Houston, we have a problem!

[JoeFM1]

Somehow, it doesn't surprise me how San Antonio's Greatest Hits KONO 101 is Number ONE in the seventh largest city in America. See link http://www.bizjournals.com/sananton...a-loses-san-antonio-radio-ratings-battle.html

PROBLEM: Houston, the fourth largest, doesn't even have a "greatest hits" station.

 

[Mediafrog+]

First of all, the article uses meaningless 6+ numbers. Second, city size is irrelevant while market size is what counts.

I would like to see some demographic breakouts of SA's station ratings as well.

KONO is also a legacy brand in SA that has pulled along listeners for years. But those listeners are probably close to aging out of advertiser friendly demos.

And the big question: What Houston station could do better financially by dumping its current format and going with Classic Hits? And is it a format that could survive for the next 5, 10, 15+ years?

 

[JoeFM1]

And is it a format that could survive for the next 5, 10, 15+ years?

In another 10 years, the only audience radio is going to be able to attract is us old farts who are still willing to embrace old technology. The blinding light of the future is already here. Why are the ratings for KRBE -- the station targeting today's youth -- sinking to all time lows? How many teenagers actually listen to the radio these days? The world is moving on, and the next generation will get their music and entertainment from phones and tablets. The only audience that will regularly look to radio -- with its inherent fading and static -- will be us geezers who're comfortable with what we know...

And the big question: What Houston station could do better financially by dumping its current format and going with Classic Hits?

Personally, I think its excessively redundant to have the same programming on 106.9 and 107.5. While they serve different fringe areas, both cover H-Town's population center -- e.g., the people Houston advertisers really WANT to reach -- quite well. Oldies should return to one of the two. Either frequency would be just fine...

 

[mrtejano]

Just because it works in San Antonio it doesn't mean it will work here. San Antonio has a Tejano station (or more than one) but format doesn't fit here in Houston. L.A has a bilingual hip hop station that has many listeners, and that didn't work out very good for MEGA 101 Latino and Proud.

 

[davideduardo]

Just because it works in San Antonio it doesn't mean it will work here. San Antonio has a Tejano station (or more than one) but format doesn't fit here in Houston. L.A has a bilingual hip hop station that has many listeners, and that didn't work out very good for MEGA 101 Latino and Proud.

KLOL actually got better numbers as a reggaetón station than as a pop contemporary station, but it was hard to sell. The current format has a much better power ratio.

 

[TheBigA]

In another 10 years, the only audience radio is going to be able to attract is us old farts who are still willing to embrace old technology.

Not really true. You'd be surprised at the numbers of people under 25 who listen to traditional FM radio. There's a reason why radio stations are aiming at them and not the old farts. I'd suspect KRBE's problems are more in the music they play than the potential audience.

 

[davideduardo]

In another 10 years, the only audience radio is going to be able to attract is us old farts who are still willing to embrace old technology.

AM transmitters are old technology. FM transmitters are pretty old, too. Which is why gradually listening to radio is moving to streaming, particularly on mobile devices. You are confusing the delivery system with the content. However, listeners don't have that confusion. They know that Pandora is radio, iHeart Radio is radio just as they know that The Box is radio.

The blinding light of the future is already here. Why are the ratings for KRBE -- the station targeting today's youth -- sinking to all time lows?

KRBE is just a bad CHR. It does not know whether it wants to be Hot AC or CHR and consequently is neither. It is a rare exception in the US where stations like Z-100 in New York or Kiss-FM in LA generally are at or near the top in their markets. And there are plenty of other stations, such as The Box, KTBZ, KQBT, KSBJ, etc., etc. and others that appeal to teens and young adults.

All this is pretty good, considering that CHR stations don't target teens... they aim at 18-34 and 25-44 women. There is no revenue in programming for teens.

How many teenagers actually listen to the radio these days?

The market average this year is about 92%. 20 years ago, it was about 95%.

The world is moving on, and the next generation will get their music and entertainment from phones and tablets.

And what will they get on phones and tablets? Radio stations. Again, you confuse the delivery method with the content.

The only audience that will regularly look to radio -- with its inherent fading and static -- will be us geezers who're comfortable with what we know...

Pandora has around 80 million regular users. Most are in the younger demos. And radio delivered on AM and FM reaches over 90% of all people in the US each week.

