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Observations from a new Phoenix Metro resident

A

AM FM listener

Just moved to the Phoenix metro area after 6 years in the Seattle and 37 years in the Los Angeles metro areas. Bought a hut in Buckeye so, I'll be on the lookout for Dr. Akbar and Nurse Jeff's Gremlin around town. :) Here are a few of my initial observations about Phoenix area radio.

Having aged out of the prime sales demo, I love that there are so many oldies-based stations here. My favorites are KOAI ("The Wow Factor"), KAZG (Oldies 92.7), KAJM (Mega 104.3), KZCE (The Bounce), KIKO (Oldies 96.5), and KSWG (Real Country).

I also like KWSS' take on AAA. On weekday mornings, I wake up to KTAR's "AZ's Morning News". I guess I was spoiled listening to KNX and KFI in L.A. and KNWN (formerly KOMO) and KIRO in Seattle for so many years. KTAR is not as good as them but OK, I suppose.

There you go. I am looking forward to the Arizona lifestyle and Arizona radio!
 
AM FM listener said:
Just moved to the Phoenix metro area after 6 years in the Seattle and 37 years in the Los Angeles metro areas. Bought a hut in Buckeye so, I'll be on the lookout for Dr. Akbar and Nurse Jeff's Gremlin around town. :) Here are a few of my initial observations about Phoenix area radio.
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A tip of the fez from Los Buckeye Boyz. We'll be sure to load up our version of the Welcome Wagon ('76 Gremlin, but of course) and swing by your hut. Fortunately we still have several hundred copies of the Old Gringo's autographed picture...how many would you like?

AM FM listener said:
There you go. I am looking forward to the Arizona lifestyle and Arizona radio!
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You'll find the weather and politics on the extreme side here. But never a dull moment!
 
Glancing at the latest (Feb '24) Nielsen 6+ ratings, I'm pleased to see one of my favorites, KOAI, in 4th place. I wonder how it does in the 25-54 demo?
 
AM FM listener said:
Glancing at the latest (Feb '24) Nielsen 6+ ratings, I'm pleased to see one of my favorites, KOAI, in 4th place. I wonder how it does in the 25-54 demo?
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Terribly. It is a 65 and over station.
 
AM FM listener said:
Oh man. That's a bummer. I guess they don't sell much time to ad agencies then. I hope they have a good local sales staff that generates enough revenues from local vendors. Is that still a viable business model these days?
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As of last year, the same owners two other FMs each bill about four times what KOAI bills. They bill adequately, since they have no airstaff and limited expenses, but it is not a huge biller.
 
Theater of My Mind said:
It's a rimshot signal with a translator. It's never ever going to be number one in the market in the highly competitive 25-54 demo.

I'll bet they are happy with the money they're making with a signal like that by super-serving a niche that the full-market stations don't.
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Their other two stations are also rimshots, and bill, each, about four times as much. But, as I said, it is a cheap format to run and likely is nicely profitable.
 
Respectfully, this has got to be the first time I have ever heard anyone say this is an oldies-friendly market. Has the ostensible demise of onetime "oldies" powerhouse "kool" 94.5 - which doesn't even play 60's/70's anymore, not even "Brown Eyed Girl" - already been forgotten?

The common denominator for at least two of the stations listed - as David correctly points out - is they're niche operations.
 
indieradioguy said:
Respectfully, this has got to be the first time I have ever heard anyone say this is an oldies-friendly market. Has the ostensible demise of onetime "oldies" powerhouse "kool" 94.5 - which doesn't even play 60's/70's anymore, not even "Brown Eyed Girl" - already been forgotten?

The common denominator for at least two of the stations listed - as David correctly points out - is they're niche operations.
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Certainly "Oldies" doesn't just mean 50s and 60s Pop hits. At this point I would argue the majority of stations in the market could be considered "oldies" since they don't play any currents. All the stations the OP mentioned, except KWSS, don't touch anything within the last 10 years.

KOOL and KYOT are very much "oldies" stations at this point, with the majority of their music at least 25 to 40 years old. In KOOL's "Brown Eyed Girl" heyday in the 80s and 90s their music was...25 to 40 years old.
 
beauduran said:
Certainly "Oldies" doesn't just mean 50s and 60s Pop hits. At this point I would argue the majority of stations in the market could be considered "oldies" since they don't play any currents. All the stations the OP mentioned, except KWSS, don't touch anything within the last 10 years.
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Oh, I agree 100%. I was utterly gobsmacked when I showed up at the Last Dinner Party concert at The Van Buren this past weekend and saw all the 93.3 promotion there - I never listen to 93.3 (way too much old music) and it never occurred to me they were actually being played locally, except for maybe 93.9.
 
beauduran said:
Certainly "Oldies" doesn't just mean 50s and 60s Pop hits. At this point I would argue the majority of stations in the market could be considered "oldies" since they don't play any currents. All the stations the OP mentioned, except KWSS, don't touch anything within the last 10 years.

KOOL and KYOT are very much "oldies" stations at this point, with the majority of their music at least 25 to 40 years old. In KOOL's "Brown Eyed Girl" heyday in the 80s and 90s their music was...25 to 40 years old.
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True. Similar to your take, I was using the term "oldies" quite broadly -- i.e., stations that don't play any currents. That does cover a variety of different formats: Oldies, Standards, Classic Hits, Adult Hits, Class Rock, Classic Hip Hop, Rhythmic Oldies, etc.

Separately, I am encouraged by DavidE's belief that KOAI is cheap to run and nicely profitable, despite its 65+ appeal. I hope KAZG is too.

Dr. Akbar, Isn't KAZG the "Lamptimer". Must have earned that nickname when it was only on the AM band.
 
AM FM listener said:
Dr. Akbar, Isn't KAZG the "Lamptimer". Must have earned that nickname when it was only on the AM band.
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Lumberyard 14~Forty (KAZG) utilized a K Mart Blue Light Special lamptimer to turn the carrier on and off when it was a daytime only station. The lamptimer had a tendency to drift when it came to exact time, and it didn't care if programming was in progress when the carrier was turned on or off. Even though the station was authorized to run 52 watts of Music Pow-Pow-Power at night, management was too cheap to purchase a new transmitter that could go that low. Eventually the baling wire and gum that held things together failed, and the station coughed up the bread to purchase a new Nautel. The lamptimer was retired, and Lumberyard 14~Forty ran oldies 24/7.

Oldies 92~Seven is the translator of KDKB HD~Too. So Masters degree students at the Buckeye Media Hut are debating whether KAZG 14~Forty is simulcasting Oldies 92~Seven or 93~Three HD~Too. Thesis reviews will be conducted by Nurse Jeff, Sheriff Joe, and the Old Gringo.
 
Ah, thanks, Doctor. Nice to learn a little something about Phoenix radio history, of which, I understand you are an authority.

BTW, speaking of Phoenix radio history, what ever happened to KOOL Listener Laura?
 
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