Does Oldies Encompass Too Long A Span of Years?

[semoochie]

So, you're saying that 35+ was once a Big demo at a time when there were far fewer people in it?

 

[amfmsw]

Quote: There are no buys for 35-64"

Get real. How does news/talk AM survive without national 35-64 buys? Now it sounds like you're just trying to cover a decision. If your radio stations have no 35-64 buys, you really need to look in the mirror for the person who was talked into that mind-frame.

That's utter nonsense, no 35-64 buys! If your station isn't getting it's share, get a new National Sales Rep. You're just losing thou$and$ weekly!

 

[OldiesCat]

35-64 buys

Quote: There are no buys for 35-64"

Get real. How does news/talk AM survive without national 35-64 buys? Now it sounds like you're just trying to cover a decision. If your radio stations have no 35-64 buys, you really need to look in the mirror for the person who was talked into that mind-frame.

That's utter nonsense, no 35-64 buys! If your station isn't getting it's share, get a new National Sales Rep. You're just losing thou$and$ weekly!

You may think it's "utter nonsense", but it's true. It isn't that the stations don't HAVE the buys, it's that advertisers aren't making 35-64 buys. Your complaints should be directed at advertisers, not radio stations.

 

[davideduardo]

Quote: There are no buys for 35-64"

Get real. How does news/talk AM survive without national 35-64 buys?

When, let's say, a 35-44 male buy comes up, a n/t station looks at how much 35-44 male audience it has, and sees if it can offer a rate that is within the CPP goal against this demo for whatever they can deliver.

In other words, thery price their "inventory" of under-55 listeners to be competitive in the buy... or they take a pass. If the delivery is so bad that the station can not price for the advertiser specified demo, they take a pass on the business. This is no different than a soft AC finding it can not compete for 18-34 buys.

Now it sounds like you're just trying to cover a decision. If your radio stations have no 35-64 buys, you really need to look in the mirror for the person who was talked into that mind-frame.

As I mentioned, there are very few if any 35-64 buys. And an that come up are focused on the 35-54 delivery as part of the broader demo. I also mentioned a review of all buys in LA last year (advertisers and thier agencies announce pending buys precisely so stations can quote rates against the target demo in advance... there are no "rate cards" anyone buys off of... just rate ranges... and stations know what is being placed) there were no significant buys against 55+.

That's utter nonsense, no 35-64 buys! If your station isn't getting it's share, get a new National Sales Rep. You're just losing thou$and$ weekly!

You can not get a share of things that don't exist or which may exist in very small numbers.

N/t stations have been riding the refi market, where pre-retirement homeowners with equity want to capture equity or get lower rates... most of these are 45-54 because that is the age where listeners may have a home with significant equity while at the same time being "young enough" to have earning power to make payments. There are plenty of other categories that are hot for n/t, like repiping, new windows, roofing, etc., that benefit from equity cash-ins that also benefit via advertising to the same demo. The reason many n/ts are moving to FM is that this boost will not last forever, and this format has to capture more 35-54's to contine to thrive.

The main reason why there are so many n/t stations is that the format (and its derivitives) is the only viable usage for most AMs that have decent signals and are in rated markets. As n/t moves to FM, we are going to have even more struggling AMs... so this is more of an AM vs. FM issue than a demo issue. There is not enough business looking for over-55 listeners to sustain stations or formats.

 

[Barry45RPM]

The Prime Time of "Oldies" is 1958 - 1973, with a few fringe selections that fit the "feel" of the music which can appear between 1955-1958, and between 1973-1978.

 

[OldiesCat]

Oldies Span of Years?

The Prime Time of "Oldies" is 1958 - 1973, with a few fringe selections that fit the "feel" of the music which can appear between 1955-1958, and between 1973-1978.

Actually, Barry, '58-'73 WAS the oldies era span, perhaps 5 years ago. Any FM station in a competitive market playing Oldies from the late fifties into the early seventies in 2007 is, well, non-existent.

Those who stuck with that formula are among the Oldies stations that got nuked in the past 2-3 years. Time to catch up, cat.

 

[vibe]

Well how come stations whether they are oldies or classic rock are missing their audience by their failure/inability/unforgiveable failure to play music from the psychydelic age? Seems like there are a LOT of people, people young enough to spend their money for a station to target this audience. Or am I missing something?

 

[vchimpanzee]

Is the target audience (as opposed to the people who actively listen) too large?
Can a market support "oldies 1, and oldies 2" formats? Oldies 1 would encompass anything from say 1954-1962 and oldies 2 from about 1963-70?

This is not a major market but Hickory, N.C. has something like that on AM.

 

[DougD]

Is the target audience (as opposed to the people who actively listen) too large?
Can a market support "oldies 1, and oldies 2" formats? Oldies 1 would encompass anything from say 1954-1962 and oldies 2 from about 1963-70?
It's hard to believe that a 65-70 y.o graduating from high school in the 1950's has the same (or even close to ) musical tastes of a say, 55 y.o who graduated high school in 1968. I'm a tweener who enjoys oldies and classic rock (as well as many other formats.) Or am I just out of touch w/ the realities of radio?

No, you're not out of touch. Radio management and the admen who call the shots are the ones with blinders.

I'd think this kind of scenario could work:

1) 50s-60s oldies with few early 70s, a healthy amount of late 50s but mostly 60s.
2) 70s- early 80s. (No mid-80s MTV-type music that's played a lot already on the radio).

While I'd personally prefer 1955-1963 or something similar, this is broadcasting and has to appeal to a wider audience.

Just allow the specialty shows on the weekends like doo-wop shops or deep cuts or an all 1955-63 show on the weekend on the 50s-60s channel.

1970s music - especially once you get past 1974- really doesn't fit well with 1960s - no matter how much Mike Harvey thinks Lynrd Skynrd, Eric Clapton, 70s Rolling Stones or Abba does. It doesn't sound like oldies.

 

[Barry45RPM]

In my opinion, 58 thru 73 with a few exceptions either way sounds the best as "Oldies".

 

[radiofriend1]

i guess that is true if u want a radio station that appeals to 60+ listeners

nobody does these daze

 

[OldiesCat]

Oldies

In my opinion, 58 thru 73 with a few exceptions either way sounds the best as "Oldies".

Ten years ago, you would have been right. If you take a look through the top 100 arbitron markets, there's nary a single Oldies station spanning late '50s to early '70s. Nearly all are now '60s/'70s hits stations.

If your era center is right around 1964-1965 (where the typical late '50s/early '70s station would be), almost all of your audience would be over 55 and a majority of them over 60, which would mean you'd never next to now power to generate meaningful revenue.