2023 Format Changes

[Gregg.]

The only NYC FM I see changing is 94.7 WXBK. It switched from Country in October 2021 and it still is showing no signs of upward movement. A year and a half is a long time to wait. Successful Classic Hip Hop stations show ratings gains almost immediately. When WBMX Chicago and WMGC Detroit flipped to Classic Hip Hop, they were Top 10 very quickly. WMGC is currently #9 and WBMX #14. That's so much better than where WXBK is now.

I still advocate for 94.7 to become a simulcast for WCBS 880. You don't just let one of Audacy's best billing stations die a slow AM death. Every other station on the BIA list of top billing U.S. stations is either exclusively on FM or is an AM-FM simulcast. These days, if you have a high billing station, you protect that with everything you've got.

But I know. From a fan's point of view, why let another commercial FM station in NYC flip to a spoken word format? Out of all the stations in the commercial FM band, we have 92.3, 93.9, 95.5, 98.7, 99.5, 101.9 and 105.9 either as spoken word or non-commercial music outlets.

 

[Rollo-Smokes]

The only NYC FM I see changing is 94.7 WXBK. It switched from Country in October 2021 and it still is showing no signs of upward movement. A year and a half is a long time to wait. Successful Classic Hip Hop stations show ratings gains almost immediately. When WBMX Chicago and WMGC Detroit flipped to Classic Hip Hop, they were Top 10 very quickly. WMGC is currently #9 and WBMX #14. That's so much better than where WXBK is now.

I still advocate for 94.7 to become a simulcast for WCBS 880. You don't just let one of Audacy's best billing stations die a slow AM death. Every other station on the BIA list of top billing U.S. stations is either exclusively on FM or is an AM-FM simulcast. These days, if you have a high billing station, you protect that with everything you've got.

But I know. From a fan's point of view, why let another commercial FM station in NYC flip to a spoken word format? Out of all the stations in the commercial FM band, we have 92.3, 93.9, 95.5, 98.7, 99.5, 101.9 and 105.9 either as spoken word or non-commercial music outlets.

Stop it. It isn't gonna happen.

This is beating a dead horse.

If Audacy wanted to put WCBS's all-news format on FM, they would have done it already. But they chose WINS. It makes absolutely no sense to have both stations simulcast on FM for many reasons.

And they are showing patience with 94.7 The Block. To compare its performance with other markets is foolish. If it fails, it will be because of Audacy's lack of promotional support (which can be compounded by their financial issues) moreso than a stale playlist. But if they bill well enough, the ratings will not matter.

No disrespect, but this is definitely coming from a fan who doesn't understand how the business really works.

 

[TheBigA]

I didn't grow up in California so my knowledge of that station's history is limited to what I have read, but I'm pretty sure it was playing edgy rock and new wave long before Infinity bought it in 1986.

The PD in 1986 was Rick Carroll who came up with the "Rock of the 80s" format that he syndicated to a few other stations, including WAAF in Boston. It was rock, but safe rock. They didn't become alternative until after the sale.

Also, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that relaxed ownership caps was still ten years in the future so while Infinity was a big company, it was not yet 'huge' like today's conglomerates.

If that's how you want to define huge, that didn't happen until after 1999, so that was post-peak for the format.

 

[Xale57]

Not sure but Adult hits might have the biggest shot at being successful. I don't think Audacy will do it with 101.1

 

[nd2023]

I know most people on this forum don’t want to hear this : Throwback Dance. KTU is already doing it in slight variations. I was going to do a thread about this but this subject keeps coming up. It’s not going to happen though so I’ll happily go back to my SiriusXM.

This is a format that would work in New York. Dance music from freestyle to Avicii. About 1988-2014. The audience who this would appeal to is already in the money demographics.

 

[Saladressing]

As radio looks for more ways to attract listeners with boutique formats such as 99X/Atlanta and 98.9 KPNW/Seattle, it may only make sense at some point for an operator to give it a go with Classic Dance in NYC. Would certainly be a welcome addition to what they call the infinite dial.

