Dallas-Ft. Worth Radio Ratings: January 2024

[Jay S]

My point is that KEGL played songs like "Say It Ain't So" by Weezer and "Semi-Charmed Life" by Third Eye Blind too. Whether they shouldn't have or not (the correct answer is that they shouldn't have) is another discussion. KVIL didn't need to do much other than take the standard Audacy Alt mix and put some hot sauce in it to kill KEGL because KEGL had done some of the work for them by bafflingly playing Alt hits with the aging classic rock and what little modern active rock they picked up. It's yet another example, which you helpfully explained above, of how KEGL was badly programmed and managed for years and opened the door for a struggling Audacy station once they had a competent PD and MD.

I never understood why corporate rock stations added classic rock to the mix, even when there was a sister classic rock station. KEGL should have dropped all classic rock when KDGE flipped and gone with an active rock/alternative rock hybrid direction like KTBZ in Houston.

The Eagle HD2 format has the same feed as KBRQ Waco and KLFX Temple/Killeen. This is nothing new since during the weekends they used to have the same feed. Now it’s 24/7.

I think the Edge got the raw end of the deal. If it wasn’t for Russ Martin, the Eagle would’ve probably gone away and the Edge would still be around with a sound similar to KTBZ. Instead of Star 102.1 we could’ve had “Star 97.1.” I’d love to see the Edge resurrected as a classic alternative.

 

[Kent]

All of a sudden Dallas, a market historically hostile to Alternative, has a decently successful station from that format.

I wouldn't call Dallas historically hostile to alternative. It had a commercial alternative station before at least 90% of markets, and it lasted longer than many of the legendary stations that came later. KDGE ran almost 30 years and was successful for most of that run. The changes to the market that made it hostile to rock formats happened about halfway through its era. Last time I lived in the market was 1996, and I can only remember three Spanish-language FM's plus one doing Tejano. None covered the entire market, though the Tejano station covered about what the then 94.5 The Edge covered and had a southeastern rimshot covering part of the area where it was weak. Now, if you'd have told me the number of Spanish-language stations would go up substantially and even be on a few Cedar Hill signals 10 years later, I would've believed you. The signs that change was going to happen were definitely there and visible, but they were still a few years away.

Now, the irony of the anti-corporate radio station ultimately becoming part of the largest corporate broadcasting company and becoming more consultant and research driven than ever isn't lost on me. Thinking about how that happened is almost mindboggling.

 

[Huff]

I wouldn't call Dallas historically hostile to alternative. It had a commercial alternative station before at least 90% of markets, and it lasted longer than many of the legendary stations that came later. KDGE ran almost 30 years and was successful for most of that run.

Furthermore, in 1995, KDGE (then on 94.5) hit #1 in P18-34, the first and still only rimshot station to ever lead the market in any major demo.

 

[Deleted member 108832]

Furthermore, in 1995, KDGE (then on 94.5) hit #1 in P18-34, the first and still only rimshot station to ever lead the market in any major demo.

Owned by the Mormons at the time, wasn't it? I don't believe Clear Channel had KDGE in the portfolio yet when this incredible feat was attained.

 

[Kent]

Owned by the Mormons at the time, wasn't it? I don't believe Clear Channel had KDGE in the portfolio yet when this incredible feat was attained.

Correct. It was a Bonneville property at the time.

Bonneville dealt it and KZPS to Evergreen in 1997. At the time, Evergreen was in the process of being acquired by Chancellor.

 

[Deleted member 76036]

It's played 13 times in the past 4 weeks.
You must listen a LOT to hear all those plays!

View attachment 6705

Jumped in the car to grab food last night and guess what I heard…of course! And by the way, i hadn’t fixed my clock, so it was actually 3 a.m. 😝

 

[macattack]

Jumped in the car to grab food last night and guess what I heard…of course! And by the way, i hadn’t fixed my clock, so it was actually 3 a.m. 😝

View attachment 6743

I'm beginning to think you've been cursed to hear this song every... nine days.

 

[ILOVERADIO]

I can only see the 6+ PPM’s that were posted, but WBAP’s move to 93.3 only seems to have been a cost cutting measure and an audio quality improvement. The increase in ratings is probably more of a bounce back to what they did in the November and December books. I’m guessing their current listeners just moved around a bit. Some of the 99.5 HD2 and 820 listeners simply switched to 93.3.

When they launched, the morning show hosts were inviting some of the listeners that enjoyed the “Boy George” music that Hot was playing (their words, not mine) to stay and listen. I’m pretty sure only a very small percentage did that.

Cumulus now has Westwood One Classic Rock and Classic Hits formats on the HD2 and HD3. I almost wonder if putting one of those on 93.3 would have made them more money and better sense than the WBAP simulcast.

I also found this on the KTCK-FM Wikipedia page: “Dan Bennet, Dallas/Fort Worth market manager for Cumulus, said that WBAP had "no ratings increase since adding the FM" and that was the primary reason for the change to The Ticket simulcast — do you think they’re hoping for the same thing from 93.3, but with better results? If so, I’m not quite sure that that will happen.

Thoughts?

The WBAP morning show in interesting. Seven on air personalities sounds incredibly expensive for a local morning show. The personalities are good, and the discussions and interviews are somewhat unpredictable. I’m just surprised the station can afford such a large on air staff for a 4 hour show. Any thoughts on the economics of such a large on air morning crew?