GSP WI12

[carolinaradio]

A lot of interesting points made. I agree that if performance doesn't pick up, they'll still stick with the "fresh new sound" for a while (I don't know, though, CC launched a Hot AC in Chattanooga that lasted only about a year). I like a lot of the music so I'm not complaining. It won't be another 96.7, though. Future formats for the signal are interesting to speculate on, but I could see CHR (CC has been on a CHR launching spree in the past couple of years) or perhaps Urban to put their country babies on top. In quite a few markets, Hot AC is a bigger competitor to CHR than it is to mainstream AC. I wonder if it's more of a case of MY vs. Magic or MY vs. B.

I see 93.3 beating 102.5 regularly now because they have a stronger format for the area. It was a shock to see them at the bottom of the stack. They had huge success in the 2000s and apparently thought they could continue to enjoy it without working for it. They are now paying the price. Magic was a mess back then, though, so they weren't tough competition until the past few years. Did they ever beat MY until a few years ago?

The benefit that 93.3 seems to have is that they do well in certain demographics. I don't know who's listening to them, but people apparently are.

 

[freqdev]

Arrogant and clueless is no way to go through life, son.

for those who didn't notice marksc is a charter member of the cc haters club ;D

 

[awp69]

The benefit that 93.3 seems to have is that they do well in certain demographics.  I don't know who's listening to them, but people apparently are.

Sad, but I guess true. I don't get it. But even though 93.3 had a reasonably "good" book, they've been generally towards the bottom of the ratings from what I've seen over the past few years. I guess when the ratings are broken down the demographics must be good enough to keep selling advertising for them.

Still think there's an easy challenge for any company willing to take on 93.3 in the rock sector. They may have a "lock" on the format in the area now. But with so many better rock stations, even in smaller markets, I don't think it would be difficult to take them down. I'm frankly surprised that no one has bitten. To me, that's a format flip risk worth taking. And if MY doesn't succeed, I'd be all for slapping The Planet with a true new rock station on 102.5.

 

[Scooter Lesley]

Well,...there are alotta former CC employees/burn patients, recovering with a cool glass of "Haterade", longing to one day pee the Cherio's of those responsible for their untimely ankling. Everyone seems to be a little Planet-plexed with their reported listenership, but remember Arbitron can also oaf, in their efforts to...(?) get it right. WROQ has a rise, yet has not made any changes in years...the same old tired 409 songs. When the next book comes back they could be flat, and again, no explaination. Rock 101 is up simply because of what the other stations failed to do. I don't have anything against Bill Love, but a few years back, he & MY (collectively) had a Big jump in the ratings. If you match that up on a timeline, you will see where alleged genius GM of MAGIC, Tom Derney, thought/decided that (the late) Bo Griffin would blaze a trail in the upstate.
Well,...as you know, Oprah clone, didn't even pass the trail blazing exam. I remember MY 102 crowing victory, complete with a funky inzone dance, and the spiking of headphones. Nothing could have been further from the truth! Bo Griffin kidnapped, bound, gaged, hogtied, duct taped, and shrunk-wrapped every listener that MAGIC had. Then delivered them, postage paid to the MY freight dock,...in her failed attempt to be...Entertaining?????????

 

[MarkSC]

Freq, you gotta admit, for CC to take MYI from top 3 to #10 takes some real bad decision-making. Is there any other station that has moved up or down that much in this market recently? And, Scooter, WMYI was staying ahead of Magic well after the one-year debacle of Bo Griffin, like when they had that guy from Tennessee whose name I can't recall. But there's no doubt, she was a setback.

 

[carolinaradio]

I agree that the slide for MY has been remarkable. They were even #1 before as mainstream AC - beating country and Urban in this market. It wouldn't have taken a rocket scientist to keep them top 5. Bo Griffin only helped MY's dominince in that time period and probably turned a lot of listeners off that took a while to come back. That whole thing was just a disaster. I hope Magic can get back on track musically. The presentation is fine, but they seem to lack the variety and depth musically that the AC's in markets like Charlotte, Charleston, and Greensboro have. It wasn't like that 2 years ago.
I like My more in their current incarnation, and appreciate what they're doing, but can't look past how troubled that frequency is. It'll be interesting to watch since they're now full Hot AC, unlike that mess after they launched.

The true shining star in this market is Chuck FM, even if their musical mix can be a little too old for my tastes at times. I was hoping to see some kind of ratings from them. I listen to them most mornings. They are clearly filling in for the lack of classic hits in the market.

