Plus KMPS had a killer on air staff during the time.
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KNUC 98.9 has filed for a call letter change
- Thread starter The New Chico
- Start date
Plus KMPS had a killer on air staff during the time.
I remember the Seattle music in the 90s.
Teenagers will switch from 107.7 The End , KUBE 93 FM or Kiss 106.1 (around the late 90s).
College age will switch from 107.7 The End, 99.9 KISW, 103.7 The Mountain, 102.5 KZOK, 96.5 KXRX (early 90s) Kiss 106.1 (Back then it was more of Rhythmic AC and follow by Conservative Leaning CHR around the late 90s) and Star 101.5.
Hardly people I knew in Seattle ever listen to 94.1 KMPS, Young Country 96.5, or K106 before they switch to Rhythmic AC around 1996.
Teenagers will switch from 107.7 The End , KUBE 93 FM or Kiss 106.1 (around the late 90s).
College age will switch from 107.7 The End, 99.9 KISW, 103.7 The Mountain, 102.5 KZOK, 96.5 KXRX (early 90s) Kiss 106.1 (Back then it was more of Rhythmic AC and follow by Conservative Leaning CHR around the late 90s) and Star 101.5.
Hardly people I knew in Seattle ever listen to 94.1 KMPS, Young Country 96.5, or K106 before they switch to Rhythmic AC around 1996.
But KMPS was likely targeting the more suburban areas of the metropolitan area at the time. I’m sure that’s what they were doing right before making the switch to “The Sound.” In Seattle, country doesn’t have a massive following, but the prime transmitter placement on top of tiger mountain means that there are many listeners, and they probably are some distance away.
The region was different in the 1990s. I doubt the tech-bros that massively populate Seattle now are all that into country, as much as Seattleites might have been in 1991. The burbs are less rural than they were in the 1990s, too, as the metro has grown. The only 'country' areas are well out of the market.... Centralia/Chehalis, Elma, rural Pierce, Enumclaw valley, Arlington, etc.
Not that one has to ride a horse, wear Wranglers and chew bacca to like country, I know, all sorts of people are into the music. But I still don't see how one can connect "PNW" and "Country", unless the station were serving Pendleton or Colville or Forks.
Not that they couldn't do it with a real "country" logo or slogan, but the call letters themselves don't say "country" to me. Not that call letters matter....
Not that one has to ride a horse, wear Wranglers and chew bacca to like country, I know, all sorts of people are into the music. But I still don't see how one can connect "PNW" and "Country", unless the station were serving Pendleton or Colville or Forks.
Not that they couldn't do it with a real "country" logo or slogan, but the call letters themselves don't say "country" to me. Not that call letters matter....
Satire of course, Kelly. I think you know this, but for the rest just to be clear.
Country likes Kent and Auburn. (See old episodes of “almost live” the satirical local on KING TV in the 80’s).
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KMPS benefited in the early 90s from the rise of artists like Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Clint Back,Trisha Yearwood and stalwart's like Reba, George Strait and Alabama. I was in college and couldn't get into grunge or early hip-hop. Began listening to KMPS instead of Top 40. Ichabod, Tony Thomas and Stubs were the bomb. I'll give a shout out to KXXA 1520 which has a nice mix of country throwbacks from the 50s to 90s and has carved out a nice format niche in the market.
btw loved the reference to Almost Live. That show was gold!
btw loved the reference to Almost Live. That show was gold!
In Seattle proper, country isn't very popular. It's always the strip mall-infested suburbs of Lynnwood, Bellevue (or Kent and Auburn), where the country fans and mechanical bulls lurk.
So we're KPNW-FM now? Wouldn't be the first time 98.9 "borrowed" a call sign (they were KLCK-FM during their "Click" daze. I think Bicoastal also owns KLCK 1400 Goldendale, although as I'm typing, I haven't looked that up.)
If this were an outright format switch, I'd think an intervention would/should probably be called. This would be now what, the FOURTH format blow up on this frequency in 13 years? So I'm siding with the "rebranding" argument.
Besides, one of the worst things you can do anymore to a radio station these days is abruptly change formats. There are too many streaming options to lose listeners to that may never come back to the terrestrial medium unless by literally Act of God force-earthquake, volcano. Something.
But why go through all of this (namely leasing the KPNW-FM call sign) if you're just doing the radio industry equivalent of repositioning your balls after you get comfy in an easy chair?
If this is a relaunch, it had better be spectacular, social media driving, TMZ talking, #KPNW-FM Twitter trending, celeb freakouts, free beer and everything else KKWF isn't. Or it will still be a 2.5 pumpkin. (This is all not free of course, but neither is anyone's attention span anymore. As Bonnie Raitt said "Give 'em something to talk about"....)
