Delilah gone from My 102.5

[awp69]

....and STILL nothing new on MY.  I can't take "Someone Like You" or "Moves Like Jagger" anymore.  At least when they were still throwing in the old, sleepy 70s, they added more new music.  They are just getting worse and worse with adds, but the older 80s/90s is better than when they started, although some of that stuff is wearing out.  I don't think Zack and Marne are getting any better, either.

B-93.7 is my second choice for CHR.  I just like Channel 96.1 more, even the on-air personalities.  They are very slow with songs that are actually current HITS - they play a lot of 'older' hits (That are falling down the charts) more than new top 10 hits.  Still, hopefully they keep the more mainstream musical direction.

I was listening to Jacksonville radio the other day when I was travelling - so much variety, it's crazy.  New rock, classic rock, alternative, adult friendly CHR, pop CHR, 2 classic rockers, classic hits...it's crazy.  If Greenville could only have a couple of those stations.

No, Zack and Marne are horrible. The mostly music that Marne had before was much prefered. Zack is just a useless, lifeless on-air presence IMO. Marne is OK. But that was also because she was playing more music.

And the lack of new adds is the main reason why I still tune into Channel 96.1 and B93.7. Only reason why I listen to B more is because I don't always get a clear signal on 96.1 (probably about 75% of the time I do, but as I drive, I usually hear some static.).

Agree about Jacksonville or even somewhere like Raleigh/Durham. It's sad to think that  this market was actually worse two years ago (before the MY flip and Chuck came. As much as I don't like MY's direction, it still adds at least another option. Honestly, I rarely listened to MY at all before the flip).

 

[carolinaradio]

No, Zack and Marne are horrible. The mostly music that Marne had before was much prefered. Zack is just a useless, lifeless on-air presence IMO. Marne is OK. But that was also because she was playing more music.

And the lack of new adds is the main reason why I still tune into Channel 96.1 and B93.7. Only reason why I listen to B more is because I don't always get a clear signal on 96.1 (probably about 75% of the time I do, but as I drive, I usually hear some static.).

Agree about Jacksonville or even somewhere like Raleigh/Durham. It's sad to think that this market was actually worse two years ago (before the MY flip and Chuck came. As much as I don't like MY's direction, it still adds at least another option. Honestly, I rarely listened to MY at all before the flip).

Yeah, I liked the more "no-nonsense" approach in the morning before. I'm not a huge fan of big, over the top morning shows anywhere (with a lot of talk/conversations/laughing/useless info) like John Boy and Billy/Hawk and Tom/The Rise Guys etc. I just like mostly music with somebody on to present it, add a little personality, and give the weather/traffic/whatever. MY still plays a decent amount of music compared to some other morning shows around here.

B-93.7 is actually playing the new tracks from Fun., Christina Perri, Train, and the All-American Rejects. Maybe they've adjusted the direction, or that's just the way the chart's going. Either way, it's nice for a little more balance.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Just in the past 10 songs, they played Reo Speedwagon, Billy Joel and Belinda Carlisle. Those are all fine by AC standards, but not for a Hot AC (well, Carlisle, may be borderline). Doesn't matter, though. If they're getting the ratings, then it will continue this way. I just won't consider it Hot AC, just leaning that way. (I know it's been mentioned that they aren't reporting as Hot AC, but that's what they implied since the flip with their "fresh" tagline.)

Charlotte's Link has a similar problem. They sound like a hot AC, and may very well be, but last Saturday night, which may or may not have special programming any more, "Somebody's Baby" by Jackson Browne. HUH ???

 

[awp69]

B-93.7 is actually playing the new tracks from Fun., Christina Perri, Train, and the All-American Rejects. Maybe they've adjusted the direction, or that's just the way the chart's going. Either way, it's nice for a little more balance.

Yep, heard Fun. for the first time today. While it isn't exactly a "new" hit, it still is nice to finally hear something worthy on the new rock side of things around here. A balance is all I ask for in a CHR.

Unfortunately, the balance MY is going for isn't a right fit for my tastes at least.

 

[TheMusicMan]

There hasn't been a drastic overhaul, but I think the new WFBC PD's subtle tweaks sound really good. In particular, they added a new female voice to the imaging and switched out the dull dry sweepers in favor of cuts that ramp over song intros. It greatly improves the station's flow.

As for their music, I think what some have deemed a slight rhythmic lean has little to do with a conscious programming decision and more to do with a lack of Hot AC and rock material crossing to CHR. B93.7 is about as balanced a Top 40 as you'll find nowadays. I do think it's odd that they're nearly ignoring "Turn Me On," although I heard it this afternoon.

Of course the station's not perfect, and I agree that the Charlotte CHRs are still better, but you're also comparing Market 24 to Market 60. Overall, I think B sounds pretty good and I'm happy with the work Tias has done thus far.

 

[carolinaradio]

What's so odd about them ignoring "Turn Me On" (they were playing it at about 20x a week as it was climbing up the chart) is that they are still playing "Say You Like Me" by We The Kings to death, and it was never really a hit. Most CHR's have dropped it. I can't find any logic in playing a song no longer on the chart 46x a week and the #2? song hardly at all. They're playing Minaj's "Starships."

