December PPM

[finallyescaped]

First public PPM book and only a couple surprises/notes...

The Bomb is down to a 2.2 and KSFM 3.2. that is about a point below where they usually are.

Entercom should be happy with 3 of top 4 stations

Buzz is at 2 share like kwod was. wonder how they did in 25-34???????? anyone know???

The truth remains that no one listens to Salem talk stations

Classic is at a 1.8. surprised all of the promotion for them i heard on KFBK which was #2 station overall in december. on the other cc am kste is looking weak. wonder why?????

khits 92 looks like they might do better in ppm. i haven't seen a full sac book since winter but i know their cume was maybe 1/3 of what it is now. the only other stations i see with 300 to 400% cume gain is 98rock the end and the mix

 

[btone1035]

First public PPM book and only a couple surprises/notes...

The Bomb is down to a 2.2 and KSFM 3.2. that is about a point below where they usually are.

Entercom should be happy with 3 of top 4 stations

Buzz is at 2 share like kwod was. wonder how they did in 25-34???????? anyone know???

The truth remains that no one listens to Salem talk stations

Classic is at a 1.8. surprised all of the promotion for them i heard on KFBK which was #2 station overall in december. on the other cc am kste is looking weak. wonder why?????

khits 92 looks like they might do better in ppm. i haven't seen a full sac book since winter but i know their cume was maybe 1/3 of what it is now. the only other stations i see with 300 to 400% cume gain is 98rock the end and the mix

KSFM, big shocker.  But I guess trying to sound like The End may not be a good idea at all.  But, they'll probably rebound.  KBMB, no suprise.  What's funny is both KSFM and KBMB has lower ratings than KHYL (an old school station).  But KBMB barely edged The Buzz, which plays 90s music.  But, the Buzz has a higher cume than the Bomb (I wonder how that can be if their rating is slightly lower than the Bomb).  But anyways, KDND is kicking butt, KFBK still #1 listened AM station, and the Bomb better watch out before the Buzz goes ahead of them in the next ratings next month.

 

[Dick Skinner]

Congratulations to Jim Fox and the staff at KRXQ on their #1 showing! It demonstrates the fact that superior talent can and does transcend the "more music" axiom being bantered about with the arrival of PPM. I've said it before: Rob Williams runs one of the best morning shows in the business. And Pat, Dog and Joe hold down always entertaining shows in the subsequent dayparts. Jim's disciplined approach to music and feature programming is spot on, and proves he has his finger on the rock market in Sacramento. Great job, guys!

 

[John Walker]

Indeed. It's nice to hear they are being rewarded for radio being done the right way

 

[DonnieV]

Also, talking the GM into buying and shutting down your competition never hurt.

KRXQ has a phenomenally disciplined morning show, but a decent rock station in the market would cut the rest of the dayparts in half in under six months.

 

[Michael Rivers Kramer]

Also, talking the GM into buying and shutting down your competition never hurt.

KRXQ has a phenomenally disciplined morning show, but a decent rock station in the market would cut the rest of the dayparts in half in under six months.

I don't think it was about "Talking the GM into buying the competition." It was Entercom approaching Ed Stolz in 1996, Ed agreeing to sell and then backing off. Entercom sued and won.

What Entercom did with KWOD in 2005 was change the direction and fail. Then they dropped the format all together. Of course KRXQ's numbers have increased over the past four years.

I give KRXQ and Entercom credit for keeping KDND and KRXQ live, local and relevant.

 

[Michael Rivers Kramer]

Classic is at a 1.8. surprised all of the promotion for them i heard on KFBK which was #2 station overall in december. on the other cc am kste is looking weak. wonder why?????

Yeah that is surprising. However, in listening while in Sacramento over the holiday, I heard some horrific noise on the station. A friend also told me they were just running on one channel for a long period of time over this past weekend. Today, I listened on line and hear the same prerecorded traffic report played twice back to back at the beginning of a break in afternoon drive. It was Dana Hess talking about a guy wearing a pink dress wandering and blocking traffic. Funny first time I heard it...loved the immediate encore. LOL...Is any one listening?

I love how KGBY (which is completely "premium choice"), is beating "local and live" KZZO. My guess is that KGBY is playing a better researched playlist (READ..."Playing the hits"!)and is benefiting from the strength of Valentine and the star power of Ryan Seacrest. It could be also the unhip list of Christmas songs I heard on the Zone on Christmas Eve. They were ones I'd expect to hear on a Mainstream AC station, not on the ZONE.

I'm NOT surprised at the weaker showing for KBMB and KSFM. In LA, both KIIS and KAMP are cleaning POWER 106's clock. Mainstream Urban/Rhythmic CHR seem to be hurt by the PPM. Even though POWER 106 is listed as Urban on the R-L ratings list, they're more of a Rhythmic CHR.

 

[Michael Rivers Kramer]

Classic is at a 1.8. surprised all of the promotion for them i heard on KFBK which was #2 station overall in december. on the other cc am kste is looking weak. wonder why?????

Yeah that is surprising. However, in listening while in Sacramento over the holiday, I heard some horrific noise on the station. A friend also told me they were just running on one channel for a long period of time over this past weekend. Today, I listened on line and hear the same prerecorded traffic report played twice back to back at the beginning of a break in afternoon drive. It was Dana Hess talking about a guy wearing a pink dress wandering and blocking traffic. Funny first time I heard it...loved the immediate encore. LOL...Is any one listening?

