BREAKING: MY 102.5 FLIPS

[vchimpanzee]

I think I need to correct the original post I made on this thread....WMYI isn't truly "Hot AC." While the playlist is Hot AC sounding (especially the 80s, 90s, and 2000s-recurrent), the currents they play are AC currents from the AC chart, definitely not Hot AC. It's like they want to be Hot AC in every aspect except for current songs. Too few are played (just two an hour) and the spins are too low. The closest station I can think of to them is Fresh 102.7 in NYC.

Oh, please. Let's not do this again.

It's a distinctly different format from what it was before. So it's hot AC. There can be different types of hot AC stations. There can be the ones that truly use the currents of the hot AC format, and then there are those that don't.

Now the hot AC I'm forced to listen to if I want to listen to my favorite classic country station south of where I live is a CHR. There's no way anything that loud is any kind of AC.

 

[Scooter Lesley]

Well,...I go to Atlanta for a few days, and when I finally...get to peak at the posts, I see that there are some that have unsettlingly come unglued at what MY is or is not granting airplay to. It seems as though y'all have deemed it nessesary to put a label on it...their format. Currently, I'd drather see what's in the jar, than to glue a label on the jar. Men,...this format ain't for us...ain't for us to like...not even a little bit. The format both targets, and skews heavy female, and that's not a Fat joke.
Truthfully, it was dee-zined for those that sit down to Pee! Women are fickle, so variety is esential. You are going to hear anything from Lady GaGa to that boofy-haired snake charmer, Kenny G. You won't hear a bunch of new songs because they are not a reoporting station, not listening to the labels, and since R&R is gone, there is no point. As a man, it doesn't suit me, and it is not suppose to. OK girls, sing in your cars, wiggle in the seats, high-five your BGF, and enjoy your shoppin' trip!

 

[carolinaradio]

I'm nowhere near the target and I like it, for the most part. Especially the 1990s songs that I haven't heard in ages.

The question: if this doesn't work to help their sagging ratings, what will happen? As much as I want it to, the question deserves to be asked.

 

[freqdev]

i think if you use 12+ as a barometer which is so often quoted here it won't appear that they have fixed anything but women 18 to 34 which is an attractive demo to time buyers they might be near or at the top. i am sure cc is looking for an audience they can sell. although ratings are an important part of the radio business they are only a part. the advertiser is looking for value and roi and radio companies are looking to make money and not win the 12+ championshiip which means little.

 

[Scooter Lesley]

Well,...strugglin' for air, but let's keep this fish a-floppin'. What will happen to MY, if this does not work? To recap what I had spouted earlier, the format flippage is only one smart move. ONE! Since move two, giving Deliliah the boot has not happened yet* (*"yet" is Southern for pending.)...means that there is a contract, and maybe their corp attorneys are looking for a loophole. Move two on hold, let's squint on #3: (Painfully!) For years now, both AC's, MY & MAGIC, have went all Christmas around November the 15th. Each hoping to out "Jingle" the other. How stupid can you be? Both sacrificed their Fall book to Andy Williams & his closet of red sweaters,...all for a single digit. That left the two Countrys, and all the other formats to just mop-up, some with double digits. Note: The Fall book ends on December 20th. If MY repeats their formatics from last year, flipping the format will be in vain. Will they kill their momentum?

 

[awp69]

Just registered after searching for more info on the 102.5 flip. I'm a male in my early 40s and while this is still a far cry from the kind of radio station I'd like in Greenville, it's definately better than anything else in the area now.

I'm more of an alternative/adult alternative type, but "new" rock on The Planet is generally horrible. B93.7 has more of the urban side of the Top 40 to my liking. So there just isn't anything else that plays newer music without having to flip every other song. Even as far as 90s music, I can't even remember the last time I heard R.E.M. until I tuned into the new My 102.5. and was shocked to hear Florence and the Machine. Still tune out when the true 70s "lite" stuff mixes in (Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, etc.). But overall, I'm glad for a change in the Upstate.

