Big change at K-Rock ( PD/MD and GSM OUT )

[andreajesus]

like i said before, my dear one :-*, stranger things have happened in NY radio over the past 18 months - nothing would surprise this old student of/writer about radio and music at this point... 8)

Andrea
(again i will say it - "Disco 92--2nd Edition"?? Hmmm.... ???)

 

[neo11]

Well you are right, stranger things have happened. Nothing would really surprise me, but, I do maintain that disco and classic dance would be a very unlikely move for CBS Radio on 92.3.

Someone on the "other" board, one of the regulars there, mentioned that there's information that 92.3 could flip to Top 40. That seems to be a more likely possibility than classic dance.

 

[icybluelake]

My guess is you'll hear even more dinosaur Rock on K-Rock rather than any experimentation with Alternative/K-Rock 2 type music. There's an outside chance though that management becomes so desperate that they might indeed experiment with something different (Z-100 did back in the early '90s when the market for good pop music dried up), but I doubt it.

I'm thinking that CBS is probably thinking:

1. Some kind of rock format has got to work on that station. How can it not? (Well, maybe it just can't.) So maybe some kind of rock format (yeah, maybe dinosaur rock) might be tried one more time. But forget the New York Dolls already.

2. A Top 40 that's more rhythmic than Z100 and maybe a little bit dance-oriented but competing more with Z than with Hot 97. And not really on Pulse's turf at all. Maybe along the lines of Wild 94-9 in the Bay Area. I'd definitely do this if Z weren't already kind of playing in that zone. Also, between Hot and Power, hiphop has quite a bit of coverage in this market anyway. On the other hand, Z's numbers have been just high enough that it would seem like they're at least thinking of competing there.

3. Something lame and undifferentiated like adult hits.

4. Simulcast of WCBS-AM. This is what I think they will do eventually. I can't picture them simulcasting WFAN, younger demos on FM notwithstanding.

5. There's always country. Ummm...I don't think I'm gonna pull on my boots and get ready to two-step around Times Square.

Somewhere in New York radio, I still think there's a place for a well-done ("stimulating"!) talk station along the lines of KFI in LA. Basically, a station that would do what WOR should be doing, less ideological than WABC or that crumdum format that started on 970. I don't think 92.3 is the place to try that.

 

[neo11]

Good analysis. I can see them trying out some tweaks on the rock format eventually, but I kind of get the feeling the vultures are beginning to circle overhead for K-Rock. CHR seems like a strong possibility, and alternately, an AM simulcast. Not sure which of the three AM's...WINS overall has the worst signal of the three but the best one in Manhattan. WFAN and WCBS are the strongest signals overall but the weakest in Manhattan. Hmm...

Country? Very doubtful. I don't think their numbers would go up too much. Adult hits may be a darkhorse...perhaps a re-branded Jack FM? It did better than K-Rock, that's for sure, and seemed to be showing some slight growth from book to book. It's also a "cume" format, good for the PPM's. Hot talk, like Free FM? Some say it's the future of radio, but it's failed twice already in NYC.

A talk station concentrating exclusively on local issues, however, would be absolutely fantastic. It's amazing that a city like New York lacks such a station. Unfortunately, it's an expensive format to execute and would definitely take time to build, and that scares off the corporate suits, who want instant returns. I think a format like that would have a chance at doing quite well though, and would fill a much-needed hole in the radio dial, but I'm not counting on it happening.

 

[TonySantiago]

like i said before, my dear one :-*, stranger things have happened in NY radio over the past 18 months - nothing would surprise this old student of/writer about radio and music at this point... 8)

Andrea
(again i will say it - "Disco 92--2nd Edition"?? Hmmm.... ???)

I'll have to agree with Neo on this one.

CBS did try classic dance with Mix 102.7 and they were lucky to crack a 1. It wouldn't necessarily surprise me if something like this happened but I really don't think CBS wants to "go there" again with classic dance.

I did remember when WNEW was stunting with CHR before the launch of "Blink". If there is ANY company that could give Z-100 a run for the money, financially, CBS can go there. But then again Z-100 is a STRONG brand and with more of the younger demos leaving radio, that may be too much of a risk. Though by making a CHR more rhythmic with current dance (A Z-100 meets Pulse 87 scenario....like a Z-103.5 in Toronto), that could generate something.

