if radio 1045 is losing money like everyone thinks...

[davideduardo]

The conclusion should be obvious. Radio, it seems, in this day in age, has its success measured less by ratings and more by how long a format has stayed on and if it's making enough cash to keep the advertisers happy and the lights on.

The principal indicator of the success of a radio station as a business is measured... like any business... by the money it makes. Any other measure of success, like community service or being a good place to work is contingent on the business being profitable.

Making money in larger markets means getting good ratings in age groups that advertisers want with a program format advertisers like and feel comfortable putting their name on. Success only lasts as long as those conditions are met. A steep decline in ratings will be felt in just a few months by way of declining revenue. Increased ratings make higher rates and greater profit possible. "You are only as good as your last book" is still a valid statement today.

Being a "heritage station" or in a heritage format is of no value if the recent ratings are bad.

 

[Miguelito]

The principal indicator of the success of a radio station as a business is measured... like any business... by the money it makes. Any other measure of success, like community service or being a good place to work is contingent on the business being profitable.

Making money in larger markets means getting good ratings in age groups that advertisers want with a program format advertisers like and feel comfortable putting their name on. Success only lasts as long as those conditions are met. A steep decline in ratings will be felt in just a few months by way of declining revenue. Increased ratings make higher rates and greater profit possible. "You are only as good as your last book" is still a valid statement today.

Being a "heritage station" or in a heritage format is of no value if the recent ratings are bad.

Can we get another amen up in here?!

Folks, I love a good heritage station story as much as anyone else. And "heritage" truly did used to mean something. But it doesn't anymore. The business has changed (in ways I'm mostly unhappy about) and today's reality is all about the benjamins. I don't want to see Radio 104.5 go away. I don't actually want to see any stations go away. But I'm not going to be the least bit surprised when it happens--and it will happen.

• The station sounds good. (They don't care.)
• The ratings are good. (They're interested but ultimately, it means little.)
• It's comparatively not very expensive to operate. (They've very interested but it's not as important as a couple other things...)
• It has been and continues to be difficult to get advertisers to buy. (...Things like this.)
• There might be something that will make more sen$e within the cluster. (...And definitely things like this.)

I get it. I remember when radio stations changed formats and I would angrily think things like: "That was the station I listened to most!" "Lots of people listened to that station!" "There's no other station that plays that format!" "They sounded great so what's the problem?" "Who wants to hear this new format anyway?" "The station's been around for like 10 years!" But the reality is that NONE. OF. THAT. MATTERS.

Consider that companies are CONSTANTLY examining their properties in any given market and considering ways to make it more lucrative. As we've discussed, heritage, format, etc don't mean anything. All stations are constantly on the block, so to speak. Are you going to fiddle with Q102? No. Power 99? Nope. WDAS? Of course not. Real 106.1 might be 104.5's shining hope except that iHeart is probably doing a good deal of bundled sales involving Q, Real, Power, and DAS. I'm sure there's some bundling going on with Q102 and 104.5 too but there's just not as much synergy there.

I don't want to see it happen but I believe the reality is that whenever iHeart does decide to make a change, it's 104.5 that's going to be hit the hardest. And it won't be the end of the world either. The audience is savvy and they'll get the music they want one way or the other. Their phones, their iPods, and (lest we forget) their radios: WXPN is right there on the "dial!"

 

[DOB]

There does seem to be the war mentality of goliaths going against each other in the corporate world, a certain body part swinging boasting that makes the company in the lesser position react. Now, Entercom has the two giants of the market that dominate the upper end of the money demo. Iheart just might want to put on an older skewing so called soft ac that nudges right between WBEB and WOGL. I'd say this certainly happens if 102.7 ever makes any progress against WLTW up the Turnpike. IDK if it's 106.1 or 104.5. The case can be made either way really. I think it is 106.1. 104.5 is their only male targeted station in the market and they did Sunny on 104.5 before. Best to start clean.