 

[Scooter Lesley]

WSPA-FM, Post-Oprah clone, supplemental: I'm not sure as to who the PD was or which GM was in place, at the exact time, but here's more. A sharp Programmer named Mark Hamlin was brought in to repair all the damage created by Bo Griffin,...
"Pilot of the Dirt Submarine"! A friend of mine had worked with Hamlin in Detroit, and said...he's very smart, but he only stays put for two years at a time. Coming in as OM & PD, Hamlin's first reported duty was to send Griffin home, with pay, and work Morning drive, with Newscaster, Monnie Whitson. They were willing do absolutely anything to get her off the air, and disassociated with the station. Hamlin worked Mornings for a while, as the station paid-off the (certainly) STUPID amount of money left on Griffin's contract. Later, he would get the nod to hire someone....enter T.K. T.K. had worked Mornings in Knoxville for around 15-years. He was a Big Fish in a small pond...moving here to a much bigger pond. With Monnie promoted to co-host, T.K. & Monnie were launched as their move against Bill Love on MY. T.K. bought a house, and move his entire family here, and began his very charismatic campain. After a certain number of books, apparently, the numbers started to sway. Later, for no clear reason, he was fired. One report sighted that he had brought the ratings up to a point where a bonus check was due him, per his contract, and management could not pay the amount. When he demanded payment, he was fired. Anyone that was working there, at the time, would have the true skinny, but so far, no one has told.

 

[carolinaradio]

Magic Morning Show gains an extra hour starting tomorrow, from 5:30-9:00am.

Everything you're saying sounds right Scooter. Mark Hamlin was promoted out of GSP to save the struggling AC KUDL in Kansas City in 2009, but obviously couldn't. He did the morning show for a while after TK was let go. Now programs heritage country WFMS in Indy. I think Michael Mckeel was the PD when Bo Griffin was hired, but not sure. Terrible time period for that station.
Monnie had previous experience here as Wendy White playing country.

 

[Scooter Lesley]

Well,...Think Tank Members, as you know, Entercom hired a new OM/PD for B-93 & MAGIC. He started (?) in mid-February, and I'm not sure as to what changes he has made, but now the Morning show will run 5:30-to-9:00; an extra hour on the ass end. This had to be his decision, and it will help matters. However, it is not completely correct! Years ago, some hemroidal Consultant, sighting "Office Listening", thought(?) to shorten Morning Drive, in lieu of a commercial free, music block.
How stupid could anyone be?? No matter what you do or don't do, Arbitron will not give you credit for anything 12a-6a.
There is no sense in waking you Air Talent any earlier than nessessary. Morning Drive should run 6a-10a, as slated in the Arb diaries. Anything other than that standard will Pee in your Cherio's, eroding ratings points that could otherwise show. You can make some billing with the 5am hour, but you can't get any Arb credit. This is just a pure, yet simple example of what happens to your ratings, when you follow the Boob Tuddulage of some know-it-all, yet know nothing Consultant. GM's should pay closer attention to the on-air sound, and possible Programming oafs. It should be: 6-10, 10-3, 3-7, 7-12, and 12-6. It only Behoooooooooves you to do so. Be of the Behoveled!

 

[MarkSC]

Well, the Feb/Mar/Apr trends for GSP are out today. Only CC and Cox subscribe to the trends, so you don't get to see much. But, you can see that it just keeps getting worse for WMYI. They're down 4.3 - 3.6 from their crappy Winter book. How long until they stick a fork in this turkey?

 

[carolinaradio]

Well, the Feb/Mar/Apr trends for GSP are out today. Only CC and Cox subscribe to the trends, so you don't get to see much. But, you can see that it just keeps getting worse for WMYI. They're down 4.3 - 3.6 from their crappy Winter book. How long until they stick a fork in this turkey?

Yikes. I don't see it staying around for the rest of the year if it keeps bleeding listeners, regardless of how much they spent on research. They could have stayed with their less than impressive mainstream AC format and done much better.

I could see a switch to CHR at some point. CC is popping them out all over the country, even in markets where the format's not extremely popular or is covered.

 

[awp69]

Disappointing to hear for MY since I actually think they're doing a decent job now (as far as being a Hot AC).

As it's been mentioned by carolinaradio, I don't understand why Hot AC doesn't do well in the South. Just seems to me that there's gotta be people that want a middle ground between CHR (which has been trending to be more and more rhythmic, regardless of the market) and AC.

