Looks like the sports bump for KJR Sports moving to FM lasted just one book at 93.3 (0.9 to 1.8 to 0.6 in April), or maybe it was old KUBE numbers that hung around for one book and left? Meanwhile KIRO-AM jumped again from 2.9-3.9. Seems counter-intuitive that a sports station goes on FM and loses audience while the competitor AM only sports station almost doubles in three months, most of the gain prior to Mariners. Guess AM radio may not be completely dead! I Heart has to be scratching their heads at KBKS as well. After KUBE goes away and they simulcast KBKS for a month on 93.3, KBKS drops to a 2.4 while KQMV jumps to a 5.0. AC KRWM now the market leader in 6+. 18-34 and 25-54 according to Research Director. Seems they benefited the most from all the change at AC KPLZ (down again) Good lesson for armchair PD's that changing formats and staff costs money and many times has the opposite effect as I-Heart is discovering in sports radio.
-
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
93.3 Sports Share now Cut in Half
- Thread starter guruofradio
- Start date
Are we talking about 6+ numbers again? Their target demo is: males 18-54.
Well, if you're doing well in the key male demographics, you're not below a 1.0, Kelly. Even if no women listen ever, you still gotta show some decent 6+ ratings.
It's not like this is a start up and everyone is getting up to speed. iHeart simply took the format heard for years on 950 AM and moved it on 93.3 FM. iHeart even took away a competitor in 1090 KFNQ, switching it to conservative talk as KPTR. It was a co-owned competitor but now there's one less sports radio station on the air in Seattle, meaning you'd think KJR-FM would see some small benefit.
The reason KIRO AM is doing so well is because it's the flagship for the Mariners. When football returns, KJR-FM should see some ratings from being the flagship of the Seattle Seahawks.
One quick thought... Could it be Nielsen got things confused? Classic Hits 95.7 KJEB, formerly KJR-FM, saw a slight uptick in its ratings, now #3 in Seattle. Was there confusion between ratings for the old KJR-FM and the new KJR-FM? Or are Seattle sports fans simply uninterested in the KJR line up, whether it's on 950 AM or 93.3 FM?
It's not like this is a start up and everyone is getting up to speed. iHeart simply took the format heard for years on 950 AM and moved it on 93.3 FM. iHeart even took away a competitor in 1090 KFNQ, switching it to conservative talk as KPTR. It was a co-owned competitor but now there's one less sports radio station on the air in Seattle, meaning you'd think KJR-FM would see some small benefit.
The reason KIRO AM is doing so well is because it's the flagship for the Mariners. When football returns, KJR-FM should see some ratings from being the flagship of the Seattle Seahawks.
One quick thought... Could it be Nielsen got things confused? Classic Hits 95.7 KJEB, formerly KJR-FM, saw a slight uptick in its ratings, now #3 in Seattle. Was there confusion between ratings for the old KJR-FM and the new KJR-FM? Or are Seattle sports fans simply uninterested in the KJR line up, whether it's on 950 AM or 93.3 FM?
Last edited:
As has been pointed out many times when talking about sports radio; it doesn't live or die via ratings. Especially 6+. WFAN used to deliver 12+ hash marks, but was one of the best revenue performers in NYC. And remember, broadcast companies are successful when it comes to revenue and cash flow. That's where the rubber meets the road.
Annnnnnnd, that's because the format is still very profitable, just increasingly not on AM.
A few notes:
KJR is not the flagship of the Seahawks. They are the flagship of UW football.
iHeart did not remove a sports competitor. Sports programming on 950 went to 93.3. Sports programming on 1090 went to 950. One music format was removed by iHeart, NOT one sports format. 'twas hip-hop that got the Proverbial Finger.
You may have a point on some possible snafus with the published ratings, I have no way of knowing that. It will shake out in a month or two I suppose. As David always says, it's the rolling averages that make the agency buy, not one book.
If you have access to a key demo, even a fairly small one, you can make bank if sold correctly. Especially if there is no other way to reach that demo.
I think what you're saying is that April was the first month without the simulcast. If you notice February and March had the same numbers on AM & FM. Then April they split. So if regular KJR listeners haven't caught on to the move, they may think their station is gone. So it will take a while to rebuild.
Have to wonder if some of those KJR sports listeners just moved over to 710AM, Seattle Sports. Lets see what happens 3 books from now.
