Why does that matter? The format significantly underperforms in revenue and in most markets leans older when it has been done on a reasonable signal.
Remember, for ratings it's all about the HDBA area(s) and not total market coverage.
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AM radio: A dying breed
- Thread starter neosolbrudda
- Start date
Remember, for ratings it's all about the HDBA area(s) and not total market coverage.
It matters a lot. You may know numbers, but unless you know the inner workings of a radio station in this market then you can’t make any kinda of judgment.
Okay, just go ahead and do it. I think all we are saying is when we look at the Black Gospel format and the movers and shakers in the format (I only know a couple of them), the format skews old, the only advertisers are local businesses that cannot spend much and the bulk of the money is selling time to local churches. It's not a cash cow by any means and it is a constant struggle (not like any other format isn't). Investigate. Talk to people doing the format. Or just call us uniformed jerks. I could care less. I try to save folks from making poor choices or risky options but most know much better than me and I never get to say I told you so. And to be fair, I'm wrong sometimes, I sure don't know it all, only a few things. I do know DFW radio and Houston radio quite well. Having worked the Christian radio format I would say proceed with caution..a whole lots of caution.
The gospel format will probably always skew older. That's because after one's dancing days are over and the arthritis sets in, the reality of mortality also sets in. Then it's time to think about settling one's affairs and time to think about the hereafter. That's not to say that some younger people don't like gospel music, it's just that when I was younger I was more into the three M's of the '80s: The Mall, MTV and Miami Vice!
I have programmed the one-time #1 station in the market and was interim GM at a cluster of 6 stations. I managed the programming of a cluster for about a decade after that. While none were Black Gospel, I'm nonetheless very familiar with the market, the economics and, particularly the ethnic composition of the Metroplex
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Have you been over to Dallas lately? I know Memphis predominately African American, but there's a large presence here as well, and last time I checked, Texas is part of the south. WHAL is owned by iHeart. A company that won't hesitate to flip a station if it doesn't prove to be beneficial to them. 95.7 Hallelujah FM has been around for many years, so I'm trying hard to understand the point you guys are trying to make.
Black Gospel is not just Mahalia Jackson and James Cleveland anymore.... It has evolved ALOT. You would be surprised at how many younger people listens to it. Guess you've never heard Mary Mary, "God In Me". Just one example of how Black Gospel sounds now.
As an older person I can't say that I like today's gospel music, but I am well aware of how it sounds. Reach Media's nationally syndicated "Get Up Mornings with Erica Campbell," (Erica and her sister Tina are Mary, Mary as you know) "The Willie Moore Jr. Show" and "The Nightly Spirit with Darlene McCoy" are all featured on one of the three AM gospel stations in my area. And Willie Moore Jr.'s "Praise Mixdown" airs weekends. I agree that most of the music they play is a far cry from the gospel of yesteryear and sounds much more like hip-hop or urban. Nevertheless, I maintain that most of listeners are older. I have no way of knowing if this station turns a profit, though.
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Fun fact: WDIA's original studio location is part of the US Civil Rights Trail. https://civilrightstrail.com/destination/memphis/
Why do I get the feeling that this discussion thread may end up in very much the same way as the one several weeks ago where the guy wanted advice on starting his own LPFM station, but refused to actually listen to any advice or reason, convinced that he himself knew better than all the other commenters, many of whom had decades of programming experience and/or had started their own LPFMs in the past and knew all the steps, as well as the risks and potential pitfalls involved?
Is there any chance this statement directed towards me?
Yes, all the time and am very familiar with the market. I personally listen to a number of DFW stations every single day.
Memphis is 47% black and DFW is 17%. That is not a small difference in market makeup. The only markets with a larger black percentage are Albany, GA and Jackson, MS (iHeart's gospel station is #1 12+ in Jackson!). Memphis also has a great deal of history of black radio.
