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Latest in the Variety Hits world

LouPickney

LouPickney

Travel, illness (stupid airplane recirculated air) and "real life" work have kept me from updating VarietyHits.comhttp://www.varietyhits.com lately, but I plan to work on that later tonight. 100000watts.com reports that KWUF (Pagosa Springs, CO) and WQRM (Smethport, PA) are the latest to sign on with WW1's "SAM Radio" satellite-fed format. But besides that, and Dawson, GA's "Zack FM" on WMRZ, it's been a pretty quiet week on the VH flip front. We are in the spring book, though.

I closed the thread about personalities on Jack stations, as it was getting ridiculously long and a touch unruly. Please be civil, everyone. It's okay to not like the Variety Hits format, or to find fault with aspects of it. There's no need to be unkind to those who do not share your viewpoint on a particular topic. One of the great things about this board is that it allows people with a wide array of outlooks to share opinions and to debate varying outlooks. But civility is key, particularly in an environment where anonymity is prevalent.

Onto an interesting topic now: one thing I've noticed on some of the regional boards is how some people have dropped predictions that "Jack is coming soon" or that "Jack likes 4th of July fireworks shows, look for him to show up in (X market) by then". Every JACK-FM debut I've observed, from New York City to Jackson, MS, has been done by total surprise.<P ID="signature">______________
Lou Pickney
Tampa, FL
RadioHotTalk.com & VarietyHits.com</P>
 
thanks

for keeping us so up-to-date on this hot, new format.

I noted you don't have Chicago's "Nine FM" listed. I know their signal(s)
suck and they barely show in the ratings, but should they not be included
on your site? They always seem to be one of the examples mentioned.

thanks again.

> Travel, illness (stupid airplane recirculated air) and "real
> life" work have kept me from updating VarietyHits.com
> lately, but I plan to work on that later tonight.
> 100000watts.com reports that KWUF (Pagosa Springs, CO) and
> WQRM (Smethport, PA) are the latest to sign on with WW1's
> "SAM Radio" satellite-fed format. But besides that, and
> Dawson, GA's "Zack FM" on WMRZ, it's been a pretty quiet
> week on the VH flip front. We are in the spring book,
> though.
>
> I closed the thread about personalities on Jack stations, as
> it was getting ridiculously long and a touch unruly. Please
> be civil, everyone. It's okay to not like the Variety Hits
> format, or to find fault with aspects of it. There's no
> need to be unkind to those who do not share your viewpoint
> on a particular topic. One of the great things about this
> board is that it allows people with a wide array of outlooks
> to share opinions and to debate varying outlooks. But
> civility is key, particularly in an environment where
> anonymity is prevalent.
>
> Onto an interesting topic now: one thing I've noticed on
> some of the regional boards is how some people have dropped
> predictions that "Jack is coming soon" or that "Jack likes
> 4th of July fireworks shows, look for him to show up in (X
> market) by then". Every JACK-FM debut I've observed, from
> New York City to Jackson, MS, has been done by total
> surprise.
>
 
Re: thanks

> I noted you don't have Chicago's "Nine FM" listed. I know their signal(s)
> suck and they barely show in the ratings, but should they not be included on
> your site? They always seem to be one of the examples mentioned.

For what it's worth, I don't take signal strength or ratings into account as far as station listings go.

This link includes Nine FM -- it's the "Close, But Not Quite" section. Nine FM's playlist consists of 3,000+ songs, and it plays many currents that do not quality as hits. I think it's a great station myself from a personal preference standpoint, but I don't think it qualifies as a Variety Hits station. I'm not quite sure how you'd classify it, but it doesn't fit all of the criteria that I consider necessary for inclusion as a Variety Hits station, so thus I don't have it included in the main list.<P ID="signature">______________
Lou Pickney
Tampa, FL
RadioHotTalk.com & VarietyHits.com</P>
 
OK, thanks

great- thanks for pointing that out.
>
> This link includes Nine FM -- it's the "Close, But Not
> Quite" section. Nine FM's playlist consists of 3,000+
> songs, and it plays many currents that do not quality as
> hits. I think it's a great station myself from a personal
> preference standpoint, but I don't think it qualifies as a
> Variety Hits station. I'm not quite sure how you'd classify
> it, but it doesn't fit all of the criteria that I consider
> necessary for inclusion as a Variety Hits station, so thus I
> don't have it included in the main list.
>
 
> Every JACK-FM debut I've observed, from New York City to Jackson, MS, has been > done by total surprise.

