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Another 99X post

chrocket87 said:
They already tried active rock with Project. It didn't bill worth a damn on one of the best signals in the market.
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The "slacker working at McDonald's while living in mom's basement" stereotype of the active rock listener is deeply rooted at the advertising agencies and will be difficult, if not impossible, to eradicate.
 
Ad agencies consider active rock to simply be "Rock," I'm guessing. On a national level, I suspect Rock / Active Rock's power ratios are a bit stronger than Alternative.

WMMR, KISW, KUPD, WRIF, WEBN and WHQG are among the highest billing stations in their respective markets. (WMMR outbills the living snot out of WRFF in Philly.)

I agree that Project's billing was weak given its placement at 96.1 MHz (I personally think the format should've never left 105.3 MHz), but I think it would be a better fit for 105.7 MHz than the current, ratings-starved alternative format.

Even better options for 105.7 would be Classic Hits or Variety Hits. The fact neither format is available in Atlanta is outrageous, IMO. Cannot help but wonder if iHeart is tempted to reunite 105.7 with 96.7 and air 96.7's Urban format on both signals.

99X was a great station for its first seven or eight years. Very few people seem to care about 99X in the year 2017, judging from 98.9's ratings. 98.9 earned better ratings with oldies/classic hits, soft ac/Christmas music, and active rock than the current programming.

If the original 99X morning show was so great, why was it eventually replaced by Toucher & Rich?
 
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Rich did a bit back in 2000 where he dressed up in a suit and tie and tried to see how far he could get into Turner Field before getting kicked out. He got pretty far without anyone stopping him. He was great on that show.
 
RoddyFreeman said:
I'm not sure exactly what you're saying, but Rick Stacy is a survivor. As far as I know he is still PD and morning host at Sunny 105.9 in Orlando. He was reunited with Domino, a great talent, who does afternoon drive there.
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99X got Rick Stacy fired.

First, the great Bill Phippen passed away in the summer of 1992. This was around the time that Rick got the OK to tweak Power 99's playlist. Naturally, they were going to go more "alternative," since that was the flavor of the month. Once that fad passed, they could slide back mainstream, or whatever the next passing fancy was.

Without in-house oversight, Rick blew out most of everything that was familiar to Power listeners, including the name. He added a load of stuff nobody had ever heard of, in essence making a $14 million radio signal his personal iPod (if we had had iPods back then).

The flip happened at the end of October 1992.

By the end of November, most of Power's core had been wiped out. The trends were not good. New GM Mark Renier was brought in with orders to change the station back.

And in a case of really bad timing, this was just as Rick's contract was coming up. Rick thought he was worth more than Susquehanna did, and Susquehanna was not going to pay Rick Stacy a king's ransom for programming a station that was floundering. So he was blown out.

99X. Rick Stacy's mistake.
 
What were 99X’s ratings vs. what Power 99’s ratings were before the flip? Also how were 99X’s ratings throughout the 90’s? I know when I started keeping up with ratings in the 2000’s, they were already down in the 3’s and ended up in the low 2’s by their end.
 
MrRadio said:
99X got Rick Stacy fired.

First, the great Bill Phippen passed away in the summer of 1992. This was around the time that Rick got the OK to tweak Power 99's playlist. Naturally, they were going to go more "alternative," since that was the flavor of the month. Once that fad passed, they could slide back mainstream, or whatever the next passing fancy was.

Without in-house oversight, Rick blew out most of everything that was familiar to Power listeners, including the name. He added a load of stuff nobody had ever heard of, in essence making a $14 million radio signal his personal iPod (if we had had iPods back then).

The flip happened at the end of October 1992.

By the end of November, most of Power's core had been wiped out. The trends were not good. New GM Mark Renier was brought in with orders to change the station back.

And in a case of really bad timing, this was just as Rick's contract was coming up. Rick thought he was worth more than Susquehanna did, and Susquehanna was not going to pay Rick Stacy a king's ransom for programming a station that was floundering. So he was blown out.