 

[davideduardo]

There does seem to be the war mentality of goliaths going against each other in the corporate world, a certain body part swinging boasting that makes the company in the lesser position react. Now, Entercom has the two giants of the market that dominate the upper end of the money demo. Iheart just might want to put on an older skewing so called soft ac that nudges right between WBEB and WOGL. I'd say this certainly happens if 102.7 ever makes any progress against WLTW up the Turnpike. IDK if it's 106.1 or 104.5. The case can be made either way really. I think it is 106.1. 104.5 is their only male targeted station in the market and they did Sunny on 104.5 before. Best to start clean.

There is nothing new here that has not existed for many decades... since network radio died in the 50's.

Stations in the larger rated markets want to be in the best position for buys, knowing that certain age groups or ranges will get more buys and stations not in the top positions in those groups will not be on the buys.

With duopolies being fairly new in the US, not everyone understands that there are two objectives in a cluster: first is having sets of stations that cover all or part of most agency buys and even local client needs. Second is preventing a competitor from owning a position by doing something that fragments their audience.

I interned at a 5 station cluster in the early 60's and learned that the purpose of having multiple stations was to have "each one #1 in its format", thus answering nearly every advertiser need as well as covering as many potential listeners as possible.

And, of course, in certain markets, there is enough audience and money for multiple operators to have stations in the same format, such as urban in Houston or country in Dallas.

 

[DOB]

There is nothing new here that has not existed for many decades... since network radio died in the 50's.

Stations in the larger rated markets want to be in the best position for buys, knowing that certain age groups or ranges will get more buys and stations not in the top positions in those groups will not be on the buys.

With duopolies being fairly new in the US, not everyone understands that there are two objectives in a cluster: first is having sets of stations that cover all or part of most agency buys and even local client needs. Second is preventing a competitor from owning a position by doing something that fragments their audience.

I interned at a 5 station cluster in the early 60's and learned that the purpose of having multiple stations was to have "each one #1 in its format", thus answering nearly every advertiser need as well as covering as many potential listeners as possible.

And, of course, in certain markets, there is enough audience and money for multiple operators to have stations in the same format, such as urban in Houston or country in Dallas.

So to sum it up, Iheart will be strongly attracted to Entercom's OGL/BEB scent and will most likely be lifting up their leg.

 

[atthestars]

So to sum it up, Iheart will be strongly attracted to Entercom's OGL/BEB scent and will most likely be lifting up their leg.

We'll see. Especially in attacking WBEB. They've tried it already with Mix 106 and threw in the towel. (Not to mention past attempts to take on 101.1 with Sunny 104.5, plus other companies trying with Mix 95.7, 96.5 The Point, Now 97.5 etc.) 96.5 TDY has shifted away from AC into the "Almost CHR" realm. Would iHeart want to take another attempt at WBEB? I'm doubting it

 

[Miguelito]

a certain body part swinging

Arms?

 

[davideduardo]

So to sum it up, Iheart will be strongly attracted to Entercom's OGL/BEB scent and will most likely be lifting up their leg.

More likely they will look at how they can fragment by positioning a station somewhere in the same areas that those stations reach, hoping to build a cume base and take some shares off of the leaders while establishing a different format.

If you take many major market stations that have good shares and try to compete with them, the result is often just a fragmentation of the existing shares. Often the only result is to have two much lower rated stations, neither of which are "must buys" so the total format revenue declines.

 

[DOB]

Isn't a soft ac that nudges right between WBEB and WOGL "positioning a station somewhere in the same areas that those stations reach, hoping to build a cume base and take some shares off of the leaders while establishing a different format"?

 

[DOB]

I just think of WFEZ in Miami, a station that found a winning formula of being slightly lighter and more gold based than WLYF. Now in Philly I don't think you can get away with all those 80s ballads that work so well in South Florida, but WBEB is playing less and less 80s and 90s music so you can define a station that is slightly lighter than WBEB and older too. WBEB is fairly hot for an adult contemporary station. It works for sure, but that "lighter" option could be very viable for Iheart, in addition to being a nice p2 to WOGL's p1s.

