Greenville-Spartanburg Winter Ratings

[genius]

Winter ratings have been released and just a few notable observations:

-LOL at WSPA getting a ratings bump after they stopped finally stopped playing Christmas music.

-After gaining momentum in the fall, WFBC dropped substantially and fell behind WHZT after the New Year.

-WYRD remains completely flat. There was some talk in another thread on this board that Dana Loesch isn’t a good fit for the station but really no one is at the moment. 🤣

-As always, good to see X98.5 staying above a 1.0.

 

[101tm]

Winter ratings have been released and just a few notable observations:

-LOL at WSPA getting a ratings bump after they stopped finally stopped playing Christmas music.

-After gaining momentum in the fall, WFBC dropped substantially and fell behind WHZT after the New Year.

-WYRD remains completely flat. There was some talk in another thread on this board that Dana Loesch isn’t a good fit for the station but really no one is at the moment. 🤣

-As always, good to see X98.5 staying above a 1.0.

X98.5 is the little station that could, for sure. Hard to believe it’s a Cox creation and they’ve been out of the market for 10 years now. That’s a remarkable run for a translator.

The rest is pretty much same old - it’s interesting that since WESC went exclusively classic country (or gold), their numbers have stayed steady while WSSL is no longer a solid top 3. I do wonder how WESC’s demos are considering it’s an older leaning format. I believe they dropped all currents a couple of years ago? They used to play some new stuff by more traditional country acts but that’s no longer the case.

103.3’s music has gone all over the place recently and isn’t very consistent anymore which I feel contributes a lot to their decline. I get classic hits stations have to evolve, but they’re still playing early 70s along with stuff from the 2000s and it just doesn’t flow well. Most successful classic hits stations now are 80s centric, with select early-mid 90s (not 2000s) and some well testing 35-54 70s rock tracks thrown in.

The rock lean seems to be helping The Lake, and a 3+ for the Block - DANG!

 

[vchimpanzee]

The rest is pretty much same old - it’s interesting that since WESC went exclusively classic country (or gold), their numbers have stayed steady while WSSL is no longer a solid top 3. I do wonder how WESC’s demos are considering it’s an older leaning format. I believe they dropped all currents a couple of years ago? They used to play some new stuff by more traditional country acts but that’s no longer the case.

I wondered about this. The last time I was in the mountains it sounded no different from "Real Country" except "Real Country" includes currents that sound like they belong (in someone's opinion). Actually, WBRF has been evolving and it wasn't even really different from that station.

 

[101tm]

I wondered about this. The last time I was in the mountains it sounded no different from "Real Country" except "Real Country" includes currents that sound like they belong (in someone's opinion). Actually, WBRF has been evolving and it wasn't even really different from that station.

WESC quit playing anything less than 10 years old several years ago I believe. The playlist is mainly 90s and 00s and the rest being late 70s/80’s. It’s still not considered classic country though.

 

[vchimpanzee]

WESC quit playing anything less than 10 years old several years ago I believe. The playlist is mainly 90s and 00s and the rest being late 70s/80’s. It’s still not considered classic country though.

It's not that different from WBRF, which is. WBRF may have more older songs.

 

[AMRocks]

X98.5 is the little station that could, for sure. Hard to believe it’s a Cox creation and they’ve been out of the market for 10 years now. That’s a remarkable run for a translator.

Summit really screwed up the old Chuck. I LOVED that station, even after Cox gave it up. I could hear Michael Jackson followed by Johnny Cash. Cutting Crew and Frank Sinatra. The mix was all over the place, something I can't even do on my streams or my own music library. You could listen for long periods of time and think, wow! I haven't heard that song in forever!.

Then, they screwed it up with almost all 80s and 90s rock. When they said, "we play everything," it was kind of a big yawn/lie, especially comparing it to what they were doing before using the same slogan.

The flip to Jack and "we play what we want" was not only underwhelming, but kind of pompous IMHO. I know it was supposed to be "attitude," but I always thought, why do I want to listen what YOU want to play?

Since their change to "Awesome," I've never once tuned in.

 

[101tm]

Summit really screwed up the old Chuck. I LOVED that station, even after Cox gave it up. I could hear Michael Jackson followed by Johnny Cash. Cutting Crew and Frank Sinatra. The mix was all over the place, something I can't even do on my streams or my own music library. You could listen for long periods of time and think, wow! I haven't heard that song in forever!.

Then, they screwed it up with almost all 80s and 90s rock. When they said, "we play everything," it was kind of a big yawn/lie, especially comparing it to what they were doing before using the same slogan.

The flip to Jack and "we play what we want" was not only underwhelming, but kind of pompous IMHO. I know it was supposed to be "attitude," but I always thought, why do I want to listen what YOU want to play?

Since their change to "Awesome," I've never once tuned in.

I believe the Chuck FM brand/license was under a contract that could not be renewed, so they went with Jack which is basically packaged with the playlist, imaging, etc.

Awesome is Summit’s classic hits format they’re using in Richmond and Chattanooga as well. It’s not that bad but nothing stand-outish. Heavier on 80s pop than rock, extends in to the 90s fairly well and includes a little bit of late 70s. I think it would do better if there weren’t so many stations playing those same eras. It’s pretty well executed IMO, but it is predictable as far as the eras and styles of music you will hear.

