• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Insight Into Merlin's Planning

B

Barry

The link attached below is to a detailed article concerning plans for Merlin's upcoming news/talk station in Chicago. It seems to have solid information.
While 101.9 in New York obviously may end up different than 101.1 in the windy city, I think it is a worthwhile read as an insight into the kind of thinking Merlin is putting into a new type of station.
WKQX in Chicago is now also stunting with music. The article points out that this music may attract the interest of women that may eventually stay for the real format. That may also be the thinking for New York.
The article also mentions that the Chicago station may launch in stages, rather than all at once. Perhaps that is true in New York too. I would not be surprised if the traffic reports now being aired on 101.9 continue with the full fledged format.

An Insight into Merlin's Upcoming News/Talk Format in Chicago (and Perhaps New York to some extent?) : http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/1785-sneak-peek-at-the-new-station-coming-to-1011-fm
 
Barry said:
The link attached below is to a detailed article concerning plans for Merlin's upcoming news/talk station in Chicago. It seems to have solid information.
While 101.9 in New York obviously may end up different than 101.1 in the windy city, I think it is a worthwhile read as an insight into the kind of thinking Merlin is putting into a new type of station.
WKQX in Chicago is now also stunting with music. The article points out that this music may attract the interest of women that may eventually stay for the real format. That may also be the thinking for New York.
The article also mentions that the Chicago station may launch in stages, rather than all at once. Perhaps that is true in New York too. I would not be surprised if the traffic reports now being aired on 101.9 continue with the full fledged format.

An Insight into Merlin's Upcoming News/Talk Format in Chicago (and Perhaps New York to some extent?) : http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/1785-sneak-peek-at-the-new-station-coming-to-1011-fm
Click to expand...

My B.S. antenna is still twitching. Someone like Randy doesn't telegraph all of his programming motives this early into the game. Although supposedly this rumor is leaving CBS/WBBM personnel a bit embarrassed, who feared the former WKQX would go all-news against the heritage all-newser WBBM-AM.

"Female lean" makes no modicum of sense whatsoever. Talk with a lean to younger demos of both sexes, yes. But not the talk radio version of "Blink." They aren't that stupid. Are they?
 
"Female lean" makes no modicum of sense whatsoever.
Click to expand...

The female lean makes even more sense than the male lean of sports talk stations.

There are more ad dollars out there chasing that 25-54 female demo. The soccer moms make more of the purchase decisions.

The folks at Merlin aren't going to be chasing male listeners away, but they will be trying to attract as many female listeners as possible. That is the target audience the consumer goods and services advertisers want to reach.
 
Okay, so for the average, 30-something white guy in the NY area (me), there isn't a hell of a lot left to listen to!!

WRXP was far from perfect, but it was better than nothing. I'm left with CBS-FM (which I grew up with and love the station), Q-104 (wash, rinse, repeat, repeat, repeat), WFUV (which can be sleepy as the day is long and forget the Celtic crap on the weekend) and when I'm near the signal 107.1 the Peak. I could go to WDHA, but the whole "Titties and Beer" (homage to Mr. Zappa) presentation leaves a lot to be desired for anyone with an IQ over 80. That's about all my musical choices in NYC now. Everything else is targeted to a younger demo, females or music that I don't like (hip-hop) or can't understand (Spanish). I have found myself on 98.7 sometimes when they're playing a cool classic soul cut from the Dramatics or the O'Jays.

Fine, we have 660, 1050 and the all news plus the news/talkers but that ain't music! Radio, my profession, is driving me away from radio and to the iPod and the internet at least in NYC. When I'm in Boston, Philly or any markets in between, there's usually a few stations to listen to. I don't want to hear anyone else complain about their markets, NYC has to be the worst radio dial in the country right now. And coming along is ANOTHER station targeted to women!!

Walt, Randy and the gang are either evil geniuses at the moment with WRXP or this is going to be a bigger flop than Blink was. I'm leaning on the flop outcome, but only time will tell. I don't understand why a well programmed, LOCAL, mass appeal news talker with some varying vewpoints, like lots of Curtis and Kuby style shows with opposing hosts couldn't work. Why the tampon talk?
 
Okay maybe it took it a little too far with "tampon talk", but I'm no longer gruntled with NYC radio...
 
The music on 101.9 is rock-based AC. They want to keep some of the WRXP listeners, rather than chase them all off.
 
Nick said:
The music on 101.9 is rock-based AC. They want to keep some of the WRXP listeners, rather than chase them all off.
Click to expand...

And what they're playing on WKQX in Chicago is for the most part what would be in the gold library of the old format, even if some of it hasn't been played since the "On Shuffle" years or isn't the Slayer/Pantera/Metallica that the jocks were playing last week when they stopped following the playlists.
 
WNTIRadio said:
Okay maybe it took it a little too far with "tampon talk", but I'm no longer gruntled with NYC radio...
Click to expand...

Actually it's not a bad definition. It doesn't take a MENSA member to figure out that a general-interest FM talker aimed towards a young audience of both sexes - with a strong local news department - will not only work, but be a resounding success.

"Tampon Talk 101.9" is nothing but a phony-baloney red herring.
 
Two observations about 101.1 in Chicago

1. If they are targeting the F 25-54, demo, I don't know if hiring a few Chicago radio retreads from the 70s will help.

2. It looks like a hefty payroll to take on. If the numbers don't grow quickly, we could see layoffs and/or a format change.
 
ouuc said:
Two observations about 101.1 in Chicago

1. If they are targeting the F 25-54, demo, I don't know if hiring a few Chicago radio retreads from the 70s will help.

2. It looks like a hefty payroll to take on. If the numbers don't grow quickly, we could see layoffs and/or a format change.
Click to expand...


They ARE targeting that demo. And the hefty payroll will catch up to them.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom