MyTV Jax & Jax Radio Strategy

[John FL]

Sometime before the holidays last year, I discovered “MyTVJax.” Actually, this is the “ME TV” network (Memorable Entertainment Television) broadcast on 30.2 WAWS-DT. This is one of the stations now owned by Cox Media. What oldies/classic hits is to radio, ME TV is to television.

As far as radio strategy goes, there is one that is obvious. Then, there is one that came to light as I started watching some of these classic shows. Many of these shows have a story and I don’t mean the plot. Even way back when, the networks had a definite operational strategy. As I think of how radio operates today, I’m thinking that despite how cutting edge those press releases may sound, the strategy behind those decisions are really as old as the hills.

For now, I’ll get into the obvious strategy. Cox heavily promotes their “Action News” brand as well as their news/talk WOKV on MyTVJax. I have a feeling local TV news competition have taken notice. The promos for the other guys have been kicked up a notch. Stronger completion, I believe, makes for a better news product overall for the community served. WOKV is simply the best. The Jacksonville Morning News has assembled a really great team. I really enjoy hearing the younger sounding voices. It gives me encouragement that young people are finding a career in radio. Action News and WOKV as news partners - it's certainly a win/win for Cox - probably viewers and listeners too.

Often, there is a down side in that in the fight for ratings as stories tend to get sensationalized. Everybody is really guilty of this. Weather coverage and who is more accurate than the other has gotten to be a bit much. I realize the official temperature is taken at the Jacksonville airport. In winter, that temperature is not what most of the population in our area will experience. There is neighborhood weather but there is a lot of hype encountered before a viewer hears what is relevant to them.

Still, I believe since Cox has taken over the news operation at WTEV and WAWS, the overall presentation and content have improved to a point that they are getting noticed. The very heavy promotion doesn’t hurt either. I have no idea how they are doing in the ratings. Maybe someone has that info.

Back to “MyTVJax.” One Saturday night, I found myself channel surfing and Holy Discovery….there was Batman. Then I saw the promo for Lost In Space that was to follow. Then Star Trek followed after that. All of a sudden, I remembered the time I was Will Robinson’s age. I wanted to be him fighting aliens and journeying from one exciting adventure to another and lost in space. I was hooked.

I realize these boards are read by people of all ages. Some of you weren’t either born yet or old enough to have watched TV in 1965 when Lost In Space came on. However, I will try my best in a light-hearted way to show how very little has changed over the years in media strategy to include Jacksonville radio. We may actually figure out what's next by looking back. Weird, but that's how I think . Now that I've committed to this, I'll have to figure out what to say next...for now it's time to color some eggs... ;D

 

[John FL]

Part 2. As a kid, I didn’t understand TV competition strategy. Today, I don’t quite get how radio competes. Every once in a while, whether it’s television or radio, something really good, creative, unique enough comes on the scene that becomes a success. As is often the case, others duplicate that program or format and eventually what may have been special to that viewer or listener becomes a lot of sameness.

Today, the big news in Jax is all about a little translator being a spoiler to an established and very popular station. I suppose Batman was positioned as the spoiler to Lost In Space and even The Munsters as Batman ran on two consecutive nights. Back then, network shows began at 7:30 and not 8 PM and 7:30 was pretty much reserved for “us kids.”

Batman became an overnight success. It was campy and really couldn’t be taken seriously. But it was a lot of fun. Lost In Space started out more like an adventure series but as time went on, the show got campy too. I suppose competing meant trying to be like the competition. Still, as a kid I was forced to choose. Often times, I switched between the shows and then watched the second half of LIS. I guess this was an early example of fragmenting the audience, perhaps even sharing cume. LIS was promoted as an adventure series but it became a comedy. Today in Jax, there are formats that are supposed to be one thing but they are not exactly what they are supposed to be.

Regardless of how you may personally feel about spoiler strategy, often times it does work. Rarely is it ever about the consumer/viewer/listener but rather it’s about winning. Most of us mere mortals never saw X102.9 coming. Many of us make the mistake in thinking if a market already has a format or is well represented in a music genre, then something else is in order. However, radio doesn’t work that way.

Little has changed over time. The public can easily be swayed or manipulated when that new show/radio station is perceived as being really cool or trendy compared to the established one. Batman was promoted very successfully and so was X102.9. In fact, it was overnight success for both. In both cases too, it all had to do with ratings, revenue and market share. Cox probably wanted 3 male-friendly stations in the cluster counting on an agency to buy 3 deep. With X, 104.5 and 96.9, they had a station leaning 25-34, one attracting 35-44 and one delivering 45-54. Even with listeners outside P1 target at each station, they probably figured the agency would be getting a good buy. Displaced listeners, fired talent, overserving a genre of music – none of that matters. It should to at least some degree.

