gsp summer book

[freqdev]

no posts or comments. is it because arbitron is only releasing subscriber information and not rankings?

 

[carolinaradio]

I did not know they were out since it's tougher to find them now that this site has changed.

http://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb191

92.5 WESC has not been #1 in ages overall. 98.1's success is quite interesting. Magic and B-93 are back ahead of MY, whose shift to Hot AC last year certainly hasn't given them an overall boost in bragging numbers. The Planet looks pretty bad, but of course they won't change.

 

[awp69]

I do wonder how MY is doing in the 25-54 money demo though. Last book they were doing quite well in that area so they still could be ahead of Magic in that department.

The Planet really took a dive. With ratings that low, I think they really do have something to worry about with X98.5. Just another share off of that 3.3 on a much strong signal and it could be doomsday for them. Definately will be an interesting Fall book, but The Planet should be shaking in their boots.

 

[Scooter Lesley]

I enjoy reading good deee-cusion, and thanks to freqdev for whippin' this one out. Ahhhh, as they all ready their strat for the Fall book.
Even with the recent passing of Andy Williams, again, both AC's with sacrifice their Fall numbers to the closet of formerly worn Red Sweaters. Remember, 11/15 begins..."The Most Wonderful Time....".
As long as CC owns both WSSL & WESC, the latter of the two will always be a stepchild, fed with crums. Aside from the usually weighed mess, labeled WJMZ, WESC was either #1 or #2 in the ratings, and without question, the top biller. The Planet needs a full overhaul, with the ankling of the entire air staff; alleged as air talent.
MY102: just as all the members of the Think Tank proclaimed, that format will not fly, without a full, local air staff. Both MAGIC & B-93 are ahead only because of MY's floundering; not by their own efforts, as they too have done mucha nothin'!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[awp69]

Even with the recent passing of Andy Williams, again, both AC's with sacrifice their Fall numbers to the closet of formerly worn Red Sweaters.  Remember, 11/15 begins..."The Most Wonderful Time....".

Actually, I think it will be very interesting to see if MY follows suit. Last year they still were pretty mired in between AC and Hot AC during it's messy transition. Now that they are pretty much full-on Hot AC, I hope they seriously consider NOT going to all Christmas this year. I think it would be a huge mistake. If they're still struggling, it's only going hurt them more with the younger demographic they're now going after.

As I mentioned, I'd still like to see MY's money demo numbers. I'd find it hard to believe with Magic's static attitude that they were able to get past WMYI, which was doing well in those numbers in the last ratings period, in that more important demographic.

 

[carolinaradio]

The Planet really took a dive. With ratings that low, I think they really do have something to worry about with X98.5. Just another share off of that 3.3 on a much strong signal and it could be doomsday for them. Definately will be an interesting Fall book, but The Planet should be shaking in their boots.

I wonder how low is "acceptable" for The Planet. They've certainly tested many lows. After all, they've done and sounded terribly for ages but get by with it over and over. I wonder if any competition taking even a share from them would be enough to force major changes (I don't really consider that even worse adjustment of their music last month "major").
Interestingly, Chuck-FM isn't THAT far behind The Planet, especially considering the signal deficit 97.7 has in comparison.

About MY and all-Christmas, I hope not, but I have a feeling they'll do it. I appreciated that they held off longer than most stations, but considering that it did not even do well for them (or even Magic), I don't see the benefit unless they are forced to. I remember reading somewhere on here that Clear Channel likes to go all-Christmas if they have an AC (first choice), Hot AC, or Oldies station in a market.
I really, really, really wish the Hot AC format was doing better. MY sounds pretty good. Magic's AC format pulling ahead is head scratching but I guess it is following the trend of this region (AC outperforming Hot AC). They are almost as bad sounding as The Planet, you're right, it's very static. They are still off from last year, though (I would suspect Chuck-FM has drawn some audience away).

B-93.7 never does as well as it used to. I wonder if MY is keeping them down. This market is certainly different than Columbia where WNOK is in the top 3 frequently.

 

[awp69]

I wonder how low is "acceptable" for The Planet.  They've certainly tested many lows.  After all, they've done and sounded terribly for ages but get by with it over and over.  I wonder if any competition taking even a share from them would be enough to force major changes (I don't really consider that even worse adjustment of their music last month "major").
Interestingly, Chuck-FM isn't THAT far behind The Planet, especially considering the signal deficit 97.7 has in comparison.

Yes, I noticed that about Chuck as well. And hope X98.5 can get numbers like that. If they do, The Planet will likely suffer even more and I don't know how low they can go. Even though there's still pretty dramatic differences in the music they play, there still is some overlap between The Planet and X. And if you look at X98.5's Facebook page, a lot of the comments are from people happy to have something better to listen to over The Planet. So I have no doubt that there is at least some listener movement there.

