Fl Classic Hits Formats

[John FL]

My feeling has long been that smaller radio markets such as The Treasure Coast take a slow and deliberate course in making changes. It's understandable. Let the larger markets do the experimenting and extensive research that can be quite expensive. Over time, one can figure out what works and what doesn't. I also realize each market is different so I'm not advocating copycat radio. There are title selections featuring popular artists that are "no-brainer" as playlist adds.

As for The Treasure Coast and iHeart's Classic Hits WQOL and Premium Choice programing that's simulcast in a similar market such as Sarasota, adding Whitney Houston tunes doesn't invite undue risk. What concerns me the most is "slow and deliberate" appear to be replaced with moving at a much more accelerated pace. So, the question is are the stakes that much higher to attract younger demos in the current economic environment?

Ballpark, it was maybe 18 months ago or so that iHeart added some 90s titles into the Premium Choice Classic Hits music mix. But then, they throttled back, for whatever reason, to mainly 70s and 80s. Just over the past couple weeks, it's not just 90s adds but a relatively few titles from this century as well. One song I noted was Train's "Drops of Jupiter" from 2001. Again, you may say "this is the trend." All I'm saying is not too long ago it was 70s and 80s music. Now, there has been a 2 decade advancement. True, it's not the dominant focus but still it's a little surprising given WQOL's and Premium Choice's track record.

My take is given the business environment, iHeart is making significant changes in its programming. From the business of radio perspective, I can appreciate all of that. But, in my view, there's plenty of 90s titles that haven't been explored yet in the programing. To jump into the 21st century comes with certain risks for smaller markets with significant older demos. Perhaps, we'll see a throttle back just like we saw when they jumped into the 90s and apparently realized it was too quick and too excessive.

Let's hope they don't mess around too much with WQOL. This is a heritage station on The Treasure Coast and one I'd hate to the station needing to recover from self-inflicted wounds.

The above post is is an edited analysis I wrote this past May. As The Treasure Coast is a diary market and ratings are only reported twice a year, I had a suspicion that the number of programming changes that were happening would not sit well in the market.

The Spring 2023 ratings for Market #97 Ft. Pierce-Stuart-Vero Beach was released yesterday, The decline in WQOL's share was jaw-dropping. For a station that I have known and loved for a long time, to see usual 6+ shares now down to a 1.6 is a result of too many changes.

I have long believed that when a station loses what I term "consistency in sound," listeners get uncomfortable and seek alternatives or listen far less than normally. In the few past several ratings reports, WQOL has been mired in the 3s. Yet, the changes kept coming.

Unfortunately, The Treasure Coast is too small a market to have WQOL programmed differently than the current Premium Choice programming. Perhaps there are other factors as well. The well-known duo in these parts (West Palm) is Mo & Sally" who VT morning drive. My biggest complaint was hearing way too long banter. No doubt, typical listeners feel the same. For as long as I can remember, WQOL had a 1 jock morning show. Skip Kelly comes to mind and I recall it was a popular daypart when more music-intensive.

An apparent beneficiary of WQOL's frequent changes is Soft AC WOSN. Changes are subtle on "Ocean FM" and given the 65+ median age of a lot of the area, they aren't driving listeners away.

Please understand. I know full well why musical sweet spots need to advance. But I also believe one size doesn't fit all. There's some unique demographic situations on The Treasure Coast including the snowbirds who visit the area each winter season. Trust me, I run into them at the stores a lot and I'm young in comparison!

Interestingly, the #1 station in Sarasota in the Spring 2023 ratings is iHeart's Classic Hits WSRZ. The Median age is 57 in Sarasota County. I believe the station carries the same Premium Choice programming. So, why the big difference? There's probably many reasons including market competition. I don't believe Sarasota has a station similar to Soft AC WOSN. And Sarasota is still "younger" than say Indian River County/Vero so perhaps there's more acceptance of the music. Who knows really?

To keep things honest, I haven't listened to WQOL for months now so I have no idea if they are trying to correct from the self-inflicted wounds I mentioned in that May post. It's the business of radio. What works well in Market A may not do so well in Market B. In the meantime, I'm enjoying SiriusXM more than ever.

 

[Old top 40 fan]

Florida does offer some interesting choices when it comes to classic hits. This little tour of the various markets has been eye-opening to me in a number of respects. I hope the readers are finding this the case too.

