AMP 103.3 is flipping at 10am on 5/28

[nowradioguy]

Again, it's a business.

If a market finds it makes much more money per square foot on wines than on beers, they will likely reallocate some of the aisle space to the more profitable items.

The same happens with radio. Clusters are adjusted to provide combinations of salable demographics. The best case is LA's "wall of women" with KIIS, KOST and MyFM. The three can sell separately, but they are programmed to be sold in a pair or a trio for more dollars for iHeart.

A station that can't be sold in a cluster package will benefit less from synergy and thus reduce cluster billing.

Going back to supermarkets: which one do you go to... the one that has some of your favorite brands or the one that has them all?

Coming back to "It bills well" as being offensive: actually, it was a (weak) DEFENSIVE posture to anyone who suggested AMP's 6+ numbers were low and getting lower and that a format change should be considered. As I recall, AMP 103.3, Mix 104.1, Magic 106.7 were Entercom's Boston "wall of women". I understood that to mean these three stood together in target audience and advertiser preference. Now that "wall" is only 2/3 of its original size. Any thoughts on that?

And once more for the record: I don't listen to FM radio in Boston; it offers me nothing (except for maybe WCRB when I want some relief from the talk on AM). So I was NOT one of those advocating for a change of format to 103.3. If anything, I missed what used to be Oldies 103.3 WODS, but EVERYONE here told me to get over it because that ship, carrying away those of us in an undesirable (age 65+) demographic, sailed out to sea.

 

[TheBigA]

I understood that to mean these three stood together in target audience and advertiser preference. Now that "wall" is only 2/3 of its original size. Any thoughts on that?

The cluster had a couple of changes during the past year. Certainly the loss of WAAF paved the way for the change at WODS. You can't talk about one without considering the other. WAAF was mostly male, and I believe Big103 aims to replace that revenue.

 

[Retro]

Coming back to "It bills well" as being offensive: actually, it was a (weak) DEFENSIVE posture to anyone who suggested AMP's 6+ numbers were low and getting lower and that a format change should be considered. As I recall, AMP 103.3, Mix 104.1, Magic 106.7 were Entercom's Boston "wall of women". I understood that to mean these three stood together in target audience and advertiser preference. Now that "wall" is only 2/3 of its original size. Any thoughts on that?

And once more for the record: I don't listen to FM radio in Boston; it offers me nothing (except for maybe WCRB when I want some relief from the talk on AM). So I was NOT one of those advocating for a change of format to 103.3. If anything, I missed what used to be Oldies 103.3 WODS, but EVERYONE here told me to get over it because that ship, carrying away those of us in an undesirable (age 65+) demographic, sailed out to sea.

Well, FWIW, demographics aside, I feel that they shouldn't have pulled the plug on WODS either, but whatever!

 

[Retro]

The cluster had a couple of changes during the past year. Certainly the loss of WAAF paved the way for the change at WODS. You can't talk about one without considering the other. WAAF was mostly male, and I believe Big103 aims to replace that revenue.

Agreed, BTW what are your thoughts on the stations 2 minute only commercial breaks? As far as the new imaging itself, it is kinda hard to tell if they are really committed to the format, or if they will flip again once say the pandemic is over, whenever that is?

Musically, they have officially carved a niche which includes some older R&B hits, that are not played anymore, but could have been played on the original 97.7.

I've heard a couple of so- called "ow wow" songs too such as Baz Luhman's "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) (Long Version), in which last week, I had been digging through YouTube to give it a listen.

It was one of those songs that made Mix sound great back then, but it is hard to believe just how fast times time has past, and it now all being part of nostalgia instead!

 

[Wbzfm2010]

Amp 103.3 Rip

Agreed, BTW what are your thoughts on the stations 2 minute only commercial breaks? As far as the new imaging itself, it is kinda hard to tell if they are really committed to the format, or if they will flip again once say the pandemic is over, whenever that is?

Musically, they have officially carved a niche which includes some older R&B hits, that are not played anymore, but could have been played on the original 97.7.

I've heard a couple of so- called "ow wow" songs too such as Baz Luhman's "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) (Long Version), in which last week, I had been digging through YouTube to give it a listen.

It was one of those songs that made Mix sound great back then, but it is hard to believe just how fast times time has past, and it now all being part of nostalgia instead!

Does anyone know if they can't use the Jack name for some reason? Its the same imaging just an updated music library. I just don't understand the name of the station I guess. Overall I like the music selection. Time will tell what will happen.

 

[TheBigA]

Agreed, BTW what are your thoughts on the stations 2 minute only commercial breaks?

It's something they've done at other stations around the country. Easy to do when you have no metrics on the new format for advertisers.

Still some stations have launched totally commercial free for a period.

 

[davideduardo]

Does anyone know if they can't use the Jack name for some reason? Its the same imaging just an updated music library. I just don't understand the name of the station I guess. Overall I like the music selection. Time will tell what will happen.

