KPLM free falling in palm springs

[30james]

Yep they are sliding out of control so far as shares goes. They now at a historic 2.4 don't know the reason for the slide but I bet David E knows. I bet it's because palm springs is where alot of Hispanics live. The top 3 on shares are Hispanic radio audience with 2 of them making a huge dent in the shares. David e. Your comments are welcome.
Also palm springs has 2 country stations. They only need one. Palm springs isn't big enough for 2.
What does everyone think?

 

[davideduardo]

Yep they are sliding out of control so far as shares goes. They now at a historic 2.4 don't know the reason for the slide but I bet David E knows. I bet it's because palm springs is where alot of Hispanics live. The top 3 on shares are Hispanic radio audience with 2 of them making a huge dent in the shares. David e. Your comments are welcome.
Also palm springs has 2 country stations. They only need one. Palm springs isn't big enough for 2.
What does everyone think?

The market is over 50% Hispanic now. But the Hispanic core population goes back many generations due to the agricultural economy in the Eastern part of the market; a significant portion of area Hispanics do not speak Spanish. One of the Hispanic stations, KPST, is a blend of Bad Bunny and The Weeknd, and is aimed at the bilingual "born here" Hispanic in the Coachella Valley.

Think of this as San Antonio but with an average age of over 40 due to the enormous retirement population.

There are 23 commercial and 7 non-coms in the market and 24 translators. With all of that, the commercial stations divide up just $11 million in revenue.

KPLM is the #5 biller, with three Hispanic targeted stations and one CHR in the top 5. The loser in Country is the other one, KDES. The shares here wobble a lot, so one bad book is not an indication of a real problem.......................

KGAY and Channel Q (KQPS) are two LGBTQ stations, and together get about a 3.2 share, although the community is unofficially reported to be as much as 12% composed of that group.

 

[TheBigA]

Also palm springs has 2 country stations. They only need one. Palm springs isn't big enough for 2.

That's called competition. You have two owners who are very committed to the format.

But perhaps Alpha will move the nostalgia format to the main signal instead of HD-2.

 

[davideduardo]

That's called competition. You have two owners who are very committed to the format.

But perhaps Alpha will move the nostalgia format to the main signal instead of HD-2.

The problem is that this is a 2-book-a-year market with a very small sample. And you have unusual demographics, some of which are not stratification variables in Nielsen such as LGBTQ folks. And the fact that several of the cities (Indio, Coachella, Cathedral City) are predominantly Hispanic makes for both geographic and lifestyle issues.

Add in that a significantly large percentage of homes are owned by people who either weekend in the market or who split the year between Calgary and Palm Springs... or Pocatello.. or Sioux City or wherever they can spend enough days a year to not owe CA taxes. Those people show as residents, but have very disperse media usage habits and may get recruited by Nielsen even if they are not in the market the week of the survey.

 

[TheBigA]

The problem is that this is a 2-book-a-year market with a very small sample.

Which leads me to believe that KPLM isn't selling ratings. They're selling results. They get a 6 share in the fall and a 2.4 in the spring. A station like that in a market like that shouldn't be concerned with what percentage of the entire population listens. They only need to be concerned about the breakout of their specific audience.

In any case, my sense is the owner of KPLM isn't going to change formats even if he gets a 1 share. This is the format and he's sticking with it

 

[davideduardo]

Which leads me to believe that KPLM isn't selling ratings. They're selling results. They get a 6 share in the fall and a 2.4 in the spring. A station like that in a market like that shouldn't be concerned with what percentage of the entire population listens. They only need to be concerned about the breakout of their specific audience.

In any case, my sense is the owner of KPLM isn't going to change formats even if he gets a 1 share. This is the format and he's sticking with it

What is very interesting to see is the growth of KGAY. It's a translator with a very, very, very bad AM signal. Yet they are now "almost in the top 5" and have just purchased an East Valley AM (a horrible, worse, terrible signal) and have a deal for a translator for it, completing FM coverage of the full market.

A glance at their website KGAY 106.5 Radio Palm Springs, Pride of the Valley reveals a well-done site, involvement with the LGBTQ community and its activities, "tons of sponsors" and the proclamation that the station is Gay owned. All very professional. And the playlist is not extreme... it's rhythmic pop without the non-rhythmic stuff other AC or Hot AC stations might play. It's actually a good listen.

To me, a normal wobble is not big news in this market. KGAY is.

 

[michael hagerty]

While we're on Palm Springs, we haven't talked about KWXY much since it came back. Any insights?

 

[davideduardo]

While we're on Palm Springs, we haven't talked about KWXY much since it came back. Any insights?

It got a zero point zero. The format is too bizarre. Different eras at different times of the day.

 

[michael hagerty]

It got a zero point zero. The format is too bizarre. Different eras at different times of the day.

Are they managing enough local direct or NTR or are they in danger of format change/sale/going dark again?

 

[davideduardo]

Are they managing enough local direct or NTR or are they in danger of format change/sale/going dark again?

I am in La Quinta, so I can not hear them on any frequency... will check in a week when I have to go towards Palm Springs.