 

[luperm]

As radio looks for more ways to attract listeners with boutique formats such as 99X/Atlanta and 98.9 KPNW/Seattle, it may only make sense at some point for an operator to give it a go with Classic Dance in NYC. Would certainly be a welcome addition to what they call the infinite dial.

It would be a welcome addition for you and very, very few like minded listeners. For the majority of radio listeners and for advertisers, it would be a huge turn off. Radio stations with no advertisers tend to not last very long. Luckily there are streaming alternatives for you on the infinite dial!!

 

[TheBigA]

This is a format that would work in New York. Dance music from freestyle to Avicii. About 1988-2014. The audience who this would appeal to is already in the money demographics.

As radio looks for more ways to attract listeners with boutique formats such as 99X/Atlanta and 98.9 KPNW/Seattle, it may only make sense at some point for an operator to give it a go with Classic Dance in NYC.

It's not a 24/7 format. It's a specialty show on the weekends. Seems to me that KTU did it at one time.

 

[Miss Tuned]

As radio looks for more ways to attract listeners with boutique formats such as 99X/Atlanta and 98.9 KPNW/Seattle, it may only make sense at some point for an operator to give it a go with Classic Dance in NYC. Would certainly be a welcome addition to what they call the infinite dial.

The "infinite dial" refers to the internet, and the endless audio possibilities it offers. The NYC FM dial is far from infinite, and there are quite a few formats (some mentioned here) that simply don't make the cut.

As a format, Dance (and Classic Dance) is problematic in the same way that something like Alternative is problematic - everyone's dance classics are different and one person's good memory is another person's irritating tune-out track. There are so many genres and it's really hard to please everyone without sounding like an incoherent mess. There's also a weird overlap between Dance and Urban radio formats and a Classic Dance station may well end up sounding pretty similar to something like KTU or The Block.

Looking at the playlist for something like Kisstory out of the UK, which is the closest thing to a 24/7 Classic Dance format on a major signal, only about 40% of the playlist is Dance (artists like Faithless, Robert Miles) while about 60% is Classic Hip-Hop or RnB (the likes of 50 Cent, TLC, Usher). I turned it on while writing this post and it segued from Timbaland to Chase & Status, and I'd imagine very few people want to hear both of those back-to-back. It's like putting, say, Country and Rock on one station because they both feature guitars.

 

[AlNYC]

1. Q104.3 of Classic Rock should change to The Next Generation of Classic Rock by playing the 80's, 90's & Early 2000's like:

Aerosmith - I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
Aerosmith - Jaded
Bon Jovi - It's My Life
Eagle-Eye Cherry - Save Tonight
Heaven 17 - Let Me Go
Heaven 17 - Temptation (like Burger King played on the commercial in 1999)
Pearl Jam - Last Kiss
Santana feat. The Product G&B and Wyclef Jean - Maria, Maria
Santana feat. Michelle Branch - The Game of Love
Shakira - Whenever, Wherever
Shakira - Underneath Your Clothes
Sting feat. Cheb Mami - Desert Rose
Train - Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)

and more... and should be eliminate The Beatles Block soon.

2. Reggaeton should be replace Tropical on X96.3 and become 24/7 as "Reggaeton y Más" back for the second time like it did 105.9 La Kalle since 2005-2007.

 

[TheBigA]

1. Q104.3 of Classic Rock should change to The Next Generation of Classic Rock by playing the 80's, 90's & Early 2000's like:

Based on what? The demos for what they're doing are pretty good, even for 18-34.

Some of the stuff on your list is being played now on Z-100.

 

[davideduardo]

The "infinite dial" refers to the internet, and the endless audio possibilities it offers. The NYC FM dial is far from infinite, and there are quite a few formats (some mentioned here) that simply don't make the cut.

"The Infinite Dial" is a term created for a research project first done over 20 years ago by Edison Research. It essentially covers all audio, from AM to FM to satellite to streaming.

