KFRC The WORST Station In The Bay Area!

[BobHamilton]

I can't believe it! Who in the hell copied every bad liner on every radio station in the country that might be good! IF I was the person who presented this format to management I'd pack up and run! This station will be in the 1 share range shortly. As a broadcaster I am truly dissapointed in Infinity Broadcasting! Is NO one in charge? This is a disgrace to the call letters alone. I thought the GAME zone was bad, this beats it hands down as the WORST radio has to offer. If I were Cammy & Dean I'd look for a new job. This station is the Titanic ready to sink! Moving the deck chairs ain't gonna help this sinking ship!! Too bad this WAS a good station years ago! NOW a disgrace to radio!

 

[BossRadioDJ]

Re: KFRC Website "Positioners"

I love the rotating "positioners" at the top of the new KFRC website:

* "The Perfect Bay Area Station"

* "It's Upbeat! Great To Listen To At Work"

* "It feels like my radio station"

* "Who needs an iPod. These are my songs"

* "I love the songs. I know them all!"

* "It makes my workday go by Faster"

* "The station gives me <font color=purple>energy</font>."

* "The songs pick me up"

* "Every song makes me feel good"

* "Finally...a station I can call my own"

* "This station fits my life"

...And so on. It sounds like someone sat down and wrote these down hastily, based on what they expect listeners to feel. I'm listening, and so far I ain't feelin' it.

The other thing that's mind-blowing is the recorded "fans of the station" drops, where some "listener on the street" says how much they love the station. They had these within fifteen minutes of going on the air. Of course, these generic "listeners" don't actually say KFRC's call letters ... can you buy these off the shelf, or do you hire actors to record them?

Get well soon, KFRC.

DJ

 

[BossRadioDJ]

Re: Doug Harvill Comment...

I'm borrowing from another board here -- on ba.broadcast, "Lancer" noted the following:

>
As I was leaving work today I ran into a KCBS sales guy I knew...Here is what he said Harvil told the staff that this format would kick KOIT and KIOI's ass. Because with this format all the 35-49 year olds would only listen to them...(and apparently "sing along") He called it High Energy AC.
>

DJ

<P ID="signature">______________
<center>
Bay Area Radio Museum | Bay Area Radio Digest
</center></P>

 

[SFStatic]

Re: KFRC Website "Positioners"

> I love the rotating "positioners" at the top of the new KFRC
> website:
>
> * "The Perfect Bay Area Station"
>
> * "It's Upbeat! Great To Listen To At Work"
>
> * "It feels like my radio station"
>
> * "Who needs an iPod. These are my songs"
>
> * "I love the songs. I know them all!"
>
> * "It makes my workday go by Faster"
>
> * "The station gives me energy."
>
> * "The songs pick me up"
>
> * "Every song makes me feel good"
>
> * "Finally...a station I can call my own"
>
> * "This station fits my life"
>
> ...And so on. It sounds like someone sat down and wrote
> these down hastily, based on what they expect listeners to
> feel. I'm listening, and so far I ain't feelin' it.
>
> The other thing that's mind-blowing is the recorded "fans of
> the station" drops, where some "listener on the street" says
> how much they love the station. They had these within
> fifteen minutes of going on the air. Of course, these
> generic "listeners" don't actually say KFRC's call letters
> ... can you buy these off the shelf, or do you hire actors
> to record them?
>
> Get well soon, KFRC.
>
> DJ
>
There is no programmer. A consultant and a market manager who just moved here are programming the radio station. 'Nuff said.

 

[kinetic]

Sacramento vs. San Francisco

> > There is no programmer. A consultant and a market manager who just moved here are programming the radio station. 'Nuff said.
>

This is an interesting comment. Someone said in another thread that Sacrmaneto radio is better than San Francisco radio, and the arguments they gave (as I remember it) seemed to suggest more of how bad one market was as opposed to whether the other was good.

