In the Buffalo market, jazz went from nights and weekends on the main channel, to JazzWorks on an HD 2, to extinction.
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
EMF - Why Didn't Other Groups Pay Attention?
- Thread starter Delete My Account
- Start date
The Top 3 Markets still have it on an analog FM channel: WBGO 88.3 Newark/NYC, KKJZ 88.1 Long Beach/LA, and WDCB 90.9 Glen Ellyn/Chicago (with blues on Saturday nights & Sunday mornings Central time). I don't know how many others are left.
Here in Phoenix, we have 24/7 jazz on KJZZ-HD2 91.5. The main (analog/HD1) channel still airs a couple hours of jazz every night, and 5 hours of blues every Sunday night.
My EX Brother in law was a jazz trumpeter. Never made much playing jazz. Ended up playing with a major Disco, act giving lessons and doing studio work.
Service marks are territorial. Just because iHeart has the rights to the KissFM brand in Ohio doesn't mean they do in New York. Majic means classic hits in Cleveland (iHeart) but Magic means classic rock in Philly (Beasley) and AC in Boston (Audacy).
Cumulus tried rebranding almost all of their country stations as "Nash FM" or "Nash Icon". It didn't work for a variety of reasons.
FWIW, in Oregon the public radio networking seems to work well. Both networks, OPB and JPR, have networks of FM and AM stations, confined to their respective areas (Oregon-wide for OPB, 'Jefferson'-wide for JPR -- i.e. southern Oregon and far northern Cal). So there are some public radio networks that work out OK. Obviously, it depends on the state.
The idea can work on the public radio level. As for format based networks, like AAA or jazz, that's probably a harder sell. Less revenue, partly because the audiences are smaller.
The idea can work on the public radio level. As for format based networks, like AAA or jazz, that's probably a harder sell. Less revenue, partly because the audiences are smaller.
I know you are using "satellite" as a term, but it is dated. The iHeart formats are distributed via their web system that delivers formats as workparts that are assembled locally with, or without, things like news, weather, traffic and other features. The system also allows custom playlists, using the iHeart library but creating a station's own localized blend.
There are national service marks, like most consumer brands from cars to corn flakes. Many stations in the past just registered a name in their own market area of one or a couple of states. But when the internet arrived, many discovered that some streamer in Caribou, Maine, had the national registration to a name they wanted. So the big guys started registering names nationally, too.
But it probably is a niche market, as I'd be willing to bet that the vast majority of people who identify their religion as "Christian" will never listen to CCM or any other kind of Christian radio. It seems to me that those stations serve a pretty specific subset of Christians.
That said, going back to the original question for this thread, I think that EMF did what secular organizations didn't do for several reasons:
1. There is a long history of Christian radio stations operating on the noncommercial portion of the FM broadcast band, although most of those stations carried preaching and talk programming more than they did CCM music. EMF's innovation was to extend a model that had worked for other kinds of Christian radio and apply it to CCM.
2. Similarly, since so many Christian stations were noncommercial there was an established history of Christian radio asking listeners for support.
3. Amplifying on the second point, many commercial Christian stations carried paid block programming, and the individual programmers would ask their listeners for money. So listeners to Christian radio were used to be asked to donate the programs they listened to. For that matter, Christian TV programs that aired on non-Christian stations generally asked for money as well.
4. There was also a history of Christian broadcast networks taking an expansionary approach. This was true for both radio and TV -- on the TV side, you had TBN going back to the 70s, and Daystar growing rapidly starting in the 90s. I think that their were some noncommercial "preaching and teaching" radio networks that were similarly expansionary, although I don't remember the names. So, again, EMF had that example to follow.
And note that FCC regulations would have prevented a commercial version of what EMF and the other Christian broadcasters have done until relatively recently. Until the nineties, there were fairly tight ownership limits that applied to commercial stations, as well as rules requiring a studio within the coverage area of a commercial broadcast station. And while I'd say that TBN was bending the latter rule pretty badly for decades before the main studio rule was loosened, it was nonetheless a limitation. The Christian radio networks such as EMF noticed at some point that neither the ownership limits or the main studio rule applied to noncommercial stations and they took advantage of that to expand.