You got that right. A couple of days before WTYX (now WWJK) went from Arrow to Jack, I remember the jocks saying that on the following Friday at noon, they would be playing non-stop music during the Labor Day weekend. But out of the clear blue, they went Jack the day before at 3pm.

<P ID="signature">______________
"...and the countdown continues until the neanderthals that govern college football do something about their pathetic postseason."--Tim Brando, Sporting News Radio</P>
 
One of the great things about this
> board is that it allows people with a wide array of outlooks
> to share opinions and to debate varying outlooks. But
> civility is key, particularly in an environment where
> anonymity is prevalent.
>
> Onto an interesting topic now: one thing I've noticed on
> some of the regional boards is how some people have dropped
> predictions that "Jack is coming soon" or that "Jack likes
> 4th of July fireworks shows, look for him to show up in (X
> market) by then". Every JACK-FM debut I've observed, from
> New York City to Jackson, MS, has been done by total
> surprise.
>

Ok, so if people don't expect Jack to debut on the 4th, then it will be a suprise when it does happen!

Yeah, I'm overthinking this a tad too much...
 
> Ok, so if people don't expect Jack to debut on the 4th, then
> it will be a suprise when it does happen!
>
> Yeah, I'm overthinking this a tad too much...

It could happen somewhere, for sure. But the approach has been to bring the format in with as few people knowing as possible ahead of time. It's kind of like the old saying: "A secret is safe among three only if two are dead." Perhaps that's a morbid way to look at it, but the fewer people who know, the fewer people who could potentially let the news leak out ahead of time.<P ID="signature">______________
Lou Pickney
Tampa, FL
RadioHotTalk.com & VarietyHits.com</P>
 
> Hi Loupickney
I live in the Pittsburgh area and am hoping for a Jack FM station soon. A lot of people on the Pittsburgh boards are now saying JACK FM might not come as soon as we think if at all?

Travel, illness (stupid airplane recirculated air) and "real
> life" work have kept me from updating VarietyHits.com
> lately, but I plan to work on that later tonight.
> 100000watts.com reports that KWUF (Pagosa Springs, CO) and
> WQRM (Smethport, PA) are the latest to sign on with WW1's
> "SAM Radio" satellite-fed format. But besides that, and
> Dawson, GA's "Zack FM" on WMRZ, it's been a pretty quiet
> week on the VH flip front. We are in the spring book,
> though.
>
> I closed the thread about personalities on Jack stations, as
> it was getting ridiculously long and a touch unruly. Please
> be civil, everyone. It's okay to not like the Variety Hits
> format, or to find fault with aspects of it. There's no
> need to be unkind to those who do not share your viewpoint
> on a particular topic. One of the great things about this
> board is that it allows people with a wide array of outlooks
> to share opinions and to debate varying outlooks. But
> civility is key, particularly in an environment where
> anonymity is prevalent.
>
> Onto an interesting topic now: one thing I've noticed on
> some of the regional boards is how some people have dropped
> predictions that "Jack is coming soon" or that "Jack likes
> 4th of July fireworks shows, look for him to show up in (X
> market) by then". Every JACK-FM debut I've observed, from
> New York City to Jackson, MS, has been done by total
> surprise.
>
 
> > Ok, so if people don't expect Jack to debut on the 4th,
> then
> > it will be a suprise when it does happen!
> >
> > Yeah, I'm overthinking this a tad too much...
>
> It could happen somewhere, for sure. But the approach has
> been to bring the format in with as few people knowing as
> possible ahead of time. It's kind of like the old saying:
> "A secret is safe among three only if two are dead."
> Perhaps that's a morbid way to look at it, but the fewer
> people who know, the fewer people who could potentially let
> the news leak out ahead of time.
>

Keeping secrets is especially key when you're going to flip a format that's rather popular, or surprise a competitor in the market. Could you imagine how much outcry would've happen if WCBS-FM fans would've known in advance that the station was flipping to Jack? Heck, the jocks themselves didn't know jack (pun intended) about an imminent flip.

