Country at 102.7??????? Maybe???

[SmashTim]

I see a lot of posts comparing New York to Chicago. Just to set the record straight Country is not huge in Chicago. In fact the country share in Chicago is smaller than in about 90% of the U.S.

The fact is that country does the worst in the largest, most ethnic markets. Even Dallas and Houston aren't nearly the big country markets they used to be 10 or 20 years ago.

You are right Country isn't as big in Chicago as in maybe a southern market. But the point is, there is somewhat of a market for it. So NYC doesn't really have an excuse why they don't have one.
I am not a country fan, but it just baffles me to hear some people say there isn't a market for country in NYC. One of the most diverse cities in the world and you mean to tell me there aren't enough advertising dollars to support a country format in NYC, I just don't buy it.

Bottom line as neo points out you have to look the last attempts at country and how poorly those stations did as country. It was failure over and over again. And the demographics for the format were better than then they are now. A country station in NYC would already be at a disadvantage because of femo issue and advertising. Top that off with ratings which wouldn't crack two, and probably be in the mid 1's, it just makes zero sense for any station to flip to country. A station with decent demos would have serious issues if they can't crack a 2 share, it would be even more of a debacle for a country station.

 

[VeteranPD]

Can we PLEASE stop this nonsense speculation about ANY NYC station going country. The 5 boroughs lean heavily black/hispanic. This is a suburban format at best. If you get a 2.5 you're lucky. I think Fresh 102.7 can do better than that and you won't have to beg for advertisers. The country format, highly stigmatized, is a hard sell. Like oldies and pop standards it's considered box office poison in NYC. .

 

[chuckydoll]

Once and for all SHOVE IT!

The 5 boroughs lean heavily black/hispanic. This is a suburban format at best.

The NYC suburbs are more and more black/Latino/Asian by the day. Country is a lily-white format. Its only appeal in NYC is to those who otherwise want non-stop right-wing radio.

The country format, highly stigmatized, is a hard sell. Like oldies and pop standards it's considered box office poison in NYC.

Oldies was a winner until CBS turned 101.1 into Jack. Standards was a winner until the New York Times leased AM 1560 to Radio Disney.

You want country music on a big-signal FM in New York? Come up with the $200 million to take a station off somebody's hands. Until then SHOVE IT!

 

[davideduardo]

Re: Once and for all SHOVE IT!

Oldies was a winner until CBS turned 101.1 into Jack. Standards was a winner until the New York Times leased AM 1560 to Radio Disney.

Jack is now a bigger winner than CBS-FM was in 25-54 during the last several years of oldies. The book, out today, shows growth every month in sales demos and ends with a #7 showing in the demo in the discreet month of December.

Standards was not successful at 1560... it was entirely 65+ in a totally transactional market that shuns anything over 55.

 

[briancraig]

I believe the lowest WYNY (at 103.5) ever received was a 1.9. They were usually in the mid to upper 2s.

I don't live in New York and haven't even visited in a lot of years, so maybe things have changed but to say country radio has never been a success is not accurate.

From 1973 to 1994, country did very decent in New York.

 

[neo11]

They were hovering in the low 2's in their final few years if I'm not mistaken and would dip below 2 as they did in their last book before the format change.

What may have worked in 1973 or 1993 won't necessarily work today. People that are pulling for country keep arguing that it's a suburban format, but no one responds when I point out that two recent country efforts in the suburbs both failed. If the audience was there, as claimed, and the support from advertisers...they'd still be on the air.

 

[Jeffrey]

and let us not forget the failed attempt at country on WBAZ way out on Eastern Long Island...a much more friendly "country" demographic.
If it didn't succeed there, well.............enough said.

 

[adma]

Can we PLEASE stop this nonsense speculation about ANY NYC station going country. The 5 boroughs lean heavily black/hispanic. This is a suburban format at best. If you get a 2.5 you're lucky. I think Fresh 102.7 can do better than that and you won't have to beg for advertisers. The country format, highly stigmatized, is a hard sell. Like oldies and pop standards it's considered box office poison in NYC. .

And keep in mind that those "white middle" demos that remain within the 5 boroughs have probably long come to accept--and even appreciate--NYC music radio as, at its best, a primarily "minority" medium. They're not phobic about it, not at all; esp. now that it's nearly 30 years since 'KTU heralded the new age by dethroning WABC.

Remember: they're the sorts who're accustomed to and genuinely appreciative of once lilywhite neighbourhoods like Jackson Heights taking a turn for the culturally polyglot. And to them, this so-called big demand for country is of the same mentality that might declare everything went down the tubes once the taquerias took over Thom McAn's. Yes, that's right; the Archie Bunkers have died off or dispersed, and Good Riddance...

 

[SmashTim]

I believe the lowest WYNY (at 103.5) ever received was a 1.9. They were usually in the mid to upper 2s.

I don't live in New York and haven't even visited in a lot of years, so maybe things have changed but to say country radio has never been a success is not accurate.

From 1973 to 1994, country did very decent in New York.

No one said it was never a success. However during the last SEVERAL years on 103.5 it was at the bottom of the ratings in NYC book after book. If the format couldn't succeed in the mid 90's when the demographics were more friendly for the format its not going to succeed when the demographics for the format are even worse. The format also did very poorly out on Long Island, only place it did OK was Jersey. And even then, the Demos were suspect. You can't base a NYC format only off of doing OK in Jersey in terrible everywhere else, with only so-so demos (if that in the only place the format does even halfway decent.