Monmouth-Ocean Nov.-Dec.-Jan Diary Ratings Country Music Catching On !!

[TimeIsTight]

It looks like Country Music is continuing to catch on and build an audience in Monmouth-Ocean, with WKMK continuing its ratings climb from a 4.6 in the Fall to a 4.9 in the November-December-January rating period.

That put the new kid in the cowboy boots in fourth place behind WKXW, WABC, and WFAN, and made it the highest rated station broadcasting from Monmouth or Ocean.

NJ-101.5 continued in the top spot with a 7.7. And the two big city AM talkers WABC, and WFAN continued to grab a bigger market share in Monmouth-Ocean than they, or any other AMs, do in the larger New York Metro.

"The Breeze," WJLK, and WOBM followed in fifth, sixth and seventh, and were all within their recent ratings ranges.

Although there are many finer psychographic data facts to be considered, a marketing number cruncher might have expected Country Music to have a greater chance of success in Monmouth-Ocean than in the New York Market as a whole.

According to the 2010 Census, Monmouth County has a population that is 77% non-Hispanic White, and Ocean is 86% non-Hispanic White, meanwhile the entire New York Radio Market is nearly 40% Black and Hispanic.

If you're looking for potential Country Music fans, Monmouth-Ocean is the kind of place you want to start looking, and it looks like it is working. Yee Ha !!!!

 

[d21ofnj]

You forgot one of the biggest keys about Thunder country, they go out to places and promote it.  I can give you a handful of venues that actually have "country night" themes and where Thunder 106 has made live broadcasts at.  I remember they would go out in a venue at Somerset County on Saturdays, Park East in Hazlet has Thunder there on Wednesday Nights.  Hell, they were even at Headliner in Neptune.  Who remembers the concert they had last summer at the Barnegat Bay?  How about when Country artists would pack the PNC, and Thunder being there on the premise catering to those fans coming to see the performances?  They are taking this product and getting it out there, and that's how you get a brand to the people, not to mention this was a format that fell off the radar for quite a while (Y107 going off the air, Country only at 98.5 at the time before the swap) and surprised the lost Country fans from Central/Northern Monmouth and the M/S/U area when they were displaced for a good amount of years.  

We can all beat on B and Magic being the "bottom feeder" of the ratings cellar, but incase you didn't notice, B98.5 still kept a dance music program on Saturday Nights by playing dance radio edits and top 40 remixes.  This must be a "water tester" but I really hope B goes with this 24/7 down the road.  I know not to expect a "Party 732" out of it but by listening to the segment, I think it would really get the numbers up and separate themselves from being just a CHR, and be "THAT Dance/CHR" what 99.3 The Buzz, Hot 106.3, and Wild 102.7 was.  In other words, you knew around 1997-2004, B98.5 was "THAT Jersey CHR" which separated themselves from being just another CHR like Z100, WPST, Q102, and WAYV (on some occasions.) As far as WJRZ, well we can repeat ourselves until we turn blue  8)

Speaking of WFAN, a lot of rumors are being stated that 92.3 Now may be going out, and possibly WFAN will be on 92.3.  Let's see. 

 

[SoulCrusher]

They're doing the exact opposite of what they did with G Rock. That station was left to die on the vine, with no promotion, constant staff changes, and a lot of knee-jerk changes in sound that alienated listeners (i.e. starting off by playing lots of non-alternative acts like Sheryl Crow & John Mayer, the "Hot AC" phase in 2004, the love affair with Nickelback around '05-'06, etc.). With Country Thunder, the staff changes persist (hey - it's a Press tradition), but at least they're making sure everyone in the area knows the station exists, and they're not tinkering drastically with the sound (not counting the one that occurred with the switch in branding from "K" to "Country Thunder"). Country fans are very lucky that Press is showing a commitment to the format and putting in the effort to make sure it succeeds ... something they absolutely did not do with the former occupant of the 106.3/106.5 frequencies.

 

[bigtom101]

Given that Monmouth/Ocean is lilly white and Republican, Country is a no brainer. But will someone please tell the morning guy to stop puking, and the midday guy to stop shouting?

B will stay mainstream CHR unless it completely tanks, then expect to see "The Breeze, 107.1 & 98.5." And will someone please turn up the audio? When NPR stations are louder than you, there is an issue.

