Unfortunately, what most people think is "cool" are the minority.
One thing PPM has shown is that niche formats are having major problems. Alternative is more mainstream in some markets than others (I'm talking about PPM not diary). Niche formats had much better success in diary because their passionate listener base voted for them. Not the case in the meter that shows real listening.
In a market like Phoenix, Alternative was somewhat of a fringe format. Zone really had its best numbers when Howard was on.
A signal like 103.9 needs to find something that drives ATE - and Alternative is a moderate cume low ATE format - hence the results. Formats like Classic Hits, AC, Adult Hits, Classic Rock tend to draw 30%-50% more ATE than Top 40, Alternative, et al.
The Alternative and Smooth Jazz listeners don't have a leg to stand on. If they actually listened to the station and supported it, then they'd still be on the air. They voted for them in diary, but never actually listened come meter time.
