KEXX a huge signal, Hot AC format, but a very tiny listening audience.

[36james]

yep KEXX isnt doing so hot ;D ;D LOL, i think its time they changed formats maybe to news/talk, or Country, not much else for them to compete with, they should also maybe consider moving their signal 30 miles Northwest, so they can completely cover the phoenix metro area better, just some suggestions.

 

[davideduardo]

yep KEXX isnt doing so hot ;D ;D LOL, i think its time they changed formats maybe to news/talk, or Country, not much else for them to compete with, they should also maybe consider moving their signal 30 miles Northwest, so they can completely cover the phoenix metro area better, just some suggestions.

James,

KEXX is what is referred to in the industry as a "rimshot" because it is a signal at the edge of a market rather than one that is more centrally located.

Because of that, such signals do not have the same intensity over the entire market, and some parts may not have any usable signal.

Were it possible for KEXX to move farther in... ideally to South Mountain... they would. But other FM allocations prevent further improvement to this facility unless a a rather significant redistribution of frequencies were to be done... and that is not always possible.

In other words, it is what it is.

 

[radioresearcher]

yep KEXX isnt doing so hot ;D ;D LOL, i think its time they changed formats maybe to news/talk, or Country, not much else for them to compete with, they should also maybe consider moving their signal 30 miles Northwest, so they can completely cover the phoenix metro area better, just some suggestions.

It just landed its best weekly cume in adult women in near four years of PPM

 

[johndavis]

yep KEXX isnt doing so hot ;D ;D LOL, i think its time they changed formats maybe to news/talk, or Country, not much else for them to compete with, they should also maybe consider moving their signal 30 miles Northwest, so they can completely cover the phoenix metro area better, just some suggestions.

It just landed its best weekly cume in adult women in near four years of PPM

I remember getting ratings memos like that.

It's code for "this format isn't working, but we have to dress it up so we don't all get fired."

 

[EricStein]

Hype up the "better" PPM numbers all you want, you're still going to take only a sliver of the format's sales pie against the three stations who came before you--two with better signals. There's only so much lipstick you can put on the current format.

 

[KP]

They need female listeners so badly, they are literally giving away visits to a fertility clinic.

 

[EJ204]

As a "rimshot" FM station, which Phoenix has plenty of, KEXX actually isn't too bad. Nearly 100,000 watts on a 600 foot tower south of Apache Jct. and east of Chandler. That gives you a fine signal from Phoenix east, including Mesa and Tempe.

But why did they give up Alternative Rock a couple of years ago? If you don't have a signal that covers the market 100%, you should choose a format that may have a small but loyal following, one that you fans will move the radio to the other side of the room for, or put up with not the easiest reception.

In the Hot AC contest, Clear Channel's KMXP is #4 and another rimshot, KMVA, is also in the Hot AC format. Why be Hot AC station #3? Meanwhile, nobody else in Phoenix is doing Alternative. And KEXX's signal blankets Arizona State University, it's dorms and student housing. College students are notorious for not taking part in ratings surveys but they still have money in their pockets, they're buying stuff, they're dating and looking for a good time on the weekend.

KEXX didn't have great ratings as an Alternative station either but if they were programmed halfway decently, I'm sure they could get their listeners to buy their sponsor's products.

 

[EricStein]

In the Hot AC contest, Clear Channel's KMXP is #4 and another rimshot, KMVA, is also in the Hot AC format. Why be Hot AC station #3? Meanwhile, nobody else in Phoenix is doing Alternative. And KEXX's signal blankets Arizona State University, it's dorms and student housing. College students are notorious for not taking part in ratings surveys but they still have money in their pockets, they're buying stuff, they're dating and looking for a good time on the weekend.

Not to mention The Peak has a large amount of playlist overlap with them.

When they asked listeners what they wanted to hear when they launched the original "My 103.9" (before they drifted to modern adult pop) last year, I'm sure nine out of ten respondents didn't say "play what all the other stations play."

 

[chrocket87]

In the Hot AC contest, Clear Channel's KMXP is #4 and another rimshot, KMVA, is also in the Hot AC format. Why be Hot AC station #3? Meanwhile, nobody else in Phoenix is doing Alternative. And KEXX's signal blankets Arizona State University, it's dorms and student housing. College students are notorious for not taking part in ratings surveys but they still have money in their pockets, they're buying stuff, they're dating and looking for a good time on the weekend.

Because the #3 Hot AC is still getting better ratings (and I'm betting billings as well) than the only Alternative station in town was.

