Jax Stuff...

[JAWilson]

Ok what questions are lurking out there with the PPM about to come online here soon? I am sure another station will be flipping before its all said in done....94.1 a possibility of flipping?

Also does anyone know if Seven Bridges is going to fully buy out the 92.5 FM signal that is suppose to be going on one of the sticks on Hogan Road right behind their studios? Be nice to finally see them be WJXL AM/FM. Best sports station around period!

Lex & Terry? Do the Givers get a new home in their stomping grounds or is every radio station finally given up on them?

Also 107.3 finally changed its call sign from WPLA to WJGH on Wednesday. This is a no brainer to understand what the new call sign stands for...smart move in a way to get one that matches up to the format now.

Alright enough spewing of my stuff out there for now. Later!

 

[JAWilson]

I know Rock 104 going Country is the biggest subject at the moment..but we got a market about to go into PPM....and I posed a question or two here on things.

So know one has any takes? Kind of surprised right now.

(By the way the music sounds fresh on Country 103.7 - The Gator, but still destroying a 28 year legend of the North Central Florida region? Just Priceless).

 

[jmtillery]

JAWilson - You are correct that WRUF-FM's recent big switch is the talk of the discussion boards right now, and with good reason. Whenever you "blow-up" a heritage radio station with 28 1/2 years branding (May 3rd, 1982 - October 15th, 2010), 4th ranked overall 12+ persons, number one in its target demo, established format, and $1.3 million annual ad revenues (out of total market revenues of approximatley $16 million divided among multiple market stations between two cities) in the 81st ranked market, it is going to be noticed.

However, to comment on your question regarding what may happen in Jacksonville after the first PPM results are released, that is a difficult one to answer. You had mention 94.1 possibly changing format. Quite honestly I'm not aware of any format that will make much difference on that signal due to market coverage issues. Renda basically is concentrating on making WEJZ and WGNE the top Renda stations is Jacksonville, so it's difficult to say where WSOS falls on the Renda priority list.

I have previously predicted that at least one Jacksonville FM will eventually flip to News-Talk although I did not predict a time-frame. I also believe PPM will change the Jacksonville radio landscape, but exactly how at the moment, I can't really speculate. We'll all have to wait and see what the PPM results show us first. Then we will be in a better position to speculate what changes, if any, will occur and where. I hope this helps.

 

[JAWilson]

JAWilson - You are correct that WRUF-FM's recent big switch is the talk of the discussion boards right now, and with good reason. Whenever you "blow-up" a heritage radio station with 28 1/2 years branding (May 3rd, 1982 - October 15th, 2010), 4th ranked overall 12+ persons, number one in its target demo, established format, and $1.3 million annual ad revenues (out of total market revenues of approximatley $16 million divided among multiple market stations between two cities) in the 81st ranked market, it is going to be noticed.

However, to comment on your question regarding what may happen in Jacksonville after the first PPM results are released, that is a difficult one to answer. You had mention 94.1 possibly changing format. Quite honestly I'm not aware of any format that will make much difference on that signal due to market coverage issues. Renda basically is concentrating on making WEJZ and WGNE the top Renda stations is Jacksonville, so it's difficult to say where WSOS falls on the Renda priority list.

I have previously predicted that at least one Jacksonville FM will eventually flip to News-Talk although I did not predict a time-frame. I also believe PPM will change the Jacksonville radio landscape, but exactly how at the moment, I can't really speculate. We'll all have to wait and see what the PPM results show us first. Then we will be in a better position to speculate what changes, if any, will occur and where. I hope this helps.

Well I am just thinking its useless to have a format very close to WEJZ on this now 5.5kw (I think it is since the move to the old 92.7 stick) when WEJZ from what I see in the last book improving and I believe ahead of WOKV AM/FM in the 12+ demos. I know PPM will be 6+ so it will be interesting to see who holds where.

Actually really though we cannot fully discount out WJSJ which has a Progressive Talk Format on 105.3. Its intriguing and has wide variety of programming. Kudos to Andy Johnson for sticking to his guns with the format and not letting corporates run him fully out of town.

The logical choice for a news-talk conversion on the FM is 97.9. They have not beaten up APE really once at all in the 10 plus years they have been on since blowing WFSJ out of the water. 94.1 could be one, but you are dead on that WEJZ and WGNE is the big stations for them..now do notice at WMUV is actually doing better in 12+ then ever did with previous formats. That is nice..shows Jacksonville can handle two country stations and one classic country without many issues.

