KITS 105.3 Stunting... Return of Live 105?

[macattack]

I don’t think anyone has tried mixing harder modern rock (think Bad Omens or Shinedown) with alternative yet, but I have seen stations playing mostly from the active rock charts on media base.

“Just Pretend” by Bad Omens is actually in the top 10 on Alternative with both audience numbers and spin counts. Amusingly this was a groundswell situation as Sumerian Records didn’t begin pushing the song until it hit the top 30. Pierce The Veil is top 5 right now (albeit with a single that is much more melodic than their usual). Bring Me The Horizon is also in the top 40, and Enter Shikari is sending a song to Alt next month. It seems electronic or punk-adjacent metal bands are in business on Alt.

 

[Rusty Muck]

But the reality is that KPNT has a power ratio of around 0.7. That means that the station is underperforming in billing compared to its ratings.

In the same market, there country, talk, urban, hot AC and CHR stations that all have power ratios above 1.3,

The station is likely very profitable, as it is in the top 10 in billing. But, like nearly all Alt stations, it has a poor power ratio because many advertisers don't select that format for their campaigns.

This actually makes me wonder if KITS’s power ratio as DaveFM was itself poor enough to merit a flip *back* to alternative. Clearly something did not work with Dave at all in the internal data if you’re returning to a format that cannot bill.

 

[davideduardo]

10:53am Monday is the flip according to article.

It will be interesting to hear from RsdioDiscussions participants who are actually in the market (or those who can stream it) about how it sounds in real time. Looking at song airplay monitors is not the same as a real "aircheck" listening.

(And streams often have different ads and stopset content that are not well done)

 

[Rusty Muck]

Your doggo is so cute in the photo btw 🐕

Heh thanks, but I’m a raccoon 🦝 you just can’t see my ringtail in the photo

 

[tall_guy1]

Now I cringe when I remember things I wrote on rec.radio.broadcasting 30 years bemoaning the lack of a modern rock station in Kansas City, at least until KLZR from Lawrence and then KISF came along. By that point, I had been out of radio for upwards of 10 years, but still should have had a better comprehension of why Kansas City radio operated the way that it was. I still hold the opinion that the radio choices on offer at that time and place were stale and pedestrian, but then again, I felt that the Kansas City suburbs, to which these stations seemed to be appealing, were also stale and pedestrian. I still rant about the awfulness of KYYS occasionally, but it's gone and the effort to revive it fell flat. I'll note that things have changed somewhat in KC - I've had a good time on recent visits there, and the radio choices on offer there now are, in some ways, more diverse than those in the Bay Area.

There's a personal irony for me in all this. My dissatisfaction with Kansas City radio deepened after trips to the Bay Area and exposure to the 1990s version of KITS. The station had verve, personality, and music that really resonated with me. I was looking for something different, and there I found it. Problem was, I lived somewhere else where more conventional programming ruled. By the time I moved to the Bay Area a few years later, for career and personal reasons, CBS had taken over KITS and essentially installed the harder KOME format (complete with terrible audio that wasn't fixed until "Dave FM" came along). For a few years I referred to KITS as "The Station for Angry Tattooed Restaurant Workers". In the last few years, it seemed to be searching for an identity. This may indeed be related to the fragmentation of the "alternative" audience that has been referenced upthread.

One outcome of my Kansas City experience is that I have a substantial collection of early 1990s modern rock CDs, including most of the "Volume" series.

If "Dave FM" is indeed being sent to the junkpile, I hope KITS doesn't go back to the distorted, unlistenable audio processing that it featured since the CBS takeover.

But bemoaning the lack of a modern rock station also had merit too. KRBZ has been a station that at times has filled the void quite well for the town (and has spawned a competitor KCJK), so there was a void in the market that needed filling at some point.

 

[TheBigA]

This actually makes me wonder if KITS’s power ratio as DaveFM was itself poor enough to merit a flip *back* to alternative. Clearly something did not work with Dave at all in the internal data if you’re returning to a format that cannot bill.

It's an interesting thought. In any case the station was underperforming. From what I've been reading, the people involved have had some success reviving similar stations around the country. The role John Allers played with KVIL in Dallas was pretty amazing. He not only revived a station on life support, but helped kill off iHeart's KEGL. So after that success he looked around for a similar project, and this one seemed like a challenge. What makes this flip so easy is he doesn't have to fire any air staff.

 

[TheBigA]

Looking at song airplay monitors is not the same as a real "aircheck" listening.

Exactly...I want to hear the imaging and if they'll launch with some airstaff. The people mentioned in the article are already on the Audacy payroll, so they can start immediately. I'm expecting they'll launch commercial free for 105 hours.

 

[Mark Roberts]

If someone here records the Monday launch from the FM station, please let me know. We could work out a trade of some type. Thanks in advance!

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Exactly...I want to hear the imaging and if they'll launch with some airstaff. The people mentioned in the article are already on the Audacy payroll, so they can start immediately. I'm expecting they'll launch commercial free for 105 hours.

The article states there will not initially be any airstaff and that while there are plans to reintroduce some, the details have yet to be decided.

 

[TheBigA]

The article states there will not initially be any airstaff and that while there are plans to reintroduce some, the details have yet to be decided.

Whoops, yes I see it now:

Those tuning in Monday will hear all those familiar alt-rock tunes, but what they won’t initially hear are any DJs or on-air personalities at this early stage in the reintroduction.
“The first priority is to re-establish that the Live 105 music is back on the radio,” Allers says.
There is some plan to reintroduce some on-air personalities — such as Axelsen and his Soundcheck show — but to what extent, and how it will be done, has yet to be decided.

Too bad. My view is starting with just music will give people a reason to complain. "Why aren't they playing this or that?"

