Lowest KUBE ratings ever, in December PPM

[Kelly A]

Some of us suspected this was a distinct possibility weeks ago, even as a few folks suggested we were out of our minds for questioning KUBE's performance & value to the cluster! 😅

This is the right move for iHM and for 93.3 FM. Might take a couple to few years to make noise, but long term, this could prove to be quite a profitable venture.

In spite of what many armchair PD's who only have access to 6+ overall published rating results will continue to say; Sports is, and has always been a very profitable format. KJR-AM has been held back by not having a full market FM signal. Now they do.

 

[Delete My Account]

Isn't it the case that KJR can take sports betting ad dollars, while KIRO (AM) can't due to Bonneville policies?

 

[guruofradio]

Smart move for I-Heart as most on this thread guessed. KJR AM/FM 93.3 with the JET getting new calls. They will probably simulcast for some time similar to many markets. Save money, bigger reach and perfect day to flip with the Russell Wilson trade. I would not be surprised if Bonneville tries to purchase an FM for KIRO-AM to compete. Would also not be surprising if KOMO, now KNWN gets a full market FM as well to compete with KIRO-FM. Hard on AM radio to get any listeners under the age of 55. Most ad dollars are in the 25-54 demo still.

 

[dxsphere]

Smart move for I-Heart as most on this thread guessed. KJR AM/FM 93.3 with the JET getting new calls. They will probably simulcast for some time similar to many markets. Save money, bigger reach and perfect day to flip with the Russell Wilson trade. I would not be surprised if Bonneville tries to purchase an FM for KIRO-AM to compete. Would also not be surprising if KOMO, now KNWN gets a full market FM as well to compete with KIRO-FM. Hard on AM radio to get any listeners under the age of 55. Most ad dollars are in the 25-54 demo still.

KNWN already has a full market FM. The 97.7 signal (KNWN-FM) comes in quite clear across Western Washington.

 

[Delete My Account]

So who's going to sell 1 commercial FM each to Bonneville and Lotus?

KNWN will exit the news format sooner than that happens.

If anything, 1.4 share KTTH gives up its translators to 710 Seattle Sports.

 

[crainbebo]

I hope things go well with the new 93.3 KJR Sports. Hopefully the ratings will go up.
And if 95.7 needs a new callsign, KJJT is now open (the former KJJT 98.5 in Los Ybanez, TX went defunct last year). Or KWJT 'Western Washington's Jet'...albeit the callsign don't matter to 99% of the pop. anyways.

 

[dxsphere]

If there's any call sign changes going to take place, they'll probably move KJR-FM to 93.3, give 95.7 new calls and warehouse KUBE somewhere.

 

[KilowattKat]

This leaves LA as the only west coast major market without FM Sports. At this point I can't imagine KROQ NOT flipping

As for the future of KJR-AM, some possibilities from looking at iHeart's other AM's:

BIN (Black Information Network)
Real Oldies
Bloomberg
Sports Betting
Some form of Talk format to clear their syndicated programming in Seattle

 

[Delete My Account]

Also in KJR (AM)'s future: a below 1 share for whatever it programs. Ratings wise, there is no future for a new format on AM in Seattle.

 

[dxsphere]

I think the strongest possibility for KJR-AM is the status quo, with 93.3 tacked on. The logo already reflects this.

If 950 is flipped to BIN, we'd either see a 850/950 pair or BIN bumped off 850.

Real oldies would be an interesting format for Seattle. I don't think iHeart would flip 950 to Sports betting, although they could flip 1090. However, I can see Audacy expanding the BetQL network to Seattle (as well as Portland) via an HD subchannel.

 

[victorres43]

This leaves LA as the only west coast major market without FM Sports. At this point I can't imagine KROQ NOT flipping

Sacramento? Inland Empire? Portland?

As for KROQ flipping to sports, it's difficult to start a new sports radio station, with costs, etc. Even harder if the market is not hard-wired for sports radio.

