Boston Radio Ratings August 2020

[jradioguy1]

Why would iHeart put the market's current hip-hop station on a limited signal and turn the full-coverage signal over to what in many of iHeart's markets is still an HD-2 afterthought format? Flipping 97.7 to soft AC makes some sense, but seeing as how The Breeze hasn't exactly taken the nation (or its ad agencies) by storm, it's more likely to me that iHeart will exercise patience with WKAF on its current frequency, realizing there are no viable formats left to try in the market. All The Breeze on 94.5 would do is hurt WPLM, which isn't even on iHeart's radar as far as serious competition goes. It's not going to hurt a regular AC station; there's just too much difference between soft and regular now and WMJX's large listener base knows what it wants. And that's not sleepytime AC; it's music that moves to fit the uptempo lifestyle.

I'm just guessing that's what they could possibly do. I mean Jamn' ratings aren't the best and 97.7's current format is a fail. I mean didn't you say that their might be a potential in this market for people who like to listen to artists like Prince and Bob Seger?

And that does seem like a possible strategy for the future of poking a hole in a station and draining it's audience. WBGB siphoned off listeners from the classic Hits/classic rock stations by the looks of this months ratings. iHeart could take a page out of Entercoms book.

 

[jradioguy1]

And 97.7 is already a throwback version of Jamn. all they have to do is throw the Jamn' name on that puppy and add new beats to the playlist. Sure it's a downgrade but it's not like Jamn' is a part of the high ratings club. It got a 1.7 in August. And it seems like Boston has an audience that would tune into "94.5 the Breeze." Kiss 108 has a young audience that is committed to WXKS. hot 96.9 has a following. Meanwhile both 94.5 and 97.7 aren't gaining much traction. If WJMN slides down more and WKAF continues on its decline, iHeart is gonna have to make a decision like Entercom had to make with Amp.

 

[kp2780]

I see this "lying to your audience" excuse a lot and it's just naïve. It's show biz. It's also acting. You're confusing entertainment with real life. I'm not blaming anyone for thinking this way. We have a president who's running the country as though it's a reality TV show. If listeners believe what some radio hosts are saying, especially on the talk side, then perhaps they really are dumb. P.T. Barnum was a master showman who said "No man ever went broke overestimating the ignorance of the American public."

Radio is unique from other “fictional” forms of media though because the hosts are often using their real names (or a slightly edited radio friendly version of their name) and one minute they are talking about a real story from their life (possibly embellished for radio) and the next minute they are involved in a completely scripted segment. It’s slightly bizarre to be jumping back and forth between real and fake from one minute to the next.

Also, if these segments were real, what does it say about a radio station’s popularity when a segment like “War of the Roses” has been going on for years and word hasn’t gotten around that if you are cheating on your wife and get a phone call offering you free flowers, you should not send them to your girlfriend instead of your wife?!

I guess that these segments perform well in ratings though, so they continue. If it works, I guess stick with it, but is it really working? Not sure it is when you look at the balance sheets of the major radio corporations in America.

 

[TheBigA]

It’s slightly bizarre to be jumping back and forth between real and fake from one minute to the next.

Radio has a very long history of doing this. Here's just one example from almost 50 years ago:

https://youtu.be/qyvUgodZWo8

 

[brassband]

Always amazed me that not one of the callers/victims on "War of the Roses" ever had a Boston accent. Guess Danny from Quincy and Larry from Lynnfield don't cheat on their significant others.