 

[EricStein]

In the Hot AC contest, Clear Channel's KMXP is #4 and another rimshot, KMVA, is also in the Hot AC format. Why be Hot AC station #3? Meanwhile, nobody else in Phoenix is doing Alternative. And KEXX's signal blankets Arizona State University, it's dorms and student housing. College students are notorious for not taking part in ratings surveys but they still have money in their pockets, they're buying stuff, they're dating and looking for a good time on the weekend.

Because the #3 Hot AC is still getting better ratings (and I'm betting billings as well) than the only Alternative station in town was.

What are these "better ratings" you're talking about? They're doing just about the same as they were when they were "The Edge." There are formats that bill better than what they're currently running. That's the fundamental problem with radio today...not enough risk-taking.

 

[DJ_Perry]

What are these "better ratings" you're talking about? They're doing just about the same as they were when they were "The Edge." There are formats that bill better than what they're currently running. That's the fundamental problem with radio today...not enough risk-taking.

They bottomed out with a .8 as Alternative. When they ditched that for the 80's lean format, I believe they about hit a 1.5, but they weren't happy and went current. Now they are at a 1.4 but were at a .8 two books ago

 

[radioresearcher]

What are these "better ratings" you're talking about? They're doing just about the same as they were when they were "The Edge." There are formats that bill better than what they're currently running. That's the fundamental problem with radio today...not enough risk-taking.

They bottomed out with a .8 as Alternative. When they ditched that for the 80's lean format, I believe they about hit a 1.5, but they weren't happy and went current. Now they are at a 1.4 but were at a .8 two books ago

Here's what hard to tell so I will try and do my best to explain. 6+ ratings don't matter so stop quoting them. In honor of the great David Eduardo, "If they meant something, they wouldn't give them away for free."

It's about targeting key demos that advertisers like. Unfortunately, radio doesn't dictate that, the agencies do. As you all know, it's primarily 25-54 and 18-49 adults and a handful of female buys 25-54 and occasionally 18-49. In my current experience, we have almost no clients telling me they want formats with Men. I'm not saying it's right, it's the way it is (actually I think it's wrong).

There are occasions when having an exclusive format will help you, especially if you're down the ranker.

However, it is just an easier sell with a better set of advertisers when your composition is female these days. Remember too that a lot of those media buyers are females and they buy what they like too.

Some of the biggest clusters our clients compete with are "walls of women." I would advise to look at Clear Channel/Phoenix, or better yet Clear Channel/L.A.

Formats also have power ratios. The amount of revenue they bring in for the ratings they get. The last report we saw.

The latest power ratio data I have available to me shows Hot AC doing a 1.46 power ratio versus a 1.07 for Alternative (female format versus male).

So if the ratings for this station average a 1.4 this year (it did in 2011 as Alternative), you would theoretically bill 30% more.

Some formats are a better ROI.

Plus, you get music cycles et al.

I totally get frustrations ... because I have them too in what I do.

 

[beauduran]

They bottomed out with a .8 as Alternative. When they ditched that for the 80's lean format, I believe they about hit a 1.5, but they weren't happy and went current. Now they are at a 1.4 but were at a .8 two books ago

[/quote]

Here's what hard to tell so I will try and do my best to explain. 6+ ratings don't matter so stop quoting them. In honor of the great David Eduardo, "If they meant something, they wouldn't give them away for free."

It's about targeting key demos that advertisers like. Unfortunately, radio doesn't dictate that, the agencies do. As you all know, it's primarily 25-54 and 18-49 adults and a handful of female buys 25-54 and occasionally 18-49. In my current experience, we have almost no clients telling me they want formats with Men. I'm not saying it's right, it's the way it is (actually I think it's wrong).

[/quote]

Fair enough. Lets look at those numbers. We'll use the November monthly as a base so that the market wasn't impacted by KEZ's Xmas extravaganza.

P25-54: KEXX is ranked 30th, getting beat by the likes of The Beat, K Love and Xtra Sports. KEXX has hovered right around a 1.0 in this demo since April when they had a 1.6

P18-49: KEXX is again ranked 30th, much the same as above.

W25-54: Doing better here! KEXX is ranked 25th in the market, in a 5 way tie with KFLR, KQMR, KVVA and KZAI. In this demo KEXX has hovered in the low to mid 1 shares since June. It has seen a slight uptick since last spring when the station was doing the 80s format.

W18-49: Doing even better. Tied for 22nd with Mega, K-Jazz and K Love. The trend is also much better here. In the mid to high 1's since April. Before then it was a struggle to get above a 1.

