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Atlanta radio ratings

Re:

Entercom flipped Star 94 to the wrong format.

Sure, some folks who didn't listen previously will eventually find it and maybe tack on another five to eight tenths of a share, but is low/mid 2's and mid-pack adult demo performance "good enough" for such a monster signal???

Rhythmic AC formats usually fail or earn substandard ratings wherever they are tried.
 
MarkW said:
Rhythmic AC formats usually fail or earn substandard ratings wherever they are tried.
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The problem is not with the format; the problem is David Field and his lack of empathy with listeners and inability to see audiences as humans, not spreadsheets.
 
Wow - look at you! You're sounding more anti-David Field than me all of a sudden! :)

(I enjoyed reading that post, Mr. Eduardo.)
 
Re:

True, and I have to admit, that station is more upbeat than I remember even a few months ago based on a quick scan of the music log.

Magic 92.5 in San Diego is another station that has persevered, but that market is way different than Atlanta (then again, so is L.A.).

Both of those stations are geared toward a more ethnic (and more racially diverse) audience than Star 94. I still sense that Star 94 is aimed toward a very predominant Caucasian audience.

Star 94 is more in the vein Movin' 107-7 in Norfolk. I'm too lazy to check their ratings at the moment. It is also similar to i101.1 in Chicago, 106.7 The Beat in Detroit, 93-9 MIA in Miami, 106.1 in Philadelphia, the original sound of Movin' 99.7 in San Francisco, the original sound of Movin' 92.5 in Seattle, the original sound of 95.7 The Party in Denver, etc. Those stations have all since flipped to or morphed into something else.
 
I’ve listened to the format. As someone who is always looking for something different with an expansive playlist with deep cuts, I for one am impressed. If anything, the station is forcing Q and Power to get a bit more creative with their playlist with throwbacks. With that all being said, for the average listening (I not being one), I think the station may need to narrow a bit. Some of the tunes are rhythmic pop, some straight dance and others border hip hop. If you cover such a large stretch of time (four decades), you may have narrow and have a more focused approach. Pop, unlike rock, doesn’t span the interest of all generations. I expect either Star will not span so far back OR keep the four decades of music but focus in a specific direction. At present, star really does not have a base listenership. As a radio geek though, I’m intrigued and would love to see a rock focused genre that spans active rock, alternative, indie, 70s classic rock, new wave, 90s grunge, metal, etc. etc. Again, many of us may be satisfied but not the typical radio listener on such an approach. Yes, the variety hits stations do it but they still stick with top hits and have a focused demographic. Can’t figure out what Stars demo is
 
One more thing - How long does it take for numbers to start moving after a station makes a move. Wouldn’t think it’s the first book.
 
I also notice Q and Power have shrunk. Power appearing to be the worst of the performers. 2.6 for a 100K watt CHR in a market this size seems weak. Maybe this is a trend across the country with CHR?
 
acheron1982 said:
One more thing - How long does it take for numbers to start moving after a station makes a move. Wouldn’t think it’s the first book.
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Generally, the first week. Even without promotion, there is a large enough group of listeners who search the dial and find something they like. Get a few of those, and word of mouth takes off. Social media helps a lot today.

I've had a station go #1 in a 30 station market in 21 days. Another in a market with over 100 stations that did it in just under one month.

Of course, if it is not going to happen, you can often see that fairly soon, too.
 
I've said it before and I'll said it again, I think Star's playlist screams identity crisis. Lol Great to hear 80s/90's dance hits by Madonna, Taylor Dayne, Destiny's Child, Heavy-D, Snap, Alice Deejay, Whitney Houston, Nu Shooz, Janet/Michael Jackson… fine. But it's when they throw in newer gold recurrents by Adele, Pink, One Direction and Kelly Clarkson that throw me off.

I mean, if you're going to play "Please Don't Leave Me" by Pink, or "Rolling In The Deep" by Adele, then at least play a dance mix of those. Neither of those song's original versions are rythmic at all.

Also, omit slow-jamz and love songs COMPLETELY. You can play Backstreet Boys but don't play, "Quit Playing Games With My Heart". Same with Christina Aguilera… yes, She is considered a rhythmic artist. But don't play her song, "Beautiful".

So IMO, that's the where the laziness shines through. And the station needs to have more energy… a LOT more energy! And If they're going to keep that stale liner guy… then put a driving beat behind his voice. Sorry guys I just had such high hopes for this format and so far, one minute sounds like a true Rhythmic-AC, then it sounds like soft AC and the next minute it sounds like Urban AC. Honestly the station feels more like a "Jack" or "Bob-FM". I just don't get it.
 