I say 107.3 is going to be around to stay for a little while as Magic...actually the station seems to have some flavor that lacked for nearly 4 years in Jacksonville. 102.9 is doing very well no need to even think about them doing anything. Clear Channel will not touch V101.5 or 93.3 The Beat with their heritage formats that are doing well. So really the only thing pointing towards an FM going to news-talk is 97.9.

Just my two sense, but who knows what will happen.

 

[TommyR]

I may just be perpetuating misinformation, but a certain a radio locator website is showing 106.9 Jax Beach as a translator for...WFXJ?

As I type this, though, 106.9 is running Power Country 102.1.

Either way, the southside's got something we didn't have before.

Mark, you don't think 94.1 could do better by playing decent classic rock, or anything else remotely viable that isn't a clone of an existing station? Or would it be just a different demo with the same cume? It's safe to say N/T won't happen with that signal--and if it does, shame on them for bullying WFOY.

 

[jmtillery]

According to the current ratings I would say either WFKS (3.8 - 12+ Persons) or WFYV (3.2 - 12+ Persons) are prime candidates for News-Talk as these stations appear to be the lowest rated of the better FM signals. However, PPM may show us these stations are fine the way they are and performing better than average. If the latter turns out to be correct, we won't see any real changes on either of these two stations although we may notice a little tweaking over time.

I agree Andy Johnson is doing a fine job with news-talk and is making a definite impact in the market offering an alterative voice to the community. Isn't he on WHJX 105.7?

 

[jmtillery]

Mark, you don't think 94.1 could do better by playing decent classic rock, or anything else remotely viable that isn't a clone of an existing station? Or would it be just a different demo with the same cume? It's safe to say N/T won't happen with that signal--and if it does, shame on them for bullying WFOY.

TommyR - The key to any station I consider to be the underdog succeeding and making a real difference involves said station filling an existing void by offering something unigue not offered on any other station. Using WSOS as an example, if that turns out to be a variable of classic rock currently unavailable on any of the other stations filling the identified void, then that is the direction the station should go. The real question is what format void currently exist in Jacksonville that WSOS can fill without being concerned with one of the 100kilowatters taking the format later, forcing the smaller 94.1 to find another niche, starting from scratch, and re-branding itself once again.

 

[JAWilson]

According to the current ratings I would say either WFKS (3.8 - 12+ Persons) or WFYV (3.2 - 12+ Persons) are prime candidates for News-Talk as these stations appear to be the lowest rated of the better FM signals. However, PPM may show us these stations are fine the way they are and performing better than average. If the latter turns out to be correct, we won't see any real changes on either of these two stations although we may notice a little tweaking over time.

I agree Andy Johnson is doing a fine job with news-talk and is making a definite impact in the market offering an alterative voice to the community. Isn't he on WHJX 105.7?

He use to be on 105.7 until the receiver of the Tama stations sold WFJO 92.5, WSJF 105.5 along with WHJX to some operator of Spanish stations. Right now 105.5/105.7 play Spanish music, but covering St. Augustine with that kind of station really does them no good. WHJX however is fine with that I think. 92.5 is simulcasting right now is simulcasting 1010XL. I believe in my theory is that Seven Bridges may buy this signal out for its FM side of things. 105.3 fell through for them to buy over a year ago because the asking price was too much for a Class A stick on the Northside. So basically from what I know they had an LMA on 105.3 with an option to buy and that never happened. The also had an LMA on 105.5 for a few months until they turned it over to Andy Johnson who had the talk station there and 105.7...then the move happened to 105.3 and rest is history.

TommyR might have a point about the Classic Rock..and we don't mean what the Eagle plays...we mean deeper tracks like what The Drive in Chicago does....its fine to have your staples, but get into the albums and stuff....heck the Classic Rock here in Lake City where I am at right now goes deep a lot on the weekends...I heard "I Want To Break Free" by Queen on one weekend...a song I had never heard before then, but now I like it wonder why it never did as well in America as it did in Britain.

 

[John FL]

JAWilson, I’d like to circle back to earlier comments as there are many things that relate to each other. As far as L&T go, I feel their time will come again as circumstances change. For a long time I thought they would do far better being a part of a non-music format.