I love how KGBY (which is completely "premium choice"), is beating "local and live" KZZO. My guess is that KGBY is playing a better researched playlist (READ..."Playing the hits"!)and is benefiting from the strength of Valentine and the star power of Ryan Seacrest. It could be also the unhip list of Christmas songs I heard on the Zone on Christmas Eve. They were ones I'd expect to hear on a Mainstream AC station, not on the ZONE.

I'm NOT surprised at the weaker showing for KBMB and KSFM. In LA, both KIIS and KAMP are cleaning POWER 106's clock. Mainstream Urban/Rhythmic CHR seem to be hurt by the PPM. Even though POWER 106 is listed as Urban on the R-L ratings list, they're more of a Rhythmic CHR.

I'd also like to point out that the numbers published on the website are the give-away numbers 6+ from Arbitron. What really matters are the breakouts, specifically 25-54, 25-44 etc.

 

[camron_fri]

I'm NOT surprised at the weaker showing for KBMB and KSFM. In LA, both KIIS and KAMP are cleaning POWER 106's clock. Mainstream Urban/Rhythmic CHR seem to be hurt by the PPM. Even though POWER 106 is listed as Urban on the R-L ratings list, they're more of a Rhythmic CHR.

I DON'T think that in the case of CHR this a PPM issue in a market like Sacramento Michael. It's NOT surprising at ALL if your paying attention to HOW CHR SOUNDS right now. Uptembo (read "Dance") sounding Pop music is what's IN right now. Pop tastes go in cylcles. CHR right now sounds much the way it did 20 years ago. However, if you think Lady Gaga is a Hip-Hop artist (as I saw someone here on the board refer to her) than you really have NO IDEA as to the the changes in styles as pop culture cycles. Uptempo is the flavor of the month for CHR at the Moment.....THAT...NOT PPM, is why KDND is on top right now. Mason and co. alread had the station positioned to lean that direction 2 YEARS ago. It's not surprising the other rhythmic CHR's in the market are hurting. In a year or 2 it could be a complete different story, with downtempo Hip-Hop/R&B based music as the core of the pop sound.......but it's NOT now. My 2 cents! Happy New Year all!!!

 

[Michael Rivers Kramer]

I DON'T think that in the case of CHR this a PPM issue in a market like Sacramento Michael. It's NOT surprising at ALL if your paying attention to HOW CHR SOUNDS right now. Uptembo (read "Dance") sounding Pop music is what's IN right now. Pop tastes go in cylcles. CHR right now sounds much the way it did 20 years ago. However, if you think Lady Gaga is a Hip-Hop artist (as I saw someone here on the board refer to her) than you really have NO IDEA as to the the changes in styles as pop culture cycles. Uptempo is the flavor of the month for CHR at the Moment.....THAT...NOT PPM, is why KDND is on top right now. Mason and co. alread had the station positioned to lean that direction 2 YEARS ago. It's not surprising the other rhythmic CHR's in the market are hurting. In a year or 2 it could be a complete different story, with downtempo Hip-Hop/R&B based music as the core of the pop sound.......but it's NOT now. My 2 cents! Happy New Year all!!!

I do not nor have I ever thought that Lady Gaga is Hip Hop. I've also noticed the shift sound in CHR over the past 2-3 years.

My argument is an example of ethnic sampling, cume and TSL ARE making a difference. I haven't seen the breakdowns in Sacramento in about five years, but the majority of quarter hours for KSFM and KDND were black and hispanic. These two ethnic groups drive the TSL up. PPM is more cume friendly and includes more passive listening. Gradually, KSFM and KBMB have also shifted in sound and are playing more pop.

Cameronfri...I think you'll find what Guy Zapoleon says about pop music cycles interesting. Rebirth, Extreme and Doldrums.

http://friends.strategicradiosolutions.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10

From what you wrote, I think you may be aware of this pattern.

Guy is a terrific and I had the privilege to learn from him for a while back in the late 90's.

I still think that ethnic leaning stations and stations that rely on TSL like KSSJ are hampered by the PPM. I am happy to see on the surface that KHYL seems to be okay. I'd say the same for KSSJ, but they may have a lot of less-than-desirable to ad agency (55+) listeners.

 

[camron_fri]

Michael: I think I saw something similar to this a few years ago by Guy but this was definately and interesting read. Point taken on ethnic PPM sampling as well. My guess would be that in the next 12-24 months we'll see another more urban CHR emerge in the Sac market with realative success.

 

[studiofart]

I disagree, i think you'll see KSFM and (to a lesser extent) KBMB see a boost in the ratings once Cell Phone sampling starts to come into play. Remember, a growing number of households (especially younger households, 18-34) are landline-less. The numbers for the Persons, Male, and Female 18-34 are, and will continue to be VASTLY inaccurate until cell phone sampling comes into play this spring/summer.

 

[camron_fri]

disagree, i think you'll see KSFM and (to a lesser extent) KBMB see a boost in the ratings once Cell Phone sampling starts to come into play.

Point also taken. It'll be interesting to see how the data plays out by the end of this year. I think by then we'll all have a better understanding about where we really are with the new system.

 

[studiofart]

thats exactly what makes this ppm interesting (and frustrating at the same time) to look at.

i look forward to the day when weekly numbers and even dailys have relevance. until that time, we just need a bigger sample size. in ALL markets. arbitron needs to get going on this, as stations won't renew their subscriptions if this doesn't improve soon.