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

[carolinaradio]

But, again, many of these stations are doing well because they have no competition. 95SX sounds like crap now but they're going to do well because they don't have any competition. Where are there long-time listeners to go? As for Atlanta say what you want, but Power 96.1 is doing quite well in Atlanta considering they are up against an established CHR with a strong morning show in Q100. I don't think Power will pull ahead of Q by a huge margin, but I think it is going to be normal to see the two stations fluctuate.

Clear Channel has a laundry list of cheaply-run, low-rated CHR's, mentioned on another thread here. It's definitely a cheap format to run.

If Power 96.1 would copy Channel 96.1/Charlotte's playlist, I think they would be a HUGE threat to Q100. Channel is adult friendly (which I personally prefer, so again, I'm not a "fan" of Rhythmic CHR) but they sound edgy and fresh musically. Q is "adult friendly", but their music mix is stale sounding.

Think what you want about people working for CBS. I think it's an unfair accusation to make. People have different tastes. People could just as easily say you work for Cumulus as you are extremely defensive of them. Just because people dislike STALE music, doesn't mean they hate rock music...

 

[atlantaboy]

Advertisers don't buy 6+, they buy demos.

Yep, and every single CBS CHR that has competion in its demo, is losing

 

[atlantaboy]

Clear Channel has a laundry list of cheaply-run, low-rated CHR's, mentioned on another thread here. It's definitely a cheap format to run.

So that's probably why Cumulus stays centralized, and hangs on to its lower rated stations - not saying I like it, but I'm sure it's a financial decision...

 

[atlantaboy]

If Power 96.1 would copy Channel 96.1/Charlotte's playlist, I think they would be a HUGE threat to Q100.

Completely agree with that..

 

[carolinaradio]

If Power 96.1 would copy Channel 96.1/Charlotte's playlist, I think they would be a HUGE threat to Q100.

Completely agree with that..

What I would find REALLY interesting would be if Power and Star were both to beat Q100 regularly, what would Cumulus do? My understanding is the Hot AC-lean is to try to snag some audience from Star - would they choose to focus on Star or Power?

CC has their low rated (well, many that aren't) CHR's centralized, but at least they are mostly current...

 

[chrocket87]

Advertisers don't buy 6+, they buy demos.

Yep, and every single CBS CHR that has competion in its demo, is losing

Interesting that you bring this up for CBS, yet you refuse to acknowledge that outside of Q100, Cumulus has ZERO CHRs in PPM markets that are top five in demo....Hmm...

 

[bchristi]

If Power 96.1 would copy Channel 96.1/Charlotte's playlist, I think they would be a HUGE threat to Q100.

Completely agree with that..

What I would find REALLY interesting would be if Power and Star were both to beat Q100 regularly, what would Cumulus do?  My understanding is the Hot AC-lean is to try to snag some audience from Star - would they choose to focus on Star or Power?

CC has their low rated (well, many that aren't) CHR's centralized, but at least they are mostly current...

Cumulus isn't going to change their formula no matter what their competitor does.  Jan Jeffries is that hard headed.  It is what it is until Jan Jeffries allows stations to play what they want or steps down from being CHR PD for Cumulus.

And I agree that you can run a centralized CHR and still keep it current.  Cumulus' own urban stations are that way as far as I know.  A lot of people in Citadel markets are complaining that local artists no longer get any airplay since the Cumulus conversion, but the playlist is mostly in line with what you would expect an urban to be playing.

 

[bchristi]

Atlantaboy, do you work for Cumulus? I did a Google search on this very topic regarding Cumulus CHRs and you have been praising them for years, way before the Citadel acquisition. I'll admit, Cumulus does have formats they do right. Hot AC KYIS sounds better now than it has in years in my opinion. Urban stations aren't too shabby and of course there's country, which is Cumulus' core format.

For CHR, either Jeffries is either too set in his ways or doesn't understand what CHR is supposed to be. For "background music", there's satellite radio and of course services like Pandora. You can also set it to play today's hits as well as burned out rhythmic songs from 2007 if you would like and have your own self-created Cumulus CHR!

Back to the topic at hand, as many people in many markets that hate the Jan Jeffries formula, is there any hope of it ever changing? I am afraid we may have to wait until he retires before we ever see good CHR out of Cumulus.

 

[atlantaboy]

Advertisers don't buy 6+, they buy demos.