Finally, we have to note that one of the goals of these Christian broadcasters is to evangelize and "spread the word". And while I suspect that these stations almost universally just preach to those who already believe, that mission to evangelize does indeed promote an expansionary mindset that encouraged these Christian broadcasters to grow as fast as they possibly could. In contrast, how many people who are passionate about album rock or Americana or jazz or AAA feel the need to evangelize and "spread the word" about the music that they love?
.
Great points in the above post.
I would add that most evangelicals I know, especially younger adults and males, don't typically listen to CCM.
And music fans may not be "evangelical" per se but goodness are they passionate, even about radio. When a Triple A station shuts down, or a station like The Sound in LA, you'll see a lot of people in music and local forums and on social media spreading the word about their preferred substitutes. A lot of former KFOG fans switched to The Peak in Westchester (on the opposite coast) because they do "10 at 10" similar to the old KFOG feature. And KOZT up in Mendocino seems to have a pretty strong cult following among the classic rockers. There was some of that around KCDX, too. So while they may not feel the need to press to spread the word, when one outlet closes, they're good about sharing with their community of enthusiasts where else to hear it. Americana fans are similar.
Actually, Americana could make some sense at least regionally in some parts of the US. Being country-adjacent, if you programmed it right, you could probably get some ears that are sick of the Nashville stuff on practically every other station, but they've also got some stars, so if you're more into Chris Stapleton than Morgan Wallen, you might support an Americana station that doesn't play commercials or stuff that sounds like hip-hop.
My broader point is, that if you believe this stuff is a cultural treasure, worth sharing and educating people about, that's a logical non-commercial mission. Maybe the window's passed but the theory makes sense. Like BigA pointed out though, the institutions with that money don't either need or care about radio. With a few exceptions, like KEXP, who seem committed to being free-to-air but also do great online.
I would add that most evangelicals I know, especially younger adults and males, don't typically listen to CCM.
And music fans may not be "evangelical" per se but goodness are they passionate, even about radio. When a Triple A station shuts down, or a station like The Sound in LA, you'll see a lot of people in music and local forums and on social media spreading the word about their preferred substitutes. A lot of former KFOG fans switched to The Peak in Westchester (on the opposite coast) because they do "10 at 10" similar to the old KFOG feature. And KOZT up in Mendocino seems to have a pretty strong cult following among the classic rockers. There was some of that around KCDX, too. So while they may not feel the need to press to spread the word, when one outlet closes, they're good about sharing with their community of enthusiasts where else to hear it. Americana fans are similar.
Actually, Americana could make some sense at least regionally in some parts of the US. Being country-adjacent, if you programmed it right, you could probably get some ears that are sick of the Nashville stuff on practically every other station, but they've also got some stars, so if you're more into Chris Stapleton than Morgan Wallen, you might support an Americana station that doesn't play commercials or stuff that sounds like hip-hop.
My broader point is, that if you believe this stuff is a cultural treasure, worth sharing and educating people about, that's a logical non-commercial mission. Maybe the window's passed but the theory makes sense. Like BigA pointed out though, the institutions with that money don't either need or care about radio. With a few exceptions, like KEXP, who seem committed to being free-to-air but also do great online.
From data I have gathered, a substantial number of Contemporary Christian music listeners are not churchgoers at all. They simply say they're spiritual and typically are not members of churches. Some listeners claim they simply want a 'positive' music format to keep them focused on the positive and good in the world. I'm not trying to minimize the churchgoing listeners that are easily the majority. Many are not evangelicals. They're the family that goes to church on Sunday. They find the programming more kid friendly and they like the influence the music has on them through the week as thy try ti meld Christian teachings and secular life and workplace.
