Clear Channel has destroyed L.A. radio

[john77]

Honestly, I don't know where to begin, but I've been listening to music in this market for over 24 years now, and it's my opinion that the L.A. area stations have NEVER sounded as boring and stale as they do now... Prime and center as the main culprit has to be the megaconglomerate, Clear Channel... they own 5 contemporary music stations, 4 of which I used to listen to quite a bit (KIIS, KYSR, KBIG and KOST).

In looking at the playlists and listening to these stations, it's very obvious they are trying to keep them as separate in sound as possible... Other than Kelly Clarkson, you'll rarely hear another ARTIST played on all 4 stations...

KIIS usually plays the current hits, but is VERY Urban leaning and is very slow to add anyone with a pop song not named Kelly or Gwen... good stuff like the almost top 10 dance leaning Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" is being ignored... they also NEVER played Nickelback's "Photograph" despite it getting up to #3 in the nation...

KYSR won't add a Kelly song until after KIIS has burned it out and is super slow to add new music - they FINALLY added James Blunt and Rob Thomas the past couple of weeks... they only play about 10 currents... I hear the same recurrents and gold over and over again there... B-O-R-I-N-G!!!

KBIG still sounds as terrible as ever... attempting to mix in different dance styles while not playing much current stuff at all (they play Madonna's "Hung Up" but that's all)...

KOST... well as an AC they should sound the "least fresh" of any of these stations, but they do actually add new music every once in a while, and they do have a HUGE library of gold which they play from... they are the only one of these 4 stations I can even stand to listen to for any length of time as they do seem to play a variety of stuff and aren't afraid of new music... Ryan Cabrera and Carrie Underwood are amongst the new artists which received airplay there and nowhere else amongst their stations...

What do you all think??? Personally, I think Clear Channel needs to be broken up and the stations independently run... judging by the posts here and on PULSE, it's obvious most of us could do a better job running KIIS, KYSR and KBIG than they are.

 

[radioresearcher]

> Honestly, I don't know where to begin, but I've been
> listening to music in this market for over 24 years now, and
> it's my opinion that the L.A. area stations have NEVER
> sounded as boring and stale as they do now... Prime and
> center as the main culprit has to be the megaconglomerate,
> Clear Channel... they own 5 contemporary music stations, 4
> of which I used to listen to quite a bit (KIIS, KYSR, KBIG
> and KOST).
>
> In looking at the playlists and listening to these stations,
> it's very obvious they are trying to keep them as separate
> in sound as possible... Other than Kelly Clarkson, you'll
> rarely hear another ARTIST played on all 4 stations...
>


> KIIS usually plays the current hits, but is VERY Urban
> leaning and is very slow to add anyone with a pop song not
> named Kelly or Gwen... good stuff like the almost top 10
> dance leaning Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" is being
> ignored... they also NEVER played Nickelback's "Photograph"
> despite it getting up to #3 in the nation...
>
When KIIS played a larger mix of pop/rock songs, they had some of the worst numbers they've ever had. They currently have some of their highest ratings in years by programming to the marketplace. They're almost a share ahead of Power 106... What's your point?



> KYSR won't add a Kelly song until after KIIS has burned it
> out and is super slow to add new music - they FINALLY added
> James Blunt and Rob Thomas the past couple of weeks... they
> only play about 10 currents... I hear the same recurrents
> and gold over and over again there... B-O-R-I-N-G!!!
>

I won't defend "Star" other than to say they've been hurt by a combination of a number of things - including a lack of product, KDLD/KDLE, KBIG getting better and a host of other issues.


> KBIG still sounds as terrible as ever... attempting to mix
> in different dance styles while not playing much current
> stuff at all (they play Madonna's "Hung Up" but that's
> all)...

KBIG has increased their target demos significantly in the last year - and again they don't need to play new music - they win with their recurrents and gold. Again, great numbers and high revenue. What's the argument here?


>
> KOST... well as an AC they should sound the "least fresh" of
> any of these stations, but they do actually add new music
> every once in a while, and they do have a HUGE library of
> gold which they play from... they are the only one of these
> 4 stations I can even stand to listen to for any length of
> time as they do seem to play a variety of stuff and aren't
> afraid of new music... Ryan Cabrera and Carrie Underwood are
> amongst the new artists which received airplay there and
> nowhere else amongst their stations...


It's #1 12+ this book (granted, thanks to Christmas), has a stellar on-air lineup - and is consistently a big biller. Case closed.

> What do you all think??? Personally, I think Clear Channel
> needs to be broken up and the stations independently run...
> judging by the posts here and on PULSE, it's obvious most of
> us could do a better job running KIIS, KYSR and KBIG than
> they are.
>
I think the cluster (outside of KYSR and including KHHT) is doing better than it has in a long time ... it's called running radio in consolidation.

 

[davideduardo]

All your points are well taken on KBIG, KOST and KIIS. How can you argue with high performing stations with large listenership?

> >
> I think the cluster (outside of KYSR and including KHHT) is
> doing better than it has in a long time ... it's called
> running radio in consolidation.

I see KHHT increasing nicely, and the station is different and listenable again. Mike is now doing KYSR, which I exèct to do good things, based on his past experience, especialy in Las Vegas.