The point: here we have a Sacramento radio guy coming into San Francisco and so far, everyone on the San Francisco board says it's worse. Is that a reflection of Sacramento market thinking (which is different from San Francisco in dozens of peripheral media ways, not just radio --mostly under the heading of "small-town minded").

The post that quoted Mr. Harvill's comments to the sales staff --I have to admit, my first reaction was, "Now there's a line of complete bullshit." But, if this is what a Sacramento guy thinks will work in San Francisco, does that say anything about Sacramento radio?

I'm really not sure what I'm getting at here, but considering the previous thread to which I referred, maybe there's something to think about. There are a lot of good contributors on this board; I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

[allisonmarie]

Re: Doug Harvill Comment...

> I'm borrowing from another board here -- on ba.broadcast,
> "Lancer" noted the following:
>
> >
> As I was leaving work today I ran into a KCBS sales guy I
> knew...Here is what he said Harvil told the staff that this
> format would kick KOIT and KIOI's ass. Because with this
> format all the 35-49 year olds would only listen to
> them...(and apparently "sing along") He called it High
> Energy AC.
> >
>
> DJ
>
Doug Harvill is missing the boat! First, bring back the jingles from 70's and let Bobby Ocean continue doing the imaging and get the personalities back pronto or else the audience will desert this sinking ship! And please get the listeners back on the air with the DJ's, and quit playing Phil Collins. The music needs some harder rocking music listen to any aircheck from the middle to late 70's and take a clue as to what made this station #1. "We do it for you on KFRC", and bring back the "Rhythm Of The City" along with the Paul Freeze ID's too! Then maybe Dougee Poo will steal a bit of KOIT's thunder! Dougee Poo doesn't know the meaning of High Energy Radio Formatics not even in his dreams! I listened all night and the music mix is so bogus!

 

[RadioJunkieMike]

Re: Sacramento vs. San Francisco

> The post that quoted Mr. Harvill's comments to the sales
> staff --I have to admit, my first reaction was, "Now there's
> a line of complete bullshit." But, if this is what a
> Sacramento guy thinks will work in San Francisco, does that
> say anything about Sacramento radio?
>
> I'm really not sure what I'm getting at here, but
> considering the previous thread to which I referred, maybe
> there's something to think about. There are a lot of good
> contributors on this board; I'd love to hear your thoughts.
>

Well, maybe I'm a contrarian, but they don't have to "kick KOIT's ass" to succeed; they just have to swipe part of the office-listening contingent from them and -- *voila!* -- a 3.0 or better. Don't laugh.

I'm not saying it sounds good... the liners are from hunger. Musically it really is a LOT like Big 98.1, mostly '70s with the highest-scoring '60s songs from the old format ("Brown-Eyed Girl" is one of the most-played oldies in America, despite not having been a top five single back in the day) and some early '80s thrown in. The only song I've heard so far that seemed out-of-place was "Walking in Memphis" from '91. MAX is more AOR-leaning and they're going nowhere, but then Bonneville has done almost no promotion on the station. Presumably Infinity is planning to back up this switch with ... *something*.

But as a 50-year-old, it's very sad that I'm considered part of a "worthless" demo. And (since I assume they've cancelled him) I'll especially miss Dick Bartley on Sat nite. Will an AM station in the area switch to "Real Oldies" as a result of this?

 

[95live]

from what i heard

from what i heard at 3pm, it was bad real bad, the liners were bad bad bad. i give up, i miss the old kfrc.. this station has no character at all!

