J
jayedwards
Guest
anyone have a brief thesis ---- why did cbs-fm choose not adjust its oldies format--- and instead flip to Jack? (someone convinced them oldies are dead and Jack is great?)
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
Why did cbs-fm choose not adjust its oldies format--- and instead flip to Jack?: Because they made the false assumption that if "Jack" worked in LA, it would also work in NY. (Guess nobody learned from Mellow Rock, Disco, of Jammin' Oldies)(someone convinced them oldies are dead and Jack is great?): Yes.
Also, they did adjust their original format, several times. Putting Mickey Dolenz on the morning show. Taking away and then bringing back Norm N. Nite and other specialty shows. Becoming "Motown, Soul and Great Rock N' Roll" and then ditching that. Pumping out a lot of 80's ballads from the likes of Whitney Houston and then mostly scrapping that. Adjustments were made, but were they the right ones? I would say not.
J
jayedwards
Guest
so---did Bob Perry sell Jack to Joel Hollander? (or was it more complex?)
J
jayedwards
Guest
so Jack has done well in LA? in any other major markets? in Philly---WOGL did not flip to Jack because Ben FM flipped first?
Also, they did adjust their original format, several times. Putting Mickey Dolenz on the morning show. Taking away and then bringing back Norm N. Nite and other specialty shows. Becoming "Motown, Soul and Great Rock N' Roll" and then ditching that. Pumping out a lot of 80's ballads from the likes of Whitney Houston and then mostly scrapping that. Adjustments were made, but were they the right ones? I would say not.I agree, the right adjustments were not made, although some were clearly in order. Although still sounding better than anything in the city, the station was frozen in 1994. They were right in adding 80's music (last year some of that was 25 years old) and dropping all but the evergreens from the 50's and 60's. Dolenz was obviously not ready for drive time. Although Harry was probably way past his prime he was still better than Dolenz. They probably should have updated their on-air presentation across the boards... some new jingles, sounders, etc. "Do It Again" was a great package but after 10 years, even those wore out. I think the CBS brain trust thought that "Jack" was a one-size-fits-all quick fix. It wasn't.so Jack has done well in LA? in any other major markets? in Philly---WOGL did not flip to Jack because Ben FM flipped first? Jack is doing OK in LA and a handful of markets. It should be noted that in LA they didn't blow up KRTH to do it and Jack's success there didn't seem to be at KRTH's expense. WBEN's debut may very well have given CBS pause to blow up WOGL, as might the debut of "Mike" in Boston given WODS a stay of execution. In most markets where the "Jack" format or one of its imitators has gone on, they get a quick spike in the ratings, but then tend to drop off fairly quickly. In New York, the spike never happened..... IMHO due partly to the backlash of blowing up the legendary CBS-FM.... and just plain poor presentation and bad music selection.
It should be noted that in LA they didn't blow up KRTH to do it and Jack's success there didn't seem to be at KRTH's expense. CBS Radio Jackass #1 Joel Hollander said that if 102.7 flipped to Jack, it would cannibalize the audience at CBS-FM. It didn't in LA.When the 3 CBS owned FM stations are doing so poorly in the ratings, it is a reflection on poor management.
