Is it the end for Love 105? Or at least the Soft AC / Oldies Love 105?

[fmradioguy]

WGVX/WLUP/WWWM had been doing fairly decent in the ratings for the three stations' limited signal, However within the last few months the ratings have dropped tremendously. In June, Love held a 2.2 share, but five months later, in November, the station plummeted to a 1.1. While this still is good for the stations' signal, I am expecting a format shift after the holidays are over. However, I may be posting this too soon as the stations recently went all Christmas, and last years run equaled up to a 2.3 share, which was impressive IMO. But even with new listeners who discovered Love over the Christmas run, will it be enough to keep the current format afloat? My guess is Love will shift to Classic Hits leaning Adult Contemporary, in an attempt to keep old listeners, but to attract new ones as well. Love is a very unique station, and I think something like that would work, as the Twin Cities has had an AC void for seven years now. Plus, the Bob & Sheri show is meant more for an AC station, midday host Amy Karlson, and Evening host John Tesh seem to fit more of an AC appeal as well. Below I will give a music sample of what Classic Hits leaning AC would be to me:

- John Waite "Missing You"
- Pharrell Williams "Happy"
- Pet Shop Boys "West End Girls"
- Human League "Don't You Want Me"
- Justin Timberlake "Mirrors"
- Aerosmith "Don't Want To Miss A Thing"
- Culture Club "Time"
- Donna Lewis "I Love You Always Forever"
- Katy Perry "E.T."
- Backstreet Boys "I Want It That Way"
- Cars "Drive"
- Ellie Goulding "Burn"
- Ed Sheeran "Perfect"
- Haddaway "What Is Love"
- Styx "Babe"
- Aretha Franklin "Freeway Of Love"
- Billy Joel "Uptown Girl"
- The Weekend "Blinding Lights"
- Smash Mouth "All Star"
- Zayn / Taylor Swift "I Don't Want To Live Forever"
- Bryan Adams "Somebody"
- Marvin Gaye "Sexual Healing"
- Dua Lipa "New Rules"
- Cher "Believe"

 

[theman8410]

I was reading in Wikipedia on how these stations were once part of ABC's "wall of rock", even though I did not experience it at the time. Does anyone think Cumulus has enough interest in Alternative to return to the past?

 

[fmradioguy]

I've heard Cumulus is now trying to keep the 105s as separated as possible from KQRS, and 93X. So much so that Soft Rock that can also be considered Classic Rock is not played on the 105s because its something "KQRS plays."

 

[MarkW]

The 105's should flip to Mainstream AC.

Entercom should also consider returning 102.9 to its roots.

 

[Lester_the_NightFly]

I'm guessing the ratings dropped due to the loss of people in the drive times, due to CV-19.

Not sure if they'll change format, unless they try to go after KQQL, to drop their rating by a point.

 

[mnradiofan]

Entercom should also consider returning 102.9 to its roots.

I don't see this happening. Entercom is moving more to regional/national formats and brands. IF Entercom were to flip 102.9 to AC, look for a "breeze" format with mostly VT or regional talent. They did this with Alternative and Country, and from what I can tell, ratings have only improved in most of the markets that they did this in. I fully expect them to do this in more formats in 2021.

I'm guessing the ratings dropped due to the loss of people in the drive times, due to CV-19.

Not sure if they'll change format, unless they try to go after KQQL, to drop their rating by a point.

Ratings seemed up over the summer, so I am not sure it's COVID related. I could see them trying mainstream soft AC, as that did pretty well in the few months they did that before being forced to flip to sports by corporate.

If they try to take on KQQL, it would tell me that senior management still doesn't understand that these signals are limited, and will never make a significant dent against a full power format. I'm not saying the stations need to offer a niche format to succeed, but they need to offer something DIFFERENT than what you can get on the "big" signals. Of course, the problem with that is, as soon as they succeed iHeart will likely flip a bigger signal to the format to compete, so the Trio is likely stuck in sub-2.0 land. Why ABC didn't bother making the investment to really upgrade these signals back in the 90's is something that will always puzzle me. Yeah, it'd have been expensive to do, but would have paid itself off by now.

 

[Saladressing]

Now that there is no alternative signal in the market after the demise of both Alt 93.3 and 96.3FM, perhaps Entercom will bring in the format on 102.9.

I'm not a fan at all of the direction that format has taken over the last 10+ years, but would be interesting to see how alternative would do there on a full signal.

The last time that format was run on a 100kw stick, it had amazing ratings on KEGE 93.7 The Edge.

 

[MarkW]

It would probably flop miserably on 102.9. The appeal of what passes for "alt" today is very narrow in most areas of the country. Such an effort would join the lengthy list of Entercom-owned Alt stations that are sub-2 share.

