DC has the worst radio selection Ive ever heard

[nocomradio]

I think DC needs a Country format

WMZQ 98.7FM covers the area.

As does 99.9 WFRE, even though they are technically not in the area. Thunder 104.5 travels pretty far North into the market too. 93.3 WFLS can be heard pretty reliably too.

 

[JimmyJames]

Since when has MZQ played country?

 

[nocomradio]

Since when has MZQ played country?

I'm not sure much of wha tis marketed as country these days can be considered true country, more like pop, but in format at least WMZQ has remained a country station.

 

[puddingpop]

it's not like DC/Baltimore is a big city like Philly

DC alone is virtually equal to Philly in market size; combine it with Baltimore and it would be the nation's fourth largest market:

7 Philadelphia PA 4,480,600
8 Washington DC 4,479,400
21 Baltimore MD 2,308,900

 

[donta1974]

One Urban AC and one Urban hip-hop may be all that Philly really needs. And what Puddingpop says is very true.

 

[RadioPhillyFan]

it's not like DC/Baltimore is a big city like Philly

DC alone is virtually equal to Philly in market size; combine it with Baltimore and it would be the nation's fourth largest market:

7 Philadelphia PA 4,480,600
8 Washington DC 4,479,400
21 Baltimore MD 2,308,900

Philly stations reach at least 7M, that's how much all the counties of our metro's population, I disagee with the census's count on metro areas;

Well, census counts out Wilmington, which is Chester and New Castle, also part of our metro. That's at least where 1M went too.

 

[XCountry285]

As For NYC:
92.3-wish it was KRock again. They're filling int a hole that's not even there! Go make KRock strictly Alternative model it after KROQ
93.1-can't decide whether it's Spanish or English pick one
93.5-never listen
93.9-never listen
94.7-Hopefully this becomes alternative or country and NOT News or Sports
95.5-great station, I really do enjoy their music etc
96.3-ok station
97.1-good station very well known
97.9-good station
98.7-pretty good
99.5-never listen
100.3-Heritage Station-this is what CC should have as their ONLY CHR-Quit putting KTU head to head with it!
101.1-Bring back 50s and 60s keep the current 70s & 80s
101.9-HORRIBLE STATION! Should go back to smooth jazz, country, or alternative rock (programmed correctly)-makes stations in PA like Y102 in Reading or T-102 in Pottsville sound great
102.7-make it KRock @ 102.7
103.5-Needs to go back to Dance and only dance nothing else-quit stepping on Z-100's toes they're owned by the same company! or make it Alternative Radio 103.5 or Country WYNY
104.3-good station
105.1-good station don't change it
106.7-good station
107.5-hope it stays

 

[RadioPhillyFan]

Philadelphia and NYC are really similar markets - but trust me, Y102 in Reading (comes in well in northwest philly [where i am]) isn't really good, it's like a soft classic rock station that plays modern soft ac rock a few times.

Also - All counties philly market stations serve have a population of 8.3M - all counties DC serves has 8M (census)

So; I'm kinda curious as to why arbitron cuts that much, and the 7th, 8th, 9th population is way off

Census 2010 said Philadelphia was the forth largest metro (or fifth, not 6+) - arbitron claims to use that, but why doesnt it match up?

 

[RadioPhillyFan]

Philadelphia and NYC are really similar markets - but trust me, Y102 in Reading (comes in well in northwest philly [where i am]) isn't really good, it's like a soft classic rock station that plays modern soft ac rock a few times.

Also - All counties philly market stations serve have a population of 8.3M - all counties DC serves has 8M (census)

So; I'm kinda curious as to why arbitron cuts that much, and the 7th, 8th, 9th population is way off

Census 2010 said Philadelphia was the forth largest metro (or fifth, not 6+) - arbitron claims to use that, but why doesnt it match up?

Also Baltimore and DC are like 30-50 miles apart, we could count wilmington, reading, trenton, washington, atlantic city in Philly if arbitron merged us with all markets within 30-40 miles. Philly stations cover an approx 80 mile radius of the city, at least twice of baltimores - not saying that dc is small, but baltimore certainly is (and i think dc counts baltimore in arbitron)

(I'm a stats / population / demographics nerd)

 

[donta1974]

Even though Baltimore is a smaller Radio and TV market than DC and Philly its still a good market. Size really has nothing to do with the quality of the music stations(Many markets outside of the Top 30 have very good music stations). A ton of people in the DMV region think that Baltimore has better music stations overall than DC which really is more of a news/poltical radio market(of course). Baltimore and DC are seperate media markets TV and Radio they are not counted together.

