MOVIN, SNAP, MIX OR WHATEVER

[jimmythebassett]

This format will only work in markets where there is a hole for it. It worked in Seattle because KUBE is too Rythmic CHR and KBKS is too Hot AC. Non of the AC's played any of the songs this format appeals to. There is no hole for this format in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Two great radio stations were plucked for this format. It has no vibe or connection to the audience.

 

[RadioStarOne]

Don't forget crackle and pop! lol lol The music is so burnt out already why recycle it again and again and again? So what is the big format hole in Los Angeles? I'd like to se a Country and Oldies hybrid mix with a little bit of rock-a-billy. lol lol. Would a chill format work in LA?

Think back to your most favorite radio station ever, what made it work for you? The jingles? The DJ's or the music? Why is it so hard for today's programers to find the right formula to make a real hit on the airwaves? Overall the ratings for all the stations is trending downward year after year. When does it stop? When they are all out of business? Are most morning show radio people overpaid? Or not?

 

[david]

Great Stations of LA's Past and Ideas for Today: MOVIN, SNAP, MIX OR WHATEVER

Think back to your most favorite radio station ever, what made it work for you? The jingles? The DJ's or the music? Why is

It gets berated quite a bit, but one of my favorite music stations in LA Radio history is KIQQ - which was a very adventurous CHR.
I would also cite Mars 103.1 as a musically adventurous and appealing station.
Other defunct greats include KEZY 1190 in the 70s and KEZY-FM 95.9 under Craig Powers in the 80s, KEDG 101.9, KSCA 101.9. If it was still around, KWOW 1600 could today service the standards and early oldies crowd who are presently without a station. KMPC 710 is also a stand-out from its full service days

 

[RadioStarOne]

KIQQ during the days when Jim Carson was there sounded terrific! "The station with all the music...K100 dred!" LA radio really hit it's stride in the middle to early 70's!

 

[radioresearcher]

KIQQ during the days when Jim Carson was there sounded terrific! "The station with all the music...K100 dred!" LA radio really hit it's stride in the middle to early 70's!

Late 70/Early 80's KIQQ got me into this business but I realize it wasn't great radio. However, they had great talent with Bruce & Tony, Jim Carson, and Jay Coffey...

KIIS from 1983-1987 or so under Gerry D and company is probably the greatest of the 25 years or so. No lineup ever better than Dees, Freeman, Big Ron, Bruce Vidal, and Tim Kelly.

Power 106 from 1986 to the early 90's - then again when the Baka Boyz were around in the 90's - and Power 106 has been pretty good even over the last several years.

Pirate Radio in the Shannon era (a great launch)

KKBT twice: once when it signed on and again when Harvey first came on.

Mega 100 during the first couple of years (and KHHT is still good today).

KROQ has been solid under Weatherly all the time.

K-Earth in the Mike Phillips era.

This one sort of counts as L.A.: XTRA Sports 690 with Mason & Ireland, Rome, Loose Cannons, and Hacksaw.

And today... Jack-FM is great. Compelling radio, super imaging, and programmed perfectly to L.A.

 

[briancraig]

KHJ under Ron Jacobs in the 1960s was probably the best commercial radio music station of all time.

 

[RealDealHolyfield]

i agree 100%. everyone is looking to seattle as a great example of why the format works, but not taking the time to ask why it worked in seattle. there was a huge whole for the format with kube being so in the box, and nothing else close in existence. i think the overall problem is this trend of taking a format that works in one city and launching clones across the country. go into your new market and make a station for that market. so what does l.a. need?

 

[Jay F]

I have another theory on why MOVIN' is only doing good in Seattle and nowhere else (at least so far).

Until 15 years ago there was very little rhythmic music on Seattle radio. Since then KUBE has really been the only one exposing the maket to rhythmic product. Because it hasn't been oversaturated, the gold on MOVIN" is really fresh to Seattle, many of the songs might even have an "oh wow!" factor.

On the other hand, these same rhythmic titles have always been played in markets like LA and SF. Multiple stations have played these songs and still do. An "Oh Wow!" in Seattle could get a "not again, this song is so played out" in California.

 

[CHRles]

Jay F might be onto something, though Kube always played its fair share of Recurrents, and don't forget C-89.5 plays quite a bit of Recurrent Dance music.

What I don't get from the original poster is why he would classify Kiss 106.1 as too Hot AC? It was at times a bit more Rock friendly than other large/major market CHRs, but never leaned on the adult side of things.

 

[RadioCrusader]

Kube is more along the lines of KMEL(urban leaning rhythmic)...they play the urban ballads, the harder hip hop titles, their recurrents are ALL: Dr. Dre, 2Pac, Aaliyah, Notorious B.I.G. and yes KBKS leans more rock than straight forward CHR. These factors definitely contribute to the HOLE for movin in the Seattle Market. I do like the Movin format, but it might work better in Fresno, Bakersfield, Sacramento, or San Diego.

 

[Big E]

Movin is already in San Diego...its called Magic 92.5, and its programmed like Movin should be.

 

[CHRles]

Absolutely not! The station in San Diego is much more 70s based than any Movin station.

 

[sfradio]

Absolutely not! The station in San Diego is much more 70s based than any Movin station.

yeah the station is still more like a jammin oldies station with some new songs

 

[Marv-L.A.]

I have to disagree about what Mike Phillips did as KRTH's PD; running that station like a top 40 station and playing some songs as many as EIGHT times a day is NOT necessary to hold the attention of its 25-54 adult listeners. I don't know if he hired Sean 'Hollywood' Hamilton for mornings a couple of years ago, but that was a HUGE mistake, because Hamilton knew next to nothing about the music and the listeners.

Leave it to Jhani Kaye, who made KOST 103.5 the nation's most prestigious and most imitated AC station, to retool KRTH with a substantially larger library and MUCH less repetition, return Gary Bryan to mornings after tossing Hamilton overboard, which has resulted in KRTH's increasing their audience by almost ONE-THIRD in the latest book.

93/KHJ certainly reinvented the Top 40 format when it was launched in May of 1965, with legends-in-the-making Robert W. Morgan doing mornings and The Real Don Steele doing afternoon drive.

PD Ron Jacobs must also be recognized for his standout work in blowing both KRLA and KFWB off the dial, and KHJ's dominance in the LA market (as well as being the #1 top 40 radio station in the USA until 1973) which resulted in all of KHJ's sister stations hitting #1 and/or being a perennial top 3 in their markets, including Boston, San Francisco, Memphis, NYC, Detroit & Chicago.

KIIS-FM was arguably the nation's #1 CHR/Pop station under DeFrancesco until it started to lose adult listeners by the truckload with KPWR's arrival and rise to #1 in 1987, and the same thing happened to most of the CHR/Pop stations out there which copied KIIS's lurch towards being a more rhythmic station by overreacting to KPWR.

That 10.0 rating which KIIS hit in the fall of 1984 was astonishing for a market as large as L.A.

KIIS started to slide ratings-wise upon Power 106's arrival, and hasn't been the same since the early nineties, as the format eventually continued to los MILLIONS of listeners due to an overabundance of rap/rhythmic material with vulgar lyrics, which drove soccer moms from coast to coast from the format, and has left the format in its current state