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Ex-CBS-FM-MD Slams The New CBS-FM

Suffering from "old fogey disease." Them young whipper snappers aren't as good as we were. The fact is the new station gets better numbers than it did when he was there. But he's right...that format is as dead as WRFM would be today. I don't think the median age is as young as he says it is. It's probably still around 40. But to do that, they had to get rid of the pre-60s music.
 
I dunno, especially towards the end of CBS-FM Mark I, the presentation and the jocks weren't that great. Dan Ingram WAS a legend on the air, but sounded tired and shot towards the end. Brucie is well, I don't get it. Never have, never will get the Cousin Brucie phenomenon. Harry Harrison was comforting, but how long can a guy get up at 3am? Morning ma, coffee's on...

All things must pass, said one of those Beatles. And CBS-FM needed to evolve. If Jack weren't in the middle, everyone would have been bitching that the station "lost its soul" when the adjustments were made. In a strange way, Jack was the best thing that happened to CBS-FM because it let them start with a fresh palette.

Lenny, Brian and Co. are doing a terrific job of keeping it fresh (no pun intended) and mixing it up. The air staff is doing something right to be consistently #2 or #1 in the PPM world of NYC.
 
I agree with his comment on the positioning of music. That art has been lost, and it's hard to cover the decades without a bit of disconnect. I think the intended audience is 40 (and maybe a bit younger) but have a strong feeling it's actually 41-43. Yeah, 44+ scares the world today, so I wouldn't possibly suggest that's the average age. 45 would shut these boards
down. Hey, Big A... we're 80+ years old, right? What do we know?
 
I am over 50 and I like wcbsfm, okay, its not what it used to be, but things change. I do miss my Legends, but we all get older and need to rest and do other things, someday that will be me. I do things now, maybe 10 yrs I won't. I enjoy the personalities now, Bob is very interesting and BBlee makes his cute jokes that people love to call and give him a hard time, He has a sense of humor. Ron does a great job with requests, Joe Causi does a great Sat night show, like WKTU in my days. Dan Taylor I enjoy in the early morning, when I get up, He still has the get up and go :) I think Brian and Lenny are doing the Best they can, I see it, as its #1 and it has not been like that in a long time. I also see the people I knew from years ago, still Happy to see me at things. I was around when Joe McCoy was the PD, I do not remember Richard. I met Joe and he was always a nice guy and he tried very hard too. If things have to change, I am glad it changed to this, That Jack was a mistake, and everyone knows it!!! Sad to say, Radio is for the younger people today. I love the 70's and most of the 80's so its okay for me, 90's some is not bad, and the music now, I enjoy TRAIN. I just feel we have many stations with that, WCBSFM is for me and older. My Opinion!!!
 
the Cousin Brucie 'phenomena' is that he had the prime time position on the biggest Top 40 station in the world in the 60s, pre cable, MTV, internet, ipods, walkmans,etc... so thereby we loved him by default..I was 13 in 1965, and WABC was the be all end all of anything hip, happening and 'now',and Bruce was the high profile spokesman,the company man..he didn't start trouble or fight with the higher ups, like Murray The K and Scott Muni did, so he got to stay,behave himself, and become the big star..
don't get me wrong, I was and am a "Brucie' fan, but I also learned how to take off the 'rose colored glasses' and see the world as it really is, a long time ago
 
:) I will always be a COUSIN BRUCIE FAN!!!! and for the guy who likes the Supremes :) on now on wcbsfm "STONE LOVE"
 
DToTheJ said:
Richard Lorenzo, the music director at the old CBS-FM during its glory days as an oldies station, says that the current incarnation of the station has "no style to it anymore," and that it is not as "listenable and enjoyable" when compared to the original CBS-FM.
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowl...director-says-station-now-has-no-style_b22943
Click to expand...

Quote from the article:

"Back then, CBS-FM was an Oldies station, specializing in 45s from the 50s and 60s. Fast forward to 2010, and 50s (and largely the 60s) are gone, along with the classification—Oldies"


We still hear 50's now and then, and key 60's are played, especially on weekends and other specials. A bit inaccurate, I'd say.
 
lalumia said:
the Cousin Brucie 'phenomena' is that he had the prime time position on the biggest Top 40 station in the world in the 60s,
Click to expand...

Sort of like the "World" Series, huh?

