I've learned that you can't make broad generalizations. But hey, if you like paying for radio, or if you don't mind sharing your personal information, that's fine with me.
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Entercom Launches Alt 98.7
- Thread starter atthestars
- Start date
I've learned that you can't make broad generalizations. But hey, if you like paying for radio, or if you don't mind sharing your personal information, that's fine with me.
The big radio defenders on this board are seemingly reluctant to admit their medium has inherent issues that are making it increasingly uncompetitive. There are still some darn good stations out there, though. FM 98 - errr, "97-9" WJLB - sounds great at the moment. WKQI is rock solid. Q106 and WITL in Lansing are both outstanding.
Not true. It was tried in Detroit. Both hosts were canceled eventually.
The success of Mojo on WKQI, Dave & Chuck on WRIF, Blaine on WDVD, and the entirety of local programming on 97.1 The Ticket disproves your assertion. Those shows make heavy use of callers.
96.3's best ratings of the past 25+ years came when the station had highly engaging personalities (Blaine Fowler, Jake Edwards, Jesse Addy, Scott Vertical), offered impressive local contests ($10,000 cash giveaways, $9600 shopping sprees, etc.), produced excellent on-air creative pieces, and offered multiple opportunities throughout the day for listeners to call into the station. This wasn't ancient history; this was 10 or 12 years ago.
Look, the right national programming *can* work and work darn well. There are just scant few examples of that outside of spoken word or urban radio, though.
I've been reading the same thing about WOMC for more than a decade. Magically, their billing always remains at or near the front of the pack. I do not know for sure if they are #1 in billing at the moment, but they are almost assuredly in the top 3. WRIF and WKQI have to got to be nipping right on their heels at worst.
Entercom is about to take the same hatchet to its classic hits stations that it has already taken to its country stations.
Not true. It was tried in Detroit. Both hosts were canceled eventually.
The success of Mojo on WKQI, Dave & Chuck on WRIF, Blaine on WDVD, and the entirety of local programming on 97.1 The Ticket disproves your assertion. Those shows make heavy use of callers.
96.3's best ratings of the past 25+ years came when the station had highly engaging personalities (Blaine Fowler, Jake Edwards, Jesse Addy, Scott Vertical), offered impressive local contests ($10,000 cash giveaways, $9600 shopping sprees, etc.), produced excellent on-air creative pieces, and offered multiple opportunities throughout the day for listeners to call into the station. This wasn't ancient history; this was 10 or 12 years ago.
Look, the right national programming *can* work and work darn well. There are just scant few examples of that outside of spoken word or urban radio, though.
I've been reading the same thing about WOMC for more than a decade. Magically, their billing always remains at or near the front of the pack. I do not know for sure if they are #1 in billing at the moment, but they are almost assuredly in the top 3. WRIF and WKQI have to got to be nipping right on their heels at worst.
Entercom is about to take the same hatchet to its classic hits stations that it has already taken to its country stations.
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It's been decades since so many heritage CHR stations have seen such rapid ratings declines (and such low ratings generally speaking). Ditto Urban. Alternative - already suffering from incumbently weak ratings - has seen its ratings soften further.
I think the root cause is more than something temporary / cyclical that simply needs to be "waited out." True, eventual easing of COVID fears will cause some shift in work habits and listening habits, but anyone who thinks everything will be back to the "way it was" is fooling himself or herself.
That's what radio discussions is all about. It's not "defending," it's DISCUSSING. There's a difference.
And yet news and talk stations are seeing huge increases. Why? Because people are talking about news & talk issues. When was the last time you heard a lot of talk about something having to do with pop music? Maybe a year ago? Don't you think there might be a connection?
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A lot of it has to do with something called saturation. Rush is on in pretty much every market. Same with Steve Harvey. Bobby Bones is not on in NY, Chicago, or LA. That hurts him in terms of impact. iHeart owns a lot more stations in major markets than anyone else, and even they can't get The Breakfast Club on in every market.
That's one of the biggest programming mistakes today. Radio is an audio format and phone calls, not texts, work in that setting. So what if not everyone in the audience uses the phone? Some do, and you just need to find *one* for a compelling bit.
But the real problem is that the show is either voice tracked providing no opportunity for live interaction, or the jock is too busy tracking ten other shows during his or her "live" air shift to put any time into taking calls. Cost cutting has destroyed the entertainment value of radio and the industry execs wonder where the audience went.
You can take calls when you VT and no one is tracking ten other shows at the same time.
Entertaining is the responsibility of the talent, not the exec. If the talent needs more time, they should have that discussion with the boss. But they HAVE to be able to deliver, and it has to be quantifiable. Just throwing a screaming phone call on the air isn't automatically entertaining. And if people want to hear phone calls, switch to the talk or sports station.
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Kevin
Guest
Your information is being shared just like everyone else, you’re on the internet aren’t you, unless you’re at the library or in a parking lot somewhere using someone else’s WiFi from a local business, and if not you are paying for internet so that argument is just simply silly.
False equivalence. My company pays for my internet, not me. My business requires internet usage.
I didn't have to give my credit card info either.
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Kevin
Guest
Someone somewhere has information on you, apparently your employer.
Very different situation. I know my employer. I don't know Spotify, Sirius, or anyone else.
This is not the same thing. It's not a criticism or judgement. On-air and on-line are different processes.
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Kevin
Guest
My brother, if you’re living completely off the grid then no one has information on you. But you’re not living off the grid, no one is protected from information not being out there. If you have a cellphone or computer at home then Google or Apple or any provider has the goods on all of us. If you pay you bills online or over the phone your information is out there. There is no protection for your or my information actually being protected from going into the wrong hands. Look at how much identity theft is going on today, no one is safe from that type of situation.
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Once again, we're comparing on air radio vs. online. I'm saying they're not the same thing. I said nothing about "off the grid"and that's not related to what we're talking about. My point is people are free to listen to on air radio without making any commitment, without requiring membership or passwords, and with no obligation. Online is a different thing. You're welcome to listen to online as much as you want. But to say it's the same thing is incorrect.
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Kevin
Guest
Point well taken, I’ll end my part in this particular discussion.
No, I do not.
Adults in their 20s & 30s have ever diminishing use for FM radio. Formats that have traditionally been heavily reliant on that age group are hurting & hurting badly in many markets.
Teens (traditionally heavy consumers of hip-hop music) have especially little use for FM radio.
Partly because of the indecency rules for broadcast radio. Most of the music contains language that is prohibited on broadcast radio. Not much we can do about that.
Saying they have a "diminishing use for FM radio" is making a judgement that doesn't come through in the research. They use FM (like all real time media) when its convenient. During covid, using FM hasn't been as convenient. In some areas, listening has returned to pre-covid levels. In some formats, it never changed. What has to change for younger formats to improve is for more new music to be released that targets that demo, and for the word of mouth about the music to drive interest.
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Teens are not a target of any radio station. Unlike the 60's when radio was bought on raw numbers or the 70's before the new Arbitron demographics got broad use, the totals were often used for ad buys. Since that time, no format has specifically targeted teens.
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Kevin
Guest
After the first week of live or (voice tracking), I have come to the realization that 98.7 is indeed a giant dumpster fire. When their first full monthly book comes out, I predict 98.7 will be lucky to get a 1.5 share.
Looking nationally, that's about what they can expect for the format regardless of what they put into it. Although the novelty might get them a 2. WNYL is getting a 1.9 with full staff.
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