JRZ? If anyone on Morissey Blvd had two brain cells to rub together, it would be 100.1 WJRZ playing classic hits again and pulling a 3 share. But given that JRZ was always treated as the pimple on the tuchus of Greater Media NJ, expect them to keep running it on the cheap till they find a buyer,

 

[NJMark]

Given that Monmouth/Ocean is lilly white and Republican, Country is a no brainer.

It is silly to equate a region's politics with radio listenership.

A country station is #1 in Detroit. Detroit has a lot of lily white Republicans?

What about Boston (Kennedy-land), where a country station has a 6.1 AQH? Or Philadelphia, where WXTU has a 4.5.

(And if politics is supposed to be indicative, how come so many country fans I know are liberals?)

 

[d21ofnj]

B will stay mainstream CHR unless it completely tanks, then expect to see "The Breeze, 107.1 & 98.5."

Huh ??? Why move the Breeze to 98.5 if it's fine on 99.7? And if such a decision shall be made for some odd reason, what will become of 99.7 then?

 

[bigtom101]

Because 99.7 is only good for irradiating the fishes - 5.8kw at 108 feet on LBI in Beach Haven. 98.5 is 3.4 kw at 446 feet in Stafford Twp....98.5 is a solid signal in almost all of Ocean, while 99.7 isn't useful in most of Ocean unless you are in the car. 98.5 is the better signal for office listening in Ocean County, and the only way The Breeze would pose a great threat to WOBM-FM in Ocean County

The reason I mentioned Country & Republicans (tongue in cheek) is due to songs like "Blue Collar Done Turned Red" seem to be the only political view expressed by Country artists. And I've met only one liberal country fan LOL.

What to do with 99.7?

 

[d21ofnj]

Because 99.7 is only good for irradiating the fishes - 5.8kw at 108 feet on LBI in Beach Haven. 98.5 is 3.4 kw at 446 feet in Stafford Twp....98.5 is a solid signal in almost all of Ocean, while 99.7 isn't useful in most of Ocean unless you are in the car. 98.5 is the better signal for office listening in Ocean County, and the only way The Breeze would pose a great threat to WOBM-FM in Ocean County

http://www.radio-info.com/markets/monmouth-ocean

The Breeze is on the Top 5, and has been steady on top for periods of time over WOBM, not to mention 107.1 still comes in pretty good for Ocean....why fix it if it's not broken?

 

[bigtom101]

The Breeze is on the Top 5, and has been steady on top for periods of time over WOBM, not to mention 107.1 still comes in pretty good for Ocean....why fix it if it's not broken?

I don't advocate putting it on 98.5, but 98.5 is a far superior signal to 99.7. And those numbers are 12+, nearly worthless to anyone except as a rough yardstick.

The big hole in the market is Classic Hits...why WJRZ is still Magic is beyond comprehension. They aren't doing great in the breakouts either in 18-49 of Ocean County, so they must be a great combo buy with The Rat.

 

[Radiofan101]

The big hole in the market is Classic Hits...why WJRZ is still Magic is beyond comprehension

What do you mean by Classic Hits? And would you consider 105.7 The Hawk to be Classic Hits station since they do play Classic Rock?

 

[Barry]

Besides Thunder's terrific ratings, another thing that impresses me about them is their adventurous playlist. They air many current songs and some artists that are not usually heard on most mainstream country stations.
They seem to be successfully breaking the commercial radio rule that only the big hits should be played. I am not sure whether Thunder is successful despite the lesser known songs, or in part because of them.
Their music selections also seem to be more upbeat than what is heard on many other country stations. Apparently they have many of the slower ballads on light rotation. This apparently fits their "Rockin' Country" slogan.

 

[d21ofnj]

Besides Thunder's terrific ratings, another thing that impresses me about them is their adventurous playlist. They air many current songs and some artists that are not usually heard on most mainstream country stations.
They seem to be successfully breaking the commercial radio rule that only the big hits should be played. I am not sure whether Thunder is successful despite the lesser known songs, or in part because of them.
Their music selections also seem to be more upbeat than what is heard on many other country stations. Apparently they have many of the slower ballads on light rotation. This apparently fits their "Rockin' Country" slogan.

Seems to me they're daring to be different by going with exclusive cuts and the first to play new or recurrent music that's been out there that we don't know of. That's what I do with Party 732, have the big hits (David Guetta, Pitbull, Tiesto, Kaskade, Calvin Harris) and throw in the exclusives (Inna, Sak Noel, AnnaGrace, Benny Benassi, etc.) and mix it up with recurrent and gold.