Fl Ratings & More

[John FL]

Yesterday, a poster said “when I visit Destin/Ft. Walton, the only station worth listening to is WSBZ The Seabreeze.” What a great brand name given the beach locale. So, I checked it out. It’s a smooth jazz format and it’s a good one. It’s only a Class A 6000 watt signal on 106.3 but it does cover the Fort Walton Beach metro area.

It’s not often you come across a jazz format that’s not a public radio station. What I especially enjoy about the format are the vocals you don’t find elsewhere. “Set the night to music” by Roberta Flack and Maxi Priest is one example. “Can’t let you go” by Dave Koz featuring Luther Vandross is another. I’ve found a number of interesting formats in the smaller markets. Let’s hope that doesn’t change.

As promised, here's a look at Community Broadcasters cluster. Their star player is Country format WHWY-FM (Highway 98.1 Country (The Emerald Coast’s Country Station). It’s a 100,000 watt station and typical to find the format on the best signal in a small company and market. It has to be their cash cow.

There’s a local morning team and afternoon drive host. The syndicated “CMT After Midnight with Cody Allan” is on overnight. I thought that show was an iHeartMedia only feature as I’ve noticed the show on virtually all their country formats. Obviously, it’s not.

“Highway 98” is a fantastic brand name. In case you didn’t know, U.S. Route 98 is the longest US road in Florida running close to 700 miles from West Palm to the Florida/Alabama line. Many travelers have posted it’s the best way to truly see Florida if you enjoy small towns and countryside.

Adult Hits WWAV-FM (102.1 The Wave) (The Station That Plays The 80’s, 90’s, and Today in FWB-Destin) (We Play Everything) is “currently” tied in 1[SUP]st[/SUP] place with sister WHWY. The station is usually in the Top 4 overall in the ratings. It's a 50,000 watt station. Wikepedia refers to the format as "Extreme Variety."

Interestingly when I did some sample listening, I heard Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock” from 1957. This is the second time I heard that song while listening to radio in the Panhandle. I also heard it on WCSN-FM (Alabama-Pensacola) – Sunny 105.7 – The Voice of Paradise during their Sunday solid gold feature. In the large markets, Elvis left the building a long time ago. He apparently lives on The Panhandle and small market radio. Count that as a plus.

102.1 has a bit of a “Jack” attitude which I don’t like at all. But the station is highly popular so that’s what counts. The music is not all rock and it’s probably because Cumulus has a rock format and Community Broadcasters has a classic rock/alternative rock format too.

CHR 92.1 WECQ (FWB-Destin’s #1 Hit Music Station). The station is at 19,000 watts. It’s Community Broadcaster’s third most popular station. The format hovers around 5[SUP]th[/SUP] or 6[SUP]th[/SUP] place overall pretty much resembling what we’ve found in most of Florida. The format has not snagged #1 anywhere.

Syndicated Elvis Duran and The Morning Show is on the schedule and a program found frequently on iHeart’s Top 40 formats. There’s a full roster of jocks and they go music intensive in the 9 AM hour with a feature called “9Q92 More Music Hour.”

Finally, there’s WZLB-FM. (103.1 The Shark) (The next generation of Classic Rock) The 50,000 watt station has been trending down and is currently in mid-1 shares. It’s typical classic rock fare with some exceptions. Maybe that’s part of the next generation with songs like Bush’s 90’s “Everything Zen.” The band is considered Alternative.

It’s been an interesting ride through all of Florida. We’ve got one destination to go!

 

[upstate29651]

However, classic rock somehow is able to attract not only the older fans, but millennials. What does that say about the music?

It means.....from a terrestrial radio standpoint, that people listen because they have no where else to go! That includes me. I'll listen to classic rock because of the 45-50% chance I'll hear something I enjoy from the 90's to early 2000's. I'll suffer through the crap (IMO) that is Queen, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, etc. with hopes that I can snag some Korn, Godsmack, Alice in Chains, STP, etc.

THIS is the reason why classic rock is doing well, especially in markets without a dedicated active rocker.

 

[John FL]

It means.....from a terrestrial radio standpoint, that people listen because they have no where else to go! That includes me. I'll listen to classic rock because of the 45-50% chance I'll hear something I enjoy from the 90's to early 2000's. I'll suffer through the crap (IMO) that is Queen, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, etc. with hopes that I can snag some Korn, Godsmack, Alice in Chains, STP, etc.

THIS is the reason why classic rock is doing well, especially in markets without a dedicated active rocker.

Classic Rock, like other long-established formats, has gone through a metamorphosis. I can’t recall exactly when this was maybe 8-10 years ago - but I remember seeing classic rock formats falling by the wayside flipping to something else. There were radio consultants and others who thought classic rock was skewing too old and didn’t have a future.

