J
JohnnyMorganWXJX
Guest
I'm back from a LONG weekend (Thurs PM to Mon AM) in SW Pennsylvania. First taste of 100.5 JACK-FM and 96.9 Bob-FM. I was within range of both of them the entire stay (I was in Washington Co. the entire stationary time, and in transit up and down I-79 otherwise).
As I listened, I tried to be a passive radio listener, and not an active radio geek. Hope I succeeded.
I shall state the good and bad according to station, and give my overalls at the end.
Bob-FM:
Stronger signal in the metro, but that's neither here nor there--Jack is out of Wheeling, as we all know.
Somewhat obscure musical selections--not just placement, but choice of stuff. All the right artists, but some real misses when it comes to "hits".
Definitely researched, but I wonder if a whole test was done before the format debuted. Not unheard of, especially if the "quickness" factor was a concern--beating Infinity to the draw. But I'd expect the music to change over the next couple weeks as the results of a test are read and interpreted.
Liners were weak. The two voice thing sounds distant. The guy (is it Dan Deely, from Cleveland?) and the girl (who is she?) sound like they were recorded in separate studios--which is likely. Writing was expected; little cheesy but not over the top. In line with some Jack stuff. But needs to be tightened up. We play anything.
I liked the "explanation" liner--the "Bob" voice "explaining" what the format was all about. Not a permanent thing, but a necessity when dealing/selling with this new thing to (a) the existing WRRK audience, and (b) to new listeners.
Female lean--definitely.
I could tell it was locally programmed, and locally board op-ed or auto-animated. Tightness that isn't seen with satellite delivery.
Commercial load was OK--no more than 4 in a row, if I remember right. Maybe dayparted, not completely sure.
The TOH ID is out-of-place. Same voice(s) doing liners should do the ID.
Jack-FM:
More male friendly, in my opinion.
Mainstream music mix--not as obscure as some Bob stuff.
Can tell it's off the bird--not as tight, moments before/after commercials where there's a bit of "air".
Liners are tighter, more hardened, and more "present" (cf. distant). Same general idea--we play what we want--but single male voice. No explanation liner--which may lead people who stumble across the station to wonder what's going on. (In my small survey of friends, no one knew about Jack or Bob. And one of them is a former station OM.)
Also, definitely researched. All the biggies, big artists, and some minor but not obscure hits. I'd heard everything they played on the radio before somewhere.
Not so much "local flavor" being satellite. Spots were national--some local stuff, but not like Bob.
Overall:
Thumbs up to Jack on music. Bob may be working out the kinks--and I'm willing to give them a short time to re-examine the music. In early stages, probably uber-watched by MD and PD. But for now, Jack's got the edge to average radio listener.
Thumbs up to Bob on being local. That's a key ingredient, even if auto-animated, that will show through shortly.
Thumbs up to Jack on the liners. It's a small point, but stuck out in my mind.
Thumbs up to Bob on the "explanation". That was an important thing that most people forget. KHJ essentially had an "explanation" in 1965--and Boss Radio/Drake format was the greatest phenomenon of the 1960s and early 1970s.
*****
Now, a side issue: this "thousands of songs" thing (the figure I always saw was 1200) has always been speculation by us radio geeks--especially on this board. Jack/Bob/Infinity, etc. have never come out and said it one way or the other. We just assumed.
But it was ALWAYS stated that Jack/Bob formats were highly and tightly researched. They probably don't have a tired 300 song playlist. But core artists (like Stefani, et al.) will be repeated; and even songs may be repeated. But you won't hear the same song in the same place always--necessarily. That's something that can't always be said for 3WS.
But Jack/Bob is still based on and playing by the same radio rules as Wish, DVE, 3WS, and Kiss: listeners want to hear their favorite songs when they turn on the radio. All Jack/Bob do is (a) put all those multi-format songs in one place, and (b) make it seem like it's a jukebox.
It is a highly intricate format that is to us radio geeks just liners and hodge-podge trainwrecks; to listeners, it's what they want to hear, all in one place.
