"Potential New Operator" For 98.7

[Identnut]

It's worked for about 7 decades all over Latin America, including Puerto Rico, USA, where stations like Fidelity, KQ-105, Mega and Hot all play some or lots of English songs with everything else in Spanish.

My first station in Quito played about 40% U.S. top 40 songs in English. But not all the hits in the US were hits in Ecuador.

This format will work in markets where there are lots of middle and upper income Hispanic first generation immigrants. New York is not one of them.

This is a placeholder format so it's more excusable to have a hype format here than say, a full-powered iHeart Station in San Antonio.

Maybe they're trying to curry favor with SBS, Univision, or even MediaCo, and do a station that they can sell to them. New York is underradioed when it comes to Hispanics.

 

[exbloguero]

I would never dare to mix a Franco de Vita song “Tú de Qué Vas” with N'Sync “Bye Bye Bye” they have different rhythms, not even the Latin or Mexican stations do that mix. Not even Jose's clones radio in México. hahahahahaha

 

[Identnut]

I would never dare to mix a Franco de Vita song “Tú de Qué Vas” with N'Sync “Bye Bye Bye” they have different rhythms, not even the Latin or Mexican stations do that mix. Not even Jose's clones radio in México. hahahahahaha

This would not be unusual in the Caribbean rim, though, where most of the audience in New York is from.

 

[MarkW]

I think this format may prove more popular in the NYC area than some here believe. I think this is a decent choice for 98.7.

The part that I don't quite understand, though, is this - why was AM 1190's prior programming scrapped?

 

[TheBigA]

When I talked about the source for this new format, I was also thinking about the site of its origination. If Emmis is thinking about having talent, will there be an office/studio? Or will that be something provided by McVay? Or will it be home studios? We've said in the past that WLIB is originating from a rack at MediaCo's studios. Is that where this is originating?

This is what Lance said in September about TJ:

Mostly everything is done at the transmitter now. In the case of 98.7 now, the entire station is a single computer in the transmitter room running Radio.cloud automation (promoted in their TOH ID).

 

[RadioGuy1864]

How can Emmis be considered a "new operator" when they have owned the station since 1994?

 

[MarkW]

How can Emmis be considered a "new operator" when they have owned the station since 1994?

They have not been operating the station for many years; outside parties (ESPN, then Good Karma, then the outfit behind TJ98.7) until today were the operators.

 

[Voicetrack of Reason]

How do you say "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss" in Spanish? 🤣

 

[DToTheJ]

El nuevo jefe es el mismo que el antiguo jefe, conócelo.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

This format will work in markets where there are lots of middle and upper income Hispanic first generation immigrants. New York is not one of them.

If you take Jeff Smulyan at his word, Emmis did its due diligence:

we thoroughly reviewed the New York market and saw a significant opportunity for a Spanish AC format playing English and Spanish hits from the 1980s to 2000s.

I know you love market research, David. Emmis must have reached a different conclusion than you. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

 

[TheBigA]

If you take Jeff Smulyan at his word, Emmis did its due diligence:

In all fairness, Emmis is not the company it once was, and Smulyan isn't the visionary he was 40 years ago. If you go to the Emmis website, you'll see that they've completely reinvented the company into something that is very different from what it once was. I really don't know what he's thinking here.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

In all fairness, Emmis is not the company it once was, and Smulyan isn't the visionary he was 40 years ago. If you go to the Emmis website, you'll see that they've completely reinvented the company into something that is very different from what it once was. I really don't know what he's thinking here.

Oh yes, for sure. But you'd still have to believe there was market research done, regardless.

 

[TheBigA]

Oh yes, for sure. But you'd still have to believe there was market research done, regardless.

Maybe. CBS did market research and came up with NOW. How did that work out? Remember Blink? That came from research.

I read people here say all the time that radio has to take risks. Everything we do is a risk. Every record we add, every person we hire, and every format we flip is a risk. My ass hurts from all the times it's been kicked. But sometimes things work.

My take here is that Jeff is having fun. Kind of like what Cats does at WABC. How much research does Cats do? This is Jeff's last chance to run a radio station. After this, he'll sell and retire.

 

[Weiserguy]

I read people here say all the time that radio has to take risks. Everything we do is a risk. Every record we add, every person we hire, and every format we flip is a risk. My ass hurts from all the times it's been kicked. But sometimes things work.

That is true in every business, everywhere, all the time. Nobody has a 100% accurate, infallible crystal ball. The Best And The Brightest fail after doing all their due diligence, and dimwits and dipshits sometimes defy the odds with unimaginable luck. (Examples: the Vietnam War or Watergate, or conversely The Donald and his Merry Band of Insurrectionists.) There is no reason why radio (or any other business) should be immune from The Law Of Unintended Consequences.

 

[Identnut]

Oh yes, for sure. But you'd still have to believe there was market research done, regardless.

Isn't "we did market research" what every radio exec says when they try a new format in a city?

 

[TheBigA]

Isn't "we did market research" what every radio exec says when they try a new format in a city?

Market research is a term like radio. Not all radio is the same. Not all market research is the same.

In the press release, they quote Mike McVay. Mike does market research. That's what consultants do. So yes they did market research. So what?

 

[notsurewhatoput]

In all fairness, Emmis is not the company it once was, and Smulyan isn't the visionary he was 40 years ago. If you go to the Emmis website, you'll see that they've completely reinvented the company into something that is very different from what it once was. I really don't know what he's thinking here.

Probably just trying to ramp up interest in the station to sell it. If you read through the reports on going private he needs to come up with enough money to buy out the shares at specific price. He mentions selling his building at this station to do that in interviews from 2023

 

[TheBigA]

He mentions selling his building at this station to do that in interviews from 2023

Hmmm, no the building he's selling is in Indianapolis. I don't think he owns any property in NYC. WLIB is coming from a rack in the MediaCo office.

Emmis Corporation to sell Monument Circle headquarters

Emmis said the seven-story, 140,000-square-foot building has been their home since 1998.

www.wthr.com

 

[davideduardo]

Market research is a term like radio. Not all radio is the same. Not all market research is the same.

It can be as simple as Todd Storz watching what songs were played on the jukebox at his favorite diner and coffee shop to massive projects approaching six-figure costs and large samples.

Even tabulating phone requests back in the day was research. So was checking record sales. My first "real research" project consisted of recruiting a handful of core listeners, bringing beer and snacks, and playing hooks. The participants did a thumbs-up, thumbs-down or thumbs-sideways. One or both thumbs could be used, so we had 6 potential scores. It worked; went from dead last on FM to a huge #1 with no other research and zero promotion.

In the press release, they quote Mike McVay. Mike does market research. That's what consultants do. So yes they did market research. So what?

Mike does not do research; he recommends companies specialized in research that do individual projects. Emmis has preferred Larry Rosen's Edison Research; I note Edison mentions some Hispanic research on their "services" page. By hiring McVay we have no assurance that they did research as well; separate item.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

I was talking to a friend who was PD for/launched Suave on 93.1 for SBS after dropping the english language AC format. He says outside of a few minor things, he likes what he hears and thinks its a good choice, playing the hits.

I had to chuckle when some FB posters who probably speak very little spanish, have never lived in NYC were questioning this move.