Modern pop/rhythmic has too much foul language to be played on radio un-censored. Now teens and younger audience can just stream the unedited version. Why would they listen to a censored/altered version on radio, when they can hear what they know is actually said/sung? This isn't the 80's anymore, where radio was the only place to hear new music.
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KNUC 98.9 has filed for a call letter change
- Thread starter The New Chico
- Start date
If they flip to another music format, I could see them doing some sort of rock format, maybe leaning into the PNW’s music scene. Not sure about how viable it would be but if they are actually flipping from country, there has to be a rationale.
That also sounds like an expensive format to run, especially with 1,000 already in the market. I'm assuming KNWN has the conversation elements because there's not enough actual news in Seattle to fill the clock? About the only hole in the market I can see is business talk, and I have no idea how that format makes money, as it doesn't seem like anyone listens. Moving the sports betting programming from the HD2 might also be a possibility, but if I were Hubbard I'd move that to 880 before I'd move it to 98.9. They're not going to do rock as if they were really committed to it, they wouldn't have yanked it off the air mid song for country. Here's a wild idea that will probably never happen, move sports betting to 880 and relaunch KIXI as 98.9 KPNW with real oldies.
Lance is usually pretty darn close to right and he said it looks like a rebrand
Could they call themselves "PNW Country" and give themselves an overall PNW/Seattle vibe and sound rather than this generic bull stuff?
Oh I completely agree, I was speculating anyway in the event there is actually a change in the works. Personally, if (and this is key) they decide to dump country, there has to be a method to the madness. I can't imagine that it isn't billing well and country fits in nicely with KRWM and KQMV as formats that appeal to a female audience.
My post was simply me throwing out what I view as one of few plausible formats Hubbard could put on 98.9 if this ends up leading to a change, which it very well may not. I don't see oldies, rhythmic, or news/talk being plausible, and frankly I don't see why they would change from country right now unless they want to try something that isn't being done elsewhere.
I still find the callsign change suspicious since A.) there was really no reason to do it if they're just moving away from "The Bull" branding B.) they made an effort to get a call that was in use and required permission.
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If so, they should probably replace the Nashville-based morning show.
Sports betting does not bill more than country or any other music format, so I would rule that out right away. I agree that they would probably sacrifice an AM before they would lose a music FM.
The situation was also a bit nuanced. With the demise of KMPS, they thought that filling that void as the second country station in Seattle would be beneficial, and I would agree from a cluster standpoint it makes sense. They wanted to grab the KMPS listeners who didn't like The Wolf, giving Entercom some competition.
But who knows, stranger things have happened.
i dont necessarily disagree but we all know mornings is the most expensive daypart...... can 98.9 afford a local morning show?
Correction: Mornings are potentially the most lucrative daypart. The expense is a function of the number of people dedicated to it and how much they get paid. Right now they have no local expense.
Can they afford a local morning show? They did for the first three years in the format. Just about every other commercial station in Seattle has a local morning show. But if they want to position themselves as "country for the PNW," it would behoove them to reflect that in some way.
KPNW-FM used to be the call sign on 99.1 in Eugene, now KODZ. It signed on in 1968, as the FM counterpart to 1120 KPNW. It has a very powerful signal, 100,000 watts on a tower higher than the Empire State Building. For its first couple of decades, it was automated Beautiful Music. In the 1980s, it added more vocals and introduced live DJs, transitioning to Soft AC. Then in 1994, if flipped to Oldies as KODZ, transitioning to Classic Hits in the early 2000s.
Since 1994, the KPNW-FM call letters have been unused. But since Bicoastal Media still uses the KPNW call sign for its AM Talk station, permission must be granted for Hubbard to use those call letters on its FM station in Seattle.
Since 1994, the KPNW-FM call letters have been unused. But since Bicoastal Media still uses the KPNW call sign for its AM Talk station, permission must be granted for Hubbard to use those call letters on its FM station in Seattle.
Permission with a price, no doubt. Wonder what they went for? Back in the diary days it really meant something, and the outfit I was with sold ours for 35K. In early 80s money, no less!
Lance makes very good predictions and observations, and I would not bet against him!
I wonder what he thinks about The Broadcaster Formerly Known as Entercom?
I recall, in 1989, wanting to get "WNOL" for our AM in Tallahassee, FL. The calls were in use by an FM in rural GA, and we offered $10 k for the right to use them on AM. Counter was $50 k, and we went with WNLS which we got for the filing fee and our attorney bill.
Ted Turner paid MIT $50,000 for the WTBS call letters:
The money helped the station upgrade its power and facilities.
Hubbard could make some serious headway with building the top country station in the market if they decided to bring in a local morning show. They’ve got a high quality afternoon show right now while the wolf is running national programming, so there is a real opportunity they could capitalize on.
You mean going back to Rock 98.9? Hubbard already tried it and then killed it and flipped it to Country.
The new, proposed call letters do not seem to sound "Country" to me, though. One wonders why, in this day and age, they'd bother changing the call letters, though. The slogan and logo means more.
As I said earlier, with the demise of KMPS, they thought that filling that void as the second country station in Seattle would be beneficial, and I would agree from a cluster standpoint it makes sense. They wanted to grab the KMPS listeners who didn't like The Wolf, giving Entercom some competition. The station likely would not have gone country unless KMPS or KKWF went away.
That's fine and good but ratings-wise, KKWF seems to be beating it. Just because it's "national" or "syndicated" doesn't mean the local product is necessarily better/will succeed over it.
I’d be very curious to see a breakdown of how each station performs in morning and afternoon drive. I would assume that the wolf does better in the key morning daypart because of their local morning show, while the bull makes up some ground in the afternoon. Though, to be fair, the morning may help dictate whether or not a listener will return in the afternoon.
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