The "Jack" name and a number of its distinctive devices are registered tradmarks or servicemarks. They can only be used under license.

 

[Retro]

The "Jack" name and a number of its distinctive devices are registered tradmarks or servicemarks. They can only be used under license.

Yes, contrary to popular belief, there is actually a 3rd party that owns the trademark and format.

 

[MarkW]

Certainly the loss of WAAF paved the way for the change at WODS. You can't talk about one without considering the other. WAAF was mostly male, and I believe Big103 aims to replace that revenue.

I disagree.

WAAF targeted a much narrower demographic than this new station. Music on the new station should appeal to a broad range of 25-54 Adults. It is not a "replacement" for WAAF. One could certainly say, however, that Big 103.3 is a more worthy successor to Amp Radio than a resurrected WAAF.

Big 103 came to pass because Amp Radio's performance was poor and growing worse & worse by the month. WAAF went away because the brand was dead man walking and Entercom decided the deficient 107.3 MHz facility was no longer worth keeping. EMF paid a lucrative price for that asset.

 

[TheBigA]

WAAF targeted a much narrower demographic than this new station.

My answer wasn't about format, it was about money. Being down one frequency in a market hurt any advantages they gained with WODS. They need one format that could make the money previously made by two.

 

[Retro]

My answer wasn't about format, it was about money. Being down one frequency in a market hurt any advantages they gained with WODS. They need one format that could make the money previously made by two.

And to better target the male audience too!

 

[promixcuous]

[mistake post...can't figure out how do delete, sorry.]

 

[MarkW]

Being down one frequency in a market hurt any advantages they gained with WODS. They need one format that could make the money previously made by two.

You act as if Entercom received no monetary consideration for disposing of WAAF. As a multiple of cash flow, Entercom received a very good price for WAAF.

Amp is gone because a radio format that hypertargets suburbanite 18-34 year olds, especially the younger half of that age group, and has minimal appeal to listeners over the age of 34 is a stupid strategy in the year 2020. Kevin Weatherly's strategy for the Amp branded stations was fatally flawed. Many of the heritage CHR stations owned by iHeart are coalition stations with strong morning shows, good use of library, and great stationality.

So many of the Amp stations sounded like they were programmed with high schoolers and college-aged listeners in mind.

 

[TheBigA]

You act as if Entercom received no monetary consideration for disposing of WAAF.

Yes the company got good money. But that doesn't help the Boston market manager reach his target number. We're talking about two different things.

Many of the heritage CHR stations owned by iHeart are coalition stations with strong morning shows, good use of library, and great stationality.

The funny part is the biggest criticism of iHeart is that they don't invest in talent. And yet they're better positioned with talent than most of the other companies. CBS had a great talent with Carson Daily: they failed to capitalize on him when they had him, and than failed to replace him when he left.

 

[davideduardo]

. EMF paid a lucrative price for that asset.

Yet the seller had to take an impairment charge, as apparently it was on the books with a higher asset value than the sale price. There is a real issue at The House of Field because many of the CBS stations, particularly some of the AMs, were valued too high in the transaction.

 

[davideduardo]

You act as if Entercom received no monetary consideration for disposing of WAAF. As a multiple of cash flow, Entercom received a very good price for WAAF.

EMF does not buy based on multiples or BCF. They buy based on population served, which is kind of the new metric for stick sales where the format will be abandoned.

And EMF also likes special situations where the seller has to get rid of a station to conform to station counts... such as they did with the "economy rate" pricing of their LA acquisition. In the process, though, they set a new normal for prime facility pricing. The good thing is that they take a decent facility out of the revenue competition which helps the remaining commercial station.

 

[TheBigA]

For those of you wondering "whatever happened to" the AMP morning show, here's an interview with former co-host Loren Raye:


https://www.allaccess.com/on-the-beach/10-questions/archive/31721/10-questions-with-loren-raye

 

[MarkW]

Yet the seller had to take an impairment charge, as apparently it was on the books with a higher asset value than the sale price. There is a real issue at The House of Field because many of the CBS stations, particularly some of the AMs, were valued too high in the transaction.

Excellent point. Why am I not shocked to hear this? As you know, I am not a big fan of Entercom's executive team.

EMF does not buy based on multiples or BCF. They buy based on population served, which is kind of the new metric for stick sales where the format will be abandoned.

I 100% understand that. My earlier comment was based on the perspective of Entercom, not EMF.

 

[Radionerd408]

Excellent point. Why am I not shocked to hear this? As you know, I am not a big fan of Entercom's executive team.



I 100% understand that. My earlier comment was based on the perspective of Entercom, not EMF.

What is your objection to Entercom's executive team?

 

[Radionerd408]

Based on the 6+ numbers for June, it doesn't appear that the ODS/BGB experiment is off to a strong start. What is the over/under for how long Entercom sticks with this format? I realize they launched during extraordinary circumstances, but it feels like a placeholder until they can figure out something better (and their potential revenue will support the investment in a brand which requires more resources to operate).