 

[calguy]

Re: KOST did more than just Christmas

> > KOST... well as an AC they should sound the "least fresh"
> > of any of these stations, but they do actually add new music
> > every once in a while, and they do have a HUGE library of
> > gold which they play from... they are the only one of
> > these 4 stations I can even stand to listen to for any length of
> > time as they do seem to play a variety of stuff and aren't
> > afraid of new music... Ryan Cabrera and Carrie Underwood
> > are amongst the new artists which received airplay there and
> > nowhere else amongst their stations...
>
>
> It's #1 12+ this book (granted, thanks to Christmas), has a
> stellar on-air lineup - and is consistently a big biller.
> Case closed.
>
I might add that while Christmas may have helped a bit, KOST
had some decent numbers before they went all holiday music and
I dare say that was most of the reason for their good showing.
That being said, I can't disagree with much else that you've both
said...

 

[john77]

Please do not post ratings numbers. Those are not allowed here at Radio-info because of licensing issues. What is OK is if you list rank. Example: KIIS is #1 12+


The point being that you are wrong about this. In the last year, KIIS' Arbitron numbers are FLAT...() for the past year... and downtrending () to {} since the summer when they became even more Urban and Artist (play anything Kelly and Gwen) oriented... A year ago, Power 106 was at a () and now they are at a {}. The reason Power is down according to long time listeners is that they have abandoned their core audience. Has KIIS benefitted at all from this? Hard to tell... I doubt though KIIS would be above a () share if Power was still being programmed as smartly as it was a year ago.

>
>
>
> > KYSR won't add a Kelly song until after KIIS has burned it
>
> > out and is super slow to add new music - they FINALLY
> added
> > James Blunt and Rob Thomas the past couple of weeks...
> they
> > only play about 10 currents... I hear the same recurrents
> > and gold over and over again there... B-O-R-I-N-G!!!
> >
>
> I won't defend "Star" other than to say they've been hurt by
> a combination of a number of things - including a lack of
> product, KDLD/KDLE, KBIG getting better and a host of other
> issues.
>
A lack of product?? I don't think so. Listen to the Hot Ac's just north of L.A... KFYV, KBBY and KRUZ... All 3 of these stations have a minumum of 25 currents, and they all sound WAY better than Star...

The problem with Star is that they are content with their () share of the audience. Properly programmed they could get a () share with no problems.

>
> > KBIG still sounds as terrible as ever... attempting to mix
>
> > in different dance styles while not playing much current
> > stuff at all (they play Madonna's "Hung Up" but that's
> > all)...
>
> KBIG has increased their target demos significantly in the
> last year - and again they don't need to play new music -
> they win with their recurrents and gold. Again, great
> numbers and high revenue. What's the argument here?
>

I do see where KBIG has made modest ratings gains from a () to a () over the past year. Some of this may be ironically from Power listeners, wanting to hear some of the old school 80's stuff like Starpoint, Gap Band, Cameo etc that KBIG does play...

In the long run, you NEVER win the ratings game with recurrents and gold... look at KRTH and JACK FM stations as current examples... Unless your library is 1500 songs +, the stations will eventually sound stale. Jack, BTW is down () to () in the latest book, KRTH has gone () to () the past year...
>
> >
> > KOST... well as an AC they should sound the "least fresh"
> of
> > any of these stations, but they do actually add new music
> > every once in a while, and they do have a HUGE library of
> > gold which they play from... they are the only one of
> these
> > 4 stations I can even stand to listen to for any length of
>
> > time as they do seem to play a variety of stuff and aren't
>
> > afraid of new music... Ryan Cabrera and Carrie Underwood
> are
> > amongst the new artists which received airplay there and
> > nowhere else amongst their stations...
>
>
> It's #1 12+ this book (granted, thanks to Christmas), has a
> stellar on-air lineup - and is consistently a big biller.
> Case closed.

I think I mentioned KOST is the one station out of this cluster that seems to know what it's doing... the rest don't have a clue obviously...

>
> > What do you all think??? Personally, I think Clear
> Channel
> > needs to be broken up and the stations independently
> run...
> > judging by the posts here and on PULSE, it's obvious most
> of
> > us could do a better job running KIIS, KYSR and KBIG than
> > they are.
> >
> I think the cluster (outside of KYSR and including KHHT) is
> doing better than it has in a long time ... it's called
> running radio in consolidation.
>

The cluster is NOT doing all that well and is sounding worse and as stale as ever. They are doing an AWFUL job of running radio in consolidation. <P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Kyle_Hojem on 01/31/06 03:46 AM.</FONT></P>

 

[john77]

> All your points are well taken on KBIG, KOST and KIIS. How
> can you argue with high performing stations with large
> listenership?
>
> > >
> > I think the cluster (outside of KYSR and including KHHT)
> is
> > doing better than it has in a long time ... it's called
> > running radio in consolidation.
>
> I see KHHT increasing nicely, and the station is different
> and listenable again. Mike is now doing KYSR, which I exèct
> to do good things, based on his past experience, especialy
> in Las Vegas.
>

Please do not post ratings numbers. Radio-info is not licensed for users to post ratings. What is OK is if you list rank. Example: KIIS is #1 12+

I never said anything negative about KOST... they are the one Clear Channel outlet that sounds fine... KIIS though has gone () to () the past 6 months, and Power had fallen () to () the past year... You wouldn't expect BOTH to be sliding, but that's exactly what's happening... In it's heyday, in 1984, KIIS had a () rating... while in today's day and age that will never happen, if they were doing things right, they could get something in the () range for sure. KBIG's ratings went () to () the past year... probably old-time Power listerners moving over more than anything else. <P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Kyle_Hojem on 01/31/06 03:45 AM.</FONT></P>