 

[CTListener]

Isn't a soft ac that nudges right between WBEB and WOGL "positioning a station somewhere in the same areas that those stations reach, hoping to build a cume base and take some shares off of the leaders while establishing a different format"?

Would be if soft AC didn't carry so much 55+ baggage and lack of appeal to a generation of AC listeners who have been, basically, hardwired for nothing but uptempo and rhythmic for nearly two decades.

 

[davideduardo]

Isn't a soft ac that nudges right between WBEB and WOGL "positioning a station somewhere in the same areas that those stations reach, hoping to build a cume base and take some shares off of the leaders while establishing a different format"?

Keep in mind that the average listener in PPM markets hears 6 stations each week, increasing to around 8 to 9 in a two week period. Not all stations "take listeners" from other stations... generally they share them. Listening time varies, with people going through cycles of more and less listening to individual stations.

In finding a niche, it's also important to find one that will sell better than the one you have. WRFF is an example of a big audience niche with a smaller sales niche.

 

[davideduardo]

I just think of WFEZ in Miami, a station that found a winning formula of being slightly lighter and more gold based than WLYF. Now in Philly I don't think you can get away with all those 80s ballads that work so well in South Florida, but WBEB is playing less and less 80s and 90s music so you can define a station that is slightly lighter than WBEB and older too. WBEB is fairly hot for an adult contemporary station. It works for sure, but that "lighter" option could be very viable for Iheart, in addition to being a nice p2 to WOGL's p1s.

Miami is a poor example. WFEZ started with a much softer and older approach, and quickly realized that Miami is not Tampa; the market is not "full of retirees" and over half of the population in Hispanic.

They adjusted the music for this reality, and targeted Hispanics in their research because the MSA is less than 25% non-Hispanic white. 58% of the station's audience is Hispanic, and 82% of the Hispanic audience is Spanish dominant.

These facts make the market and the format unique.

 

[DOB]

Nice, a say Po-tay-toe you say po-tot-o lol, but I certainly appreciate the added info you provided. WFEZ has been around for a little bit, I use them as an example because I was recently down there and liked the way they countered WLYF. We all know that if all makrets were all the same then each format would be syndicated from one home base to every market. What is of note is the strategy, the customizing to your unique market and competition goes without saying but is truly where the skill applies. Sunny failed just like WFEZ did at first because they didn't not put on a station that was rightly customized for the market....right idea...wrong execution. I mentioned that there is a great deal of 80s ballads on WFEZ that while perfect for South Florida, I don't think would work for Philadelphia. Thanks for the why it works down there...I'd just add that while the audience may be 82% Spanish dominant, that really is a language preference for a lot of people. and doesn't so easily sync up with music choice as the stigmatization goes.

 

[davideduardo]

I'd just add that while the audience may be 82% Spanish dominant, that really is a language preference for a lot of people. and doesn't so easily sync up with music choice as the stigmatization goes.

Throughout Latin America and Spain, CHR, rock and AC stations often play more than 50% English language music. This is nothing new, although the percentages are near a peak today.

When I first programmed a CHR in 1964 in Ecuador, at least a third of all songs were in English so this is not a new phenomenon. Many immigrants, particularly in Miami where many come from backgrounds of middle and upper income levels in Cuba, Nicaragua and Colombia, grew up on a mix of US and British music, so that's what works in Miami. The caveat is that not every Top 10 song in the US got play in Latin America, so there are many songs that might not be playable as they were not hits and are unfamiliar.

As you say, looking at the local market.

 

[DOB]

Miami is a very fun market for a radio geek on vacation. I love the Miami customized chr on WPOW and the AC and Classic Hits stations playing some songs you just don't hear anywhere else. WOGL was really cool 15 years ago with all the Philly soul songs, it was unique. Now that those songs are out of demo that uniqueness is gone.