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Entercom Launches Alt 98.7

bigic said:
If you like it, good for you. But as somebody who listens to both old and new music in the genre, I don't think new music in the "alternative" genre is necessarily low quality. (I can't comment on the 98.7's playlist, as I don't listen to the station.)
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I listen to both old and new Alternative music as well, and I think things have been on the upswing in recent months. Diversity of genre is up, we have a good mix of veteran and new artists making waves on the format, the rock bent is stronger than it's been for the last 5 years, but we're still getting some decent pop and rap tracks too.

My primary issue with Audacy is their over-reliance on some truly awful songs that happened to become hits in 2018-20 (which for some reason tend to be called "currents" and "modern" around these parts even though they're golds/recurrent). They also have a strange tendency to push the worst songs available on the Alternative format the hardest - which means some of that great music that is charting right now can't get past 5th place on the BB/MB charts in the most favorable scenario - and obviously tend to peak worse than that.

It gives the impression that Audacy's Alternatives are largely in their own world and they so happen to share a format with everyone else.
 
macattack said:
which means some of that great music that is charting right now can't get past 5th place on the BB/MB charts in the most favorable scenario - and obviously tend to peak worse than that.
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Chart editors review their reporters periodically, and if they feel a station's music policy is unfairly impacting the chart, they have the power to adjust the reporter panel. By that I mean they could add reporters from stations that play more currents, and remove reporters from stations that are mainly relying on older music.
 
My primary issue with Audacy is their over-reliance on some truly awful songs that happened to become hits in 2018-20 (which for some reason tend to be called "currents" and "modern" around these parts even though they're golds/recurrent). They also have a strange tendency to push the worst songs available on the Alternative format the hardest - which means some of that great music that is charting right now can't get past 5th place on the BB/MB charts in the most favorable scenario - and obviously tend to peak worse than that.

It gives the impression that Audacy's Alternatives are largely in their own world and they so happen to share a format with everyone else.
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EXCELLENT post! Completely agree with everything you wrote.
 
TheBigA said:
Chart editors review their reporters periodically, and if they feel a station's music policy is unfairly impacting the chart, they have the power to adjust the reporter panel. By that I mean they could add reporters from stations that play more currents, and remove reporters from stations that are mainly relying on older music.
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Mike The Show Killer has always been good at straddling the line; since he started programming Alt stations the late 90's he had made sure that he had a minimum of bog standard Alternative on his playlists. Whether his current flavor of the month is "Bodyrock" by Moby in 1999 or "Without You" by Kid LAROI nowadays he will always have something like "Scar Tissue" by Red Hot Chili Peppers back then or "Higher Power" by Coldplay right now in light-medium rotation so the panels will note that he's playing a standard Alt hit and won't give his playlists a closer look.

Mike The Show Killer has been in the business for a long time and he knows how to play the game with the panels. His stations being kicked won't ever happen.
 
macattack said:
Mike The Show Killer has been in the business for a long time and he knows how to play the game with the panels. His stations being kicked won't ever happen.
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As I said, the other option is adding more stations to the panel. As Audacy ratings go down, their impact on the chart diminishes due to weighting. The record labels have a lot to say about who reports to these charts, and if the labels feel their music is being unfairly treated, their complaints will be heard. Radio does not control the charts.
 
Wasn't 106.7 an alternative rock station before it flipped to Classic Rock. What in the hell did Audacy think bringing back alternative was a good idea
 
Wasn't 106.7 an alternative rock station before it flipped to Classic Rock?
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The answer is - yes it was. That format (called "Alt 106.7") lasted 16 months. Average 6+ share was in the mid to upper 1's and in-demo numbers were not much better. It was consistently the lowest rated Detroit-based commercial FM station, excluding 103.5 WMUZ.

The second coming of WLLZ, the current format found on 106.7, performs much better.

I give iHM credit for recognizing they had a loser of a format and quickly ditching it. Unlike 98.7, the format that Alt 106.7 replaced (106.7 The D) had not been generating particularly good numbers.

WDZH's numbers are no better than those of Alt 106.7, and WDZH doesn't even have 89X or 93.9 The River in its way! The obvious conclusion is the current-day Alt 98.7 is an even more poorly programmed station than the defunct Alt 106.7.
 
MarkW said:
The answer is - yes it was. That format (called "Alt 106.7") lasted 16 months. Average 6+ share was in the mid to upper 1's and in-demo numbers were not much better. It was consistently the lowest rated Detroit-based commercial FM station, excluding 103.5 WMUZ.

