KCKC FM - Large Playlist Success ?

[Kent]

Cumulus jack playlists are almost all the same these days.

Far as I know, Cumulus only has a couple Jack FM's remaining, and both run the satellite feed. So, they would be the same. As LRN provides the national version of Jack FM, there could be some subtle differences, but most, if not all, of those differences would be timing.

I don't know when it happened, but the KC version of Jack FM went satellite at some point after moving to the translator at 102.5 and 94.9 HD2. It remained local for at least a year after the change, but that's the best I can tell you. I can't imagine SparkNet was happy about the move as it used to not work with lower power stations. It still might not.

 

[CTListener]

Followers of those music genres will not agree that edits "handle" the profanity issue. They know the song is not the "real" version and the stations loses totally its cred.

Sad commentary on the decline of decency.

 

[davideduardo]

Sad commentary on the decline of decency.

😥

 

[TheBigA]

Sad commentary on the decline of decency.

It's also a commentary on the decline of interest by record labels in making music that's appropriate for radio.

I remember having a conversation with a label that released a song with the word "ass" in the chorus. Not really appropriate for some radio formats. The label folks were surprised to learn this. They created a radio version.

 

[CTListener]

It's also a commentary on the decline of interest by record labels in making music that's appropriate for radio.

I remember having a conversation with a label that released a song with the word "ass" in the chorus. Not really appropriate for some radio formats. The label folks were surprised to learn this. They created a radio version.

Morgan Wallen's new single is rocketing up the chart with a solitary use of the "s word" turned into an unintelligible bit of white noise. ("Is dad still doin' dumb s---") Are country fans upset about this? The thing is, the song, "Thought You Should Know," is an ultra-sentimental love letter to his mother, but I guess Morgan has a certain bad boy image that he needs to maintain. Would the song be any less popular if he'd sung "Is dad still doin' dumb stuff"?

 

[TheBigA]

Would the song be any less popular if he'd sung "Is dad still doin' dumb stuff"?

Good question. There have been a few country songs that have had radio edits, while the video versions contain the original lyric. So country fans know that there are two versions. I don't have any reason to believe that cleaning up lyrics for radio has an effect on audience.

 

[vchimpanzee]

”We play what we want”. Smoke and mirrors. Most of these formats, as mentioned above research their target audience. All it is is a different way to sell an oldies format. By the way oldies today is not a common term but the Jack format, or Bob, etc are just new names for oldies. Let’s face it these stations are 2022 versions of oldies radio. The marketing has changed and for good reason. No listener between 45 and 60 want to hear the term “oldies”.

I know Greensboro NC didn't have a full-power oldies station and 98.7 Simon was doing older songs, including "Shout" by The Isley Brothers.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Good question. There have been a few country songs that have had radio edits, while the video versions contain the original lyric. So country fans know that there are two versions. I don't have any reason to believe that cleaning up lyrics for radio has an effect on audience.

"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by Charlie Daniels had two versions. The SOB version was played on rock stations, while country stations called him "Son of a gun". In the early 90s where I live, two "new country" stations that were competing with the established country stations played the SOB version.

 

[tall_guy1]

Far as I know, Cumulus only has a couple Jack FM's remaining, and both run the satellite feed. So, they would be the same. As LRN provides the national version of Jack FM, there could be some subtle differences, but most, if not all, of those differences would be timing.

I don't know when it happened, but the KC version of Jack FM went satellite at some point after moving to the translator at 102.5 and 94.9 HD2. It remained local for at least a year after the change, but that's the best I can tell you. I can't imagine SparkNet was happy about the move as it used to not work with lower power stations. It still might not.

I remember that as well. When I checked the other cumulus jack playlists, they were the exact same (song for song) so it might have been national.

 

[seatownmedia]

This thread is highly open to interpretation. Every market is different. What works in Spokane may not work in Seattle. What works in Portland may not work in Bend or Medford. (Sorry using my local part of the country, but assume the same across the US).

 

[kfbkfb]

Just wondering how long under utilization of the 102.1/KCKC frequency can go on, maybe they could rebroadcast 95.7 (some sort of very small local radio network arrangement).


Kirk Bayne

 

[Kent]

Just wondering how long under utilization of the 102.1/KCKC frequency can go on, maybe they could rebroadcast 95.7 (some sort of very small local radio network arrangement).

If it's making money, 102.1 isn’t necessarily being underutilized. It probably also sells well in combination with Mix and the country stations. Don’t know what Steel City's policy is, but, if I owned that cluster, you wouldn’t be able to buy Mix or either of the country stations without buying 102.1 first.

Also, there's no chance Steel City would work with Cumulus to enhance Mix's direct competitor (if there was any way to even do it legally since Cumulus is already at maximum ownership in the market).

