Anyone listening to the yacht rock weekend on klos

[K.M. Richards]

Understanding the wants and needs of your P1 listener is essential to any successful radio station. And the P1 listener expects to hear AC DC and not Christopher Cross when they tune in. An April fools gag is one thing. But to turn your radio station into something totally different for three days is dangerous. Since LA is a PPM market, there will be real time results that the station can see from this weekend.

You really don't understand how PPM works, do you?

Go back and reread post #58, in which David correctly explains the lesser role of weekends in terms of what the agencies look at for buys.

A holiday weekend, when it's entirely within the realm of reality that a lot of PPM wearers are likely to be outside their home market -- and therefore, any incidental listening in whatever market they are vacationing in won't be counted -- it makes sense for stations to do something "special" for the remaining listeners.

I'll take what we're doing at KRKE as an example: Tomorrow, starting at noon, we're rerunning the American Top 40 special "Top Acts of the 80's", followed by a rare repeat of "Tribute to the King of the Countdown" which was hosted by Kerri and Mike Kasem after their father's death (which is rarely played anywhere these days) and then the "Top Hits of the 80's" special. All told, ten hours taking up all afternoon and most of the evening. Am I worried that the regular audience will wander in, and then leave because we're not running the regular format?

Not in the least.

Going back to my comment in post #55, your "warning" is coming from an uninformed position. You simply do not understand the bigger picture that those of us in programming position do.

 

[KilowattKat]

So how many hours of brokered talk does KLOS air on Sunday morning? For over half an hour it's been a show about buying gold and silver. Nothing on their website about it. Public affairs programming is not usual, but brokered talk on a major market music FM is.

To answer my own question going by the music log 6:30-8am...back on board now with Captain Stu Bing!

Ok now that Kenny Michaels Gold Show is back on. Does KLOS need revenue this bad on a Sunday morning???

 

[michael hagerty]

Does KLOS need revenue this bad on a Sunday morning???

Any hour in which paid programming offers a station more than it can make from spot advertising, the station is very likely to say yes.

Hours in which the station loses money offset other profitable hours over the course of the week and lowers the overall profit.

The good news is that in a market as huge as Los Angeles, the listenership levels generally hit a solid number by 10 or so on a Sunday, and the ad rates make it profitable to be in format.

 

[K.M. Richards]

So how many hours of brokered talk does KLOS air on Sunday morning? For over half an hour it's been a show about buying gold and silver. Nothing on their website about it. Public affairs programming is not usual, but brokered talk on a major market music FM is.

What Mike just said.

Ok now that Kenny Michaels Gold Show is back on. Does KLOS need revenue this bad on a Sunday morning???

Contract fulfillment, most likely. And what Mike just said.

 

[michael hagerty]

A holiday weekend, when it's entirely within the realm of reality that a lot of PPM wearers are likely to be outside their home market

This. Anyone who was on any interstate out of town on Friday knows just how many people bail on a long holiday weekend.

I spent the day in Alameda yesterday, working on the California Radio Historical Society's audio cataloging project, and the lack of traffic anywhere between Sacramento and the Bay Area was amazing.

My wife and I love to come down to L.A. during Thanksgiving weekend---because everyone's gone home. Airport to Pasadena in 30 minutes. A table at Musso and Frank whenever you want it.

I'm still not sure the Yacht Rock Weekend is a good idea, but it's the right weekend to try it, and depending on the sponsorship particulars with Kia, it might be a net positive for KLOS.

 

[michael hagerty]

Christopher Cross is a sappy AC artist. Should never have been played at AOR to begin with.

One more, but probably not last time:

Christopher Cross broke as an AOR artist and crossed over to AC and Top 40.

I'm sure some "coke" traded hands to make that happen.

There are a lot of unprovable bullshit things you can say about something that happened 45 years ago, and that's probably the safest one to hide behind. Cocaine got Led Zeppelin records on the air. In 1980, it was equal parts controlled substance and currency.

In fact, you were a lot more likely to see cocaine used to get a holdout major market AOR station on a big act's new record than to break a new one. Coke was expensive.

 

[TheBigA]

Christopher Cross broke as an AOR artist and crossed over to AC and Top 40.

There were a lot of singer/songwriters getting AOR airplay in the 70s. Ritchie Havens, Harry Chapin, and others like that. What helped Ride Like The Wind was guest harmonies from Michael McDonald, who was already a member of the Doobie Brothers. The Doobies at this time were core artists at rock radio.

 

[KilowattKat]

Maybe those with PPM knowledge can answer this: It was posted earlier that a Nielsen subscriber can receive real time data on their station's performance. Is that true?

 

[MarkW]

KIA is a regular advertiser on 95.5 KLOS. My guess is they'd be the sponsor of whatever special themed weekend the station chose (within reason)

I agree with Seltzer's earlier post 100 percent. Pizza Hut would never stop selling pizza for three straight days and only sell non-pizza items. Offending your loyal, everyday audience for three straight days is simply poor business strategy, in my opinion. Will it cause any sustained brand damage? Not likely.

 

[TheBigA]

My guess is they'd be the sponsor of whatever special themed weekend the station chose (within reason)

For the reasons I specified in post #41. As I said, they aren't sponsoring the music. They're sponsoring the station.

 

[MarkW]

I see few seniors, especially male Caucasian seniors, driving Kias. I see a lot of minority ethnicities and young adults driving Kias.

Perhaps things are different in SoCal.

For me, the car brand that I probably most associate with the yacht rock demo is Buick.

