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Idea for 99.7

J

Jacko

While 99.7 struggles for ratings in the Providence market as an FM sports station playing Yankees games, I've come up with an idea. To curb the expansion into the '80s by B101 and also giving Coast a much-needed kick in the rear, Citadel should re-launch 99.7 as a Jack-ish station, playing music mostly from the '80s and '90s (I was thinking more like 1978-1997), perhaps with the familiar Z100 branding. I'm going with '78 to '97 because music typically thought of as "'80s" started coming out in 1978 like The Cars and The Police and would cut off at 1997, when the Backstreet/Britney/N*Sync stuff started coming out. The station wouldn't have to have jocks, but the playlist would be mostly top 40 with popular crossover songs from rock, alternative, R&B and hip-hop thrown in. And, the glory of this is, in a few years, the station could easily shift to more of an '83 to '02 focus, dropping the '70s-sounding stuff but giving more airplay to the boy bands/girl singers of the late 90s/early 2000s. What does everyone think?

I guess the next best idea is just to bring WRX back!

Jacko
 
Why not "99.7 Sports N' Rock" ?

Have Gresh, Zo, & Cordischi do their thing, but play a few HJY songs here and there in the morning and afternoon with all rock in the midday?
Stick with Yankees games and still do some of the local stuff with a rock flare, like WBCN on Sundays during the NFL.

I should be a PD Broseph !! ;)
 
They've done nothing to promote O&A in the first place. Fans of the show obviously know they're there. Is that enough? I don't think they're shopping for a format. I just think they want to run with what they have & cut costs, which is why Coach is gone. You know how some restaurant locations seem cursed? New places come & go & no one can make a go of it for any length of time. I think that's the situation with this frequency. You had The Hawk with their 80s, 90s, & 70s. Then Z100 with 80s & more. Then KKB even though they didn't target Providence. None of the formats were bad. None of them did anything. I just think people don't shop around for radio stations as much as we like to think they do. If they can sell the format as it is, they're probably doing the best thing.

When was the last time a music station in Providence changed format abruptly & was successful in the long run? I'm not talking tweaks but actual format changes? B101's change was gradual. I don't know about 106 as I've never listened & don't know what Kicks really sounded like. I'd almost think WMYS's change to WCTK & country was the last one. Lite's & HJY's format changes came before. I don't think the audience interest is there & everyone is programming to keep the listeners they have taking into consideration who the other music stations in the cluster are after.

Ideally, if you go with O&A mornings & program music the rest of the day I'd have to say rock, maybe active, but I don't think that will happen.
 
Don't forget about 101.5 WLKW flipping to B101 in 1989. That was probably the last successful real format change. 99.7 The Edge was successful for a brief time, and for the signal they have, in late 1995 to early 1996. And currently 103.7 WEEI-FM is enjoying some ratings success, albeit two years after their format change. My idea for an 80s-90s station was the result of thinking how to counteract with CC's programming and that Mike FM in Boston is seeing some better numbers in the recent ratings. 99.7 will never be #1 in Providence because of its signal, but can probably make a dent in the numbers of several other Providence stations, if done correctly.

Jacko
 
Jacko said:
Don't forget about 101.5 WLKW flipping to B101 in 1989. That was probably the last successful real format change. 99.7 The Edge was successful for a brief time, and for the signal they have, in late 1995 to early 1996. And currently 103.7 WEEI-FM is enjoying some ratings success, albeit two years after their format change. My idea for an 80s-90s station was the result of thinking how to counteract with CC's programming and that Mike FM in Boston is seeing some better numbers in the recent ratings. 99.7 will never be #1 in Providence because of its signal, but can probably make a dent in the numbers of several other Providence stations, if done correctly.

Jacko
Click to expand...

I wouldn't count The Edge since there wasn't any long-term success & as far as WEEI it was an existing station brought to a new frequency. B101's initial flip to oldies, WCTK to country, HJY to rock, & Lite to light AC were the long-term successes & they changed years ago. Other than HJY they were also responses to fill format holes on FM since oldies, country, & AC were still prevalent on AM at the time. They were all drastic changes.

Now with no AM stations competing musically & radio ownership being what it is, it's not just about format holes in the market but opportunities within the cluster. The only possible viable hole is classic rock, but B101 fills that somewhat in a safe way & HJY still plays quite a bit.

My point is I don't see audiences shopping for new stations unless their current favorites do something to alienate them & that isn't happening in the market. Then there's the matter of diary keeping. We were an Arbitron family a few months ago. I completed it as accurately as I could but they're a pain in the butt & the average diary keeper isn't concerned with giving credit where it's due. Now it's a matter of the stations out there knowing who they share listeners with & trying to get the diary mentions. Frankly I think the battleground consists of multiple stations vs WCTK & in the end WCTK will get the mentions. Lite's & Coast's audiences aren't about to flip back & forth that much as there isn't all that much difference between the two.
 
Speaking of WCTK, isn't it funny how a New Bedford station is number 1 in the Providence ratings?

Jacko
 
Jacko said:
Speaking of WCTK, isn't it funny how a New Bedford station is number 1 in the Providence ratings?

Jacko
Click to expand...

Fancy meeting you here again. As far as WCTK, format exclusivity, reaping the benefits of listeners growing out of other formats, not really coming across as a New Bedford station, inherent loyalty when it comes to country listeners which probably helps them when it comes to diary completion, & not to sound like a WCTK or country music pimp, just doing good radio. I'm actually surprised Cool 102 doesn't do better in the Providence ARBs but other than those strange traffic reports that I swear encompass every road from the Berkshires to Saunderstown, they don't really actively target any area outside of the Cape. My circle of friends loves them.

Seriously if I had access to real numbers I could discuss this intelligently, but I don't so I can't.
 
They tried that 80s format about five years ago on 99.7 FM...when they were simulcasting on 99.7 and 100.3 as "Z100." They ditched the 80s music in favor of The Score sports format.
 
broken headphones said:
How about going to "real " Oldies, you know the stuff the BEE dropped?
Click to expand...

I'd love to hear it, but unfortunately it doesn't work nowadays. Most of those stations have failed in most areas. A few of them barely float along with low-overhead automation or birdfeeds, but ratings for "Real Oldies" formats have been generally inadequate, and the demo is judged as "too old" to sponsors.
 
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