 

[apco25]

Re: Sacramento vs. San Francisco

> > > There is no programmer. A consultant and a market
> manager who just moved here are programming the radio
> station. 'Nuff said.
> >
>
> This is an interesting comment. Someone said in another
> thread that Sacrmaneto radio is better than San Francisco
> radio, and the arguments they gave (as I remember it) seemed
> to suggest more of how bad one market was as opposed to
> whether the other was good.
>
> The point: here we have a Sacramento radio guy coming into
> San Francisco and so far, everyone on the San Francisco
> board says it's worse. Is that a reflection of Sacramento
> market thinking (which is different from San Francisco in
> dozens of peripheral media ways, not just radio --mostly
> under the heading of "small-town minded").
>
> The post that quoted Mr. Harvill's comments to the sales
> staff --I have to admit, my first reaction was, "Now there's
> a line of complete bullshit." But, if this is what a
> Sacramento guy thinks will work in San Francisco, does that
> say anything about Sacramento radio?
>
> I'm really not sure what I'm getting at here, but
> considering the previous thread to which I referred, maybe
> there's something to think about. There are a lot of good
> contributors on this board; I'd love to hear your thoughts.
>


Thanks for remembering PJ I'm flattered. That was me. Just because somebody from Sacramento comes to program San Francisco doesn't automatically mean they know what there doing.
I'm just comparing KCCL to KFRC/Oldies to Oldies/market to market, and KCCL has come along way recently. I'm not comparing them at all to XM, or anything else. Just those two.
I haven't had a chance to monitor KFRC under the change so far, but KCCL still kept their oldies composure while moving more into the 70's and early 80's. They did it right without the big announcements of upbeat music, and other dum liners. They gradually shifted under everyone's nose for the better without dumping most of what they have been playing before. They just play alittle less of it.

 

[Harp]

Re: KFRC

What I wish would have happened...

Someone who was part of the station's rich history or had studied it would program it.

Slowly start fine-tuning the playlist, no media interviews, no new liners, just work on the music. Not too slow, but do it within 7 days. No grandstanding, let the music and the execution of the changes speak for themselves.

When you get halfway through, black out the website, build some buzz, at the end of the 7 days, put a great site up, with plenty of station history. Not one that look's like KOIT's, no liners that are all taken from other stations, no saying "this is why we're great." Tell the story of KFRC from the beginning in the 20s, with the biggest and most documented part being the late 60s through the early 80s. No jocks for the second week, no new liners, just station IDs, spots and music. Use classic KFRC liners, throw in some old spots (Matthew's, Record Factory, Pacific Stereo, Comfort Zone, etc.)

At the end of the two weeks, bring in a stable of powerhouse jocks, ideally from the old KFRC if at all possible, if not, jocks who know the history of the station and will do it justice.

The station has always tried to sell on its legendary calls, but if you don't understand why it's legendary and never heard it, how can you really sell that, especially if the product doesn't measure up.

This turn of events is really a let-down. It wouldn't be that hard to do it right. Do it without looking at what everybody else is doing. I'm not saying don't be competitive, but just take the leap. I've been listening, the music isn't that bad, but the website just kills me. It's all phoned in. I know that there are people in the building who care very much about the station, I can only guess how disappointed they are that this was done this way.

It seems logical that Dick Bartley is gone, the ratings for his show were never particularly good. I don't think that they yanked the 50s and most of the 60s because they don't care about the boomers, I think they just finally recognized that the demo was aging. You can tell advertisers that financially it is a very powerful demo (older end of 25-54), but they hear and believe what they want to believe, Oldies was always an uphill battle. If they did this format right, they could pull people my age (late 30s) and people our parents age (mid 60s), we used to listen to the radio together. What a missed opportunity.

 

[sfradio]