 

[tall_guy1]

If it's making money, 102.1 isn’t necessarily being underutilized. It probably also sells well in combination with Mix and the country stations. Don’t know what Steel City's policy is, but, if I owned that cluster, you wouldn’t be able to buy Mix or either of the country stations without buying 102.1 first.

Also, there's no chance Steel City would work with Cumulus to enhance Mix's direct competitor (if there was any way to even do it legally since Cumulus is already at maximum ownership in the market).

Not only that but 95.7's ratings are nothing to brag about.

 

[tall_guy1]

Just wondering how long under utilization of the 102.1/KCKC frequency can go on, maybe they could rebroadcast 95.7 (some sort of very small local radio network arrangement).


Kirk Bayne

Why would you want a station to "conform?" All that would do is make radio even more dull than it already is. If a station is more electic, more power to them?

 

[davideduardo]

Not only that but 95.7's ratings are nothing to brag about.

As mentioned before, this is a western side of the market rimshot, missing about half of the market with a 65 dbu signal, and a third with even a 60 dbu signal.

 

[Kent]

As mentioned before, this is a western side of the market rimshot, missing about half of the market with a 65 dbu signal, and a third with even a 60 dbu signal.

It hits the bulk of the population with a 60 dBu signal or better. True, you’ll have a tough time hearing it in Odessa, Concordia, Richmond, Lexington, and Adrian, but not many people live there.

I get that the signal is a bit of a deficit, but that's a small part of the problem. KCHZ routinely outcumes KQRC, KMBZ-FM and KPRS. That's not a station people aren't tuning in. It's a station nobody listens to very long and that doesn’t get enough repeat listeners.

I’m sure Cumulus finds some value in having it in the cluster. Jack FM, after all, could use a better signal, and it gets a more advertiser-friendly demo. That it has kept that CHR format, or some derivative of it, the entire roughly 20 years it's owned that cluster tells me it's not a total dog.

 

[davideduardo]

It hits the bulk of the population with a 60 dBu signal or better. True, you’ll have a tough time hearing it in Odessa, Concordia, Richmond, Lexington, and Adrian, but not many people live there.

Nielsen does not measure cities. It measures counties. And based on county population, the 65 dbu signal misses nearly half of the market population.

I get that the signal is a bit of a deficit, but that's a small part of the problem. KCHZ routinely outcumes KQRC, KMBZ-FM and KPRS. That's not a station people aren't tuning in. It's a station nobody listens to very long and that doesn’t get enough repeat listeners.

I'm not neglecting the programming and TSL deficiencies. But when it misses a third of the market it has a big disadvantage.

I’m sure Cumulus finds some value in having it in the cluster. Jack FM, after all, could use a better signal, and it gets a more advertiser-friendly demo. That it has kept that CHR format, or some derivative of it, the entire roughly 20 years it's owned that cluster tells me it's not a total dog.

It's billing fell by a greater percent during the pandemic than any other significant local signal. It has something else wrong, but my point is that the signal is a big disadvantage.

 

[Kent]

Nielsen does not measure cities. It measures counties. And based on county population, the 65 dbu signal misses nearly half of the market population.

I chose those five cities because they're in three sparsely populated counties that at least used to be part of the KC market. Ray, Lafayette, and Bates Counties have a combined population of about 75,000. You won't get KCHZ reliably in any of them. I can't imagine Cumulus cares much.

I'm not neglecting the programming and TSL deficiencies. But when it misses a third of the market it has a big disadvantage.

If you want to say you have fewer options with that stick than you do with one at the I-70/435 interchange, I'd agree with you. I'd also be hard-pressed to argue 95.7 could ever get the numbers KMXV got 25 years ago. It is, however, airing a format that should work well for its signal. The only serious explanation for its lagging behind stations it routinely outcumes is poor programming. Cumulus has always had a reputation for weak CHR programming. I would've thought getting rid of Jan Jeffries would've solved that problem, but that would seem to have been the fault of more than one person.

 

[tall_guy1]

I chose those five cities because they're in three sparsely populated counties that at least used to be part of the KC market. Ray, Lafayette, and Bates Counties have a combined population of about 75,000. You won't get KCHZ reliably in any of them. I can't imagine Cumulus cares much.



If you want to say you have fewer options with that stick than you do with one at the I-70/435 interchange, I'd agree with you. I'd also be hard-pressed to argue 95.7 could ever get the numbers KMXV got 25 years ago. It is, however, airing a format that should work well for its signal. The only serious explanation for its lagging behind stations it routinely outcumes is poor programming. Cumulus has always had a reputation for weak CHR programming. I would've thought getting rid of Jan Jeffries would've solved that problem, but that would seem to have been the fault of more than one person.

Not only that but go back to say 2010 and its numbers are much better.

 

[Kelly A]

Not only that but go back to say 2010 and its numbers are much better.

And in case you're not counting, that was thirteen years ago. A lot has changed in thirteen years.