Adults in the 30-50 range can't all still want to hear soft songs from the 70s, but still may not want to hear some of the newer rhythmic hits either. I guess I'll never understand it.

Guess my hope is still for a decent rock station along the lines of Radio 104.5 in Philly. But it may not do very well either.

If it goes CHR, an adult-leaning CHR would be nice (but really is there that much difference between Hot AC and an adult-leaning CHR)?

 

[carolinaradio]

If it goes CHR, an adult-leaning CHR would be nice (but really is there that much difference between Hot AC and an adult-leaning CHR)?

A lot of Hot AC's have evolved in to near-Adult leaning CHR's, especially in larger markets. There was a much bigger difference 5-6 years ago, even. MY is using the traditional Hot AC approach (that's still popular in the midwest and in smaller markets), though, so there's a difference there. Adult-leaning CHR isn't going to play 80s or 90s music, and not a lot of older stuff from the 2000s. More new songs, more rhythmic. The main difference with adult-leaning CHR is that they are more friendly to pop/rock/Hot AC tracks than most mainstream CHR's, and are faster in adding them.
In addition to CHR I could maybe see an Urban format on 102.5. There just aren't any other holes I can see that they'd try to fill.

A typical Adult Hits station like Chuck FM targets the 30-50 crowd. The absence of newer music on there and older lean might push that age up, though. Also, most AC stations play more "new" songs than ours does. Magic has been more conservative than most AC's with new adds for a long time.

 

[Scooter Lesley]

Well,...I guess it's time for me to weigh-in, as only I can. All you pencilneck PD's pay close attention. First, I'd like to comend Carolinaradio, as his last few posts have been completely correct, and I could not agree with him more. However, I'll spin my take,...like it or not. Flip, Flop, Frizzle, Flounder, and Fail...MY 102, MY GOD...MY GOODNESS! Well, "Goodness" had nothing to do with it. They made one smart move, and just never followed-up. Again, as I repeat myself,...Who in the Flyin' Fudgecake is
Zac Morgan? They could have hired someone with marquee value to lead Morning Drive; ex: John Crenshaw,...but no, move some gummer in from outta town, and now, behold...I'm right again! MAGIC is holding, but let's not forget how the scale tilts.
If MY is in the toliet, MAGIC benefits. ROQ is up. Yes, but only because every other station is failing, not via their own efforts.
They sound the same as they did 5-6-7-(Marv, stop me!)-8-9 years ago! Currently, they are running their Z-A music tank dump, to create the illusion that they play this massive library all the time; only later to return to the same tired 409 songs.
B-93,...please hire someone to fix that mess. Hawk, Tom & Heidi deserve a better swing. Chuck FM is still my fave, and...
The Planet...what do you want on your Tombstone?...and I don't mean frozen pizza.

 

[awp69]

CHR is that they are more friendly to pop/rock/Hot AC tracks than most mainstream CHR's, and are faster in adding them. 
In addition to CHR I could maybe see an Urban format on 102.5.  There just aren't any other holes I can see that they'd try to fill.

A typical Adult Hits station like Chuck FM targets the 30-50 crowd.  The absence of newer music on there and older lean might push that age up, though.  Also, most AC stations play more "new" songs than ours does.  Magic has been more conservative than most AC's with new adds for a long time.

Could be wrong but I think Urban would be a big mistake. WJMZ has a pretty insurmountable lead and even Hot 98.1, which is about as urban of a CHR as you can get, did slightly better than B93.7 in the Winter book.

I do think a more adult-leaning CHR with a heavier emphasis on pop/rock adds could do well. B93.7 is okay, but think they could easily be challenged in the CHR market here. I listen to Charlotte's Channel 96.1 and even Kiss 95.1 when I can get them in over B93.7 and imagine others do as well. So that's got to be saying something.

Maybe I'm not typical, but on the top side of the 30-50 group at age 43, Chuck is too old leaning even to me. I do listen occassionally because they play some decent 80s, 90s and even a few 2000s (nothing new, of course). Still too much 60s and 70s for me. Have to remember I was pre-teen even in the 70s so it's more of my high school years in the 80s that start to have appeal for me. Charlie-FM was much more in line with more of an emphasis on 80s, 90s and 2000s.

It will be interesting to see what happens to WMYI. Unless they go to a new rock format, which I feel really is sorely lacking in this area,I still like what they're doing now. Just doesn't resonate with the rest of the market's population, I guess. Still think their early mistakes - keeping Delilah on too long, having a messy mix with too much 70s still in the playlist may have shot any chances they had regardless of Hot AC's track record in the South.