What makes Contemporary Christian 'work' is the listeners, like classical music listeners, see their station as a part of their life. They consider themselves to be in the minority and compelled to financially support a radio station that is essentially their daily companion. Most EMF supporters are at the $30 a month rate. And that adds up quickly because it's month after month.
Christian radio, aside from the 100% music format, that is successful wants to reach the choir. You've heard the line preaching to the choir. The ministries on the station might do the 'alter call' but really they want the person already deep into church to support the ministry (or buy their special offers). In a nutshell, successful Christian radio does not evangelize because that's not where the money is.
What makes Contemporary Christian 'work' is the listeners, like classical music listeners, see their station as a part of their life. They consider themselves to be in the minority and compelled to financially support a radio station that is essentially their daily companion. Most EMF supporters are at the $30 a month rate. And that adds up quickly because it's month after month.
Christian radio, aside from the 100% music format, that is successful wants to reach the choir. You've heard the line preaching to the choir. The ministries on the station might do the 'alter call' but really they want the person already deep into church to support the ministry (or buy their special offers). In a nutshell, successful Christian radio does not evangelize because that's not where the money is.
CCM doesn't target males. It goes after 25-54 females. Air 1 switched to worship music to try to get younger adults. The most religious person I know finds CCM to be an abomination and listens to Bott Radio almost all-the-time. He went as far as to suggest his church stop offering a contemporary service because those people weren't true believers and suggested the church was bastardizing its message by offering such a service. I sometimes wonder what he would think if he knew Bott Radio operated a commercial CCM station about 30 years ago in Oklahoma City. Funny thing is, when I knew him and worked in radio with him, he was even less religious than I was!
When it comes to CCM, I don't think K-Love would tell you the window for that has passed. In the end, even a non-commercial mission has to get enough of an audience to be sustainable. Classical mostly went away from commercial radio because the audience got too old to sell. Non-commercial radio has been phasing it out for at least the last decade, if not 25 years, because much of that audience has died and isn't being replaced. Having said that, the local university managed to buy another station for classical music around 10 years ago, and almost all the money came from listener donations.
I'm about as nonreligious as they come, and, while I don't choose it myself, I find most CCM stations to be listenable. I tend to get bored with it quickly and am not in the target audience anyway, but the all music stations, in general, have never bothered me. My ex-wife listened to K-Love and SXM's The Message occasionally, and I never asked her to change the station when either was on. They were well-programmed and well-presented, and, if someone was listening to them at work or in a retail establishment I was visiting, there's a decent chance I wouldn't notice they were listening to a "religious" station.
That sounds about right to me. Granted, this isn't a representative sample, but the two people I know who are big listeners to the teaching and preaching stations got into religion first and started listening to Bott Radio afterward. The person I mentioned in the first paragraph of this message, of course, is one of them. I don't know how he went down the path to religion as it was quite a change from when I knew him, but I know he married a woman much more conservative than he. She was the receptionist at the radio station and went on to assume a few on-air roles.
Not to mention KCCV-FM when it first went on the air in 1993 for the Kansas City market, though that was described at the time as "middle-of-the-road inspirational music". Still, it was a contrast to KCCV(AM), which was straight-up preaching at the time.
Music in churches has been a contentious topic from time to time, but this isn't TheologyDiscussions, so I'll leave it at that.
K-Love is well crafted but, yes, the repetitiousness of it can get to me pretty fast. I also find that to be true of secular adult contemporary. In any event, I don't find Christian hip-hop to be repetitive (and I am not that much of a hip-hop fan!) Perhaps because hip-hop is much more closely related to the spoken word than CCM is, it's a natural extension of preaching and witnessing, and it just all seems to fit.
When I say "the window has passed" I was more referring to the window for new secular versions of what EMF does.
