ANOTHER MOVIN' STATION BITES THE DUST....

[SeattleRadioPro]

...now that Emmis (wisely) decided to LMA its LA Movin' station effective 4/15 to Grupo Radio Centro.

So how many Movin' stations are left? One? No wonder Mamma's been AWOL.

 

[SeattleObserver]

I'm only aware of one in a major market (ours). Salt Lake City's recently switched to top 40, but is too cheap to pay for new imaging or a new brand so they're still "Movin' " with no "old school" around.

Hopefully Sandusky knows what it's doing... and I think they do. It's a good middle-ground between "Warm" and "Smooth," plus it's combo'ed with KIXI.

Quick Internet search-
San Francisco
Phoenix

 

[sfradio]

There is also one in Alaska and Syracuse

 

[djdan]

Not a very PPM friendly format as it turns out. The ones that survive have changed into more mainstream CHR stations. It reminds me of the fad formats like Rock-40 and All-Eighties. Wonder what Sandusky will do. Both MOVIN and Smooth Jazz have been declining substantially in the last few trends and the PPM does not look bright for either. KBKS seems to have gotten its act together and has made it difficult for MOVIN to find a place to stand. They could go CHR, but face Clear Channel's combo of KBKS and KUBE. I doubt they would get any buys. If they move AC they run into KPLZ and KRWM. Smooth Jazz is in a similar situation. If they go more oldies/AC they run into KRWM. MOVIN format peaked last Spring nationally and most are gone or have adjusted. They never caught on from the sales front because the qualitative was not very positive either. It makes a lousy combo with KIXI which is a 65+ buy.

 

[radioresearcher]

Movin'/L.A. changed to an 80's based format several months back and was making significant inroads 25-54. They were actually within a half share of JACK-FM - one of the market's top billers. Had Emmis had the resources, they were on to something.

SF and SLC have moved to Top 40. Phoenix, Seattle, and Anchorage remain with the original vision.

 

[Bongwater]

Movin'/L.A. changed to an 80's based format several months back and was making significant inroads 25-54. They were actually within a half share of JACK-FM - one of the market's top billers. Had Emmis had the resources, they were on to something.

SF and SLC have moved to Top 40. Phoenix, Seattle, and Anchorage remain with the original vision.

Sometimes, I tune to 92.5 MHz and think.....was THIS worth killing off KLSY for?

 

[TVradioguru]

Fortunately I don't have any 'Movin' formats in any of our stables of stations!

To be fair the premise of Movin was sound, but the timing and execution was poor.

About the only thing that 92.5 could do to shore up the Movin format would be to skew 80's dance and Euro-Pop. This would keep the female demo target in their sight, but doubtful that it would ever be a real contender from a sales perspective as compared to a Warm or KPLZ.

They could really use some personality (air talent) in drive time on the air too. And the talent would need to be out of the studio daily shaking hands and kissing babies in an effort to promote the station. Unfortunately that task is harder than it seems, since seasoned (but not old) personalities who appeal to women 25-54 are few and far between or locked into contracts with other stations.

One doesn't want to just throw people behind the mic because with this demo first impressions are everything. You get one shot, and one shot only.

 

[radioprofessor]

Agreed on all counts regarding MOVIN. A two year format fad in my humble view with most stations going away like LA or shifting to CHR. That is not a viable option in Seattle in my humble opinion because Clear Channel operate two CHR stations already and can combo sell as mentioned above. Sandusky may have only one station that has ratings potential in WARM in the PPM, but they are not the only group in trouble. CBS, Clear Channel and Fisher are also keeping a close eye on the PPM. Only Entercom with its cadre of 25-54 male stations and Bonneville with its three spoken word stations are in good shape from a cluster parameter. They can take a hit on one property and still do well. Expect many format changes this Fall after the arrival of the PPM, in my humble opinion. We are seeing this across the country. It is a good time to be a consultant.

 

[RadioEatsItsYoung]

first, radio professor to clarify, PPM started last Thursday...not this fall. Pre-currency is April/May and its the full meal deal in June. But remember, the pre-currency months of April and May are counted as currency months as soon as June wraps, so we're in a PPM world right now.

Now onto Movin. I dont understand why people say that Movin in Seattle won't work because the Movin format doesn't work in PPM markets. First, there are only 3 PPM markets that have or had a movin station. LA - which I think people would say isn't comparable to Seattle's station. San Francisco which hasn't had any success in diary or PPM and is now adjusting their format towards Top-40. And finally, Dallas, which announced a flip a month after PPM hit there.

However, movin in Seattle has had SOME success in diary which is surprising because they share a large audience with KUBE and in a recall based ratings system, the heritage station with the strong brand typically kills in that fight. While I'm no big fan of movin, I wouldn't count them out yet. I'd compare Movin's playlist more to WKTU New York than any other PPM Movin station. And if you look at WKTU, they were #6 Adults 18-49 in Feb. Not too bad.

My point here is that PPM is different in every market. We can draw some generalizations from comparing Houston, Philly, LA, Chicago et al. However, every PPM market has its strong formats and weak formats...we'll just have to wait until next month to see how April's PPM month in Seattle looks. Should be interesting!