 

[Garrett]

What? This again?
Oh gawd, here we go.................
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz z zz z


> Honestly, I don't know where to begin, but I've been
> listening to music in this market for over 24 years now, and
> it's my opinion that the L.A. area stations have NEVER
> sounded as boring and stale as they do now... Prime and
> center as the main culprit has to be the megaconglomerate,
> Clear Channel... they own 5 contemporary music stations, 4
> of which I used to listen to quite a bit (KIIS, KYSR, KBIG
> and KOST).
>
> In looking at the playlists and listening to these stations,
> it's very obvious they are trying to keep them as separate
> in sound as possible... Other than Kelly Clarkson, you'll
> rarely hear another ARTIST played on all 4 stations...
>
> KIIS usually plays the current hits, but is VERY Urban
> leaning and is very slow to add anyone with a pop song not
> named Kelly or Gwen... good stuff like the almost top 10
> dance leaning Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" is being
> ignored... they also NEVER played Nickelback's "Photograph"
> despite it getting up to #3 in the nation...
>
> KYSR won't add a Kelly song until after KIIS has burned it
> out and is super slow to add new music - they FINALLY added
> James Blunt and Rob Thomas the past couple of weeks... they
> only play about 10 currents... I hear the same recurrents
> and gold over and over again there... B-O-R-I-N-G!!!
>
> KBIG still sounds as terrible as ever... attempting to mix
> in different dance styles while not playing much current
> stuff at all (they play Madonna's "Hung Up" but that's
> all)...
>
> KOST... well as an AC they should sound the "least fresh" of
> any of these stations, but they do actually add new music
> every once in a while, and they do have a HUGE library of
> gold which they play from... they are the only one of these
> 4 stations I can even stand to listen to for any length of
> time as they do seem to play a variety of stuff and aren't
> afraid of new music... Ryan Cabrera and Carrie Underwood are
> amongst the new artists which received airplay there and
> nowhere else amongst their stations...
>
> What do you all think??? Personally, I think Clear Channel
> needs to be broken up and the stations independently run...
> judging by the posts here and on PULSE, it's obvious most of
> us could do a better job running KIIS, KYSR and KBIG than
> they are.
>

 

[MarcR]

... they also NEVER played Nickelback's "Photograph"
> despite it getting up to #3 in the nation...
>
Thanks to you, I've finally found *Something* redeeming about KIIS-FM! That Nickelback song is one of the most abominable Pop/Rock records I've EVER heard (Even challenging a song called "More Than Words" by the hair metal band Extreme)!

 

[radioresearcher]

> > All your points are well taken on KBIG, KOST and KIIS. How
>
> > can you argue with high performing stations with large
> > listenership?
> >
> > > >
> > > I think the cluster (outside of KYSR and including KHHT)
>
> > is
> > > doing better than it has in a long time ... it's called
> > > running radio in consolidation.
> >
> > I see KHHT increasing nicely, and the station is different
>
> > and listenable again. Mike is now doing KYSR, which I
> exèct
> > to do good things, based on his past experience, especialy
>
> > in Las Vegas.
> >
>
> Please do not post ratings numbers. Radio-info is not
> licensed for users to post ratings. What is OK is if you
> list rank. Example: KIIS is #1 12+
>
> I never said anything negative about KOST... they are the
> one Clear Channel outlet that sounds fine... KIIS though has
> gone () to () the past 6 months, and Power had fallen () to
> () the past year... You wouldn't expect BOTH to be sliding,
> but that's exactly what's happening... In it's heyday, in
> 1984, KIIS had a () rating... while in today's day and age
> that will never happen, if they were doing things right,
> they could get something in the () range for sure. KBIG's
> ratings went () to () the past year... probably old-time
> Power listerners moving over more than anything else.
>



John:

Shares are way down from the 80's - now that more signals are viable. In the 80's 92.3 was Classical, 93.5 was Brokered, 94.3 was MIA in the Valley, 97.5 was a Riverside station, 98.3 was non-existent ratings wise, 103.1 was split and had no numbers, 103.9 was right around a 1.0 share, so did KNAC at 105.5 ... 107.1 was non-existent as well - so add up all those shares and they had to come from somewhere.

There is so much more competition today.

 

[radioresearcher]

