January '24 Buffalo and Rochester trends

[Rusty Bridges]

I didn't bring The Lake into this discussion, your pal Rox did.

Yeah, and you responded, so you're in the stew. Look, it bothers me not a whit that you had a thing for the Lake. Goodie for you. But it's like you're pining for the high school sweetheart who joined a convent. "Those days are gone forever / Over along time ago / Oh yeah..." The Lake was 97 Rock with 137 more titles played in a somnolent presentation. Like the guy at the party on beer and 'ludes who keeps telling you what a great band Crack The Sky was.

 

[Rusty Bridges]

Too bad CHTZ is no longer a publicly reported station for Nielsen purposes. I'd love to know how much share they are pulling on the U.S. side of the border these days.

Back in the day when programmers shared the ratings with friends outside the biz, CHTZ had some numbers, but really nothing to challenge the locals. It was there, kinda like 91.7 Giant FM and Q-107 is there. The radio and music dorks know about it and check it out, but 98% of the shares go to stations that are Buffalo based.

 

[Rusty Bridges]

Remind me again, what is the #2 station in Buffalo? All Townsquare needs to do is shave off a point, and WYRK is #2.

Bing! So why is WBUF dickin' around with a format that shows no growth, an utterly abysmal morning show that gets crushed by Shredd & Regan, WGR and a few other rock and non-rock formats, and appears to shave little or anything from 97? If Townsquare had a lick of sense they'd either bring back Jack or revert to their Classic Rock image they had a few decades ago. At least the in-format and stopset wars were interesting. Then again, there's always [email protected] ... hardy-harr-harr.

 

[tbolt909]

Bing! So why is WBUF dickin' around with a format that shows no growth, an utterly abysmal morning show that gets crushed by Shredd & Regan, WGR and a few other rock and non-rock formats, and appears to shave little or anything from 97? If Townsquare had a lick of sense they'd either bring back Jack or revert to their Classic Rock image they had a few decades ago. At least the in-format and stopset wars were interesting. Then again, there's always [email protected] ... hardy-harr-harr.

Yeah, and you responded, so you're in the stew. Look, it bothers me not a whit that you had a thing for the Lake. Goodie for you. But it's like you're pining for the high school sweetheart who joined a convent. "Those days are gone forever / Over along time ago / Oh yeah..." The Lake was 97 Rock with 137 more titles played in a somnolent presentation. Like the guy at the party on beer and 'ludes who keeps telling you what a great band Crack The Sky was.

Were you high when you posted this hypocrisy? Bring back a decades old Classic Rock format? You conveniently ignore the factual ratings history with your absurd description. It's really irrelevant with Audacy's bankruptcy anyway...

 

[davideduardo]

Were you high when you posted this hypocrisy?

Okay, moderator speaking: keep this cordial and polite, please.

 

[Rusty Bridges]

Bring back a decades old Classic Rock format?

...writes the poster who pines for the Lake. Project much?

 

[ckg279]

Audacy should have moved Star 102.5 Hot ac format to 107.7. Now they are stuck with a low rated country station that will never be competitive

They'd still be stuck with a signal that doesn't cover the entire metro and needs the translator at 104.7 to give it that coverage UNLESS they file a request to move the COL and transmitter closer to metro Buffalo.

 

[ckg279]

Perhaps this is a tryout to replace What's Next? I'm thinking we'll hear more of The Bridge in some way on WBFO.

You already are. The Bridge on WBFO airs Saturday nights from 8pm-midnight.

 

[ckg279]

Their current format is Active Rock. That format is library driven these days.

Too bad CHTZ is no longer a publicly reported station for Nielsen purposes. I'd love to know how much share they are pulling on the U.S. side of the border these days.

So would I; that said, Numeris(Canada's answer to Nielsen)notes that the top 5 stations in Niagara/St. Catharines are 97.7 HTZ FM, 91.7 Giant FM, New Country 89.1, CHRE(Move 105.7)and News Talk 610 CKTB. (It doesn't mention the exact numbers, however; also, More FM and the River aren't listed for whatever reason).

 

[Rusty Bridges]

They'd still be stuck with a signal that doesn't cover the entire metro and needs the translator at 104.7 to give it that coverage UNLESS they file a request to move the COL and transmitter closer to metro Buffalo.

A move is highly unlikely. It's been researched by previous owners going back to the WUWU days. The best that could be done was an increase in antenna height, which was done. Adelphia invested a considerable amount of money improving the RF facility during the WNSA era. What 107.7 is ... is what it shall be, essentially locked into or onto the frequency and transmitter-antenna location deep in the heart of Wyoming county, which is said to have more cows than people ... only a slight exaggeration. Moooooo!

 

[MarkW]

CJXY in Hamilton, ON is most likely the biggest reason a move closer to Buffalo isn't viable.