99X. Rick Stacy's mistake.
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99X was a highly successful and much acclaimed station through the 1990's. If Mark's direction was to change the station back, he didn't follow it. Mark oversaw one of the best stations in Atlanta radio history.
 
I know when I started keeping up with ratings in the 2000’s, they were already down in the 3’s and ended up in the low 2’s by their end.
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In the late 90's, 12+ shares in the 4's were common. From time to time, the station would crack a 5 share.

If I remember correctly, for the station's last several books at 99.7 MHz, the ratings actually fell BELOW a 2 share!!! Seems impossible for a once proud station on such a blowtorch signal, but it's true.

Moving Q100 to 99.7 MHz was a great move and was overdue.

Flipping 100.5 MHz to a poor man's version of 96Rock (whose own ratings stunk prior to the flip to Project)? Well, the "Rock 100.5" brand lives to this day, so maybe it wasn't such a bad move after all, even though that station has GOT to hold the FM dial record for sub-2 share ratings surveys in the ATL market - excluding translators, of course.
 
I'm going to get push back on this but I strongly believe the ratings started to decline as 99X went less adventurous and much more commercialized. This would lead to the buy out by Cumulus which is when 99X took a straight dump.

In the late 90s, 99x did more than play new music - They broke new artist. The format had variety with some New Wave (Depeche Modep), Grunge (Nirvana), industrial (ministry), hard rock (white zombie) and mainstream 90s alternative (Garbage, Better than Ezra). In those days 99x was largely local and promoted local events. The djs had character and many times even crossed a few FCC lines. Argument can be made Atlanta demographics have changed; Music direction has changed; Radio has changed. All this may be true but then I see Entercom's 96.5 The Buzz in KC. Very adventurous and almost entirely live and local with a very large local presence. Station fell below 2 shares and rumors of the stations demise sparked a #SaveTheBuzz campaign and today its one of the highest rated commercial Alt formats in the country. Who doesn't remember the I Am 99X phrase and the freeloaders card? This was back when 99X wasn't only true to alternative music but also true to being live and local.

If you want to see today's problem with Radio - Go check out the FB page for Radio 1057.
 
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RoddyFreeman said:
99X was a highly successful and much acclaimed station through the 1990's. If Mark's direction was to change the station back, he didn't follow it. Mark oversaw one of the best stations in Atlanta radio history.
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From what I understand the Power 99 -> 99X flip did not have the blessing of Susquehanna. You are correct, it was one of the most successful stations in ATL radio history, and was famous--and watched--throughout the nation.

It had a great run, but foundered when its format did the same. Even CHR has bad times (e.g., 1981!). Nothing lasts forever or stays hot indefinitely.

Dave FM stole a lot of its listenership, too.
 
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RoddyFreeman said:
99X was a highly successful and much acclaimed station through the 1990's. If Mark's direction was to change the station back, he didn't follow it. Mark oversaw one of the best stations in Atlanta radio history.
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Once Power's core was blown out there was no sense in trying to bring them back, so the decision was made to stay the course but round off the rough edges somewhat. 99X became slicker and sounded much like a Top 40 station that just happened to play music no one had ever heard of. Smartly, sleepy Star 94 dropped the creepy jazz at night, took on a CHR lean, and picked up most of the audience that had been displaced when Power 99 went away.

Fad formats usually last four or five years, tops (like disco 1977-80). "Alternative" was no exception. Formats that sell an attitude as much as a particular genre of music tend to have short shelf lives. There is no doubt that 99X was printing money 1993-98, but their fortunes dropped precipitously after that. Star became very guitar-heavy around 1997 or 1998, leaving room for a younger-leaning CHR (see 95.5 The Beat and Q100).

