KDON PULLS A 1.7 IN THE SAN JOSE BOOK

[airpab]

If this doesn't make Bay Area radio station owners (especially CBS) scratch their heads and really think a little, don't know what will?

 

[davideduardo]

If this doesn't make Bay Area radio station owners (especially CBS) scratch their heads and really think a little, don't know what will?

First, what came out today was not a book, but a trend. It has one piece from the Fall 07 book and two pieces from the Winter 08 book. It is not, and can not be, weighted nor can it be perfectly proportional.

Second, the San Jose "market" just like the Santa Rosa market, is just a breakout from the total San Francisco market survey. It's not a separate market, just a special tabulation of part of a market.

The stations from San Francisco like KYLD and KITS do not put a 60 dbu over San Jose. KDON does. Generally, about 95% of all of a station's listening at home and at work is in the 64 dbu contour, so neither of the SF signals can hope to do well in San Jose (which is a single county break). KDON, on the other hand, has a reasonably decent signal and should get some listening.

There is nothing to think about. If you don't have signal, you don't have listening.

 

[CHRles]

David, I have never seen K-Don's numbers so high before in the San Jose breakout, regardless of whether its a book or a trend. Furthermore, Wild usually performs better in the San Jose market even if its signal runs into some troublesome spots. I also don't quite understood why KMEL usually never performs any better then a 2+ share in San Jose as its signal should be able to penetrate the market completely:
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KMEL&service=FM&status=L&hours=U

Lastly, it's been a couple of decades since San Jose's had its own CHR/Pop station. KWSS was a VERY successful CHR until the launch of Hot 97.7. Well, Hot's been gone since the mid 90s - isn't it time San "Hoe" got its own Rhythmic and CHR/Pop stations?

 

[Michael Rivers Kramer]

If this doesn't make Bay Area radio station owners (especially CBS) scratch their heads and really think a little, don't know what will?

First, what came out today was not a book, but a trend. It has one piece from the Fall 07 book and two pieces from the Winter 08 book. It is not, and can not be, weighted nor can it be perfectly proportional.

Second, the San Jose "market" just like the Santa Rosa market, is just a breakout from the total San Francisco market survey. It's not a separate market, just a special tabulation of part of a market.

The stations from San Francisco like KYLD and KITS do not put a 60 dbu over San Jose. KDON does. Generally, about 95% of all of a station's listening at home and at work is in the 64 dbu contour, so neither of the SF signals can hope to do well in San Jose (which is a single county break). KDON, on the other hand, has a reasonably decent signal and should get some listening.

There is nothing to think about. If you don't have signal, you don't have listening.

David--

Are you looking at Longley-Rice coverage maps or standard FCC coverage maps to get those numbers. I'm guessing FCC because you mention contours. Never the less, most San Francisco stations don't put a 60 dbu contour over San Jose except for say....KMEL, KQED-FM, KRZZ, KMVN, KIOI, KOIT and KYLD. In fact, using the V-soft signal strength page, only KRZZ, KMEL, KMVQ, KQED-FM and KIOI put a 64 or better over downtown San Jose (95101) which is in the north end of the city.

Back a few years ago before KYLD started to unravel, KYLD had really high numbers consistently in San Jose. This was also the case when the station was on the weaker 107.7 signal as well.

I have a feeling that the SF stations have better coverage in the south bay than the standard FCC maps lead us to believe.

 

[davideduardo]

Are you looking at Longley-Rice coverage maps or standard FCC coverage maps to get those numbers.

Both, and obviously due to terrain, the L-Rs look much spottier than the countour maps.

I'm guessing FCC because you mention contours. Never the less, most San Francisco stations don't put a 60 dbu contour over San Jose except for say....KMEL, KQED-FM, KRZZ, KMVN, KIOI, KOIT and KYLD. In fact, using the V-soft signal strength page, only KRZZ, KMEL, KMVQ, KQED-FM and KIOI put a 64 or better over downtown San Jose (95101) which is in the north end of the city.

Yep. I am looking at the 64, since that is the confine for almost all the listening that can be made ZIP code specific in Arbitron. KMEL gets just north of the downtown SJ area.

When there is no local signal, listeners will do more to listen to a station, one with a weaker signal, but only until there is a better signal with a similar format offering.

[/quote]
I have a feeling that the SF stations have better coverage in the south bay than the standard FCC maps lead us to believe.

[/quote]

Or, perhaps the listeners simply have no good signal and put up with the bad one to get the format they like.

 

[davideduardo]

David, I have never seen K-Don's numbers so high before in the San Jose breakout, regardless of whether its a book or a trend. Furthermore, Wild usually performs better in the San Jose market even if its signal runs into some troublesome spots.

To listeners, the better KDON signal may be preferable to the SF market programming. Or, maybe a lot of diaries fell in the southern part of the county, where the KDON signal is even better compared to the ones from San Francisco.

[/quote]I also don't quite understood why KMEL usually never performs any better then a 2+ share in San Jose as its signal should be able to penetrate the market completely:
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KMEL&service=FM&status=L&hours=U[/quote]

The 64 dbu for KMEL barely hits the north side of downtown San Jose, which means the signal is very marginal for in home and at work listening. Remember, the real usable coverage on the "for entertainment only" radio-locator maps is about 20% inside the inermost contour.

Lastly, it's been a couple of decades since San Jose's had its own CHR/Pop station. KWSS was a VERY successful CHR until the launch of Hot 97.7. Well, Hot's been gone since the mid 90s - isn't it time San "Hoe" got its own Rhythmic and CHR/Pop stations?

I am amazed that SJ still has its own book. It's county is part of the SF metro, so buyers generally go to the full book. And the revenue for stations specifically serving the county is not great.

 

[radioID]

david i have a feeling someone from KDON did something bad to you. Because it sounds you are very anti-KDON. Just like The Doghouse is very anti-KYLD.
Thats just my thought.

 

[davideduardo]

david i have a feeling someone from KDON did something bad to you. Because it sounds you are very anti-KDON. Just like The Doghouse is very anti-KYLD.
Thats just my thought.

I have no idea who runs or works at that station. I have not listend to it, ever. I am simply giving an explanation why the station did better than normal in the SJ breakout book... better signal than the Bay Area competitors in format, possibly more sampling in the southern part of the county, etc.

 

[Todd]

Ok... let's stop all the "contour" and "usable signal" talk... and deal with the real world.

KDON, KMEL and KYLD listeners are mostly "in-car" listeners.

Ask the average 18-34 female in San Jose if you can play with her radio, and her presets are usually something like this:

94.9, 106.1, 102.5, and it varies from there... sometimes 105.3 is in there too.

San Jose is a VERY hispanic market... it makes sense that the "URBAN" format on KMEL doesn't work as well as the "RHYTHM" format of KYLD.

But as KYLD continues to lean more and more mainstream... it also makes sense that KDON (which doesn't have the mainstrem lean... no Sara Barilles, Natasha Bedingfield, Jesse McCartney, Britney Spears) will perform better in San Jose. Watch as KYLD falls in San "Hoe"... KDON will grow.

Yes... the time is right for a RHYTHMIC /CHR in San Jose... it could easily own the market....
much as KGGI does in Riverside.