it boggles my mind why K-Rock took on show that seems like a logistical nightmare so they could reach a demo earning about $10 a year less than the hipster demo.
The "hipster" or "sophisticated" listeners are mostly gone from commercial radio, they have been drifting away for years amd its a trend that will likely accelerate with all the alternatives available.
Take a look at Arbitron's 12+ rankings for NYC:
http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.arbitron.com/home/ratings.htm&sa=X&oi=smap&resnum=1&ct=result&cd=1&usg=AFQjCNEidLzY23HnHjPkGWEoX0YHKuBmoQ
-See anything remotely "sophisticated' there? The most listened to formats cater either to passive background situations (WLTW, WWFS) or the
[EDIT]/ethnic demo.
Commercial radio is catering to those who actually listen most nowadays.
Take a look at the billings: (05-06)
WLTW (106.7 FM) $65.6 $59.8
WINS (1010 AM) $59.7 $60.8
WCBS-AM (880) $56.2 $56.2
WFAN (660 AM) $50.6 $52.5
WHTZ (100.3 FM) $47.3 $47.7
WPLJ (95.5 FM) $37.2 $39.7
WRKS (98.7 FM) $35.5 $39.8
WAXQ (104.3 FM) $35.1 $33.8
WKTU (103.5 FM) $34.6 $37.4
WSKQ (97.9 FM) $32.5 $37.3
WQHT (97.1 FM) $31.9 $37.2
WWPR (105.1 FM) $28.3 $24.1
WBLS (107.5 FM) $26.8 $27.0
WABC (770 AM) $23.4 $24.2
WOR (710 AM) $20.3 $21.0
WFNY (92.3 FM) $18.7 $50.8
WWFS (102.7 FM) $18.0 $15.4
WPAT-FM (93.1) $16.6 $17.2
WCBS-FM (101.1) $16.1 $23.9
WQCD (101.9 FM) $14.8 $20.1
WQXR (96.3 FM) $13.2 $15.8
WCAA (105.9 FM) $12.3 $4.3
WADO (1280 AM) $11.4 $8.1
WEPN (1050 AM) $10.3 $7.8
The lineup is different but the only "sophisticated" station there is WQXR -which survives on demos and a wealthy owner (NY Times).
By contrast non-comms nationwide have been the
onlynon-ethnic sector to show growth over the last decade.
That is where the "sophisticated" listeners have gone. K-Rock might aswell do what it will, it doesn't matter , within ten years most of the commercial FM dial will be ethinc or transplants of AM news formats.
-Lino
[EDIT-offensive content]