97.1's Next Format... "The Rock You Grew Up With"?

[zombywoof]

The numbers for KLSX seem to be dropping off the table. The Spring Book had KLSX 12+ at 1.6. And in the PPM system it's:

6+ July Aug Sept
1.2 1.3 0.9


cume 504,000 488,900 466,300

I don't know what the 18-49 numbers look like but they must be just as bad.

I've just noticed that the PPM ratings continue all week, Mon thru Sun., and I believe that diaries were kept Monday thru Friday only. Could the new lower numbers for KLSX be caused by super low listenership on the weekends while the weekday listenership remains the same as it was under the old system? Could KLSX be using that line of reasoning when talking to its advertisers? I doubt that Arbitron releases day to day info that KLSX could point to.

Once again, I don't understand how CBS can justify keeping this format on a valuable "full WIlson" station when the numbers keep dropping like this. I'm no expert. Someone help me out here.

 

[davideduardo]

I've just noticed that the PPM ratings continue all week, Mon thru Sun., and I believe that diaries were kept Monday thru Friday only.

Both the diary survey and the PPM are conducted Thursday to Wednesday, and have, since Arbitron started in radio in 1965, covered all 7 days. I believe the odd week had something to do with mailing the diaries and also with response rates on returning diaries. The PPM just follows the old convention.

 

[DToTheJ]

I've just noticed that the PPM ratings continue all week, Mon thru Sun., and I believe that diaries were kept Monday thru Friday only. Could the new lower numbers for KLSX be caused by super low listenership on the weekends while the weekday listenership remains the same as it was under the old system? Could KLSX be using that line of reasoning when talking to its advertisers?

I guess that would explain the "success" of WXRK/New York during the Howard Stern era. Practically nobody listened to the rock music that followed his show.

 

[zombywoof]

I've just noticed that the PPM ratings continue all week, Mon thru Sun., and I believe that diaries were kept Monday thru Friday only.

Both the diary survey and the PPM are conducted Thursday to Wednesday, and have, since Arbitron started in radio in 1965, covered all 7 days.

Thanks for the info. Well, that shoots down that theory. So, what is the explanation for why the ratings at KLSX have gone down so much under the new system? I doubt that actual listenership has changed much. There must be some methodological explanation.

 

[djmimi]

Thanks for the info. Well, that shoots down that theory. So, what is the explanation for why the ratings at KLSX have gone down so much under the new system? I doubt that actual listenership has changed much. There must be some methodological explanation.

The old method had people writing in their listening habits. Well, being a person who actually had to fill in a diary at one point (when I was out of work, ugh) it turned into a tedious chore. I started out by being really really good and recorded all the stations I listened to. Then it gravitated toward me waiting til right before I went to bed and filling it out by memory. At the end, I just sat down and filled out ALL the days at the end of the week (not even every night) and filled it out according to which station I was liking...

So, one would assume on a personality heavy format, that their fans would be filling out as much diary listening as possible. PPM, however, doesn't allow for that kind of cheating. So, maybe that's one reason why it dropped.

 

[davideduardo]

Thanks for the info. Well, that shoots down that theory. So, what is the explanation for why the ratings at KLSX have gone down so much under the new system? I doubt that actual listenership has changed much. There must be some methodological explanation.

In a word... or two words.. no rounding.

 

[djmimi]

In a word... or two words.. no rounding.

That makes sense. No more quarter hours - where you would get extra credit!

 

[nyc101]

There are shows being syndicated out of KLSX that are making money for CBS.
Once they figure out what to do with those (AM?) then my guess is we will see Roy clear the way for a CHR to
suck some of the fat from his former glory child KIIS.

If a Mt Wilson flame-thrower is looking to cash in on the PPM then the obvious choice is to go after the fattest cow.
In this case that is KIIS, especially being that they have relatively little direct competition.

 

[nyc101]

Djmim-

There are quarter hours still.

A PPM has to listen for 5 minutes to give the quarter hour credit, which is why we are seeing higher cume
for stations. The listening habbits are reflectioning that people are jumping around the dial a lot more than they would bother writing in the diary.

 

[radioresearcher]

There are shows being syndicated out of KLSX that are making money for CBS.
Once they figure out what to do with those (AM?) then my guess is we will see Roy clear the way for a CHR to
suck some of the fat from his former glory child KIIS.

If a Mt Wilson flame-thrower is looking to cash in on the PPM then the obvious choice is to go after the fattest cow.
In this case that is KIIS, especially being that they have relatively little direct competition.

KLSX makes lots of money... even though they are ratings challenged. Right now, in this unsure environment, stations are afraid to change formats - especially in cash flow situations. With radio revenues in sharp decline in most markets right now, its better to hang on to an underperformer than to take a chance.

My guess is KLSX will stay Talk (and yes they make quite a bit of money off Carolla),as long as they are the profit center they are.

 

[davideduardo]

In a word... or two words.. no rounding.

That makes sense. No more quarter hours - where you would get extra credit!

The quarter hour is still the base unit for the AQH persons, share, rating, etc.