 

[macattack]

It's an interesting thought. In any case the station was underperforming. From what I've been reading, the people involved have had some success reviving similar stations around the country. The role John Allers played with KVIL in Dallas was pretty amazing. He not only revived a station on life support, but helped kill off iHeart's KEGL. So after that success he looked around for a similar project, and this one seemed like a challenge. What makes this flip so easy is he doesn't have to fire any air staff.

KVIL transforming from an abject failure into a significant success story is a fantastic addition to any resume, especially with the utter defeat of the chief rival station that had been soundly beating KVIL for years. While it's been documented that a significant aspect was KEGL's self-inflicted wounds, the work Allers put in can't be understated.

Truly an effort of programming excellence, and that's not something I can say often about Audacy.

 

[chrocket87]

Whoops, yes I see it now:



Too bad. My view is starting with just music will give people a reason to complain. "Why aren't they playing this or that?"

I think AT FIRST, the reaction will be more like “Thank Goodness I can hear this kind of music again”. Give it a month or two then the complaining will start.

 

[macattack]

I think AT FIRST, the reaction will be more like “Thank Goodness I can hear this kind of music again”. Give it a month or two then the complaining will start.

I think Allers is aware of this and I do think DJs will be in place before the end of the summer. I think he's smart enough to know that what he did with KVIL isn't going to work in San Francisco, at least not the same way. In Dallas, he had the advantage of what was clear listener frustration with KEGL, and once he provided an alternative, they flocked to it. The only playlist change he did was start playing the 00's post-grunge/alt-metal anthems that KEGL was reliant on and put on a couple of Active/Alternative crossover currents that Audacy rarely adds as a whole, and KEGL had no answer. To this day KVIL is the only Audacy Alternative that plays songs like Seether's "Fine Again", Default's "Wasting My Time" or Shinedown's "Second Chance", and also serves as Audacy's test station for Active Rock songs crossing to Alternative.

Point is, he figured out how to give KVIL an identity and also gave it wider purpose within Audacy's portfolio. I'm pretty confident he can do with the same with the reborn Live 105, and that he knows that the advantages he had with KVIL's situation can't be replicated in such a different West Coast market.

 

[adradio]

Re. the flip, are there analytics for advertisers that compare listener buying habits with a 'live' DJ-based station (old KITS) vs. a streaming station (Dave). Ratings appear to be very similar for both stations, and upside for the new KITS is likely limited. Not sure what's driving the flip...but could advertisers (and listener behavior) be more attractive to a DJ-based format?

 

[Saladressing]

i hope they don't launch with freebird i mean smells like teen spirit. love that very important song and all, but yeah, let's see an alt (re)launch with something different, for a change. even something from locals green day would be nice. anything really.

 

[davideduardo]

Re. the flip, are there analytics for advertisers that compare listener buying habits with a 'live' DJ-based station (old KITS) vs. a streaming station (Dave). Ratings appear to be very similar for both stations, and upside for the new KITS is likely limited. Not sure what's driving the flip...but could advertisers (and listener behavior) be more attractive to a DJ-based format?

There are too many variables to be able to measure hosted vs. tracked programming on stations. There is the music, the positioning, the station's promotion and web features,

Add in that some people like hosted shows, some don't and some like a little presence but not too much.

 

[davideduardo]

I think Allers is aware of this and I do think DJs will be in place before the end of the summer.

I've never believed in stunting or going jock-less or commercial-less initially. I have generally done at least a week of training that was "live" but not sent to the transmitter to work out the kinks and the get the staff relaxed from the start.

Going without jocks or ads just gives the listeners you got with the stunting a reason to leave when they do appear.

 

[tall_guy1]

I think Allers is aware of this and I do think DJs will be in place before the end of the summer. I think he's smart enough to know that what he did with KVIL isn't going to work in San Francisco, at least not the same way. In Dallas, he had the advantage of what was clear listener frustration with KEGL, and once he provided an alternative, they flocked to it. The only playlist change he did was start playing the 00's post-grunge/alt-metal anthems that KEGL was reliant on and put on a couple of Active/Alternative crossover currents that Audacy rarely adds as a whole, and KEGL had no answer. To this day KVIL is the only Audacy Alternative that plays songs like Seether's "Fine Again", Default's "Wasting My Time" or Shinedown's "Second Chance", and also serves as Audacy's test station for Active Rock songs crossing to Alternative.

Point is, he figured out how to give KVIL an identity and also gave it wider purpose within Audacy's portfolio. I'm pretty confident he can do with the same with the reborn Live 105, and that he knows that the advantages he had with KVIL's situation can't be replicated in such a different West Coast market.

Could artists like Matchbox 20 be considered alternative? I have seen the label applied, but have never heard them on any alt station.

 

[TheBigA]

Re. the flip, are there analytics for advertisers that compare listener buying habits with a 'live' DJ-based station (old KITS) vs. a streaming station (Dave). Ratings appear to be very similar for both stations, and upside for the new KITS is likely limited. Not sure what's driving the flip...but could advertisers (and listener behavior) be more attractive to a DJ-based format?

I know what you mean, and it has to do with being able to merchandize that live talent in ways they can't with an un-hosted station. DJs are more able to drive the listener to buy than a recorded commercial (what we call "spots & dots"). The effectiveness of a familiar voice vs. an obvious sales pitch, that a lot of people tune out. Especially talent that has credibility with the audience. There's a lot of that going on now, and I think Audacy especially is more interested in that more conventional presentation than what they had with Dave.

 

[macattack]

Could artists like Matchbox 20 be considered alternative? I have seen the label applied, but have never heard them on any alt station.

Matchbox Twenty was considered Alternative when they first came out. I recall Q101 playing "Push" and "3 AM" quite a lot. But I think Mad Season cemented them as Adult Contemporary fodder and they've been there ever since.