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Mix 93.3 vs. 95.7 The Vibe

W

wastedtalent23

I've spent some time listening to the CHRs in Kansas City in the past month or so. The battle between these two stations has been going on for years. I just wanted to comment on what I have observed.

KMXV Mix 93.3 has the signal advantage, but is not the better sounding station. The Rocket and Teresa show is solid, but they sound bland and dull in the other dayparts. Musically, they play the hits and go farther back with recurrents and golds. A couple of their jocks they have sound like they should be doing AC or classic hits. Hearing someone who sounds like they're in their 50's intro Dua Lipa or talk about Tik Tok just sounds out of place to me. Neither station does a good job of being plugged in to what is going on in KC, but I'd give the edge to Mix on that. They could do a bit better in promotions, although I understand that Steel City is not investing a lot of money in the station.

KCHZ 95.7 The Vibe has a tighter rotation and better imaging, but they fade in and out east of 71 Highway. They're a better choice if you are on the Kansas side of the metro. I'm not a fan of The Bert Show nor Zach Sang, but the afternoon drive jock/PD sounds good and they sound good on the weekends. They should do more promoting, but they don't have the live jocks to pull it off. Freshening up the golds would be a good idea, too. I don't know how many times I heard "Yeah" by Usher and Airplanes by B.O.B., but it was enough for me to notice.

KCHZ could beat KMXV if they had a comparable signal, live and local morning show, and hit the streets(when COVID subsides). Otherwise they'll stay right around a 2 share.

Having said that, why should KMXV do anything differently? Well, they're sitting ducks, and under-performing with a 3.3 share. Could Entercom go after them? KZPT could make things interesting by getting more aggressive, their ratings have fallen off a cliff so who knows?

Any thoughts?
 
You forgot 105.9 from Lawrence, KKSW 105.9 Kiss FM.
They're better on the KS side, as well. KKSW comes in almost as well as 95.7 south of downtown.
 
wastedtalent23 said:
Having said that, why should KMXV do anything differently? Well, they're sitting ducks, and under-performing with a 3.3 share. Could Entercom go after them? KZPT could make things interesting by getting more aggressive, their ratings have fallen off a cliff so who knows?
Click to expand...

KZPT is already going after Mix. It has shaved off a good portion of Mix's upper demos, which is why it would seem to be underperforming. Around a dozen years ago, Entercom tried to go after Mix and Z directly with KKSN “99.7 Kiss FM.” It failed to make much of a dent, despite having Michelle Nichols programming it and Kelly Urich on-air. Of course, Entercom was also trying to cram down some of its own syndication and forced KKSN to carry it. That probably didn’t help. Entercom ultimately consolidated that lane by blowing up KUDL 98.1 and KGEX 99.7 (Kiss switched to Gen X Radio in 2010) as The Point. It’s hard to argue that didn’t work.
 
AnyHuman said:
You forgot 105.9 from Lawrence, KKSW 105.9 Kiss FM.
They're better on the KS side, as well. KKSW comes in almost as well as 95.7 south of downtown.
Click to expand...

KKSW is a nonfactor in KC. As I mentioned in another thread, the Lecompton tower put it at a real disadvantage in KC. It's, for all practical purposes, a Lawrence and Topeka station.

Not sure if this is still the case, but KCHZ 95.7 used to be a lot more popular in Topeka than it was in KC. Its tower, being around Tonganoxie, made it a solid Topeka signal, too. When 95.7 returned to the air after several years of being silent (before the Telecomm Act mandated cancelation after a year of silence), it had excellent sound quality. Its engineer did an amazing job. Radio 2000 had a terrible reputation, but SuperFrank seemed to really care about how his stations sounded.

At one time, 95.7 was KHUM “96 Hum FM” with studios on Massachusetts street in downtown Lawrence. More than a decade after 96 Hum FM left the air, its logo was still up along the storefronts of downtown Lawrence. I've tried to find it the last couple times I've been there, but it would seem to have come down. Around 1991-92, KHUM became KZTO, which called itself “Your Total FM.” It also sounded like it was saying “Your Toto FM,” which seemed oddly appropriate for Kansas. It didn’t last long and ended up going dark.
 
What happened to kchz? Their ratings have tanked over time and even with a lesser signal used to get far above what they get today (Back in 2010, they were at a 6.6 with the same signal they have today.)
 
tall_guy1 said:
What happened to kchz? Their ratings have tanked over time and even with a lesser signal used to get far above what they get today (Back in 2010, they were at a 6.6 with the same signal they have today.)
Click to expand...

Not that it couldn't have happened, but I don't remember KCHZ ever getting ratings that high. From checking old M Street Directories, it looks like KCHZ used to average between a 3 and 4 share about 10 years ago. Are you sure you were looking at the correct line? KCMO-FM had a 6.6 10 years ago, but KCHZ was around a 4. Granted, that 4 share is still a lot better than it's doing today.

I suspect the reasons for KCHZ's decline are bad programming decisions at Cumulus coupled with increased competition from 99.7 The Point. KZPT wasn't around 10 years ago either, and it's probably hurting both The Vibe and Mix.
 
Kent said:
KZPT is already going after Mix. It has shaved off a good portion of Mix's upper demos, which is why it would seem to be underperforming.
Click to expand...
I've noticed that KZPT gotten more current-intensive as of late. The Hot AC chart and The Top 40/Mainstream chart are more similar now than ever. If I listened to KZPT for 20 minutes on any given day and if you told me they were a CHR, I would believe you. I'd have to listen longer than that to tell any differences musically between them and Mix. KCHZ seems to be targeting the younger part of the 18-49 demo, and they likely do well in teens.

Yet no one has had the guts to do a Rhythmic CHR for the last 20 years, when KCHZ was a Rhythmic-leaning CHR. They just didn't have the signal to compete, and there could have been some other problems that I'm not aware of. A Rhythmic CHR would work in KC if it had the signal, was well-programmed with good street presence and slick imaging. Take a chunk of KPRS, KMXV and KCHZ's audience and you may have a solid 5 share. Unless Entercom flips Alt 96.5, or Cumulus puts Rhythmic CHR on 105.1 and dumps The X and The Vibe, that's not going to happen. That's just my imagination running WILD, no pun intended.
 
How about if they were to flip 107-3 KC's R&B/hip-hop to just hip-hop? I know 107.3 is from up north and doesn't have the signal south of downtown, but they already play a lot of hip-hop.
 
KMJK has made some adjustments as of late, and it seems to be working. They're not likely to make any changes anytime soon. They have developed a solid audience as an Urban AC, and they are probably top 10 in billing.
 
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