Re: KFRC

> What I wish would have happened...
>
> Someone who was part of the station's rich history or had
> studied it would program it.
>
> Slowly start fine-tuning the playlist, no media interviews,
> no new liners, just work on the music. Not too slow, but do
> it within 7 days. No grandstanding, let the music and the
> execution of the changes speak for themselves.
>
> When you get halfway through, black out the website, build
> some buzz, at the end of the 7 days, put a great site up,
> with plenty of station history. Not one that look's like
> KOIT's, no liners that are all taken from other stations, no
> saying "this is why we're great." Tell the story of KFRC
> from the beginning in the 20s, with the biggest and most
> documented part being the late 60s through the early 80s. No
> jocks for the second week, no new liners, just station IDs,
> spots and music. Use classic KFRC liners, throw in some old
> spots (Matthew's, Record Factory, Pacific Stereo, Comfort
> Zone, etc.)
>
> At the end of the two weeks, bring in a stable of powerhouse
> jocks, ideally from the old KFRC if at all possible, if not,
> jocks who know the history of the station and will do it
> justice.
>
> The station has always tried to sell on its legendary calls,
> but if you don't understand why it's legendary and never
> heard it, how can you really sell that, especially if the
> product doesn't measure up.
>
> This turn of events is really a let-down. It wouldn't be
> that hard to do it right. Do it without looking at what
> everybody else is doing. I'm not saying don't be
> competitive, but just take the leap. I've been listening,
> the music isn't that bad, but the website just kills me.
> It's all phoned in. I know that there are people in the
> building who care very much about the station, I can only
> guess how disappointed they are that this was done this way.
>
>
> It seems logical that Dick Bartley is gone, the ratings for
> his show were never particularly good. I don't think that
> they yanked the 50s and most of the 60s because they don't
> care about the boomers, I think they just finally recognized
> that the demo was aging. You can tell advertisers that
> financially it is a very powerful demo (older end of 25-54),
> but they hear and believe what they want to believe, Oldies
> was always an uphill battle. If they did this format right,
> they could pull people my age (late 30s) and people our
> parents age (mid 60s), we used to listen to the radio
> together. What a missed opportunity.
>
what i whished would happen is to change 97.3 instead of 99.7, made it 97.3 kllc<P ID="signature">______________
http://natedoggairchecks.6x.to/
xxnate_doggxx (at) myway (dot) com
</P>

 

[DyingMedium]

Re: KFRC Website "Positioners"

These below were my personal favorites. Imaging liners done by bad research. I think updating the music was a good idea. However, this whole 'my station thing' is b.s....makes me wanna puke. Really. Who would EVER say

"This station fits my life"...For crying out loud. Whoever came up with
that beauty should be fired immediately. And format is suspiciously close to Sunny 99 in Houston. Same logo, etc...Nice..



"Who needs an iPod. These are my songs"
>
> * "I love the songs. I know them all!"
>
> * "It makes my workday go by Faster"
>
> * "The station gives me energy."
>
> * "The songs pick me up"
>
> * "Every song makes me feel good"
>
> * "Finally...a station I can call my own"
>
> * "This station fits my life"


> I love the rotating "positioners" at the top of the new KFRC
> website:
>
> * "The Perfect Bay Area Station"
>
> * "It's Upbeat! Great To Listen To At Work"
>
> * "It feels like my radio station"
>
> * "Who needs an iPod. These are my songs"
>
> * "I love the songs. I know them all!"
>
> * "It makes my workday go by Faster"
>
> * "The station gives me energy."
>
> * "The songs pick me up"
>
> * "Every song makes me feel good"
>
> * "Finally...a station I can call my own"
>
> * "This station fits my life"
>
> ...And so on. It sounds like someone sat down and wrote
> these down hastily, based on what they expect listeners to
> feel. I'm listening, and so far I ain't feelin' it.
>
> The other thing that's mind-blowing is the recorded "fans of
> the station" drops, where some "listener on the street" says
> how much they love the station. They had these within
> fifteen minutes of going on the air. Of course, these
> generic "listeners" don't actually say KFRC's call letters
> ... can you buy these off the shelf, or do you hire actors
> to record them?
>
> Get well soon, KFRC.
>
> DJ
>

 

[Randy_in_Eugene]

Re: Sacramento vs. San Francisco

> ...without the big announcements...
> They gradually shifted under everyone's nose for the better
> without dumping most of what they have been playing before.

