KVIL PD out

[RickSklar77]

Exactly. The real challenge is to take what you can get with the nice December bump, but not let it dip back down too low the rest of the year.

That's too bad. I like Charley and he was put in a difficult position here in Dallas. I don't think they really gave him a fair chance to see if he could keep the recent momentum going, and now we'll never know.

True. The biggest challenge AC stations face is holding onto the audience that Santa brings them in that wonderful third phase. In 2000, agencies and other buyers were wide-eyed and ignorant that one phase (or in many years, just three weeks) would produce such incredible shares.

7 years later, they're all hip to the fact that one month does not make a radio station.

Most of them aren't even looking at a 4 book average anymore because of the inflated Christmas bump. I don't blame them.

If I was a buyer, I would expect to pay a premium to be on the air in early-mid December.

If I was a radio seller, I would expect to charge a premium to allow a buyer to be on my station during those 3-4 weeks. Arbitron has proven that Christmas means more listeners.

You want to reach a huge amount of passionate listeners? Buy me in early December, and I will deliver.

It's NO DIFFERENT than what network TV does during sweeps months. Except that radio is not nearly as adept as TV in selling its inventory.

So yes, the Winter book now tells the story.

I applaud Charlie and his work that gave KVIL their highest ratings in years. He's a smart programmer. But the trick has always been holding onto the "Santa Kiss".

Let's see where they eventually land.

 

[Alvin Tostig]

right on rick. charlie is a good pd. that's what really is devastating about these industry cuts. they're now hitting some of the best radio has left. many more bit the dust around the country in recent months.

i do tho think it's funny that everyone is "waiting to see if they can hold on to that number." let me save you the time. they can't. no ac station anywhere can. no ac station ever claimed it could. no buyer expects them to. and i am sure the folks at kvil are not sweating it. hey it worked great, charlie got some of the highest numbers in the history of the feature. a job well done. you don't compare an ac's december number to the rest of its year, you compare it to the station's previous december number, and perhaps against other ac's in december. by those measures, kvil is doing great, no matter what the winter book shows.

i recall years ago when the christmas music stunt started. first people said it wouldn't work. then they said it would only work once. then they said listeners would tire of it. now, years later, kvil scores boxcar numbers with it, and people say they can't maintain it into the winter book.

good call though rick. i think you will see stations start to sell ahead and get premiums for the december number, especially when ppm comes.

 

[little1]

, kvil is doing great, no matter what the winter book shows.

Define doing great. By whose standards? Yeah, compared to other AC's around the country they may be doing great, but we're in Dallas. KVIL used to be the number one station in the market and one of the top billers in the country.

Now, I'm not sure they break the top 10 in either category.

If that's your definition of doing great, failing to get ratings or revenue, fine...

(and I'll admit I'm going from memory- if you'd care to share just exactly how great they're doing, feel free....If they are top 10, I'll take my lumps...But if they are, I bet it's not by much...)

 

[SkaggsAlphaBeta]

Define doing great. By whose standards? Yeah, compared to other AC's around the country they may be doing great, but we're in Dallas. KVIL used to be the number one station in the market and one of the top billers in the country.

No, I don't think Lite FM is doing great by those standards. And I doubt this recent Christmas book was the best book in 12 years. You would be talking 1995-96, and KVIL hadn't gone in the tank at that point.

The biggest challenge AC stations face is holding onto the audience that Santa brings them in that wonderful third phase. In 2000, agencies and other buyers were wide-eyed and ignorant that one phase (or in many years, just three weeks) would produce such incredible shares.

Actually, in 2000 or 2001, none of KVIL's advertisers were left wide-eyed by the December numbers. They were used to buying better numbers from KVIL every book of the year. No, at that point, advertisers were waiting to see if they could believe what KVIL's programming and sales people were shoveling.

Programming had just spent the better part of a year intentionally chasing off the older end of the demo, which left KVIL with young Dallas women who didn't like KISS, MIX, KSCS or KPLX. And here's the kicker. The juicy bait was Soft Rock all the time.

KVIL programming was pretty nervous about that first Christmas book. As the day of the book approached, the ratings for some other Christmas stations around the country came in, and they weren't all that great. But it worked pretty well for KVIL, and there was a collective sigh of relief within the station. Then everyone clung to the hope that the Christmas bump would draw attention to the "lite" changes at KVIL and that a bunch of the Christmas listeners would stick around from January forward. They didn't then, and they never have. 103.7 is now a seasonal business--like a ski resort, but with a shorter season.

From CBS's perspective, why would 103.7 need a full-time PD? Even when it's time to earn your money, all you have to do is plug in the color-by-numbers playlist from CBS corporate. That's not hard. And why put a lot of stress and sweat into the rest of the year? With much less effort, you can rate equally poorly.

 

[BBontheRadio]

BTW, in the January trend, lite fm improved:

• #4 Persons 25-54
• #1 Women 18+ (6.4 to 7.1)

• Mornings: #2 Women
• Middays: #1 Women (8.8 to 9.6) [Go Terry King!!! ]
• Afternoons: #1 Women and Persons 25-54