Interesting reading on the KJR (AM) Wikipedia page. "KJR-AM-FM are the flagship stations for Seattle Seahawks football". Totally false. If Gregg gets all his information from Wikipedia, no wonder his post is incorrect.
More from the KJR (AM) Wikipedia page, did you know the iHeart Seattle studios are in Belltown? They are not. They are on 645 Elliot Ave on the way to Ballard.
To Quote Kelly "Good Lord".
Interesting reading on the KJR (AM) Wikipedia page. "KJR-AM-FM are the flagship stations for Seattle Seahawks football". Totally false. If Gregg gets all his information from Wikipedia, no wonder his post is incorrect.
More from the KJR (AM) Wikipedia page, did you know the iHeart Seattle studios are in Belltown? They are not. They are on 645 Elliot Ave on the way to Ballard.
To Quote Kelly "Good Lord".
Last edited:
It was a smart move to put local sports programming on 93.3. As other members have already stated, selling advertising will not be a problem, even if these ratings make the move to FM look questionable. There will always be companies that are more than happy to purchase advertising for ED supplements or alcoholic drinks. As for the previous hip hop format, I would hate to be the person in charge of securing advertising dollars. It seems like a hard sell from an outsider’s perspective.
In other news, it’s nice to see KJEB doing well. This station is consistently one of the best in the market.
In other news, it’s nice to see KJEB doing well. This station is consistently one of the best in the market.
Wait, something on Wikipedia is false?? Hold my beer Martha!
No doubt information probably posted by someone who lives in North Carolina that has never even visited the Seattle area.
I hate to think of 18 year olds and 54 year olds in the same demographic. Lifegroup, maybe (sports fans), but not demographic...
Agree that sports is a non-ratings sell, but why move it to what could be a viable FM stick in another format if you don't care about ratings? You can get a one share on an AM. It is nice to see KJEB do well, proof that a call letter change means nothing in the PPM world. Adding Bender in mornings was a smart move and is paying off. KNWN seems to be dropping a bit, wonder if they will consider moving it to 101.5 to better compete for ratings with KIRO FM and KUOW with a full market FM? That is of course if they care about ratings. Hubbard has to be thrilled with the performance of KRWM and KQMV, top two 25-54. I bet they care about ratings. When was the last time outside of Xmas that KRWM was this strong in demos that matter?
Because there's potentially more money to be made with sports than music. If you look around the country, iHeart has been challenging existing sports contracts. Yesterday they took the Carolina Panthers contract from WBT. Last month, they won the deal for the Washington Commanders. They're offering these teams multi-platform packages that go beyond on-air radio. I expect they'll do the same thing in Seattle when the contracts come up again. Being on a full power FM differentiates them from the competition.
Because it makes money without having to worry about rating share?
Here's how the formula works in a nutshell: I'm an agency rep who represents a popular beer brand. I've got a percentage of my regional ad budget for buying radio. What stations would be the best to spread that business around to reach an audience that are regular beer consumers?
It must be hard to be a sports talk station in a town where the sports teams are all at low points. I'm watching the Mariners pitch away a game they were winning to Boston. They appear to have no bull pen. It's one thing when your pitchers give up runs. But it's another thing where pitchers can't find the strike zone and walk in runs. Terrible. Then they hit a batter and walk in another run. So the Mariners are in trouble, the Kraken didn't make the playoffs, and the Seahawks just traded away their star quarterback. As I said, not much to talk about. I guess they had fun today with Nick Saban & Jimbo Fisher. But that's about it.
"Demographic" is simply a single vital or social statistic of a human population, as the number of births or deaths. "12+" is a demographic, just as "Spanish dominant suburban women 25-44" is a demographic.
The Kraken did just fine for an expansion team. Expectations might have been too high given the freakish success of the Vegas Golden Knights in their inaugural season (2017-18) making it to the Stanley Cup Final. The Kraken’s 27 wins was fairly typical for year one, and several teams have done worse. Recall that the New York Islanders won only 12 games their first year (1972-73) and a decade later were celebrating their fourth Stanley Cup in a row. And the Washington Capitals managed only 8 wins their first year (1974-75.)
BTW I got to see a Kraken game while in Seattle earlier this year. Climate Pledge Arena is a gorgeous facility.
- Status