It looks like in the KC 6+ book, some of the ones with the biggest shares had clear cut formats (classic hits, classic rock, hot ac, active rock), while I noticed near the bottom were two with "hybrid" formats--KCKC (ac/adult hits) with a 2.4 and KCJK (active/alt rock) with a 2.0. These stations might do alright with certain demos (though I think kckc's audience skews older), so they may well be profitable. Do hybrid formats work out, and how viable are they? (I actually like hybrid formats, because it's less monotonous.)
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Do hybrid formats work?
- Thread starter tall_guy1
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One of my favorite such stations is WXUS/US-102.3 out of Ocala, Florida. It combines Country and Southern Rock. https://us1023.com/
I think it depends on your market and audience. I do afternoons for what i lovingly call an "a locally programmed ac variety jack fm on crack" formatted station... and it works because its an upbeat female leaning format going against the male dominated formats in our market.
Exactly. And why most groups do research to confirm whatever iteration has a chance of working.
And what may be "hybrid" to some markets may be closer to mainstream in others.
In some markets that have a low ethnic population, alt/active rock can be seen as a compatible format, and not two genres that are separate. Similarly, an AC/Adult Hits format is quite acceptable in markets where there are fewer full signal stations.
Format names are just that. There is no "Format Rule Book" and no NFL (National Format Law) that says where one format ends and where another starts. In fact, many format names are used for sales purposes, not for marketing to listeners.
Example: not CHR format calls themselves "Contemporary Hit Radio" on the air.
The thing with some initial hybrid formats is that the ones that work eventually become formats in their own right. The old "Recuerdo" pozole format comes to mind.
And its been quite successful in Laramie, WY... when i last saw some Tapscan numbers, our TSL beat that of our nearest competitor by 2x, and most of the stations by 3-4x
The "pozole" format was actually an undiscovered mainstream format.
In Mexico, any station that wants to optimize sales targets upper and middle income listeners, because there is much less ad revenue spent reaching lower-middle, low and ultra-low income levels (C-, D and E socioeconomic levels in their media world).
A, B and C+ listeners don't regularly listen to what we call "regional Mexican music" and what is correctly called "grupera"" in México. In fact, it is socially acceptable to demean that type of music if you want to demonstrate that you are of a better class.
But in the US, the vast majority of first generation immigrants from Mexico came from D and E income levels "back home" and so they have a liking for regional Mexican as well as for the artists they saw on TV on shows like "Siempre En Domingo" and on all-Spanish contemporary hit music stations.
A research project in LA in 2000 showed that the bulk of over-35 first generation Mexican immigrants liked pop, regional and grupera music. Bukis, Vicente and Juan Gabriel if you know the artists.
So Recuerdo was born as an adult hits station, using the breadth of "Jack" and the variety of pop and regional. It was just hidden previously due to the way Mexican radio is programmed to income levels, not to age groups.
I managed the research and named Amalia González as PD. She assembled the music and we tested it and I put together the mechanics of the categories, rotations and acceptable segues and blends.
New Jersey 101.5 is a talk station during weekdays and a Classic Hits music station on weekends and holidays. That's been their format for the past 30 years.
And WRNJ (1510 AM and three FM translators) plays music all the way from 1960s Oldies to current pop hits -- everything from the Animals to the Glass Animals.
And WRNJ (1510 AM and three FM translators) plays music all the way from 1960s Oldies to current pop hits -- everything from the Animals to the Glass Animals.
And New Jersey 101.5 is still personality-centric, even when it’s a Classic Hits station. It’s one reason why I love that station. Big Joe Henry is one of my favorite jocks in the country.
A lot of the stations in Puerto Rico are personality-centric, too, going back to when DA programmed the "morning shows" all day concept at salsa station Salsoul and got double digit ratings doing it.
But he's the only real personality left on weekends. No more Don Tandler the Record Handler or Big Jay Sorensen.
I’m sorry to hear that. He has enough personality to carry that whole station. Despite not being from New Jersey, as soon as I hear that station and hear his voice, I feel like I’m there.
WXGM FM in Gloucester County, Virginia features Hot AC during the week and Oldies from the 50s, 60s and early 70s on weekends. I'm too old for the Hot AC and too young for most of the Oldies so this doesn't suit me, but Xtra 99.1 has been doing this for a few years so it must be working for them, and that's what matters. (Gloucester is a lovely, largely rural, area between Richmond and Newport News.)
One might argue that one of the major formats on radio today is hybrid format. You know it as "Adult Contemporary". You could consider it to be a hybrid of top 40 and classic hits.
It's not a perfect comparison, but it is food for thought.
It's not a perfect comparison, but it is food for thought.
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