-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
Seattle country wars raging
- Thread starter radiogal
- Start date
Lance's Seattle monthly ratings summary this week has a cute graph of the stations' ratings over the past six months. Seattle Country Three-Way
I don't personally consider KPLZ a participant in the country wars. Their imaging and canned package of country oldies attracts a listener base different from the one that tunes in to CHR-ish stations KPNW and the Wolf. 101.5 should thrive, but I have no sense of the other two.
It's called competition. Sure it was better for The Wolf when Hubbard wasn't in the format. But that's up to Hubbard. Audacy isn't quitting on country.
There are also three conservative talk stations in Seattle. Are there enough conservatives to support three stations praising the president?
Radio stations don't sell cume, they sell demos. If the stations are achieving the sales figures, they're a success.
Country as a format has great demos, especially right now. That's why companies want it.
CHR has become an extremely fragmented format in 2026. Everyone had a different idea of what kind of music they want to listen to, with little consensus. I can’t say the same thing about country. Country has also found a really strong foothold in suburbia among listeners who probably weren’t there 10+ years ago. Places like Puyallup, Maple Valley, Covington, Mill Creek (you name it) have the population that stations like 100.7 and 98.9 are after. Listeners for these stations are probably not in Seattle proper, but both stations have a big reach and can grab listeners in other pockets of the Puget Sound.
I think returning to country was the right call for 98.9, and I wouldn’t make any changes if I were Hubbard. Stay the course, keep building the brand, and keep putting out a competitive and local product.
I think returning to country was the right call for 98.9, and I wouldn’t make any changes if I were Hubbard. Stay the course, keep building the brand, and keep putting out a competitive and local product.
That puts 101.5 in an interesting spot. Plus with the fragmenting of CHR, it open doors for rock leaning, pop leaning, and urban leaning CHR.
I actually really like the programming on 101.5. I enjoy 90’s and 2000’s country far more than I enjoy modern country. With that being said, the format still feels a little bit like a placeholder format to me. I think there’s a lane for it, but I’m not sure that’s the vision for what they ultimately want to do.
Maybe. What we know is that Lotus is using the same format on several of their stations around the country, and it's doing well for them.
If they're going to spend money on local staff, it will go to KNWN.
I don't hear any airstaff at 101.5 when I tune in. Do they even care about having anyone? You would think they would get some local talent at this point since it's been over a year since they signed on.
That's not what this is. This is a classic country version of Jack. That means no hosts, just music. Not Jack, but Hank.
Which tells me Lotus wants to run things on a shoestring budget and 101.5 isn't really a priority. What a joke.
Sell the cluster to a local owner who actually cares about the community it serves.
Sell the cluster to a local owner who actually cares about the community it serves.
You ignore the fact that Lotus also owns KNKX and is devoting its local resources where it can do the most good.
Hank is doing just fine the way it is. It doesn't need local staff to satisfy its audience. There are lots of other stations with local hosts.
If there had been a "local owner," they would have stepped up to the plate when the stations were on the market a few years ago.
Did you mean KNWN?
Whoops yes you're right.
Not necessarily (politically). A lot of the conservatives have packed up and left for other parts of the state, and especially for red states, like Idaho. I met several people at my old church in Meridian, ID that had previously lived in various parts of the Sound. But even liberal-leaning people like country music. Trump may have gained 50,000 votes in Pierce County over his first term, but Pierce will probably never flip red again. And Pierce is probably where the most listenership is for The Wolf, Hank and The Bull...like Puyallup, Bonney Lake, and very-red-leaning Graham.
I’m kind of on the fence with 101.5. As I mentioned, I like the more “classic” feel to their approach, but not having local hosts is not something that I consider to be a “plus.” It makes the station feel like more of an afterthought or a placeholder.
If nothing else, it makes sense that they’re spending the resources on KNWN, and even if 101.5 is more of a placeholder, it’s a placeholder that provides something different and interesting. It captures listeners just for being an alternative to the norm. That’s a smart move for Lotus, as opposed to being just another CHR or country station playing the same music as a competitor.
The only negative is that we lost a good hyper-local AC when Star flipped. It’s really a shame they could never get it right (after trying many different ways to tweak the format). As of now, 106.9 has virtually no other competitors in the AC space.
If nothing else, it makes sense that they’re spending the resources on KNWN, and even if 101.5 is more of a placeholder, it’s a placeholder that provides something different and interesting. It captures listeners just for being an alternative to the norm. That’s a smart move for Lotus, as opposed to being just another CHR or country station playing the same music as a competitor.
The only negative is that we lost a good hyper-local AC when Star flipped. It’s really a shame they could never get it right (after trying many different ways to tweak the format). As of now, 106.9 has virtually no other competitors in the AC space.
It's not a placeholder if it's making money. It will be there longer than a lot of other music formats.
The "Jack/Hank" approach is over 25 years old. It has a proven track record. Lotus is using the exact same format in several other cities.
So it's not a placeholder. It's there for a reason, which is to make money. And it does.