Competition from other alternatives hasn’t yet reached a point where music formats have given way to talk. I have been considering Mark’s comments for quite some time and he makes a lot of sense to me.

Consider this as what could have been an option. When the handwriting was on the wall that Planet would no longer have a large enough audience to remain viable in PPM, they could have built on what they already had and competed with Cox at a totally different level.

Jax IMHO is not the kind of town that should have 2 sports stations going at it. But if CC simulcast their AM on FM keeping L&T intact, perhaps branding the station as the Best Talk on the Planet, perhaps Greaseman could have gotten a gig there too. I suppose Mancow is under contract with Cox but where I’m going is a guy talk kind of station with talent – even syndicated that has a track record of attracting males.

What this could have done is give guys another alternative to WOKV and perhaps even sharing some audience and potentially even kicking WOKV out of the Top 3. There is a large 35-54 audience that is concentrated among few stations. I believe many people are just getting burned out over constant political talk and everything negative. Even in N. Florida, I’m sure many of you heard of Neil Rogers who mixed sports talk with current events in a humorous way. Neil was a huge success in S Florida and I really do miss him. and that kind of format.

I believe there is an audience for something different but again, that may be a future thing for Jax. It seems even with all the recent changes, so much in our market has not changed. Perhaps I’ll never understand the business of radio. For a business that seems so hard up for the bucks, opportunity continues to be missed and that has to cost money.

10-10-10 is now a date in history. Maybe my expectations for this market are too high but when I think of that date and before that Labor Day weekend, it’s so obvious creativity just doesn’t exist here. I’ve been on the sidelines a lot lately and it’s because I’m just disgusted. I only post what I truly believe. For years I talked about a hole in our market as it related to greatest hits. Folks, I've tried to be patient but I believe that hole is still there with just a few shovels of dirt filling that hole. I suppose I should explain why I feel as I do but for now this should be enough to chew on.

Lastly, I'd like to acknowledge TommyR. When L&T were gone from Jax, he mentioned putting them on a sports station. I just expanded on Tommy's thoughts because I really think he had a good idea as is usually the case.

 

[nfladxer]

There's no doubt that Neil Rogers was a tremendous radio talent - very, very entertaining. I'm not so sure how he would have played here in North Florida - there's such a different mindset... I agree that Sunny 94.1 has to do something unique to attract any decent numbers - that signal really served St. Augustine much better than trying to make it work in Jacksonville - it's too limited by the Tampa and Savannah 100kw signals. They really should have jumped on an up version of "Jacksonville's Greatest Hits" when they had the chance - it could still be done - but would take an investment from Renda - which seems unlikely since they've still been dismissing more staff with the approach of PPM. With Magic 107.3 seeming to be more of a Female appeal, AC/Oldies hybrid, without any real human presence, it would be great to have a staffed, entertaining updated "Oldies - Classic Hits" format challenge, but, realistically, it would be almost impossible to compete with that signal. In addition, management in this market, with the exception of a few Morning Drive talents, seems to have little regard for the "heritage" air talent it would need to make it work.

And, I'm not sure anyone here is going to make the investment to directly challenge WOKV on FM. While Jacksonville is by no means a small market, it seems the "vision" thinking of the decision makers has gotten smaller. Just my opinion - what say you?

 

[John FL]

Nfladexer, I say this. It’s Tony Renda’s decision to operate as he does because after all it is his company, his money and his investment. Over the years, a number of people in and out of the business let me know that they agreed with me in 94.1 would have been perfect as an oldies hybrid. They may be content in saying the station makes more money now than it did under a previous owner. However, I do look more at “what if” as opposed to “what is.”

One thing about radio that is consistent is that it is so inconsistent in how it operates and in what they say in press releases. If a person chooses to believe the sole purpose of WSOS was to somehow protect WEJZ from another competitor, then I find it interesting that “protection” in the form of the old Rooster to WQIK didn’t stop this same outfit from bringing in a third competitor to the Jax market. Cox or CC could have easily decided to challenge WEJZ head on and WSOS would not have mattered at all in the decision.

For a LPFM like WSOS, they needed to stand out more to attract as many listeners they can in a limited area. Hybrid oldies would have been that difference. They had A.J. Davis who was much underutilized. His knowledge of the format, tenure in the market and easy going style to me were a match made in heaven.