Your message fails to recognize that the thing that is changing is the distribution method. People use radio as they always have.

Personally, I think its excessively redundant to have the same programming on 106.9 and 107.5. While they serve different fringe areas, both cover H-Town's population center -- e.g., the people Houston advertisers really WANT to reach -- quite well. Oldies should return to one of the two. Either frequency would be just fine...

Essentially one covers the northern half of the market and the other the SW segment. The 65 dbu (where 95% of in home and at work listening occurs) only overlap in parts of Harris County. The market for advertisers is 11 counties.

Somehow, it doesn't surprise me how San Antonio's Greatest Hits KONO 101 is Number ONE in the seventh largest city in America.

PROBLEM: Houston, the fourth largest, doesn't even have a "greatest hits" station.

Houston is the 6th largest market. San Antonio is the 27th. Radio is defined by market areas, not individual cities.

And the 106.9 / 107.5 combo is Classic Hits. There is no market for a 60's based oldies station, as there is no revenue available. That's why the genre has essentially disappeared from full signal FMs in all the rated US markets.

And, in the last weekly, in 25-54 KONO is 6th. Number 1 is The Beat, followed y KIIS, KCYY, KXXM and KQXT... They are definitely a good performer, but have had to shed a lot of the 60's stuff to regain a Top 10 position in the sales demos.

 

[TheBigA]

There is no market for a 60's based oldies station, as there is no revenue available. That's why the genre has essentially disappeared from full signal FMs in all the rated US markets.

Unless, of course, the boomers want to pay a subscription fee for their oldies instead of depending on advertisers to pay for it. However, in the markets where that's offered, the boomers complain about being asked to pay for something they once got for free. And those same boomers complain about commercial load, the quality of the commercials, and the repetition of the messages. This is another reason why radio stations aren't bending over backwards to do Oldies.

 

[Robert Mezzetti]

We Need More Oldies On The Radio The the same programming On 106.9/107.5 Needs To Break Apart Soon I Would Put Oldies On 106.9 And Leave The Eagle On 107.5!!

 

[TheBigA]

Yo dude, already addressed earlier in the thread. Not gonna happen.

 

[johndavis]

Personally, I think its excessively redundant to have the same programming on 106.9 and 107.5. While they serve different fringe areas, both cover H-Town's population center -- e.g., the people Houston advertisers really WANT to reach -- quite well. Oldies should return to one of the two. Either frequency would be just fine...

Except that each station doesn't cover the center of Houston very well on its own. The maps tell the story. So do the hot zips over the years. It may sound fine in the car, but you can't get one of the 2 in the house depending upon where you are. If you want people to start their day with their favorite morning show, you need their clock radio to go off to the show and not wait for them to start driving to work. Once the simulcast fixed that problem, the ratings followed.

Houston is big. You can't be number one if you can't be heard. So you make it so everyone can hear you without effort on any device. Good enough isn't good enough.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Except that each station doesn't cover the center of Houston very well on its own. The maps tell the story. So do the hot zips over the years. It may sound fine in the car, but you can't get one of the 2 in the house depending upon where you are. If you want people to start their day with their favorite morning show, you need their clock radio to go off to the show and not wait for them to start driving to work. Once the simulcast fixed that problem, the ratings followed.

Houston is big. You can't be number one if you can't be heard. So you make it so everyone can hear you without effort on any device. Good enough isn't good enough.

All they have to do is shut down the HD. During the outages last year, they were peeling paint - all those dropouts and dead spots were GONE, very strong signals! No multiplex blend.

Maybe HD - or - maybe it is the wrong brand of bay. Whatever they did during the HD outage last year, it worked. Their coverage was amazing!

Based on what I heard - and observed in the past - both would be really viable over the whole metro area if they did what they did last year. IF the choice is antenna bay, they should immediately switch to the ones that gave the increased signal. If the problem is HD, they have a choice of shutting down HD and having two blowtorch signals, or keeping HD and have coverage that sucks.

I was in a really good location last year to hear the difference. Far West Houston. 106.9 is fringe, so is 107.5. So any difference is really apparent. I'm not the only one who noticed the difference.

Of course if they do dump HD, I lost two formats I like, so I have nothing to gain unless one signal went oldies. But then I would miss "The Point".