Hope it lasts longer than Charlie FM did.

BTW, I hate when they play that promo "not your husband's station". I realize women are your target audience but what a nice way to exclude another demo.

 

[freqdev]

The Fall book ends on December 20th.

the fall book ends dec 7. arbitron moved it back to minimize the effect of all christmas stations.

 

[carolinaradio]

Just registered after searching for more info on the 102.5 flip. I'm a male in my early 40s and while this is still a far cry from the kind of radio station I'd like in Greenville, it's definately better than anything else in the area now.

I'm more of an alternative/adult alternative type, but "new" rock on The Planet is generally horrible. B93.7 has more of the urban side of the Top 40 to my liking. So there just isn't anything else that plays newer music without having to flip every other song. Even as far as 90s music, I can't even remember the last time I heard R.E.M. until I tuned into the new My 102.5. and was shocked to hear Florence and the Machine. Still tune out when the true 70s "lite" stuff mixes in (Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, etc.). But overall, I'm glad for a change in the Upstate.

Hope it lasts longer than Charlie FM did.

BTW, I hate when they play that promo "not your husband's station". I realize women are your target audience but what a nice way to exclude another demo.

Welcome to the South Carolina board.

I'm a male in my 20s and am nowhere in the demo, either, but I like a lot of the stuff as well. Dave Matthews Band, Finger Eleven, REM, Killers, Blind Melon - I absolutely love it. Like I said, there are a few current songs I wish they'd play, but the older stuff makes up for it. They're playing some good 80s stuff in the mix, too. Agree that the lite rock 70s stuff (in addition to Brown Eyed Girl) can go. At least they don't play it often.

The liners about not your husband's station are a turn off also. Not just females like this stuff. I feel that you can target them without leaving out other potential listeners.

@Scooter - since Delilah is Premiere, who is also owned by CC, I don't know if she's so hard to get rid of.

 

[pccrw]

Has anybody noticed that My HD2 has flipped from jazz to My 80's, sounds pretty good too. I am in Asheville and I still hear My 102.5 in a lot of business in town, more so than Mix 96.5 WOXL.

 

[freqdev]

interesting. good signals in asheville are limited. 102.5 93.7 and 92.5 are the only signals licensed to greenville that can be heard in asheville.

 

[Scooter Lesley]

Yeah! I'm lovin' all this think tank discussion! You learn something everyday. So, Arb has moved the end date up to December 7th. However, we still won't know until November the 15th as to which or both will load up the sleigh. It would derail MY's momentum, and if MAGIC wants to make some headway they too should not begin so early. One per hour 11/25--13/3, two per hour 12/4--12/7 the end of the book, and then three per hour 12/8--12/17, four 12/18--12/22, then have at it as much as you deem nessesary, but the selection also needs to make sense. Don't ask the Consultants, they don't know!

 

[carolinaradio]

interesting. good signals in asheville are limited. 102.5 93.7 and 92.5 are the only signals licensed to greenville that can be heard in asheville.

102.5 (actually licensed to Hendersonville) will lose some of their solid WNC coverage if they move to the 92.5 tower. I would think upstate coverage is what they are concerned about since that is the market they are targeting
I noticed weakness in the 102.5 signal just above Laurens co. the other day. That move would help with that issue.

Doesn't 93.3 put decent coverage in to Asheville? I know 98.9 doesn't, even though it seems like they would

 

[carolinaradio]

Oh, I was going to add that some more reaction from 98.9 is starting to show. They are mixing artists like Hinder, The Romantics, Kings Of Leon, Andy Grammer, The Outfield, Cee Lo Green, The Tubes, etc. in to their playlist. They cut way back on the 1970s music recently also. They appear to be going for an aggressive approach to the AC format....likely in effort to not sound sleepy compared to 102.5.

 

[freqdev]

interesting. good signals in asheville are limited. 102.5 93.7 and 92.5 are the only signals licensed to greenville that can be heard in asheville.

