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Entercom Launches Alt 98.7

Kevin said:
Many 20 somethings don’t own cars or even have a drivers license. Many depend on Lyft and Uber to get around, many 20 somethings still live in Mom and Dads basement.
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That may be true in some high density urban areas, but if you use Uber or Lyft for getting to work in LA or Houston or dispersed metros and more rural area, you had better have a 6-figure salary to just pay for it.

In LA, the 18-34 cume rating (meaning the percentage of persons in that group that use radio) in the three months prior to the pandemic was between 88 and 89, meaning that roughly 9 out of every 10 still use OTA radio. Yes, the TSL is less... but radio is a convenient and useful complement to podcasts, streams and other new media alternatives.
 
DavidEduardo said:
Yes, the TSL is less... but radio is a convenient and useful complement to podcasts, streams and other new media alternatives.
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Plus it's free and doesn't ask for your personal information or credit card number. No registration, no pay wall, no user name or password. The 20-somethings I know are starting to get worried about identity theft and their privacy.
 
TheBigA said:
Plus it's free and doesn't ask for your personal information or credit card number. No registration, no pay wall, no user name or password. The 20-somethings I know are starting to get worried about identity theft and their privacy.
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Indeed. And among lower income groups, the monthly media budget likely goes for video subscriptions, not audio. So free streams and OTA radio (which generally has a free stream, too) are the primary source of audio entertainment.

There are plenty of stats about the use of OTA as a function of income; paid streams are at the other end of the spectrum.

The noted exception is that teens and very young adults without families and responsibilities gorge on such services until they learn that there are other things in life that require their money first.

Of course, commercial radio has little interest in that group as advertisers don't like it much. That has been one of the issues with Alt in that agencies have long seen it to be attractive to a less desirable group. In fact, that was one of the reasons why Stern does so much better on satellite: we remember that most / many of the accounts were local direct payday loans, bail bonds and rent-to-own furniture and TV sets. Many if not most national accounts of merit would not be associated with the show and they believed the listeners were not prospective consumers.
 
DavidEduardo said:
Many if not most national accounts of merit would not be associated with the show and they believed the listeners were not prospective consumers.
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Which also tends to be the view with regards to alternative stations. Their billing tends to under-represent their ratings.
 
Gee. Low rent programming from out of town around the clock. Shocking.

Cannot blame Entercom for not wanting to spend money on any local talent for a station whose format has only very soft demand. This will never be a top 10 station in Adults 25-54 and probably will never be a top 15 station in Adults 25-54.

Like I said before, this move was all about dumping salary and helping proliferate the CEO's pet format.

Remember when I said this?
I suspect the "we're looking to hire multiple on-air personalities" line from Ms. Kenyon is yet another lie from a radio exec.
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SEE I TOLD YA SO.

Too bad Entercom is about to gut WOMC, too.
 
MarkW said:
Gee. Low rent programming from out of town around the clock. Shocking.
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In most nations in the world, radio is done with one centrally originated format for the whole country. The quality of the programming is major market, even in the smallest towns; it is just a vastly better product.

In other words, just like nearly all TV content has been done since the late 40's. U.S. radio is just way behind the times.
 
I agree with David, The U.K. has been doing this for years along with many other countries. The U.S.A. is finally jumping on the bandwagon. Just think of the money that Entercom is saving.
 
MarkW said:
Too bad the programming we're talking about in this instance isn't top shelf programming.
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The programming is actually dumpster 🔥 programming. We all should be betting on when Entercom flips 98.7 again and to what format.
 
They should've kept the prior format in place or tweaked it to more of a soft rhythmic AC blend.

WWJ-FM might not necessarily be the best idea but it certainly isn't a bad one. At some point, AM 950's programming will need to simulcast on FM to remain relevant. It might also force Cumulus to dump its Country brand to free up a spot on the FM dial for WJR, which obviously would benefit Entercom-owned WYCD.