It looked like there was an equal number of radio higher-ups who thought differently. Often, in the same market, classic rock found its way on a new cluster. It turned out these folks were right. Classic rock was re imagined just like what happens to all formats in radio.

A lot has been written about classic rock’s appeal to Millennials. But remember, that’s just one part of the format’s audience. I saved a few of these articles for reference and it’s why I said “What does that say about the music?”

From 2015 this explains the appeal of classic rock: https://nj1015.com/why-millennials-favor-classic-rock-music/ from a radio station’s perspective. This one line says a lot: “I think the younger generation enjoys classic rock mostly though, because the music speaks to you on an emotional level. The artists come from a place of angst and rebellion.”

From 2018: This is an interesting article that talks about classic rock and its listeners. https://bit.ly/37BXecV “Classic rock is voted the favorite genre among age groups spanning 35-65+, and almost half (49%) of 25-34 consider it their favorite.”

Finally, this article from this year is really good and detailed. https://bit.ly/3dX1XIg. It talks about the appeal of Alternative and Active Rock formats in the 25- 44. But Classic Rock is more mass-appeal and probably explains why it’s considered important to the cluster and why it's in virtually every market.

“Today classic rock gets the biggest chunk of the airwaves with 609 stations and a 6.1 share (12+) to rank sixth among all radio formats. Alternative is next (312 outlets, 2.0 share, ranked 15th) followed by active rock (158 stations, 2.0 share).

There's a good number of classic hits stations today are hybrid classic rock. We’re even hearing classic rock tunes on stations branded as light and easy. I have my favorite music too I’d love to hear on the radio but then there’s the reality of what’s popular with the masses and what sells.

 

[John FL]

We’ve reached our final market to discuss – Panama City – Market 221.

Here’s a link to the market’s ratings:
https://ratings.****************/content/arb573

The population: 159,000. Black: 18,100 (11%). Hispanic: 9,800 (6%). The median age for Panama City is 39.7 years. Bay County, home to Panama City, has a median age nearly identical at 39.4.

The Top 3 most popular stations in Panama City are iHeartMedia stations. Country format WPAP-FM, Urban AC 99.3 WEBZ-FM and their mainstream AC 98.5 WFSY-FM. In the smaller markets we’ve been taking a look at the mom & pop operators and so we will do that here.

The aforementioned ratings report lists a company named “Great American Media” as the owner of three Panama City market radio stations. However, the owner is “Gulf Coast Broadcasting” and one of two mom & pop operators we’ll check out.

Panama City and the entire Panhandle of Florida gets more than their share of hurricanes. In October, 2018 Hurricane Michael ravaged the area. Powell Broadcasting had a four station cluster at the time. The damage was so extensive that they decided to take the stations silent. Three of their stations with the formats of Adult Hits, Classic Rock, and Country were sold to Gulf Coast. The fourth station, CHR WPFM, was sold to Educational Media Foundation. Today it’s Christian Contemporary and doesn’t subscribe to Nielsen.

Gulf Coast Broadcasting LLC is a Florida-based company headed by Samuel Rogatinsky, who also owns several radio stations in Palm Beach. Not much else is known. I find mission statements and Core Company values statements to be revealing about what makes the company tick. This has to be a very small company. The trio of stations was sold for just $375,000. The previous owner obviously wanted out.

All three stations utilize programming distributed by Envision Networks. Adult/Variety Hits WASJ-FM (105.1 Bob-FM is the most popular of the trio. This is a 50,000 watt station with the tagline 80’s, 90’s and whatever. It seems a little attitude is usually a part of Adult Hits. Why that is, I don’t know.

50,000 watt WRBA-FM (Classic Rock 95.9) is the cluster’s next station in popularity order. The programing looks to be a hard edged classic rock format and features syndicated radio hosts John Boy and Billy in the morning. There is another rock station in the market that we'll talk about in the next segment.

Not surprising, the biggest signal in In Gulf Coast’s cluster belongs to a country format. This is WKNK-FM (103.5 Hank FM) (“Kick’n 103.5). There are two more stations in the market offering a country or classic country format. This station has been trending down despite the full-market signal. Hank-FM features music from the 80s through today. (More gold-based than originally) The focus changed to move it from direct competition with iHeartMedia’s 92.5 WPAP to Magic Broadcasting’s “Wild Willie 100.1” WWLY.

Market #221 appears to have its challenges. Hurricanes are probably the tip of the iceberg. We’ll take a look at another small operator in Panama City next and that’s “Magic Broadcasting.”

