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Cumulus CHR's are the worst I've ever heard

"Leavin'" by Jesse McCartney wasn't really a hit? ???
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Yeah....about 4 1/2 years ago. You really have to come to Huntsville and give a listen to WZYP to realize how truly pathetic it is. Furthermore, they regularly play about 5-7 minutes of commercials twice an hour....sandwiched around 2-3 "hits" (their definition of a "hit" is any song that came out since about, oh, 1997....)

And do they really need to continue their "flashback lunch" of 80s/90s hits?

I could go on and on.......
 
^IMO it's a Hot AC, but because Huntsville doesn't have a CHR, they cover some pop tracks and report to the pop panel

The jock (at 7 p. m. on weekdays) sounds like he's about 40 - a woman called in to win a prize, and they started discussing her son - ads come on about selling your home, bringing "your whole family" to events, mortgage payments, shopping for Christmas with your family, etc.

Anyhow, I don't think there's anything stopping someone from coming in and starting up a straight CHR in Huntsville - if that happened, I'm guessing WZYP might drop the few rhythmic tracks it plays and move to the Hot AC panel

I see what you're saying about the imaging being really "slow", but I think it's intentional in order to target an older demo - Q100 isn't anywhere near that bad (i. e. its imaging doesn't sound slow and old-fashioned)
 
^A similar station I think would be WQSM/Fayetteville NC - it's also Cumulus, playing almost the exact same music as WZYP, but it reports to the Hot AC panel
 
Songs like "Leavin'", though, aren't really played on the radio anymore, so I'd assume it doesn't test well (the CHR's I listen to don't play it, nor do the Hot AC's)

Cumulus CHR's play hip hop/rap songs from several years ago, that even Clear Channel CHR's don't play anymore. That genre, IMO, is one of the worst to have in gold unless it was a smash hit.
 
O.A.R- Shattered was on my local CHR today. IIRC, that one missed the top 25 of CHR, so how did it stay on the gold playlist? Then again, my market lacks Hot AC unless you can get WDVD/Detroit to come in.
 
atlantaboy said:
^IMO it's a Hot AC, but because Huntsville doesn't have a CHR, they cover some pop tracks and report to the pop panel
Click to expand...

I would tend to call it a Hot AC as well, but they don't play any of the hits that are "exclusive" to the Hot AC chart. They are an Adult Top-40. How they can image themselves as playing "all the hits" is beyond me.

atlantaboy said:
Anyhow, I don't think there's anything stopping someone from coming in and starting up a straight CHR in Huntsville - if that happened, I'm guessing WZYP might drop the few rhythmic tracks it plays and move to the Hot AC panel
Click to expand...

Why another company such as CC hasn't done that yet is beyond me.....if someone like them were to start-up a new CHR here it would make a killing!
 
I would not compare WZYP to WQSM, more of sort of to KPLZ but that's a stretch. WQSM is a really good station, WZYP is not. You are forgetting the no rap policy they seem to have.
 
atlantaboy, I agree with you 100%. Oh, and if you thought the afternoon show was bland, try streaming during mid-days around 10-11am (11 to noon your time in your in Atlanta). And their 80's-90's lunch hour. Its even worse then. They step up the currents (or what they call currents) just a bit during afternoons compared to mid-days. There also hasen't been a jock on the air in mid-days for a couple years now! Oh, and I wasn't referring to "Leavin'" when I mentioned Jessie Mccartney. Although that's one I wouldn't really play as a recurrent myself, it was one of his better performing songs. I should have elaborated a bit. For example, they used to play "How do you sleep" a couple times a day as a recurrent. I don't think that song even made it top 25. I haven't heard it in a few months so they may have taken it out by now. I just don't know because I can't stand listening to them that much to try and find out, and looking at their mediabase is depressing lol.

Here's a funny note to add. A few weeks ago I was listening to them. It was about 3:00-3:30 in the afternoon on a weekday(when high schoolers are getting our for the day mind you). They played "Killing me softly" by The Fugees as one of their gold cuts for the hour. WOW! Blew my mind. That was what, mid 90s? 96 I think? Hey, at least that song was a smash back then. If they want to do a throw back lunch, that would be a good choice... but not in the 3:00 afternoon hour on a supposed CHR. Just my opinion anyway.
 
I have officially deprogrammed KKWD 104.9 from my presets. I cannot stand to listen to it anymore. Most of the songs they play are from 2009 and 2010 and they have songs that weren't even huge hits like "I don't wanna go to Bed" in power and play songs like Paparazzi and Bad Romance like they are new. Most other Cumulus stations are the same. Stuff like Jesse McCartney, who had his last hit four years ago, is the type of stuff they like to put into power while ignoring anything current not in the top 10. Hopefully Cumulus goes bankrupt or changes management. It's despicable how they've completely destroyed some of the best stations in the country. Cumulus playlists sound like they are for small town markets where they are the only game in town in a time before the Internet when people didn't know what was current. Shame on Cumulus!
 
^^ Bchristi, how is KJYO there in OK City? Is it a good CHR or just another CC clone?

WZYP is the closest thing we have to a "CHR" type station. The nearest other one is a good 60 miles away in Florence and puts out a crappy signal that I can barely pick up in NW Madison County, Alabama (and it's rhythmic-leaning). So here it's either radio on my smartphone or I do without CHR, unless the weather's right.
 
