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Charleston SP12 Arb

C

carolinaradio

http://www.radio-info.com/markets/charleston

Looks like maybe 96.9 is the weak link of the 3 country stations. Looks like none of the 3 are going anywhere any time soon, though. Mix 95.9 is a tough listen to me, its first book was down from Lite 95.9's last. I say 95.9 will have a new format next year - classic hits (2009), country (2010), AC (2011), Hot AC (2012). What has happened to WRFQ?

Cumulus apparently subscribes to every other book.
 
95.9 is going nowhere as there's a two year deal with the morning show and the Winter numbers were driven by the last phase of the book when the station was launched. The 18-34 audience is way up on 95.9 and that is a sign of a station on the right path. It takes a minimum of 4 books for Arbitron's diary system to catch up with the radio audience to show change. Apex has been under new management since April of 2011 and they are quickly becoming the group on the move to a brighter future. Their 3rd country station just beat WEZL in Persons 25-54 after one year on the 92.5 signal. WEZL has not been beat in the country format in over 20 years. How many years has 96.9 been chasing WEZL with Cat Country, Wolf and failed? Clear Channel as a group has the smallest audience compared to Apex and Cumulus. Their products will continue to die a slow death with their aging audience (avg age 50). CC needs to update their products as they have been flanked on all sides. The radio landscape is changing rapidly. One things for sure, it will be interesting to watch.

Cumulus as a company is pushing their network platforms which includes a sports deal with CBS and a news station line-up on their ABC Radio networks. I think WIWF will become their new FM News Station and TMA will become their CBS content Sports station. WCKN has shown WEZL can be beat and did it in a short period of time. Cumulus has to look at WIWF and simply move on with that signal. It sounds terrible playing older music and imaging younger on-air talent. "The drapes don't match the paint!"
 
Interesting perspective. I notice that Y-102.5 seems to be trying to sound hotter/more modern (they have fluctuated between classic hits and gold based AC for years). They sounded a lot better (and did better) when they played primarily classic hits IMO. Mix 95.9's song tags and imaging are a little uncomfortable for me to listen to, but the music mix is decent. Maybe if they're committed to it, Apex can take a some off of SX and Y with Mix.

As for 96.9, I think they should have put WTMA on there years ago, but Cumulus as a whole doesn't seem very interested in putting their AM's on FM. Citadel/Cumulus just won't give up on country. They've tried for years with 107.5/96.9. If Kickin' is already doing so much better, sounds like time to give it up, but I doubt they will.
 
There was a time WXTC 96.9 with adult standards and a super signal had a huge following in SE S.C. Look at the ratings for the EZ stations in NE S.C. The folks at 95.9 with adult standard programming just did not have the signal to compete outside the Charleston region.
 
SCMidlands said:
There was a time WXTC 96.9 with adult standards and a super signal had a huge following in SE S.C. Look at the ratings for the EZ stations in NE S.C. The folks at 95.9 with adult standard programming just did not have the signal to compete outside the Charleston region.
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Classic Hits/60s/70s/80s is another format that would be HUGE in Charleston if somebody would do it and give it a chance. 102.5 was always top 5 (sometimes top 3) with Oldies (and later Classic Hits), they did way better before they started playing that Premium Choice AC junk they have now. They would probably still be Classic Hits if 96.9 hadn't ditched AC. Classic Hits 95.9-IOP was growing but Apex pulled the plug so quickly. I will never understand why they did that. It's obvious that there is an audience for the format, as in most other coastal markets.

I didn't mention this in my earlier post, but Apex has a nice little wall built around Y-102.5 now. Chuck FM with the older stuff, Mix with the newer stuff. Not sure if that's a strategy to take 102.5 down (which wouldn't be hard), but it's pretty smart.
 
Classic Hits and Adult Hit formats clash - so I bet Chuck and 95.9 as Classic Hits shared a ton of audience. If you look back, Chuck went up about 2 share points after Classic Hits went away, so in my eyes it was very smart to get off Classic Hits format and do something else. Now look Apex flipped from Classic Hits to Country which after it moved to 92 is now tied with WEZL.
 
95.9 was an OLDIES station. It played 60s and 70s stuff. Not adult standards. Adult standards is what we heard on 94.3 and 99.7 in the mid 90s and 910 a few years ago.

Crazy in the early and mid 90s our area had two adult standards stations, both on FM no less. Oldies is a big niche, but 1340 still has that beach music format.

98.9 has just been a cursed frequency except when it was Hot. It had 2 and 3 ratings then. They're going sports soon.

92.5 does do a lot of promoting in the community. They have the Channel 5 machine, which gives them a lot of listeners (Bill Walsh weather forecasts, plus he mentions them almost every night during his forecast). Each country station has its own loyal following, but 92.5 is growing. They also have the best jingles, much more exciting than WEZL and a little better than the Wolf.

Someone should do something with 93.7. That would be a good signal for classic hits. Too bad most of the owners are at their limits.
 
SCMidlands said:
There was a time WXTC 96.9 with adult standards and a super signal had a huge following in SE S.C. Look at the ratings for the EZ stations in NE S.C. The folks at 95.9 with adult standard programming just did not have the signal to compete outside the Charleston region.
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WXTC was beautiful music. I remember it being on cable in Myrtle Beach.

There's quite a difference between that and what 95.9 FM was doing. Really, WEZV in Myrtle Beach does adult standards musc better. I'd rather see WIOP gone and a WEZV-type station at least given a chance.
 
As an easy-listening station 96.9 was WXTC ("ecstacy").  But after that it was pop music, as WSUY. It would indeed be great if WIWF was shut down and WTMA moved to 96.9.
 
WXTC (96.9) was beautiful music until February 14, 1985 when it switched to AC ("Lite Rock"). It stayed in that format until 1994 when it went "All 70s." That lasted until about 1997, when the calls were changed to WJZK and the format became Smooth Jazz.

WSUY came on the air around the end of 1989 at 100.3 or 100.7 (can't remember...but it was only 3000 watts). The original format was soft AC and the station called itself "Sunny 100". The station eventually got an upgrade to 25,000 watts and moved to 100.5.

Around 1999 the Smooth Jazz format on 96.9 was jettisoned and WSUY moved to the 100,000 watt 96.9 frequency.
 
I think Sunny 96.9 was a much better AC station than Y-102.5 has been. Cumulus/Citadel just have to have a country station in Charleston. I'm glad to hear Apex is doing well with country because maybe Cumulus will finally throw in the towel. You have to admit Cumulus/Citadel have been committed to country, first as Cat Country and now The Wolf.

I wonder if the addition of Charleston's most powerful FM to 'TMA would help them very much in terms of revenue, versus a music format. 'TMA's lineup isn't as strong as it used to be.
 
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