It's nice to know other people are thinking about it in the same way as I mentioned on another post. I definitely see the Block staying, even though they have a low rating right now. As someone pointed out to me, it's only been a month. On the flip side, though, WINS and WCBS will be looking, sooner rather than later, for an FM home that's not on HD. (880 simulcasts on WCBS HD2)
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94.7 The Block
- Thread starter BJSteigner
- Start date
How many full books has The Block been in? Add the limited frequency in the boroughs, and I think it's too early to call anything. I know David predicted numbers and adjusted his prediction based on the first book where the station appeared. But I think Audacy will give the station some time. This isn't like Los Angeles, where the branding and calls were changed on an otherwise (mostly format intact) station. Amp wasn't performing, as wasn't Now, so 97.1 in LA went All News. 94.7 is a counrty station that flipped to a polarizingly opposite music genre. There isn't much in common between the likes of Carrie Underwood and Tim McGraw, compared to the likes of Snoop Dog and Biggie Smalls. It needs time to grow and get noticed.
What works (or doesn't) in Los Angeles might not translate to New York. I remember pointing out that country (which is the stations former format) has two outlets just hours north of New York, in Boston. Yet, country didn't ultimately work in New York. So, the prediction of a flip to WINS or WCBS isn't a slam dunk yet. Again, that's just an outsider's perspective.
What works (or doesn't) in Los Angeles might not translate to New York. I remember pointing out that country (which is the stations former format) has two outlets just hours north of New York, in Boston. Yet, country didn't ultimately work in New York. So, the prediction of a flip to WINS or WCBS isn't a slam dunk yet. Again, that's just an outsider's perspective.
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The Block hasn't had a full book yet, but early signs aren't encouraging. I'd agree that it's a bit early to write it off, though, for the same reasons you state - country listeners will have tuned out, but hip-hop listeners may not have found them just yet.
As for news, 92.3 seems like a safer bet than 94.7 for a flip - Alt is a fad format that's quickly running out of steam. I don't think Alt on 92.3 has a year left, personally.
Being on a desolate wasteland of a band fewer and fewer people bother with does far more to kill a brand. People are quite capable of adapting to a modified name.
Exactly. What's wrong with "Ninety-Two Three Wins"? Sounds fine to me.
Many listeners (young and old) have referred to the station as "1010 WINS" (1010, just two syllables!) and seldom as simply "WINS" or "NewsRadio WINS". Sometimes, tradition (for a lack of a better term) really does stick.
"1010 WINS... also heard on 92.3 FM" could work. Maybe.
Norway shut down their FM signals a few years back. Many European nations seldom utilize AM/MW radio. If news radio moves to FM, NYC won't be unique in this regard. (Although the AM signal sometimes helps during emergencies in far-out areas.)
But yes, I also do lament the likes of K-Love supplanting many spots on the dial. And on top of that, they had to kill off WPLJ to do this. (Granted, WPLJ's ratings weren't stellar, but it's not like they are as bad as those of WNYL or the old WNSH.) Many cities have it worse than NYC, though, when it comes to choices on the dial.
If they rebrand it, people can figure out what it means. Brands change. If that’s what, at whatever point, what the owners feel makes the best business sense, that’s what they should do.
So people who like Contemporary Christian or other religious formats are not deserving of getting radio service of their liking?
No. It's the point that they buy stations to create a network of stations that are literally the same station. They have a monopoly.
One of the issues that has not been discussed in the aftermath of the KNX move to FM is the double-barreled deficiency of AM signals in most US metro areas: signal and noise.
While KNX does not have a deficient signal, most of its band-mates in the LA metro and everywhere else do.
In the Top 100 markets, there are 1748 stations within the Metro Survey Areas. However, less than 170 have a 5 mV/m signal over at least 80% of the metro day and night. That is less than an average of 2 "good" signals per market. Some have a couple more, some have none at all.
When FM started being broadly viable around 1970, most FMs upgraded to their maximum facility which, if a class B or C, covered pretty much the whole radio market day or night. Each market had ten or more such full signals on FM.
Since 1970, population has spread out more and more in most metro areas. The existing AMs have become less and less able to cover the full market.
And then there is the issue of noise produced by florescent lights, dimmers, computers, wall warts and all kinds of other devices. While 5 mV/m was a great signal decades ago, and even a 2 mV/m could be listenable, today the ITU says that AM needs 15 mV/m to overcome urban noise. Even if we consider 10 mV/m adequate in most places, that means that there are truly only a few dozen AM stations that actually cover their entire market day and night.
If you look at the Nielsen numbers, in the "average" market there is under 10% listening to AM, and most of that is by people over 55. That means that most under-55 AM listening is confined to things like having the only sports station on AM, having no ethnic programming on FM, or niche formats such as religious denomination based formats.
For all practical purposes, AM is dead, although a few wounded still wander around on the battlefield.
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Doing that in NYC would require them to hire a specialized sales staff that can sell the format to local advertisers. Big investment.
Audacy can afford to do this in Houston, but not New York?
Houston is approaching 40% Hispanic. The state itself has a Spanish name. Advertisers have a long, long history of buying ads to reach Hispanics.
NYC is a very different ad market, starting with the agencies, the lack of as much local direct business and the cultural heritage.
The New York MSA has 5.13 million Hispanics and is 27.7% Hispanic in total. However, a huge percentage are of Puerto Rican heritage. The last migration of Puerto Ricans ended around 1970, and the only Spanish dominants are those over 60 or so; the rest are second and third and even fourth generation.
Mega is an adult pop format, targeting Mexicans and, to some extent, Central Americans. In NYC, the two SBS stations target Dominicans. WSKQ is rhythmic, while WPAT is bachata-based.
But the network consists of two formats, each with a different appeal, and generally only one primary signal in each city or area.
The network concept that EMF has developed is common in most of the rest of the world. It allows the best possible format to be distributed to even the smallest market.
Not always a successful venture. Remember 101.1 Jack FM? Or New York's 106.7?
Or in Philly, 101.1 More FM? WBEB was a constant #1, but it nevertheless slid back to the B branding.
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