I think he hit the nail right on the head!BruceS8852 said:
P
PhilGalasso
Guest
CBS needs a total purge of its management in the Radio Division in New York. Its New York FM stations are at the bottom of the ratings and they are a total embarrassment to the company.As for WCBS-FM, the attempts to tweak the oldies format resulted in a horrible music mix before Jack delivered the coup de grace. If you want 80s ballads, you can hear them on a light AC station. The heart of "oldies" is music from the 50s and 60s...basically, music from the heyday of Top-40 AM radio, when WABC, WMCA, and WINS ruled the roost. Sorry to disappoint the twentysomethings who do the media buying these days, but not all fans of the oldies format are confined to walkers, using stuff to turn their gray hair blue, or eating cat food for dinner. WCBS-FM went bad several years before management imported the Jack format. It was going into the toilet. Jack just flushed that toilet.As for the other CBS-owned FM stations in New York, the strength of WNEW-FM was in its extensive music library, as it was the definitive rock station in America. But it wouldn't surprise me if that library ended up in a Dumpster, along with the ratings that WNEW-FM now pulls. Then, there's WFNY-FM and its signing of Opie & Anthony. After those two clowns cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars in FCC fines, how can management be so stupid as to put them back on the air? Perhaps a personality country station, using a format like the one once aired on WHN, could be put on 92.3? It wouldn't do well in the inner city, but it should pull great numbers in the suburbs.BruceS8852 said:
It is the highest billing cluster in the market. Local management does not make format changes alone.k2pg said:
P
PhilGalasso
Guest
If that's the case, just think of what they could bill if those stations pulled decent numbers! Something stinks to high heavens at 51 W. 52nd. Street and 527 W. 57th. Street.DavidEduardo said:
There is also one oldies that is still playing oldies in the Hudson Valley is WBPM's Cool 92.9. That would benefit listeners from the lost of WCBS-FM last year when it flipped from oldies to "Jack". If you want to check out Cool 92.9's website www.cool929fm.com they don't have a internet stream. The other stations in the Hudson Valley are WKIP in Poughkeepsie and WHUC up in Hudson, NY where it still carries "Music of Your Life" programming with the likes of Peter Marshall, Wink Martindale, Chuck Southcott, Gary Owens and Johnny Magnus. That would benefit listeners from the four stations that are no longer on the dial playing standards like WNEW-AM 1130, WQEW 1560, WNSW "Sunny 1430" out in Newark, NJ and WCBS-FM when it was an oldies station where they played a few 50's standards back in the late 80's and early 90's. I remember Bobby Jay used to host the "Friday Night 50's" a long time ago where they played doo-wop, early rock & roll and standards when it was part of the CBS-FM "Hall of Fame" shows. There is also an internet stream for the "Music Of Your Life" in which would benefit a lot of listeners from the lost of these NYC stations that are no longer playing standards and oldies. You should check it out. In the meantime, I don't see standards playing the "Music Of Your Life" coming to NYC anytime soon.http://tuner1.dc1.sonixtream.com/solon/media/tuner/LaunchTuner?aff=musicofyourlife
Those Hudson Valley stations don't come into New York City at all.
They dont even come into the southern hudson area remotely. heh.Kevin said:
I used to listen to 92.9 rock wrki when I was at boarding school. (hell I still have a t-shirt) They made the flip right before i graduated high school in Kent Ct (and yes nyc radio comes in well on top of a mountain 80 miles out of the city. I even got k-rock over fly 92.3... but I enjoyed my time with eddie trunk on q-104.3 or listening to WCCC 106.9 while I was up there for the most part.CC changed 92.9 from rock 2 years ago. it was doing great as a rock station no reason to flip. CC just turned it to oldies all of a sudden. what keeps them oldies let alone why did they leave rock if they were doing good? advertising I bet...
disney fanatic said:
Harry wasn't "way past his prime" its just that his "schtick" had been heard for so long in that time slot, it just didn't sound "fresh" any more. Changing his time slot would have been the answer.(10-2 mornings?)Mickey Dolenz probably came cheap to CBS. He was so far from ready for a prime time gig that it wasn't even funny. If he didn't have a "co-Host" the show would have been unlistenable. He had no "gift of gab", no tonal quality to his speaking voice, and contributed nothing to the line-up of on air talent. When he got the gig is when I started hurrying out of the house in the morning to get away from my clock radio.SonoSational18 said:
True, but CBS had a basis for bringing oldies back. Entercom launched Jack-clone "97.1 Charlie FM" KYCH in June 2005, and moved the frequency's former oldies format (KISN) to 910AM, displacing hot talker "Max 910". The oldies format on KISN-AM performed surprisingly well in the ratings. Meanwhile, KLTH 106.7 was a low-rated AC that was slated to become one of Infinity's "FREE FM" outlets. But judging by the strong performance of KISN on the AM dial, Infinity brought oldies back to the FM dial by launching "K-Hits 106.7".So it wasn't really Infinity noticing that the market needed an oldies station, but rather Infinity taking the void of another station.e-dawg said:
- Status