102.5 (actually licensed to Hendersonville) will lose some of their solid WNC coverage if they move to the 92.5 tower. I would think upstate coverage is what they are concerned about since that is the market they are targeting
I noticed weakness in the 102.5 signal just above Laurens co. the other day. That move would help with that issue.

Doesn't 93.3 put decent coverage in to Asheville? I know 98.9 doesn't, even though it seems like they would

i should have said the those frequencies are the only signals programmed for gsp that can be heard in asheville

 

[KyleSmith1988]

Lots of signals out of GSP/AVL have their week spots in the other market they could also serve, 93.7 & 98.9 are good examples. They just don't make it up to Asheville with a city-grade signal in some parts. Is there a site some stations can move to in order to better serve BOTH Greenville & Asheville? I have an idea of a site in mind, perhaps the WHNS-TV tower near Brevard, NC and it's less than 10 miles north of Caesars Head where many GSP stations currently are. The WHNS-TV tower sits at a ground elevation of 3430 feet, and the tower is about 1600 feet tall, reaching over 5000 feet at the top. I'd love to see someone move to that tower someday. Anyone on there is bound to have a great signal in lots of the western Carolinas, but much of WNC could also benefit due to the higher elevation. Propagation may be great in all directions with city grade reaching east to Gaffney SC, south past Anderson, north to Madison County, and west to Toccoa GA / Madison & Swain Counties. The WLOS tower is great too but it's just a little too far north from GSP to make a stronger signal dent there (the case of 99.9 WKSF).

 

[carolinaradio]

Lots of signals out of GSP/AVL have their week spots in the other market they could also serve, 93.7 & 98.9 are good examples. They just don't make it up to Asheville with a city-grade signal in some parts. Is there a site some stations can move to in order to better serve BOTH Greenville & Asheville? I have an idea of a site in mind, perhaps the WHNS-TV tower near Brevard, NC and it's less than 10 miles north of Caesars Head where many GSP stations currently are. The WHNS-TV tower sits at a ground elevation of 3430 feet, and the tower is about 1600 feet tall, reaching over 5000 feet at the top. I'd love to see someone move to that tower someday. Anyone on there is bound to have a great signal in lots of the western Carolinas, but much of WNC could also benefit due to the higher elevation. Propagation may be great in all directions with city grade reaching east to Gaffney SC, south past Anderson, north to Madison County, and west to Toccoa GA / Madison & Swain Counties. The WLOS tower is great too but it's just a little too far north from GSP to make a stronger signal dent there (the case of 99.9 WKSF).

While I get what you're saying, most of these stations probably don't really care if they get to WNC or not. They target sales towards the upstate and that's kinda just "bonus coverage", or that's the way I think of it. I don't think WSSL, WJMZ, WYRD, or any of the other top stations would spend money on such a move when they seem to be doing fine on their current signals, especially since they are two separate markets. Just my 2 cents. I don't know of any sites that reach both markets except for Ceasar's Head and Hogback, and some of the signals on those have some issues in Asheville.

 

[KyleSmith1988]

While I get what you're saying, most of these stations probably don't really care if they get to WNC or not. They target sales towards the upstate and that's kinda just "bonus coverage", or that's the way I think of it. I don't think WSSL, WJMZ, WYRD, or any of the other top stations would spend money on such a move when they seem to be doing fine on their current signals, especially since they are two separate markets. Just my 2 cents. I don't know of any sites that reach both markets except for Ceasar's Head and Hogback, and some of the signals on those have some issues in Asheville.

I never understood how they were able to classify this market. Some list it as Greenville-Spartanburg, others say Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, and the TV stations go by Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville-Anderson. Many variations of course, both Upstate & WNC do relate in many ways, they are the western Carolinas. Some of the rural parts I'm surprised they put in the market as well, such as Toccoa/Northeast GA (instead of Atlanta), Gaffney/Union SC (instead of Charlotte) & along the mountains near Tennessee (instead of Knoxville/Tri-Cities). I do like that most of the FM signals are pretty strong though in most of the market, it's just those pesky mountains mess with signals and make the WNC area a bit harder to serve. WLOS Channel 13 is like the only TV station that only talks to WNC even though it's the only ABC choice in most of the Upstate. Though I live near Gaffney and can also view WSOC-TV as well.

