News 92 raitings

[ChuckTiller]

Re: News 92 RATINGS

Honestly I hope CBS radio will give him a call again when they start "Stereo Newsradio 101.1 FM " on KTRH-FM (KLOL). He deserves to be on a better signal than KROI. I'd like to hear the Scott Braddock Show as the morning drive time show on that new station along with 24/7 CBS News updates on-the-hour.

They would not be able to use the KTRH-FM calls, since KTRH is owned by Clear Channel and KLOL is owned by CBS. 101 News would be good.

 

[Gregg]

With KROI hitting a .8 in its first few months on the air, that's really pretty good. Houston is a Sunbelt market that really treats its news-talk stations poorly. Let's look at the ratings for all Spoken Word formats, other than Religion:

KTRH...Talk...#16
KUHF-FM...NPR...#20
KILT...Sports...#21
KBME...Sports...Tied for #25
KFNC(FM)...Sports...Tied for #25
KROI(FM)...All-News...Tied for #25
KPRC...Talk...Tied for #31
KSEV...Talk...Tied for #36
KCOH...Black Talk...Tied for #38
KLAT...Spanish Talk...Tied for #38
KGOL...ESPN Deportes...Tied for #41
KGOW...Sports...Tied for #41
KNTH...Salem Talk....No showing
KTEK...Salem Business....No showing

I think Houston wins for the WORST News-Talk large market, hands down. Dallas may be a close second but not this bad. Can you imagine a Clear Channel 50,000 watt Talk station running Rush and his friends in a conservative state, and it can only rate at #16? Most markets have at least one Talk station in the Top 10. How about an NPR Talk station running 100,000 watts on a tower taller than the Empire State Building, and it can only rate at #20? How about the highest rated Sports station only rating at #21? How about a Salem Talk station that doesn't even show in the ratings?

Houston is a terrible market for spoken word formats. So if an All-News station on a so-so FM signal makes it to a .8 after a few months on the air, that's reason to be hopeful.



Gregg
[email protected]

 

[davideduardo]

Honestly I hope CBS radio will give him a call again when they start "Stereo Newsradio 101.1 FM " on KTRH-FM (KLOL). He deserves to be on a better signal than KROI.

Why, oh why, would CBS flip KLOL to news?

KLOL is now CBS's leading 25-54 station, having recently passed KHMX and leading KILT by quite a bit.

KLOL bills about as much as KHMX, more than KKHH. It's also CBS's participation in the Hispanic market which is now 34% of the metro population.

 

[davideduardo]

Let's look at the ratings for all Spoken Word formats, other than Religion:

KTRH...Talk...#16
KUHF-FM...NPR...#20
KILT...Sports...#21
KBME...Sports...Tied for #25
KFNC(FM)...Sports...Tied for #25
KROI(FM)...All-News...Tied for #25
KPRC...Talk...Tied for #31
KSEV...Talk...Tied for #36
KCOH...Black Talk...Tied for #38
KLAT...Spanish Talk...Tied for #38
KGOL...ESPN Deportes...Tied for #41
KGOW...Sports...Tied for #41
KNTH...Salem Talk....No showing
KTEK...Salem Business....No showing

I think Houston wins for the WORST News-Talk large market, hands down.

For some reason... probably the fact that there is really only one AM that comes close to covering the entire market day and night... Houston has an "enormously low" usage of AM. It is below 10% on 6+, but about half of that in the 25-54 demo.

Hispanics just detest AM, no matter what the programming is (Mexico is busily eliminating about 80% of all its AM stations, having classified them as "not viable." That affects about 34% of the market.

But coverage, and the consequent inability to build major stations on AM that would attract listeners, seems to be the real issue. When we see how huge The Ticket is in Dallas... or WWL in New Orleans... or WSB in Atlanta... or KFI in LA... we can't say it is just a sunbelt thing.

 

[Drucifer]

Honestly I hope CBS radio will give him a call again when they start "Stereo Newsradio 101.1 FM " on KTRH-FM (KLOL). He deserves to be on a better signal than KROI. I'd like to hear the Scott Braddock Show as the morning drive time show on that new station along with 24/7 CBS News updates on-the-hour.

Why would any news station brand as "stereo"? For that matter, why would ANY station brand "stereo"? That is so 1970's and honestly, who would care?

 

[fadedglory]

I'd guess the smartphone apps that are now available (on android from Aircast) had to have helped out some, though it's not as convenient to reach for as with a full market signal on FM receivers, since it would be awfully tough to build out that signal to the desirable levels

 

[Mediafrog+]

For some reason... probably the fact that there is really only one AM that comes close to covering the entire market day and night... Houston has an "enormously low" usage of AM. It is below 10% on 6+, but about half of that in the 25-54 demo.

Metro Houston is a huge geographic area, and virtually all of the AM signals are woefully inadequate. If Houston was like Chicago or NYC, with several blowtorch 50kw non-directionals, we might see a difference. But the AM's here have all sorts of holes in the coverage areas.

Hispanics just detest AM, no matter what the programming is (Mexico is busily eliminating about 80% of all its AM stations, having classified them as "not viable." That affects about 34% of the market.

Somewhat off topic, but what is the latest on the AM to FM migration in Mexico? Same movement is happening in Canada, although more on a station-by-station basis.

But coverage, and the consequent inability to build major stations on AM that would attract listeners, seems to be the real issue. When we see how huge The Ticket is in Dallas... or WWL in New Orleans... or WSB in Atlanta... or KFI in LA... we can't say it is just a sunbelt thing.

