Loss of Cume

[DoubleC]

I Know of a Classic Hits station that lost 20% of its cume in the most recent book. It has been Classic Hits Switching from 60's based oldies to a 70's based Classic hits with some early 80's as well about a year ago......What does this Loss of cume mean

 

[landtuna]

The obvious answer is that a sizable portion of its listeners don't like the new playlist.

Other answers might be something to the effect that another station in the market has better DJ's, better play rotation, fewer commercial blocks, better signal and so on.

 

[DoubleC]

There is 60's based Oldies AM station that has grown during that time, They Have Better DJ's but Lose The signal Battle Big Time but their Cume is flat their TSL is up...where are all those folks going?

 

[landtuna]

There is 60's based Oldies AM station that has grown during that time, They Have Better DJ's but Lose The signal Battle Big Time but their Cume is flat their TSL is up...where are all those folks going?

FM - no static at all?

Even us Olde Fartes who grew up on AM can't abide the lousy signals AM's put out today.

You might address your question to David Edwardo or someone similar with detailed knowledge of the specific market.

 

[davideduardo]

I Know of a Classic Hits station that lost 20% of its cume in the most recent book. It has been Classic Hits Switching from 60's based oldies to a 70's based Classic hits with some early 80's as well about a year ago......What does this Loss of cume mean

Any format change will cause cume loss. If you go from classic rock to a Spanish language format, the cume loss will be virtually 100%. If you go from oldies to classic hits, you will likely lose some cume in the 55+ and, prticularly, 65+ demos. You may not get replacement cume for a while, if ever.

You only keep the cume that also likes the new format, plus those that find you that didn't like the old one and do like the new one. Independent of format are issues like signal, marketing, competiton for the new demo, etc.

It's also important to know if this is a PPM or diary market. The relationship of cume to TSL is very different between the two.

 

[KevinFodor]

And the truth is:

A station can lose that 55+ or 65+ cume, replace it with a slightly increased 35-54 cume and, potentially, make more money than it was making with the extra 55 and 65 plusers...

 

[vinyltapecd]

And the truth is:

A station can lose that 55+ or 65+ cume, replace it with a slightly increased 35-54 cume and, potentially, make more money than it was making with the extra 55 and 65 plusers...

The problem is that the increase in 35-54 cume almost never happens. Truth being told, this phenomenon of "classic hits", although much more advertiser-friendly than oldies, is regarded as JUNK by most listeners (young or old) because it is REPETITIVE and BORING. The only classic hits stations that actually do alright are the ones that lean classic rock or hard rock (because they appeal to a different audience AND have more variety), or the ones that still include a significant portion of traditional oldies in their playlist, such as WCBS or WOGL. But even these have lost a lot of popularity compared to their prime as "oldies" stations.

I'll be honest: as a 27 year old, most of my friends don't (and never did) listen to oldies OR "classic hits" much, period. But among my friends who DO like older music, every single one I can think of prefers oldies to classic hits tremendously...I've actually heard them say things like "what is this crap?" when tuning in to the local classic hits station (which USED to play oldies). My wife (hardly an oldies fan) once commented that this same station was "SO much better when they used to play 60s music."

Your everyday classic hits station that repeats 50 songs by Billy Joel, Hall & Oates, Elton John, Doobie Brothers, Rod Stewart, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, etc., along with 100 other played-to-death 70s hits, is (not surprisingly) losing more and more listeners every day. I mean come on, even if these 7 artists were well-liked by EVERY 25-54 individual (which is reasonable because they are definitely great artists), how many times can you really expect people to listen to the same songs over and over and over? Speaking for myself, these are all artists who I actually used to LIKE, but after hearing their songs overplayed to DEATH on classic hits and soft rock stations, I have begun to find these songs literally repulsive.

It doesn't have to be that way: there are hundreds of songs from the 1960s that are heavily preferred among today's younger crowd over "Rich Girl" "Black Water" "Tiny Dancer" "Only the Good Die Young" "You're in My Heart", etc. But do the advertisers realize this? NO...they are so shallow and foolish that they just say "60s? Baby Boomers!!!"

Plain and simple, who the heck wants to listen to a station whose playlist is "A Consistent Repetition of The Most Overplayed Songs from the 70s and early 80s"? I really wish I was exaggerating with this statement, but unfortunately, this slogan is about as accurate as it gets for most of today's classic hits stations. Sometimes the truth hurts.

