GSP WI12

[carolinaradio]

I think the biggest issue with the B is that they are notoriously slow to add new songs or put them in to very heavy rotation - their most played songs are exhausted. Listen to Channel 96.1 in Charlotte and how much faster they are on new music, and better at playing the whole spectrum of "the hits", as most Clear Channel CHR's are.

Does anybody have any theories/opinions about what's making Magic's ratings go down? What are they doing wrong to tumble so in the last few books? They've seen top 5 finishes in recent years. I maintain the opinion that they had gotten very stale and keep too tight of a playlist that is not updated enough for the AC format to avoid burn. The main issue there is the music IMO. Magic still has the "at work" listening on their side.

 

[awp69]

Whatever the case is with B, Magic or MY, it doesn't explain how The Planet is getting that 24-54 demo. I guess I thought the market was too smart for that crappy music they like to call "new rock" but is an insult to anyone's intelligence. Guess maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Scooter Lesley]

My take on what MAGIC must do: First the GM needs to call corporate, and demand the clearance to hire a competent local programmer. Second, ditch The John Tesh 5-hour know-it-all, yet know nothing show! Change the dayparts to how they are slated by Arbitron: 6-10,10-3,3-7 & 7-12. The young (second generation) Morning team deserves an honest chance, but that can't begin, until they have a (correct) playlist to work with. Lee Alexander should have a 2-hour, 11:30-1:30 totally 80's lunch.
Stacie Bartro, run your headphones louder, and you won't sound so "Churpie". Delete any, and all Country-crossover, Hip Hop, and/or burnt songs that have been played to death; "Red, Red, Wine". Get current, with what is happening in the recorded music world; Grace Potter! Stop-sets: a max of 9 1/2 minutes per hour, three 3-minute sets, both the top & bottom ID's sold at :30 each. All trade ads are subject to review, and/or removal. 7p-12m is Live all request...if you have it, play it! 12a-6a wide open, everyting in the selector. No stupid, waste of time, free mini-remotes! Sales can not negotiate spot flights, with any type of remote. The Airstaff is really not the problem...it's the Awww-ful playlist, and 5 1/2 minute stopsets. Also, the battle for office listening is over. Don't even try to recover the ground that Sat radio has already claimed. This is a waste of effort! If I have not made it clear,...read it again...Slower.

 

[awp69]

I think the biggest issue with the B is that they are notoriously slow to add new songs or put them in to very heavy rotation - their most played songs are exhausted.  Listen to Channel 96.1 in Charlotte and how much faster they are on new music, and better at playing the whole spectrum of "the hits", as most Clear Channel CHR's are.

While not as dramatic as MY's change in the past month, I do actually feel like B has also been doing some good things in the last month or so and wouldn't be reflected in the Winter book. They also seem a bit quicker with the new adds, but even more importantly, more friendly to the rock side of CHR. They were beginning to lean heavily rhythmic. I think that lean may honestly had an effect on the 24-54 group. Strange that their new PD who came from a more rhythmic station is making things more balanced, but it's a good move.  Still think Channel 96.1 is better, but B has also been improving IMO.

Again, along with MY, these changes have mostly been in the past month or so. I think it'll be interesting for both stations to see what the next book brings. Don't necessarily think it will be dramatic, but both may see some more positive numbers.

 

[freqdev]

Magic still has the "at work" listening on their side.

wmyi was a share and a half ahead of wspa middays persons 25-54

 

[awp69]

Magic still has the "at work" listening on their side.

wmyi was a share and a half ahead of wspa middays persons 25-54

Interesting - at least one bright spot for MY. So where is WMYI doing the worst against WSPA for 25-54? Mornings? Evenings? (God forbid John Tesh is doing well, but...)

 

[Scooter Lesley]

Sydi shows like Tesh & Delilah have a cheap price tag, compared to the apparent Taboo of paying a live human. They all fly outta gate, but each is completely spent by book #5 or 6. As bad as The John Tesh Know-it-all, yet Know Nothing show is,...it was edging out The Queen of Sap. CC should have never flipped MY's format, unless they had the money, and the smarts to maintain it. I'm not the only one that sees the truth here. MAGIC has a sweet oppertunity to hit the gas,...but nothing will move forward, until they do something about those 5-to-6 minute stop-sets, and that Awww-ful playlist.
That young (second generation) Morning team deserves a fair chance,
and I, for one, would like to see them get it!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[awp69]

CC should have never flipped MY's format, unless they had the money, and the smarts to maintain it.