The female voice is Stacie Bartro, who does afternoons at sister WSPA (AC). She does quite a bit of voicework. The imaging has greatly improved. I agree that they sound good, but it'd be nice if they were faster on new music....biggest issue I have with them now is the way they can take so long to put the BIG hits in to power. They put "Domino" in to power just as it started to trend down the charts, and "It Will Rain" is still a power as well. The last PD used that strategy, as well. Kind of odd.

 

[TheMusicMan]

The simple answer regarding We The Kings is that it might be performing well in local callout. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that WFBC appears to have a good relationship with the band. I don't mind that they're sticking with the song - at least it gives some local flavor. Too many CHRs nowadays are afraid to find their own hits.

Thanks for clarifying regarding Stacie Bartro. I don't really listen to Magic, as I'm not big on Mainstream AC and their signal is somewhat weaker than B's and Hot's around here (Athens), but she sounds great on B. I'm personally tired of their current V/O guy, but I'm definitely satisfied with the recent imaging changes.

I agree that it'd be nice if they moved a little faster with their powers, but Greenville is a pretty conservative Southern market. Audiences around here tend not to respond as quickly to new music; I've seen it firsthand. Since MYI is slow as hell on everything and HZT seems to be skewing slightly away from pure pop material, I doubt B93.7 feels much pressure to churn through their powers quickly.

 

[carolinaradio]

Speaking of WMYI, what on god's earth are they doing? Are they going back to mainstream AC? They never add anything new anymore and more of the 1980s stuff they're dredging up is questionable. It's starting to get old, fast.

B-93.7 isn't one of my most favorite CHR's, but is far from a least favorite - 95SX in Charleston is probably my favorite CHR around here that's not major-market.
Their treatment of We The Kings isn't exactly new. I remember the station really being in to "Love Like Woe" by The Ready-Set last year. Wasn't much of a hit at all, but they really got behind it and kept it in rotation for ages after it fell off the charts. I don't mind WTK either, but I was just using it as a comparison that if they're willing to play it, why not Minaj's song which is #2 on the CHR/Pop chart? They've always been very friendly to her hits. Can't say I remember them ignoring such a big hit before. Perhaps they're taking a page out of WNKS/Charlotte's playbook....

 

[TheMusicMan]

Agree about 95SX! I'm normally not a fan of Cumulus CHRs at all, but SX sounds great. The music's become slightly less gutsy since Cumulus took over, but it's straight-ahead CHR (as opposed to Cumulus' stereotypical "CHR") with nice energy and solid jocks. As you surely know, afternoon driver Joe Girard came from WFBC and he's very enjoyable to hear.

WMYI is a real wreck, as we've well established in recent months, but they seem intent on maintaining the bizarre lukewarm AC mix until there's some kind of a ratings crash. I heard LMFAO again the other night and I couldn't help but cringe. Why won't they just go straight Hot AC?

 

[Scooter Lesley]

Well,...let me fillet the fish, and save the inerdz for Marv's new cat.
MY 102 has had enough time to place, and show in the ratings race, with their new venture. Smart move #1 was changing the format, and I agreed, but my nod only came with the understanding that someone and/or committee had the smarts to maintain it! Currently, it is an all over the road, rapid rotation, tempo monster. In addition to the directionless music log, no live Air Talent was hired. In the midst of this Oaf-ing, Smart move #2 appeared as they ankled Delilah, Queen of Sap! A small budget was approved by the bean counters, and Poof..."Sparky" the night time VT servered in. Now, the Bigglyest Oaf came when they hired a Morning Drive guy, with no (none!) local marque value. Six months from now the applied question will still be:
Who in the Flyin' Fudgecake is Zac Morgan? With all that their packing, it is not going to be enough to stamp hard in those Arb diaries. I remember competing against Love & Hudson, when they had a 10.5 A25-54; and the station in its Zenith year hit a 23-share. What happened?

 

[carolinaradio]

Agree with you, Scooter. There is absolutely ZERO excuse for them not to add new music. No new currents in nearly TWO MONTHS. That is absurd. If you want to bring the ratings in to justify them not making any changes (it was mentioned that they had a good WI12 trend), then using that logic, stations that are near the top of the books that include new music, like WSSL, WFBC, WESC, etc shouldn't add any new material. Those stations add new music on a regular basis and continue to do well.

I'm thinking they're scared to do anything because they got a good trend after a lousy book and are afraid any changes might mess with that. Well, if that's the case with them, memo: eventually, if it keeps running as is with no new music, and the same stale songs from the past, it will get old and crash. They still sound better than they did a year ago, but then again, what doesn't?

Zac seems like good talent on a CHR or a true Hot AC. Marne was decent by herself on MY with the alleged "Hot" AC format. The two together, however, aren't clicking, IMO.

@TheMusicMan: them playing the LMFAO track makes me want to do just that. Especially when they roll Stevie Nicks/Don Henley, Bonnie Tyler, slow Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Bonnie Raitt, Seal, slow Bryan Adams, etc.