 

[carolinaradio]

While I get what you're saying, most of these stations probably don't really care if they get to WNC or not. They target sales towards the upstate and that's kinda just "bonus coverage", or that's the way I think of it. I don't think WSSL, WJMZ, WYRD, or any of the other top stations would spend money on such a move when they seem to be doing fine on their current signals, especially since they are two separate markets. Just my 2 cents. I don't know of any sites that reach both markets except for Ceasar's Head and Hogback, and some of the signals on those have some issues in Asheville.

I never understood how they were able to classify this market. Some list it as Greenville-Spartanburg, others say Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, and the TV stations go by Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville-Anderson. Many variations of course, both Upstate & WNC do relate in many ways, they are the western Carolinas. Some of the rural parts I'm surprised they put in the market as well, such as Toccoa/Northeast GA (instead of Atlanta), Gaffney/Union SC (instead of Charlotte) & along the mountains near Tennessee (instead of Knoxville/Tri-Cities). I do like that most of the FM signals are pretty strong though in most of the market, it's just those pesky mountains mess with signals and make the WNC area a bit harder to serve. WLOS Channel 13 is like the only TV station that only talks to WNC even though it's the only ABC choice in most of the Upstate. Though I live near Gaffney and can also view WSOC-TV as well.

Yeah, the TV market is frusturating to me.

Radio is definitely Greenville/Spartanburg. TV is technically Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville/Anderson but WSPA, WYFF and WHNS target the Upstate and WLOS targets the mountains. Heck, WLOS pretty much ignores the Upstate and their studios are up there. The areas are, IMO, divided in ways, especially news-wise, culturally somewhat, etc...no offense to the good folks up in Asheville, but I'm not extremely concerned with what goes on up there unless it's something really big. Probably the feeling of a lot in the Upstate and those in WNC probably feel the same wau about the Upstate. It's just a massive area to serve but not really big enough to split. I guess the way the news landscape is currently is working, as it's been this way for years.

 

[pmgrnvl]

Two thoughts on all this:

First, I think the "fresh new sound" is better than the stale, old sound. How could it not be? WMYI was a relic, folks. No one I knew even turned it on anymore. The new format, IMHO, is poorly executed and still somewhat lame, but frankly I don't expect much more on the dial in the Upstate. I think they will get some more listeners, but the VT is awful, and the songs fade into each other really poorly at times. Maybe just bugs to work out.

Second, Craig, kudos to you for what is absolutely the best-programmed, best-sounding station in the Upstate -- Carolina Classic 103.3 WOLT. It's the only station I really spend any time with. For classic hits, I think you do a great job. The mix and song selection is very solid. Almost every night when I ride home I hear something I haven't heard in years -- a really good song, too, not some lame, lukewarm, overplayed title. The audio quality is noticeably superior to other stations as well. The EQ on Rock 101, as one example, is just awful. Yes, a few of us still do notice. If only the classic hits played a bit more...

 

[carolinaradio]

Two thoughts on all this:

First, I think the "fresh new sound" is better than the stale, old sound. How could it not be? WMYI was a relic, folks. No one I knew even turned it on anymore. The new format, IMHO, is poorly executed and still somewhat lame, but frankly I don't expect much more on the dial in the Upstate. I think they will get some more listeners, but the VT is awful, and the songs fade into each other really poorly at times. Maybe just bugs to work out.

Agree that it was a relic. They leaned too old for an AC in 2011, although I liked the older stuff. Magic has done a better job placing themselves as an uptempo mainstream AC for 2011.

I agree that the execution could be better, but at least it's something different. If they could be a little more up on new music and quit playing Brown Eyed Girl, it would be better. Was enjoying Third Eye Blind and Jimmy Eat World earlier in the afternoon. Pretty good stuff. The voicetracker on Sunday afternoons is pretty good IMO