 

[carolinaradio]

I guess my reasoning for another Urban potentially is because Jamz hovers around a 10 share a lot of the time. It just seems like one of the companies would want to cut in to that. Jamz is more of an "Urban AC." GSP doesn't have a mainstream Urban station that plays primarily new stuff - Hot 98.1 kind of wedges between mainstream Urban and the rhythmic side of CHR (they're considered Rhythmic CHR, but heavily favor hip hop) to help protect Jamz. If a mainstream Urban came in to the market, I think it could knock Jamz out of #1 and seriously threaten Hot's existence as Rhy/CHR. It seems like somebody else would want a piece of that pie (would put CC's country darlings at #1 and #2, likely, also)

I wouldn't mind an adult-leaning CHR at all, myself, or even mainstream...I'd love some good CHR competition. CHR or Urban seem most likely to me if CC throws in the towel on MY at some point. I guess rock couldn't be counted out totally, since neither of the rock stations are doing badly lately. I always wanted a Hot AC, it's a shame that it's kind of sinking, but not surprising. BTW, here's a link to the latest "trends": http://www.radio-info.com/markets/greenville-spartanburg

 

[Scooter Lesley]

Readers, take the time to read this slow, and hear me out.
Since MY 102 is such a crisis on it's own, I'll sidestep them. Even though both are clearly failing, I'll shelf both Rock 101, and The Planet.
Also, I will not waste my time on Arb's weighted mess: Jamz & Hot.
Book after book, both CC owned Countrys net like a 9-or-10, and the market's only CHR, and (standard) AC settle for the crums of a 4-to maybe a 5. Each time it's the same, and know one seems to wanna change it. "CRUMS!" Why? Why is it acceptable? Why is the person responsible not fired? To me, both the Countrys can be beat. No, it is not an easy task, but it can be done! Both stations are owned by Entercom, and you can't make me believe that they don't want higher ratings, and better billing. I won't list my Programming changes here, I'll just ask, "WHY SETTLE (everytime!) FOR WHAT'S LEFT?".

 

[wnc40]

B to me seems stale. I live in North Carolina near Boone and travel frequently to the Triad and Triangle. Right now, the Clear Channel CHR's sound awesome. There was a period there where they seemed to be behind the curve but now, they sound very good, much better than the B, in my opinion. Heck, I even think a couple of Cumulus stations like 95SX and Q98 (Fayetteville) sounds better than the B. Of course, I miss WANS, 99.9 Kiss Fm, and Power 93 but I digress. I miss Brian James and his voiceovers too. To me, B hasn't found its imaging footing since.

In the Triad, Entercom flipped Oldies 93 to country 93.1 the Wolf hiring Chuck from WKSF to do mornings and have successfully taken on longtime leader WTQR so Entercom does know how to do country.

 

[carolinaradio]

B to me seems stale. I live in North Carolina near Boone and travel frequently to the Triad and Triangle. Right now, the Clear Channel CHR's sound awesome. There was a period there where they seemed to be behind the curve but now, they sound very good, much better than the B, in my opinion. Heck, I even think a couple of Cumulus stations like 95SX and Q98 (Fayetteville) sounds better than the B. Of course, I miss WANS, 99.9 Kiss Fm, and Power 93 but I digress. I miss Brian James and his voiceovers too. To me, B hasn't found its imaging footing since.

In the Triad, Entercom flipped Oldies 93 to country 93.1 the Wolf hiring Chuck from WKSF to do mornings and have successfully taken on longtime leader WTQR so Entercom does know how to do country.

I wholeheartedly agree about B. I think a lot of the staleness stems from the morning show. It's been the exact same thing for years. At this point, I think Hawk and Tom are best suited for a Hot AC or AC station. It's unbearable, to me. Same old "Torture Tuesday"-style jokes and bits. Slow with new music. Clear Channel is the biggest and has the best resources to make a good CHR. Star, Channel, Now, and G are all good CHR's they have in NC.

Scooter, AC used to do much, much better than it does now. 2 years ago the mainstream AC's could easily get a 10-12 share combined. Despite listeners fleeing the Titanic (MY), they don't seem interested in Magic, either. Maybe it's because the country stations are the only ones that are programmed decently! This has been a subpar Entercom market for years. I'm wondering if Chuck FM is pulling a lot of listeners away from Magic?