I think this is at least a good start getting things going. There’s a few more TV/radio comparisons to make. As far as the subject of “MyTV Jax” goes, I can only hope Cox keeps it going. It’s a nice alternative and it’s a good escape from reality too.

A good deal of this subject string is and will be about time and media strategy. Time does seem to fly. On March 29, it was exactly a year the Magic 107.3 team was dismissed. Maybe it’s just me, but given the current radio landscape in Jacksonville, we can certainly need a little Magic right about now – that nice alternative, that great escape – just like Me TV. But then again, no one can take away fond memories.

 

[upstate29651]

I want my Planet back.

G

 

[John FL]

You bring up a good point. Just last week someone I know mentioned missing Planet and even the old Rock 105 and even Cool 96.9 too. It’s actually a perfect segue to the last TV/Radio comparison I wanted to bring up. There are all kinds of reasons for a TV programs success or failure. The same can be said for radio formats. Public support, loyalty, even good ratings don’t always ensure staying on the air.

A few years after the LIS/Batman battle came to an end, CBS decided to cancel all their rural based shows. (The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, Gomer Pyle, Mayberry RFD to name a few). Despite being extremely popular and high in the ratings, these shows attracted all the “wrong” viewers according to the suits. As one comic put it as I recall, CBS killed any show that had a tree in it.

Simply, that strategy proved to be too severe, too quick and it left the network will a lot of hours to fill. City slicker shows were the replacements that in a word sucked and CBS actually lost #1 status for quite some time.

As far as radio goes, I’m well aware of how critical it is to attract that money demo. Almost ten years ago, traditional oldies stations were being eliminated because they had all the “wrong” listeners too. Here in Jacksonville, the CBS Television approach was taken and it was repeated. A lot probably has to do with the company and their core values and even how they truly regard listeners.

I’ve witnessed others in other markets take a different approach – one that over time transitions into an updated, more viable product. It’s far more listener centric. Listener loyalty in Jacksonville doesn’t seem to matter whether we think back to Cool 96.9, Planet, Rock 105 or even the recent end to classic country. It’s a hell of a way to treat people. You’ve served your purpose, you no longer play in our strategy, we need to make more $, you’re too old, go away.

As I have really been getting into MyTVJax, I can’t help but to be reminded of the consequences of decisions and the support and even lack of support that can make or break a show. Radio – same thing. There’s bias and personal preferences. Most times it is contrary to what the public really wants. But sometimes, it can actually be a good thing. “Cheers” was dead last in the ratings in the first season but the head honcho loved the show and gave it a chance. Years earlier, The Twilight Zone struggled in the ratings. In fact, one season they were off the air because they had no sponsor. Today, many will agree Twilight Zone was just way ahead of its’ time and it’s simply brilliant. Decisions do have consequences.

I’m not sure if you have seen that commercial where a guy is sitting in a network executive office back in the 70’s making a pitch for what would eventually be MTV. The suits – the status quo-are laughing their asses off thinking it’s a bad idea. One afternoon on my way home, I just wasn’t in the mood for Sean Hannity or sports. So I started dialing around. I just have to shake my head. There’s so much sameness and for lack of a better word – noise. Why do I have this feeling, anyone who is out there pitching a different approach or even suggesting something mellow is being laughed at too? I’m just holding on to the fact that the one constant in radio is change. Hopefully something will change for the better soon.

 

[jmtillery]

JohnJax,

While this is off-topic, I'm curious are you an author or simply a writer by professional? The reason I ask is because I enjoy very much reading your post, and while sometimes a single line is all that is necessary to make a valid point, your posts, comments and written thoughts go well beyond the simple one-line comment seen by the majority of commentators. You go into detail defending your position with valid reasoning using constructive criticism which causes the reader to use critical thinking to fully understand your position and to understand why you believe what you believe about any given subject relating, mainly, to the Jacksonville radio market, past and present.

I can say your subject matter content and writing style has caused me, at times, to think more critically and constructively.

 

[John FL]

Dr. Tillery, I appreciate the kind words. I am not an author. I’ve had a life-long career in banking and I wore many hats. Some of those positions were very writing-intensive especially when I had a role in employee training and development and even marketing.

I don’t expect the readers to necessarily agree with my views. You mentioned thinking more critically and constructively. That’s it. Radio decisions have very long-term consequences. It doesn’t help the industry or the community served if decisions are made by those who are close-minded.

So we don’t get into trouble for going off topic, I’ll end with this. The programs we see on MeTV and other nostalgic networks feature hit shows. There are countless clunkers that never made it. Those in network programming may be gifted and talented, but they don’t always get it right. After all, they are human. Radio decisions are not always right either. I have a feeling, the poorest decisions come when the viewer/listener/consumer is not in the center of it all. And so I write!