Two Clear Channel stations did this recently in Oregon. Changes were made quietly, so as not to blow off the oldies audience. Image voice is still the same, just the word "oldies" has been eliminated. I suspect there will be new promotions coming shortly to bring in the younger demo at the start of the fall ratings period -- Eugene and Medford are only rated Fall and Spring. Time will tell whether this strategy, or KFRC's, is the better way to make the change.

 

[apco25]

Re: KFRC

> What I wish would have happened...
>
> Someone who was part of the station's rich history or had
> studied it would program it.
>
> Slowly start fine-tuning the playlist, no media interviews,
> no new liners, just work on the music. Not too slow, but do
> it within 7 days. No grandstanding, let the music and the
> execution of the changes speak for themselves.
>
> When you get halfway through, black out the website, build
> some buzz, at the end of the 7 days, put a great site up,
> with plenty of station history. Not one that look's like
> KOIT's, no liners that are all taken from other stations, no
> saying "this is why we're great." Tell the story of KFRC
> from the beginning in the 20s, with the biggest and most
> documented part being the late 60s through the early 80s. No
> jocks for the second week, no new liners, just station IDs,
> spots and music. Use classic KFRC liners, throw in some old
> spots (Matthew's, Record Factory, Pacific Stereo, Comfort
> Zone, etc.)
>
> At the end of the two weeks, bring in a stable of powerhouse
> jocks, ideally from the old KFRC if at all possible, if not,
> jocks who know the history of the station and will do it
> justice.
>
> The station has always tried to sell on its legendary calls,
> but if you don't understand why it's legendary and never
> heard it, how can you really sell that, especially if the
> product doesn't measure up.
>
> This turn of events is really a let-down. It wouldn't be
> that hard to do it right. Do it without looking at what
> everybody else is doing. I'm not saying don't be
> competitive, but just take the leap. I've been listening,
> the music isn't that bad, but the website just kills me.
> It's all phoned in. I know that there are people in the
> building who care very much about the station, I can only
> guess how disappointed they are that this was done this way.
>
>
> It seems logical that Dick Bartley is gone, the ratings for
> his show were never particularly good. I don't think that
> they yanked the 50s and most of the 60s because they don't
> care about the boomers, I think they just finally recognized
> that the demo was aging. You can tell advertisers that
> financially it is a very powerful demo (older end of 25-54),
> but they hear and believe what they want to believe, Oldies
> was always an uphill battle. If they did this format right,
> they could pull people my age (late 30s) and people our
> parents age (mid 60s), we used to listen to the radio
> together. What a missed opportunity.
>


Your pretty much right about the change. I got a chance to listen for a moment, and it's practically a complete image change. Yes , just like other oldies stations, there was nothing wrong with adding 70's and early to mid 80's. You had too. But without the grandstand announcing.
They should have approached this gradually but steadily. The problem has been that philosophy of oldies ends in the year 72 or 73. As far as I'm concern, something from '86 is an oldie. They all went through the trend of Top 40 playlists, and gradually dropped when request and record sales (45's) declined. Which as far as I'm concerned, makes it an oldie.
Let the evolving music speak for itself.
It was time and due for a update, but there approaching the sound of Star 101.3. They should still program 64 on up, but with less of it. (mid 60's). Yes the early 60's and before (according with the times these days) are sounding nostalgic. When I go to reunion oldies concerts and look at the groups of the 50's and late 60's, they no longer look cool, instead they look like lounge acts your parents took you to see when you were 5 or 6. You walk out with a sad feeling that they don't look anywhere like there album covers. Plus, there all not original band members. Even the artists and groups of the 80's (If you watched that NBC summer replacement show on Thursdays) are approaching that way, except there music and lyrics still pretty much resemble our times.

 

[Tom_SF]

Re: Doug Harvill Comment...

I wouldn't want to hear Bobby Ocean's voice (What, you're not tired of it since 1971?) and if he really wanted to kick KIOI's ass, he'd focus on the hits, THEN mix-in appropriate oldies. Just because some of us are baby boomers doesn't mean we only want to hear oldies.