Baltimore: The City That Alternative Forgot

[CHRles]

WWDC is NOT an Alternative station any more than 98Rock is. The fact that they happen to play a song or 2 that is Modern/Alternative does nothing but show that they are both "Bandwagon" stations. Channel104.3 was not the mistake but playing the same 37 songs WAS. It is not the format that is not viable it is the lack of insight and talent of management thats not viable. If Modern/Alternative is not a popular format then why does Y-Rock on XPN not only survive but THRIVE on commercial free,listener supported radio on an HD2 and online broadcast?!? If no one listened no one would donate!!!! WHFS was destroyed by upper echelon CBS/Infinity and thier total lack of musical knowledge and interest. They may as well be selling Kirbys for all they care about the music. Y100 and WDRE Philadelphia were flipped to Urban NOT because they had bad ratings but because it was Radio One's agenda to create an Urban radio empire. WRNR continues to broadcast despite an iffy signal for those not close to Annapolis which is,incidentally, the same broadcast area of 99.1 WHFS Grasonville before they moved the stick.Radio104.5 Philly has good ratings despite competition from WMMR,WYSP,WMGK and Y Rock on XPN. Y101 Richmond got good enough ratings to move the signal to 100.9 for its listeners. Do not attempt to prove that Modern/Alternative/Indie/Underground is a failed format because it is not. It is simply incompetetence of the same nature as the failure of management of ALL business these days. Most people think they know what Alternative is but its a misconception CAUSED by the attempt of musically ignorant big business to 'box in' a wide variety of music that is not easily classified. HENCE the brand Alternative!!! The true music fans and musicians did not even USE the term until it was shoved down our throats by the unimaginative men in sterile,silent and stifling offices. Free Form preceded Alternative but small minded number crunchers could not wrap thier minds around that or put it in nice little rows on thier profit reports so they manipulated the vocabulary of those they cannot hope to understand. Alternative is Rock for higher thinking music fans...its an alternative to repetitious power chords and catch verses that cater to the fans who can't appreciate well written lyrics or songs that make you THINK. The fans of alternative are individuals who do not blindly follow the swill infested paths laid out by those who simply want thier money. Let people who know and love music run the stations and they will prosper.Leave the number cruncher on Wall Street where pork bellies and drugs for impotence have little difference in the minds of the dollar worshipping yuppies aside from a profit margin.They know less about music than they do about the poolboys and construction workers thier wives are doing while they are busy kneeling for thier bosses.Oblivious Idiots.

This is the most pretentious description I've read in a long time. You do realize that only 20 percent of the country have a Bachelors degree, and most of those people are too busy working hard to stop, stroke their chins, and over analyze the music on the radio. Deep-thinking music rarely translates into ratings winners. There are very few successful Adult Alternative stations. They're usually found in markets like Portland, Denver, and San Francisco, and even those stations have been mutated into something more commercial over the years. The idea is to give the masses what they want, not what a semi-geek, semi-punk rocker wants.

As far as CBS Radio not having a clue about doing Modern Rock radio, it seems you might be the one who may be in need of a clue. The most successful Modern Rock station on the planet, 106.7 K-Rock Los Angeles is owned by CBS Radio.
One of the top rated stations in Houston is 94.5 The Buzz, a Clear Channel owned Modern Rocker. It's not as pure of an Alternative station as some of those in Cali, but you can't deny its success. The same is true for CC owned Radio 104.5 Philly.
In Jacksonville Clear Channel got their asses kicked - their heritage Modern Rock WPLA Planet Radio 107.3 (formerly on 93.3) is down to a 2.5 while the much newer Cox-owned 102.9 The X has over a 5 share. So chances are WPLA, like Baltimore's WCHH, will flip formats unless they turn things around.

 

[Slinky]

If Modern/Alternative is not a popular format then why does Y-Rock on XPN not only survive but THRIVE on commercial free,listener supported radio on an HD2 and online broadcast?!? If no one listened no one would donate!!!!

You're not making the case for a commercial station here. The fact that alternative music can survive on a low-budget HD2 of a non-comm doesn't say anything about how it would do on a big signal competing with other big signals.

Y100 and WDRE Philadelphia were flipped to Urban NOT because they had bad ratings but because it was Radio One's agenda to create an Urban radio empire.