I suppose some form of rock would be the only thing to "make sense". But in an industry that, lately, hasn't made "sense" in a while, that's why I feel rock may not be part of the equation this time around. I don't see country...but watch, out of nowhere you'll hear Taylor Swift! lol

 

[neo11]

That CHR stunt on 102.7 was kind of fun...it lasted three or four months too. It was top 40 with every definition of the term...I think they literally just played the top 40 songs, over and over again in random order, interspersed with in-house spots for CBS programs, etc., and a message saying "Coming soon, new station, 102.7 FM."

I could have sworn they were pretty much running Winamp on shuffle, since it wasn't uncommon to sometimes hear a song play, and then two or three songs later, the same song play again.

The real amazing part is that the stunt scored around an 0.7 in the ratings (I think they completed a full book), and Blink didn't do any better!

I will say that Blink was creative though, if nothing else, and with a deep playlist...kind of like a female-targeted version of Jack. But like with RXP, it probably was too far all over the place to attract a steady audience.

 

[andreajesus]

like i said before, my dear one :-*, stranger things have happened in NY radio over the past 18 months - nothing would surprise this old student of/writer about radio and music at this point... 8)

Andrea
(again i will say it - "Disco 92--2nd Edition"?? Hmmm.... ???)

I'll have to agree with Neo on this one.

CBS did try classic dance with Mix 102.7 and they were lucky to crack a 1. It wouldn't necessarily surprise me if something like this happened but I really don't think CBS wants to "go there" again with classic dance.

I did remember when WNEW was stunting with CHR before the launch of "Blink". If there is ANY company that could give Z-100 a run for the money, financially, CBS can go there. But then again Z-100 is a STRONG brand and with more of the younger demos leaving radio, that may be too much of a risk. Though by making a CHR more rhythmic with current dance (A Z-100 meets Pulse 87 scenario....like a Z-103.5 in Toronto), that could generate something.

I suppose some form of rock would be the only thing to "make sense". But in an industry that, lately, hasn't made "sense" in a while, that's why I feel rock may not be part of the equation this time around. I don't see country...but watch, out of nowhere you'll hear Taylor Swift! lol

Tony,
for YOUR sake and for the sake of the dance music community, i would LOVE to see a dance station on 92.3 - although i can just hear the liners, particularly if Ms. Swift somehow gets into the "Mix" - "here's Taylor Swift on the NEW Disco 92!"

Andrea

 

[TonySantiago]

Tony,
for YOUR sake and for the sake of the dance music community, i would LOVE to see a dance station on 92.3 - although i can just hear the liners, particularly if Ms. Swift somehow gets into the "Mix" - "here's Taylor Swift on the NEW Disco 92!"

Andrea

If they can remix a LeAnn Rimes track, nothing would surprise me if another country artist had his/her country song "danced up!"

 

[andreajesus]

a LeAnn Rimes track remix?? Tony, not to go OT, but DUDE, you GOT-TA send me an MP3 on this one if you have it...

now as for my comment...stranger things have happened in NY radio and in music over the last 18 months (like the return of a certain radio station... ) so all i can say is - stay tuned...

Andrea

 

[radiosgreatest1]

like i said before, my dear one :-*, stranger things have happened in NY radio over the past 18 months - nothing would surprise this old student of/writer about radio and music at this point... 8)

Andrea
(again i will say it - "Disco 92--2nd Edition"?? Hmmm.... ???)

I'll have to agree with Neo on this one.

CBS did try classic dance with Mix 102.7 and they were lucky to crack a 1. It wouldn't necessarily surprise me if something like this happened but I really don't think CBS wants to "go there" again with classic dance.

I did remember when WNEW was stunting with CHR before the launch of "Blink". If there is ANY company that could give Z-100 a run for the money, financially, CBS can go there. But then again Z-100 is a STRONG brand and with more of the younger demos leaving radio, that may be too much of a risk. Though by making a CHR more rhythmic with current dance (A Z-100 meets Pulse 87 scenario....like a Z-103.5 in Toronto), that could generate something.