<P ID="signature">______________
"...and the countdown continues until the neanderthals that govern college football do something about their pathetic postseason."--Tim Brando, Sporting News Radio</P>
 
> > Hi Loupickney
> I live in the Pittsburgh area and am hoping for a Jack FM
> station soon. A lot of people on the Pittsburgh boards are
> now saying JACK FM might not come as soon as we think if at
> all?

If JACK-FM is coming to Pittsburgh, there won't be any advance warning about it. Speculation on the Pittsburgh board was running a bit crazy there for awhile, but it was just that: speculation. There was lots of talk about Infinity potentially flipping Star 100.7 or K-Rock 93.7, but talk is just talk until something happens. WRRK would make the most sense for a flip to Variety Hits, but I hear that Steel City Media is not interested.<P ID="signature">______________
Lou Pickney
Tampa, FL
RadioHotTalk.com & VarietyHits.com</P>
 
Variety Hits world

Totally right-on. This whole silly "well, you should have at least warned us you were going to change format!" is baffling. The naive hope that a response might somehow make a station change it's mind is not realistic, anyway (not to mention the guy across the street hearing it and beating you to the punch-DUH!).

I empathize that it sucks for the airstaff to be blindsided and suck for the listeners, but the business wold can be cold sometimes.


>
> Keeping secrets is especially key when you're going to flip
> a format that's rather popular, or surprise a competitor in
> the market. Could you imagine how much outcry would've
> happen if WCBS-FM fans would've known in advance that the
> station was flipping to Jack? Heck, the jocks themselves
> didn't know jack (pun intended) about an imminent flip.
>
 
> > >Hi Loupickney,
You are right, WRRK would make the most sense for a variety hits format. I remember in December of last year, WRRK was stunting to get ready for the new WRRK. They were playing a JACK type format for the last two weeks in December. Then on Jan 5 of this year, WRRK basically did nothing and stayed the same classic rock format. The ratings for WRRK have been terrible for about a year and a half now. There are now 4 rock stations in Pittsburgh and am very surprised that none of them have changed yet. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens. I've noticed a lot of the Jack Stations that have been coming on board have been happening between 3-5 on Fridays

Hi Loupickney
> > I live in the Pittsburgh area and am hoping for a Jack FM
> > station soon. A lot of people on the Pittsburgh boards
> are
> > now saying JACK FM might not come as soon as we think if
> at
> > all?
>
> If JACK-FM is coming to Pittsburgh, there won't be any
> advance warning about it. Speculation on the Pittsburgh
> board was running a bit crazy there for awhile, but it was
> just that: speculation. There was lots of talk about
> Infinity potentially flipping Star 100.7 or K-Rock 93.7, but
> talk is just talk until something happens. WRRK would make
> the most sense for a flip to Variety Hits, but I hear that
> Steel City Media is not interested.
>
 
Re: Variety Hits world

> Totally right-on. This whole silly "well, you should have
> at least warned us you were going to change format!" is
> baffling. The naive hope that a response might somehow make
> a station change it's mind is not realistic, anyway (not to
> mention the guy across the street hearing it and beating you
> to the punch-DUH!).

Especially in Chicago, where if Infinity had announced the WJMK flip in advance, Feder at the Sun-Times (who loves Biondi and will always write favorable stuff about him) would be doing a column a day and forwarding a huge stack of E-mails disagreeing with the format change. Meanwhile, the day before the announced change, Bonneville could fire everyone at 'TMX except for morning team Eric and Kathy and flip to VH and Infinity would be out in the cold. Stuck with sticking to oldies, Feder would then take credit for making Infinity stick to the format. That's why Infinity didn't tip their hand.
 
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