cd101 not in stereo 9am-4pm

[bwilliam614]

For the last six months or so CD101 for some reason turns thier stereo off at 9am. The station comes in mono from 9am to 4pm monday through friday. It sounds like absolute sh--. Are they serious because it's extremely noticable. I mean do they think thier playlist is so unbelievable that they can sound like 103.1 and nobody will notice. I hate listening to 106.7 because as far as alternative music goes they're pretty stale, but when you're listening to garbage or nirvana in mono you kind of have no choice unless you have a cd handy.

 

[xmusicmatt]

Why would they do such a thing? I just checked and its coming in Mono here in North Columbus. I wonder if they are doing this to try and reach more buliding penatration during the day? since with mono their signal will seem stronger to some.

 

[bwilliam614]

In all honesty i think they do it because of what you said. Kind of like how 103.9 sounds less staticy because of the stereo being turned off. As a listener though it really makes them sound ghetto as hell, and with the blue jackets games every other night you get 2 hours of stereo power every day.

 

[xiradiodotcom]

Wow, and I thought it was just their weak signal. I don't think going mono is going to gain them any listeners.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

Well, "CD" is already kind of dated, so why not additional dating by going mono? Maybe the next step will be retro-Alternative.

 

[bwilliam614]

So i got in the car at 3:30 today and someone at cd101 must've read this thread because they were in stereo. Literally every weekday from 9am to 4pm they would be in mono. I post a comment about it on here and get in the car and they're in stereo. You be the judge.

 

[Al Timiter]

....and could someone explain how they have been able to "keep the lights on" after literally years of getting hammered in the ratings???How have they been able to survive? They must have to nearly give away time...

 

[HappyPappy]

....and could someone explain how they have been able to "keep the lights on" after literally years of getting hammered in the ratings???How have they been able to survive? They must have to nearly give away time...

While we're at it, does anyone find it odd that CD101 is always Columbus Monthly's winner for best Columbus radio station EVERY YEAR? Seems a little strange to me considering how the magazine's assumed target demo is so far off from the radio station's. Thoughts?

 

[radioguybroadcasting]

....and could someone explain how they have been able to "keep the lights on" after literally years of getting hammered in the ratings???How have they been able to survive? They must have to nearly give away time...

lack of ratings doens't always mean lack of money.. they could be doing quite well in the $$$/advertising department.

 

[HappyPappy]

....and could someone explain how they have been able to "keep the lights on" after literally years of getting hammered in the ratings???How have they been able to survive? They must have to nearly give away time...

lack of ratings doens't always mean lack of money.. they could be doing quite well in the $$$/advertising department.

how so? the cost to advertise on ANY medium is based on the number of impressions your ad will generate. bad ratings typically means a small number of listeners. a small number of listeners means low cost advertising. trust me. advertisers aren't paying a premium to reach CD's target audience. they could reach in much more effectively with other stations in town.

 

[Nu_Roo_2]

While we're at it, does anyone find it odd that CD101 is always Columbus Monthly's winner for best Columbus radio station EVERY YEAR? Seems a little strange to me considering how the magazine's assumed target demo is so far off from the radio station's. Thoughts?

I've heard rumors they stuff the ballot box every year. Remember, what they win repeatedly is Readers' Favorite.

Their latest series of ads in CM is the worst yet. It says, "Forget Minutes. Thanks for giving us 15 YEARS of fame!"

Change fame to lame and it might be fairly accurate.

 

[gr8oldies]

Same way all the obscure WYSO hosts were voted Best in Dayton every year. MP3101 anyone?

 

[Snat]

....and could someone explain how they have been able to "keep the lights on" after literally years of getting hammered in the ratings???How have they been able to survive? They must have to nearly give away time...

lack of ratings doens't always mean lack of money.. they could be doing quite well in the $$$/advertising department.

how so? the cost to advertise on ANY medium is based on the number of impressions your ad will generate. bad ratings typically means a small number of listeners. a small number of listeners means low cost advertising. trust me. advertisers aren't paying a premium to reach CD's target audience. they could reach in much more effectively with other stations in town.

CD101 does indeed get to charge a premium for certain categories of advertising based on their strength in their core demo. Booze is their #1 crutch (financially speaking - I make no claims for how the staff manages to deal with the ratings) and they put a lot of effort into supporting beer and liquor sponsors with promotions. They are also able to sell themselves as "narrowcasting" to the young affluents and to the early adopters of technology/gizmos/cars etc. in Columbus. It's not coincidental that the Short North, Campus area, Clintonville and Grandview are home to some expensive boutiques and restaurants - the same people who shop and live there are people who make up the 101 audience. Listen to who their local sponsors are and you can pretty much chart their locations within those neighborhoods.

An advertiser may be able to reach more gross listeners in that demo on another station, but they'll also be reaching a huge number of people who aren't in that target and pay two or three times as much for the privilege. CD101 has done a good job of presenting the argument to sponsors that a huge audience doesn't do much good if only a fraction of that audience is interested in listening to your call to action.

