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March Ratings

good to see WHAT is up, little as it might be, if the signal was better you know it would pull much better numbers....
 
aindik said:
It doesn't seem possible that they could have a 250,000 cume and have a 0.0 share. That looks like a data entry error. Cume is up substantially from last month, when they had a 0.7.
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Yes, I wonder if there is something wrong with that list. There are several instances where a cume is up and share is down, or vice versa. Even the 6 stations with a 0.1 have cumes far below the 250,700 listed for WPEN.
 
Is it too early to say that people are beginning to tire of Radio 104.5's extremely safe approach to alternative rock? They're working over songs that anyone who's been a fan of the format for over 5 years is sick and tired of by now, and their "A" Rotation songs include tracks by The Killers and Muse that are several years old! I'd like to see this station continue to succeed, but it really needs to broaden its approach and expand its playlist. They're clearly going for a "Jack"-style "less talk, more music" approach, but they need to play a wider variety instead of simply working over the old stalwarts like "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Plush" and "Self Esteem".

Now needed to change things up, as there just wasn't much of a yearning for a "lite rock station for younger folks". I'd say that what they're doing now is what some would call Hot AC, which these days sounds more like Adult Hits to me. So now you've got the Mainstream Hits station (Q 102), the Rhythmic Hits station (Wired 96.5), and the Adult Hits station. If things don't pick up, it may be time to consider a different approach. I think a classic hip-hop/R&B hybrid would be pretty good, because not every rap fan wants to hear hacks like Soulja Boy Tell Em and Flo Rida.

WYSP's "The Rock You Grew Up With" was just a terrible idea, and the wrong direction to take completely. We've got the classic rocker MGK and the heritage rocker MMR, and instead of trying to differentiate themselves from the competition (both, of course, owned by Greater Media), they're choosing to swim in the same waters. If I recall, Free-FM was even doing better than what they have now, so that would have been a better road to take if they had strong enough personalities. But what the market could really use is a proper Active Rock station - one that's not afraid to play System Of A Down, Slipknot, Korn, Deftones, Static-X, Nonpoint, etc. If CBS weren't so timid when it came to programming rock (for further evidence, see how they handled 92.3 WXRK before they flipped to Top 40), they could reap the benefits of counter programming. I'd say that a slightly edgier contrast to Radio 104.5's take on Alternative (which is eerily reminiscent of Modern AC Max 95.7) would also work for them, if they had the courage to give it a shot.
 
SoulCrusher said:
Now needed to change things up, as there just wasn't much of a yearning for a "lite rock station for younger folks".
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Maybe people realized that's an oxymoron.

SoulCrusher said:
I'd say that what they're doing now is what some would call Hot AC, which these days sounds more like Adult Hits to me. So now you've got the Mainstream Hits station (Q 102), the Rhythmic Hits station (Wired 96.5), and the Adult Hits station. If things don't pick up, it may be time to consider a different approach.
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In the beginning it looked like their competition was B101, but now I would say WISX, WBEN, and WPST should be added to your list as well.

There seems to be ratings for quite a few stations outside the immediate area. It would be helpful if they included either the frequency or the city of broadcast.
 
Soul Crusher, Regarding RADIO 104.5, I have a different way of looking at it. Since Alternative get's such poor ratings in most markets maybe they should copy the ultra safe approach of WRFF.

As for NOW, the Hot AC format they have become has been tried and failed many times in Philly over the years. Greater Media themselves has had much failure with the format. Although maybe it will do better with PPM? It might not seem obvious but I wouldn't be surprised if 104.5 is one of the stations they are targeting. They do share some songs and artists. Because they are so safe and familiar, some listeners might have been using RADIO 104.5 as a default Hot AC.
 
Jay F said:
As for NOW, the Hot AC format they have become has been tried and failed many times in Philly over the years. Greater Media themselves has had much failure with the format.
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As I said before, it's like putting lipstick on a pig... a pig named Max, that is...

Also, I wonder where listeners flocked to that used to listen to B101's stream, which of course is no longer active...
 
SoulCrusher said:
If I recall, Free-FM was even doing better than what they have now, so that would have been a better road to take if they had strong enough personalities.
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The idea of bringing talk back to FM was a good one. Unfortunately, Howard/O&A 24/7 was the wrong approach. There was a period, I think in the early 90's when WWDB was in the top 5 of Arbitron ratings. The reason being is because they had a nicely balanced roster of conservative to moderate to liberal leaning hosts. Full blown liberal just won't work, and all conservative all of the time get's to be too tedious for all but the most dedicated conservative. CBS should look to that direction again, but with a younger roster who understand the lifestyle of and problems facing the 30 and 40 something American.
 