X98.5 only had a few weeks in August so I doubt that had much impact on The Planet's Summer book. But the Fall could be a different story.

 

[MarkSC]

25-54 Magic is #5. My is #8.

 

[awp69]

25-54 Magic is #5. My is #8.

Ouch. Looked back at the Spring numbers and MY was #5 and Magic was #7. At that point, even B93.7 was trailing MY.

Not a good story for MY, which is ashame, since they at least tried something different. But even before they switched MY and Magic pretty much kept swapping numbers so who knows. Next time around maybe MY will be back on top. This market is sometimes difficult to read after the country and urban stations.

 

[carolinaradio]

That really is a disappointment. That is really no improvement over when they were AC and that's been well over a year ago. I never had high expectations for them given the history of Hot AC around here, but I at least thought they could do better than when they were Mainstream AC, and didn't even sound as good as Magic, who isn't even a very good AC to begin with! I think MY sounds pretty good, as they have since spring. If they don't stick around, I think it will be due to the lack of audience and not a poor product, at least at this point.

X was not on the air for very long during this book. We probably won't see any sign of them until the fall book, and I don't expect much, since they are an entirely new operation that will take a while to become known. I think The Planet is the only station they can really take any substantial amount of listeners from.

 

[awp69]

I was thinking about this and guess I'd have to back through other threads, but the new morning show on MY started in late spring didn't it? If that's the case, I wouldn't be surprised if that had something to do with MY's drop in the ratings. I think they're music mix is pretty good now for a Hot AC (still don't seem to want to completely let go of the '80s though) but Zac and Marnie IMO still don't have much chemistry and I could see listeners being turned off by it as opposed to when they were playing more music in the morning.

I haven't been listening to MY much due to X98.5 as well so even though the Planet would likely feel the most impact by X, there may be a few that were listening to MY because they were playing some "new rock" like Gotye and Fun. before places like B93.7. At least there was some music getting to Greenville listeners that hadn't been (at the time).

While carolinaradio and I may be different than most male listeners, I'm sure there's others that felt there was nothing else in GSP to listen to for those wanting newer music without all the loud trash that The Planet plays. And on X98.5's Facebook page, although many mention The Planet, I've been surprised at the number of female listeners commenting, mostly commenting on the lighter alternative like Mumford & Sons, Grouplove and Of Monsters & Men. So, again it probably didn't affect this book, but I do think MY could lose a little listenership from X98.5 as well (just not as much as The Planet could lose).

 

[carolinaradio]

Since the change last year, 12+, WMYI had a 6.5 SU12 (that seems exceptionally high and causes me to raise an eyebrow), 4.6 FA11, 4.3 WI12 (this was the book Zac and Marnie started during), 5.0 SP12, 4.5 SU12.
I've always thought it would settle somewhere between a 4 and 5 share.

I realize I am not a thirtysomething female, but the morning show doesn't do much for me. I agree that there isn't a lot of chemistry and I liked it better initially before there was a lot of talking. I would take Z&M over most other stuff in this market though (Hawk and Tom, The Rise Guys, etc). I think it's also worth adding that they shifted in to Hot AC around the same time as the new morning show. Personally, if MY fails, I think it can be blamed more on the lack of audience for the format than execution.

I do think there could be some switching between MY and X, but I don't know if it would be enough to cause a substantial shift. We'll see though.

 

[awp69]

I do think there could be some switching between MY and X, but I don't know if it would be enough to cause a substantial shift.

At least the two of us, I guess

 

[John Ellis]

I'm not sitting around in my underwear analyzing the demos...but, if indeed my ol' pals at 98.9 had a stronger showing in this book, I am happy for them. Lee, Stacie and Reggie are 100% class, and are truly three of the last great local radio voices we have. It's unfortunate that Lauren and I couldn't stick around for a while and grow AMD, but that's the business.

I would encourage you to check us out at: www.1033spinfm.com. I've been around radio (nerd alert) since I was in diapers, and--BY FAR--this is the best programmed station, pound for pound, I have ever worked for.

And (biased, a bit) congrats to WSSL for an improvement.

 

[Scooter Lesley]

As I weigh-in again with my, dare to compare, Whatcha do or don't do, factored with What they do or don't do...analegeeeeeeeeee!
I too have respect for Hawk, Heidi, Lee, Stacie, and the rest, but most of you are not seeing the full scope. Both MAGIC & B-93 are crowing a rise, when it is all due to MY's continuous floundering with their new/yet already a year old format. The Entercom stations are only up because of what MY didn't do! The truth is both MAGIC & B-93 did nothing different, and as much as their current PD would like to swig a peach wine cooler, and feel good about himself,...he's merely a poot, at a turd convention. IT'S JUST THE TRUTH...they did nothing to get the rise. The bean counters at MY just don't seem to ever complete the math. Hot AC is, without question, one of the formats in practice that must have a full Live air staff, with a local mindset; especially here in this market where that format has no heritage. WSSL has a legit rise,...they serve their audience; very impressive.
So Say-eth The Sheppard, So Say-eth The Flock!
Scooter Lesley.