I'm an Americana/AAA/rock & soul fan and contribute to several of the non-comms. If I'd had rock star money, I might have done it myself. But even when Dublin was set to lose its "indie" alternative station, U2 sent their condolences - not their money. And their own manager had invested in the startup phase, and that was a commercial station. There aren't a lot of Stevie Wonders out there looking to do this commercially or as a non-profit foundation. Ironically, Ted Tucker's kind of done a non-profit for classic rockers with KCDX, and that was purely a result of his being a speculator on licenses and the fact he has enough money to run it for the rest of his life.
In terms of the music itself, I actually appreciate what the Boost Radio stations do, because while I like some hip-hop, I don't relate much to the themes of secular hip-hop that's on commercial radio. I like the more "alt" stuff you hear on the non-comms and thematically, the "positive" hip-hop stuff seems refreshing and much of it isn't blatantly preachy.
Amusingly, I was in a pub a few years ago and there was a great "rock" playlist going with old fashioned, slightly alternative guitar rock that sounded fresh. One of the songs on the playlist was by Crowder, an artist that had been associated with praise & worship music. This was a mainstream rock and roll song (title escapes me) but it sounded great in the mix, in a pub no less. There's some solid artists in the Christian music world but their appeal on radio is limited. Probably any male P1 of WMMR or WRIF wouldn't have blinked if they'd played the track I heard. Though the title escapes me.
ETA: "Run Devil Run" was the song.
I'm an Americana/AAA/rock & soul fan and contribute to several of the non-comms. If I'd had rock star money, I might have done it myself. But even when Dublin was set to lose its "indie" alternative station, U2 sent their condolences - not their money. And their own manager had invested in the startup phase, and that was a commercial station. There aren't a lot of Stevie Wonders out there looking to do this commercially or as a non-profit foundation. Ironically, Ted Tucker's kind of done a non-profit for classic rockers with KCDX, and that was purely a result of his being a speculator on licenses and the fact he has enough money to run it for the rest of his life.
In terms of the music itself, I actually appreciate what the Boost Radio stations do, because while I like some hip-hop, I don't relate much to the themes of secular hip-hop that's on commercial radio. I like the more "alt" stuff you hear on the non-comms and thematically, the "positive" hip-hop stuff seems refreshing and much of it isn't blatantly preachy.
Amusingly, I was in a pub a few years ago and there was a great "rock" playlist going with old fashioned, slightly alternative guitar rock that sounded fresh. One of the songs on the playlist was by Crowder, an artist that had been associated with praise & worship music. This was a mainstream rock and roll song (title escapes me) but it sounded great in the mix, in a pub no less. There's some solid artists in the Christian music world but their appeal on radio is limited. Probably any male P1 of WMMR or WRIF wouldn't have blinked if they'd played the track I heard. Though the title escapes me.
ETA: "Run Devil Run" was the song.
Even in Stevie's case, it's only one station in one city. He didn't expand it beyond LA. That's the problem. Anyone who share's EMF's vision of a national service promoting a genre or anything like that would have to buy hundreds of stations, or create a syndicated format that other stations can use. Buying hundreds of stations is expensive and impractical. Creating a syndicated format doesn't guarantee that non-owned stations will carry your programming as it was intended.
True, and XPN sort of tried with "XPonential Radio" - that still lives on on HD, for those who care. But it's not hosted or promoted very well.
Is anyone running XPonential Radio on a main channel? My market has it on an HD3, and that's on-pair with where I've heard it pretty much everywhere.
Nine stations total, plus streaming. So I'd have to classify it primarily as a streaming service. When I click on the link for the stream, I get a 404.
It shows up in TuneIn as XPN2 which appears to be the local branding.
It shows up in TuneIn as XPN2 which appears to be the local branding.
Plus, with the possible exceptions of the two in Alaska, all are on HD multicast channels.
The two in Alaska might offer XPonential Radio in a few dayparts but don't seem to air the programming 24/7.
List is out of date. XPoNential Radio is no longer available in Houston via KUHF HD-3, replaced recently with a simulcast of “The Vibe” from KTSU HD-2 as part of a program sharing agreement.
- Status