DRE had terrible ratings (under a 2 share). Y100 outside of Preston and Steve wasn't much better. After Preston and Steve went to MMR, there was no way Y100 was going to stick around. They might have done better if the PPMs were around, but that wasn't the case yet. I don't know why people glorify Y100 when it was mostly the same overdone Pearl Jam/Nirvana/Nickelback stuff that everyone else plays. The personalities (P&S/Brett/Matt Cord) were awesome, but the music was typical mainstream Alternative. It was more current than DC101, but it was mostly the same stuff. To this day, I can't understand why XPN named their alternative/indie rock channel "Y-Rock". Y100 was anything but indie rock. If I were starting an indie rock station, the last station I'd want to associate with would be Y100.

WRNR continues to broadcast despite an iffy signal for those not close to Annapolis which is,incidentally, the same broadcast area of 99.1 WHFS Grasonville before they moved the stick.

RNR is awesome, but it's tiny and low-rated. It's also a AAA, not an Alternative. You're still not making the case for a big Alt. signal in Baltimore.

Radio104.5 Philly has good ratings despite competition from WMMR,WYSP,WMGK and Y Rock on XPN.

Agreed on this point, but Channel 104.3 in Baltimore was not that different from Radio 104.5 and it flopped.

Y101 Richmond got good enough ratings to move the signal to 100.9 for its listeners.

Y101 is under a 2-share and is Richmond's lowest-rated FM.

Do not attempt to prove that Modern/Alternative/Indie/Underground is a failed format because it is not. It is simply incompetetence of the same nature as the failure of management of ALL business these days. Most people think they know what Alternative is but its a misconception CAUSED by the attempt of musically ignorant big business to 'box in' a wide variety of music that is not easily classified. HENCE the brand Alternative!!! The true music fans and musicians did not even USE the term until it was shoved down our throats by the unimaginative men in sterile,silent and stifling offices. Free Form preceded Alternative but small minded number crunchers could not wrap thier minds around that or put it in nice little rows on thier profit reports so they manipulated the vocabulary of those they cannot hope to understand. Alternative is Rock for higher thinking music fans...its an alternative to repetitious power chords and catch verses that cater to the fans who can't appreciate well written lyrics or songs that make you THINK. The fans of alternative are individuals who do not blindly follow the swill infested paths laid out by those who simply want thier money. Let people who know and love music run the stations and they will prosper.Leave the number cruncher on Wall Street where pork bellies and drugs for impotence have little difference in the minds of the dollar worshipping yuppies aside from a profit margin.They know less about music than they do about the poolboys and construction workers thier wives are doing while they are busy kneeling for thier bosses.Oblivious Idiots.

Show me one, just one, indie-leaning Alt. station that's gotten ratings in the past 10 years. I like a lot of Alternative music, but I've long given up on hearing it on the regular radio. There's simply not an audience for it. There's still tons of great music out there though: Get satellite. Get a phone that can tune online streams. You'll be much happier.

 

[limin]

Yes I am from Baltimore, actually in the Cockeysville area.

 

[oasisrulz]

I am so sick of hearing any form or Rock is dead and this so-called, urban, hip hop/rap is more popular, its just that the suits keep shoving it down the listeners throats, just look at all the urban music video channels not one full time rock channel. They admit the audiance for that format spends foolishly and that is what the advertisers want. Here in Philly, you always heard rock and alternative are dead...when they flipped 104.5 to Spanish a few years back CC thought it would take off, it did.. right in the basement. when they lauched WRFF Radio 1045 it took off and has been over a 4.5 their whole tenure. CC tried to do the same with Channel 1043 but did not do it right, when I heard them they were all over the place, with hard rock and plenty of talk in the morning, WRFF sticks to the alternative music 24/7 and that is what makes them great...sorry to disagree but Alternative is very much alive, its urbanic formats that are dying...how much can one take....and Rock 98 is a poor excuse for anything rocking...

 

[Slinky]

I never said "Rock is dead". It isn't. Classic Rock still rates well practically everywhere and every city can support at least one Active or Alternative station.

98 Rock is a great example of how to do rock right. Not sure what you have against it, but, in my opinion, it's a nice mix of old and new with just the right amount of personality. They play local music (Charm City Devils) and are one of the more metal-friendly active rockers out there. It's a station that fits Baltimore perfectly and probably couldn't exist anywhere else. There was no way the generic-sounding Channel 104.3 would have taken them out and it was stupid of Clear Channel to even try when there were bigger format holes to fill. Radio 104.5/Philly is another example of a great sounding station that FITS ITS MARKET, and even though I don't particularly like DC101, I have to give them props for finding a formula that works in the very rock-unfriendly DC market.