Because DFW is such an enormous market there are actually more black listeners here than in Memphis, but the key here is relative to the market 's overall makeup. If DFW was 47% African American, I suspect there would in fact be at least one rimshot carrying black gospel, despite the demographic problems already discussed, but because of the makeup, other formats have proven to be more viable or desirable for growth.
You will see that in Memphis, which is 5% hispanic, there aren't enough ears to support multiple and competing spanish-language formats like in Dallas. Instead you've got an AM that is primarily pushing their 99 watt translator.
Finally, there is and always has been a grand debate on if Texas is actually part of the south or the southwest or something else or it's own separate thing. The truth is Texas is a giant and very diverse state with many differences from region to region. Beaumont and Lufkin, for example do feel very southern to me. Lubbock and El Paso? Not so much. San Antonio and the RGV are not southern in any meaningful sense other than having lots of warm, friendly people. While there certainly are some southern sensibilities in Houston, there are also all kinds of other sensibilities as well.
I actually know someone who is from Houston whom I would not have guessed is from Texas or the South unless they told me.
Dallas is 15.5% Black in the Metro Survey Area. Memphis is 44.7% in the MSA, but whichever figure you use, the difference is striking.
And there is a ratings difference as Dallas is a PPM market and Memphis is a diary market. In markets with smaller percentages of "partisan groups" the PPM tends to disfavor stations strictly appealing to them.
A non-ethnic example is how the PPM showed that stations with very loyal cores but no occasional listeners ended up with much lower shares than they had gotten in the diary. Best example: Smooth Jazz. Few occasional listeners, and the PPM showed that instead of 8 to 10 hours average weekly TSL those stations had 3 or 4 real hours... so the format died.
I suspect that this applies to the format we are currently discussing, too.
Ryan, I'm from Lubbock and I totally disagree with on that one. Lubbock is about as southern as you can get, and not all in a good way....
Okay David, that one I do get, understand, and agree with. Another example: K104. They were consistently #1 until the PPM's came in the picture.
Lubbock, as well as Amarillo, can be considered politically conservative and solidly Trump country, but they are “western” not “southern”. Big psychographic difference, if you understand both areas. And both cities weren’t founded until long after the Civil War.
To further the overall thread, it might be useful to dissect how KROI is doing with its Gospel format in Houston, which is a very similar market to DFW. Note that the previous incarnation of Gospel on KROI 2006-11 ultimately failed.
12+ is is 22nd. 25-54 it is 26th. 55+ 14th. 65+ it is 10th. That is from the last book.
Urban gospel is not a format Urban/Radio One puts on valuable signals. If you look through their portfolio, it’s generally on small class A signals such as Atlanta and Charlotte where another urban variety could not compete with higher powered stations. In markets like Richmond, Columbus, and even DC (to an extent), it’s on a rimshot or deficient signal. The rest are translators or AM’s. One notable exception is Raleigh/Durham where they have a semi full market signal as “The Light” and not their typical “Praise” brand. The obvious trend is Urban One generally goes with gospel when they have a signal that isn’t competitive enough or is only really going to draw an audience with a more niche format.
KROI in Houston isn’t the best signal in the market by any means, but it beats most of the other signals Urban One has the format on.
KROI in Houston isn’t the best signal in the market by any means, but it beats most of the other signals Urban One has the format on.
Memphis is a PPM market. The second smallest of PPM markets, but it hasn’t been dairy in several years.
WHAL is only 6000 watts, so a more niche format makes some sense. Plus I’m sure they sell it in combo as I heart offers every demographic of the Memphis African American market from hip hop WHRK to Adult R&B KJMS to the legendary WDIA. If you need to reach African American women in Memphis, Iheart can deliver the whole market.
WHAL is only 6000 watts, so a more niche format makes some sense. Plus I’m sure they sell it in combo as I heart offers every demographic of the Memphis African American market from hip hop WHRK to Adult R&B KJMS to the legendary WDIA. If you need to reach African American women in Memphis, Iheart can deliver the whole market.
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