 

[freqdev]

Now, the Bigglyest Oaf came when they hired a Morning Drive guy, with no (none!) local marque value.

where could a station find a morning drive guy with local marquee value?

 

[awp69]

I'm thinking they're scared to do anything because they got a good trend after a lousy book and are afraid any changes might mess with that. Well, if that's the case with them, memo: eventually, if it keeps running as is with no new music, and the same stale songs from the past, it will get old and crash. They still sound better than they did a year ago, but then again, what doesn't?

My biggest fear is if they do start to take a dive, they'll think they should go back to traditional AC. They definately don't have a great mix now, and, as you mentioned, it's unforgivable that they haven't had a new add in that period of time. Even their older music is truly odd. One minute Guns N Roses and little while later Stevie Nicks. Yuck.

That said, I still like having the option on the dial ...even if I can't listen to them constantly because of their poor and getting stale mix. If they went back to regular AC, I wouldn't even have them on my dial.

Hopefully, if the station begins to trend downward, they will realize they need to get more aggressive with (or should I say just get ANY) new adds.

 

[Silkie]

Love it when guys go on and on about what makes a female targeted station sound "better". No argument that Delilah doesn't fit MYI anymore, but slapping on a voice tracker from Wisconsin isn't much to celebrate. Delilah drew huge female numbers when MYI was on track with Mainstream AC. Those numbers won't be back.

When she "loses" one she picks up two. She knows how to target the feminine audience without attacking them and their families. She stays on the right track from the beginning, instead of going all over the map (as happens, though infrequently, with the less refined in the industry) only to figure out that those she targeted want nothing to do with her in any incarnation of herself. In short, Delilah has class. I can't see her as trashing those she needs, e.g. her audience, because she herself isn't trash.

 

[Scooter Lesley]

MY102 ankled long time (18-years) Morning Man, Bill Love, allegedly due to a salary drain of around $190k per year; for 5:30am-to-8:30am. Reportedly he was in 8th place. For me, I have said for years that they need to be on all 4-hours; 6am-10am, as slated on the Arb diaries. Shortly after that, WESC let John Crenshaw go.
John was MY's best answer, and CC could not see it. Not only did Crenshaw fill-in for Charlie Munson, when he was off for vacation, John, at one time, had a 8p-12m sydi show; "Country Heartlines", that was on in multiple markets across the U.S. He was out of a job, and they should have had the good sense to see his charisma fronting MY...in their time of need.

 

[carolinaradio]

I'm thinking they're scared to do anything because they got a good trend after a lousy book and are afraid any changes might mess with that. Well, if that's the case with them, memo: eventually, if it keeps running as is with no new music, and the same stale songs from the past, it will get old and crash. They still sound better than they did a year ago, but then again, what doesn't?

My biggest fear is if they do start to take a dive, they'll think they should go back to traditional AC. They definately don't have a great mix now, and, as you mentioned, it's unforgivable that they haven't had a new add in that period of time. Even their older music is truly odd. One minute Guns N Roses and little while later Stevie Nicks. Yuck.

That said, I still like having the option on the dial ...even if I can't listen to them constantly because of their poor and getting stale mix. If they went back to regular AC, I wouldn't even have them on my dial.

Hopefully, if the station begins to trend downward, they will realize they need to get more aggressive with (or should I say just get ANY) new adds.

I highly doubt they will ever go back to Mainstream AC. They would flip entirely before that, there was a reason they abandoned it in the first place. Mainstream AC no longer worked for them. I consider the "fresh, new sound" a last-ditch effort to keep some form of AC on 102.5.

Funny that they only play "Drive By", "Domino", "Without You", "We Found Love", "Not Over You" just after 7pm - what on earth is so dangerous about those songs?!

 

[awp69]

Looking at their Mediabase page, it looks like they may finally have added some "new" stuff. Gotye, Fun. and Train's "Drive By". Three new adds (unless I missed something). And relatively "hip" nontheless. So maybe we'll hear these during the day now as well.

Of course, their older selection is still riddled with problems -- Billy Joel, Hall & Oates, Stevie Nicks, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson -- stuff that IMO has no place on a Hot AC.

Still, at least a little encouraging, to finally see some new adds. Had a half decent run this morning that even included Panic! At the Disco.

 

[carolinaradio]

Big changes at MY this morning, new currents being played during the day:

Gavin DeGraw - Not Over You
Katy Perry - Part Of Me
Adele - Rumor Has It
Rihanna - We Found Love
Train - Drive By
Jessie J - Domino

There are more Hot AC sounding songs in there and they've cut the 80s back as well. Also, they've upped some of the songs to every other hour (traditional Hot AC rotation). Perhaps they're finally going in the "official" Hot AC direction that they've needed to go in for 9 months.

 

[awp69]

Yeah, went back and saw "Domino" and others there. Is the Mediabase list pretty accurate? Because I was also happy to see Gotye and Fun. in there.

 

[carolinaradio]

The Mediabase list includes songs that the Premium Choice playlist that they run late nights plays, which is the Fun, Gotye, Outasight, etc. type stuff that they don't play during the day.

This isn't always extremely accurate, but http://www.yes.com/#WMYI is a good site with a music log (everything on there is an hour behind, though, lol).