Yep, and every single CBS CHR that has competion in its demo, is losing

Interesting that you bring this up for CBS, yet you refuse to acknowledge that outside of Q100, Cumulus has ZERO CHRs in PPM markets that are top five in demo....Hmm...

Hmmm...seeing as how most of Cumulus's CHRs aren't in PPM markets, that fact is pretty twisted lol

And 92 Pro-FM/Providence isn't Top 5 in demo, with a share of 10.8, and #1 rank in the market? :

 

[atlantaboy]

Atlantaboy, do you work for Cumulus?

No, I'm just the only one on here willing to defend them, and I've been frustrated for years at CBS (and, before this year, Clear Channel) for preventing Alt/Rock tracks from becoming hits - and I really don't like the fact that CBS is trying to destroy the Alternative format, preventing tons of new artists from being heard, and that nearly every single one of their "pop" stations avoids guitar-tracks like the plague, despite the fact that all of them (with full-signal competition) are losing to more mainstream stations

I'm not a big fan of Cumulus CHRs at all, but I like the fact that they're at least open to all TYPES of music, and don't try to slant their listener base towards one particular sound - and I like the fact that you can listen to them for a few hours at a time and not hear the same 4-5 songs repeated over and over again

 

[chrocket87]

Hmmm...seeing as how most of Cumulus's CHRs aren't in PPM markets, that fact is pretty twisted lol

And 92 Pro-FM/Providence isn't Top 5 in demo, with a share of 10.8, and #1 rank in the market? :

Sorry. Forgot about Pro. And since you reminded me, the CBS CHR in Hartford is top five in demo AND in your favorite 6+
The reason to compare in PPM is simple, as CBS does not compete in diary markets and both have around the same number of CHRs in PPM markets.
Next, I'm not a huge CBS fan either but a few weeks ago, WDZH/Detroit had Little Talks and I Will Wait on on my commute from work, two songs Cumulus refuses to play.
And while I agree Alternative hasn't fared well under CBS, remember that it was Cumulus that pulled the plug on 99x AGAIN. I think both companies have roughly 5 Alternatives in their portfolios, which is too bad, as I like the job BOTH do with the format.

 

[atlantaboy]

And since you reminded me, the CBS CHR in Hartford is top five in demo AND in your favorite 6+

Huh? CBS doesn't have a CHR in Hartford - Kiss 95.7 is Clear Channel

Agree with the rest of your post though...just not the one in the other thread about Rhythmics with no CHR/Pop overlap taking potential listeners from pop stations

 

[atlantaboy]

BTW not sure when this happened, but WDZH/Detroit is now almost rock-leaning, at least with their currents - looks like I owe CBS an apology

 

[carolinaradio]

WDZH is even a leader with a track like "Wanted." I had been meaning to mention it. WNKS in Charlotte can be rock friendly, but they're still losing...

 

[jason1589]

Power is only a few months old and already managed to beat Q100 some months. That is quite impressing. When Clear Channel flips Wild then most of Wild's listeners are going to listen to Power and it is going to solidify its lead against Q100.

 

[bchristi]

BTW not sure when this happened, but WDZH/Detroit is now almost rock-leaning, at least with their currents - looks like I owe CBS an apology

Kiss 95.1 in Charlotte has always been pretty across the board on music. Yes, they are losing but they don't lean rhythmic. They were winning before ClearChannel flipped rhythmic-leaning 96.1 The Beat to Channel 96.1.

And it's Cumulus that insists on playing the burned out rhythmic tracks from 5 years ago. I can hardly stand to listen to a Cumulus CHR for more than 5 minutes as they rarely ever play two current songs in a row. I agree with carolinaradio that if you are going to go back that far, it needs to be a huge hit that has stood the test of time. What Cumulus does is equivalent to them playing 'Gangnam Style' every few hours in 2017, and if Jeffries is still the programmer they probably will.

 

[carolinaradio]

And it's Cumulus that insists on playing the burned out rhythmic tracks from 5 years ago. I can hardly stand to listen to a Cumulus CHR for more than 5 minutes as they rarely ever play two current songs in a row. I agree with carolinaradio that if you are going to go back that far, it needs to be a huge hit that has stood the test of time. What Cumulus does is equivalent to them playing 'Gangnam Style' every few hours in 2017, and if Jeffries is still the programmer they probably will.