The second coming of WLLZ, the current format found on 106.7, performs much better.

I give iHM credit for recognizing they had a loser of a format and quickly ditching it. Unlike 98.7, the format that Alt 106.7 replaced (106.7 The D) had not been generating particularly good numbers.

WDZH's numbers are no better than those of Alt 106.7, and WDZH doesn't even have 89X or 93.9 The River in its way! The obvious conclusion is the current-day Alt 98.7 is an even more poorly programmed station than the defunct Alt 106.7.
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WLLZ actually does well despite the fact that its competition is WRIF and WCSX
 
WRIF and WCSX definitely outperform it, but you are correct that when evaluated against all commercial radio stations Detroit, WLLZ isn't faring too badly. Don't get me wrong - the station is nothing more than an "also ran" - but it's pulling decent enough numbers to justify its existence.

New Country 93-1 (or should I say "Neeeeeeeeeew Country 93-1" like their pukey V/O guy?), on the other hand, appears to be underachieving. It was just 15 months ago that 93.1 was giving WYCD a serious run for its money in some key demos. Not anymore! The cume for 93.1 is pitiful; their PD and corporate in Atlanta need to get off their butts and fix the station.

Of course, 93.1's performance looks GREAT compared to their sister station in Grand Rapids! LOL

Alt 98.7's cume is also horrible (sub-300,000) but at least they can use their (poorly chosen) format and relative newness as an excuse. 93.1 has been Country for over seven years now, and it features a format that has much greater appeal in this part of the country to radio audiences than Alternative.
 
MarkW said:
The cume for 93.1 is pitiful; their PD and corporate in Atlanta need to get off their butts and fix the station.
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They hired a new PD in March. It's his problem. Cumulus leaves it up to the markets to fix problems. Corporate doesn't interfere.

www.cumulusmedia.com

CUMULUS MEDIA Appoints David Corey as Director of FM Programming for Detroit Radio Stations WDVD and WDRQ – Cumulus Media

CUMULUS MEDIA Appoints David Corey as Director of FM Programming for Detroit Radio Stations WDVD and WDRQDETROIT, MI, March 29, 2021 — CUMULUS MEDIA announces that it has appointed David Corey as Director of FM Programming for Cumulus Detroit, overseeing radio stations 96.3 WDVD-FM (Hot AC) and...
www.cumulusmedia.com www.cumulusmedia.com

Perhaps he will drop the syndicated morning show. If he does, he has to come up with something better. But it's his decision.
 
They've had an all local morning show for about 18 months now. The original female co-host, who was newly hired at the time, left just 120 days into the gig to accept a job elsewhere. Management, understandably, was quite angry about that.

Listening to 93.1 is a forgettable experience. Station needs to do a better job engaging the audience. Spice up the music, have a better community presence, offer some worthwhile contests, etc. And ditch the abrasive sounding voiceover guy.
 
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The lifelong country radio programmer who is officially PD of Alt 98.7 (and supposedly handles music chores as well) seems to think playing the snot out of "Semi-Charmed Life" is the pathway to ratings success.
 
They will have trouble generating revenue if the ratings continue to stink. They are having trouble generating revenue now.

Anyone who listens to the station regularly knows numerous commercial slots are filled with PSAs.

Alternative usually is a below average performer in the revenue power ratio department in the first place.

But hey - keep being an advocate for garbage radio stations like this one. Terrestrial radio's strategic masterminds are doing a great job! In inflation adjusted dollars, the revenue pie for them has shrunk considerably over the past 20 years whereas satellite radio's revenue over the past 15 years has soared.

Terrestrial radio's business model is outmoded.
 
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I did answer your question, in the very first paragraph of my post. You think Audacy made substantial programming changes recently at its Alt stations just for the heck of it? I sure don't think so. The changes were made because the stations are revenue laggards. They are revenue laggards because the ratings stink. Some formats can do OK in the face of weak ratings; this ain't one of them.
 
MarkW said:
You think Audacy made substantial programming changes recently at its Alt stations just for the heck of it?
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You made a presumptive statement about the Detroit PD. Your comment was about ratings, not revenue. Then you changed the subject to revenue.

I think Detroit added this format as part of a company strategy. I think the Detroit people aren't happy with the strategy, and neither are the market managers in other cities. That's why you're seeing changes. I think the clock is ticking.
 
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