So we're KPNW-FM now? Wouldn't be the first time 98.9 "borrowed" a call sign (they were KLCK-FM during their "Click" daze. I think Bicoastal also owns KLCK 1400 Goldendale, although as I'm typing, I haven't looked that up.)
If this were an outright format switch, I'd think an intervention would/should probably be called. This would be now what, the FOURTH format blow up on this frequency in 13 years? So I'm siding with the "rebranding" argument.
Besides, one of the worst things you can do anymore to a radio station these days is abruptly change formats. There are too many streaming options to lose listeners to that may never come back to the terrestrial medium unless by literally Act of God force-earthquake, volcano. Something.
But why go through all of this (namely leasing the KPNW-FM call sign) if you're just doing the radio industry equivalent of repositioning your balls after you get comfy in an easy chair?
If this is a relaunch, it had better be spectacular, social media driving, TMZ talking, #KPNW-FM Twitter trending, celeb freakouts, free beer and everything else KKWF isn't. Or it will still be a 2.5 pumpkin. (This is all not free of course, but neither is anyone's attention span anymore. As Bonnie Raitt said "Give 'em something to talk about"....)
It doesn't matter. Ratings are based on the entire market, not the city.
And Nielsen does not measure "cities" as radio markets are defined by counties. In the whole US there are only a couple of cases where portions of a county are divided between several markets.
My top-of-mind recollection are the division of Worcester County, MA, Fairfield County, CT, Riverside County, CA, San Bernardino County, CA, Ventura County, CA (part is unmeasured).
Map of Nielsen markets (revised annually): https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Arbitron/Market-Maps/Fall 2021 Radio Metro Map v2final.pdf
Not as many country fans anymore throughout Seattle, I'm afraid. The alfalfa fields and horse farms of Hwy 527 are long, long gone. There used to be tons of open space on Bothell-Everett Highway in the 1980s. What used to be farmhouses are now McMansions worth $2-3 million - maybe more, plus a ton of strip malls. Or cookie-cutter neighborhoods with no space between each house. Stations like 98.9 and 100.7 are probably most popular in Monroe, Snohomish, North Bend, Puyallup, Enumclaw, and south of Tacoma along Hwys 7 and 161. Purple to slightly red areas of Seattle, politically. I doubt a hipster clothing shop in Ballard is playing 98.9 the Bull on their intercom.
But what IS there to replace it with? I can't think of any viable format. Maybe an Urban-leaning AC? But KYIZ has that format on AM...
But what IS there to replace it with? I can't think of any viable format. Maybe an Urban-leaning AC? But KYIZ has that format on AM...
That's OK. Radio stations aren't in the music business. I think what we're starting to see is that radio stations can't depend on music to get big ratings. Except maybe for Christmas music in December. Otherwise, there are very few choices. We see in other cities that rock isn't very popular either. KISW is popular because of its personalities. Alternative isn't very popular either. But KEXP has done a great job of building an audience.
I doubt a hipster clothing shop in Ballard is playing 98.9 the Bull on their intercom.
The reality is that hipster clothing shop is probably playing satellite radio or streaming. Ironically in the heyday of malls locally, you would probably hear 93.3, 99.9 or 101.5 playing in the Squire Shop, Spencer Gifts or the The Gap. KMPS would have been playing at the local western wear store.
Back on point, I don't listen to either 98.9 or 100.7 so I don't have a feel for the strength of the format in Seattle in this era.
The reality is that hipster clothing shop is probably playing satellite radio or streaming. Ironically in the heyday of malls locally, you would probably hear 93.3, 99.9 or 101.5 playing in the Squire Shop, Spencer Gifts or the The Gap. KMPS would have been playing at the local western wear store.
Back on point, I don't listen to either 98.9 or 100.7 so I don't have a feel for the strength of the format in Seattle in this era.
Your "deer in the headlights" comment reminded me of something: There was a story several years ago about a talk show host who got a call from a woman who was upset that a deer crossing was in an inconvenient location and should be moved!
There you go... AAA in Seattle again: Hubbard Launches AAA 98.9 KPNW Seattle - RadioInsight
This is a huge shock… I never thought I would see the day where we’d have AAA back in Seattle. To be fair, it’s a format I genuinely like, but I question if this was the right move for Hubbard to make. I also wonder if someone else is going to try country because it would seem highly unlikely that “The Wolf” will be left alone to capture that entire market.
Back when Audacy flipped KMPS to KSWD, we were hearing that iHeart was getting ready to flip to country. Hubbard beat them. KNUC had been running iHeart's Bobby Bones in mornings, so Bobby is looking for a new home. Problem is iHeart doesn't have a weak frequency right now.
Nope. That seems to be the only format they don't have.
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