> Please do not post ratings numbers. Those are not allowed
> here at Radio-info because of licensing issues. What is OK
> is if you list rank. Example: KIIS is #1 12+
>
>
> The point being that you are wrong about this. In the last
> year, KIIS' Arbitron numbers are FLAT...() for the past
> year... and downtrending () to {} since the summer when
> they became even more Urban and Artist (play anything Kelly
> and Gwen) oriented... A year ago, Power 106 was at a ()
> and now they are at a {}. The reason Power is down
> according to long time listeners is that they have abandoned
> their core audience. Has KIIS benefitted at all from this?
> Hard to tell... I doubt though KIIS would be above a ()
> share if Power was still being programmed as smartly as it
> was a year ago.
>
> >
> >
> >
> > > KYSR won't add a Kelly song until after KIIS has burned
> it
> >
> > > out and is super slow to add new music - they FINALLY
> > added
> > > James Blunt and Rob Thomas the past couple of weeks...
> > they
> > > only play about 10 currents... I hear the same
> recurrents
> > > and gold over and over again there... B-O-R-I-N-G!!!
> > >
> >
> > I won't defend "Star" other than to say they've been hurt
> by
> > a combination of a number of things - including a lack of
> > product, KDLD/KDLE, KBIG getting better and a host of
> other
> > issues.
> >
> A lack of product?? I don't think so. Listen to the Hot
> Ac's just north of L.A... KFYV, KBBY and KRUZ... All 3 of
> these stations have a minumum of 25 currents, and they all
> sound WAY better than Star...
>
> The problem with Star is that they are content with their ()
> share of the audience. Properly programmed they could get a
> () share with no problems.
>
> >
> > > KBIG still sounds as terrible as ever... attempting to
> mix
> >
> > > in different dance styles while not playing much current
>
> > > stuff at all (they play Madonna's "Hung Up" but that's
> > > all)...
> >
> > KBIG has increased their target demos significantly in the
>
> > last year - and again they don't need to play new music -
> > they win with their recurrents and gold. Again, great
> > numbers and high revenue. What's the argument here?
> >
>
> I do see where KBIG has made modest ratings gains from a ()
> to a () over the past year. Some of this may be ironically
> from Power listeners, wanting to hear some of the old school
> 80's stuff like Starpoint, Gap Band, Cameo etc that KBIG
> does play...
>
> In the long run, you NEVER win the ratings game with
> recurrents and gold... look at KRTH and JACK FM stations as
> current examples... Unless your library is 1500 songs +, the
> stations will eventually sound stale. Jack, BTW is down ()
> to () in the latest book, KRTH has gone () to () the past
> year...
> >
> > >
> > > KOST... well as an AC they should sound the "least
> fresh"
> > of
> > > any of these stations, but they do actually add new
> music
> > > every once in a while, and they do have a HUGE library
> of
> > > gold which they play from... they are the only one of
> > these
> > > 4 stations I can even stand to listen to for any length
> of
> >
> > > time as they do seem to play a variety of stuff and
> aren't
> >
> > > afraid of new music... Ryan Cabrera and Carrie Underwood
>
> > are
> > > amongst the new artists which received airplay there and
>
> > > nowhere else amongst their stations...
> >
> >
> > It's #1 12+ this book (granted, thanks to Christmas), has
> a
> > stellar on-air lineup - and is consistently a big biller.
> > Case closed.
>
> I think I mentioned KOST is the one station out of this
> cluster that seems to know what it's doing... the rest don't
> have a clue obviously...
>
> >
> > > What do you all think??? Personally, I think Clear
> > Channel
> > > needs to be broken up and the stations independently
> > run...
> > > judging by the posts here and on PULSE, it's obvious
> most
> > of
> > > us could do a better job running KIIS, KYSR and KBIG
> than
> > > they are.
> > >
> > I think the cluster (outside of KYSR and including KHHT)
> is
> > doing better than it has in a long time ... it's called
> > running radio in consolidation.
> >
>
> The cluster is NOT doing all that well and is sounding worse
> and as stale as ever. They are doing an AWFUL job of
> running radio in consolidation.
>

KRUZ is down to some of the lowest ratings in their history. KBBY is way off from a few years ago. There is a definite lack of product. There are very few musically aggressive Hot AC's that are doing well. Could KYSR be more aggressive - maybe since KIIS is more rhythmic in slant - but I agree with David that Mike has done a great job with Hot and he needs some time to work with KYSR.

For KBIG, what currents would they play? There's nothing that really fits with the gold.

I don't how you can say the cluster isn't doing well. KIIS, KOST, KBIG, and KHHT are all up 25-54 year-to-year (KIIS is up across the board). KYSR is off a bit - but they have big competition from KCBS-FM.

 

[RyanCA]

> Honestly, I don't know where to begin, but I've been
> listening to music in this market for over 24 years now, and
> it's my opinion that the L.A. area stations have NEVER
> sounded as boring and stale as they do now... Prime and
> center as the main culprit has to be the megaconglomerate,
> Clear Channel... they own 5 contemporary music stations, 4
> of which I used to listen to quite a bit (KIIS, KYSR, KBIG
> and KOST).
>
> In looking at the playlists and listening to these stations,
> it's very obvious they are trying to keep them as separate
> in sound as possible... Other than Kelly Clarkson, you'll
> rarely hear another ARTIST played on all 4 stations...
>
> KIIS usually plays the current hits, but is VERY Urban
> leaning and is very slow to add anyone with a pop song not
> named Kelly or Gwen... good stuff like the almost top 10
> dance leaning Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" is being
> ignored... they also NEVER played Nickelback's "Photograph"
> despite it getting up to #3 in the nation...
>
> KYSR won't add a Kelly song until after KIIS has burned it
> out and is super slow to add new music - they FINALLY added
> James Blunt and Rob Thomas the past couple of weeks... they
> only play about 10 currents... I hear the same recurrents
> and gold over and over again there... B-O-R-I-N-G!!!
>
> KBIG still sounds as terrible as ever... attempting to mix
> in different dance styles while not playing much current
> stuff at all (they play Madonna's "Hung Up" but that's
> all)...
>
> KOST... well as an AC they should sound the "least fresh" of
> any of these stations, but they do actually add new music
> every once in a while, and they do have a HUGE library of
> gold which they play from... they are the only one of these
> 4 stations I can even stand to listen to for any length of
> time as they do seem to play a variety of stuff and aren't
> afraid of new music... Ryan Cabrera and Carrie Underwood are
> amongst the new artists which received airplay there and
> nowhere else amongst their stations...
>
> What do you all think??? Personally, I think Clear Channel
> needs to be broken up and the stations independently run...
> judging by the posts here and on PULSE, it's obvious most of
> us could do a better job running KIIS, KYSR and KBIG than
> they are.
>


I'm with you on this but I don't think anythings gonna change until people start tuning out again especially KIIS. And you know it will eventually happen. These things happen in cycles.

