Can Oldies come back for the New Year ?

[Barry45RPM]

A Prediction... AM Talk will move to FM. Music on FM will have moved to Satellite and the web, where they will now compete with the former AM Music Stations that were forced to look for listeners elsewhere. Current AM Radio frequencies will be reassigned for other uses. All the 30 year old Empty Suits programming radio today will be Walmart Customer Greeters, where they will submit suggestions weekly to upper management telling them they have been pitching to the wrong customers all these years.

 

[disney fanatic]

As you may know, WBPM had dropped the oldies format as "Cool 92.9" back on January 31st replacing it with classic hits as "Classic Hits 92.9" playing the classic songs from the 60's, 70's and 80's. Too bad, oldies has dropped from 92.9 about two weeks ago when the company Pamal has took over the station from its rival Clear Channel except WGHQ. I totally missed that station. :'(

Now we have WCZR's "Cruisin' 93.5" and WTRY in Albany as well as WKLI's "Magic 100.9". New York City doesn't get any oldies anymore, because WCBS-FM is no longer oldies except for WBPM up in the Hudson Valley.

 

[NJMike]

There is "Classic Oldies WMTR" (1250 AM) from Morristown. Their ratings just keep going up from book to book, thanks to the loss of CBS-FM. I'd say there is a need for Oldies on FM, especially in New Jersey.

 

[davideduardo]

There is "Classic Oldies WMTR" (1250 AM) from Morristown. Their ratings just keep going up from book to book, thanks to the loss of CBS-FM. I'd say there is a need for Oldies on FM, especially in New Jersey.

WMTR is in an ideal situation, despite being AM. It is suburban and has a format not duplicated by a NYC FM! So it can concentrate on mostly local direct selling where demos are not as important and where merchants are less focused on the 25-54 issue that manufacturers and national service providers are.

Oldies can continue to do well in suburban settings, while the format may not work on the big stations of the central market.

 

[KevinFodor]

"The problem is that the broadcast companies just don't know how to do the format right."

Woah! "Broadcast companies just don't know how to do the format right" ????

What in the heck are you talking about? Radio companies have been successfully doing oldies formats since the 1980's...
WCBS-FM was on the air doing it in the 70's!

It's not a teenage format, though oldies station do garner a small audience of younger people. The format primarily reaches people over 45...most of whom now, are over 55.

The format's fine. The music has appeal. The advertisers, though...have deserted it. And that's why oldies stations are going away. It's sad...but true.

 

[KevinFodor]

I have to agree that oldies will not likely return on a major stick in NYC - and even though it's estimated that CBS will loose more than 15 million on the change in the first year, CBS is not likely to admit they made a mistake... if in fact it is a mistake. And I don’t think that it was a mistake -- more likely a jump into a format that didn't have legs.

But I have to object to the "oldies being dead" thing...

In many markets it IS ... however, as an agency owner and media buyer, I point to stations where "oldies" (not classic hits) is still a factor.

Some respectable markets too ... a random look at a half dozen markets where it's still working:

Cleveland (25) oldies #1
Boston (11) oldies #5
Providence (36) oldies #5
Fredericksburg VA (154) oldies #3
Philadelphia (6) oldies #4
St Louis (4) oldies #5

Large markets and small…These are 25-54 numbers - still a hot demo. Could I buy around them - certainly? Would I want to? Not likely. Because psychograpically, these people are passionate and listen to the radio in a different way -- they actively listen (compared to "hearing") ... and they respond to the advertiser in a different way.

I handle several national clients. I will not blow off an oldies station simply because of the format. If the station offers me slammin’ 25-54 numbers, I’m buying.

Dear Media Buyer: Thank you. It's great to hear not everyone in the advertising business is insane.

Wish you could have helped a station I programmed. #1 25-54 and lost 50 cents on the dollar.

 

[chuckydoll]

There is "Classic Oldies WMTR" (1250 AM) from Morristown.Their ratings just keep going up from book to book, thanks to the loss of CBS-FM.I'd say there is a need for Oldies on FM, especially in New Jersey.

New Jersey 101.5 plays music on weekends but has backed off on Beatles-Motown-60's for the most part. The reason? It makes the station sound old.

WMTR has OK ratings -- they've yo-yo'ed over the past year. OK ratings may look good on paper but an AM station can't make money just by playing music. That's why WMTR runs infomercials (Saturday and Sunday mornings) and a lot of sports (Knicks, Rangers, Rutgers Lady Knights).

FWIW Arbitron measures Morristown only twice a year, in spring and fall.