 

[RadioPhillyFan]

Even though Baltimore is a smaller Radio and TV market than DC and Philly its still a good market. Size really has nothing to do with the quality of the music stations(Many markets outside of the Top 30 have very good music stations). A ton of people in the DMV region think that Baltimore has better music stations overall than DC which really is more of a news/poltical radio market(of course). Baltimore and DC are seperate media markets TV and Radio they are not counted together.

Yeah, my favorite station is 979X in Scranton - much smaller market. Point valid

 

[puddingpop]

(and i think dc counts baltimore in arbitron)

Not the case. In fact, although a few Baltimore stations are strong enough to be heard in much of metro DC, they very rarely pull even a fraction of a point in the ratings. (In contrast, a number of DC stations show up in Baltimore's ratings.)

Having lived in each city for a number of years, I can tell you this: People in DC care little about anything from or in Baltimore; the way they ignore it, you'd think it was a thousand miles away. Baltimore, on the other hand, isn't so snobby about DC, even though no city's citizens are more proud of their own city than Baltimoreans are, for all its features and its faults.

 

[RadioPhillyFan]

(and i think dc counts baltimore in arbitron)

Not the case. In fact, although a few Baltimore stations are strong enough to be heard in much of metro DC, they very rarely pull even a fraction of a point in the ratings. (In contrast, a number of DC stations show up in Baltimore's ratings.)

Having lived in each city for a number of years, I can tell you this: People in DC care little about anything from or in Baltimore; the way they ignore it, you'd think it was a thousand miles away. Baltimore, on the other hand, isn't so snobby about DC, even though no city's citizens are more proud of their own city than Baltimoreans are, for all its features and its faults.

Sounds just like Wilmington to Philadelphia! I can completely relate, my old job at ING Direct (in Wilmington) - it was the same way.

 

[MsMusicRadio]

Tampa and St.Pete are about 30-40 miles apart and all the major market FM's claim to serve both cities

 

[Jay F]

Hot 99.5's music (and probably many other CC top 40 stations as well) has been garbage since it made its debut in 2001, with the playlist possibly limited to only artists with little or no music talent (mostly bubble-gum stuff and what sounds like kiddie hip-hop) and various hip-hop stuff. That appeared to be little or no change to the station in the last 10 years.

Correct. Top 40 is a limited format by itself, but 99.5 has THE most limited playlist I have ever heard from a Top 40. Its garbage.

Meanwhile it's the #1 music station in DC. If they played the rock music you want them to they wouldn't be doing so great.

I noticed the two things that upset radio geeks the most..the first has been true for over 20 years, the second is new due to many recent format changes.

1.CHRs that play only rhythmic pop and light hip hop. No matter how well this formula works radio geeks want rock and alternative in the mix.

2.Any spoken word format on FM. Geeks hate this and believe talk should be limited to AM even if hardly anyone under 50 listens to it and never will.

Also except for the car (for now) it doesn't really matter what formats are available in any particular market. With the internet there is an unlimited dial..not only can you hear stations from anywhere on the globe, there are many great internet-only stations with music for every taste no matter how mainsteam, obscure, or specialized.

 

[RadioPhillyFan]

Hot 99.5's music (and probably many other CC top 40 stations as well) has been garbage since it made its debut in 2001, with the playlist possibly limited to only artists with little or no music talent (mostly bubble-gum stuff and what sounds like kiddie hip-hop) and various hip-hop stuff. That appeared to be little or no change to the station in the last 10 years.

Correct. Top 40 is a limited format by itself, but 99.5 has THE most limited playlist I have ever heard from a Top 40. Its garbage.

Meanwhile it's the #1 music station in DC. If they played the rock music you want them to they wouldn't be doing so great.

I noticed the two things that upset radio geeks the most..the first has been true for over 20 years, the second is new due to many recent format changes.

1.CHRs that play only rhythmic pop and light hip hop. No matter how well this formula works radio geeks want rock and alternative in the mix.

2.Any spoken word format on FM. Geeks hate this and believe talk should be limited to AM even if hardly anyone under 50 listens to it and never will.

Also except for the car (for now) it doesn't really matter what formats are available in any particular market. With the internet there is an unlimited dial..not only can you hear stations from anywhere on the globe, there are many great internet-only stations with music for every taste no matter how mainsteam, obscure, or specialized.

Not every CC CHR sounds the same.

 

[atlantaboy]

Meanwhile it's the #1 music station in DC. If they played the rock music you want them to they wouldn't be doing so great.

