101.5 JamZ / KZON PHOENIX (3 Year Anniversary)

[Wildstyle K]

I see no one else is saying anything, so I'll be the one to finally say it.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVORITE STATION OF THE PAST THREE YEARS!

I must say since day one, this station has brought me much joy and excitement and replaced a format I truly desired for the longest time in Az! It makes Az radio more exciting (to me) in general. 101.5 JamZ, jams! And no other station that jams jams, jams jams better once they jam the jams they jam. Everything from Drake to Cascada to La Roux to Flo Rida to Lady Gaga to Usher to David Guetta, Black Eyed Peas, and Taio Cruz - I am loving it! This is the way rhythmic hits should be done! No one is perfect. There have been things and times I was very unhappy with a format decision or move at KZON, but overall, they do very well, and also seem to be getting better these days, despite the fact I've not been saying anything.

I knew since the beginning that this sound would and could make it to the top. Now, everywhere I go, it seems like people are bumpin 101.5 in their cars and I walk in to a convenient store and notice their radio playing identical to what was playing on the speakers I walked in with, 101.5 JamZ.

3 YEARS STRONG!

And I knew from the VERY FIRST DAY it was something to be excited about! KZZP is good and KKFR has their benefits as well, but there's just something about KZON that makes it exceptional for an Az Rhythmic today, including some of the best dj's. I love listening because 101.5 makes me feel so fly Like a G6.

 

[KOHS]

How about a "Save Paris" do-over to commemorate the anniversary? ;D

 

[AdMan17]

However, k-zone just finished w/ their worst book ever (18-34). 10k watt Power 98.3 beat them. How can that happen?

 

[KOOL Listener Lauren]

How about a "Save Paris" do-over to commemorate the anniversary? ;D

Save Paris! Wow, I recorded that whole thing, too. Funny stuff.

 

[Ultimajock]

However, k-zone just finished w/ their worst book ever (18-34). 10k watt Power 98.3 beat them. How can that happen?

...how does that compare with the final book of the Hot Talk format (especially Leykis' numbers)?...

 

[Ford]

However, k-zone just finished w/ their worst book ever (18-34).

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the above statement is probably not accurate. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I'd guess that the 18-34 numbers were worse when KZON was a AAA station, and then of course there's the unfortunate "Free FM" experiment.

 

[johndavis]

However, k-zone just finished w/ their worst book ever (18-34).

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the above statement is probably not accurate. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I'd guess that the 18-34 numbers were worse when KZON was a AAA station, and then of course there's the unfortunate "Free FM" experiment.

Free FM would have done okay 18-34, but you're correct... the worst numbers the station had in that demo was back in the days of playing angry lesbians whom you've never heard of with acoustic guitars.

 

[AdMan17]

my bad. i meant worst for the current chr format. not the bone mamma era

 

[KMGX]

I never thought I'd miss the days of FREE-FM, but KZON's pollution of the electromagnetic spectrum reminds me that there were at least a few almost tolerable hours of content on that frequency at one point.

I understand that the ardent defenders of "Jamz" will tell you how wonderful the station is, however it seems that in an era where people have more choices than ever, terrestrial radio continues to give the consumer fewer choices. Phoenix already has two stations that play Lady Gaga, Taio Cruz, B.O.B. and Eminem, but of course KZON plays them in a different order, therefore it's different! Honestly were it not for KZZP's +2% pitching of the music, and their how shall we say "unique" processing, I couldn't tell the two apart. Power 98.3 is a static filled mess unless I use my Denon receiver, so I know it's sound quite distinctly.

Hmm... ad revenues continue to fall in terrestrial radio... but with all these creative geniuses I can't figure out why...

 

[Wildstyle K]

I never thought I'd miss the days of FREE-FM, but KZON's pollution of the electromagnetic spectrum reminds me that there were at least a few almost tolerable hours of content on that frequency at one point.

I understand that the ardent defenders of "Jamz" will tell you how wonderful the station is, however it seems that in an era where people have more choices than ever, terrestrial radio continues to give the consumer fewer choices. Phoenix already has two stations that play Lady Gaga, Taio Cruz, B.O.B. and Eminem, but of course KZON plays them in a different order, therefore it's different! Honestly were it not for KZZP's +2% pitching of the music, and their how shall we say "unique" processing, I couldn't tell the two apart. Power 98.3 is a static filled mess unless I use my Denon receiver, so I know it's sound quite distinctly.

Hmm... ad revenues continue to fall in terrestrial radio... but with all these creative geniuses I can't figure out why...