I wish KIIS could be more like WHTZ. Why not just call it "URBAN" what it really is these days and let a real top 40 station debut.

There HD2 stations are a joke. As if the main channel wasn't stale enough. We get KIIS for Young Latinos "Kisspanic". Not a niche format but the same crap. But their appealing to the least likely group to be early adaptors of HD radios. KBIG does Disco on KBIG2. What a joke. You think you have enough disco there?? KYSR does 80's..... Not the real 80's. The tight overplayed 80's new wave songs.

 

[john77]

> > Please do not post ratings numbers. Those are not allowed
>
> > here at Radio-info because of licensing issues. What is
> OK
> > is if you list rank. Example: KIIS is #1 12+
> >
>
I'm sorry for posting the numbers... I didn't know they were not allowed.


> > The point being that you are wrong about this. In the
> last
> > year, KIIS' Arbitron numbers are FLAT...() for the past
> > year... and downtrending () to {} since the summer when
> > they became even more Urban and Artist (play anything
> Kelly
> > and Gwen) oriented... A year ago, Power 106 was at a ()
> > and now they are at a {}. The reason Power is down
> > according to long time listeners is that they have
> abandoned
> > their core audience. Has KIIS benefitted at all from
> this?
> > Hard to tell... I doubt though KIIS would be above a ()
> > share if Power was still being programmed as smartly as it
>
> > was a year ago.
> >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > KYSR won't add a Kelly song until after KIIS has
> burned
> > it
> > >
> > > > out and is super slow to add new music - they FINALLY
> > > added
> > > > James Blunt and Rob Thomas the past couple of weeks...
>
> > > they
> > > > only play about 10 currents... I hear the same
> > recurrents
> > > > and gold over and over again there... B-O-R-I-N-G!!!
> > > >
> > >
> > > I won't defend "Star" other than to say they've been
> hurt
> > by
> > > a combination of a number of things - including a lack
> of
> > > product, KDLD/KDLE, KBIG getting better and a host of
> > other
> > > issues.
> > >
> > A lack of product?? I don't think so. Listen to the Hot
> > Ac's just north of L.A... KFYV, KBBY and KRUZ... All 3 of
> > these stations have a minumum of 25 currents, and they all
>
> > sound WAY better than Star...
> >
> > The problem with Star is that they are content with their
> ()
> > share of the audience. Properly programmed they could get
> a
> > () share with no problems.
> >
> > >
> > > > KBIG still sounds as terrible as ever... attempting to
>
> > mix
> > >
> > > > in different dance styles while not playing much
> current
> >
> > > > stuff at all (they play Madonna's "Hung Up" but that's
>
> > > > all)...
> > >
> > > KBIG has increased their target demos significantly in
> the
> >
> > > last year - and again they don't need to play new music
> -
> > > they win with their recurrents and gold. Again, great
> > > numbers and high revenue. What's the argument here?
> > >
> >
> > I do see where KBIG has made modest ratings gains from a
> ()
> > to a () over the past year. Some of this may be
> ironically
> > from Power listeners, wanting to hear some of the old
> school
> > 80's stuff like Starpoint, Gap Band, Cameo etc that KBIG
> > does play...
> >
> > In the long run, you NEVER win the ratings game with
> > recurrents and gold... look at KRTH and JACK FM stations
> as
> > current examples... Unless your library is 1500 songs +,
> the
> > stations will eventually sound stale. Jack, BTW is down
> ()
> > to () in the latest book, KRTH has gone () to () the past
> > year...
> > >
> > > >
> > > > KOST... well as an AC they should sound the "least
> > fresh"
> > > of
> > > > any of these stations, but they do actually add new
> > music
> > > > every once in a while, and they do have a HUGE library
>
> > of
> > > > gold which they play from... they are the only one of
> > > these
> > > > 4 stations I can even stand to listen to for any
> length
> > of
> > >
> > > > time as they do seem to play a variety of stuff and
> > aren't
> > >
> > > > afraid of new music... Ryan Cabrera and Carrie
> Underwood
> >
> > > are
> > > > amongst the new artists which received airplay there
> and
> >
> > > > nowhere else amongst their stations...
> > >
> > >
> > > It's #1 12+ this book (granted, thanks to Christmas),
> has
> > a
> > > stellar on-air lineup - and is consistently a big
> biller.
> > > Case closed.
> >
> > I think I mentioned KOST is the one station out of this
> > cluster that seems to know what it's doing... the rest
> don't
> > have a clue obviously...
> >
> > >
> > > > What do you all think??? Personally, I think Clear
> > > Channel
> > > > needs to be broken up and the stations independently
> > > run...
> > > > judging by the posts here and on PULSE, it's obvious
> > most
> > > of
> > > > us could do a better job running KIIS, KYSR and KBIG
> > than
> > > > they are.
> > > >
> > > I think the cluster (outside of KYSR and including KHHT)
>
> > is
> > > doing better than it has in a long time ... it's called
> > > running radio in consolidation.
> > >
> >
> > The cluster is NOT doing all that well and is sounding
> worse
> > and as stale as ever. They are doing an AWFUL job of
> > running radio in consolidation.
> >
>
> KRUZ is down to some of the lowest ratings in their history.