Jabba17: 1981! YIKES! LOL :) And you're right, the Power -> X flip was NOT approved. The approval was to update the overall sound of Power 99 and keep the name intact. "Alternative" was hot and Power would have integrated some of that music into their playlist until that fad cooled off, much like Z100 in NYC.
 
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MrRadio said:
Once Power's core was blown out there was no sense in trying to bring them back, so the decision was made to stay the course but round off the rough edges somewhat. 99X became slicker and sounded much like a Top 40 station that played music no one had ever heard of. Sleepy Star 94 dropped the creepy jazz at night, took on a CHR lean, and picked up most of the audience that had been displaced when Power 99 went away.

Fad formats usually last four or five years, tops (like disco 1977-80). "Alternative" was no exception. Formats that sell an attitude as much as a particular genre of music tend to have short shelf lives. There is no doubt that 99X was printing money 1993-98, but their fortunes dropped precipitously after that. Star became very guitar-heavy around 1997 or 1998, leaving room for a younger-leaning CHR (see 95.5 The Beat and Q100).

99X should have been blown up no later than 1999.
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When Power 99 flipped, Star 94 filled Atlanta's CHR role, sort of. Atlanta went most of the 90s without a true CHR until Q100 moved in. From what I understand CHR had bad times nationally in the 1990s, not really rebounding until the 2000s.

CHR's periodic woes usually stem from a lack of good product and the listeners going to other formats. In 1981, disco was dead and CHR's listeners were stolen by AC on one end and AOR on the other. The early 80s are a golden era for both of those formats. The early 1990s were marked by the rise of both alt and country, and is considered a golden age for both of those formats.
 
There was a time that Star 94 fleshed out their playlist with a real CHR vibe. It didn't last very long, but here's the rundown from April 16, 1993:

Capture.jpg
 
MrRadio said:
Once Power's core was blown out there was no sense in trying to bring them back, so the decision was made to stay the course but round off the rough edges somewhat. 99X became slicker and sounded much like a Top 40 station that just happened to play music no one had ever heard of. Smartly, sleepy Star 94 dropped the creepy jazz at night, took on a CHR lean, and picked up most of the audience that had been displaced when Power 99 went away.

Fad formats usually last four or five years, tops (like disco 1977-80). "Alternative" was no exception. Formats that sell an attitude as much as a particular genre of music tend to have short shelf lives. There is no doubt that 99X was printing money 1993-98, but their fortunes dropped precipitously after that. Star became very guitar-heavy around 1997 or 1998, leaving room for a younger-leaning CHR (see 95.5 The Beat and Q100).

Jabba17: 1981! YIKES! LOL :) And you're right, the Power -> X flip was NOT approved. The approval was to update the overall sound of Power 99 and keep the name intact. "Alternative" was hot and Power would have integrated some of that music into their playlist until that fad cooled off, much like Z100 in NYC.
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Yes, Disco was a fad. But while Alternative peaked in the 90's, I don't think its staying power is analogous to Disco's. I also don't think anyone except you thinks 99X was a mistake.

You're correct that the change was made without Susquehanna corporate's approval. They could have changed it back before it gained any traction, but they didn't. At the time, Star 94's ratings had been rising and Power 99's falling.
 
RoddyFreeman said:
Yes, Disco was a fad. But while Alternative peaked in the 90's, I don't think its staying power is analogous to Disco's. I also don't think anyone except you thinks 99X was a mistake.

You're correct that the change was made without Susquehanna corporate's approval. They could have changed it back before it gained any traction, but they didn't. At the time, Star 94's ratings had been rising and Power 99's falling.
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I should clarify: 99X was a mistake for Rick Stacy.

Short-term for Susquehanna, it was a good move. Long term, not so much. 99.7 under-performed for years in the late 90s and early-to-mid 2000s.
 
At one point, Power 99 really seriously sucked. They were so AC in the middle of the day that they were playing Michael Bolton! <ugh> I believe that was what killed that station. I could see why Rick Stacey blew the place up.
 
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