You might try going to the source. The Nielsen Topline ratings show WBFO-FM with a 4.8 12+, good for 7th place. WBUF did indeed sink to a 1.3 share - and that's a 12 week average. Pretty much everybody else stayed with a few 10ths of a point. WKSE and WMSX have done a little better. Star has done a little worse. Remember, these are shares. There's no way to tell from these numbers whether there's any "New" interest - or burn-out, for that matter.
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Buffalo Radio Ratings
- Thread starter CassChopper96
- Start date
Wasn't adding the Free Beer Morning Show supposed to INCREASE ratings? When a station sinks this low, it should give management a clue. It's a content problem.
The 97 Rock morning debacle will be reflected in upcoming ratings books. The terminations of the PD and Morning Show could likely have no impact at all...
It usually takes time for a new morning show to attract an audience base.
Isn't 6 months reasonable? Some PDs don't even last 6 months these days.
It seems that the new WBUF isn't even doing what JACK did. They certainly have their big chance to showcase the Beer Morning Show (with 97 Rock losing theirs). The public seems indifferent to all of it...
These numbers only cover through March. That's less than three months.
These ratings do not reflect the 97 Rock toast debacle, but they do offer some insight regarding the rest of the market post Christmas. Everything That Rocks debuted on 92.9 the day before Thanksgiving 2020, so there have been three full months (Jan-Feb-Mar 2021) of measurement. It's somewhat surprising to see the new format sliding to a 1.3 rather than trending up or at least holding steady around 2.5.
It could be that some Jack FM P1 listeners have left, while not enough new P1s have been cultivated to replace the listeners who booked. With the possible exception of Howard Stern years ago, talk-based morning drive shows take a long time to establish, especially in the face of intense, established competition on 88.7, 93.7, 96.9 (toast bits not withstanding), 103.3, 106.5 and 550 and 930.
It could be that morning drive on 92.9 is dragging down the Mon-Sun 6 a.m.-midnight composite ratings, while at the same time the music intensive midday, afternoon drive and night dayparts are performing well in the target demo. Formats sometimes can look weak in the broad view Persons 12+ perspective, but perform well in the target demographics.
OTOH, some may recall that when Stern was on 92.9 (Howard Stern in the morning, Classic Rock all day), WBUF, like most Stern stations, had massive morning numbers but the ratings slid three to five shares after Stern signed off around 11 a.m. Still, WBUF did better than a 1.3 Persons 12+.
Unless dayparts and demos are posted, it's all speculation. But that's what's done here, isn't it.
It could be that some Jack FM P1 listeners have left, while not enough new P1s have been cultivated to replace the listeners who booked. With the possible exception of Howard Stern years ago, talk-based morning drive shows take a long time to establish, especially in the face of intense, established competition on 88.7, 93.7, 96.9 (toast bits not withstanding), 103.3, 106.5 and 550 and 930.
It could be that morning drive on 92.9 is dragging down the Mon-Sun 6 a.m.-midnight composite ratings, while at the same time the music intensive midday, afternoon drive and night dayparts are performing well in the target demo. Formats sometimes can look weak in the broad view Persons 12+ perspective, but perform well in the target demographics.
OTOH, some may recall that when Stern was on 92.9 (Howard Stern in the morning, Classic Rock all day), WBUF, like most Stern stations, had massive morning numbers but the ratings slid three to five shares after Stern signed off around 11 a.m. Still, WBUF did better than a 1.3 Persons 12+.
Unless dayparts and demos are posted, it's all speculation. But that's what's done here, isn't it.
This format was DOA. Maybe a few people sampled it and then quickly left. The combination of a dreadful playlist and yet another tired Morning Zoo are repellent. It's curious that WBUF is now the type of station that JACK used to mock with snarky sweepers...
I can’t imagine why the management of Townsquare would think a syndicated Morning Zoo like the one WBUF is airing would work. With the exception of Rush, syndicated talk has never generated big numbers in Buffalo. Listeners want local, local, local! They want to hear their morning teams talking about the Bills, a blast of wintry weather, the latest scandal involving a local politician, a local fundraising effort, etc. Granted, I’m not in the demographic of “Free Beer and Hot Wings.” But I have no desire to listen. Yes, I would tune in Howard Stern back in the day because he was, you know, Howard Stern. WBUF, which was once a ratings powerhouse, is now languishing at a 1.3! A station with one of the strongest FM signals in the market! What an embarrassment!
Hmmm....what is Townsquare running in the morning on WBLK? How is it doing?
One size does not fit all. What's working on WBLK isn't on WBUF.
It's not really Local vs Syndicated. The playlist on WBUF isn't local. It's just rehashed typical Classic Rock that's on everywhere. The ratings thus far are abysmal for a powerful signal like 92.9...
Once again, it's just been a few months. You didn't like Jack either, so who cares?
There is a seeming dichotomy when comparing a nationally known format type with its local implementation.
The fact is that with any "classic" format, whether it be rock, top 40 or even urban, the music is about as well known, about as well worn, about as well liked still everywhere. And that uniformity of taste gets more and more solidified as the universal nature of the Internet flattens geographic irregularities like rain flattens waves.
Every time that a local PD or autonomy seeking GM has said, "El Paso is different" or "Wichita is different" a well done test shows that such is not so. Sometimes, such local staff members will try to stack a music test by not testing certain songs or artists or just testing an artist's worst songs and then issuing and edict of "see, that one does not work here."
Despite the political division of the nation, within partisans of specific formats, the tastes are very uniform. The majority of differences are based on the competitive array in each market, not the songs themselves.
"Local" is about the most exaggerated term in radio over the last decade or so.
Why would a PD do that? If he wants to keep his job, he typically wants good ratings. It's not about his personal tastes.
Based on your premise, WBUF should have great ratings. They are playing all of the "Shop Worn" songs that "Test Well". You also cannot blame the signal. It must be Nielsen's fault. It's never the on air product in your view...
So is GRF.
WGRF under John Hager always spiced up its mundane offerings with special programming in almost every daypart and on weekends in order to broaden the playlist and rest some of the more overplayed songs. The playlist was not as homogenous and repetitive as most canned classic rock stations. There were also songs that reflected our Canadian neighbors that you wouldn't find on stations south of the Great Lakes states. That programming was a big reason that 97-Rock was among the highest rated classic rock stations in the country.
This is often done to secure a position because they think that in this manner the higher management will think the station will self-destruct if they bring in an outsider.
Oh, and PDs come in all genders, not just "he" and "his".
"Shop worn" songs do not "test well". "Favorite" songs do.
And it's not just about testing songs... it is about the on-air presentation, music scheduling, rotations, and lots of other items that are part of a local PD's job.
A station playing perfect music in a market where listeners are not interested in leaving current choices will either fail or be a very slow growth property. BigA has mentioned that there may be a time element here that we never saw prior to the pandemic which is the start-up process when a station spends nearly nothing on promotion.
Of course Hager was a casualty of the March disaster.
That is why the WBUF format choice is ill conceived. The only people that may be interested are listening to the other station. Would you drive 20 miles to visit a different McDonald's when there's one 3 blocks away?
You say the music is "perfect". Lots of restaurants go out of business serving what they think is "perfect" food...
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So Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel are just as strong in Oklahoma City as they are on Long Island? The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd test as well in Boston as they do in Birmingham?
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