JUNE PPM

[discjockeyjohn64]

Just had time for a cursory glance, but it looks like KJR FM is now third in the market 6 +. Also, KIRO AM had a nice bounce with the Mariners broadcasts. KIRO AM and FM now pull an 8 share combined, their other station 770 KTTH also increased over a half share from their last dismal showing, now over a 2 share. The oldies on KMCQ continue to score with a better than 3 share of the market. Even lowly KIXI had one of their best books in a while, their third improvement over three months. The ratings report is available by clicking the ratings button above. KISS and MOVIN had a slight tick upward, and most everyone else has pretty much stayed the same. On the AM dial, KVI continues to decrease. Their rating is almost zero. Time to rethink the format.
KVI's cume dropped under 40,000 listeners. This is a dramatic drop from the days of news/talk when they had a 1.5-1.9 share pretty consistently, and between 175,000-225,000 listeners on a weekly basis. They pulled the plug on a working format, to play music that can be heard on several FM's, major mistake. Just a matter of when they will admit it and make a course correction.
At this point, they'd be better off going straight ahead weather/traffic 24/7 like AM 730 in Vancouver BC. They already have the news/weather/sports/traffic staff of KOMO TV & AM, so this would be a nice service that would definitely pull a higher cume and rating than the tired oldies.

 

[Bongwater]

KVI's oldies was a "placeholder" format. And executed as such. If they were serious about it, it would have showed......

 

[radioguy123]

In key demos KISW remains your real winner this year. KISW dominates adult and male demos. Female demos went primarily to STAR and KRWM. KJR was up, most of that the Bob Rivers show which is top five in mornings in key demos along with KISW, STAR, WOLF and KIRO. Feel bad for KVI because I remember when they went on the air there were no Oldies stations in town so it seemed to me like a smart move. then KJR-FM flipped and now KMCQ is encoding as of April. Bad timing. I still wonder if KJR made the right move. While mornings are stronger with Rivers, the rest of the station is not any better in ratings than they were as a Classic Hits station. I also notice the KLCK is not much better than Smooth Jazz was. I give it to KVI, KLCK and KJR for trying something rather than just sitting there. Guess time will tell if it all works. In PPM not much changes.

Funny that posters here are quick to encourage stations to change format, but in the PPM world format changes are rarely rewarded and many times other stations react or change to block moves. Takes guts to change a format in this environment.

 

[crainbebo]

KVI is on the AM dial, so less people (except DXers) will listen.

Don't like KJR, don't like hearing promotion of "Bob Rivers in the Morning" 500 times a day, and MOViN 92.5 has what seems like a playlist of 75 songs over and over, "Edge of Glory" Gaga every hour, etc. KMPS too, they play all those power hits over and over.

-crainbebo

 

[BRNout]

In looking at KJR's playlist all I see are the same old collection of tired, burned-to-a-crisp 70s and 80s titles with a few incredibly overplayed 60s tunes thrown in for seasoning. Just as you see on dozens of other "classic hits" formatted stations from Seattle to San Francisco to Cleveland to Boston. You know, it's that slightly uncomfortable mix of 70s and 80s rock with a few pop and rhythmic titles tossed in, none of which will make anyone go "oh wow". Not ever.

No wonder it's mainly the morning show that's bringing in the numbers for them.

What is KMCQ's playlist like? I can't seem to find it and their website has very little content as yet. Chances are, if I were in the area, I'd be listening to them and would have quickly ho-hummed KJR as soon as Cheap Trick or Journey followed Brown Eyed Girl.

 

[crainbebo]

KMCQ is AWESOME! There's songs on that station you've probably never heard since the 1970s! There's all types of stuff, rock, pop, tv theme songs even.

-crainbebo

 

[raydioheadfm]

As we often talk about 6+ & 12+ really don't mean much--vanity numbers. True they show total audience, but from a sales standpoint and the truest indication of success, revenue, It's all about demos. You'll notice a several stations tend to show up at the top no matter how you slice it.