There are 2 reasons for this:
1. KRUZ got very stale over the past few years (like Star is sounding right now). Listeners then defected to Live 105.5 and B-95.1 in droves.

2. KRUZ switched frequencies from 103.3 (now inhabited by "the Vibe") to 97.5... they also went from having the strongest signal in the nation to one that is barely 1/7 th as strong as the new signal...

KRUZ has definitely freshened up it's music the past couple of months... problem is that they still don't sound as good as either KBBY or KFYV... I expect modest ratings gains over the coming months from them...

> KBBY is way off from a few years ago. There is a definite
> lack of product.

I don't agree with this. Smaller market stations always show large fluctuations in the ratings numbers due to smaller sample sizes... It's not like they are doing bad as they are 7th in the Oxnard-Ventura market. Looking at the current charts, there is PLENTY of product out there and a lot of it is selling records. Nickelback, Kelly Clarkson, James Blunt, Fall Out Boy, Madonna and Carrie Underwood all have tracks on the top 25 of the current Hot AC charts and they all also have albums in the top 25. You also have to remember that in this day and age, album sales don't mean as much as they once did. Most of the popular product is available via downloads... people would rather shell out .99 for a song than $10-$15 for a CD.

There are very few musically aggressive Hot
> AC's that are doing well. Could KYSR be more aggressive -
> maybe since KIIS is more rhythmic in slant - but I agree
> with David that Mike has done a great job with Hot and he
> needs some time to work with KYSR.

To be competitive, KYSR needs to be A LOT MORE AGRESSIVE. THERE IS A TON OF GREAT PRODUCT out there that is getting ZERO exposure in the L.A. Market... Howie Day, Staind, Fray, Anna Nalick, Collective Soul, Train, Santana w/Steven Tyler, Daniel Powter, Coldplay, All-American Rejects, Carrie Underwood, Bon Jovi, 3 Doors Down w/Bob Seger... and these are songs which ALL currently reside in the top 30 of the Hot AC charts... KYSR even had Howie Day in studio... "Collide" was a HUGE hit... they even got requests for the acostic version he performed... yet they won't play "She Says" despite it being a huge top 10 hit at the format... Staind, Anna Nalick, Collective Soul, Train, Santana w/Michelle Branch, Coldplay, Bon Jovi and 3 Doors Down ALL either had their last hits played on the station and/or have songs played as GOLD or RECURRENTS on the station... the CORE listeners EXPECT to hear the CORE artists new stuff... makes sense, doesn't it???

If I want to hear the new Bon Jovi, I have to listen to the Country stations... how bizarre is that???

>
> For KBIG, what currents would they play? There's nothing
> that really fits with the gold.

KBIG has plenty of current product to choose from that would fit in with the gold... Apparently you are not familiar with Cascada's "Everytime We Touch"... If you think "Hung Up" has a club feel to it, that's nothing compared to this. Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" is also a natural fit with the stations current sound... Kelly Clarkson's "Walk Away" (while it doesn't have the sound of a CHR/Pop hit - it will go top 10 based on her rep alone) would fit very well on KBIG... PCD "Stickwitu", Fall Out Boys' "Dance Dance" and Gorillaz "Feels Good Inc" also are perfect fits... and there are others...

>
> I don't how you can say the cluster isn't doing well. KIIS,
> KOST, KBIG, and KHHT are all up 25-54 year-to-year (KIIS is
> up across the board). KYSR is off a bit - but they have big
> competition from KCBS-FM.
>
KIIS 12+ numebrs are flat over the past year (despite Power's fall from 1st to 8th)... and they are down the past 6 months as is KYSR. Maybe you aren't looking at the same numbers I am... I use those in R&R. KCBS has had little to no effect on KYSR's 12+ numbers... KYSR also has EXACTLY the same 12+ numbers now as they had a year ago...

KOST and KHHT... yes, those stations are up overall... though KHHT did fall a couple spots in the last book... KOST in particular seems to run fine on it's own and as I've said earlier, they are THE ONLY ONE of the CC stations that I listen to that even takes a chance on new music. They played the Ryan Cabrera "True" and Carrie Underwood "Inside Your Heaven" singles for example... KIIS played "True" too but it was an almost unrecognizable mix... KOST takes some chances and their consistently great numbers bear this out... the other stations are way too safe and could really get some better numbers if they were more aggressive in their programming like KOST is.

 

[john77]

> I'm with you on this but I don't think anythings gonna
> change until people start tuning out again especially KIIS.
> And you know it will eventually happen. These things happen
> in cycles.
>
> I wish KIIS could be more like WHTZ. Why not just call it
> "URBAN" what it really is these days and let a real top 40
> station debut.
>
> There HD2 stations are a joke. As if the main channel wasn't
> stale enough. We get KIIS for Young Latinos "Kisspanic".
> Not a niche format but the same crap. But their appealing to
> the least likely group to be early adaptors of HD radios.
> KBIG does Disco on KBIG2. What a joke. You think you have
> enough disco there?? KYSR does 80's..... Not the real 80's.
> The tight overplayed 80's new wave songs.
>
I wish this KIIS would be more like WHTZ too... I remember back in 1989 when KIIS was getting too "Churban" sounding... and then "Pirate Radio" came along and all of a sudden the 38 Specials and Poisons of the world started getting played on KIIS... Maybe we can get Scott Shannon to come out here again... yeah, right!

