Los Angeles Radio Ratings: July 2023

[Signal Geek]

43 years is a long time. I think you might be mis-remembering.

Darn it, Michael, your facts got in the way of my opinions

Now, I'm questioning ALL my Bay Area 70's-early 80s radio memories of CBS-FM...

(Cue harp music)
(VIDEO GOES ALL WAVY)
(DISSOLVE TO SHOT OF SIGNAL GEEK GAZING AT SKY)
(SG's voice echoing, as he struggles to recall what he heard 43+ years ago...)

"Did they actually have beautiful-sounding, very lengthy (I believe :30) identifiers with an orchestra bed that began with acappella singers saying "mussssic...", and ended with them slowly singing "When the sun goes down 'round the Bay, CBS-FM."?

"Did they actually call themselves Monster FM, after relocating to a more powerful signal?"

"Didn't the jocks go by first names only, to evoke a super-stoned vibe? Didn't I record a snippet of a CBS-FM jock saying "Steve with the music; Tim Weisburg (as they began playing his flute classic Dion Blue)?

Was I really being stroked by a peacock feather in a Marin hot tub, as I hear the station identify as "Mellow Rock"?

"Starting in early 1980, weren't they actually what would today be called "active rock" -- because the songs I recorded off their air at the time included Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk," the Rolling Stones' "Shattered," and Pink Floyd's "Another Brick on the Wall" (songs that were fairly current at the time)?

(VIDEO GOES WAVY AGAIN)
(BACK TO SHOT OF SIGNAL GEEK STARING AT CAMERA)
(audio reverts to normal voice)

Michael, was that all just a dream?

 

[michael hagerty]

Darn it, Michael, your facts got in the way of my opinions

Now, I'm questioning ALL my Bay Area 70's-early 80s radio memories of CBS-FM...

(Cue harp music)
(VIDEO GOES ALL WAVY)
(DISSOLVE TO SHOT OF SIGNAL GEEK GAZING AT SKY)
(SG's voice echoing, as he struggles to recall what he heard 43+ years ago...)

"Did they actually have beautiful-sounding, very lengthy (I believe :30) identifiers with an orchestra bed that began with acappella singers saying "mussssic...", and ended with them slowly singing "When the sun goes down 'round the Bay, CBS-FM."?

Maybe. I didn't listen enough to hear that, and not much tape survives, so unless it's in those hours I posted, we may not know for sure.

"Did they actually call themselves Monster FM, after relocating to a more powerful signal?"

Yes. Portfolio | Rick Meyerowitz

"Didn't the jocks go by first names only, to evoke a super-stoned vibe? Didn't I record a snippet of a CBS-FM jock saying "Steve with the music; Tim Weisburg (as they began playing his flute classic Dion Blue)?

I never heard that. It sounds like like it would have been during its mellow rock format (pre-Monster).

Was I really being stroked by a peacock feather in a Marin hot tub, as I hear the station identify as "Mellow Rock"?

Only you and one other person could tell us.

Actually, scratch that. Marin in the 70s.....might have been any number of other people.

"Starting in early 1980, weren't they actually what would today be called "active rock" -- because the songs I recorded off their air at the time included Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk," the Rolling Stones' "Shattered," and Pink Floyd's "Another Brick on the Wall" (songs that were fairly current at the time)?

Every one of those songs were singles that got Top 40 play.

(VIDEO GOES WAVY AGAIN)
(BACK TO SHOT OF SIGNAL GEEK STARING AT CAMERA)
(audio reverts to normal voice)

Michael, was that all just a dream?

Again, if you were alive and in Marin in the 70s, it could be real, a dream, a chemically-induced flashback...

 

[Signal Geek]

I never heard that. It sounds like like it would have been during its mellow rock format (pre-Monster).

It was definitely in the Mellow years. And S.F.'s CBS-FM sounded like a nearly-exact copy of CBS's Mellow Rock station in L.A at the time: 93.1 KNX-FM.

Frank, do I get brownie points for bringing this topic back to Los Angeles?

 

[Loverofradio]

I‘ve wondered before, but is it worth it for Good Karma to ink a deal to air Lakers games on FM in L.A.? The team just re-upped with GK. But, I can’t see how much longer they’re willing to be buried on a station that doesn’t show in the ratings

 

[davideduardo]

I‘ve wondered before, but is it worth it for Good Karma to ink a deal to air Lakers games on FM in L.A.? The team just re-upped with GK. But, I can’t see how much longer they’re willing to be buried on a station that doesn’t show in the ratings

To a team, the ratings the rest of the day are a sidebar. What the team wants is the promotional value and the payments for radio broadcast of the games themselves.

Sports stations are usually not entirely driven by ratings. They get non-radio "sports marketing" dollars and offer a great "all male" buy without spillage.

In sports, there is a lot that comes ahead of ratings in evaluating a station and its performance.

 

[semoochie]

To a team, the ratings the rest of the day are a sidebar. What the team wants is the promotional value and the payments for radio broadcast of the games themselves.

Sports stations are usually not entirely driven by ratings. They get non-radio "sports marketing" dollars and offer a great "all male" buy without spillage.

In sports, there is a lot that comes ahead of ratings in evaluating a station and its performance.

Without spillage? Do you mean that men over 55 don't listen to sports?

 

[michael hagerty]

Without spillage? Do you mean that men over 55 don't listen to sports?

I took it to mean an exclusively male audience---a format unlikely to draw that many female listeners.

 

[davideduardo]

Without spillage? Do you mean that men over 55 don't listen to sports?

All formats have some spillage. But, generally, the spillage is on the two sides of the core, and much much less than it. In other words, unsalable either due to under-18 or over 55 and, thus, not specifically catered to in programming.