That said - the guy running Entercom is a bozo and is willing to destroy shareholder value to propagate his format of choice. So, it certainly wouldn't surprise me if 102.9 were to head in that direction

KEGE was a great station - but stationality wise sounded nothing like what passes for alternative in the year 2020. Definitely had more of a rock vibe. I remember being stunned when 93X was launched simply because The Edge - at least ratings wise - performed decently. That bold move actually proved to be a wise one.

 

[mnradiofan]

Now that there is no alternative signal in the market after the demise of both Alt 93.3 and 96.3FM, perhaps Entercom will bring in the format on 102.9.

I'm not a fan at all of the direction that format has taken over the last 10+ years, but would be interesting to see how alternative would do there on a full signal.

The last time that format was run on a 100kw stick, it had amazing ratings on KEGE 93.7 The Edge.

Alt did very poorly, even for 96.3, so I don’t see any company wanting to bring it to market. 96.3 pulled in around a 1 share with Alt, but almost a 3 share with both B96 and Now. 95.3 beat 96.3 every month of its existence despite a MUCH weaker signal (had someone with a brain swapped the formats, I’m sure it would be back in the 2’s).

The Edge largely worked because it was heavier than most Alt is today, and there was no other rock station in the market that was playing new music. Had they stuck with the format vs Rock 100.3, it probably would have failed in the long term.

 

[Delete My Account]

A lot of the room for "alt" shares in the market is grabbed by KCMP - "The Current." It's Triple A but performs decently and probably lessens the demand for a pure alt rock station. Even iHeart bailed on that one share translator "alt" they tried against "Go" and the Current.

 

[mnradiofan]

A lot of the room for "alt" shares in the market is grabbed by KCMP - "The Current." It's Triple A but performs decently and probably lessens the demand for a pure alt rock station. Even iHeart bailed on that one share translator "alt" they tried against "Go" and the Current.

93X also plays a lot of the heavier alternative product out there.

It will be interesting to see what EMF does with the two translators they no longer need once 96.3/95.3 are flipped. I could see iHeart getting to program those, and wouldn't surprise me to see another "Alt" station launched on one of them (and perhaps a Breeze on the other?).

 

[Rock 100.7]

WGVX/WLUP/WWWM had been doing fairly decent in the ratings for the three stations' limited signal, However within the last few months the ratings have dropped tremendously. In June, Love held a 2.2 share, but five months later, in November, the station plummeted to a 1.1. While this still is good for the stations' signal, I am expecting a format shift after the holidays are over. However, I may be posting this too soon as the stations recently went all Christmas, and last years run equaled up to a 2.3 share, which was impressive IMO. But even with new listeners who discovered Love over the Christmas run, will it be enough to keep the current format afloat? My guess is Love will shift to Classic Hits leaning Adult Contemporary, in an attempt to keep old listeners, but to attract new ones as well. Love is a very unique station, and I think something like that would work, as the Twin Cities has had an AC void for seven years now. Plus, the Bob & Sheri show is meant more for an AC station, midday host Amy Karlson, and Evening host John Tesh seem to fit more of an AC appeal as well. Below I will give a music sample of what Classic Hits leaning AC would be to me:

- John Waite "Missing You"
- Pharrell Williams "Happy"
- Pet Shop Boys "West End Girls"
- Human League "Don't You Want Me"
- Justin Timberlake "Mirrors"
- Aerosmith "Don't Want To Miss A Thing"
- Culture Club "Time"
- Donna Lewis "I Love You Always Forever"
- Katy Perry "E.T."
- Backstreet Boys "I Want It That Way"
- Cars "Drive"
- Ellie Goulding "Burn"
- Ed Sheeran "Perfect"
- Haddaway "What Is Love"
- Styx "Babe"
- Aretha Franklin "Freeway Of Love"
- Billy Joel "Uptown Girl"
- The Weekend "Blinding Lights"
- Smash Mouth "All Star"
- Zayn / Taylor Swift "I Don't Want To Live Forever"
- Bryan Adams "Somebody"
- Marvin Gaye "Sexual Healing"
- Dua Lipa "New Rules"
- Cher "Believe"

Nice documentation! Thanks for listening!

 

[CassChopper96]

Nice documentation! Thanks for listening!

Like WYXB in indiannapolis?

 

[chrocket87]

93X also plays a lot of the heavier alternative product out there.

It will be interesting to see what EMF does with the two translators they no longer need once 96.3/95.3 are flipped. I could see iHeart getting to program those, and wouldn't surprise me to see another "Alt" station launched on one of them (and perhaps a Breeze on the other?).

