....and meanwhile, down at the Sandusky building in Factoria.....

[Bongwater]

The elves have taken over KRWM for another season....

 

[LITTLEBOYBLUE]

Speaking of Factoria AM-and-AM-FM-FM-FM .... I was just thinking about their 1150 AM. Anyone have any idea what kind of traction it has and who it reaches?? Would it be a better business decision to redirect the power to the desk lamps in the office --- or does it really DO something for them?? And if it's a waste of time ... why not spin it??

 

[TakeItFromMe]

Didn't even know 1150 existed ???
Bet KRWM is glad Christmas is here, been a pretty ugly year for them since Christmas ended last year. Santa arrived just in time to give them big ratings. That should put an end to the surge of station in female demos like KPLZ and KMTT.

 

[Bongwater]

KKNW 1150 AM is "alternative talk" (which is a really groovy way of saying "rent-a-station".) Much of it's lineup is brokered new age holistic talk stuff, some minor league sports games, CNN Headline news and not much else. It's not much, but it's been on the air for 5 years running so something works....

 

[radioprofessor]

It is difficult to program an AM station in a crowded market. None of the current long-term AM stations in Seattle are in the top 10 in prime demographics. Many spend significant dollars but due to the weak nature of the AM band are unable to attract ratings. Marginal, non-heritage AM stations are left with Disney, Religion, Air America and brokered programming. The move to broker time is a wise decision by Sandusky, given the weakness in their other stations. KQMV fails on every parameter and now that KBKS is fulfilling its music promise KQMV will begin a severe slide in ratings. KWJZ is niche jazz and does a fine job, but will never be a market leader due to format parametrics. KRWM should be the number one station in Seattle for women 25-54 and probably 12+, since it has no AC competitor. This is the case in 70% of the top 15 markets. Since I began looking at this market for my client in Spring of 07, KRWMhas not even been in the top five in their prime demo. This is the only top 15 market where the Hot-AC station is beating the primary Soft AC in the 25-54 demographic. The hot-ac here is somewhat unique in format approach, but that does not account for the failure in KRWM to own its prime demo. A solid AC needs to always be top two or three in 25-54 women, not just during Christmas or winter. Sandusky has much work to do in repairing their formats, imaging and adding a true morning show. Has this company always opted for no morning show, just liner air-staff in AM drive? Clearly, though I speak with no authority, if I were Sandusky I would spend money getting my FM stations in order before even worrying about 1150 AM.

 

[Steenman]

I disagree that KQMV is on the way down. This is a unique market in that the incredible heritage of KUBE has created a large enough wake that, for the most part, all KQMV has to do is incorpoate enough of the music (that KUBE made famous) to the listerners that grew up here. To continuously compare it to the MOViN format in other markets is an way off. The MOViN format, like the JACK format is a just a vessel, a delivery mechanism. KWJZ will always be a niche station but over time has done well and the format certainly is viable and cost effective. KWRM has also been a rating leader in it's demos for many years and it's pertty darn cheap to run too. When you consider the positions that Sandusky owns in town, and their debt structure, I think there are a fair number of smiles over in Factoria.

 

[AQH]

I disagree that KQMV is on the way down. This is a unique market in that the incredible heritage of KUBE has created a large enough wake that, for the most part, all KQMV has to do is incorpoate enough of the music (that KUBE made famous) to the listerners that grew up here. To continuously compare it to the MOViN format in other markets is an way off. The MOViN format, like the JACK format is a just a vessel, a delivery mechanism. KWJZ will always be a niche station but over time has done well and the format certainly is viable and cost effective. KWRM has also been a rating leader in it's demos for many years and it's pertty darn cheap to run too. When you consider the positions that Sandusky owns in town, and their debt structure, I think there are a fair number of smiles over in Factoria.

Financially, Movin is making up for the sinking revenue ship when it was KLSY. Towards the waning years, it was not making that much money, Kaye relied upon Warm to bring home the bacon. It's one of the reasons they purged the KIXI staff. Sure, KWJZ made some money, but it wasn't enough to hold everything up.

Movin in Seattle will be around for awhile, and is likely bringing in some okay coin now that they have a year under their belt. However, plenty of skepticism exists about its long-term durability, and the fact that every other Movin' station in the country is lackluster at best.

Christmas couldn't have come fast enough for the Warm, which has been taking on water for most of 2007. They need to adjust to the contemporary music shift. If they don't adjust coming out of the gate after the Christmas music, 2008 is going to be a bad year for Warm.

 

[djdan]

A couple of things to examine. Miller Kaplan reveals KRWM is a top five player and with their cost structure it has to make quite a bit of money. The four book 25-54 women shows significant erosion going into annual budgets for 2008, but most advertisers will give them the benefit of the doubt. KPLZ has definitely came on strong in 2007 especially in the Spring and Summer books where they became the leading AC in the market. KCMS also had an affect on KRWM in Spring. Should KRWM erode in Winter, they might consider changes. Until then I would stay the course. Any station can have a bad book or two.

