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Is 93.9 typical for an AAA station? What does everyone think of it?

N

new_friends_gr

I was reading some comments about WNIC in another thread, and someone mentioned 93.9 The River. The last time I was in the Detroit area (a couple weekends ago) I listened to bits and pieces of that station and it didn't sound bad at all. I guess it's kind of a cross betwen WDVD, WMGC, WOMC, and WCSX.

The Adult Album Alternative format seems to be pretty rare in general from what I've seen. For kicks I decided to check out their website and looked at the songs they played over the last few hours this morning. I have to say it looks very interesting! It seems to play an interesting mix of songs from the '80s through today which could fall in the Mainstream AC, Hot AC, Classic Hits, and Classic Rock formats.

How is this station doing in the ratings? Is there anyone here who listens to this station on a regular basis? If so, what are your thoughts?
 
I adore their playlist, but unfortunately the ratings are atrocious.
 
Well, let's remember 93.9 CIDR is a Canadian station, subject to Canadian content rules. So they really can't run a format that's already covered by a Detroit station, because several times each hour they must play a Canadian artist or a song written by a Canadian, to comply with their license. When the station was Oldies CKLW-FM, they'd be playing an Anne Murray or Gordon Lightfoot song while WOMC was playing the Stones or the Beach Boys.

CIMX gets away with it because there are no other Alternative Rock stations in the market. If their listeners hear a few Canadians in the mix, no big deal.

Let's also remember most Adult Alternative stations don't do that great in the general ratings. You don't see WXRT Chicago or KFOG San Francisco making the top 10. The only highly rated Adult Aternative station I know of is KBCO Denver, in maybe the best market for Rock stations in the U.S. Most Adult Alternative stations sell the quality of their small but loyal audience to like-minded advertisers. Their listeners are usually in the target age (30 to 50) and are probably college-educated and good earners. So that's how Adult Alternative stations make money, despite so-so numbers.


Gregg
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Gregg said:
CIMX gets away with it because there are no other Alternative Rock stations in the market. If their listeners hear a few Canadians in the mix, no big deal.
Click to expand...
CIMX gets away with it because the Canadian stuff they're playing fits well with their playlist. In fact, most of the Canadian content they play ends up getting play at other Alt/Active rockers soon after 89x plays it.
CIDR ends up sounding bad because Theory of A Dead Man and Nickelback don't mix well with Florence + The Machine and Talking Heads. Don't forget that unlike other AAA stations, CIDR has only a few tracks in their playlist that you can't hear on DVD, Fresh, 89x, or Doug. WAY too hits based for a AAA format, when AAA listeners generally want to hear stuff that you can't hear everywhere else on the dial.
 
107-1 in Ann Arbor can sound pretty poppy at times too, almost like a Modern AC, but at least they don't play any Cancon corporate rock, and they play new music before 93-9 does. When Ann Arbor was a rated market, they sort of yo-yo'd in the overall 12+ numbers, but that's not uncommon for markets surveyed only twice a year, and the same thing happened when they were Kool 107; I understand the station is very popular in its target demos, and I seem to hear it played in a lot of Ann Arbor businesses - it's eclectic enough for listeners not wanting to sit through Lady Gaga or Katy Perry to hear some Coldplay or Jason Mraz, but not so eclectic that it doesn't work for workplace listening. Plus, 107-1's weekend specialty shows give it an extra eclecticism that 93-9 doesn't have.

At least 93-9 isn't overloading with Led Zeppelin, Elton John and Fleetwood Mac anymore, like they were doing some time ago. Still, I don't tune in to the River wanting to hear "Don't Dream It's Over" or "Down Under" or those other '80s pop songs that are already played on five other stations in the market.

I still think the original incarnation if 93-9 The River circa 1994-1997 was the best, during the era when Ann Delisi was there.
 
If it was me, I'd flip that thing in a heartbeat and play an old school format.
 
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