Biggest Format Hole in Bay Area Radio???

[hammerpants]

Someone hands you a good signal... what formatic hole do you think exists in the cluttered Bay Area radio scene?

 

[1069_KIFR]

Smooth Polka

 

[LKellerIII]

Smooth Polka

Jhani Kaye is being discussed on another thread. I know if I were looking for a Program Director for my Smooth Polka station, I'd pick Jhani's brother David.

 

[jprg]

The old KKCY (The City) format. A little of everything with a place as divserse as the Bay Area. Not a ratings or money-maker but listenable for sure.

 

[chris319]

Smooth Polka

Yeah, that rhythmic polka station is way too jarring.

In L.A. (Beverly Hills) the station on 1260 was all Beatles all the time for a while. One could do all Karel all the time; he's available.

 

[tripton99]

I happen to think Jhani Kaye is one of the best programmers of the past two decades, but if you gave him a successful smooth polka station, the first thing he would do would be to edit out all the accordians.

 

[DavidKaye]

Someone hands you a good signal... what formatic hole do you think exists in the cluttered Bay Area radio scene?

If you're talking about music formats here are several that worked successfully in the past and might work again:

(1) Western swing/honky-tonk music, such as KSAY and KEEN used to play in their heydays.
(2) Beautiful music (KABL and to a lesser extent the old KFOG).
(3) Big Band/swing (KMPX under John Jensen)
(4) Doo wop and early 50s R&B (KDIA, KSAN 1450, KWBR)

I'd welcome any of them.

 

[groovemeister]

I am probably the only one that misses it - but I miss the commercial smooth jazz format for SF! I thought KKSF was polished and did a good job - especially when you compare it to the Sacramento Market attempt... can't KRVR from Stockton save the day with a translator ? ;D

 

[DavidKaye]

I am probably the only one that misses it - but I miss the commercial smooth jazz format for SF! I thought KKSF was polished and did a good job - especially when you compare it to the Sacramento Market attempt...

KKSF in the earlier days under the late Steve Feinstein, yes. KKSF of the past 5 years, no.

 

[e-dawg]

Hmmmm.....let me see

CHR-TOP 40, main and the biggest format hole.
Active/AOR Rock
Smooth Jazz/NAC
Adult standards
Spanish AC (Not Spanish CHR like La Kalle)

 

[EastBay]

I am probably the only one that misses it - but I miss the commercial smooth jazz format for SF! I thought KKSF was polished and did a good job - especially when you compare it to the Sacramento Market attempt...

KKSF in the earlier days under the late Steve Feinstein, yes. KKSF of the past 5 years, no.

Agreed wholeheartedly. Smooth Jazz (to use the term loosely) is still a viable format and is missed here in the Bay Area, but KKSF missed the mark in the last few years when it became 'Smooth Jazz top-40'. I'm not a radio marketing genius, but really all they needed to do was add more variety to their playlist and I think they would have kept most- if not all- of their audience. I stopped listening on a regular basis when they started playing the same song three times in one day.

 

[e-dawg]

How about adding some Active Rock or Mainstream rock to the format.

 

[DavidKaye]

How about adding some Active Rock or Mainstream rock to the format.

What is "Active rock" supposed to be?

 

[DaveBayArea]

What is "Active rock" supposed to be?

Sounds sort of head-bangy to me. Think Linkin Park, Green Day, Alice in Chains, etc. If you get out to the Central Valley at all, you'll hear it on 96.7, along with a morphed version on 98.5.

Now here's a format idea for you:
1. Interview a number of potential PD's.
2. Ask them to name as many artists as they can that were booked to Bonnaroo, High Sierra, and Rothbury.
3. Hire the one that knows the most, and tell him to bring his friends as DJ's.

Dave B.

 

[mikecroaro]

Hi Folks:

I know this'll never fly in San Francisco but I've been listining to "Country Legends". This is a syndicated format of country oldies. Sure do enjoy the station.

Mike

 

[LKellerIII]

Hi Folks:

I know this'll never fly in San Francisco but I've been listining to "Country Legends". This is a syndicated format of country oldies. Sure do enjoy the station.

Mike

I would think that in most major markets, Country Oldies is too out of the mainstream to be considered for regular FM, but it can be found in San Francisco on The Wolf (KBWF) HD2. Their play list covers 5 decades - with some Bob Wills, Gene Autry and Hank Williams in the 40s and 50s to mainstream 70s and 80s country pop oriented country hits.

 

[AM FM listener]

Hard for me to believe that a blend of 60's, 70's and 80's pop-rock-r&b hits no longer exists in SF. KFRC-FM was like that but perhaps not programmed or marketed quite right. Look at the numbers WCBS/NY, KRTH/LA and WLS/Chi are getting. If I had an FM signal, that's the format I would pick.

 

[DavidKaye]

Hard for me to believe that a blend of 60's, 70's and 80's pop-rock-r&b hits no longer exists in SF. KFRC-FM was like that but perhaps not programmed or marketed quite right. Look at the numbers WCBS/NY, KRTH/LA and WLS/Chi are getting. If I had an FM signal, that's the format I would pick.

It sounds like if you had an FM signal you'd go broke. You have to listen to what the advertisers want, and if they don't want listeners who are into the format you mention, you simply don't use that format unless you want to go broke. Just look at KGO, the #1 station but with demographics that are hard to sell. Listen to their advertisers: loan sharks, get rich quick schemes, bogus supplements, and termite companies. I suspect this is also the case with stations programming 60s-80s oldies: too old for most advertisers to want.

 

[davideduardo]

Hmmmm.....let me see

CHR-TOP 40, main and the biggest format hole.

Generally, the flavor of the market... and that includes ethnic influences... determines what CHR is. In SF, it is rhythmic. There is no hole for anything else, or someone would have filled it because it is so obvious.

Active/AOR Rock

Where are there successful stations like that in markets with the diversity of SF? I think the niche is very small.

Smooth Jazz/NAC

Demos. Hard to sell.

Adult standards

Demos. Impossible to sell.

Spanish AC (Not Spanish CHR like La Kalle)

There is only one successful softer AC in Spanish in the entire Southwest, and it has 30 years of heritage creating a taste preference.

KVVF is really Hot AC, not CHR.

 

[AM FM listener]

Hard for me to believe that a blend of 60's, 70's and 80's pop-rock-r&b hits no longer exists in SF. KFRC-FM was like that but perhaps not programmed or marketed quite right. Look at the numbers WCBS/NY, KRTH/LA and WLS/Chi are getting. If I had an FM signal, that's the format I would pick.

It sounds like if you had an FM signal you'd go broke. You have to listen to what the advertisers want, and if they don't want listeners who are into the format you mention, you simply don't use that format unless you want to go broke. Just look at KGO, the #1 station but with demographics that are hard to sell. Listen to their advertisers: loan sharks, get rich quick schemes, bogus supplements, and termite companies. I suspect this is also the case with stations programming 60s-80s oldies: too old for most advertisers to want.

Are WCBS, KRTH and WLS going broke? Oh, and there is KLUV/Dallas. Are they going broke? Markets #1, 2, 3 and 5 have the format. Why not #4? This format is the "hole" and good execution should produce a profit.