Jack FM Playlist Exactly the Same (in British Columbia)

[fordranger797]

I ran across something rather strange. Jack 96.9 in Vancouver and Jack 103.1 in Victoria appear to be airing the same exact playlist at the same exact time. I’ve flipped between 96.9 and 103.1 a few times over the past few days and noticed that the same exact song is airing on each station (but with local content tailored to each market).

I haven’t been able to verify if the same is true for other Jack FM stations across Canada (as the website makes it somewhat difficult to do so), but it seems like other Jack FMs may doing the same thing.

It’s not strange at all for a radio station owned by a large company to structure their playlist in a way that is similar to other co-owned stations with the same format. However, I do think it’s a bit odd that two stations that are in close proximity are airing the same programming. Someone listening in the Victoria area can easily listen to 96.9 from Vancouver (if they want to). If they do so, they’re going to think that both stations are exactly the same.

Is there a particular cost-savings reason that could explain airing the same exact playlist on every station? I think most people expect most Jack FMs to be fairly similar (whether you’re in the U.S. or Canada), but it seems like a bad idea if you’re in a region where it’s obvious to a lay listener.

 

[CTListener]

Co-owned country stations WXXK (Kixx 100.5) Lebanon, NH, and WWFY (Froggy 100.9) Berlin, VT, can be heard in a good part of each other's coverage areas. Identical playlists, with DJs pulling double duty, customizing their announcements to fit the station they're on.

 

[gr8oldies]

I ran across something rather strange. Jack 96.9 in Vancouver and Jack 103.1 in Victoria appear to be airing the same exact playlist at the same exact time. I’ve flipped between 96.9 and 103.1 a few times over the past few days and noticed that the same exact song is airing on each station (but with local content tailored to each market).

I haven’t been able to verify if the same is true for other Jack FM stations across Canada (as the website makes it somewhat difficult to do so), but it seems like other Jack FMs may doing the same thing.

It’s not strange at all for a radio station owned by a large company to structure their playlist in a way that is similar to other co-owned stations with the same format. However, I do think it’s a bit odd that two stations that are in close proximity are airing the same programming. Someone listening in the Victoria area can easily listen to 96.9 from Vancouver (if they want to). If they do so, they’re going to think that both stations are exactly the same.

Is there a particular cost-savings reason that could explain airing the same exact playlist on every station? I think most people expect most Jack FMs to be fairly similar (whether you’re in the U.S. or Canada), but it seems like a bad idea if you’re in a region where it’s obvious to a lay listener.

Likely delivered by satellite. Plug and play.

 

[TheBigA]

I ran across something rather strange. Jack 96.9 in Vancouver and Jack 103.1 in Victoria appear to be airing the same exact playlist at the same exact time.

The format syndicator offers two versions: One that allows local customization, and another that's off a single playlist. Most major market US stations choose the customized version. Canada may be different. The two stations you identify are owned by Rogers, so that may explain it.

 

[fybush]

Likely delivered by satellite. Plug and play.

No reason to use satellite to feed a music format these days. Much more likely that it's just local automation in each city playing out files.

And except for a dozen of us on these boards, so what? The average listener isn't flipping back and forth comparing playlists. So why not just schedule one music log and be done with it?

 

[fordranger797]

No reason to use satellite to feed a music format these days. Much more likely that it's just local automation in each city playing out files.

And except for a dozen of us on these boards, so what? The average listener isn't flipping back and forth comparing playlists. So why not just schedule one music log and be done with it?

I’m not sure that’s entirely the case. If you’re comparing Vancouver versus Calgary, then it really doesn’t make any real difference. Both markers are far apart and nobody would really notice or care. I think the issue here is that there’s definitely an audience on Vancouver Island for some of the various Vancouver FM stations. If you’re listening to the radio in Victoria (and want to listen to classic/adult hits) you’re probably going to tune into Jack 103.1, as it’s your local Jack FM. But you could just as easily tune into 96.9, which covers Victoria extremely well.

Wouldn’t you want the programming to be staggered in this scenario? If you tune into one station and don’t care for what you’re hearing, the most obvious alternative isn’t going to be attractive either.

 

[fordranger797]

The format syndicator offers two versions: One that allows local customization, and another that's off a single playlist. Most major market US stations choose the customized version. Canada may be different. The two stations you identify are owned by Rogers, so that may explain it.