This isn't about rock vs. urban. This is about what works in each market. Baltimore has very few signals, so each of them needs to have a huge audience share to survive. Up until Wednesday, Baltimore had a Hot AC/CHR hybrid, and an Urban station, and no real CHR. It was a no-brainer for Clear Channel to fill that hole instead of futilely chasing 98 Rock.

 

[CHRles]

I always thought it was cool that both DC and Baltimore shared a great Modern Rocker in the 90s - 99.1 WHFS. Its yearly HFStival was well known. Currently the station is known as WLZL and are doing a Spanish format. Their ratings? A mere 2.1 in DC, and only a 1.0 in Baltimore. They cume about 75,000 in Baltimore, and a little over 300,000 in DC. Keep in mind that 4 stations in DC cume about a million or more listeners!

Even though Baltimore and Washington are different, they are geographically very close to one another. I think a lot of stations in the area should have been given granted 100,000 watts of power and served both markets. Miami and Ft. Lauderdale have that, Tampa and St. Petersburg do too, Dallas and Ft. Worth are good examples, and San Francisco and San Jose also have some very powerful transmitters to cover their vast metro area. I mean, when you think about it, metro Baltimore and metro DC are one long continuously populated region.
There's also talk of Cincinnati and Dayton possibly becoming one DMA in some censuses in the future.

It should also be noted that in the past month Channel 104.3 managed to move up 2.1-27, and increased its cume to about 330,000 listeners. It was headed in the right direction, but I think CC made the right move. I think there's been a huge hole in the market for a true CHR/Pop outlet, and Z-104.3 will quickly match and surpass Channel's most recent numbrts. It remains to be seen how or if Mix 106.5 will respond.

Perhaps Town University's WTMD 89.7 The Breeze can fill the Modern Rock hole? They only posted a 0.5 share in the ratings, and their non-commercial. There little doubt that if they go Modern Rock their numbers will climb.
WZBA 100.7 would certainly make for a good candidate - they have a 1.9 in the ratings with their Classic Rock format. They're already doing some type of Rock, why not try Modern Rock?
Sports outlet WJZ 105.7 is down 3.1-2.6, and their cume is less than 250,000.
What about WFSI 107.9 Family Radio? Maybe they should make the move to Alternative?

That's 5 choices that we now know of where a station can go Modern Rock - WLZL, WTMD, WZBA, WJZ, and WFSI

 

[Bbabybear02]

I have been a modern rock fan for over 10 years and all Channel 104.3 was a DC101 clone. But i'm not glad that it was replaced by a Top-40 Station. Clear Channel needed to replace it with a Classic Rock or Hot AC. Top-40 was a stupid idea.

 

[CHRles]

Top-40 was a stupid idea.

For you, maybe. There is little doubt that Z-104.3 will be a ratings winner within 3-6 months.

 

[limin]

NO Hot AC will not work. Since 101.9 has already got that area filled plus 94.7 plus 107.3. You get the idea..

 

[limin]

Now the question is that who is going for morning midday and afternoon. I have no problem with Elvis Duran and Ryan Secrest for those two spots. Afternoon? Let's keep it local and fresh. Weekends? lets do the mixshows to 4am with lots of Dance music to keep us happy.

 

[Slinky]

Perhaps Town University's WTMD 89.7 The Breeze can fill the Modern Rock hole? They only posted a 0.5 share in the ratings, and their non-commercial. There little doubt that if they go Modern Rock their numbers will climb.
WZBA 100.7 would certainly make for a good candidate - they have a 1.9 in the ratings with their Classic Rock format. They're already doing some type of Rock, why not try Modern Rock?
Sports outlet WJZ 105.7 is down 3.1-2.6, and their cume is less than 250,000.
What about WFSI 107.9 Family Radio? Maybe they should make the move to Alternative?

That's 5 choices that we now know of where a station can go Modern Rock - WLZL, WTMD, WZBA, WJZ, and WFSI

WLZL, for all intents and purposes, is now a DC station. Even though the signal hits both Baltimore and DC, and actually covers Baltimore better, CBS has decided to target DC with it because that's where the money is. I don't think they would try to take on DC101 in DC, so this station is probably out.

WTMD, while not scoring big ratings, is trying to follow in the footsteps of successful non-comm AAA stations like WXPN. I don't think an all out flip would be appropriate, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to do a specialty show at night and an HD2 channel like XPN does.