I'm still not sold on it totally, but I'm warming to it.
<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Johnny Morgan on 11/08/05 05:03 PM.</FONT></P>
As I listened, I tried to be a passive radio listener, and not an active radio geek. Hope I succeeded.
I shall state the good and bad according to station, and give my overalls at the end.
Bob-FM:
Stronger signal in the metro, but that's neither here nor there--Jack is out of Wheeling, as we all know.
Somewhat obscure musical selections--not just placement, but choice of stuff. All the right artists, but some real misses when it comes to "hits".
Definitely researched, but I wonder if a whole test was done before the format debuted. Not unheard of, especially if the "quickness" factor was a concern--beating Infinity to the draw. But I'd expect the music to change over the next couple weeks as the results of a test are read and interpreted.
Liners were weak. The two voice thing sounds distant. The guy (is it Dan Deely, from Cleveland?) and the girl (who is she?) sound like they were recorded in separate studios--which is likely. Writing was expected; little cheesy but not over the top. In line with some Jack stuff. But needs to be tightened up. We play anything.
I liked the "explanation" liner--the "Bob" voice "explaining" what the format was all about. Not a permanent thing, but a necessity when dealing/selling with this new thing to (a) the existing WRRK audience, and (b) to new listeners.
Female lean--definitely.
I could tell it was locally programmed, and locally board op-ed or auto-animated. Tightness that isn't seen with satellite delivery.
Commercial load was OK--no more than 4 in a row, if I remember right. Maybe dayparted, not completely sure.
The TOH ID is out-of-place. Same voice(s) doing liners should do the ID.
Jack-FM:
More male friendly, in my opinion.
Mainstream music mix--not as obscure as some Bob stuff.
Can tell it's off the bird--not as tight, moments before/after commercials where there's a bit of "air".
Liners are tighter, more hardened, and more "present" (cf. distant). Same general idea--we play what we want--but single male voice. No explanation liner--which may lead people who stumble across the station to wonder what's going on. (In my small survey of friends, no one knew about Jack or Bob. And one of them is a former station OM.)
Also, definitely researched. All the biggies, big artists, and some minor but not obscure hits. I'd heard everything they played on the radio before somewhere.
Not so much "local flavor" being satellite. Spots were national--some local stuff, but not like Bob.
Overall:
Thumbs up to Jack on music. Bob may be working out the kinks--and I'm willing to give them a short time to re-examine the music. In early stages, probably uber-watched by MD and PD. But for now, Jack's got the edge to average radio listener.
Thumbs up to Bob on being local. That's a key ingredient, even if auto-animated, that will show through shortly.
Thumbs up to Jack on the liners. It's a small point, but stuck out in my mind.
Thumbs up to Bob on the "explanation". That was an important thing that most people forget. KHJ essentially had an "explanation" in 1965--and Boss Radio/Drake format was the greatest phenomenon of the 1960s and early 1970s.
*****
Now, a side issue: this "thousands of songs" thing (the figure I always saw was 1200) has always been speculation by us radio geeks--especially on this board. Jack/Bob/Infinity, etc. have never come out and said it one way or the other. We just assumed.
But it was ALWAYS stated that Jack/Bob formats were highly and tightly researched. They probably don't have a tired 300 song playlist. But core artists (like Stefani, et al.) will be repeated; and even songs may be repeated. But you won't hear the same song in the same place always--necessarily. That's something that can't always be said for 3WS.
But Jack/Bob is still based on and playing by the same radio rules as Wish, DVE, 3WS, and Kiss: listeners want to hear their favorite songs when they turn on the radio. All Jack/Bob do is (a) put all those multi-format songs in one place, and (b) make it seem like it's a jukebox.
It is a highly intricate format that is to us radio geeks just liners and hodge-podge trainwrecks; to listeners, it's what they want to hear, all in one place.
I'm still not sold on it totally, but I'm warming to it.
<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Johnny Morgan on 11/08/05 05:03 PM.</FONT></P>