RonM said:
^^ Bchristi, how is KJYO there in OK City? Is it a good CHR or just another CC clone?

WZYP is the closest thing we have to a "CHR" type station. The nearest other one is a good 60 miles away in Florence and puts out a crappy signal that I can barely pick up in NW Madison County, Alabama (and it's rhythmic-leaning). So here it's either radio on my smartphone or I do without CHR, unless the weather's right.
Click to expand...

KJYO is decent. It's pretty much your typical CC CHR nothing real exciting about it. Compared to KKWD though it sounds great (you will very rarely hear Jesse McCartney) and it's usually pretty current. Right now it's the number one station in the market but that's probably because there is no real competition anymore. It's pretty much the only terrestrial station I listen to these days.

KKWD under Citadel blew KJ away despite their weaker signal. They were more edgy and overall more exciting and always added new songs before other CHRs were playing them.
 
RollTide and RonM, just wondering if you think Huntsville is primarily blue-collar, cause it sounds like what you guys have is a rhythmic-leaning Hot AC, similar to stations I've heard in western Virginia

Also, apparently the only stations that subscribe to Arbitron in that market are Clear Channel stations, so I can't tell if there are any CC or CBS stations that are in a position to flip to CHR...
 
atlantaboy said:
RollTide and RonM, just wondering if you think Huntsville is primarily blue-collar, cause it sounds like what you guys have is a rhythmic-leaning Hot AC, similar to stations I've heard in western Virginia

Also, apparently the only stations that subscribe to Arbitron in that market are Clear Channel stations, so I can't tell if there are any CC or CBS stations that are in a position to flip to CHR...
Click to expand...
CBS wouldn't begin to have something in a market the size of Huntsville....I think the majority of their markets are in the top 30...
 
bluestar4 said:
atlantaboy said:
Cumulus is keeping "The A Team" from going Top 10 on BOTH CHR and Hot AC!! :mad:
Click to expand...
My Cumulus station, WNTQ, just started playing this. Looks like Jeffries is allowing the add!
Click to expand...

He did as of this week. He is also now allowing them to play Swedish House Mafia, "Don't You Worry Child." There are other CHRs, like the locally owned one in my town, that has been playing that song for the past 2 or 3 months.
 
atlantaboy said:
RollTide and RonM, just wondering if you think Huntsville is primarily blue-collar, cause it sounds like what you guys have is a rhythmic-leaning Hot AC, similar to stations I've heard in western Virginia

Also, apparently the only stations that subscribe to Arbitron in that market are Clear Channel stations, so I can't tell if there are any CC or CBS stations that are in a position to flip to CHR...
Click to expand...

Huntsville is a unique city. It is the home to NASA Marshal Space Flight Center so to say it is home to many rocket scientists is actually a true statement. They work primarily on rocket development (which is why the city is nick-named "The Rocket City" and called the technology capital of the south), but they also do some astronaut training, space craft development, and other things as well. They are currently working on the next craft to send us to space since the suttle has retired. We also have Redstone Arsenal which is the U.S. Army's Missle Defense Command Center among other things as well. There is lots of blue-collar too though so it's hard to say that the market is primarily anything to be honest. We have a big mix of different levels of society here from each end of the spectrum and a good level mix of age groups.

To say ZYP is a rhythmic leaning Hot A/C would probably be the most accurate way to describe them I've heard. It's just poorly executed. We also have a Mainstream A/C with WAHR, a soft A/C with WRSA, and an 80's and 90's "Journey" with WWFF. 4 stations playing much of the same music. You are right about 103.5 WHWT. It's not a rhythmic CHR. They are about 95%+ urban and play no mainstream CHR songs. When they first signed on the air they had a bit of a rhythmic lean to them although still mainly urban, but they tweaked it pretty much all urban shortly afterwards. I think they missed an opportunity to fill the CHR gap when they started up. There is a second urban, WEUP, which is the heritage urban here but with a rimshot Huntsville signal filled in by translators. There are no real CHRs at all and the two urbans are the only stations targeting young demos.

To answer your other question, Cumulus and CC are the only major corporates here, but Black Crow owns WAHR and rocker WRTT as well as AM oldies (with FM translator) WLOR. I think CC's classic hits WQRV would be a possibility to flip CHR if CC wanted to. Their numbers aren't usually all that impressive but they also fill a bit of a format gap with that station so I'm not sure. All CC stations here have HD2s. Their HD2 on WQRV has an FM translator at 106.5 that used to relay AM talker WBHP/WHOS, but they have broken off the talk simulcast on the HD2/106.5 translator and are doing satellite fed all Christmas on it right now as "Christmas 106.5." Rumors are flying that they will debut a new station after Christmas on the HD2/FM translator combo. Maybe it'll be CHR? Its not a big signal, but it has good coverage in the city and we'll take it over nothing! We can only hope, wait, and see lol. After all, CC is notorious for format flipping after doing all-Christmas and CHR is the only major format we don't have here. In Birmingham they have had some success with HD2/FM translator combos being stand alone formats. WMJJ's HD2 urban and WQEN's HD2 rock for example.
 
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