MIAMI VS. PHILLY

[The-Major]

Hope you had a nice trip. What'd you think of the radio?

THANKS for asking !

I thought about posting this review over on the Philadelphia radio board, but this Miami-Ft. Lauderdale board is where I call home so I'll post this on here and simply make comparisons between the two vibrant radio markets that are not too much alike.

In the famous words of Miamian Jackie Gleason: And Away We Go !

WJJZ - 106.1 - 'Rhythmic A.C.' is the hot new radio format all across the country, and I thought that I would like it even though they are targeting women my age. This is Philly's version of it, and although they do play some interesting TOP 40 / Hip Hop / Rap material from the late-1980s and early-1990s such as Vanilla Ice, Tone Loc, and Heavy D & The Boyz they also mix in a lot of older hits from deep back into the 1970s and even further back into the late-1960s. It's inconsistent, and it just doesn't sound right to me. I couldn't listen to more than a few songs in a row. 'JACK-FM' meet 'JILL-FM'.

WSJO - 104.9 - It's out of South Jersey, and I didn't get very good reception from them since I was north of Philly during most of this past week. I listened to as much as I could though, but I don't remember much from them. Moving on ...

WIOQ - 102.1 - Q-102 meet Y-100. Y-100 meet Q-102. You're both the same. You're Clear Channel CHR-POP in the big city. I wanted something different. I didn't listen much.

WRDW - 96.5 - WRDW meet WPOW. WPOW meet WRDW. I don't like 'POWER' down here. I didn't like its equivalent up there.

WPST - 94.5 - This is a Nassau Broadcasting TOP 40 station that's licensed out of Trenton New Jersey. It's a 50,000 watt station, and that's rare up in the northeast. 5 states can pick-up its signal - New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and even portions of northern Maryland ! I picked-up a strong signal everywhere I went around the northern edges of Philly, and that's a good thing because this is one awesome station ! Think less repetition and more variety here. They play their hottest songs no more than 9 to 10 times per day. By comparison Y-100 plays their hottest songs up to 18 times per day. '94.5-PST' plays all of the various styles of hit music that comprise the TOP 40 format. We're talking pop, rock, R & B, hip hop, rap, and even dance. They do skew more towards the rock side though rather than the urban side. I like that. They also play the occasional huge hit from yesteryear. I love that. The imaging sounds good. This station sounds great. I wish that we had something like it aqui en el Sur de Florida. If Y-100 ever got real competition again I'd want it to be just like 'PST' ! I'd listen !

WSTW - 93.7 - I got bad reception on this station, so I didn't bother with it much.

NEXT weekend I'll be in Dallas Texas !

THE MAJOR ON-THE-ROAD AGAIN

 

[954]

Very interesting! Welcome back. You were missed.

Since my knowledge of Philly radio is limited to DXing WCAU
and KYW, probably 30+ years ago, I have nothing else to say.

Next week maybe you can explain about the historic WFAA
and WBAP, sharing 570? and 820.

Mainly -- WHY?

(Now listening to music from Carmen, after listening to a lot
of ska earlier today. I haven't had radio or TV on since yesterday.)

"Wilkommen, bienvenue, welcome, c'mon in"... Lilly von Shtupp

 

[radiolover78]

WSTW is a great sounding Hot AC station. Good variety and good jocks.

Personally, I think Philly's 106.1 is a mess. Some of the songs they play are not remotely rhythmic! But maybe it's just a way to draw in listeners from the 25-54 audience. But, I find it all a joke. CC is doing all this (in Philly and other markets) mostly for Whoopi Goldberg! :-\

Never really listened to PST, so no comment.

Did you check out 95.7 Ben FM? Not a bad variety hits station WITH JOCKS.

Did you listen to WOGL? Not a bad oldies station, but certainly a typical sounding oldies station. Gets boring sometimes (I'm sure a lot like Majic).

 

[davideduardo]

Next week maybe you can explain about the historic WFAA
and WBAP, sharing 570? and 820.

Mainly -- WHY?

There were many shared frequencies in the 30's and on, but gradually, like 570 and 820, someone paid someone and they went away.

More typical were ones like WAWZ and WBNX in the NY market. Two different companies shared 1380, switching back and forth throughout the day. Finally, WBNX bought out WAQZ and went 24/7. 1240 in Chicago was shared by 3 different operators, and at one time the did not even share transmitters.

What happened in Dallas Ft Worth is that the clear channel got split, but the licensees managed to get 570 as well, and when not on one, were on the other.