As a format, Dance (and Classic Dance) is problematic in the same way that something like Alternative is problematic - everyone's dance classics are different and one person's good memory is another person's irritating tune-out track. There are so many genres and it's really hard to please everyone without sounding like an incoherent mess.

Excellent explanation. And when we do research on those highly fragmented areas of music, we find that different subsets can be (as you say) good for some and negative for others. The result is that there is only a small group of broad appeal songs that everyone likes.

There's also a weird overlap between Dance and Urban radio formats and a Classic Dance station may well end up sounding pretty similar to something like KTU or The Block.

But there is considerable differentiation, too. My best example is Puerto Rico, where in the 70's and well into the 80's disco was huge, while R&B... except for the crossover Michael Jackson material... did not have much of any significant appeal.

 

[davideduardo]

1. Q104.3 of Classic Rock should change to The Next Generation of Classic Rock by playing the 80's, 90's & Early 2000's like:

Shakira - Whenever, Wherever
Shakira - Underneath Your Clothes

I've never seen those Shakira songs considered anything remotely close to rock. She quit doing "light rock" when her hair changed from black to blonde.

2. Reggaeton should be replace Tropical on X96.3 and become 24/7 as "Reggaeton y Más" back for the second time like it did 105.9 La Kalle since 2005-2007.

More than half the Nielsen sample in NYC is Dominican. Pure reggaetón will only get you the group in their 20's, and that is the group that is streaming the most.

 

[Barry]

These occasional format change suggestion threads generally lead to the conclusion that the status quo is what works best, for now.

 

[chrocket87]

1. Q104.3 of Classic Rock should change to The Next Generation of Classic Rock by playing the 80's, 90's & Early 2000's like:

Aerosmith - I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
Aerosmith - Jaded
Bon Jovi - It's My Life
Eagle-Eye Cherry - Save Tonight
Heaven 17 - Let Me Go
Heaven 17 - Temptation (like Burger King played on the commercial in 1999)
Pearl Jam - Last Kiss
Santana feat. The Product G&B and Wyclef Jean - Maria, Maria
Santana feat. Michelle Branch - The Game of Love
Shakira - Whenever, Wherever
Shakira - Underneath Your Clothes
Sting feat. Cheb Mami - Desert Rose
Train - Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)

MAYBE “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing”, “It’s My Life” and “Last Kiss”.

The rest of those songs are HORRIBLE fits for a Classic Rock station.

These are about as bad as asking Hot 97 to play Imagine Dragons or Ed Sheeran.

 

[dcowboy7]

These are about as bad as asking Hot 97 to play Imagine Dragons or Ed Sheeran.

But sheeran did so songs with beyonce, chance the rapper, khalid, cardi b, lil baby did they ever play any of them ??

 

[NYRadioFan22]

and more... and should be eliminate The Beatles Block soon.

You can't be serious!!! The Beatles are timeless!! That is never going away!!!!

 

[Marcos_C]

Billie Eilish is Alternative absolutely.

No, Billie Eilish is an artist who cannot be easily classified as part of a music genre. I wrote it before, and I'll write it again: If it weren't for Billie's connections, then she would be heard primarily on freeform stations like WFMU.

 

[leethalweapon]

No, Billie Eilish is an artist who cannot be easily classified as part of a music genre. I wrote it before, and I'll write it again: If it weren't for Billie's connections, then she would be heard primarily on freeform stations like WFMU.

Isn't the idea of Alernative as a concept (format) the perfect format for someone like Billie Eilish? Personally, I say yes. If not, please explain why. The format isn't a Rock only zone.

 

[Least]

Isn't the idea of Alernative as a concept (format) the perfect format for someone like Billie Eilish? Personally, I say yes. If not, please explain why. The format isn't a Rock only zone.

That's the issue. For about 30 years now, Alternative has been synonymous with Alt Rock. It ignores all other forms. It is a broad genre. As a format, the insiders on here explained for years that Alt Rock is the general consensus when discussing the Alternative format.