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Burlington stuff

B

bsboy

I recently received an invitation to a radio research project. I investigated a little and found out that Star 92.9 is doing a music research project. Wednesday August 19th in Plattsburgh and Thursday August 20th in Burlington. Anyone else get an invite?

After seeing the spring 09 Arb numbers, I can understand why they are testing music. Star had a bad book.
 
being out of the biz for a bit I have heard nothing about the ratings. what happened? OKO #1 again? (yawn)
 
bsboy said:
I recently received an invitation to a radio research project. I investigated a little and found out that Star 92.9 is doing a music research project. Wednesday August 19th in Plattsburgh and Thursday August 20th in Burlington. Anyone else get an invite?

After seeing the spring 09 Arb numbers, I can understand why they are testing music. Star had a bad book.
Click to expand...

Kudos to a station in a market the size of Burlington doing music testing!
 
I agree with that statement. didn't the ratings just come out late last week? that's a quick turnaround for a music test based on that. sounds like it was planned before. also, don't forget that Star gets the christmas music bump (like many xmas stations) so their spring book has been normally lower than the fall. how did the eagle do? any movement against oko?
 
That is true Professor but these are the worst Spring numbers that Star has seen in 6 years. That is not good. With that signal, Star should be a strong #2 station no matter what. When you can't crack the top 5, you have a major problem.

Not sure I agree with wasting money on music testing anymore. All that money to tell you to play the same 300 songs you're already playing? Testing music is so yesterday.
 
I agree with the professor and bsboy you are only looking at the Burlington/Plattsburg book. STAR 92.9FM is a regional signal showing numbers in all Northern Counties in Vermont as well as Southern Quebec. Taking this in consideration and adding these numbers into the CUME/AQH, STAR 92.9FM is far "stronger" than you perceive. Any word on EAGLE? DOT-FM? Is 95XXX showing as strong as they did in prior books? I'm curious...

Happy Harry
 
Yes and No Harry. Clients in Burlington don't buy Star because they hit Berlin New Hampshire. Your metro is more important and Star is not cuttin it. 100,000 watts from the top of Mansfield and #5 in the market? Down overall in 4 straight spring books. Doesn't matter if everyone in Montreal listens to Star. How does that fill the coffers? They need Metro listeners.

OKO and The X 1st and 2nd, Buzz 3rd.
No sign of DOT. Looks like the experiment was a big bust.

More to come
 
Let's remember that Star radiates a pretty fair signal to the south that makes it receivable down past Randolph(VT) as well. But that's a whole 'nother "metro", eh?
 
1) I've always contended that Star could be a little hipper with the tunes, especially seeing as how A/C has gotten so far away from embracing current Top 40 hits and seems to really be concerned with building its own hits. I'm not telling Star to play "I Know You Want Me", but "Just Dance" is universal and acceptable at this point. Also, I'd suggest they lose the "#1 For Family Fun" jingles. I would associate that slogan with Radio Disney, not an adult radio station. A simple "lyrics that won't embarrass you" sweeper sends the message. And yes, these things matter...my mom babysits a 6-year old boy, and was concerned about the lyrics of songs on Kool 105 in the car.

2) Is anybody aware of DOT-FM? 96.7 isn't the biggest frequency out there. Maybe their problem is the Burlington "brain drain." I don't know how prevalent that was in their 1970's heyday, but I'll guarantee you that many of the teenagers who loved that station now live on Long Island or in Peabody, MA because they got jobs that don't exist in Burlington. And the people who stuck around have moved on to classic rock, because they have no interest in the chart hits of the 70's. I've listened to Ken Barlow's on-air work...and you sometimes get the feeling that the station is less about serving the market and more about him reliving his Top 40 foul-mouthed night jock days. But hey, it's his money.
 
Some good points made in this thread. Will makes a good observation about the 6-year-old and his Mom in the car. I think that Star, in the past, hung their hat on the "family friendly" thing and it may need an update. But I don't believe...like BS does....that Star is crashing. I have learned that the ARB in this market seems to fluctuate more than most after WOKO. As for DOT-FM..I don't think it's yet a year old is it? I see the oldies stations in other markets are making a comeback...I think it may take more time. Maybe Vox has the luxury of time on this one. They probably need to spend some $$ on advertising. Personally, the few times I've heard Ken Barlow on the station he made me chuckle and I liked the energy. But hey...everyone likes something different.
 
First, I wouldn't trust anything that Arbitron says book to book. What you want to look for is a trend, so let me state once again.

Star 6 straight down books in the spring. (that's a trend)

Worst spring book in years!!

100,000 watt signal. 5th overall in Market.

This has nothing to do with me, just laying out the facts. Most reasonable people would say, these facts spell trouble.
 
Will said:
Is anybody aware of DOT-FM? 96.7 isn't the biggest frequency out there. Maybe their problem is the Burlington "brain drain." I don't know how prevalent that was in their 1970's heyday, but I'll guarantee you that many of the teenagers who loved that station now live on Long Island or in Peabody, MA because they got jobs that don't exist in Burlington. And the people who stuck around have moved on to classic rock, because they have no interest in the chart hits of the 70's. I've listened to Ken Barlow's on-air work...and you sometimes get the feeling that the station is less about serving the market and more about him reliving his Top 40 foul-mouthed night jock days. But hey, it's his money.
Click to expand...

I agree, the audience that once listened to 1974-vintage WDOT is mostly gone, and it sure looks like Barlow followed his heart rather than his head. Not much market research was employed here, he went with his heart/gut instincts, and it ain't paying off. Still, it is indeed his money, and he can be an enjoyable listen...but there are just so many times a body can listen to some of that crappy Top 40 music from 1974.
 
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