Dial Flipping Hurts Black Stations

[Al Johnson]

Counting Radio Listeners Stirs Controversy

The release of the new data has affected rankings in Philadelphia’s radio market. In particular, stations that cater to a mostly black audience have suffered relative to their competitors. For example, WDAS, an R&B and soul station, was Philadelphia’s No. 2 station last fall, as ranked by its share of all listeners during the average quarter-hour. But in the most recent rankings, it came in at No. 7. WUSL, which plays hip-hop and R&B, went from No. 4 to No. 10.

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The Times adds the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters blames PPM methodology for Urban stations poor showings. Arbitron says that diaries for these stations showed a lot of listeners had claimed uninterrupted listening but PPM numbers now show these listeners really don't listen continuously or switch around to other stations.

Phila. dial-flippers churn radio ratings

The first batch of radio ratings obtained through Arbitron's new electronic system presents a very different picture of Philadelphians' listening habits.

Many stations are boasting larger audiences - but the audiences are more restive, flipping the dial more than Arbitron previously estimated.

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The Inquirer reports that PPM reporting switching benefits KYW, B-101, WOGL and WMGK.

This shows diary keepers are lazy. As they compare PPM and diary results, we learn next that diary keepers lie, forget what they really listened to or don't even know what station they're listening to.

 

[NJMike]

Give me a break!! Urban stations are down in ratings all over the place. Here in NYC, the most "urban friendly" radio market in the country, all 4 of our full-time Urban stations were down in the Winter 07 book. Most probable reasons are that hip-hop/R&B is not as stong as it was 5 years ago and that more people are turning to their iPods for music.

 

[carnyfeet]

It hurts any station that shares a similar format with a competitor. If I want news, my go-to station is going to be KYW, of course.

However, if I don't hear what I want to hear on Power 99, I'll flip around to Wired or to the Beat. There is no definite "go-to" station for hip-hop, and their ratings are all watered down now as a result. If there were even one less hip-hop station in town, the genre would still be enjoying relatively high ratings. Instead, they're splitting the same amount of listeners three ways instead of two (or instead of not at all).

It has way less to do with iPods than it has to do with the "lazy diary keeper" scenario combined with this phenomenon.

 

[hiphopaintdead]

Constant rotation hurts black radio stations, and essentially all pop format stations. This is why there is excessive dial flipping. Station presence is now more about personalities, and not so much the music. For better or worse. Stations now are forced to bring in the Whoopie's and the Steve Harveys, who's fan bases are extended beyond the reach of the specific genre format to pull listeners. The better the popularity of the personality, the larger the listener base. Unfortunately for Wendy Williams.

 

[Irishfl]

Give me a break!! Urban stations are down in ratings all over the place. Here in NYC, the most "urban friendly" radio market in the country, all 4 of our full-time Urban stations were down in the Winter 07 book. Most probable reasons are that hip-hop/R&B is not as stong as it was 5 years ago and that more people are turning to their iPods for music.

WDAS has always been in the top 3. Often number 1. The PPM took it down to number 7. ratings may have been droping anyway, but to lose several points, and drop several places in ranking in just one book (after years of stableness) shows it was the PPM.

 

[csp-1]

i guess i hurt r and b stations , when i flip from wdas 105.3 to wrnb 107.9 and back again , on some early sunday afternoons ... i can still believe though , certain numerics can be thrown off , though ... glad i am no longer an arbitron rating person

 

[Dancerev889]

Constant rotation hurts black radio stations, and essentially all pop format stations. This is why there is excessive dial flipping. Station presence is now more about personalities, and not so much the music. For better or worse. Stations now are forced to bring in the Whoopie's and the Steve Harveys, who's fan bases are extended beyond the reach of the specific genre format to pull listeners. The better the popularity of the personality, the larger the listener base. Unfortunately for Wendy Williams.

Whoopie? She will be done soon. Check her ratings all over, they are bad. The personalities I agree with you. Top 40 you need strong djs, none of the Top 40 type stations have them in Philly. Tight rotations are not a problem, its the also the fact that 5 stations are playing the same music.

 

[WTUX]

Its amazing that we are again understanding the need for strong personalities at pop/Top 40 stations. The stations were personality driven for decades until cheap owners and out of touch PD's went to liner reading robots. The result is the listener is song driven only, without waiting to hear what the air personality will do next.

In the great radio station "wars": WFIL vs WIBG, WABC vs WMCA, WCFL vs WLS, listeners were loyal. Stories abound of teens at beaches getting into fights over which station was best, WABC or WMCA.

The overabundance of stations in the same format certainly does not help. With listeners easily switching from Power 99 to Wired to DAS-FM to WRNB, programmers will now need to work harder at developing a sound that holds people for a constant 15 minutes. That probably takes a talent that programmers today do not have, but they had better develop it fast.

 

[Al Johnson]

Re: No Station Loyalty

Its amazing that we are again understanding the need for strong personalities at pop/Top 40 stations. The stations were personality driven for decades until cheap owners and out of touch PD's went to liner reading robots. The result is the listener is song driven only, without waiting to hear what the air personality will do next.

In the great radio station "wars": WFIL vs WIBG, WABC vs WMCA, WCFL vs WLS, listeners were loyal. Stories abound of teens at beaches getting into fights over which station was best, WABC or WMCA.

The overabundance of stations in the same format certainly does not help. With listeners easily switching from Power 99 to Wired to DAS-FM to WRNB, programmers will now need to work harder at developing a sound that holds people for a constant 15 minutes. That probably takes a talent that programmers today do not have, but they had better develop it fast.