 

[John FL]

I thought of another television/radio strategy comparison and it has to do with the “star.” There is a lot of history where contract/money issues /meltdowns whatever see the star replaced on a hit show. Sometimes the show doesn’t miss a beat, sometimes it leads to ratings decline and cancellation.

Talent is replaced/eliminated very frequently in radio yet the show still has to go on. The future of WFYV (Rock 104.5) has been a discussion point on these boards for years now. But really, for a very long time WFYV = Great Ratings. Like television shows, sometimes a format just gets tired over time. In the last post I mentioned being “close-minded” as not a very good thing. So, I’ll keep an open mind here.

When Lex & Terry left Rock 105 in September 2005, the summer book showed their show averaged a 9.1 share, Rock 105 was 6th overall in the market with a 6 share. True, a lot of time has passed and WFYV isn’t the same station it was in 2005. Maybe that’s part of the problem. Mark Schwartz who was a GM when L&T started on Rock 105 said on L&T's leaving Rock 105 “It’s going to change everything.”

My source is a T.U. article you may find interesting, especially with the speculation as to which CC station L&T would be going to. Was Mr. Schwartz correct? For those of you who have listened to 104.5 for a long time, were there programming decisions that weren’t good ones? What should have been done? Let’s see where this goes. I have a feeling something else may have been in play too but I'll bring that up later.

http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/112105/bus_20329729.shtml

 

[John FL]

WFYV is now the big story. The constant in media is some shows/formats will be a big hit; others will be cancelled or flipped to something else. Still, the big guy at the top can make or break that show or that format. Ask Jay Leno about that. The public doesn’t always have a say and that was the real purpose of this string. This kind of strategy has been going on for a very long time and it’s not ending anytime soon.

I read a lot of listener comments on Rock 104-5’s FB page. Trust me, I feel their pain. Loyalty doesn’t mean much. A 33 year old station that always featured rock is as heritage as it gets. There are thousands of people who have listened from day one. There doesn't seem much love for X among Rock 104-5 listeners but that doesn't matter. WFYV had a long track record in kicking butt in the ratings. It was a long and slow decline over the years. Looking back, I think they were squeezed with increased competition and part of the problem was in their own backyard.

Unlike television where a show simply competes against other shows on other networks, radio has clusters where a format has to be programmed in such a way that it doesn’t hurt a sister station. A decade ago, Cox decided to replace most of their oldies stations with Eagle – their Classic Hits brand.

Let’s be real. Eagle is not a real classic hits station. It never was. The very narrow playlist doesn’t feature multiple genres of music that is truly retro top 40. It’s a true classic rock hybrid/classic rock lite and none of it ever resembled an oldies hybrid. Cox is just about the only major company who takes this approach. Many of you can say, Eagle has been a tremendous success but it came at a very high price.

As far as Rock 105 goes, the programming moved into the hair band phase. They weren’t the same classic rock station they once were according to what many posters wrote. Perhaps that move was to position the station to sound significantly more different than their sister. Not everyone liked that so where were these listeners to go?

I have no way of proving any of this but it’s strictly my opinion. The diary was probably very kind to L&T. Still, after they left there was a succession of morning shows that never quite measured up to past success. Eagle went commercial free for 96 minutes (I think that’s how long it was). So, if you were a classic rock fan, I think you wouldn’t mind the Steve Miller Band, BTO, Eagles, Mac etc. over a boring talker.

If there is one thing I know about people who are rock freaks, it’s that they avoid certain other genres of music like the plague. Had 96.9 featured Motown, disco and pop oldies in the mix with some rock oriented hits, I really do believe each station could have stood on its’ own merit and the audience would have become less fragmented. Again, that’s just my take.

For as long as I remember, radio has been engaged in super-serving and spoiler strategy. If it’s all about winning, someone usually does win but again it can come at a very high price, especially when a very heritage station goes away. It got really ridiculous. 3 rockers at Cox, then Renda joins the circus, then Jack comes on the scene with a heavy rock lean. Something had to give. Jack is not a player in Jax but it's cheap and I betcha Jack will last a lot longer than Magic did. Have you looked at Jack's share lately? Again. it's not about what listeners may want.

A Cox Jacksonville exec said the following when Rock 104-5’s retirement was announced:
While we are sad to say goodbye to ROCK 104-5, we have tremendous brand awareness and equity in our sister rock property, JACKSONVILLE’s NEW ROCK ALTERNATIVE X102.9.” Think about that statement.

Remember too, Rock 105 was a 30 year brand. You can’t buy that kind of brand awareness yet they blew it up. They love X and they want it to work. The Point was once a very popular station too. Eagle was favored and so The Point went away. One day, someone high up the food chain will feel Eagle has run its’ course too. Listener loyalty, ratings, it doesn’t matter if it’s not what THEY want. And the cycle just keeps going on....