No Hot AC in Tampa?

[Gregg.]

In Tampa Bay, we have two Top 40 stations competing, iHeart's WFLZ 93.3 and Cox's WPOI, Hot 101.5. We have two Adult Contemporary stations, Cox's WWRM Magic 94.9 and iHeart's WMTX Mix 100.7. And we have the ratings winner every month, Soft AC 105.5 The Dove, WDUV, also owned by Cox.

But there's no Hot AC in Tampa. WMTX switched from Hot AC to AC a few years ago. It is #8 in the latest ratings. WWRM leans toward Hot AC. A check of its playlist shows almost nothing more than 10 to 15 years old. But I suppose that's so it doesn't step on WDUV's territory. Never the less, it doesn't play many current titles as a Hot AC would.

WFLZ is #12
WWRM is #13
WPOI is #18

Maybe Tampa doesn't need a Hot AC? It's happy with AC and Soft AC? It's amazing how strong WDUV has been for several decades, even as it transitioned from one of the last Easy Listening stations in a large market to its current Soft AC incarnation. I don't think it has ever lost its #1 crown to another commercial station, except for Christmas when its sister station WWRM played all Christmas music. (These days The Dove does the all-Christmas format instead of WWRM.)

 

[Yabadabado1]

It'd be interesting to see what station was the leader in ratings in the late 60s. I seem to remember a few stations that had EZ listening formats back then, WWBA was one if I remember correctly. I was born in Saint Pete and the joke was that you had to leave the area immediately and not allowed back till you were 80.