To receive credit for a quarter hour, there have to be detections of the ID code in 5 discreet different minutes in any quarter hour. In the diary, they had to be continuous, while in the PPM they have to just be in the same quarter hour. In fact, in certain cases, only 3 minutes will get you credit under the PPM edit rules.

A station also has to get a quarter hour credit for a station to be part of the cume tally.

Two things happen:

1. In the diary, folks rounded to nearest hour, quarer hour, half hour. The PPM does not round.
2. PPM detects brief often forgotten listening, as well as hearing of stations another person put on. This can double the cume, but with very little listening length in most cases. So you have higher cume, and the average TSL goes way down because the added cume pulls it down.

 

[djmimi]

David,
Once again, thanks for clearing it up! Someone had told me no more quarter hours, so hence the confusion. Let me ask, it used to be that you'd get credit for two quarter hours if the listening was "in between" two quarter hours, does that still stand?

Meanwhile, I see that you are no longer into the Bah Humbug state. Instead, "disaster" eh?

 

[davideduardo]

David,
Once again, thanks for clearing it up! Someone had told me no more quarter hours, so hence the confusion. Let me ask, it used to be that you'd get credit for two quarter hours if the listening was "in between" two quarter hours, does that still stand?

If you listened from :10 to :20 you gave a station 2 quarter hours. Now, in the PPM if you have credit for 5 minutes in any quarter hour, you get credit, but they don't have to be consecutive.

Meanwhile, I see that you are no longer into the Bah Humbug state. Instead, "disaster" eh?

Yeah, Congress has a 9% approval yet 400 of the members of the House are expected to be reelected. That is a disaster.

 

[djmimi]

If you listened from :10 to :20 you gave a station 2 quarter hours. Now, in the PPM if you have credit for 5 minutes in any quarter hour, you get credit, but they don't have to be consecutive.

Thanks...

Yeah, Congress has a 9% approval yet 400 of the members of the House are expected to be reelected. That is a disaster.

ah, the situation is pretty complex. Financially, we're in bad shape. And methinks it is only going to get worse. So, even tho' the feds aren't saying the word "recession" YET, I would say that the way the stock market slid this past week (at least the experts) is causing people to say that it was a faster slide down than during the depression, well, clear to me that it IS a recession. But, the combination of congress with wall street and the subprime loans that started the slide, coupled with increased oil prices, egads, what a mess.

 

[LKellerIII]

If you listened from :10 to :20 you gave a station 2 quarter hours. Now, in the PPM if you have credit for 5 minutes in any quarter hour, you get credit, but they don't have to be consecutive.

Thanks...

Yeah, Congress has a 9% approval yet 400 of the members of the House are expected to be reelected. That is a disaster.

ah, the situation is pretty complex. Financially, we're in bad shape. And methinks it is only going to get worse. So, even tho' the feds aren't saying the word "recession" YET, I would say that the way the stock market slid this past week (at least the experts) is causing people to say that it was a faster slide down than during the depression, well, clear to me that it IS a recession. But, the combination of congress with wall street and the subprime loans that started the slide, coupled with increased oil prices, egads, what a mess.

This will probably be deleted by the Moderator for being off topic, but I have to try. I'm perplexed that people don't understand why Congresspersons and Senators get re-elected. It's Simple:

People hate Congress, but they like their own Congressperson and Senators. The ones they vote for, in other words.

People hate "pork" and "ear-marks," but they love it when their own representatives bring money home to their District. In other words, its pork when its in the other guy's district or state - but in your district or state, it's improving the infrastructure, or creating jobs. We like that.

Our representatives may be hypocrites at times, but so are the voters.

 

[DToTheJ]

According to another thread (specifically this post) Tom Leykis will be dropped by his syndicator effective Friday, March 6.

It was not confirmed if Leykis will continue doing a local-only show, or if CBS plans to dump him outright.

In that regard, I'm sure CBS probably can't wait to sever ties with the many contracts tied up with 97.1 and change it to a music format, that can easily be run on the cheap, to complement Carolla. Or maybe Carolla will be the proverbial baby thrown out with the bath water, who knows. But a rock format would work best with Carolla as the morning show, and since KROQ can't be tinkered with, they'll have to go in a classic rock direction.

 

[SandyG]

Leykis to KABC along with Bob Moore.....hmmmmm.

Carolla in the morning, Classic Rock ALL DAY...97.1FM!

 

[SuperRadioFan]

Leykis to KABC along with Bob Moore.....hmmmmm.

Carolla in the morning, Classic Rock ALL DAY...97.1FM!

Why? LA already has two classic rock stations.... Three would be a crowd

 

[Beachdog]

Leykis to KABC along with Bob Moore.....hmmmmm.

Carolla in the morning, Classic Rock ALL DAY...97.1FM!

Why? LA already has two classic rock stations.... Three would be a crowd

There is just no room for a new Classic Rock Station. Remove The Sound and it's still a crowed field. I'd also expect KLOS to gain more audience in the months to come with Bob Buchmann running things, making the chances for a new rock station even less provable.

 

[DToTheJ]

Then with all that said, it could probably be in CBS' best interest to simply plug Adam Carolla into Jack-FM and take 97.1 in a completely different direction.