC leaning towards pop wouldn't be bad, either.
KDAY?
Far from a Hot AC, considering they aren't current heavy. Maybe a mix of Soft AC and Rhythmic AC. They play Selena, who did not chart on the R&B charts; not what I would call an Urban AC. The mix makes the station stable and sufficient in revenue, even though it's not exactly amazing.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
SBS already took that risk with the 93.5s, as KZAB/KZBA "La Sabrosa" before selling them to Styles (which is how KDAY got started toward its present incarnation). I highly doubt Audacy would commit a better signal to a format that already was tried unsuccessfully on a lesser one. David would know better than I how many Central Americans are available in the market as potential listeners, but given SBS' inability to gain traction -- the format only lasted from April 2003 until September 2004 -- I don't think anyone's going to try it again unless there's been a huge increase in that ethnic demo since.
There were several issues here:
La Sabrosa was aimed at Central Americans, with lots of tropical artists who were relatively or totally unknown to a Mexican heritage audience.
La Sabrosa had all Central American air talent. Mexican Spanish, while varied by region, is not like any of the Central American dialects. It's both accent and vocabulary.
Not all Central Americans like the same music, any more than all Texans like the same stuff.
That said, they managed to get into the high 1's, which was pretty good for only one small signal that actually covered any part of the LA market. SBS had to sell a bunch of stations due to it teetering at the edge of bankruptcy back then. Otherwise, I think they would have kept the station and format.
Tropical music is a whole portfolio of styles particular to different areas of Latin America. Central American cumbia is not what Colombians like, Colombian cumbia is pretty much out of date while Vallenato is the big thing... and that does not have much appeal outside of Colombia.. Salsa is Puerto Rican and Cuban, with some Colombian and Venezuelan appeal, but the core listener is over 45. Merengue is Dominican, and only rare songs are hits elsewhere.
Merengue is Dominican. There are a few crossovers, like Juan Luis Guerra, but most of those were hits 20 years ago or more.
Salsa has little appeal among the Mexican origin Hispanics in LA. In fact, as I have said before, years ago at events in LA where we had to guarantee the police that the people would be gone by sunset we would have a salsa band last on the agenda. By the second or third song, the park or venue would be empty. A salsa band can fill a venue with 5,000 Puerto Ricans, but the music can't generate enough cume in LA for success.
In other words, there is no universal Latin tropical music.
But most important is the fact that the music has mostly older appeal. And there is no commonality. I suspect that the format would do far worse in PPM than it did in the diary 20 years ago.
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That is KLVE. Others have tried, never worked.
I still don’t think they’re gonna make KROQ flip. Maybe we’ll see more Active currents and golds added to make the station an Active/Alternative hybrid. Especially since more Active songs are crossing over to Alt lately.
KCKC in Kansas City is a good example of this. It's technically an AC, but mixes in songs from Adult Hits and Soft AC sometimes so that it has a unique sound.
Again, think of stations like WKTU, WFLC, CHUM, and CKZZ.
Also, WKTU is the most listened to Hot AC station in the USA.
I still think Active Rock is a risky move in LA, even moreso than Salsa. And KROQ's signal isn't the greatest when it comes to reaching the Inland Empire.
Sure, KTBZ does pretty well in Houston, but Houston is a culturally conservative market, and LA is much less so. (Houston can't get over post-grunge and nu-metal!) And I wouldn't say WMMR and KISW remain successful by making Staind, Puddle of Mudd, and the like central to the playlist.
KTBZ’s self-described “Rock & Alternative” format does well in Houston as it has absolutely no competition in the broadest sense. Many consider it a train wreck, but listeners have no alternative (pun intended.) There is literally no other Rock in the market other than the burnt to a crisp Classic Rocker.
The outer Houston suburbs are Trumpland, but Democrats hold most of the Harris County offices. The mayor is an African-American whose predecessor was openly lesbian, so quite the cultural divide in the market.
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