My gut feeling is Star's new format will not last very long. With the events of 2020 they wanted to create a 'feel-good' rhythmic variety hits format as a pick-me-up during these times. Once life returns to 'normal' or near-normal, I would not be surprised to see Star spin the format wheel again.

This reminds me of post 9-11 when the popularity of Christmas music took off like a rocket. Listeners wanted some feel-good 'chicken soup for the soul' music after the tragedy. Over the years, holiday tunes tapered off.

Which brings up another question: with the new format on Star, will they really shelve it for a month to make way for Christmas music this year? The identity crisis might deepen.....
 
Entercom still trying to figure it out. When they realize that they don't know what they're doing, they'll flip it to Hispanic programming or something like that.
 
kf4rca said:
Entercom still trying to figure it out. When they realize that they don't know what they're doing, they'll flip it to Hispanic programming or something like that.
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If I were making the decisions at Entercom, if this fails I would copy CBS FM and try to sell the 25-55 demos. You already have access to a good playlist until you can do local research. You might even be able to keep some of the existing on air staff who are talented, flexible, and have the energy to play Classic Pop. Remember you should never say oldies because someone over 55 might listen and they are not attractive to a lot of agencies. You might even "steal" a few WSB listeners who don't agree with whoever is the host for that hour.

IMHO not all conservative talk radio listeners follow Rush and Trump's talking points only. Here in GA we have a nasty special election for a US Senate seat due to Johnny Isakson retiring. The two leading Republican candidates have taken negativity to a new high (low) level. It's so bad that a Democrat is leading the polls (for what that is worth). Most likely we will have a run off because of the 50% plus one vote rule in GA. More nasty negative political ads. 2020 the year that keeps on giving.
 
TheBigA said:
Here we go again.
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Donnie Iris for $94? I have yet to check out the new Star and playlist, so I cannot add anything constructive to this post. AND if I was versed on the sound, imaging and playlist, I might add even less to this conversation. So BigA, is this format going to work? If it does not, what would you throw on this station?
 
TheBigA said:
Here we go again.
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If the “new” Star doesn’t work where else could they go without a major effort. Already there are 2 CHR’s, 2 Country, Four successful Urban or Urban AC one of these is already in the Entercom Atlanta group V103. After Cumulus botched All News I doubt that is an option even with several successful all news operations in the company, you have sports covered with 92.9.

IMHO: There aren’t a lot of options for the 94.1 signal without a major flip.

If this doesn’t work, I would have to go after Cox’s listeners. Cox has the #1 Music station 97.1 (6+) in last months ratings. If you ad in WSB FM you have 11.6% of the listeners. If you add in 95.5’s 11% you have 21.6%. I doubt 95.5, 98.5 or 97.1 have a P1 target audience under 25. I realize there are listeners over 55 who are not in the money demo’s are part of Cox’s audience and the 6+ is not a revenue numbers but unless somebody can post better numbers it’s all we got.

106.7 did OK with "true oldies." If you play 80' and 90's pop with a few 70 super classics you should do OK.
 
TheBigA said:
That's exactly what The River does:

https://www.971theriver.com/lsp/
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Most of what River plays is classic rock. And most of the "pop" they play is old AOR-friendly stuff that an AOR station might have played back in the day, like Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, or Toto, even if harder classic rock stations don't play them anymore because they're playing more 90s/00s active rock and harder alternative and they wouldn't fit (see what Rock100.5 is doing).

You're not going to hear Madonna or Prince or any of the Jacksons or George Michael or Whitney Houston or Lionel Richie or Kool & The Gang or Tina Turner or Stevie Wonder or Gloria Estefan or the Bangles or any rappers on The River. You're not going to hear the Bee Gees or Chicago or Earth Wind & Fire or Donna Summer or Linda Ronstadt.

Now, if you want to say there's no money in older music once you pull out the classic rock and the classic urban, that's fine. But stations that focus on the poppier side of back-in-the-day 70s-90s CHR with just a little classic rock that made the Top 40 do well in other markets. Why not here?

Go compare the playlist of River to that of a Jack etc. variety hits station and there's not as much overlap as you're asserting.

Why so skeptical about a true classic hits format? Does it not sell? It's a go-to format in plenty of other markets.
 
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