Seattle has mid-level talent and morning shows at best in my humble opinion. Here is my analysis albeit based on listening the last three months and a recent perceptual study. The following five would be my vote for top morning shows based on a series of criteria including: outperforming the stations AQH on a four-book, fit for the format, mechanics, heritage and creativity: KCMS, KIRO, KZOK, KISW and KPLZ. Here is the broader analysis:
KCMS: The show wins on fit, mechanics, creativity and has some heritage. Weakness is outperforming station, which it does not do on a four-book. Still strong in the genre.
KIRO-AM: The morning news show has vastly improved its mechanics and creativity in the last month or so. It has heritage and overperforms the station. This is a change from Summer and this shows that coaching can create change provided hosts will listen. Much improved. Soundly beats KOMO mornings in recent trends in key demos.
KZOK: The show wins on fit, heritage and out-performing the station by a significant number. The show fails a great deal on mechanics and creativity. They seem to wander at times and lack focus. The show fails to attract the blue collar core of this format which is a weakness exposed by KISW.
KISW: The show wins on fit, mechanics and out-performs the station. It lacks heritage, focus and creativity. I hear the same approach to topics on shows in other markets. Not unique. Host can be irritating.
KPLZ: The show wins on fit, excellent mechanics, heritage and out-performs the station. The issue I have with this show is that it relies on benchmarks it did years ago. I grade it down on creativity. Host appeal is strong among women and gays, (especially the one host), but lacks male appeal. Females on show should be toned down, they are irritating to core audience.
KMPS: The show wins on fit, heritage and out-performs the station. It loses big on creativity and mechanics. The host is friendly, but not interesting and wanders quite a bit.
KOMO-AM; The show wins on fit, mechanics, over-performing station. Needs more creativity and energy to beat KIRO's improved morning product.
KUBE: The show has heritage, good mechanics and creative. It is a tough fit and probably belongs elsewhere. It also barely performs at station AQH. Host's voice can be irritating to women, which is a core audience for this format. National show hurts local appeal. Show is not doing well in other markets. Females on show weak.
KWFF: This is a plug and play show. It lacks heritage, barely performs at station average and lacks creativity, using retread 90's morning show bits. Very much a 'DJ' approach rather than conversation. Male host is deejay like, female is just plain irritating.
KBSG: This show wins on fit and mechanics. It performs at station level for ratings and modest creativity. Host has heritage, but not in mornings, much like KISW.
MOVIN: The show fails at every level, except fit. This is just one level better than automation, but that DOES fit this weak format niche. The show lacks heritage, mechanics, creativity and grossly underperforms the station.
KBKS: This show currently fails at every level. In its current form it is a poor fit, lacks heritage, creativity, mechanic are very poor and it barely performs at station AQH, which is among the worst in the market. Male host is very weak, so is the ensemble. Female host shines.
KRWM: This show fails at every level except mechanics. The show grossly underperforms the station, lacks creativity, heritage and focus. It is time and temp and nothing more.
JACK/KJR: N/A
KING-FM: The show has heritage and is a good fit. It fails on mechanics, creativity and ratings performance.
KMTT: Show lacks heritage, under-performs the station, moderate mechanics and lacks creativity.
KNDD: National show that is weak.
KVI/KTTH: Have not spent much time with these stations to provide a significant or valuable critique.
So what is Seattle missing?
1. CHR powerhouse morning show. If someone came into this market and launched a Mainstream CHR with a music intensive, high energy morning show they would win.
2. AAA/Modern morning show. This show belongs on KNDD or KMTT. High profile, edgy modern leaning show. There are none in this market. Would eat into KZOK, KISW, KPLZ and the AM news stations. A very big hole in this market.
3. AC Powerhouse. My feeling is that the Kent and Alan show belongs on KRWM. They would be a perfect fit at their age on this station. An AC Powerhouse show would improve KRWM and eat in to the Country stations and KPLZ.
4. NewTalk Morning Powerhouse host. Many markets have an AM host with market history and personality. AM shows seem devoid of personalities. This can be a political figure (Curtis Sliwa), local celebrity or established morning host.
Again, this is just my opinion based on listening in the market since August, some familiarity as a consultant in this market in years past and recent perceptual analysis, only some of which I can reveal on this open board.