For a brief time the True Oldies Channel found it’s way near Jax. Even though the signal was a rimshot, there were a good number of posts where some of you enjoyed hearing songs you hadn’t heard in a long time. That’s what can help even a little station overcome a lot of obstacles. For a long time, I thought carrying programming from the True Oldies Channel and including Beatle Brunch and perhaps even Tom Kent at night would have served the station far better than pseudo intellectual John Tesh. I also like that Casey Kasem AT 40 rebroadcast program from the 70s as a Sunday morning program.

Anyway, I thought WSOS could have helped WEJZ even more by peeling off their older listeners thereby strengthening EJZ’s 25-54 position even more. Funny thing is Country Legends was created, in part, to peel off WQIK’s older listeners. Then that’s OK and no one even thinks perhaps that strengthens WQIK in some convoluted way. Lesson in all of this – stop trying to figure radio management out. It can make you nuts as little is consistent and the logic is out there in some parallel universe only they are meant to understand.

One last thing Nfladxer, this market couldn't afford Neil and even his prime, Neil would never have been in this market syndicated. I was referring to having someone on who can talk current events and interract with callers in an entertaining way. That's probably aways off yet for here. As far as Magic goes, I still owe the board some comments - later.

 

[John FL]

This should complete my thoughts on “stuff” and why this “civilian” will probably never ever understand the world of radio. As someone who really knows and understands the format, my biggest concern is this market waited way too long to offer Greatest Hits. I would have liked to have had some diary data well in advance of PPM. But, as the expression goes, it’s better late than never.

Every local TV station in addition to a feature in the T.U. covered the demise of Planet and the birth of Magic. You can’t buy all that publicity. Curious listeners who tuned in no doubt heard songs they hadn’t heard in a while. But there was no one on the air generating excitement and engaging the audience and making an impression. It’s still that way. It’s radio today and that does sadden me.

In all this time, I haven’t noticed any solicitation of listener feedback either by website or phone. Instead, we have silly man – the guy who seems to be at the height of some romantic moment sounding way too happy, laughing and excited calling out the brand. This isn’t how normal people sound and pun intended, there’s nothing to really get that excited about.

I’m not going to beat a dead horse but I’m disappointed. Labor Day weekend passed – nothing special – and if you think about it, that extra effort could have really gone far. Some in the format did a Top 1000 countdown that weekend. I would have been happy with 500 songs and silly man could have counted them down. Another way to generate excitment and pulling in new listeners. An add could have run in Folio directing listeners to a special countdown - whatever. Do something!

Maybe I have been in the wrong business all my life but I don’t think I’m smarter than the average guy. Back in January as I was putting events on an Outlook calendar I noticed this year would see 10-10-10 as a date. I remember saying to myself, if only we had a greatest hits station that did special programming. I thought of a Top 10 feature highlighting specific periods of time Top 10's running all weekend long. Son of a gun, CBS FM and I believe Sunny in Orlando had the same idea. A shame I’ve never paid for all my ideas.

Whether it’s a Saturday night or a holiday weekend, it’s the same programming. In Orlando’s first PPM, Sunny 105.9 made a pretty impressive gain and I will acknowledge this – it came from hard work so kudos to them.

I don’t know how a lot of radio stuff works. Maybe the expectation for Magic is to be a spoiler taking a few listeners from here or there so one of the other CC properties advance or to just be a lean and mean profit center with no life. There is a lot of potential in the format to perform very well – even in a market such as ours. But it takes hard work and a lot of energy. As of last week, several of my spies have told me the station hadn’t hired a PD. We are a Top 50 market at the genesis of PPM. I can't see the merit in that at all. Another thing about radio I don't understand - penny wise and dollar foolish.

Folks, I will leave you with this thought. The last time a version of this format was tried, perceptions on this board said they didn’t sound prepared. Not having a PD in place on Day One, no listener involvement, no life, nothing special will deliver mediocre. and it doesn't sound very prepared to me. We don’t learn lessons in this town. I will continue to listen because I do love a lot of the music. But I was expecting so much more. Peace/Out…getting off my soapbox now. Perhaps now you can appreciate why I feel as I do and why even posting on this board is something I don't enjoy anymore either. Thanks.