 

[Newsradioguy]

WBFO made a big change in its midday lineup in early February. We’ll see if that has any impact on the ratings in future books. Gone is NPR’s 1A. WBFO is now running BBC content at 11am. I happen to be traveling in my car during that hour two to three times a week. I have found the BBC content to be interesting when I’ve tuned in. For me, it‘s more of a draw than the esoteric topics that were often a part of hour two on 1A.

But rather than returning Here and Now to its traditional 12noon starting time, when people are interested in hearing the latest news during their lunch hour, WBFO is running this inane show about words. Most stations relegate this show to weekend afternoons or evenings. But WBFO is running it at 12noon weekdays! I’ve sampled a bit of this show. It’s not what I’m looking at 12noon. Fortunately, Alexa gives me Here and Now from Boston’s WBUR at noon. Again, I’m shaking my head at what WBFO management is thinking.

The changes to WBFO’s midday lineup flat out suck. A random hour of BBC at 11 a.m.? How dull. Feels like a pure cost cutting move, a “show” they can run for no additional fee from what they pay for their overnight BBC broadcast. And the new noon show feels totally out of place. Like Mark said it’s much more of a weekend type of show. As someone who's interested in language and grammar it should be right up my alley. But I find myself annoyed that I’m not hearing the kind of newsmagazine show better suited for that time slot. BFO used to run programs like On Point, Here and Now, 1A, Fresh Air and The World in the midday. I now have very little interest in anything they air between Morning Edition and All Things Considered. I’m not impressed by the station’s new PD if he’s the one making these decisions.

 

[TheBigA]

The changes to WBFO’s midday lineup flat out suck. A random hour of BBC at 11 a.m.? How dull. Feels like a pure cost cutting move, a “show” they can run for no additional fee from what they pay for their overnight BBC broadcast.

Not sure there's no additional fee. It's likely a placeholder while they figure out their next step. My bet is they don't have many listeners in mid-day, which is why they just stick anything there. There seems to be a surprising shortage of quality national public affairs shows available to public radio stations. I'm not a big fan of 1A or On Point. I think they've declined over the years. I'm surprised KQED, KPCC, or one of the other major stations haven't jumped into this area. So far, it's a lot of the same old players.

 

[Rusty Bridges]

Not sure there's no additional fee. It's likely a placeholder while they figure out their next step.

In the time WBFO is taking to "figure out" what's next (see what I did there), they're probably losing more midday listeners and potential memberships. WBFO used to be appointment listening in midday. The changes that have been instituted over the last 12-24 months have allowed me to make other appointments. Wouldn't be a bit surprised if other listeners-members felt the same.

 

[tbolt909]

Not sure there's no additional fee. It's likely a placeholder while they figure out their next step. My bet is they don't have many listeners in mid-day, which is why they just stick anything there. There seems to be a surprising shortage of quality national public affairs shows available to public radio stations. I'm not a big fan of 1A or On Point. I think they've declined over the years. I'm surprised KQED, KPCC, or one of the other major stations haven't jumped into this area. So far, it's a lot of the same old players.

The loss of Tom Ashbrook a few years ago was unfortunate. I realise he was responsible for his termination, but his show was very high quality. One could argue that NPR has not been able to adequately replace him...

 

[TheBigA]

The loss of Tom Ashbrook a few years ago was unfortunate. I realise he was responsible for his termination, but his show was very high quality. One could argue that NPR has not been able to adequately replace him...

That show was produced by WBUR. NPR just acted as distributor.

 

[TheBigA]

In the time WBFO is taking to "figure out" what's next (see what I did there), they're probably losing more midday listeners and potential memberships. WBFO used to be appointment listening in midday.

I'm not so sure about that. Appointment listening is to Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

They subscribe to Nielsen. They see the detailed ratings. They read comments from their members.

Also as I've been saying, BTPM doesn't just focus on one station, but the whole platform.

 

[tbolt909]

That show was produced by WBUR. NPR just acted as distributor.

Yes, but most NPR stations aired both hours every day.
That left a big hole to fill after his departure. It's not just about time slot. It's content quality.

Many shows get repeated airings and are archived. People can listen to them at their convenience. It's the same thing folks do with TV shows...

 

[TheBigA]

Yes, but most NPR stations aired both hours every day.
That left a big hole to fill after his departure. It's not just about time slot. It's content quality.

It's up to the stations to handle that. That's why I say there's an opening for another station to create a great midday talk show for public radio. NPR can offer support, but that's about it. We can't expect a single station like WBFO to have the funds & staff for a consistent daily talk show.

NPR did Talk of the Nation, but that was canceled in 2013, replaced by Here & Now from WBUR.

 

[ckg279]

WXXI-A/F in Rochester has a decent midday talk show, Evan Dawson's Connections(which is rerun weekday evenings). Most of the programming that WBFO ended in middays airs on WXXI.