Customized seems to be the obvious answer in most cases. Even in situations where stations adhere to a specific brand, there’s almost always some differentiation (or adjustments for the market).

 

[TheBigA]

Customized seems to be the obvious answer in most cases. Even in situations where stations adhere to a specific brand, there’s almost always some differentiation (or adjustments for the market).

That requires someone to do the customization, and that doesn't appear to be how Rogers operates.

 

[fordranger797]

That requires someone to do the customization, and that doesn't appear to be how Rogers operates.

It looks like they’ve implemented quite a few cost cutting measures as of late.

 

[TheBigA]

It looks like they’ve implemented quite a few cost cutting measures as of late.

They're not unique in that kind of thing, as you know. I've noticed that Bell and Stingray tend to operate that same way.

It's part of the overall theme we talk about, that radio isn't attracting the kind of money it once did, and therefore budgets need to be adjusted for that reality. It's even starting to affect public radio in the US, which is facing the potential loss of federal money.

 

[fordranger797]

They're not unique in that kind of thing, as you know. I've noticed that Bell and Stingray tend to operate that same way.

It's part of the overall theme we talk about, that radio isn't attracting the kind of money it once did, and therefore budgets need to be adjusted for that reality. It's even starting to affect public radio in the US, which is facing the potential loss of federal money.

That’s very true. I’ve noticed a pretty steep erosion in terms of the overall programming quality of radio in Canada over the past few years. As you said, it’s difficult to make money these days. Nevertheless, most of the radio stations on the air today are owned by one of four companies, all of which are struggling.

Things aren’t significantly better stateside, but the situation doesn’t seem as dire. It’s hard to see it any other way when so many stations are going dark at a rapid rate.

 

[TheBigA]

I’ve noticed a pretty steep erosion in terms of the overall programming quality of radio in Canada over the past few years.

It depends on what you consider "quality."

 

[fordranger797]

It depends on what you consider "quality."

Perhaps quality isn’t the right word for it, but since the pandemic, things have not gone well for most of the major companies. That’s true for most broadcasting companies across North America, but the situation seems particularly problematic for companies like Bell. Now Corus is following a similar pathway (with Rogers following close behind).

It’s a shame, but it’s reality when there’s not enough revenue to go around (particularly in the smaller communities that don’t have enough of an economy to justify anything different or hyperlocal).

 

[Gregg.]

I can remember a format called "Magic" from the 1980s. It was a soft rock sound. James Taylor, Carole King, Cat Stevens, Elton John. A broadcasting company known as Greater Media put it on several of its FM stations, including WMJC Detroit, WMGK Philadelphia, WMGQ New Brunswick NJ and WCTO Smithtown LI.

If you were in a part of NJ that got both Philly and New Brunswick, you could hear the same playlist on both stations. Maybe they'd be a few minutes apart. There were no satellites then. But apparently all stations used the same printed playlist, so the DJs knew what to play, hour by hour. You'd hear Piano Man on one station followed by Rhiannon, then hear them both a few minutes later on the other.

 

[fordranger797]

I can remember a format called "Magic" from the 1980s. It was a soft rock sound. James Taylor, Carole King, Cat Stevens, Elton John. A broadcasting company known as Greater Media put it on several of its FM stations, including WMJC Detroit, WMGK Philadelphia, WMGQ New Brunswick NJ and WCTO Smithtown LI.

If you were in a part of NJ that got both Philly and New Brunswick, you could hear the same playlist on both stations. Maybe they'd be a few minutes apart. There were no satellites then. But apparently all stations used the same printed playlist, so the DJs knew what to play, hour by hour. You'd hear Piano Man on one station followed by Rhiannon, then hear them both a few minutes later on the other.

When I young, there was a classic hits radio station occupying one of the graveyard band frequencies. Every day, this station aired the same exact tape of programming. So you could tune in every single day at 3:31 and hear “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac. I didn’t listen to it very often, and there were far better options for classic hits on the radio.

This situation from my original post is still a step up from that!

 

[TheBigA]

I can remember a format called "Magic" from the 1980s. It was a soft rock sound.

It was created by the legendary programmer Julian Breen when he was with Greater Media.

Like Bonneville, it was available to stations on reel to reel, with live host assist. Same playlist.