They manage to stick around and keep the lights on by virtue of being privately owned - no shareholders demanding sea change every time they don't get a decent dividend - and by keeping labor costs low. At some point they decided it was worth it to the bottom line and the ratings book to hire rookie jocks who'll happily work for next-to-nothing (recall Alive's blog entry about Rudy G's dissatisfaction with pay as the reason he left for greener pastures...in Toledo).

To get back on topic, maybe someone decided the jocks sound not as cheap if you broadcast them in mono rather than full glowing stereophonic color.

 

[radioguybroadcasting]

....and could someone explain how they have been able to "keep the lights on" after literally years of getting hammered in the ratings???How have they been able to survive? They must have to nearly give away time...

lack of ratings doens't always mean lack of money.. they could be doing quite well in the $$$/advertising department.

how so? the cost to advertise on ANY medium is based on the number of impressions your ad will generate. bad ratings typically means a small number of listeners. a small number of listeners means low cost advertising. trust me. advertisers aren't paying a premium to reach CD's target audience. they could reach in much more effectively with other stations in town.

CD101 does indeed get to charge a premium for certain categories of advertising based on their strength in their core demo. Booze is their #1 crutch (financially speaking - I make no claims for how the staff manages to deal with the ratings) and they put a lot of effort into supporting beer and liquor sponsors with promotions. They are also able to sell themselves as "narrowcasting" to the young affluents and to the early adopters of technology/gizmos/cars etc. in Columbus. It's not coincidental that the Short North, Campus area, Clintonville and Grandview are home to some expensive boutiques and restaurants - the same people who shop and live there are people who make up the 101 audience. Listen to who their local sponsors are and you can pretty much chart their locations within those neighborhoods.

An advertiser may be able to reach more gross listeners in that demo on another station, but they'll also be reaching a huge number of people who aren't in that target and pay two or three times as much for the privilege. CD101 has done a good job of presenting the argument to sponsors that a huge audience doesn't do much good if only a fraction of that audience is interested in listening to your call to action.

They manage to stick around and keep the lights on by virtue of being privately owned - no shareholders demanding sea change every time they don't get a decent dividend - and by keeping labor costs low. At some point they decided it was worth it to the bottom line and the ratings book to hire rookie jocks who'll happily work for next-to-nothing (recall Alive's blog entry about Rudy G's dissatisfaction with pay as the reason he left for greener pastures...in Toledo).

To get back on topic, maybe someone decided the jocks sound not as cheap if you broadcast them in mono rather than full glowing stereophonic color.

Snat... very well said!

 

[xianbroadcaster]

....and could someone explain how they have been able to "keep the lights on" after literally years of getting hammered in the ratings???How have they been able to survive? They must have to nearly give away time...

lack of ratings doens't always mean lack of money.. they could be doing quite well in the $$$/advertising department.

how so? the cost to advertise on ANY medium is based on the number of impressions your ad will generate. bad ratings typically means a small number of listeners. a small number of listeners means low cost advertising. trust me. advertisers aren't paying a premium to reach CD's target audience. they could reach in much more effectively with other stations in town.

CD101 does indeed get to charge a premium for certain categories of advertising based on their strength in their core demo. Booze is their #1 crutch (financially speaking - I make no claims for how the staff manages to deal with the ratings) and they put a lot of effort into supporting beer and liquor sponsors with promotions. They are also able to sell themselves as "narrowcasting" to the young affluents and to the early adopters of technology/gizmos/cars etc. in Columbus. It's not coincidental that the Short North, Campus area, Clintonville and Grandview are home to some expensive boutiques and restaurants - the same people who shop and live there are people who make up the 101 audience. Listen to who their local sponsors are and you can pretty much chart their locations within those neighborhoods.

An advertiser may be able to reach more gross listeners in that demo on another station, but they'll also be reaching a huge number of people who aren't in that target and pay two or three times as much for the privilege. CD101 has done a good job of presenting the argument to sponsors that a huge audience doesn't do much good if only a fraction of that audience is interested in listening to your call to action.

They manage to stick around and keep the lights on by virtue of being privately owned - no shareholders demanding sea change every time they don't get a decent dividend - and by keeping labor costs low. At some point they decided it was worth it to the bottom line and the ratings book to hire rookie jocks who'll happily work for next-to-nothing (recall Alive's blog entry about Rudy G's dissatisfaction with pay as the reason he left for greener pastures...in Toledo).

To get back on topic, maybe someone decided the jocks sound not as cheap if you broadcast them in mono rather than full glowing stereophonic color.

GREAT POST THERE, SNAT.

More broadcasters need to really grasp and hold onto this idea that buying volume isn't always the best sale.

While the masses shop at WalMart there are still a lot of folks who go to Williams-Sonoma for their cookware.

As for the talent, CD101 can afford to put the throw-away talent on the air because people are not tuning in for the personalities, they are tuning in for the music...AndyMan is probably the only personality the station really would miss if he left, thing is Andy has done the smart thing and use the station as a platform to explore other entrepreneurial endeavors...so what he doesn't get from the station in the way of salary (I have no idea what he makes and don't care...just assuming it is on the low end since the stations has been described as cheap) he makes up for it in exposure and branding.