 

[vchimpanzee]

WESC quit playing anything less than 10 years old several years ago I believe. The playlist is mainly 90s and 00s and the rest being late 70s/80’s. It’s still not considered classic country though.

Let's compare.

WBRF:

"Good Hearted Woman" Waylon Jennings
"One Way Ticket" Leann Rimes
"Old Friends" Roger Miller and Willie Nelson
"The Heart That You Own" Dwight Yoakam
"Rodeo" Garth Brooks
"Ladies Love Outlaws" Waylon Jennings
"Tennessee Flat Top Box" Roseanne Cash
"Highway 40 Blues" Ricky Skaggs
"Paint Me a Birmingham" Tracy Lawrence
"I Don't Know a Thing About Love" Conway Twitty
"I Breathe In I Breathe Out" Chris Cagle
"Brand New Man" Brooks & Dunn
"What's a Memory Like You" John Schneider
"Something More" Sugarland

WESC:

"White Liar" Miranda Lambert
"Where the Green Grass Grows" Tim McGraw
"All-American Girl" Carrie Underwood
"Here's a Quarter" Travis Tritt
"You're Gonna Miss This" Trace Adkins
"Two of a Kind" Garth Brooks
"Amarillo by Morning" George Strait
"Too Much Fun" Daryle Singletary
"Bless the Broken Road" Rascal Flatts
"Forever and Ever, Amen" Randy Travis
"Ol' Red" Blake Shelton
"Dust on the Bottle" David Lee Murphy
"Is There Life Out There" Reba McEntire
"Tennesse River" Alabama

Yeah, WESC seems a little more contemporary, though WBRF "Ain't as Good as I Once Was".

 

[Evan Stripes Carr]

X98.5 is the little station that could, for sure. Hard to believe it’s a Cox creation and they’ve been out of the market for 10 years now. That’s a remarkable run for a translator.

The rest is pretty much same old - it’s interesting that since WESC went exclusively classic country (or gold), their numbers have stayed steady while WSSL is no longer a solid top 3. I do wonder how WESC’s demos are considering it’s an older leaning format. I believe they dropped all currents a couple of years ago? They used to play some new stuff by more traditional country acts but that’s no longer the case.

103.3’s music has gone all over the place recently and isn’t very consistent anymore which I feel contributes a lot to their decline. I get classic hits stations have to evolve, but they’re still playing early 70s along with stuff from the 2000s and it just doesn’t flow well. Most successful classic hits stations now are 80s centric, with select early-mid 90s (not 2000s) and some well testing 35-54 70s rock tracks thrown in.

The rock lean seems to be helping The Lake, and a 3+ for the Block - DANG!

Heck, I've heard stuff from Pharrell, Bruno Mars, Fun and others on Earth (maybe Sam Smith and Adele as well) - 2010's music!!! I am beginning to prefer The Lake 102.5/Woodruff's WQUL 101.7 over it (but I do love Earth's DJ's and to their credit they do still play some songs the other stations don't touch). WXRC 95.7 The Ride is also a favorite though not officially in the market (but a GREAT signal coming from Hickory). I do enjoy Awesome 99.7 as well overall but sometimes it is a bit too AC-leaning for me (not a Celine fan).

WESC has started sprinkling in some more recent country hits from the 2010's as well (mostly Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean and Zac Brown Band). Still an overall favorite station of mine (especially for country).

 

[vchimpanzee]

WESC has started sprinkling in some more recent country hits from the 2010's as well (mostly Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean and Zac Brown Band). Still an overall favorite station of mine (especially for country).

Someone on WBRF said something about playing Jason Aldean. No, that won't do. He's not country enough. I was dismayed to hear him on Real Country too. It wasn't as bad a song as some of his, but it wasn't good enough to be called Real country either, and yet that's what they do.

 

[101tm]

Heck, I've heard stuff from Pharrell, Bruno Mars, Fun and others on Earth (maybe Sam Smith and Adele as well) - 2010's music!!! I am beginning to prefer The Lake 102.5/Woodruff's WQUL 101.7 over it (but I do love Earth's DJ's and to their credit they do still play some songs the other stations don't touch). WXRC 95.7 The Ride is also a favorite though not officially in the market (but a GREAT signal coming from Hickory). I do enjoy Awesome 99.7 as well overall but sometimes it is a bit too AC-leaning for me (not a Celine fan).

There are some good folks at 94.5 and 103.3, no doubt - the music selection is just baffling and the struggles in the ratings are showing it. 70s soul and disco sounds terrible against Fun. They play a lot of harder rock from the 80s but play stiffs even WSPA wouldn’t play from the 2000s like White Flag by Dido. I’ve heard Kings of Leon. Maybe they would be better to ditch the “greatest hits on earth” positioning and go with a Jack FM type presentation because that’s what it sounds like. Yes, there are classic hits stations moving well in to the 90s, but they’ve basically eliminated the 70s and they stop around 1997-1998. I like variety but I also like focus and cohesion.