In the end, yes you have a bit of a point that what 103.9 is doing now is bringing more women in than what they were doing before. However, I don't know of any decent ad buyers who go more than 20 deep on any buy. Hell, most don't go more than 10 deep. I would argue that with a rimshot signal, albeit a good one, the folks at Riviera would be better served targetting a niche and owning it rather than going for broad appeal and getting thumped by 3 direct competitors and a handful of secondary ones.

Finally from a programming standpoint I would be extremely concerned if I were running KEXX. In all of the above cited demos their Cume is far greater than that of the other stations in the same share-range. Sometimes by almost a 3:1 margin. That tells you plenty of people are sampling the station...and leaving very quickly. Usually not a good indicator of how people feel about your product.

 

[DJ_Perry]

Finally from a programming standpoint I would be extremely concerned if I were running KEXX. In all of the above cited demos their Cume is far greater than that of the other stations in the same share-range. Sometimes by almost a 3:1 margin. That tells you plenty of people are sampling the station...and leaving very quickly. Usually not a good indicator of how people feel about your product.

I agree, it seeems offering a niche format would keep listeners punched in longer, as they won't be interested in stations that don't share titles with an exclusive playlist.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I always hear "6+ numbers are meaningless". But isn't that only true if its not in your favor? I mean, I have never heard of somebody griping about a station that was in the top ten.....claiming its not legit because its 6 +

 

[JerryKidd]

Stations in the top 10 6+ don't quote 6+ numbers either. Only people on this board do.

 

[DJ_Perry]

I have yet seen to see those numbers be disputed however, unlike the ones who don't make the cut

 

[beauduran]

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I always hear "6+ numbers are meaningless". But isn't that only true if its not in your favor? I mean, I have never heard of somebody griping about a station that was in the top ten.....claiming its not legit because its 6 +

6+ numbers are meaningless from a sales and programming standpoint because they are too broad. Stations live and die in demo, which for most is 25-54.

What 6+ numbers can do (and why they are given away for free) is give those interested a VERY general idea how the market is doing, but there are many many variables that go into it beyond that.

 

[EJ204]

When astronomers look for distant Earth-like planets, they can't see them directly. They have to look for stars that have a slight wobble, knowing that's from a planet revolving around them.

When we talk about ratings, we may not know exact Women 25-54 demos or Men 18-34 demos. But if a station has a one-point-something, 6+, I think we can all figure out that station it isn't a contender in any significant demographic.

I would speculate that, given its signal limitations, KEXX can make more money as an Alternative station aiming at Young Men, especially those living in and around Arizona State University where the signal is strong, than fighting it out among Hot AC and Top 40 stations in the larger Phoenix market. OK, management won't be able to sit back and wait for the phone to ring from agency buyers. But if the station is well out of the top 10 stations in all the significant female demos, that phone is probably not ringing anyway.

Young men don't buy as much stuff as middle-aged women. But they still buy lots of fast food, beer, soda, electronics, autos and auto products, gifts for girlfriends and entertainment.

If my signal limits me to a little pond, I'd rather choose a format that allows me to be a big fish. Since nobody else is doing Alternative, and KUPD is the only FM station aiming at young to middle-aged men anyway, that's the best way to make KEXX at least a medium-sized fish in a little pond.

 

[EricStein]

If my signal limits me to a little pond, I'd rather choose a format that allows me to be a big fish. Since nobody else is doing Alternative, and KUPD is the only FM station aiming at young to middle-aged men anyway, that's the best way to make KEXX at least a medium-sized fish in a little pond.

No one has tried sports on FM either, and that attracts a very sellable demo (middle-to-upper income adult males) and has a high power ratio. Yes, the NFL season is over, but it's a great time to grab those national NFL play-by-play rights from XTRA 910. Add Jim Rome and a strong (not brokered) morning and/or afternoon drive show, and 910 and 1060 will become irrelevant. There is money to be made here, and a larger slice of the revenue pie to be had.

 

[KeithE4]

No one has tried sports on FM either, and that attracts a very sellable demo (middle-to-upper income adult males) and has a high power ratio. Yes, the NFL season is over, but it's a great time to grab those national NFL play-by-play rights from XTRA 910. Add Jim Rome and a strong (not brokered) morning and/or afternoon drive show, and 910 and 1060 will become irrelevant. There is money to be made here, and a larger slice of the revenue pie to be had.

It might work, but a Shaw Butte translator would probably be necessary to cover the north and west sides of the metro. KEXX's transmitter is about as far southeast as it can get, and still be considered part of the Phoenix area.