Radio Luxembourg and several of the British pirates had Top 40 audiences that well exceeded that of WABC in the 60's...
 
Tibbs2 said:
I agree with his comment on the positioning of music. That art has been lost, and it's hard to cover the decades without a bit of disconnect. I think the intended audience is 40 (and maybe a bit younger) but have a strong feeling it's actually 41-43. Yeah, 44+ scares the world today, so I wouldn't possibly suggest that's the average age. 45 would shut these boards
down. Hey, Big A... we're 80+ years old, right? What do we know?
Click to expand...

45-54 is a highly desired demo... as is anything in the 18-54 range. It's over 55 that advertisers don't buy.

In any case, CBS-FM's most listened too 10-year age span is 49-58, and the 15-year span with most listeners in it is 48-62.

While the station's target has to be 25-54, what we know is they get mostly 45+, but enough of that demo to come in at the top in 25-54.
 
Certainly can't argure with their standing in the ratings...Lot's of "cheese" on WCBS, but seems to work for New Yorkers!

For me, song for song, CBS counterparts in PHX (KOOL) and L.A.(KRTH) seem to sound better!
 
Well figured David " I hate oldies" would check in..."

"thebiga" says:that format is as dead as WRFM would be today.

Well I Guess somebody should tell Scott Shannon over at the true oldies channel. Their format is approximately '61 thru '80, with an occasional fifties standard thrown in. Best Playlist I've ever heard; no 750 tunes beat to death like the others. Some great trivia thrown in between the tunes. yep and he has the stones to use the word oldies, instead of the others who are afraid to. 55+ folks still spend money. Yah, david will come back and tell us like he has over and over that the fogey music is dead and the ad agencies don't like that demo....

I'm lovin' it...Thanks Scott!!!! ;D
 
oldies4ever said:
Well I Guess somebody should tell Scott Shannon over at the true oldies channel.
Click to expand...

That's fine. WRFM was a Top 10 rated station when it flipped to soft rock. So there was still a sizable audience for it. But most of that audience was over 55, and was unsellable to advertisers. That's why the flip was made.

In fact there were at one time four beautiful music stations in NYC: WRFM, WPAT, WTFM, and WVNJ. All got great ratings. One by one, they all disappeared.

Scott runs a syndicated format that is mostly carried on small AM stations around the country. It has an audience, but isn't making a lot of money. So enjoy it while you can.
 
oldies4ever said:
55+ folks still spend money. Yah, david will come back and tell us like he has over and over that the fogey music is dead and the ad agencies don't like that demo....
Click to expand...

You bet they do!! Oldies and Classic hits stations receive far more 55+ listeners than is ever realized.
 
oldies4ever said:
Well figured David " I hate oldies" would check in..."
Click to expand...

Are you speaking of the same "David" who helped create and continues to work with classic hits stations in LA, SF, SD, PHX, HOU, CHI and a couple of other major markets?

Well I Guess somebody should tell Scott Shannon over at the true oldies channel.
Click to expand...

The Atlanta station just removed the format and went with a more 70's based classic hits offering.

As has been said, that format is mainly an option for smaller market / fringe of large market lesser facilities... and a good option in those cases.

55+ folks still spend money. Yah, david will come back and tell us like he has over and over that the fogey music is dead and the ad agencies don't like that demo....
Click to expand...

Agencies neither like nor dislike a demo. They buy a demo and do creative for it based on their clients' demands. There are essentially no agency buys for 55+, because the cost of the sale is often greater than the profit on the sale. The traditional 25-54 buy is moving to 18-49, in fact, because that is where advertisers get the best ROI on their ad investment.

No matter how many times you say that 55+ "has money" the answer will still be "it takes too much money to make a sale to that group."
 
DavidEduardo said:
[
Well I Guess somebody should tell Scott Shannon over at the true oldies channel.
Click to expand...

The Atlanta station just removed the format and went with a more 70's based classic hits offering.

As has been said, that format is mainly an option for smaller market / fringe of large market lesser facilities... and a good option in those cases.
Click to expand...

And before somebody says "WLS-FM," that station only carries the Shannon format in midday, overnights and part of the weekend. They're local (or syndicated shows like John Landecker's "Into the 70s") in every other daypart that matters (and Shannon does very well in the midday, so they've kept him).
 
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