anyone care to predict the next to flip?

[perfect storm]

Look into your crystal ball and tell me: which station is barely hanging on and would consider a flip this year? Dave? I know they just brought in a morning show, but I'm not "feeling it" if you know what I mean. And to what format? A competitor for B98.5, maybe?

 

[Inside your head]

Dave to alternative with 99x jocks on the air.
with neil milllman as pd

 

[Inside your head]

or 106.7 to alternative with 99x jocks on air

 

[Inside your head]

or star to alternative with99x jocks on the air

;D

 

[trusty]

Hey, Inside. Better get your crystal ball exchanged before the warranty runs out.

 

[trusty]

Actually, last night night, I caught the last part of an announcement on C2C that Steve Carr (I think he's a C2C producer(?).) was leaving for a job in Atlanta - don't know what capacity.

Could be UFO (Unidentified Format Opportunity) - "All aliens - all the time."





I think I just heard Elvis calling. Hmmmmm...

 

[ClarkKent]

I predict 96.7 will be the next to flip, after CC moves much of the Legend to the Bull.

Or Dave, though I have as few ideas of what to put there as the management does...

 

[jal41]

I predict WJZZ 107.5. Smooth Jazz is dropping like flies (5 stations in a month...including New York, Washington, Denver, and today Houston. WJZZ's ratings have dramitcally fallen in the past year. A few years ago, they were beating both B98.5 and the old 94.9 Lite in a few books (at least 12+). Now, they are about to go away (if the past month has been any indication).

Replacements (which would most likely be urban oriented due to the nature of the company) could be Urban AC (making Grown Folks 102.5 full-time black talk to compete with CBS' WAOK-AM (which has few listeners...in contrast to sister station V103, which is still #1). Another is moving the 102.5 format to 107.5 (102.5 has "lightbulb" power, because it has to protect WQTU Rome, WLKQ Buford, and WCKS Carrollton among others). Another option is a Movin' type rhythmic AC (but unlikely given how the format has bombed). 107.5 could also go full-blown AC, but this is unlikely...although Radio One has a CHR/Top 40 in Indianapois, inheriting the intellecual property of 93.1 (where Star 94's new Morning Mess came from). And for years Radio One operated a Hot AC in Louisville until it was sold.

I don't see Clear Channel flipping anything until the privatization deal is done or called off (although they alway find a way to surprise people). Both of the 105 Spanish stations have seen dramatic drops in ratings.

 

[jabba17]

I predict 96.7 will be the next to flip, after CC moves much of the Legend to the Bull.

Or Dave, though I have as few ideas of what to put there as the management does...

I would have said CC moving 96.7 to the Bull too, before the Citadel implosion. Now I'm not so sure since CC doesn't have Eagle to worry about anymore and can really put a hurt on a wounded Kicks. Bull has gone from being a certain also-ran to a contender. Somebody at CC is looking a lot smarter than they really are these days.

My guess would be Dave as well, assuming they don't go much above a 2 share without 99X in the picture in the next book. No idea on the format, although I would guess either hot talk, alternative (not AAA), or maybe soft AC--same stuff we discussed with 106.7, minus oldies of course.

Another guess would be one of CC's Latino stations, which had a terrible book even for them and even without PPMs, although those are sort of "protected species" with CC's recent Latino/diversity push.

I wonder if CC could get away with LMAing 96.7 to Davis for a La Raza trimulcast, and putting something else on 105.3. Would they get credit for having a Latino station if they LMA it to a Latino programmer? The other side of the coin is that 105.3 is such a terrible signal that barely covers half the metro--and the smaller half to boot. Heck, LMA 105.3 to Davis.

 

[sfradio]

I don't see anymore format flips for atlanta, hasent there been enough already? lol

 

[BIGSTICK]

Enough with alternative. No offense, but it sucks as a format. Why did 99X die???? ???

 

[jabba17]

Enough with alternative. No offense, but it sucks as a format. Why did 99X die???? ???

I agree alt generally sucks, with exceptions. If Z90Dave goes full alt, it's coming off as a preset, to be replaced by WZGA 105.1 out of Helen. But it does represent a big bloc of music with an attractive demo.

For point of reference and mindset, my personal musical taste runs from 40s big band/crooners through 80s hair metal, arena rock, and new wave. I don't like most 90s/00s rock crap, with some isolated exceptions (Hootie, Lenny Kravitz, Jet, Veruca Salt-how's that for diversity!). I love 90s rockin' country (Little Texas, Confederate RR, Joe Diffie), and classic country from the 60s-80s, but not the AC x-over wannabees like Shania and Vince Gill.

To your question....why did 99Xcrement die? As I have mentioned before, I have some theories-take your pick:

1) Alternative is dead as a format nationally. Its demo has either grown up to AAA or moved on to active rock/rhythmic CHR/etc.
2) The "alternative" format has splintered into active rock, AAA, 90s "classic alternative" (how's that for a contradiction in terms?), and probably others. Similar to failed attempts to run an 80s format (e.g., CC's MAX) that try to span--or exclude--80s CHR, 80s new wave/classic MTV, hair metal, and 80s conventional AOR.
3) There is not much new music with commercial success in the "classic" alternative (grunge, etc.) mode.
4) 99X was poorly programmed, and ran into the same problem as WMAX when they defined their niche too narrowly (80s CHR in the case of WMAX, which made them completely redundant with B98.5). A better approach would be to have a "core" style with frequent ventures into the other styles (say, 90s "classic alternative" with ventures into active rock, 80s leftovers, etc.). Not to sound like a broken record, but Cox does this well with their 80s "Point" format. You could say that 99X did this with their "everything alternative" format, but, no, they didn't.