Bottom line is KIIS right now is nore CHR/Urban than CHR/Pop... There's a BIG, gaping hole in the market reminscent of 1989... if you look at the Hot AC and CHR/Pop charts right now, you'll see a lot of big hits not getting played in this market... Natasha Bedingfield, Relient K, Staind, Saving Jane, Click Five, Ashlee Simpson, Lifehouse, Bo Bice, Weezer, Howie Day, Alanis Morissette, Fray, Anna Nalick, Collective Soul, Daniel Powter, Santana w/Steven Tyler, Coldplay (2), All-American Rejects, Carrie Underwood, Bon Jovi, Scott Stapp, 3 Doors Down, Depeche Mode and Jack Johnson all have current songs on either one or both of these charts... That's 26 songs... you could start a pretty good sounding radio station with those songs and some GOLD and RECURRENTS... Maybe it's time for JOHN FM.

I haven't heard the HD2 stations, but they sound like they are as crappy as I expected... I wouldn't expect anything more from Clear Channel for sure.

 

[ronkaram]

It's interesting to read about what Clear Channel is doing as I quit listening to them several years ago. I hear KOST in my wife's car and occaisonaly KIIS when my son rides in my car and takes over the radio.

I've been waitng to buy Sirus when I buy a new car which should be within the next few months.

The best thing to do about Clear Channel is what I did and that is just don't listen to thier stations. I have my dance music tapes and I listen to news. When I visit my mom in the Cleveland-Akron area where CC is just as dominant I don't listen to the radio at all except for Radio Free Ohio which is the Air America outlet in Akron.

 

[john77]

> It's interesting to read about what Clear Channel is doing
> as I quit listening to them several years ago. I hear KOST
> in my wife's car and occaisonaly KIIS when my son rides in
> my car and takes over the radio.
>
> I've been waitng to buy Sirus when I buy a new car which
> should be within the next few months.
>
> The best thing to do about Clear Channel is what I did and
> that is just don't listen to thier stations. I have my dance
> music tapes and I listen to news. When I visit my mom in the
> Cleveland-Akron area where CC is just as dominant I don't
> listen to the radio at all except for Radio Free Ohio which
> is the Air America outlet in Akron.
>

And that is precisely what I'm doing now. BOYCOTT CLEAR CHANNEL... that's my slogan... and you may be seeing bumper stickers in the near future...

I can hear all of the recurrent and gold stuff I like on KYSR on JACK or my other 3 Hot AC stations anyways, so there is no need for them at the moment. I monitor the airplay of the CC stations via Mediabase and yes.com just so I can keep an eye on what they are doing...

As for my listening, KBBY, KFYV and KZLA are the 3 stations I listen to the most these days (yes, CC has been the catalyst in causing me to take a look at Country)... I also do a lot of downloading from the internet and I'm looking into starting my own internet radio station... I also have a very large library of CD's to pick music from so variety will never be an issue as long as there is good product out there...

 

[davideduardo]

>
> Please do not post ratings numbers. Radio-info is not
> licensed for users to post ratings. What is OK is if you
> list rank. Example: KIIS is #1 12+
>
> I never said anything negative about KOST... they are the
> one Clear Channel outlet that sounds fine... KIIS though has
> gone () to () the past 6 months, and Power had fallen () to
> () the past year... You wouldn't expect BOTH to be sliding,
> but that's exactly what's happening...

reason... KXOL.

> In it's heyday, in
> 1984, KIIS had a () rating... while in today's day and age
> that will never happen, if they were doing things right,
> they could get something in the () range for sure.

With today's fragging, they are doing splendidly.

> KBIG's
> ratings went () to () the past year... probably old-time
> Power listerners moving over more than anything else.

Probably Hispanic females, which is half their cume.

 

[KMRichards]

> And that is precisely what I'm doing now. BOYCOTT CLEAR
> CHANNEL... that's my slogan... and you may be seeing bumper
> stickers in the near future...

That's all well and good, but will scarcely make any kind of impact.

You didn't bother reading the rules before you posted, so you didn't know ratings aren't allowed. Please allow me to share something else you don't know yet.

The people here on Radio-Info are <u>not</u> your typical listener. We are a mix of broadcast professionals (many of us with programming experience) and very critical listeners who go through every station with a fine toothed comb.

A "Boycott Clear Channel" campaign might go over well with some of the people here, but the reality is that most of us are something like the crowd that gathers around a multi-vehicle accident. We don't really like it, but we are drawn to it just so we can talk about the wreck afterwards.

And the average listener doesn't even know who Clear Channel is. Nor cares.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>

 

[john77]

> > And that is precisely what I'm doing now. BOYCOTT CLEAR
> > CHANNEL... that's my slogan... and you may be seeing
> bumper
> > stickers in the near future...
>
> That's all well and good, but will scarcely make any kind of
> impact.
>
> You didn't bother reading the rules before you posted, so
> you didn't know ratings aren't allowed. Please allow me to
> share something else you don't know yet.
>
> The people here on Radio-Info are not your typical listener.
> We are a mix of broadcast professionals (many of us with
> programming experience) and very critical listeners who go
> through every station with a fine toothed comb.
>
> A "Boycott Clear Channel" campaign might go over well with
> some of the people here, but the reality is that most of us
> are something like the crowd that gathers around a
> multi-vehicle accident. We don't really like it, but we are
> drawn to it just so we can talk about the wreck afterwards.
>
> And the average listener doesn't even know who Clear Channel
> is. Nor cares.
>

Once again, I'm sorry that I glanced over the site rules, but it was nearly 4 weeks ago that I read over them... Due to a glitch on my computer's filters, the eMail didn't get to my mailbox until 2 days ago. FYI, I've re-read all of the rules, so I know not to do it again...