 

[johnsummers]

Even though my heart is with you, it just isn't true that hundreds of other songs are preferred. Stations, like the one that employs me, spend a great deal of money for that information. Believe me, if we could make money by playing "Liar, Liar" and "(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet", we'd be all over it, believe it! Also, keep in mind that people in their 20's who listen to oldies/classic hits stations are atypical and we'd never get enough of them to move the needle, no matter what we did. BTW, by playing the songs you've just mentioned, we scored a #1/ 6+. #1/ 12+. #1/18+, #4/25-54 and #1/35-64 in the spring book in Dallas/FT.Worth. As much as my heart would tend to lean in your direction regarding the music, the facts would suggest otherwise.

 

[amfmsw]

I don't think anyone really addressed the original question by Double C. Us reponders all seem to be radio experienced, he.she may not be.

First, Cume to a radio station is what Circulation is to a Newspaper. A 20% loss in cume (listeners) is equivalent to a 20% loss in circulation and distribution of the paper. Fewer readers.

That said, a station with a smaller cume CAN beat a station with a large cume in the Ratings with TSL or Time Spent Listening. In my market, the Country Station cumes out of the top 10, but is ranked 3rd in the Ratings because once their listeners tune in, their loyal and locked in. Their time Spent listening is hours. In nearby Philadelphia, KYW Cumes #1, but once the listener gets their weather or traffic or Phillies score, their gone. It ranks 3rd. Their Time Spent Listening is minutes.

 

[Talk_Dude]

And the truth is:

A station can lose that 55+ or 65+ cume, replace it with a slightly increased 35-54 cume and, potentially, make more money than it was making with the extra 55 and 65 plusers...

The problem is that the increase in 35-54 cume almost never happens. Truth being told, this phenomenon of "classic hits", although much more advertiser-friendly than oldies, is regarded as JUNK by most listeners (young or old) because it is REPETITIVE and BORING. The only classic hits stations that actually do alright are the ones that lean classic rock or hard rock (because they appeal to a different audience AND have more variety), or the ones that still include a significant portion of traditional oldies in their playlist, such as WCBS or WOGL. But even these have lost a lot of popularity compared to their prime as "oldies" stations.

I'll be honest: as a 27 year old, most of my friends don't (and never did) listen to oldies OR "classic hits" much, period. But among my friends who DO like older music, every single one I can think of prefers oldies to classic hits tremendously...I've actually heard them say things like "what is this crap?" when tuning in to the local classic hits station (which USED to play oldies). My wife (hardly an oldies fan) once commented that this same station was "SO much better when they used to play 60s music."

Your everyday classic hits station that repeats 50 songs by Billy Joel, Hall & Oates, Elton John, Doobie Brothers, Rod Stewart, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, etc., along with 100 other played-to-death 70s hits, is (not surprisingly) losing more and more listeners every day. I mean come on, even if these 7 artists were well-liked by EVERY 25-54 individual (which is reasonable because they are definitely great artists), how many times can you really expect people to listen to the same songs over and over and over? Speaking for myself, these are all artists who I actually used to LIKE, but after hearing their songs overplayed to DEATH on classic hits and soft rock stations, I have begun to find these songs literally repulsive.

It doesn't have to be that way: there are hundreds of songs from the 1960s that are heavily preferred among today's younger crowd over "Rich Girl" "Black Water" "Tiny Dancer" "Only the Good Die Young" "You're in My Heart", etc. But do the advertisers realize this? NO...they are so shallow and foolish that they just say "60s? Baby Boomers!!!"

Plain and simple, who the heck wants to listen to a station whose playlist is "A Consistent Repetition of The Most Overplayed Songs from the 70s and early 80s"? I really wish I was exaggerating with this statement, but unfortunately, this slogan is about as accurate as it gets for most of today's classic hits stations. Sometimes the truth hurts.

Ain't that the truth! If a station switches to classic hits, I'll listen for a few weeks until their playlist gets burned out, then I'm gone.

 

[hornet61]

classic hits, classic rock, classic country, classic anything......it's like sports they fire the PD and then hire a new Pd with orders to follow the same yellow brick road to the same Emerald City.