Speaking of eye-opening, I checked out WRBQ Q105 today and was very pleasantly surprised. In past conversations, I mentioned not caring much for Tampa and I think that made be biased to radio there. A 10 or 12 song recap just won't do. The songs would indicate like a 95% focus give or take on the 80s only. I tend to like more music from other decades in the mix, but I could listen to this station for sure.

As I looked at a lot of songs in their log, I couldn't help but feel deja vu. I sensed the flavor of WCBS-FM, WOGL, and even Miami's Y-100 WHYI from the early 80s in too many songs to mention. An excellent selection of music, some songs hard to find anywhere else as well.

There's a lot of personal favorites here. But because R.D. has posting limits, I wish I could have gone even further. Scott, you are so right about Q-105. I am impressed. I can see why you're a fan of WPLM in Mass too. I've streamed them still on occasion and especially like hearing some really fine music mixes not heard anywhere else.

Q105 earlier today:
12:58 PM Come On Eileen—DEXY'S MIDNIGHT RUNNERS
12:54 PM Simply Irresistable—Robert Palmer
12:50 PM STEPPIN' OUT—Joe Jackson
12:39 PM The Way You Make Me Feel—Michael Jackson
12:35 PM WORKIN' FOR THE WEEKEND—Loverboy
12:32 PM Venus—Bananarama
12:28 PM Always Something There To Remind Me—Naked Eyes
12:24 PM Faithfully—Journey
12:20 PM I CAN'T WAIT—Nu Shooz
12:09 PM We Didn't Start The Fire—Billy Joel
12:06 PM Centerfold—J Geils Band
12:02 PM Heaven Is A Place On Earth—Belinda Carlisle
11:58 AM Run To You—Bryan Adams
11:54 AM DON'T YOU WANT ME—Human League
11:50 AM I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW—Tiffany
11:39 AM Flashdance—Irene Cara
11:36 AM HARD TO SAY I'M SORRY—Chicago
11:32 AM Emotions—Mariah Carey
11:28 AM Owner Of A Lonely Heart—Yes
11:24 AM Hungry Like The Wolf—Duran Duran
11:20 AM Straight Up—Paula Abdul
11:10 AM Nothin' But A Good Time—Poison
11:06 AM Listen To Your Heart—Roxette
11:01 AM Young Turks—Rod Stewart
10:57 AM Walking On Sunshine—Katrina And The Waves
10:52 AM LET'S GO CRAZY—Prince
10:49 AM What About Love?—Heart
10:37 AM Head Over Heels—Tears For Fears
10:33 AM Beat It—Michael Jackson
10:28 AM CAN'T FIGHT THIS FEELING—Reo Speedwagon
10:25 AM Uptown Girl—Billy Joel
10:22 AM Rock Me Amadeus—Falco
10:18 AM Every Breath You Take—Police
10:06 AM (I Just) Died In Your Arms—Cutting Crew
10:03 AM Do You Believe In Love—HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS
9:59 AM Here I Go Again—Whitesnake
9:55 AM Take My Breath Away—Berlin
9:52 AM Danger Zone—Kenny Loggins
9:48 AM Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go—Soft Cell
9:38 AM Never Gonna Give You Up—Rick Astley
9:34 AM Hurts So Good—John Mellencamp
9:30 AM One More Night—Phil Collins
9:26 AM Sweet Dreams—Eurythmics
9:23 AM Stop Draggin My Heart Around—Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty
9:19 AM Let It Whip—Dazz Band
9:08 AM If I Could Turn Back Time—Cher
9:04 AM Hold On Loosely—38 Special
9:01 AM Take On Me—A-Ha
5:56 AM Karma Chameleon—Culture Club
5:52 AM I Melt With You—Modern English
5:49 AM You Make My Dreams Come True—HALL & OATES
5:39 AM I'M STILL STANDING—Elton John
5:36 AM PAPA DON'T PREACH—Madonna
5:32 AM Magic—Cars
5:29 AM If This Is It—HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS
5:25 AM Lean On Me—Club Nouveau
5:21 AM Born In The U.S.A.—Bruce Springsteen
5:10 AM Sexual Healing—Marvin Gaye
5:05 AM Here Comes The Rain Again—Eurythmics
5:02 AM Summer Of 69—Bryan Adams
4:58 AM 99 Red Balloons—Nena

WDUV plays almost no currents. I’d call it Classics Hits too

 

[davideduardo]

WDUV plays almost no currents. I’d call it Classics Hits too

Because AC is in part dictated by tempo and "feel" in the industry we'd usually call such stations "Gold Based AC". In other words, they won't play CCR or similar 80's gold like Foreigner or REO Speedwagon in most cases.