We'll I disagree there. They needed to do something and I think the flip was good move. But it took them a year to fully make the flip. I think that hurt them ALOT. They finally sound like a Hot AC station, but they drug their feet for months with very slow new adds and an identity crisis.

Now that they're pretty much a full fledged Hot AC, we'll see how they do. They've put more smarts into their playlist with alot more new music and not just "safe" stuff either but semi-outside of the box things like Gotye. It just may be that Hot AC won't do well, as carolinaradio mentions, because it's the south. It's ashame though that they didn't make the full "flip" right away. Now, it may be too late to get some of those people that already tried them and found the mix to be awful. It's the right stuff now. It's just getting people to try them again. It still may not work, but I applaud their efforts to finally do what's right as far as the "fresh" sound they were after.

 

[carolinaradio]

I am skeptical of Hot AC's success in this market even if it was programmed by one of the biggest experts in the format in the country. WLNK in Charlotte was a very good Hot AC in the late 90s, but it didn't work...and that market is much more progressive than Greenville. They eventually added a lot of talk hosts and went in a talk direction, which helped, but they have gone more AC in the past couple of years. I've been told that country is just as big F25-54 in that market as AC is...that means less available audience for an AC-formatted station. I think that's the biggest issue in these southern markets that can't support Hot AC. Take in to account that mainstream AC is (more often than not) more popular than Hot AC in most markets that can even support the latter. That means Hot AC just gets a small piece of the pie. Star 94/Atlanta (unique market) and Star 92.1/Myrtle are exceptions to this rule. I can't think of any other Hot AC's around here.

I guess you can look at MY's format segue two different ways. Clear was either trying to blaze the trail, think outside the box, and prepare MY for the future as mainstream AC ages by giving it a "fresh, new sound", or make a last ditch effort to save a dying station. I believe it was the latter. MY lacked musical direction and stayed too much in the past as mainstream AC. I agree that they've improved it greatly; but a) is it too late? and b) is the audience even there if not? The next book will give a clear picture IMO.

 

[MarkSC]

Today's version of Mainstream AC is still doing very well in plenty of markets: NY, LA, Baltimore, Norfolk, Richmond, Orlando, and Greensboro to name a few. CC-Greenville let MYI drift off course and tried to correct it with a sledgehammer. Now they're in a new 4-share world. No matter how fast or how slow they are on new music, Hot AC is a non-starter in Greenville. You can't blame every book on Christmas.

 

[freqdev]

Now they're in a new 4-share world.

How do you explain both ac stations being in a 4 share world?

 

[carolinaradio]

This is my opinion, but Magic is a case of neglect. They have way more potential (if they make use of it) with mainstream AC than WMYI with Hot AC. As I said, I hear them in the background a lot and they went many months without changing anything, literally. Same 250 songs over and over months on end. Entercom can get Magic's ratings back on track. They recently got a new PD and I'm hearing improvements in music and presentation over the past couple of weeks.

Agree that you can't blame poor ratings on weighted books or seasons forever. Magic (who went months changing nothing) is still ahead by a few tenths of a point of MY who has been making changes and updating frequently. If Magic steps it up, I think they can return to the 5-6 range as Mainstream AC...MY as Hot AC, no. You can try all day with any format, but if the market turns out to resist it, it's pointless.

 

[MarkSC]

Neither has been on track. Magic has been an afterthought for PD's who are preoccupied with Bee. And, we've discussed My's issues pretty thoroughly. It's a result of shortsighted managers who think any monkey can program an AC station. We're seeing differently, aren't we?

 

[carolinaradio]

As mainstream AC, MY was way more off track than Magic towards the end. Magic was doing better with a CHR/AC PD than My was doing with just an AC PD. The last PD at Magic had the station sounding (and performing) the best it had in a long time during his reign, but it went downhill when they started letting it go and not keeping the playlist fresh last year. The biggest issue in the past year at Magic is the music. Like I say, with a format like mainstream AC -- you can't let it get so stale. I would hope their recently-hired PD will rotate more titles in and out more often, especially the golds. It can't be hard or take a rocket scientist with a format like that.