I could absolutely see Entercom flipping 102.9 to Alt.
This is the same company that flipped a decently performing Soft AC in Detroit to the Alt format, which had bombed in the market less than two years earlier on a great stick. The best part is they flipped it in the middle of Christmas music, when they were destined to get at least a five share!
So, as comical as it might seem, I would not be surprised if they end up flipping 102.9 almost immediately after 96.3 flips. You gotta wonder how much this National “Alt” brand of 1 and low 2 shares is worth to Mr. Field.....

 

[mnradiofan]

I could absolutely see Entercom flipping 102.9 to Alt.
This is the same company that flipped a decently performing Soft AC in Detroit to the Alt format, which had bombed in the market less than two years earlier on a great stick. The best part is they flipped it in the middle of Christmas music, when they were destined to get at least a five share!
So, as comical as it might seem, I would not be surprised if they end up flipping 102.9 almost immediately after 96.3 flips. You gotta wonder how much this National “Alt” brand of 1 and low 2 shares is worth to Mr. Field.....

Maybe, but The Wolf does OK, and is already a regionalized brand. I could see them using the opportunity to get rid of the last “local” shift (mornings) to go “Alt” but I don’t see it performing well.

If that’s the plan, I don’t see why they would wait for Go to leave. The Pohlads would take any money they can get right now and would likely not have a problem promoting a new “Alt” in the area, ensuring a smooth “transition”. Certainly wouldn’t be the first time it’s been done.

 

[Todd Mitchell]

Maybe, but The Wolf does OK

It's only 1.1 ahead of KLCI, which is a rimshot with a somewhat similar format. If the Wolf had the same signal as KLCI (Bob Country), it would have nowhere NEAR KLCI's share.

 

[mnradiofan]

It's only 1.1 ahead of KLCI, which is a rimshot with a somewhat similar format. If the Wolf had the same signal as KLCI (Bob Country), it would have nowhere NEAR KLCI's share.

This is true, but I was thinking more in terms of “how well could Alt do in comparison”. I don’t see Alt doing more than a 2.1 share, even with a better signal. That would be double what Go pulled in.

 

[Todd Mitchell]

This is true, but I was thinking more in terms of “how well could Alt do in comparison”. I don’t see Alt doing more than a 2.1 share, even with a better signal. That would be double what Go pulled in.

I'd be surprised to see them pull the plug, when it runs so inexpensively now...and would leave K102 the lone full-market Country station. A two-share Country station may be a more attractive agency buy, than a two-share Alt station. (Though I'm sure Remy an the boys would be willing to lend a local hand with an Alt in the building.)

 

[mnradiofan]

I'd be surprised to see them pull the plug, when it runs so inexpensively now...and would leave K102 the lone full-market Country station. A two-share Country station may be a more attractive agency buy, than a two-share Alt station. (Though I'm sure Remy an the boys would be willing to lend a local hand with an Alt in the building.)

Oh, it would certainly be interesting. Not only do they have Remy in the building, but they already have a morning show (that they syndicate) hosted by Cane, who did two stints on "The Edge" and the original "93X" (as Hurricane Wayne). If they really wanted to invest in the format, I'm sure they could even get Weasel out of retirement. But I see that idea failing for a few reasons:

1. 102.9 pulls in a 2.8 rating, Go pulled in around a 1.0-1.1 rating, so I could see Entercom thinking that would be too much of a risk to take.
2. As I understand the format (and I'm NOT a professional, keep in mind) a decent revenue stream comes from concerts, events, etc. so they would have to factor in a loss until the pandemic is "over" later this year
3. As much as I don't want to admit it, the format is already VERY saturated here in the TC. Not by what I'd like to see out of an alt rock station, but we have 93X dominating the harder side of rock, 97.1 holding their own on the lighter side of things, and The Current holding down the "music discovery" side. If any one of those factors weren't true, you MIGHT have a case to squeeze something in and be successful, but I think with all three stations, it leaves the area too crowded for a good performer
4. Lastly, even if they DID flip 102.9 AND it proved to be successful, 93X wouldn't go down without a fight, and fights are expensive. I gather Entercom executives aren't too excited about "expensive" right now

I could be totally wrong here, I am just a "fan" and not in the business, so there is a lot I don't know. Like I said, it just seems unlikely right now. Frankly, I see it more likely that Entercom may actually be looking to exit the market, for the right price, to pay down debt.

 

[theman8410]

I just did some research on Twins radio broadcasts, and I see that 102.9 is carrying the games along with WCCO. Putting an alt format on 102.9 would place Entercom in the same situation as Go Media (unsuccessful programming conflicts) regarding Twins broadcasts, which was one of the reasons the Go stations were on the market in the first place. I believe the Twins games may be the key to whether or not Entercom does leave the market. If the baseball season is delayed again in 2021, having the Twin's broadcast contract may not be an attractive enough reason for Entercom to remain in the market.