WSB and KFI are 50kw ND powerhouses; WWL also 50kw with rather insignificant nulls. Good solid signals for all three. And WWL recently added an FM simulcast.

KTCK has to be impressive by any measure, with a programming style that has strongly resonated with the desired audience.

 

[davideduardo]

But the AM's here have all sorts of holes in the coverage areas.

And that likely explains why the circulation of the band as a whole went so low many years ago.

Somewhat off topic, but what is the latest on the AM to FM migration in Mexico? Same movement is happening in Canada, although more on a station-by-station basis.

Mexico divided the country into seven or eight zones. Each has / had a timetable for all AMs that want to move to FM to file for one of the new assigned FM channels.

The first zone, the states of Yucatan, Tabasco, Quintana Roo and Campeche, is in transition now. All but about 6 AMs in total will migrate to FM, turning off the AM after a simulcast period.

Overall, of just about 800 stations on AM, all but about 170 will disappear. The ones that will remain are in Mexico City, Puebla, Guadalajara, Monterrey and the border areas with only a few exceptions (mostly a small group of rural stations serving indigenous populations).

WSB and KFI are 50kw ND powerhouses; WWL also 50kw with rather insignificant nulls. Good solid signals for all three. And WWL recently added an FM simulcast.

WWL is actually like a 70 kw station, as they intentionally directionalized so as to not waste power over the gulf... just as WBZ did to not send power towards Ireland.... and unlike KTRH which pumps its power over the water.

 

[KTN Corp]

Re: News 92 RATINGS

They would not be able to use the KTRH-FM calls, since KTRH is owned by Clear Channel and KLOL is owned by CBS. 101 News would be good.

I had mentioned in the past about CBS buying the news intellectual property portion of KTRH from CC so that CBS doesn't start from scratch. 101.1 handles all-news while former sister 740 is all-talk.

Why, oh why, would CBS flip KLOL to news?

Pick a random full-market signal (I used KTRH-FM to demonstrate a possibility to compete with KROI). 96.5 and 95.7 are always rumored to switch to a simulcast of 610 or change format, so why not add the last FM station with a recent format history.

Why would any news station brand as "stereo"? For that matter, why would ANY station brand "stereo"? That is so 1970's and honestly, who would care?

You could tell that quality at News 92 was going down the drain: First the stereo pilot was turned off, then Scott was fired, so what's next? (I don't want to jinx anything, so I won't say anything about what comes next.)

With Houston being so quirky, don't be surprised to see average listeners use the red LED stereo pilot (if equipped) as a tuning eye.

I think Houston wins for the WORST News-Talk large market, hands down. Dallas may be a close second but not this bad. Can you imagine a Clear Channel 50,000 watt Talk station running Rush and his friends in a conservative state, and it can only rate at #16? Most markets have at least one Talk station in the Top 10. How about an NPR Talk station running 100,000 watts on a tower taller than the Empire State Building, and it can only rate at #20? How about the highest rated Sports station only rating at #21? How about a Salem Talk station that doesn't even show in the ratings?

KTRH is #16 because there is a strong association with "radio = music", especially on FM. Some younger people (younger than 30) have never heard an AM buzz before and that "FM = radio". Even the DJ speaking between songs irritates listeners, much more with spoken word formats; basically "music all the time"--a musical jukebox. "News = TV" in Houston, since Houstonians expect pictures to come with the descriptions. (Strange city I know!!)

Oddly enough, KUHF is the most maxed out NPR station in the South for the 4 major metropolitan areas. It's already maxed out in its class (100 kW @ 600 m), making it the largest market to have the largest coverage area. KILT is rumored to start simulcasting (or migrate) to FM, either on 95.7 or 96.5.

 

[ChuckTiller]

Re: News 92 RATINGS

They would not be able to use the KTRH-FM calls, since KTRH is owned by Clear Channel and KLOL is owned by CBS. 101 News would be good.

I had mentioned in the past about CBS buying the news intellectual property portion of KTRH from CC so that CBS doesn't start from scratch. 101.1 handles all-news while former sister 740 is all-talk.

CBS with it's news experience would not have any problem starting from scratch. They have their own news model; they do not need or most likely want Clear Channel's model.

 

[johndavis]

Re: News 92 RATINGS

You could tell that quality at News 92 was going down the drain: First the stereo pilot was turned off,

If I'm not mistaken, one of the first things that Bonneville did when they moved WTOP to the huge 103.5 signal in DC and displaced classical WGMS was... wait for it... turn off the stereo pilot.

Was that a sign of quality going down the drain?

For all the bellyaching you've done about listeners not being able to find the station because the stereo light doesn't come on, it's good enough for #1 in the DC market. People don't listen to a station because it's stereo or mono, they listen for the programming.

As for CBS and its all news prowess... last month WNEW scored a 0.3 in DC. Start-ups are hard, no matter who owns them.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Re: News 92 RATINGS

With Houston being so quirky, don't be surprised to see average listeners use the red LED stereo pilot (if equipped) as a tuning eye.

The red stereo indicator might have been important back in the days of mechanical analog tuners, when it would indicate the presence of a stereo station when tuning up and down the dial. But that was 30 to 50 years ago.

With today's PLL synthesized tuning, along with "seek and scan" functionality, the stereo indicator is virtually irrelevant. On most displays it is the same color as everything else, and small and hard to see unless you are actually looking for it.

There is no need whatsoever to do news in stereo. And keeping things mono actually improves reception.