Maybe getting sent down to AAA (as in baseball, not adult album alternative) in the form of HD2 will be the best thing that happened to 99X--as a "rehab assignment". Maybe they can then experiment with some format tweaks--and put alt back on a 100kW stick when Lincoln fire-sells WSTR or Citadel goes bankrupt or gets bought by Cumulus, when they get the format right. If they had a deep playlist and played 80s new wave and 80s leftovers along with alt, I would listen to it and might pick up some new faves in the process.

 

[deadman]

or 106.7 to alternative with 99x jocks on air

I still think this is a possiblity. If oldies tanks after a year, they might look for an alternative.

 

[Inside your head]

brent i get u hate alt and like oldies. the point is u got ur station, every station out there now is playing shit from past decades and u cant hear new rock let alone new alt rock anywhre on the free airwaves. no wonder the rest of the world thinks we r rednecks, atlantas in a bubble living in the past.
so yea i think there is room for a station to flip to alt since theres a hell of a lot of us under 40 with nothing 2 listen 2.
u should just hope ur oldies ratings get counted rite so it isnt ur station that flips cuz i dont care if its fm or am just give me something to f***n listn 2.

 

[middlega]

in a bubble living in the past.

You mean like your sad obsessive quest for a format that was pretty much devoid of any value when it started abd has been dead for quite a while now. You seem to be living in deeper denial than even the crowd crying for the return of 40 year old mediocrity.

 

[Inside your head]

in a bubble living in the past.

You mean like your sad obsessive quest for a format that was pretty much devoid of any value when it started abd has been dead for quite a while now. You seem to be living in deeper denial than even the crowd crying for the return of 40 year old mediocrity.

ya middlega that makes sense. u dont like alt so y would atlanta need an alt station. its not liketheres any1 else in this city.

u must work for cumuluss.

 

[RTibbs]

in a bubble living in the past.

You mean like your sad obsessive quest for a format that was pretty much devoid of any value when it started abd has been dead for quite a while now. You seem to be living in deeper denial than even the crowd crying for the return of 40 year old mediocrity.

ya middlega that makes sense. u dont like alt so y would atlanta need an alt station. its not liketheres any1 else in this city.

u must work for cumuluss.

You keep forgetting that small thing known as ratings. For the 100th time. There is not enough new music anymore to support succh a station. Life is cyclical. Embrace something new. I suggest Album 88 to expand your horizons.

 

[cohcam]

"All aliens - all the time."

They already have La Raza, Viva ect.

 

[jabba17]

"All aliens - all the time."

They already have La Raza, Viva ect.

Speaking of which, Tom Taylor thinks that CC may flip one or both of their Latino stations since they fired their PD... http://www.radio-info.com/news/index.php?date=2008-03-17

My guess? Patron is gone and Viva goes back to 105.3, and WGST resumes simulcasting on 105.7. Or, Viva stays put and WGST simulcasts on 105.3. Braves are then off the Bull. I don't think that CC would get rid of both Latinos at the same time. WGST could continue to play it straight, or mix in some hot talk either side of Rush and evenings.

Other possibilities: Legend and Patron swap, or Legend moves to 105.3 (shades of Buzz) and Viva simulcasts on 96.7. This would be interesting because CC will have just recreated what Disney/ABC/Citadel had with Kicks/Y106/Eagle--a 100kW intown country station with a lower-powered, older-skewing, suburban flanker (although the 105.3 signal is horrid compared to WYAY, particularly on the NE side).

I still like the idea of a La Raza trimulcast on 96.7...particularly if CC gets rid of one or both of their Latinos.

 

[Inside your head]

You keep forgetting that small thing known as ratings. For the 100th time. There is not enough new music anymore to support succh a station. Life is cyclical. Embrace something new. I suggest Album 88 to expand your horizons.

tibbs. 2 flaws 2 ur post. for the 100th time.
ratings/ 99x had the listenrs they just werent able to count them. they gave up instead of trying to fix the way they measured. i can tell u personally i didnt know any1 at school listened to dave or b98 or river but every1 listened to 99x. maybe some girls listend to q100 my gf did. but almost every1 listened to 99x. not project so y is it project is still on the air, somehow they could count listeners. and i guarantee 99x had more college age than proejct.
not enough new music / k 1st thats bull. xplain how ny, la, every other major city and even little piss ass cities have alt stations. somehow they r finding alt music 2 play. 2nd even if that was true-which is not- but even if new music was a requiremnt for a station, then xplain why we have oldies -by definition no new music- rock 100, all old crap with a little and i mean LITTLE alt thrown in.but they barely play anything new. and dave, b98, river , project -all the other stations playing old music. xplain that IF new music is requirement for a station.
for 100th time ;D