Re: Oldies To "Jack"?
> Not true. L.A. was a classic hits station. Boston already
> has a Variety Hits (Jack) station, Mike FM.
> >
> > I have noticed that FM oldies stations in NY and LA have
> > converted from Oldies to a Jack format,and many folks say
> > Boston is next.
> > The concept sounds like a good idea but the uniqueness of
> > the station would be gone.
>
> >
>
Yes, and so does San Francisco. In both markets, the Variety Hits stations are doing awful. Not sure about San Francisco so much, but in Boston, Mike FM is a lousy Mike impersonation. In my opinion, some of the reasons that Mike is doing poorly are...
1) (MAIN REASON) The music blend is awful. It's nothing like the successful KCBS-FM in comparison. The playlist dwells far too much on 70's disco and classic rock, and also plays awkward currents that just don't fit the format. I've heard songs like Justin Timberlake's "Rock Your Body" and Will Smith's "Switch" that no Infinity Jack FM would be caught dead playing.
At the beginning, the Mike FM blend shared a huge amount of the playlist with Rhythmic AC "Star 93.7" which Mike inherited the freqency from. I've noticed the station playing an unhealthy amount of artists like Janet Jackson and, in particular, Donna Summer, which were staples of Star, but really aren't the focus of Jack FMs. Mike also ignores a lot of 80's music, which is really the bread-and-butter of the Infinity Jack FM's, which, I believe, is preventing the stationh
2) 93.7 is a rimshot signal. It's a very good rimshot; I'd compare it to WLEY 107.9 in the Chicago market for strength, however, because it is a rimshot, it isn't easy for an average listener to pick up in Downtown Boston. It does have nearly spotless quality in all but the far South Shore.
3) The liners really aren't that great, IMHO the voiceover person is annoying as well, while Howard Cogan sounds irrelevant in a good way.
4) Entercom was apparently expecting a lot of Star listeners to stick with Mike, but rather they got outraged and started a protest website. The protests led to the re-incarnation of Star 93.7 on the internet. Unlike Jack and the internet version of WCBS-FM, which have entirely different audiences, Entercom is leading potential listeners of Mike FM to another station, basically.
5) Did I mention that the music is awful?
Mike is now running around 2 share, which is not very good for the Boston market. If Infinity wanted to get Jack into the Boston area eventually, they'd need to do it soon, before Entercom figures out what's going wrong with Mike and fixes it.
Interestingly, it was noted before that Infinity was one day away from launching Jack in Boston and San Francisco when they were beaten to the punch by Entercom and Bonneville. Bonneville at least deserves that they need to cleanse the cume of KZBR 95.7, but Entercom clearly felt that some Star listeners would stay with the station. As always, we'll just have to wait and see.
> Not true. L.A. was a classic hits station. Boston already
> has a Variety Hits (Jack) station, Mike FM.
> >
> > I have noticed that FM oldies stations in NY and LA have
> > converted from Oldies to a Jack format,and many folks say
> > Boston is next.
> > The concept sounds like a good idea but the uniqueness of
> > the station would be gone.
>
> >
>
Yes, and so does San Francisco. In both markets, the Variety Hits stations are doing awful. Not sure about San Francisco so much, but in Boston, Mike FM is a lousy Mike impersonation. In my opinion, some of the reasons that Mike is doing poorly are...
1) (MAIN REASON) The music blend is awful. It's nothing like the successful KCBS-FM in comparison. The playlist dwells far too much on 70's disco and classic rock, and also plays awkward currents that just don't fit the format. I've heard songs like Justin Timberlake's "Rock Your Body" and Will Smith's "Switch" that no Infinity Jack FM would be caught dead playing.
At the beginning, the Mike FM blend shared a huge amount of the playlist with Rhythmic AC "Star 93.7" which Mike inherited the freqency from. I've noticed the station playing an unhealthy amount of artists like Janet Jackson and, in particular, Donna Summer, which were staples of Star, but really aren't the focus of Jack FMs. Mike also ignores a lot of 80's music, which is really the bread-and-butter of the Infinity Jack FM's, which, I believe, is preventing the stationh
2) 93.7 is a rimshot signal. It's a very good rimshot; I'd compare it to WLEY 107.9 in the Chicago market for strength, however, because it is a rimshot, it isn't easy for an average listener to pick up in Downtown Boston. It does have nearly spotless quality in all but the far South Shore.
3) The liners really aren't that great, IMHO the voiceover person is annoying as well, while Howard Cogan sounds irrelevant in a good way.
4) Entercom was apparently expecting a lot of Star listeners to stick with Mike, but rather they got outraged and started a protest website. The protests led to the re-incarnation of Star 93.7 on the internet. Unlike Jack and the internet version of WCBS-FM, which have entirely different audiences, Entercom is leading potential listeners of Mike FM to another station, basically.
5) Did I mention that the music is awful?
Mike is now running around 2 share, which is not very good for the Boston market. If Infinity wanted to get Jack into the Boston area eventually, they'd need to do it soon, before Entercom figures out what's going wrong with Mike and fixes it.
Interestingly, it was noted before that Infinity was one day away from launching Jack in Boston and San Francisco when they were beaten to the punch by Entercom and Bonneville. Bonneville at least deserves that they need to cleanse the cume of KZBR 95.7, but Entercom clearly felt that some Star listeners would stay with the station. As always, we'll just have to wait and see.