 

[awp69]

Hot AC is, without question, one of the formats in practice that must have a full Live air staff, with a local mindset; especially here in this market where that format has no heritage. 

While I agree that a local air staff is great and all, their half-hearted attempt at a morning show that is actually local hasn't helped them. So I don't think it's necessarily localization that's hurting MY. I tend to agree with carolinaradio that the format just may not work in this area. I also think it didn't help that it took them nearly a year to go from AC to Hot AC. Sloppy transition certainly isn't going to win fans. And although they are pretty much Hot AC now and got rid of the ballads of the '70s and '80s -- they still do put some '80s in the mix, which I don't understand. Still, they've greatly improved since the "flip". I just think, even if it was a format that could survive in this area, too many mistakes were made along the way. They've got a pretty solid playlist and even their DJs feed in from outside of the area - like Dave Kent - do a fairly good job of sounding local even if they aren't. I don't think it's the airstaff that's the issue (aside from a somewhat bland morning show).

 

[freqdev]

if you look at the transition on 102.5 from what it was to what it is now it is pretty dramatic. in many listeners minds it is still love and hudson. listeners are very slow. have you ever been the "new talent" on a radio station where no one really knows you? how did you become a name much less a brand for that station?

 

[Scooter Lesley]

First, I ask that you read Freqdev's last post. He is dead-on, with a very valid point; a very practical point, regarding Air Talent.
Second, some ain't catchin' my drift, regarding MY 102. For awp69, Hot AC must have...A Full,...Live, Air Staff, not just the two drives; all dayparts. The entire Air Staff, Live, and with a local mindset. On a Personal level, maybe Zac & Marne are easy to work with, but Professionally, as a Morning team, they're simply Awww-ful; Awww-ful, and couldn't pull ratings, if they were buck neckid, sittin' high on a billboard. Liz...sweet too, but that ain't why they're paying her either!
CC just botched the flip because it was an all-day job, and their lunch pale was packed with only one sandwich. MY has no one good on the air, and NO, NO, NO,...the playlist is still not correct. MY contiues to flounder, causing B-93, and MAGIC to rise, and they haven't done anything to get there; THE AC SEE-SAW.

 

[carolinaradio]

if you look at the transition on 102.5 from what it was to what it is now it is pretty dramatic. in many listeners minds it is still love and hudson. listeners are very slow. have you ever been the "new talent" on a radio station where no one really knows you? how did you become a name much less a brand for that station?

You have a very valid point. I STILL find it funny to hear the name "My 102.5" with some of the music they play. I actually suggested that perhaps they should have changed the name from "MY" to "Fresh" or the like to clearly differentiate. However, if they could hit #5 25-54 in the spring book yet fell back to #8 in the following, I do not think there is much more room for further growth. I think they'll stay in the range they've been in. Typically you have an idea of how a station is going to do 12-18 months after the start of a new format. It's just not a mass appeal format in this region unfortunately.

While I agree that a local air staff is great and all, their half-hearted attempt at a morning show that is actually local hasn't helped them. So I don't think it's necessarily localization that's hurting MY. I tend to agree with carolinaradio that the format just may not work in this area. I also think it didn't help that it took them nearly a year to go from AC to Hot AC. Sloppy transition certainly isn't going to win fans. And although they are pretty much Hot AC now and got rid of the ballads of the '70s and '80s -- they still do put some '80s in the mix, which I don't understand. Still, they've greatly improved since the "flip". I just think, even if it was a format that could survive in this area, too many mistakes were made along the way. They've got a pretty solid playlist and even their DJs feed in from outside of the area - like Dave Kent - do a fairly good job of sounding local even if they aren't. I don't think it's the airstaff that's the issue (aside from a somewhat bland morning show).

I have to agree. The only important daypart they voicetrack is afternoons, and I don't think it is important or obvious to the average listener that the host is in Raleigh and not Greenville. In response to the air staff, I actually think it's better than The Planet, B-93.7, WORD, Rock 101...all have been around the block a few too many times in this market!

I'm thinking that perhaps the sloppy transition might have been an effort to slowly ease the old audience to the updated station. Not sure, but it was less than impressive and does not seem to have worked.

 

[freqdev]

there are three new stations now at 96.7, 97.7, and 98.5 it would only take a share or more from them to change the rank of the class c stations