3 ALT Stations Flip Formats

[Jay F]

in Cincy, Memphis, and Sacramento.

Is this a coincidence or the start of a trend. In other words is Alternative the next Smooth Jazz?

 

[rubberchicken]

The Memphis station (93X) was much more Active Rock than it was Alternative. And it never got any numbers.

"The Sound" in Cincy got shafted to a MUCH weaker signal about 6 or 7 months ago, and the ratings disappeared. Bonneville only switched it and its second-tier Country station (The Wolf) because of a rumor of a new country station signing on, which could hurt their cash-cow/first-tier country (WUBE).
It was a blocking move. They've now shifted that country station BACK to the weaker frequency, where The Sound was. Unfortunately, about half of The Sounds audience did not follow them from 94.9 to 97.3, likely because there was VERY little promotion of the flip.

Anyway, if you look at places like Philadelphia, where WRFF is kicking some serious behind in the PPM numbers, and now the Boston PPm numbers are showing WBOS with a healthy share. KYSR in LA, and of course KROQ, are also BOTH doing well.
I think the opposite, PPM is great for this format, and I wouldn't be surprised to see more Alt. stations pop up, especially those like WBOS and WRFF, that tend to mix in a healthy dose of 90's product, and are slightly more friendly to female audiences as well.

 

[AM FM listener]

I think as PPM continues to expand to more markets, Alternative will evolve back to a more current based format, like KROQ was in the 80's...a CHR/Alternative format, if you will. CHR is very PPM friendly but there aren't many that lean rock or alternative. So, existing Alternative stations have a good opportunity to move in that direction. If they don't, other stations will adopt the Alternative label, and fill the void that currently exists between CHR and Alternative. That is sort of what KYSR did in LA.

 

[dplantz]

WRXS in Columbus flipped a few weeks ago from the more female-friendly alternative (like WRFF) to an active rock / alternative hybrid.

Columbus already had CD101 and didn't have an active rock until RXS flipped. However, it was nice having two alternative stations in the market.

 

[Madmansam]

The Memphis station (93X) was much more Active Rock than it was Alternative. And it never got any numbers.

"The Sound" in Cincy got shafted to a MUCH weaker signal about 6 or 7 months ago, and the ratings disappeared. Bonneville only switched it and its second-tier Country station (The Wolf) because of a rumor of a new country station signing on, which could hurt their cash-cow/first-tier country (WUBE).
It was a blocking move. They've now shifted that country station BACK to the weaker frequency, where The Sound was. Unfortunately, about half of The Sounds audience did not follow them from 94.9 to 97.3, likely because there was VERY little promotion of the flip.

Anyway, if you look at places like Philadelphia, where WRFF is kicking some serious behind in the PPM numbers, and now the Boston PPm numbers are showing WBOS with a healthy share. KYSR in LA, and of course KROQ, are also BOTH doing well.
I think the opposite, PPM is great for this format, and I wouldn't be surprised to see more Alt. stations pop up, especially those like WBOS and WRFF, that tend to mix in a healthy dose of 90's product, and are slightly more friendly to female audiences as well.

And what about the third station, KWOD in Sacramento?