Has the country become more polarized, though? Smirconish is out there trying to prove a closer-to-moderate approach can work (i.e., actually forming opinions based on each issue, not whatvever the supposed 'conservative' or 'liberal' view dictates from the RNC/DNC). If it gains some traction, maybe a more balanced station would work. That said, the risk is the conservative audience either (a) tuning out when you have a non-hardcore right host or (b) refusing to tune in at all because the station airs a liberal/moderate/centrist in the first place. Take the same scenario and flip it and you may not get the liberals either.
 
Jay F said:
Since Alternative get's such poor ratings in most markets...
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And which markets might those be, Boston? Los Angeles? Houston? Detroit? The Alt-Rock format actually is performing much better, with the PPM, in larger markets than even I would've anticipated.
 
MarcR said:
Jay F said:
Since Alternative get's such poor ratings in most markets...
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And which markets might those be, Boston? Los Angeles? Houston? Detroit? The Alt-Rock format actually is performing much better, with the PPM, in larger markets than even I would've anticipated.
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RADIO 104.5 is gettng far better ratings that Alternative stations in other PPM markets such as Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, DC, and two that you mentioned Boston and Detroit. My guess is that few of the ALT stations in future PPM markets will pull numbers as big as WRFF. That's why more should try their ultra-safe approach to the format. Familiar music=success with PPM.
 
imhomerjay said:
maybe a more balanced station would work.
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Something like the late Dr Jim Corea on WWDB; maybe Harry Gross financial advice. WGN in Chicago has hosts such as Nick Digilio and Brian Noonan who talk about things like movies, music, Christmas decorating, American Idol... basically all the things for people turned off by the divisiveness of politics.
 
Mike said:
what do you do with WYSP ?
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One word -- voicetracking!

... and please, dump "the 'duce" already, unless you think he can drop below 22nd (last place) and end up above 1st place, but I don't think it works that way. :-\
 
imhomerjay said:
Has the country become more polarized, though? Smirconish is out there trying to prove a closer-to-moderate approach can work (i.e., actually forming opinions based on each issue, not whatvever the supposed 'conservative' or 'liberal' view dictates from the RNC/DNC). If it gains some traction, maybe a more balanced station would work. That said, the risk is the conservative audience either (a) tuning out when you have a non-hardcore right host or (b) refusing to tune in at all because the station airs a liberal/moderate/centrist in the first place. Take the same scenario and flip it and you may not get the liberals either.
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I believe that anyone who has something compelling to say, in a consice and well structured manner, will find an audience. I cite the case of the Michael Medved Show or even Irv Homer in his heyday, in contrast to Limbaugh and Hannity and all of their imitators. Medved sets out to force the liberal side to make their case, and usually ends up debunking most of the liberal callers with surgical percision. Irv did a wonderful job of attacking both sides with well thought out arguments and facts to back up his statements, striking from the middle. There are an awful lot of liberals tuning into the Medved show because he strikes a chord with his program. They are mostly combative callers, but they are there none the less. In the end, it doesen't matter why they are tuned in, only that they are tuned in.
 
Jay F said:
RADIO 104.5 is gettng far better ratings that Alternative stations in other PPM markets such as Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, DC, and two that you mentioned Boston and Detroit. My guess is that few of the ALT stations in future PPM markets will pull numbers as big as WRFF. That's why more should try their ultra-safe approach to the format. Familiar music=success with PPM.
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Don't forget that in many of those markets (notably Boston, where there are two Alternatives and a proper Active Rocker), the competition is a lot more fierce. When it comes to rock music in Philly, the only other FM options are two Classic Rock stations and Heritage Rocker WMMR. So if you want to hear more than one or two current rock songs an hour, Radio 104.5 is the only game in town.

I firmly believe that most Alternative Rock fans want plenty of variety. The ones that don't were completely content listening to MMR or YSP to get their fill of the same old Nirvana, Pearl Jam, STP, RHCP, etc. hits.

Radio 104.5 sounds great ... if you're not an Alternative Rock fan. But for those who have followed the format for a while, I would say that about half of what this station plays will put you to sleep.

It's extremely safe (actually makes NYC's K-Rock when it was Alternative look daring in comparison), but it works ... for now. However, this station will take a dip if it doesn't evolve over time.

If Radio 104.5 proves anything, it's that there are far more rock fans out there than Philly broadcasters previously estimated. Is it more interesting than the rest of the market's offerings? Marginally. But don't think for a second that people wouldn't check out the competition if given other options.

Now, if they brought DRE back from the dead ... that would be interesting. I'd really like to see how a more daring take on Alternative would do against Radio 104.5. Doubt it would ever happen, though.
 
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