One of the reasons I joined this site is the fact that it does include people in the industry and I welcome the opportunity to chat with them... I found out about this site and the fact that people in the industry are on it well over a month ago. I've found this to be probably the most informative place on the web when it comes to radio. For over 24 years, I've always been intrigued by radio, programming, ratings, playlists and the like... No, I'm not your "average listener" by any stretch of the imagination...

As for CC, I think the "average listener" is a little more aware of what is going on than you might think. I have a good friend at work who also happens to also work at a Culumus station (KVYB) part time and we talk about the industry a lot... she's surprised by the questions people sometimes ask her and their knowledge... I'm a member at several artists fansites and we regularly discuss the conglomerates like CC, Cumulus (they made a big mistake last week stopping the adds reporting), and others... the true music fans are fascinated by this stuff and if you're a numbers geek like me, then even moreso... The people on the Pulse boards also have a lot of knowledge (and a few industry people post there as well)... Maybe I should start a "grass roots" campaign.

Anyways, I look forward to learning more about the industry and chatting with people with knowledge on your level.

Thanks again,

John

 

[agreenbe]

Clearchannel has destroyed many markets around the country..not just L.A...San Diego is another market which is clearchannel based. I like the smaller companies better as they are more creative with programming. When i am on the net, I will listen to radio from places where clearchannel does dominate such as Seattle and San Francisco....even like to listen to Canada.

When it comes to radio comapnies...Entercomm and Citidel seem to be more loose when it comes to a playlist.


> Honestly, I don't know where to begin, but I've been
> listening to music in this market for over 24 years now, and
> it's my opinion that the L.A. area stations have NEVER
> sounded as boring and stale as they do now... Prime and
> center as the main culprit has to be the megaconglomerate,
> Clear Channel... they own 5 contemporary music stations, 4
> of which I used to listen to quite a bit (KIIS, KYSR, KBIG
> and KOST).
>
> In looking at the playlists and listening to these stations,
> it's very obvious they are trying to keep them as separate
> in sound as possible... Other than Kelly Clarkson, you'll
> rarely hear another ARTIST played on all 4 stations...
>
> KIIS usually plays the current hits, but is VERY Urban
> leaning and is very slow to add anyone with a pop song not
> named Kelly or Gwen... good stuff like the almost top 10
> dance leaning Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" is being
> ignored... they also NEVER played Nickelback's "Photograph"
> despite it getting up to #3 in the nation...
>
> KYSR won't add a Kelly song until after KIIS has burned it
> out and is super slow to add new music - they FINALLY added
> James Blunt and Rob Thomas the past couple of weeks... they
> only play about 10 currents... I hear the same recurrents
> and gold over and over again there... B-O-R-I-N-G!!!
>
> KBIG still sounds as terrible as ever... attempting to mix
> in different dance styles while not playing much current
> stuff at all (they play Madonna's "Hung Up" but that's
> all)...
>
> KOST... well as an AC they should sound the "least fresh" of
> any of these stations, but they do actually add new music
> every once in a while, and they do have a HUGE library of
> gold which they play from... they are the only one of these
> 4 stations I can even stand to listen to for any length of
> time as they do seem to play a variety of stuff and aren't
> afraid of new music... Ryan Cabrera and Carrie Underwood are
> amongst the new artists which received airplay there and
> nowhere else amongst their stations...
>
> What do you all think??? Personally, I think Clear Channel
> needs to be broken up and the stations independently run...
> judging by the posts here and on PULSE, it's obvious most of
> us could do a better job running KIIS, KYSR and KBIG than
> they are.
>

 

[davideduardo]

> >
> Bottom line is KIIS right now is nore CHR/Urban than
> CHR/Pop... There's a BIG, gaping hole in the market
> reminscent of 1989... if you look at the Hot AC and CHR/Pop
> charts right now, you'll see a lot of big hits not getting
> played in this market...

That is because they are NOT hits in this market. LA, in the 12-34 CHR demos, is 70% ethnic. Thythmic is the formula that works, and the pop stuff has very little acceptance here as witnessed by the attempts of KIIS to be less rythmic in the past. Today, they are consistently top 3 in the ratings, and have absolutely no reson to change.

> Natasha Bedingfield, Relient K,
> Staind, Saving Jane, Click Five, Ashlee Simpson, Lifehouse,
> Bo Bice, Weezer, Howie Day, Alanis Morissette, Fray, Anna
> Nalick, Collective Soul, Daniel Powter, Santana w/Steven
> Tyler, Coldplay (2), All-American Rejects, Carrie Underwood,
> Bon Jovi, Scott Stapp, 3 Doors Down, Depeche Mode and Jack
> Johnson all have current songs on either one or both of
> these charts... That's 26 songs... you could start a pretty
> good sounding radio station with those songs and some GOLD
> and RECURRENTS...

And you would have like 11 listeners in LA, man.

This is not Clear Channel's fault. This whole complaint of your is essentially "why don't they play more white music for me" in a city that is decidedly ehtnic and rhythmic.

If you want that kind of music, go to Minneapolis.