102.5 sounded terrible before they transitioned to Hot AC. Terribly unfocused and had failed to keep up with the times. They certainly sound better now than they did last year at this time, but their future all comes down to whether the market will accept or resist the Hot AC format.

 

[MarkSC]

Rotating more titles in and out can be deadly, if they're not the right titles. Again, it's hogwash that programming an AC is easier than other formats. What you keep off the radio is just as important as what you put on.

I agree that Magic is in the best position, if they can get it right. My is now in a bad place with Hot AC in Greenville, SC.

 

[Scooter Lesley]

Let me first point out some very clear points made on the last few posts by MarkSC...go back and read them!
In the GSP market, two, separately owned, allegedly competing, AC stations. Both allegedly Programmed by someone that was hired for their alleged skills to do so.
Sheeeeeeesh,...someone is signing a paycheck, with more question marks??????, than Frank Gorshum's underwear!
At present, it's all about these Awww-ful, mindless, playlists, that ain't gettin' it done! MAGIC does have the best chance to advance, but who's a believer? MAGIC's new, in-house, PD has only been there since mid-Feb, so let's (try) keep an open mind.
As for MY 102,...they have squatted, and peed on a perfectly timed oppertunity!
I,...Scooter Lesley, recharging my ipod overnight, everynight, in SELF DEFENCE!

 

[freqdev]

Neither has been on track. Magic has been an afterthought for PD's who are preoccupied with Bee. And, we've discussed My's issues pretty thoroughly. It's a result of shortsighted managers who think any monkey can program an AC station. We're seeing differently, aren't we?

with what wmyi is doing could affect both bee and magic. sounds like from the posts that both are threatened jmo

 

[carolinaradio]

Rotating more titles in and out can be deadly, if they're not the right titles. Again, it's hogwash that programming an AC is easier than other formats. What you keep off the radio is just as important as what you put on.

I agree that Magic is in the best position, if they can get it right. My is now in a bad place with Hot AC in Greenville, SC.

What I mean by rotating more titles in and out is that I'm sure there are enough "well testing" AC songs to allow Magic to freshen up the playlist several times a year instead of just once every 12 or 13 months. I'm not suggesting pulling "new" stuff out of the left field (like they've actually been known to do at times) and throwing it on the air.

I think WSPA and WFBC combined hurt/hinder WMYI more than vice versa. They're in a squeeze between those two trying to program a format there may not be enough audience for. I have a hard time seeing GSP being the market that breaks the overall southeastern Hot AC curse.

 

[awp69]

I think WSPA and WFBC combined hurt/hinder WMYI more than vice versa. They're in a squeeze between those two trying to program a format there may not be enough audience for. I have a hard time seeing GSP being the market that breaks the overall southeastern Hot AC curse.

With WFBC being down this ratings period, I still wouldn't be surprised if MY took away some of it's audience. But then Magic was the beneficiary of those who left MY still wanting a more traditional AC sound.

I agree that MY may be in a bad position as far as getting a fair share of the market between B and Magic, but think it's still in a position, especially with their latest changes, to pose at least a bit of a threat to B. Whether that's enough in the long run to sustain it, we'll see. It'll be interesting to see how long CC gives MY before it pulls the plug.

Hell, if Entercom hasn't flipped The Planet after all these years of pathetic programming, CC hopefully will at least give MY a little more time considering how slow it was to adopt changes throughout their playlist (really, just in the last month IMO).

 

[MarkSC]

I don't think they'll flip MYI anytime soon. They spent good money on a study to back up what they already wanted to do, then read the results in a completely biased way. So, the GM isn't gonna be quick to admit he was wrong. He probably never will.

But they're now at the very bottom of the heap among the full signal players. That's really remarkable for that station. And, now they're gonna have a hell of a time being more than an also-ran. All because they didn't understand or value the position they enjoyed 5 years ago when they were winning, despite direct format competition. Arrogant and clueless is no way to go through life, son.