I would love to see Entercom do Variety Hits in Detroit, but I'm afraid that won't happen because top Entercom brass probably believes such a format would step on WOMC's toes too much. Granted, Entercom does Variety Hits in other markets where it owns Classic Hits stations (Los Angeles and Dallas to name a couple), but I'm not so sure there's enough of an opening in Detroit to support both under one roof. I'm looking at the 93.1 Jack FM playlist as an example, and WOMC already plays many of those artists.

Even a quasi-alternative station targeted toward professional adults - not the stupid kiddie music 98.7 spins complete with obnoxious sounding imaging - might be a better option than what plays on 98.7 now. Such stations exist in Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids.

An honest rock station would also be better than what appears on 98.7 now.
 
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MarkW said:
They should've kept the prior format in place or tweaked it to more of a soft rhythmic AC blend.

WWJ-FM might not necessarily be the best idea but it certainly isn't a bad one. At some point, AM 950's programming will need to simulcast on FM to remain relevant. It might also force Cumulus to dump its Country brand to free up a spot on the FM dial for WJR, which obviously would benefit Entercom-owned WYCD.

I would love to see Entercom do Variety Hits in Detroit, but I'm afraid that won't happen because top Entercom brass probably believes such a format would step on WOMC's toes too much. Granted, Entercom does Variety Hits in other markets where it owns Classic Hits stations (Los Angeles and Dallas to name a couple), but I'm not so sure there's enough of an opening in Detroit to support both under one roof. I'm looking at the 93.1 Jack FM playlist as an example, and WOMC already plays many of those artists.
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The format wheel is running thin for the Detroit Market. I can’t understand why no one in Detroit is doing an actual Classic Soul format, I mean an Oldies based Classic Soul 60’s,70’s and 80’s format.
 
Kevin said:
I agree with David, The U.K. has been doing this for years along with many other countries. The U.S.A. is finally jumping on the bandwagon. Just think of the money that Entercom is saving.
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We are not like the rest of the world. It's obvious even in our name - we are the United States of America. We are like 50 quasi-countries packed under one federal government. Historically trying to nationalize anything doesn't end well here - tho as the coastal regions continue to dominate culturally and politically it is certainly possible within the next 50 years that each state's cultural barriers will vanish and we will generally think the same throughout the country like the rest of the Western world.

But trying to do this right now? It's going to be a disaster. Buffalo doesn't want to hear what NYC thinks. Detroit could care less what Kansas City says. Green Bay will riot if anyone from Chicago gets on the air there. And so on.

Entercom may be saving money but they are certainly not making it with the way they're doing things either.
 
macattack said:
Buffalo doesn't want to hear what NYC thinks. Detroit could care less what Kansas City says. Green Bay will riot if anyone from Chicago gets on the air there. And so on.
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This is a music station. The music they play isn't by local artists. The music they play isn't recorded in Detroit. The days of local record labels are over. They're not going to talk about local sports because this is not a sports station. The DJs are smart enough to talk about the music and the lifestyle and not about local issues. The majority of the time is playing music with brief informative bits about the artists or interests of the audience, such as TV shows (none of which are local) or other cultural commonalities. This isn't rocket science.
 
macattack said:
We are not like the rest of the world. It's obvious even in our name - we are the United States of America. We are like 50 quasi-countries packed under one federal government. Historically trying to nationalize anything doesn't end well here - tho as the coastal regions continue to dominate culturally and politically it is certainly possible within the next 50 years that each state's cultural barriers will vanish and we will generally think the same throughout the country like the rest of the Western world.

But trying to do this right now? It's going to be a disaster. Buffalo doesn't want to hear what NYC thinks. Detroit could care less what Kansas City says. Green Bay will riot if anyone from Chicago gets on the air there. And so on.

Entercom may be saving money but they are certainly not making it with the way they're doing things either.
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“We are not like the rest of the world.” Tell that to the broadcasting industry, because that’s where it’s going.
 
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