How could you not notice the difference between a station that plays Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus...The Fray, etc. and another station that doesn't? How could you not tell that one station has mix shows where they play Clinton Sparks "Favorite DJ" and other electro hip hop and dance hits in the mix during the weekend AND week while the other only has one mix show all week long with NO Clinton Sparks in it? How could you not notice one station that leans mainly rhythmic pop/r&b and dance without the Selena Gomez or Kings of Leon and other alternative pop, while the other one plays more non rhythmic, but top 40 material? The only thing I dislike about KZON is when they are slower on adding new hits.

Power is now more unique now that they are trying to still be rhythmic, but at the same time trying to bring back a bit of their urban lean, so as a result of the lack of sufficient new hip hop hits, they are "forced" to start playing more hip hop recurrents.. As of right now, all three stations are different. Maybe not to a person who doesn't listen to them, or some people in my family, but to the real listeners / fans, they are different, which is why certain ones have certain listeners that stay true. Obviously, I have a biased opinion so I stay true to the entire radio board ;D and tend to lean to my favorite rhythmic sound, or whatever rhythmic sound is dance friendly (which is now officially the new trend these days), but still... Regardless of my personal reasoning, they are all different. They are different, similar to how 98.7 and 99.9 were different in the early 00's... despite the fact they all seem to lean towards each other with KZON being stuck in the middle. If KPTY was still around today and kept the same sound but in a modernized fashion, I'd say that they were my favorite as well.

By the way, KMVA plays the artists you mentioned too. However, they are also different from ALL of the stations on the dial as well.

 

[Wildstyle K]

How could you not notice the difference between a station that plays Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus...The Fray, etc. and another station that doesn't? How could you not tell that one station has mix shows where they play Clinton Sparks "Favorite DJ" and other electro hip hop and dance hits in the mix during the weekend AND week while the other only has one mix show all week long with NO Clinton Sparks in it? How could you not notice one station that leans mainly rhythmic pop/r&b and dance without the Selena Gomez or Kings of Leon and other alternative pop, while the other one plays more non rhythmic, but top 40 material? The only thing I dislike about KZON is when they are slower on adding new hits.

Power is now more unique now that they are trying to still be rhythmic, but at the same time trying to bring back a bit of their urban lean, so as a result of the lack of sufficient new hip hop hits, they are "forced" to start playing more hip hop recurrents.. As of right now, all three stations are different. Maybe not to a person who doesn't listen to them, or some people in my family, but to the real listeners / fans, they are different, which is why certain ones have certain listeners that stay true. Obviously, I have a biased opinion so I stay true to the entire radio board ;D and tend to lean to my favorite rhythmic sound, or whatever rhythmic sound is dance friendly (which is now officially the new trend these days), but still... Regardless of my personal reasoning, they are all different. They are different, similar to how 98.7 and 99.9 were different in the early 00's... despite the fact they all seem to lean towards each other with KZON being stuck in the middle. If KPTY was still around today and kept the same sound but in a modernized fashion, I'd say that they were my favorite as well.

By the way, KMVA plays the artists you mentioned too. However, they are also different from ALL of the stations on the dial as well.

I made a type somewhere in there, but.... if I still didn't fix it after all this time and no one really noitced, it's best that I just move on and pretend it never happened.

 

[radioresearcher]

The station is three years old. It has had three PD's (four if you count the current interim guy) and at least three morning shows. It lost to both KKFR and KZZP in key demos and bills about half of what KMLE and KOOL do. I wouldn't call that a success.

 

[hotpatrick2004]

How well does kzon bill compared to when they were alternative?A mystery when kzon went away the edges numbers fell weird?

 

[only1moore]

However, k-zone just finished w/ their worst book ever (18-34). 10k watt Power 98.3 beat them. How can that happen?

...Yet they still beat KKFR, KMVA and KZZP in the June 2010 PPMs, not to mention they more listeners than those three stations.

 

[radioresearcher]

However, k-zone just finished w/ their worst book ever (18-34). 10k watt Power 98.3 beat them. How can that happen?

...Yet they still beat KKFR, KMVA and KZZP in the June 2010 PPMs, not to mention they more listeners than those three stations.

They won 6+ - nobody buys that demo.

KZON has a full market signal while KMVA and KKFR cover about 75% of the metro, so you are comparing apples to oranges.

However, KKFR was within a few tenths in key adult demos - amazing considering ZON's coverage and the big CBS backing.

 

[Ford]

How well does kzon bill compared to when they were alternative?

Depends on which incarnation of the alternative station you're talking about. If I remember correctly, the quirky/AAA version didn't bill so well, but during the Stern/Pratt era they were one of the top billing stations in the market.

In any case, a direct comparison isn't much use, since the market as a whole has dropped off a cliff billing-wise since KZON was an alternative station.