 

[The-Major]

Very interesting! Welcome back. You were missed.
"Wilkommen, bienvenue, welcome, c'mon in"... Lilly von Shtupp

[Feeling the love again] I missed 'hangin' out' with you guys on here. I'm glad to be back. I actually went without a computer and the Internet (for personal use) all week long. I was wondering throughout the week if anything shocking occurred on local radio (or television) while I was away. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred, and it didn't take long at all to catch-up on here.

As I stated in a previous post I'll be in Dallas during this upcoming weekend (for leisure not business), and then I'll be back for about 2.5 weeks before I embark on my next adventure. I'll try to get something to you (954) for Radio Pages sometime between now and let's say Thanksgiving. I've got a real busy stretch ahead of me, but I'll always find the time to post when I can on here.

THE MAJOR

 

[The-Major]

WSTW is a great sounding Hot AC station. Good variety and good jocks.

Arbitron lists WSTW as a highly-rated (# 2 in their market) 'CHR/Pop' station. Mediabase 24/7 lists them as 'Mainstream Top 40'. Their actual '7-Day Playlist' indicates a low-repetition hot adult contemporary station that skews towards the pop and rock side - perhaps even a 'Rock-A.C.' type of format. I wanted to take a reasonable listen to them, but the less than ideal reception was just not good enough to do so from so far away (north of Philly). I'm also the type of person that generally doesn't touch the radio dial unless a song comes on that I don't care too much for. Once I got to '94.5-PST' I pretty much left the push-buttons alone.

I sometimes wonder if a 'Rock-A.C.' type of station would work here in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale radio market. The closest station that we currently have to such a format is obviously 'THE COAST'. I think if they dumped all of their '80s and most of their '90s material and went with all (or a large majority) of current material from the past 5 years or so, and also got a bit harder with the rock material then they would just about be there as a station that I would tune-in to on a regular basis. It's not likely to happen, but it is something to think about as a viable way to liven up and refresh 'THE COAST' for the 21ST Century.

THE MAJOR

 

[radiolover78]

Yes, while, as you said Major, Coast is a solid AC station, they seem to be playing the same tired 80s music. But, listeners seem to enjoy it.

 

[The-Major]

Personally, I think Philly's 106.1 is a mess. Some of the songs they play are not remotely rhythmic! But maybe it's just a way to draw in listeners from the 25-54 audience. But, I find it all a joke. CC is doing all this (in Philly and other markets) mostly for Whoopi Goldberg! :-\

Personally I think you are right. I gave them a longer listen than I really wanted to do. They played some good songs, but then all of a sudden they would throw in a song out of left-field from 30 or even 35 years ago. It just did not sound right. The flow did not make sense to me. The continuity was lost, and so were my ears as I pushed the button away from them.

As far as the rapidly-emerging 'Rhythmic-A.C.' format is concerned I'm excited for it. There's a way to do it right. A lot of aging TOP 40 fanatics like myself who are approaching our 40s [ ] are growing tired of the current repetitive pop scene with the excess urban material - not just the hip hop and rap but also the generic female-pop-star-of-the-month club crooning her latest tune over a heavy bass track.

If I were programming a 'Rhythmic-A.C.' station I would stick with the last 15 years or so - perhaps 1991 to 2006 - and go with 50% currents (2006), 25% recurrents (2001-2005), and 25% gold (1991-2000). The 25% gold would almost exclusively dig in to the vast 1990s Eurodance collection when all of those great techno-dance-rap-hybrid tracks came out of Europe, landed on our shores, and became MASSIVE hits at TOP 40 radio.

I will be closely monitoring all of these new 'MOVIN' stations that are popping-up all across the country to see if any of them are doing it right as far as I'm concerned. If you do it too hard then it will sound like a niche 'Pure Dance' station and fail. If you do it too light then it will sound like just another 'A.C.' station and get lost in the shuffle. If you play too many oldies then you'll fall into that 'Jammin' Oldies' trap that failed a few years back.

This format can succeed if it's done right. Keep the beat going, and don't make it too hard or too light. Play those tracks that we haven't heard in over a decade, but don't go overboard on them. For the most part keep it current. There's a lot of great material out there.

THE MAJOR

 

[The-Major]

Yes, while, as you said Major, Coast is a solid AC station, they seem to be playing the same tired 80s music. But, listeners seem to enjoy it.

No doubt about it they are solid in how they sound and what they play. Their Arbitron ratings continually prove that notion.