 

[Miss Tuned]

I ran across something rather strange. Jack 96.9 in Vancouver and Jack 103.1 in Victoria appear to be airing the same exact playlist at the same exact time. I’ve flipped between 96.9 and 103.1 a few times over the past few days and noticed that the same exact song is airing on each station (but with local content tailored to each market).

I haven’t been able to verify if the same is true for other Jack FM stations across Canada (as the website makes it somewhat difficult to do so), but it seems like other Jack FMs may doing the same thing.

It’s not strange at all for a radio station owned by a large company to structure their playlist in a way that is similar to other co-owned stations with the same format. However, I do think it’s a bit odd that two stations that are in close proximity are airing the same programming. Someone listening in the Victoria area can easily listen to 96.9 from Vancouver (if they want to). If they do so, they’re going to think that both stations are exactly the same.

Is there a particular cost-savings reason that could explain airing the same exact playlist on every station? I think most people expect most Jack FMs to be fairly similar (whether you’re in the U.S. or Canada), but it seems like a bad idea if you’re in a region where it’s obvious to a lay listener.

This has been absolutely standard in the UK for decades. Even before they rebranded all the former local stations into a few national networks (Heart, Capital etc), co-owned stations shared playlists, even where they could be heard in each other's areas. You'd tune up and down the dial and hear the same songs in the same order, usually a few minutes apart as these stations still had different local programming elements.

It saves money - you only need one programmer to make one playlist, rather than someone at each station site poring over music selections. In a lot of ways, the Canadian market is closer to the UK market than the U.S., with a couple of mega-owners and increasingly the same station branding across multiple cities.

I quite like it when stations are tuned to local tastes, and play the occasional song that you wouldn't hear in another market (in the UK, Liverpool is quite distinct) but for the most part, a format is a format wherever you play it out.

 

[davideduardo]

It saves money - you only need one programmer to make one playlist, rather than someone at each station site poring over music selections.

Stations "everywhere" use one of a couple of music scheduling software apps, and creating a daily log takes about 90 seconds. If the PD wants to massage the lists to avoid things the computer can't do, like feeling the flavor of a song-to-song transition, then a bit more time is spent editing each day's log. But if the "rules" in the app are assembled well, it is not something the PD or MD (if they have one) spends time "poring over".

 

[fordranger797]

Stations "everywhere" use one of a couple of music scheduling software apps, and creating a daily log takes about 90 seconds. If the PD wants to massage the lists to avoid things the computer can't do, like feeling the flavor of a song-to-song transition, then a bit more time is spent editing each day's log. But if the "rules" in the app are assembled well, it is not something the PD or MD (if they have one) spends time "poring over".

That’s the process I’m used to. The computer does most of the heavy lifting, but changes can be made (usually at specific times of the day where a special song might be needed). Very rarely was there any direct crossover with a station that could be considered “competition.” To be fair, the computer wasn’t fool-proof, and sometimes little issues would come up (but for the most part, it did a good job).

 

[powers]

A few years ago (not sure how it is now as I haven't tested it in a few years) if you listened to iHeartRadio in the overnight hours many of the similarly programmed music stations were using identical playlists. You could generally tell when grouped in the same time zone, i.e. all of the Hot AC stations were playing from a single playlist, all of the Classic Rock stations, AC, etc. So with a little variation for stopsets and timing, you'd hear the same songs in the same order (including old songs) on the iHeart AC stations in Phoenix, Fresno, Las Vegas, Portland, etc. Nearly ALL of the AM talk stations would be playing Coast To Coast AM (I think that's still the case).

I worked at KDON-AM/FM (Salinas/Monterey) in the late 80s but before they went live and local they used TM's Stereo Rock format in the late 70s and early 80s. The next nearest affiliate was KREO in Healdsburg/Santa Rosa, about 180 miles apart. However we lived in a foothill area and in my bedroom my cheap radio could pick up KREO if I put it in the windowsill area. More than once I heard the same exact tracks in the same order, although sometimes it was a day or two apart. This was likely because the format was on reels and each station probably had the same reels to play each week, just at different times. The same announcements between the songs and similar jingles were played. Even as a ten year old I could detect when the same playlists and tapes were being used. At the time it sort of disenchanted me to know that not everything was purely original, but was a copycat. I would get the same feeling with seeing similar "local" ads or TV IDs/promos in different markets on television.