WZBA- maybe. It's not the best signal to the south, which is why I think they're having problems with Classic Rock. If you're a Classic Rocker in, say, Columbia, you're just as likely to listen to WBIG. There's also some competition between WZBA and the 80's Rock-flavored WQSR and of course, WQSR has the better signal. Alternative would have similar problems vs. DC101 and 98 Rock, but it might work a little better than what they're doing now.

WJZ is low-rated but Sports is a huge moneymaker. They're not flipping anytime soon.

WFSI obviously isn't doing anything under its current ownership, but if they were sold, you never know. The negative is that the signal is similar to WLZL's, so whoever bought it would want to target DC more than Baltimore, and may not want to take on DC101.

 

[nd2023]

It's time to flip a format if your station is being beaten by your sister station 40 miles away with a signal in only half the market.
Perhaps they should have just simulcasted Hot 99.5 on 104.3

 

[shadough]

Baltimoreans dont really want to be associated w/ DCer's so a simulcast is not a good idea. WFSI has been they way they are for decades, it will never change. El-zol has done better in the ratings than their predecesor, HFS (at least towards the end). WZBA, on the other hand, would be a good choice for a flip. Classic rock just hasnt done well in b'more. If any station flips, I think that would be the most likely candidate.

Meanwhile, what will Z104 become? Yet another Z104 in the baltimore/washington area. We've had one off an on since the 1970's!!! I think ELvis Duran is a likely choice for mornings but how can Seacrest be integrated on this station?? Seacrest is already on Mix-106.5! At least the AT40 (HotAC) show. Do you think they would be able to air AT40 CHR in the same town?? Perhaps Rick Dees could finally return, after all, he was on each of the previous incarnations of Z104. ANd will they hire dj's or just voice-track like Q94 in Richmond?? Knowing CC, probably the latter.

 

[Slinky]

Baltimoreans dont really want to be associated w/ DCer's so a simulcast is not a good idea.

I'll echo this. It could work with a format that's more generic, like AC or Classic Rock, but it can't work with a format like CHR where the music has to be customized for the market.

I think ELvis Duran is a likely choice for mornings but how can Seacrest be integrated on this station?? Seacrest is already on Mix-106.5! At least the AT40 (HotAC) show. Do you think they would be able to air AT40 CHR in the same town??

If a station agrees to carry the Seacrest weekday show, they get first rights to AT40 by default. What will probably happen is that Z104.3 will put Seacrest in weekday middays and also steal AT40 away from Mix.

ANd will they hire dj's or just voice-track like Q94 in Richmond?? Knowing CC, probably the latter.

Probably a mix. My guess is they'll start out with Elvis mornings, Seacrest middays, local afternoons, voicetracked nights. Maybe they'll expand live and local to nights depending on the ratings.

 

[Silkie]

Baltimore is pretty rapidly becoming the city that just about everyone everywhere has forgotten ever since William Donald Schaeffer was no longer the Mayor...and that has been a very long time.

 

[jackandcoke]

WTMD is the obvious place for modern/alternative, and with a little common-sense dayparting, they could maintain their AAA position during daytime hours and shift into higher gear as the day wears on.

They're shopping for a new PD, so this would give him/her a worthwhile project... instead of spending 8 hours a day sorting through Sarah McLachlan tunes...

 

[limin]

Yeah it is going to be Elvis Duran in the morning.

 

[Radaioman]

Yeah it is going to be Elvis Duran in the morning.

You speak like this is a foregone conclusion. What are you basing it on?

 

[Radaioman]

WTMD is the obvious place for modern/alternative, and with a little common-sense dayparting, they could maintain their AAA position during daytime hours and shift into higher gear as the day wears on.

They're shopping for a new PD, so this would give him/her a worthwhile project... instead of spending 8 hours a day sorting through Sarah McLachlan tunes...

You are about 10 years late on the Sarah McLachlan reference for CHR

 

[jackandcoke]

WTMD is the obvious place for modern/alternative, and with a little common-sense dayparting, they could maintain their AAA position during daytime hours and shift into higher gear as the day wears on.

They're shopping for a new PD, so this would give him/her a worthwhile project... instead of spending 8 hours a day sorting through Sarah McLachlan tunes...

You are about 10 years late on the Sarah McLachlan reference for CHR

AAA, not CHR. And, no, not the American Automobile Association.