But then again the 1980s are now 17 to 26 years ago. Sooner or later at the rate that a lot of our oldies stations are moving forward through time they too will eventually be diving into the early-1980s with their playlists. Some of the older-skewing A.C. stations and some of the more adventurous oldies stations will eventually be playing some of the same material.

'THE COAST' sounds stale to me, and it's the type of station (with its borderline A.C. / HOT-A.C. format) that could be a TOP 5 station here if it were tweaked to be more modern and take more risks. Change is difficult when programming a radio station. You can't alienate your core listeners, but you can make subtle changes here and there and morph ever so slowly into something just a little bit different than you are now.

THE MAJOR

 

[davideduardo]

I will be closely monitoring all of these new 'MOVIN' stations that are popping-up all across the country to see if any of them are doing it right as far as I'm concerned. If you do it too hard then it will sound like a niche 'Pure Dance' station and fail. If you do it too light then it will sound like just another 'A.C.' station and get lost in the shuffle. If you play too many oldies then you'll fall into that 'Jammin' Oldies' trap that failed a few years back.

Keep in mind these formats vary by market. The LA station is targeted exclusively at 25-44 second generation Hispanic females, and that can get them a 3 share. With a bit of suburban white female audience added in, this is definitely a format with potential in LA. But the LA execution may only be good here and places like Fresno, San Diego, etc.

 

[radiolover78]

The Movin' station in Seattle is doing well. I've heard of how it is programmed well.

The situation in Philadelphia sucks! CC is doing this for Whoopi AND they're doing it just to protect their other stations. They're avoiding competition! Certainly sad.

To another topic (kind of), are you talking about KBIG David Eduardo?

 

[The-Major]

Rick Dees Is Movin' On Up !

Keep in mind these formats vary by market. The LA station is targeted exclusively at 25-44 second generation Hispanic females, and that can get them a 3 share. With a bit of suburban white female audience added in, this is definitely a format with potential in LA. But the LA execution may only be good here and places like Fresno, San Diego, etc.

I'm so glad to see that legendary TOP 40 morning show host (and one of my longtime idols) - Mr. Rick Dees - has returned to his best job ever as host of the new morning show over on 'MOVIN'-93.9' (KMVN) in the Los Angeles area. He should single-handedly pull that station up by catering to his loyal fan base - those that grew up listening to him back in the '80s and '90s.

If Rick Dees' new show were syndicated nationwide I'd listen to it. You pretty much know what you're getting with Rick. If his show succeeds (along with the 'Rhythmic-A.C.' format) then perhaps syndication is an option for the future. Whoopi's already got the morning show time-slot at a growing handful of other 'MOVIN' type stations, but perhaps instead of waking up to Whoopi we could wake up to Rick and then 'move on' to Whoopi for the midday slot ?

THE MAJOR

 

[davideduardo]

Re: Rick Dees Is Movin' On Up !

Keep in mind these formats vary by market. The LA station is targeted exclusively at 25-44 second generation Hispanic females, and that can get them a 3 share. With a bit of suburban white female audience added in, this is definitely a format with potential in LA. But the LA execution may only be good here and places like Fresno, San Diego, etc.

I'm so glad to see that legendary TOP 40 morning show host (and one of my longtime idols) - Mr. Rick Dees - has returned to his best job ever as host of the new morning show over on 'MOVIN'-93.9' (KMVN) in the Los Angeles area. He should single-handedly pull that station up by catering to his loyal fan base - those that grew up listening to him back in the '80s and '90s.

If Rick Dees' new show were syndicated nationwide I'd listen to it. You pretty much know what you're getting with Rick. If his show succeeds (along with the 'Rhythmic-A.C.' format) then perhaps syndication is an option for the future. Whoopi's already got the morning show time-slot at a growing handful of other 'MOVIN' type stations, but perhaps instead of waking up to Whoopi we could wake up to Rick and then 'move on' to Whoopi for the midday slot ?

THE MAJOR

Dees never made it in morning show syndication... plus the fact that Emmis is going to put a sidekick on with Dees to focus the show on Hispanics...

 

[ScottBurns]

Welcome back from Philly, Major. I have a sister that lives in Manayunk (spelling?), so I make the pilgrimage to the City of Brotherly Love several times a year.

A couple of comments regarding your comments:
WPST: The station used to be on the weaker 97.5 frequency. Nonetheless, as powerful as the 94.5 frequency is, it still does terribly in much of Philadelphia, especially Center City and even as far west as Valley Forge. Nonetheless, the station is one of the best in the United States, as its variety is a breath of fresh air for a CHR station.

WIOQ: Great imaging and sound, but awfully repetitive. I agree that it sounds no different than Y-100.