25-54 Adults top 5
KISW
WOLF
KZOK
KJR-FM
STAR

25-54 Men top 5
KISW (almost 4 points ahead of #2)
KZOK
KIRO-F
KIRO-A
KJR-FM

25-54 Women top 5
KISS FM (kiss & star tie #1)
STAR
WOLF
WARM
KUOW

 

[Scoobyfan1]

KMCQ is AWESOME! There's songs on that station you've probably never heard since the 1970s! There's all types of stuff, rock, pop, tv theme songs even.

-crainbebo

Agreed; to answer the playlist question, if I had to guess I would say KMCQ has probably in the neighborhood of 5 to 6,000 songs.

Although the above is merely a guess above anything else; the good thing about KMCQ is that when i've been listening(which has been since day one just about) they don't seem to repeat songs more then once, or maybe twice a week.

So if you listen to KMCQ, and expecting not to hear the same songs more than once a day, you're going to get just that.

 

[scott salvatori]

congratulations to KMCQ's ever increasing numbers!

remember, the only advertisement for listeners they have done, is none. DX'rs word of mouth, combined with a wide open oldies playlist has payed off. anyone wanna take a stab at where KMCQ would be, if all they played was the same/lame old and tired consultant dictated oldies lineup, peppered with a heavy load of in your face newspaper/billboard/bus/mailing advertisement expenses?

feel free to go through past post discussions from the industry elite/gooroos regarding KMCQ, and their playlist, and/or lack of it. what egg on the face fools who live, breed, and dictate "the radio programming standard operating procedure". if the USA auto industry adopted such myopic visions, we'd still be driving ford fairmonts, chrysler K cars, and gremlins.

some of the depots, where i pick up at night blast KMCQ. i am ever impressed with some of the great forgotten oldies that get a spin, within the hour im able to listen. yep, but some of them top 40 country hits that get a play on KMCQ should be abandoned. it dont mix.

the KMCQ web sight is also starting to put a pulse into its heart, and making some believe there is a real wizard behind the KMCQ curtain.

 

[TVradioguru]

So how can you congratulate a station that essentially gives away their product, which is arguably the only reason why they have listeners at all? Oh that's right, radio stations aren't supposed to make money in your world... It would be the same as a restaurant inviting diners in and giving away meals to show the benefits of their location. Unless a buyer comes along to buy the restaurant, the plan is completely unsustainable for the long haul.

In this situation, the owner wants more for the radio station than the financial model and market can support, in spite of some modest 6+ cume ratings. The catch 22 for First, is if they don't get a buyer soon they risk further polluting the stick value of the property, which is really all it's worth. If someone comes along with the captial and a plan, trying to undo this IPod-shuffle format will be more difficult, thus decreasing the appeal of spending millions on what should be a stick.

When radio stations stunt right before changing or launching a new format, it isn't unusual to see these kinds of numbers from pure curiousity seekers. In some cases the 6+ or previously 12+ numbers from stunting exceed the 6+ numbers of the first year of the new format. As someone else mentioned in another thread, the key is hitting whatever the target demo is in the long haul. That's where you convert ratings into revenue. If you tried to put or sell ads on this station today, the modest 6+ numbers would vanish. Not that anyone buys 6+ anyway.

 

[LDRADIO]

So what happened to Jack FM? As I recall they were right near the top when PPM came out. Is there a reason for their slide?

 

[radioguy123]

At the end of 2010 the panel came to a two year end and shifted in Seattle and male stations got quite a shakeup. KISW rocketed to number one. KIRO-FM doubled its share to number two. JACK which dominated 25-54 men took a beating in the shift, so did THE END, which had dominated 18-34 men in the first couple years of PPM. KISW now wins both. The panel changes about 5% a month, but there is a big drop off and shift at the two year point. The initial panel was recruited in Fall 2008. KISW appears to have gained from the big shift. Next big shift is Fall 2012, though Arbitron is working on ways to transition that more evenly.

Interesting there is not much change on the female side of the PPM. STAR is winning 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 as they did last year, especially strong in mornings. WARM wins 35-64. WOLF and KBKS round out the top of the female demos, with WOLF doing well in mornings behind STAR and KRWM.