How many REGULAR CHR's still play "The Way I Are" or "Carryout" regularly? Seriously? "Fire Burning", "In Da Club", "Yeah 3X", "Promiscuous", "Replay", etc.? Cumulus isn't very pop/rock friendly - more than half of their gold titles are old rhythmic tracks! Crazy.

Yes, Power 96.1 beat Q100, but that was only because people weren't listening to Q100 because they wanted to hear CHRISTMAS MUSIC, remember? There's no way Power could actually beat Q100 with no good reason....

 

[only1moore]

Huh? CBS doesn't have a CHR in Hartford - Kiss 95.7 is Clear Channel

Rhythmic Top 40 WZMX/Hartford is owned by CBS, which has beaten WKSS numerous times since 2001.

 

[bchristi]

And it's Cumulus that insists on playing the burned out rhythmic tracks from 5 years ago.  I can hardly stand to listen to a Cumulus CHR for more than 5 minutes as they rarely ever play two current songs in a row.  I agree with carolinaradio that if you are going to go back that far, it needs to be a huge hit that has stood the test of time.  What Cumulus does is equivalent to them playing 'Gangnam Style' every few hours in 2017, and if Jeffries is still the programmer they probably will.

How many REGULAR CHR's still play "The Way I Are" or "Carryout" regularly?  Seriously?  "Fire Burning", "In Da Club", "Yeah 3X", "Promiscuous", "Replay", etc.?  Cumulus isn't very pop/rock friendly - more than half of their gold titles are old rhythmic tracks!  Crazy.

I completely agree.  Cumulus' focus is those tracks while neglecting TODAY's music.  That's much worse than CBS allegedly neglecting rock for rhythmic. Most of those songs were overplayed and burned out years ago. There's a reason true CHRs rarely play them anymore.

CHR is "contemporary" hit radio, meaning TODAY.  If Jeffries thinks it will work, he should start a new Greatest Dance Hits of the 2000s format or something.  CHR should be primarily TODAY's music.  TODAY is not 2007, 2009, or 2010.  It's 2013. Old music is great for OCCASIONAL throwbacks, including cheesy forgotten rhythmic tracks, and every good CHR has them but they should not be the focus of the stations.

 

[CHRles]

I don't have a problem with CHRs playing Recurrents, even if some of those Recurrents weren't major hits on a national level.

In fact, when I first discovered CHR radio stations from outside my hometown as a kid I used to love hearing the songs that helped set stations apart. Both the new/current records as well as the Recurrents helped give many CHRs their own identity

The problem with Recurrents in this day and age is that they're often over-researched, but only on a national level, and less so on a regional one.
There are still some stations, like Z-100 New york, or 103.7 Kiss FM Milwaukee, that make the effort to play Recurrents that scored well in their markets

My specific problem with Cumulus on this front, and I'm guessing others on this board will relate, stems from the fact that they often force their CHRs to play the same mid-charting Recurrents regardless of whether or not those records actually did well in their markets.

Additionally, some Cumulus CHRs play too many Recurrents per hour, which is fine at 9-10 AM, but at 5 or 8 PM??

Lastly, I don't mind that some Cumulus stations are friendly towards Pop/Rock, but they're late on the good stuff from that genre as well...unless it's Rob Thomas. If you want good Rock-friendly CHRs you can tune into 101.1 WIXXX Green Bay. Now that's a well-programmed hometown CHR if I ever heard one. Can you imagine what were to happen to it if Cumulus got its hands on it??? Its ratings would still be strong due to its heritage (as is the case with 92 Pro in Providence), but everything that makes this station special would most likely go out the windows

A couple of good example of stations that sounded much better under Citadel are:
Alice 107.7 Little Rock
97.5 Now Lansing

There are a few Cumulus CHRs that have thus far escaped the Corporate playlist:
98.9 Magic FM Colorado Springs
Rhythmic leaning Wild 102.9 Reno

On the other hand, some Cumulus CHRs are not performing as well as they could be, and should be given more room for flexibility experimentation with the music. For example:
I-97.5 Tucson
99.5 The Vibe Birmingham
I-93 Dallas
Star 105 Toledo
95.1 KHOP Modesto-Stockton

Also note that B-100 Davenport (Quad Cities) is now losing to Clear Channel's KUUL 101.3 Kiss FM...