I suppose some form of rock would be the only thing to "make sense". But in an industry that, lately, hasn't made "sense" in a while, that's why I feel rock may not be part of the equation this time around. I don't see country...but watch, out of nowhere you'll hear Taylor Swift! lol

Tony,
for YOUR sake and for the sake of the dance music community, i would LOVE to see a dance station on 92.3 - although i can just hear the liners, particularly if Ms. Swift somehow gets into the "Mix" - "here's Taylor Swift on the NEW Disco 92!"

Andrea

Disco 92??? What are you kidding? Thats really gonna attract the demos!

 

[p_herring]

The way things are going we probably won't have ANY rock station playing currents in NYC in a year or so. Seriously. K-Rock is so dismal and boring that I'm sure even the truckers they are targeting think its lame (and probably don't appreciate Coldplay and The Killers being thrown in between their beloved AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Metallica). RXP is the most frustrating since it has so much potential but prefers to keep the same dinosaur rock we've all been beaten do death with along with random "Lite Favorites" that turn most alternative/rock people off.

 

[lalumia]

But forget the New York Dolls already.

no we will NOT forget
The New York Dolls
Iggy & The Stooges
MC 5
Cherry Vanilla
Suicide
Psychotic Frogs
Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers
Wayne AND Jayne County
etc.
bring on the real NY ROCKERS to a NY Rock station!

 

[p_herring]

But forget the New York Dolls already.

no we will NOT forget
The New York Dolls
Iggy & The Stooges
MC 5
Cherry Vanilla
Suicide
Psychotic Frogs
Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers
Wayne AND Jayne County
etc.
bring on the real NY ROCKERS to a NY Rock station!

You and your bold text have been pitching this for over a year and I have yet to see ANYONE agree with you which brings me to the obvious conclusion that a format like this would serve WAY too small of a niche audience. What advertisers are going to want to target aging hipsters?

 

[neo11]

But forget the New York Dolls already.

no we will NOT forget
The New York Dolls
Iggy & The Stooges
MC 5
Cherry Vanilla
Suicide
Psychotic Frogs
Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers
Wayne AND Jayne County
etc.
bring on the real NY ROCKERS to a NY Rock station!

Yes, bring them to a NY station and watch the likes of Family Radio, Radio Disney and WBAI shoot ahead of you in the ratings!

 

[Brooklyndon]

K-Rock is so dismal and boring that I'm sure even the truckers they are targeting think its lame

Maybe K-Rock will be the Sound of Settling that Death Cab sing about, music for millenials.

 

[neo11]

K-Rock is so dismal and boring that I'm sure even the truckers they are targeting think its lame

Now it all makes sense...

thank you for destroying whatever hope i had for alternative on terrestrial in NYC.

What you just wrote doesn't make sense.

 

[Brooklyndon]

K-Rock is so dismal and boring that I'm sure even the truckers they are targeting think its lame

Now it all makes sense...

thank you for destroying whatever hope i had for alternative on terrestrial in NYC.

What you just wrote doesn't make sense.

If truckers are the only ones listening to radio, then alternative will never fly.

 

[andreajesus]

i gotta go with you - i don't think alternative would fly in new york either...but it gets back to the ORIGINAL thing with this thread (and one of the other ones - i forget the title right now - senior moment - on the New York board - now that K-Rock has done the equivalent of a clean-out (and not only replaced their PD/MD, but their GSM), what is next for this frequency??

if i was a bettin lady, i would have to go with a format change to Top 40 - besides, a SECOND Top 40 station would give Z100 a run for its money...

Andrea

 

[neo11]

K-Rock is so dismal and boring that I'm sure even the truckers they are targeting think its lame

Now it all makes sense...

thank you for destroying whatever hope i had for alternative on terrestrial in NYC.

What you just wrote doesn't make sense.

If truckers are the only ones listening to radio, then alternative will never fly.

As bad as K-Rock's ratings are, you really think that only truckers are listening?

 

[Brooklyndon]

I didn't say that's only who's listening.  But someone raised the point that truckers are their target demo. Which seems pretty much spot on.