KQMV is a different story. KLSY billed significantly more dollars, even toward the end of the run. KQMV is an 18-34 station, yet KBKS and KUBE outbill it by a big margin. Nationally, no advertiser will touch the MOVIN format based on overall performance. The feeling is that KQMV is a niche format that took advantage of weak performance by KBKS and KPLZ. KPLZ seems to have fixed its issues this year and KBKS has a solid programmer in place for 2008. If he has success, KQMV will go the way of "The Beat", "80's" and probably "jack".

The one benefit JACK had is that nationally it had and still has some big success stories. In Seattle the station debuted number two 25-54 adults and in the next book was number one.
MOVIN was not even close to that kind of success in its launch. It's claim to fame was a second place finish in the debut book 18-34. It is 30% off from the launch a year ago and most buyers are taking a wait and see position. They are getting some low-rate business, but certainly nothing like the dollars generated by KLSY. For the record KLSY in its last year billed closed to 9 million. KQMV will be lucky to do 6 million. Pretty much low rate business. Many MOVIN stations are turning into pure Rhythmic CHR's or CHurbans. The problem is the power ratio's are ugly for these formats and when the PPM arrives, these formats do not perform.

Finally, KWJZ is a strong station that delivers 10 million in billing. They have a solid market position and deliver positive cash-flow. At the Sandusky building, KWJZ is strong, KRWM is slipping but remains strong and KQMV is slipping and was never strong.

 

[djdan]

one interesting note. Sandusky has dropped out of the top three in cluster billing in Seattle despite having three strong FM stations and a couple of AM stations.
Infinity is number one, Entercom is number two and Fisher is number three. None of these numbers include sports billing, just broadcast spot revenue. KQMV has been
tough on Sandusky and KRWM is not growing in billing, though they remain solid. At one time Sandusky was close to number two in cluster billing when KRWM, KLSY and KWJZ were
all clicking early in this decade.

 

[mammaknowsbest]

MOVIN suffers in billing because more advertisers don';t think like Steenman. Buy the station on the rise. Ratings will
turn heads in time. MOVIN had a strong summer book, last summer was beyond huge. Fall and Winter will be so big ,with a staff
in place and advertising in full bloom. MOVIN is a summer format, now it will expand into a Fall and Winter format too. KBKS is over and
an old male PD ain't gonna fix it. Ya ya stupid. THe cool
thing about KRWM is that the woman in charge knows how to make the subtle adjustments after the big Christmas cume punch. KPLZ
will be knocked back down this fall and winter after a couple of female friendly books. Ladies know a female programmer versus an
aging male. You want to appeal to women, hire women. This business makes me and the ya ya sisterhood so angry at times. Let's
see who is right this fall, steenman and mamma or the MOVIN naysayers. mammaknowsbest.

 

[djdan]

I don't think Steenman was saying he is a fan of Sandusky programming, though I don't want to speak for him. I read his post as saying that Sandusky has opted for a automated approach that creates a low cost of operation. As a result they can charge less for commercials and still make money. On the ratings front KQMV is significantly off from their start in Summer of 06 (about 30%). On the Spring, Summer two book KQMV and KRWM are down from the previous two books. Stations like KMTT and KPLZ are on an upswing in the same key demos comparing the Spring/Summer books to the previous two books. (the comparison is a bit unfair, since KRWM gets a big boost from Christmas music in Fall)

On the programming side, KUBE in the 90's played a wider mix of songs than the Movin format. At one point KUBE played Alanis and Hootie mixed with Coolio. KUBE also had a huge morning team and strong night show. All contributed to their success. The MOVIN format only picks up on part of the music success. That is why it is doomed to failure, as we have seen across the country. The slip in group billing, the downward slip for KRWM and KQMV in ratings are indicators that more attention may want to be paid to other elements besides music, or Sandusky's low cost approach could hurt. Advertisers need low cost alternatives to bring in an expensive market, but when the economy pulls back (like it is now) these stations are the first to be dropped. Would you rather bill 15 million with a 30% margin or 5 million with a 50% margin? You can only play the margin game so long and then there is nothing left to cut.

 

[AQH]

On the programming side, KUBE in the 90's played a wider mix of songs than the Movin format. At one point KUBE played Alanis and Hootie mixed with Coolio.

And Alice in Chains and Soundgarden. Was a horrible time for CHR at that time. When the CHURban thing came in earnest, KUBE was able to ditch the guitar music.

The MOVIN format only picks up on part of the music success. That is why it is doomed to failure, as we have seen across the country. The slip in group billing, the downward slip for KRWM and KQMV in ratings are indicators that more attention may want to be paid to other elements besides music, or Sandusky's low cost approach could hurt. Advertisers need low cost alternatives to bring in an expensive market, but when the economy pulls back (like it is now) these stations are the first to be dropped. Would you rather bill 15 million with a 30% margin or 5 million with a 50% margin? You can only play the margin game so long and then there is nothing left to cut.

Movin' found a niche in Seattle. Its long-term viability IS in question right now. We'll see if their staffing and resources are able to take it to the next level.

Well said, Dan.