MOST PROLIFIC RADIO MARKETS

[amisdead]

Dallas-Fort Worth currently sits at the number 5 position in Arbitron's market rankings, based on population.

But, what if we also took other factors into account such as market history, number of stations, format diversity, big name/best talent, revenue, competitiveness, innovation and industry leaders? Would Dallas-Fort Worth still rank in the top 5 most prolific U.S. radio markets of all time? If so, why? And which are the other 4?

Just something I have been pondering for the past week.

 

[The_X_Man_Cometh]

If Arbitron ranks Dallas-Fort Worth at number 5 based upon population, there aren't any other factors.

What is a 'prolific radio market'?

Having said that, if all of these other 'factors' are taken into account, and there is some arbitrary number assigned to each of your 'factors', what is the value of the final number/ranking? Are we engaging in "abstract busyness"?

That reminds me of the line in LA Story, where Harris Telemacher (Steve Martin) is complaining about his girlfriend's preparations for a luncheon:

Harris: That's what time we're supposed to be there. It's my mistake. If I say the lunch is at one, I figure if I pick you up at 12:40, we'll get there on time. Which is fine. But what I don't count on is the twenty minutes of...abstract busyness that goes on after I get here.

Trudi: They can wait; it's not going to kill them. I'm doing thirty minute lips!

 

[Lazy J]

I believe I live in an ideally prolific radio market...

-Here, all of the local FM signals are class C so the building penetrations is delightful and you can receive them for miles.
-All of the AM stations are all 50kw Unlimited hours, Non-Directional. So, noise interference is basically non-existent.
-They are all evenly spaced along the dial and the formats are grouped together as to make a smooth musical transition from light to intense as you move up the dial.
-There are two stations for every major format. This is ideal because it builds competition, without spreading the audience too thin.
-The radio personalities are fun and engaging without being obnoxious or boring, this is partly because they are live 24/7.
-Because of these factors, radio has an extremely strong presence not only in cars, but in homes. Local families gather around the radio and listen for hours. The television rarely ever gets turned on.
-Our Sales Executives are often over-worked because of the demand for ad time. Stations would prefer to not even air commercials, but in order to do business, they begrudgingly allow a 60 second spot to air after the news updates. (which, by the way) air at the top and bottom of every hour.

So, as you can see, I think my market should qualify as the most ideally prolific radio market.

 

[johnsummers]

....and every music station plays exactly the right blend of big hits and 'oh wow' songs to please 100% of the audience 100% of the time.

 

[metroneck]

The FM dial is littered with non-mainstream signals today versus 80's.

 

[amisdead]

Are we engaging in "abstract busyness"?

The answer is of course yes. But, that is essentially what message boards are for. My post certainly isn't more abstract than many other recent posts on this Dallas-Fort Worth board. Perhaps, I could have written the post more clearly.

This topic isn't really going where I intended it to, so let me explain how I got there. It started a few months ago while I was reading a story in the Morning News about Aldi's entrance into the crowded North Texas grocery market. The article didn't cite any source but claimed that Dallas-Fort Worth was one of the most competitive grocery markets in the country. I don't know much about the grocery business, but based on my travel around the country that doesn't seem inaccurate. I then started thinking about our local radio market. Would it be one of the top 5 most competitive markets today? Probably. How about if we factored in other attributes that make a a market great and evaluated it since the radio industry began?

If VH1 did a 10 Greatest Radio Markets of All Time, would Dallas-Fort Worth make the list?

 

[briancraig]

Certainly over the last 35 years, Dallas would have to be on the list of "greatest radio markets."
The influence of KLIF in the 1950s would make a strong case for Dallas to be on the all time great list.

The one thing that might take it out of contention would be the lack of viable full market AM signals during the era when AM ruled. For instance, Dallas had no R & B station at all until KKDA switched from country in 1970. KNOK in Ft. Worth served the black community of Dallas but with a weak signal in some areas. Both were daytimers.

Houston and probably even San Antonio had more stations that covered the whole market than either Dallas or Fort Worth.