 

[Red Plume]

I think the strongest possibility for KJR-AM is the status quo, with 93.3 tacked on. The logo already reflects this.

Or the brand extension on 1090 KFNQ moves over to 950, keeping the strong branding in place. Thus, the new logo would make more sense. A logo with a one-month shelf life seems questionable.

They've already announced on air that 950 will not be status-quo, and that something is changing there, and that it will not be a simulcast with 93.3.

That would leave 1090 with room for another format.

 

[CTListener]

Why would Saint Paddy's day be important for a radio launch?

Note: "While the holiday is sometimes spelled "St. Patty's Day," some find this to be offensive as "Patty" is a shortened form of the female name "Patricia.""

And "Paddy" can be offensive to some Irish-Americans, although obviously not you, in the context of "paddy wagon" as a synonym for a police vehicle used to take participants in barroom brawls (often stereotyped as Irish) away from the scene.

 

[davideduardo]

And "Paddy" can be offensive to some Irish-Americans, although obviously not you, in the context of "paddy wagon" as a synonym for a police vehicle used to take participants in barroom brawls (often stereotyped as Irish) away from the scene.

I have many, many generations on my father's side of everything from "No Dogs or Irish" to being called "Paddy" instead of a real name. The Irish have faded from the ranks of the discriminated, but a very distant relative defected from the invasion forces in Mexico about a century and a half ago and joined the "San Patricios", a battalion of Irish who felt greater identification with the Catholic Mexicans than the US Army which denigrated Irish recruits.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Battalion

So I don't take offense. Ireland is too far back in the family history to want to relive the Potato Famine.

 

[KilowattKat]

Sacramento? Inland Empire? Portland?

As for KROQ flipping to sports, it's difficult to start a new sports radio station, with costs, etc. Even harder if the market is not hard-wired for sports radio.

I was just thinking about cities on the coast. Yes, there are large markets without FM Sports. LA being #2 with 7 team franchises, it's odd that it hasn't happened yet. One good thing, it keeps sports fans tuned to AM radio, which needs all the listeners it can get.

 

[crainbebo]

A Real Oldies format nets a 0.1 share with only 77-year-old hippies listening to it.
Bloomberg is/was on KKOL, and I don't know if Salem wants to give it away to iHeart.
Sports betting? Also a 0.1 share, or maybe 0.0.
BIN simulcast on 950 and 850? Maybe 0.2 if that.
Eventually, 2-5 years down the road, 950 will turn in the license or sell it to another Punjabi/Ethnic operator...........

 

[dxsphere]

A Real Oldies format nets a 0.1 share with only 77-year-old hippies listening to it.
Bloomberg is/was on KKOL, and I don't know if Salem wants to give it away to iHeart.
Sports betting? Also a 0.1 share, or maybe 0.0.
BIN simulcast on 950 and 850? Maybe 0.2 if that.
Eventually, 2-5 years down the road, 950 will turn in the license or sell it to another Punjabi/Ethnic operator...........

KKOL is owned by Tron Dinh Do (Intelli LLC), and is a simulcast of 1590 The Answer //KLFE-AM. I've heard their ID a few times here.

 

[xmtrland]

They would get ride of 850 then 1090 before they get rid of 950 It's there better AM signal. I think iHeart still has some shuffling to do. They may want to clear more talk in Seattle.

 

[K.M. Richards]

As for recording radio in the 70's and 80's I did a ton of it. I rarely listen to them today. Actually tried to sell such about a decade ago but nodody was interested. I still have about 100 cassette tapes of this era, but have determined its value is virtually zero. Sad.

I know somewhere that those would be appreciated. Check out reelradio.com ... they are always looking for new contributions.

 

[seatownmedia]

There is no such research. In fact, research shows the opposite. But actual behaviour shows that most tuneouts occur in the first minute of stopsets, so stations opt for fewer stops with more spots.

I’m pretty sure I heard some consultant say this but perhaps they were uninformed! I am sure that never happens!