NYC ARBITRON PPM RATINGS RELEASED: JULY 2010

[Brooklyndon]

If they keep their sort of broad reach but steer more alternative and drop the AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Aerosmith, Van Halen, and others, it would help solidify their identity and may help increase their indie cred. Just my two cents.

Jacko

There are two factors that lead to billing success: share of segment and size of segment, where success = share * size.

To date, all of the WRXP chatter has focused on WRXP's ability to execute a format that will give it good share in its selected segment. Perhaps we need to be asking the question, has WRXP selected, given the typical delivery method of radio as a service the proper target segment: 18-34 year old, car-driving, college-educated, non-hispanic, white males? Car-driving is incompatible with the lifestyle of the 18-34 college-educated, non-hispanic, white male in New York City, but car driving is the characteristic of the audience associated with the delivery method selected by WRXP. This delivery method selection, standard across the industry, is the root cause of WRXP’s irrelevance: its potential audience size is miniscule.

Even if WRXP somehow has a 90 share of 18-34 year old, car-driving, college-educated, non-hispanic, white males, which, together, cannot total much more than 10% of half of the combined carrying capacities of the New England Thru-Way(100k/day), the New York Thru-Way(100k/day), I-80(150k/day), and the LIE(150k/day), or 25,000 people per day, its audience size would be still roughly only 22,500 people per day. Factor in another 750,000k car/day on the surface roads in WRXP’s listening range, and you have 1,000,000 cars/day driving in and around New York City and roughly a 2.3 share. (Given that we know the WRXP 12+ share, if anyone can confirm this total cars per day number, we can confirm the model, and find other data to guestimate WRXP's 18-34 share)

WRXP’s problem is execution. WRXP’s problem is also segment size. WRXP needs to find a way either to get in those other 750,000 cars/day being driven by people that both own cars and live in the City or find some other delivery method, like iPod mixtapes.

 

[altexpert]

I think that WRXP can still be something, I just think that they're trying to be too much at once. They initially came on as this all-encompassing rock format, but the station has narrowed quite a bit to where they're playing mostly 90s and 2000s rock with the occasional late 70s-80s track thrown in. RXP sounds a lot like the New York version of what WBCN was sounding like for most of the 2000s, playing mostly new alternative with some older mainstream/hard rock songs. Even the industry trades are confused as to how to classify them--Mediabase is reporting them as AAA while BDS is reporting them as alternative. They do not have a typical AAA playlist, RXP plays too much hard rock. They're not active rock as they don't play the dude rock like Distrubed and Shinedown. The currents are alternative--it's kind of a mess. If they keep their sort of broad reach but steer more alternative and drop the AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Aerosmith, Van Halen, and others, it would help solidify their identity and may help increase their indie cred. Just my two cents.

Jacko

I dunno. Does anybody remember when WPLJ and WNEW played sets that would have Costello and Humble Pie, or Blondie and Led Zep? It was relevant to do that at that time and it is relevant once again. Alternative and regular Rock can live side by side in NYC, it's been done before. But here we have two sides of the coin don't we? There are the music people here, talking about the music and the importance of having this music available on the common airwaves and then there are the mathematicians quoting potential car listener numbers. Radio sucks because we stopped being a business based on music that mattered and changed to a business that actually over researched everything. We over researched the music, then let the audience tell us what to do. Because they are the radio pros right? Thank you consultants for that prime advice. We over analyzed everything to the point that radio has become irrelevant to today's younger audience because we let it get that way, not because of multiple audio outlet availability. The internet and HD should enhance radio's presence, not the opposite. We stopped playing music and let loose bitchers and moaners on the airwaves who bond with their audiences by sharing misery rather than joy, the simple joy that music brings to people.

Why don't you all over analyze the Hispanic airwaves next? Maybe then they'll move away from music (which is very important for the Hispanic culture) and they can also focus on all sports and talk, except in Spanish of course?

WRXP is far from perfect and it can't be everything to everyone, it shouldn't try to be. What it should focus on is being the best damned station that it can be. At least then, when it goes down in flames after the number crunchers pull the plug, it can be remembered for being a great station instead of being another forgotten failure, too caught up in tweaking its sound. I believe in RXP, and I believe they can be around for a long time.

 

[FrankF]

>> I dunno. Does anybody remember when WPLJ and WNEW played sets that would have Costello and Humble Pie, or Blondie and Led Zep? It was relevant to do that at that time and it is relevant once again. Alternative and regular Rock can live side by side in NYC, it's been done before. But here we have two sides of the coin don't we? There are the music people here, talking about the music and the importance of having this music available on the common airwaves and then there are the mathematicians quoting potential car listener numbers. Radio sucks because we stopped being a business based on music that mattered and changed to a business that actually over researched everything. We over researched the music, then let the audience tell us what to do. Because they are the radio pros right? Thank you consultants for that prime advice. We over analyzed everything to the point that radio has become irrelevant to today's younger audience because we let it get that way, not because of multiple audio outlet availability. The internet and HD should enhance radio's presence, not the opposite. We stopped playing music and let loose bitchers and moaners on the airwaves who bond with their audiences by sharing misery rather than joy, the simple joy that music brings to people.

Why don't you all over analyze the Hispanic airwaves next? Maybe then they'll move away from music (which is very important for the Hispanic culture) and they can also focus on all sports and talk, except in Spanish of course?

WRXP is far from perfect and it can't be everything to everyone, it shouldn't try to be. What it should focus on is being the best damned station that it can be. At least then, when it goes down in flames after the number crunchers pull the plug, it can be remembered for being a great station instead of being another forgotten failure, too caught up in tweaking its sound. I believe in RXP, and I believe they can be around for a long time.<<

Well put. I wish we had a station like WRXP here in Orlando. Or even a AAA or mainstream rock station. All we have here is the typical consultant controlled classic and active rock stations. It's a good thing I have Sirius.

 

[frozenfiresb]

'RXP needs to focus their sound. A first step would be to mix in some of the songs on the countdown into their current playlist, which is still somewhat of a trainwreck tat that. Otherwise, it'll have to be the J-E-T-S (football) on FM.

 

[Brooklyndon]

WRXP needs to target an audience with some size.

 

[radioguy39nj]

'RXP needs to focus their sound. A first step would be to mix in some of the songs on the countdown into their current playlist, which is still somewhat of a trainwreck tat that. Otherwise, it'll have to be the J-E-T-S (football) on FM.

The only way the J!E!T!S! end up on 101.9 FM is if Emmis either leases or sells to ESPN. This has been open speculation for nearly two years.