Jack Attack

[Element9]

Town Square appears to be serious about promoting Jack during this Spring book. Jack billboards seem to be in all the high traffic areas. They're very visible and, at least the first time you see them, funny; using song titles and artists to form sentences and slogans that connect the music and format.

 

[Yeziknoradio]

Is Jack doing any better in Buffalo than Fickle is in Rochester?
Am I comparing apples to oranges? It's been a while since I've listened to Fickle online.

 

[Bob1370]

We're still waiting for Winter '12 numbers (the Rochester trends are embargoed and we can't legally report any numbers but our own) but the fall '11 book for Fickle showed it down at a 1.0, tied with WHTK-AM and just above WBEN-AM, which seeps into the Rochester market from Buffalo.

Jack does a little better in Buffalo with a 3.5, also for Fall '11 and also the most recent numbers that aren't embargoed, but it is now down over a full share point from the spring and summer 2011 books and it's fallen from the middle of the pack down to 11th place, with the lowest 12+ ratings of any full market FM except for all-religious WDCX (which finished with a 0.6 at rock bottom for full coverage signals).

The takeaway is that this kind of random-selection classic hits station, whatever its tagline, has seen better days in both markets, and it may be running out of steam in Western NY the same way it's done in every major market region except Los Angeles--though perhaps not with as spectacular a flameout as we saw when Jack died five years ago in New York City.

 

[Yeziknoradio]

The takeaway is that this kind of random-selection classic hits station, whatever its tagline, has seen better days in both markets, and it may be running out of steam in Western NY the same way it's done in every major market region except Los Angeles--though perhaps not with as spectacular a flameout as we saw when Jack died five years ago in New York City.

Toronto's Jack bombed in Toronto, but that could be because it was right next door to Jack, or (as I prefer to see it) it may have bombed because they don't take requests.

Boom 97.3 came to be, similar format, requests and all, and their numbers were (and are) a lot better than Jack Toronto's numbers ever were.

 

[Bob1370]

The funny thing is, WCBS-FM's music isn't radically different from Jack's--but the presentation is miles apart, instead of snarky canned liners at random intervals they have likeable live personalities presenting everything and tying it together--and instead of ranking 22nd and last among full market FMs in NYC with an AQH share in the 1s, they're consistently #2 and occasionally rising to #1 6+ and 25-54 with shares consistently north of a 6.

Would Jack with familiar and friendly live personalities playing the same music, and throwing in live weather and traffic, do similarly well in Buffalo? Probably--a 6 share wouldn't be out of reach within 2 or 3 books, and it'd be worth it. The difference, of course, is that CBS had the dollars to try what turned out to be an extremely successful experiment in reviving WCBS-FM--who knows how deep Townsquare's pockets are, or whether or not they'd be better off selling WBUF to someone who's got the bucks to get the most out of that big signal?

 

[TheBigA]

The funny thing is, WCBS-FM's music isn't radically different from Jack's

Actually, at the time Jack was done in NYC, the music in fact WAS radically different from what the station had done before. That was the main reason for the format change. At the time, the oldies format (and that's what it was) went deep into the 60s, and therefore the audience was over 55. They replaced The Beatles and Motown with Yes and Journey. Since returning to the classic presentation, the station has slowly removed 60s and 70s music from the playlist, and is somewhat similar to Jack's time period. They've also phased in music from the 90s, which they would never have done at the previous WCBS. But Jack was drawn from AOR, and WCBS is drawing from the CHR stations of the period. Thus, WCBS now is more likely to play a radio edit of a hit from the 80s, while Jack would play the longer, album version. It also explains why Jack alienated the WCBS fans, who didn't listen to AOR, but rather grew up in the tradition of WABC, 99X, and Z100, all of which have live DJs. Most critics of Jack in NYC have said that the format would have been better suited for the 102.7 frequency, once home to WNEW-FM, where some of Jack's music had been played. What hurt Jack in NYC was the fact that it replaced a popular, highly rated station with something that was radically different. Try replacing WYRK with a hard rock station, and see how people in Buffalo react.

 

[heydaybegone]

Try replacing WYRK with a hard rock station, and see how people in Buffalo react.

Oh my!!! That would be funny to watch! It ain't gonna happen...but the Big A said it...so wth!!! ;D

 

[SirRoxalot]

CBS-FM could have saved itself a ton of grief if they'd just freshened the music instead of blowing up the radio station and switching to Jack. Without the personalities, they'd just be another station in NYC. Restoring at least some of the personality heritage of the station is the biggest factor in returning them to the upper echelon of the market. Otherwise, tweaking Jack's music would have done the job - and that certainly didn't work.

Jack in Buffalo will never reach the upper echelon until they take the next step and add some live dayparts. Unless, of course, Cumulus goes off the deep and and screws up their FMs.

 

[OneDaySale]

Townsquare...or more importantly Jeff Silver has no intrest in putting money into JACK. The station seems to be seasonal and will never be able to progress into the next decade of hits ...the 90s...because there is no clear musical mission. In fact there is no mission at all except to be defensive player for wjye.

Too bad managment doesn't know they are being played that way...

 

[Element9]

Townsquare...or more importantly Jeff Silver has no intrest in putting money into JACK. The station seems to be seasonal and will never be able to progress into the next decade of hits ...the 90s...because there is no clear musical mission. In fact there is no mission at all except to be defensive player for wjye.

How's that working out? WJYE, at least from the 12+ perspective, doesn't look anywhere near as strong as it was a year ago. A new PD is in the chair and on the air. Word is, he's from Rochester. Let's see if he can get acquainted with Buffalo, the AC tug of war, and turn WJYE into something that has a sense of purpose, vitality and direction.