Top 40 listeners loyal? Not at my school. Listeners were always flipping to the other station (when the news came on - which is why stations staggered the newscasts at odd times), when a station played a song somebody didn't like or when a jock "talked too much." Of course, back in the day, the ratings services (plural) used the telephone coincidental method, so people not writing down their flips was not an issue.

Now, with digital tuning, flipping is often easier. A lot of radios (not just car radios) have digital tuning and pre-sets. But diary-keeping is a major house-keeping chore (for only a dollar a wekk). Some formats seem less likely to draw an audience made up of people with the kind of qualities (self-discipline, responsibility, integrity, obsessive-compulsive disorder) that make them completely and accurately record their real use of radio. And some formats are used as background, so people really do keep those stations on for long periods with little or no flipping. The question here is: Are they really paying any attention? Flipping may be more likely when listeners use radio as a foreground medium, pay attention to it and are involved in what they hear.

Listeners are seldom loyal to stations, per se. Listeners loyalty is to personalities. Not many of those around any more. One went to satellite radio last year. One got fired last month. Talk radio does not seem to suffer from flipping as much as music formats, mainly because it is the only personality-driven format left.

 

[Dancerev889]

but djs back in the day were entertaining. How many times do you need to here its your boy so in so? which every local male dj uses. The FM dial is turning into the Phillies pre the new stadium. Its a bad product

 

[Irishfl]

Correct me if i'm wrong, but wouldn't flipping to stations in the same format, cause some stations to see higher ratings?

For example, if people were being loyal/lazy to WDAS, when writing down in their diary, but would flip to wrnb often. Then would WDAS be down, but wrnb be up? Both are down. Same with the hip hop stations. Power is down, but so is the beat and wired. The only stations up are those within the top 5 basically. So maybe it isn't the same format, maybe hip hop fans also listen to MMR? Maybe wdas fans listen to b101, and OGl? Maybe everyone tunes into KYW at times. Or maybe these stations were not as popular as previous ratings showed, and people would just mark down whatever in their diary?

 

[RunWithScissors]

Will anyone in the business finally admit that people are tired of this Urban culture slammed down their throats, day in and day out, the audiance wants more Rock (Metal/Punk/Alternative/Hard Rock/Classic). Or will they never admit it and continue to go after the fragmented audiance that spends on booze, smoke and drugs.

 

[rapking]

Will anyone in the business finally admit that people are tired of this Urban culture slammed down their throats, day in and day out, the audiance wants more Rock (Metal/Punk/Alternative/Hard Rock/Classic). Or will they never admit it and continue to go after the fragmented audiance that spends on booze, smoke and drugs.

And Rock fan will never do that ! Party like a Rock Star ! PARTY LIKE A ROCK STAR !

 

[Dancerev889]

Id love to see the demo break down on who received the PPM's. I think people want different things not just rock. Hip-hop is a on the decline. 106 is on the right track it just needs to be tweaked and needs more djs

 

[carnyfeet]

Will anyone in the business finally admit that people are tired of this Urban culture slammed down their throats, day in and day out, the audiance wants more Rock (Metal/Punk/Alternative/Hard Rock/Classic). Or will they never admit it and continue to go after the fragmented audiance that spends on booze, smoke and drugs.

So you're saying that rock audiences don't spend on booze, smoke and drugs? What?

Do I smell a sweeping generalization about to be made? I think I do...!

 

[eatspaste]

Will anyone in the business finally admit that people are tired of this Urban culture slammed down their throats, day in and day out, the audiance wants more Rock (Metal/Punk/Alternative/Hard Rock/Classic). Or will they never admit it and continue to go after the fragmented audiance that spends on booze, smoke and drugs.

That's because radio companies are too busy looking for the next big thing without seeing if it'll actually work. Look at the last several fad formats: jammin' oldies (died), all-80s (died), Jack (atleast it's working in Nashville and St. Louis?), and now rhythmic AC (can't crack a 1.0 12+ in L.A.). Everyone has this "if it works in Seattle, it'll work in Sheboygan" frame of mind (not to slam the good people of Wisconsin).

My suggestion: wait for the music industry to shift back to rock in a few years. Country was huge in the early 90s, alternative rock had it in the mid/late 90s, hip hop/urban has it now. I would guess that an all-90s format will be the next fad format for radio (perfect for the 25-38 year old women, by golly) and then rock will come back -- about 2011 or 2012.

I, personally, can't wait for the all-90s format. An entire station devoted to Aqua's "Barbie Girl", Eiffel 65's "Blue (Da Ba Dee)", Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping", and the Spice Girls.

 

[Wil]

Will anyone in the business finally admit that people are tired of this Urban culture slammed down their throats, day in and day out, the audiance wants more Rock (Metal/Punk/Alternative/Hard Rock/Classic). Or will they never admit it and continue to go after the fragmented audiance that spends on booze, smoke and drugs.

When I saw Motley Crue's Carnival of Sins tour at the Wachovia Center a lot of the audiEnce spent money on drugs and booze that night!

I won a set of Metallica/Godsmack tickets from Couzin Ed (any word on his where abouts???) when YSP still rocked, the guy next to me spent a ton of $$ on booze at the concesssion stand that night.

Bottom line - it would be nice to have an alternative to just MMR. If there was one, MMR's current audiEnce would fragment. There would not be 4 million new listeners that all of the sudden turned on their radios and discovered the "new" Y 100, or the rebirth of the old YSP. The current rock audiEnce simply would have another choice on the dial.

Hey... how did a thread about flipping hurting black stations morph into Philly needs more rock???