Look up KDWB, the CHR in Minneapolis - it's #1 in the market, with a share of over 8.0, and they mix in plenty of Alt/Rock

I feel like CHR listeners are pretty maleable in terms of musical taste - it's big corporations like Clear Channel and Cumulus that don't want to take the "risk" on any station that hasn't been around for 25 years - but veteran stations like KDWB, WNCI, WXXL, WDCG, etc. take the chance, add rock to their playlists, and do extremely well

 

[puddingpop]

Hot 99.5's music (and probably many other CC top 40 stations as well) has been garbage since it made its debut in 2001, with the playlist possibly limited to only artists with little or no music talent (mostly bubble-gum stuff and what sounds like kiddie hip-hop) and various hip-hop stuff. That appeared to be little or no change to the station in the last 10 years.

Correct. Top 40 is a limited format by itself, but 99.5 has THE most limited playlist I have ever heard from a Top 40. Its garbage.

Meanwhile it's the #1 music station in DC. If they played the rock music you want them to they wouldn't be doing so great.

I noticed the two things that upset radio geeks the most..the first has been true for over 20 years, the second is new due to many recent format changes.

1.CHRs that play only rhythmic pop and light hip hop. No matter how well this formula works radio geeks want rock and alternative in the mix.

2.Any spoken word format on FM. Geeks hate this and believe talk should be limited to AM even if hardly anyone under 50 listens to it and never will.

Also except for the car (for now) it doesn't really matter what formats are available in any particular market. With the internet there is an unlimited dial..not only can you hear stations from anywhere on the globe, there are many great internet-only stations with music for every taste no matter how mainsteam, obscure, or specialized.

Not every CC CHR sounds the same.

There are of course some exceptions...but on the whole, I'll agree that CHR stations--particularly most of those owned by Clear Channel--vary less than those in any other format (except maybe oldies).

 

[TheBigA]

Look up KDWB, the CHR in Minneapolis - it's #1 in the market, with a share of over 8.0, and they mix in plenty of Alt/Rock

I feel like CHR listeners are pretty maleable in terms of musical taste - it's big corporations like Clear Channel and Cumulus that don't want to take the "risk" on any station that hasn't been around for 25 years

The rap against big corporations is they do cookie cutter formats on all their stations. You seem to want them to do more of that, because it works in Minneapolis. But for me, I believe Minneapolis is different from DC, in terms of musical taste and radio competition. What works in Minny may not work in DC. What's wrong with programming to your market?

 

[RadioPhillyFan]

Hot 99.5's music (and probably many other CC top 40 stations as well) has been garbage since it made its debut in 2001, with the playlist possibly limited to only artists with little or no music talent (mostly bubble-gum stuff and what sounds like kiddie hip-hop) and various hip-hop stuff. That appeared to be little or no change to the station in the last 10 years.

Correct. Top 40 is a limited format by itself, but 99.5 has THE most limited playlist I have ever heard from a Top 40. Its garbage.

Meanwhile it's the #1 music station in DC. If they played the rock music you want them to they wouldn't be doing so great.

I noticed the two things that upset radio geeks the most..the first has been true for over 20 years, the second is new due to many recent format changes.

1.CHRs that play only rhythmic pop and light hip hop. No matter how well this formula works radio geeks want rock and alternative in the mix.

2.Any spoken word format on FM. Geeks hate this and believe talk should be limited to AM even if hardly anyone under 50 listens to it and never will.

Also except for the car (for now) it doesn't really matter what formats are available in any particular market. With the internet there is an unlimited dial..not only can you hear stations from anywhere on the globe, there are many great internet-only stations with music for every taste no matter how mainsteam, obscure, or specialized.

Not every CC CHR sounds the same.

There are of course some exceptions...but on the whole, I'll agree that CHR stations--particularly most of those owned by Clear Channel--vary less than those in any other format (except maybe oldies).

(CC CHR's in PA I know of well)
WIOQ
WAEB
WLAN
99.3 in Harrisburg

All sound very different... 102.1 (WIOQ) sounds like a variety CHR... They've played in 2012 Evanescense to Hit me one more time by Britany spears, from muse to drake.

104.1 WAEB Allentown sounds like a HOT AC - CHR, but it plays rap like Dev in the dark, international love, but a lot of female artists like pink and whatnot

WLAN is the most unique CC CHR... It's a complete AC - CHR - Alt Rock hybrid, but that's what works in that kind of area

99.3 Harrisburg is pretty generic for a CC station, but why would they do anything special for a mid sized market like that when it also has WLAN too?

I do agree... CHR's sound the same when done by one company... But god forbid anyone try and mix it up like WSTW in Wilmington... Look at how well they're doing being the most unique chr in the country?

Mix 106.1 (WISX) even has some CHR-Jingles, like when it does "106.1" in it's contests, then it has a complete CHR voice. CC messed up on this one, but I love both stations

Oh, and WISX is one of the better frequencies in Philly, almost touches New York and it goes into Dover.