PPM panel shift did a turnaround in men but no big change in women.

 

[toonces2u]

This I-pod shuffle claim for KMCQ is total B.S. I listen a lot and they clearly put thought into their programming as I hear fun, themed blocks of music from time to time whether it is a block of Motown, or 5 songs by the Jackson 5. A block of novelty songs like Junk Food Junkie, The Streak And Life is a Rock, even an occasional block of NW rock and roll (Sonics, Kingsmen, Merrilee Rush). The bottom line is that KMCQ is getting listeners and that is with nearly zero advertising though I have heard a couple of legitimate local ads in addition to the PSA's. People like the station because it is not the same old tired twenty songs. There is more to oldies than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

trying to undo this IPod-shuffle format will be more difficult, thus decreasing the appeal of spending millions on what should be a stick.

 

[FMSteve]

Yep. And with a good promotional pushand live DJ's I'll be they could go from a 3.1 to a 4.0.

 

[notalent]

They'll be affording a lot top talent with all the ad revenue they have coming in huh!!

Once the commercials start the numbers go poof.

 

[FMSteve]

Yeah, can't have live DJ's unless there's a revenue stream, that's for sure.

As for numbers dropping due to spot loads, Arbitron has researched this and determined that 1 or 2 minutes of a spot pod does not have a significant impact. More than 2 minutes the rate of listenership drops fairly dramatically, depending upon the format and the age of the target audience. The younger the audience, the more dramatically the rate of loss of listenership. Thus when a KUBE or Movin (or Kiss) has a spot pod load of 5 minutes, they can easily lose 5 to 6% of their audience immediately.

 

[jupiter2]

Quite a jumble of shaky facts on this here board.

KPLZ has spent quite a bit of time outside the top 25-54, though solid in its core female demo. As KPLZ declined from its once lofty PPM 25-54 share, KISW got a big push, which propelled it to I believe it's strongest showing in a decade, if not longer. Lucky panel? Who knows? Great brand, lots of personality? Definitely.

104.5 is currently generating radio blog buzz while in about 20th place 25-54. Got to hand it to them for efficiency. KJR FM currently in 3rd place must be doing something right. It ain't all mornings, which I recall reading here, would lead to disaster for the rest of the day.

Got to hand it to the Wolf. And what about KUOW? I'm not sure I buy the 5-7% commercial tune out stat posted here. I've heard much higher but honestly don't know. Maybe someone of our more knowledgeable posters can back that up or dispute it.

Some stations who did poorly initially learned how to play the PPM game. Others seem to fall in and out of favor as the panel changes. Since none of us can know any of this for sure, all we can do is speculate.

 

[AQH]

Quite a jumble of shaky facts on this here board.

Or as some people call it: Thursday.

 

[radioguy123]

So true aqh and jupiter! I marvel at the shaky facts on this board
As I tried to point out. In Fall the PPM panel shifted and while female based stations remain the same with STAR, KRWM, WOLF and KBKS as your players, the male shift was quite significant. KISW shot to number one in most male demos and took over the top spot in adult demos, KIRO moved in behind them. JACK and KZOK the former champs in men slipped back. Mornings 25-54 it has become a battle in the last few weeks between KIRO, KISW and STAR. Now that is an odd grouping to say the least. KISW owns men in the morning and STar women, KIRO second in men, but have enough women to matter. For those that care about facts, on a Thursday.

As I looked back a year, KJR actually is exactly where it was one year ago 25-54. STAR was first, JACK second and KZOK third. Two years ago KJR was number one 25-54 and 6+. STAR was second and JACK third.

In Fall the panel changed and so did about a half dozen stations. Funky Monkey's two share went away (did KISW take them all), Smooth Jazz disappeared (where did this audience go?), KVI went Oldies (KTTH then went down??), KQMV went CHR (hurting KBKS some) and KLCK hit the air.(hurt KNDD, STAR and KMTT a bit). Bob Rivers went away (helping BJ Shea). Lots of change.

 

[bossbill]

Used to be format changes caused ratings changes. Now, panel changes cause format changes. What a country!!