Not really sure what took cc so long to flip 104.5

[hykos104.5]

Situation #1- Two gospel stations in Philly. Clear Channel had the #2 rated one, and on AM, no less

Situation #2- "Baxter, you know I don't speak Spanish." 104.5 old programming experiment was lost on 95% of listening area, and wasn't marketed properly to the Spanish population. The experiment failed, so don't disagree with me there. This isn't LA and it isn't New York and it isn't north Jersey. just saying.

Situation #3- WPLY and WYSP dropped rock altogether (WPLY) or mostly (YSP) within the last 24 months. WHAT went indie/rock. There was a huge void left on the dial.

All this adds up to an obvious decision, in my book. DO SOMETHING SMART+QUICKLY. Either, drop the gospel entirely, downgrade the spanish from FM to AM, add a rock station, or do all three! So while I think 104-5 has its share or train wrecks by trying to segue songs that are totally disjointed, but hey it's about time we finally had a format change! My big problem with it, is what the heck took so long to make a move, any move at all? Now that they made some moves, how quickly will they pay off? And how long will it take to add talent? I already have a stupid ipod that segues without regard for genre or era. Hire Matt Cord or Barsky or something why don't you.

 

[JbeJay]

Situation #4 - PPM. The new ratings paradigm gives them cover. "Hey, we had to do it because of the way certain formats are performing according to the People Meter."

 

[carnyfeet]

Situation #4 - PPM. The new ratings paradigm gives them cover. "Hey, we had to do it because of the way certain formats are performing according to the People Meter."

This is the correct answer. The flip to alt rock might have been premeditated up to a certain point, but the sudden switch just days after the ratings were released was a knee-jerk reaction to seeing WMMR in the top spot all of a sudden.

 

[DToTheJ]

The flip to alt rock might have been premeditated up to a certain point, but the sudden switch just days after the ratings were released was a knee-jerk reaction to seeing WMMR in the top spot all of a sudden.

And to think Clear Channel originally wasn't one of the big boys that wanted to play in the PPM sandbox.

 

[eatspaste]

Situation #1- Two gospel stations in Philly. Clear Channel had the #2 rated one, and on AM, no less

Three, with WNAP.

And Gospel WDAS was airing Phillies games in Spanish before the flip anyway. Someone had a back-up plan!

What took so long? CCU needed to give Rumba some chance at success. If it worked, they would have trumpeted their success going after a minority audience with a nicely written press release. If it failed, they could move it to an AM station and try yet another new format-o'-the-day on 104.5 (Sunny, Star, Alice, Sunny, Rumba, etc.).

Gospel audience is still being served (103.9/1110), Spanish audience still being served (690/1310/1480/1680), rock audience now being served in two ways: (1) On the surface: "we want to play cool new, local rock bands and our cool logo proves it!" (2) In the board room: "we're jealous of WMMR's ratings and revenue domination and we want even a tiny fraction of it!"

 

[JbeJay]

Two corrections, if you don't mind:

... a knee-jerk reaction to seeing WMMR in the top spot all of a sudden.

WMMR wasn't "in the top spot" but was merely one of several stations which looked stronger in the initial PPM numbers than in the previous "regular" book.

And to think Clear Channel originally wasn't one of the big boys that wanted to play in the PPM sandbox.

I don't think that's accurate either. Clear Channel wanted to evaluate multiple service providers, either to find the best service or to use as leverage to negotiate better with Arbitron. (If the latter, it worked.)

Jay

 

[carnyfeet]

Two corrections, if you don't mind:

... a knee-jerk reaction to seeing WMMR in the top spot all of a sudden.

WMMR wasn't "in the top spot" but was merely one of several stations which looked stronger in the initial PPM numbers than in the previous "regular" book.

I don't mind - you're right, it's just been a while since I actually looked at the arbitron ratings. Upon second look they were tied with KYW for the #2 spot, both behind B-101.

 

[JbeJay]

Upon second look they were tied with KYW for the #2 spot, both behind B-101.

Closer, but still no cigar. They were in third place, 12+, not tied for second.

But again, the significance is not the market rank, but the fact that the PPM numbers were so much better than the diary-based numbers.

 

[carnyfeet]

Upon second look they were tied with KYW for the #2 spot, both behind B-101.

Closer, but still no cigar. They were in third place, 12+, not tied for second.

But again, the significance is not the market rank, but the fact that the PPM numbers were so much better than the diary-based numbers.

Can you tell me where I'm able to find these ratings besides searching old posts on this forum?

 

[MarcB]

Spanish audience still being served (690/1310/1480/1680).

Not exactly. 690 is a Spanish Language Religious Station. (i.e. similar to 106.9 only in Spanish). That being said the people who listen to 690, won't listen to 1310/1480, which play Spanish Hit Music. And 1680 plays a different type of Spanish Music than 1310/1480.

 

[DToTheJ]

Spanish audience still being served (690/1310/1480/1680).

Not exactly. 690 is a Spanish Language Religious Station. (i.e. similar to 106.9 only in Spanish). That being said the people who listen to 690, won't listen to 1310/1480, which play Spanish Hit Music.

Yet the audience that 690 serves is still Spanish, correct? As opposed to, say, Swahili? ???