Did you get to check out WAYV? It is out of Atlantic City, and the water carries its signal all over the east coast.

Have fun in Dallas. Be sure to check out Billy the Kidd's show on Kiss -- he is one of those throwback CHR jocks!

 

[The-Major]

Welcome back from Philly, Major.
A couple of comments regarding your comments:
WPST: The station used to be on the weaker 97.5 frequency. Nonetheless, as powerful as the 94.5 frequency is, it still does terribly in much of Philadelphia, especially Center City and even as far west as Valley Forge. Nonetheless, the station is one of the best in the United States, as its variety is a breath of fresh air for a CHR station.
WIOQ: Great imaging and sound, but awfully repetitive. I agree that it sounds no different than Y-100.
Did you get to check out WAYV? It is out of Atlantic City, and the water carries its signal all over the east coast.
Have fun in Dallas. Be sure to check out Billy the Kidd's show on Kiss -- he is one of those throwback CHR jocks!

Hey Scott,

It's good to see you back on here again. Where do you keep running off to for months at a time ? ???

I really enjoyed listening to 94.5-PST out of New Jersey. So many CHR-POP stations sound the same nowadays (especially in the big cities), but then when you discover a hidden gem that doesn't sound the same as all of the rest it's like (as you perfectly stated) a breath of fresh air. Just when I was starting to lose my faith in the format I realized that there are some innovators still gettin' it done out there leading rather than following. Sounding the same as all of your sister stations and competitors is following. Doing things just a bit differently is leading.

I didn't get a chance to listen to 95.1-WAYV, but I did just check out their 7-DAY playlist at Mediabase 24/7 which looks solid. There's a good variety there. Before I made the trip to Philly I utilized Radio-Locator to determine which stations I would be interested in listening to with a decent signal that reached the area. I believe that WAYV was on the list of prospects, but then I noticed that its outer fringe signal didn't even reach the north Philly area, so I never included it on the final list.

I thought that I would get a chance to listen to some good Dallas-Ft. Worth radio a couple of months ago when I was last there, but my brother was controlling the stereo in his car and I ended up overdosing on his hard rock and hip hop CDs instead. I'll give it another shot this weekend, but I doubt that I'll be able to post an in-depth review of the stations there as I did with Philly.

In less than a month I'll be traveling to Grand Cayman Island, Belize, and Mexico. That could become an interesting radio research project ! ;D

THE MAJOR

 

[ScottBurns]

Hey Major,
Yes, I do tend to disappear. : I actually travel quite extensively, so I get to listen to radio places far and wide.

Speaking of different CHR stations, have you ever heard B 93.7 in Greenville, South Carolina? They play the best variety I have ever heard on a CHR....

What part of New York, by the way, does WPST reach? I can't imagine that the signal makes it into Northern New Jersey, nevermind the city.

And by the way, is there a new PD at Wild in West Palm?

Scott

 

[The-Major]

Speaking of different CHR stations, have you ever heard B 93.7 in Greenville, South Carolina? They play the best variety I have ever heard on a CHR....

I've never heard them, but their 7-DAY playlist on Mediabase 24/7 looks interesting with a nice handful of low-rotation recurrents from the past 3 or so years. Their heavy rotation for their biggest hits is only in the mid-70s, so that tells me that there is less repetition and more variety on the station.

What part of New York, by the way, does WPST reach? I can't imagine that the signal makes it into Northern New Jersey, nevermind the city.

Rumour has it that 94.5-PST puts out a weak signal into Staten Island and perhaps even Brooklyn, but that it receives interference from adjacent 94.7 FM out of Newark.

And by the way, is there a new PD at Wild in West Palm?

I believe they are still looking for a replacement for Chris Marino who is now hosting the morning show up there at K-104 north of New York City.

THE MAJOR

 

[radiolover78]

I believe they are still looking for a replacement for Chris Marino who is now hosting the morning show up there at K-104 north of New York City.

THE MAJOR

K104 has a strong signal where I live. I haven't had a chance to listen. What do you think of him?

 

[The-Major]

K104 has a strong signal where I live. I haven't had a chance to listen. What do you think of him?

I liked Chris Marino when he worked at Y-100 (before he drifted up to WILD). His delivery was solid, and he put on a good show. He didn't last a very long time on Y-100. I think he also put in a short stint down in Key West at WEOW - either that or he was voicetracking for them.

THE MAJOR [IN DALLAS]

 

[radiolover78]

Make sure you do a "Miami vs. Dallas" thread!