 

[John FL]

In our look at all the Florida markets, it’s been interesting to see the amount of differences in various companies. It’s not just about the overall sound of the station or format but rather how engaged they are with both listeners (On air, community and social media) and the advertising community. Some show pride in their cluster, even providing history. Others have little or nothing to say.

Magic Broadcasting appears to have their s**t together. Their “about us” statement says: “We reach over 97,000 Panama City Listeners WEEKLY on radio alone! But combined with our station websites, social media, mobile apps, digital streaming, and eCommerce we reach many more! We are not just radio anymore!” Smart.

Magic owns four stations in Panama City. The cluster consists of a Talk format, Top 40R, Classic Country, and Rock. According to Magic, there is almost 7 hours of listening each week to their cluster. Their brands reach listeners in every major demo. 38 is the median age. Their stations attract 52% male and 48% female. This is based on Nielsen data from 2019 which for a diary market is still relevant.

Their station with the highest share is 12,000 watt WYOO-FM. (News Talk 101) (Panama City’s Information Station). It’s associated with Fox News and has a syndicated conservative talk lineup but without Rush. The target audience is 55+. 57 is this format’s median age with 63% male 37% female. 6 hours is the average listening time.

Next in share popularity is 50,000 watt Top 40R WILN-FM (Island 106) (#1 Hit Music Station). It’s live and local throughout the workday. Magic states the station is #1 with adults 18-34 and women 25-54. Listening is 5 and a half hours a week with 33 as the median age. The target audience is adults 18-34. The station’s demos are 64% female and 36% male.

Classic Country has a home at 12,000 wattsWWLY-FM (Wild Willie 100.1) (Real Country Legends). Their target audience is Adults 25-54. The demos for the station is 45% female, 55% male. The actual median age is 42. Average listening is 4 and a half hours a week. It’s no wonder this station is beating the previously mentioned Hank FM.

Finally, there’s rock. 100,000 watt WYYX-FM is Magic’s best signal. (97X) (Panama City’s Rock Leader) One ratings report lists the station as Active Rock, another just rock. Despite going silent on occasion and being on a different frequency for a time, it’s been rock on this frequency since 1997. A number of sources have stated they are taking a more mainstream rock approach than Active.

Their target audience is males 18-49. The format reaches 60% male and 40% female. There was a time I would have been surprised with that but not anymore. There are sizeable numbers of females who enjoy rock in various formats. Listening to WYYX averages just over 6 hours a week. The median age of listeners to this station is 32.

Magic Broadcasting has a good little cluster of stations. Like any mom & pop operation, there are those who have the necessary business skills and others just drift along. I found Magic’s analysis of their stations very interesting. Here’s the link to it: https://bit.ly/2zw3bLA

And so this concludes our analysis of radio in Panama City and all Florida markets. From Market 11 to Market 221, there were many stories told. I’ve often said radio in Florida is complex but extremely interesting. Hopefully, I demonstrated that. I’ll share some further thoughts next. We’ll call it the “Grand Finale.”

 

[John FL]

I thought about doing a state-wide analysis of Florida radio for a long time. This string began three months ago. Perhaps my timing wasn’t the best given all that’s going on, but with over 2500 views, this proved a nice diversion for many of us.

The large PPM markets get most of the attention. Early on, this string devoted a good number of posts to Florida’s PPM markets. This string’s duration also allowed a second look at PPM ratings as well.

I believe there’s a general preconception that there isn’t much to small market radio. But, despite those headwinds, I thought there were stories to be told about radio in the smaller markets. Stations were researched and listened to via live streaming. The findings were posted. Demo info was provided and that was the basic “format” followed.

When I could, I included relevant history of various radio stations. Websites such as RadioYears.com and CflRadio.net had a wealth of information for Central Florida radio stations. It proved to be quite revealing.

This historic research validated that there is no substitute for hard work. A number of the biggest radio stations around today in the PPM markets were launched with an all hands on deck effort. From the top down, all involved were committed to success. You would think that would always be the case but history proves it isn’t.

Although The Florida Keys are not measured by Nielsen, I thought they deserved some recognition. There were some good company vision statements. There was a sense of pride that showed in their station “write-ups.” I sensed lots of effort as well. It’s not an easy situation there, especially with a place dependent on tourism.

I was surprised with Market #57 Fort-Myers-Naples. It changed considerably from what I remember. The market offers lots of formats providing listeners with many choices. Besides iHeartMedia, there’s companies such as Beasley and Sun that helped give the market a unique perspective.

There were many interesting radio stations discussed in this string from all over Florida. By keeping an open mind about each market, I let the research do most of the talking. While it would have added value to have had local perspectives, I think this string accomplished what was intended and can stand on its own merits.

Thanks for “listening.”