.

 

[TommyR]

TommyR might have a point about the Classic Rock..and we don't mean what the Eagle plays...we mean deeper tracks like what The Drive in Chicago does....its fine to have your staples, but get into the albums and stuff....heck the Classic Rock here in Lake City where I am at right now goes deep a lot on the weekends...I heard "I Want To Break Free" by Queen on one weekend...a song I had never heard before then, but now I like it wonder why it never did as well in America as it did in Britain.

Great timing on this post. While traveling to a wedding today across I-10, I made a point to listen to WCJX. Within a few minutes--hearing Mackenzie Rae's rock report feature, to be exact--I identified the programming as coming from the descendant of the old Westwood One Adult Rock network, which ran on WTLK and WBGB in the late 90's. Excellent stuff, and very educational, since the jocks are pretty much limited to talking about the music, and very broad national-interest topicality. It also exposes just how much classic rock has gone unplayed here since October 1999.

 

[jmtillery]

TommyR - There is a definate void for what many have coined Deep Cuts which is nothing more than the non hit album cuts heard on many true AOR stations in the 1970s. Much of this music is not heard on mainstream radio today mainly because some consultants consider it to be too narrowcasting and not enough mass appeal.

 

[John FL]

JAWilson, TommyR and even Mark - you are all making my points as to what I was attempting to explain what is wrong with music heard on the radio. JAWilson talks of a station in Lake City that on WEEKENDS goes DEEP into album cuts. That equals special programming - helping keeping the format from going stale and giving listeners a real incentive to listen longer.

Earlier I talked of launching new formats. Some outfits such as Cox are very good at it and if anyone is prepared - they are. But almost anywhere you go on these boards, they are criticized for programming that changes very little over time which diminishes the format. We've even see some die on the vine as a result. One more thing I just don't understand.

Mark, as far as consultants go, I can understand where they are coming from especially in weekday programming. The whole idea is to appeal to as many people as you can in your target audience. But it's during those long weekends and certain times of the year such as Christmas week that a number of companies do dust off tunes rarely heard. When set up in that way, I truly believe it helps solidify the audience stations so many want to keep.

Music is over anlayzed and too many decisions are made far away from the local market. I often wonder who these consultants are or even if they have a life. Music is to be enjoyed and I have to wonder if they really appreciate good music or are their heads so far up the butt of data that it prevents them from hearing more songs the public would love to hear occasionally.

 

[nfladxer]

JohnJax - You continue to make many valid points and observations. You have what music radio seems to have lost in many situations - "emotion"! That's what leaves the listener less engaged. Radio has played right into the hands of ipod. There are many reasons why this has happened - smaller budgets, lots of out of market control, so much emphasis by management and consultants on getting rid of negatives, etc. This is what I feel has left many music formats "hollow". Here's a scary thought - hire an airstaff! lol Radio isn't "rocket science" - logic usually works pretty well!

Talk Radio generally has much more emotion than Music radio these days!

 

[jmtillery]

Talk Radio generally has much more emotion than Music radio these days!

Which may explain why Talk Radio (even AM Talk Radio) almost always out-performs many music stations in any given market. Compare WOKV's ratings with many Jacksonville music stations and you will see for yourself exactly what I mean.

 

[jmtillery]

Mark, as far as consultants go, I can understand where they are coming from especially in weekday programming.

JohnJax - I happen to be one of those consultants who thinks outside the box. As I have stated in an earlier post, I believe something along the lines of Deep Cuts or Deep Tracks will perform well although I would not consider this music to be pure classic rock. To me classic rock falls under the heading of hit based rock (Ex: Thin Lizzy "The Boys Are Back in Town", ZZ Top "Sharp Dressed Man" all of which were Hot 100 charted Top 40 hits in additioon to also being hard rock tunes) where as Deep Cuts has more of a progressive sound (Ex: Peter Frampton "I Want to Go to the Sun", Blue Cheer "Out of Focus") even though much of this music dates back 35+ years.

 

[TheBigA]

Here's a scary thought - hire an airstaff! lol

Here's a scarier question: To do what?

 

[vadar]

Deep cuts? Seriously, every radio station has a very small playlist that rarely gets refreshed. Everything is srutinized by consultants insuring the bottom line is positively impacted.