 

[michael hagerty]

I see few seniors, especially male Caucasian seniors, driving Kias. I see a lot of minority ethnicities and young adults driving Kias.

Personal anecdotes and data are two different things.

Even when Kia was a "cheap" car, its average buyer was 37 years old. That was 25 years ago.

Perhaps things are different in SoCal. For me, the car brand that I probably most associate with the yacht rock demo is Buick.

Where are you?

Buick only has six dealers in Los Angeles County. Kia has 15.

Since dumping the old-school sedans and going with modern SUVs and crossovers, Buick's demographics are actually trending younger:

Average Age Of Buick Vehicle Buyers Trending Downwards

Buick marketing managers have told us that Buick is bucking the industry-wide trend of the average buyer's age, as Tri-shield consumers are getting younger.

gmauthority.com

The average age of a new car buyer (overall) is now between 50 and 54.

Also---"Buick" has this image that is tied to reality 25 years ago. I'm gonna be 70 in seven months. Buick is what my parents' generation drove. I have NEVER considered a new Buick. I have fantasized about a classic '65 Riviera, but a new Buick anytime in my car-buying life? Nope.

I bought a Honda at age 28 and never looked back. Most of my friends within five years of me in either direction own Hondas, Toyotas and Subarus. Those who are wiling to spend a little extra for something a bit more special have gone with Mercedes, BMW and Lexus.

The last person I knew personally who owned a Buick was my high school journalism teacher. She was born in 1921.

Again, personal anecdote and not data.

 

[TheBigA]

For me, the car brand that I probably most associate with the yacht rock demo is Buick.

Once again, they're not sponsoring the music, they're sponsoring the station. I doubt very much that Kia requested the music they're playing.

 

[Huff]

Maybe those with PPM knowledge can answer this: It was posted earlier that a Nielsen subscriber can receive real time data on their station's performance. Is that true?

Subscribers to special third party software can see next day data on meter levels... ie. How many meters were capturing a particular station at a particular time. This is generally displayed as a line graph, so you can see meters rising and falling through the day. Remember, most times there is no rhyme or reason as to why a meter leaves a station (did someone get out of their car? walk out of a store where the station was playing? There's no way of knowing.)

Users can also average the meters over the day and compare with other stations to get an idea of relative rank, but there is no way of knowing actual share or cume from these guesstimations.

Also, with meter data there is no demographic info. A meter could be with a 7 year old or a 77 year old. And the meters are not weighted yet, so you may have several meters from a demo that is oversampled (and will therefore not look as good in the real numbers) or vice versa. This data is generally not helpful for day-to-day programming, but can give some hints of what to expect a couple of weeks down the road when the real, weighted data is released.

 

[KilowattKat]

Subscribers to special third party software can see next day data on meter levels... ie. How many meters were capturing a particular station at a particular time. This is generally displayed as a line graph, so you can see meters rising and falling through the day. Remember, most times there is no rhyme or reason as to why a meter leaves a station (did someone get out of their car? walk out of a store where the station was playing? There's no way of knowing.)

Users can also average the meters over the day and compare with other stations to get an idea of relative rank, but there is no way of knowing actual share or cume from these guesstimations.

Also, with meter data there is no demographic info. A meter could be with a 7 year old or a 77 year old. And the meters are not weighted yet, so you may have several meters from a demo that is oversampled (and will therefore not look as good in the real numbers) or vice versa. This data is generally not helpful for day-to-day programming, but can give some hints of what to expect a couple of weeks down the road when the real, weighted data is released.

Thank you Huff!

 

[K.M. Richards]

I agree with Seltzer's earlier post 100 percent. Pizza Hut would never stop selling pizza for three straight days and only sell non-pizza items. Offending your loyal, everyday audience for three straight days is simply poor business strategy, in my opinion. Will it cause any sustained brand damage? Not likely.

Comparing the radio business to a chain of pizza restaurants? Least convincing argument ever.

Special themed weekends have been around for decades. They haven't had the negative impact you claim.

No one is going to tune in to KLOS this weekend, find a special themed weekend in progress, and decide not to come back on Tuesday.

 

[Mark Roberts]

The toppings may be different but it’s still pizza.

“for a limited time only”

 

[michael hagerty]

Comparing the radio business to a chain of pizza restaurants? Least convincing argument ever.

And now, for those of you thinking all us "pros" stick together...

I can't find it, but I think about 12-15 years ago on this board, I made essentially that analogy.

Special themed weekends have been around for decades. They haven't had the negative impact you claim.

Me again:

No one is going to tune in to KLOS this weekend, find a special themed weekend in progress, and decide not to come back on Tuesday.

I meant it then, I still stand by it almost exactly nine years later.

I think if KLOS had to do this, this is the weekend to do it, and I don't think it'll end the radio station, but it's probably not the best move apart from the fact they got a sponsorship for it.

 

[TheBigA]

I don't think it'll end the radio station, but it's probably not the best move apart from the fact they got a sponsorship for it.

If it was up to me, there are a number of songs I would not have played. There was no need to play Looking Glass or Earth Wind & Fire. I don't think either qualify. I agree with Flipper about Gino Vanelli. I'd tighten the list, play more of the bigger names. Maybe a contest. Since it's LA, and most of these records were recorded in LA, I'd point out the obvious LA connection. But that's just me.

 

[K.M. Richards]

I think if KLOS had to do this, this is the weekend to do it, and I don't think it'll end the radio station, but it's probably not the best move apart from the fact they got a sponsorship for it.

I'll agree to disagree, Mike, but I still reject the comparison of KLOS to Pizza Hut.