I was just thinking, isn't this the last CBS station using the Oldies moniker? WODS seems to get borderline ratings, anyone else have a feeling that they'll drop the 'Oldies' name soon? Always thought it sounded pretty good.
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Oldies 103.3
- Thread starter carolinaradio
- Start date
carolinaradio said:
Where do you get that WODS gets "borderine" ratings? They're currently the second-highest rated adult audience music station in the Boston 12+. Only one AC station beats them in the adult music demo. They're beating the Classic Hits, Classic Rock, Adult Hits, Hot AC, Rock and AAA stations, among others.
The two CHR stations beat them, but they go for a young demo. They are not their format competition. The heritage news/talk station and the biggest sports station beat them, but those are also not their competition. I can't legally post numbers, but WODS has a good placement within the 12+ top ten, and does quite well in the 25-54.
I think WODS's ratings have been good enough so that, at least so far, they haven't wanted to fix something that isn't broken by changing the imaging. They are doing much better in their demo in Boston than other CBS oldies stations were doing in their markets nationally.
M
Mickey37
Guest
Why mess with success? They seem to be doing quite well with the Oldies identity and playlists. Of course, the business being what it is, I suppose anything's possible, but I'd be mighty surprised if that happened anytime soon.
G
greg11
Guest
I do believe Oldies is in the top 5 with the adult audience. They are far from "borderline" In any case...of course anything is possible....maybe they will phase out the word "Oldies" and use "103.3....WODS"
ssetta said:
B101 stopped referring to themselves as Oldies many years ago when they were still playing 50's and 60's music, just to differentiate themselves from WODS "Oldies 103.3", whose signal comes in like a ton of bricks in the Providence market.
I don't think it would be a good idea for WODS to copy them. B101 comes in all over the outer greater Boston metro once you get more than about seven miles away from adjacent WFNX downtown.
K
keyjock
Guest
In addition, they are the top billing station in the CBS/Boston cluster right behind WBZ.
And word is, other CBS Oldies and Classic hits stations attempt to use the success of
WODS as their model (one inside source says other PD's and GSM's are a little jealous
and envious).
And though numbers tend to run a little flat in the summer months, WODS is doing
extremely well in the 25-54 demo: top 10 mornings, top 5 middays, I do believe
number 6 afternoons, top 10 at night, and top 5 on weekends. And with the 35+
crowd, top 2 or 3.
And if it wasn't for the morning powershow of Loren(hmm...ahh...okay) & Wally
across town, mornings would run a bit better.
Their only caveat is the "OLDIES" moniker.
So I would venture to say, OLDIES 103.3 is doing just fine. And the bottom line
with CBS/Radio is revenue, and WODS is giving them what they want.
And with the Sox struggling, I think afternoons and evenings will get a little
bump heading into the fall.
It's now Sept. less than 3 months till Christmas music. I betting the week of
Thanksgiving just like last year .... any takers?
And word is, other CBS Oldies and Classic hits stations attempt to use the success of
WODS as their model (one inside source says other PD's and GSM's are a little jealous
and envious).
And though numbers tend to run a little flat in the summer months, WODS is doing
extremely well in the 25-54 demo: top 10 mornings, top 5 middays, I do believe
number 6 afternoons, top 10 at night, and top 5 on weekends. And with the 35+
crowd, top 2 or 3.
And if it wasn't for the morning powershow of Loren(hmm...ahh...okay) & Wally
across town, mornings would run a bit better.
Their only caveat is the "OLDIES" moniker.
So I would venture to say, OLDIES 103.3 is doing just fine. And the bottom line
with CBS/Radio is revenue, and WODS is giving them what they want.
And with the Sox struggling, I think afternoons and evenings will get a little
bump heading into the fall.
It's now Sept. less than 3 months till Christmas music. I betting the week of
Thanksgiving just like last year .... any takers?
ssetta said:
WDRC-FM Hartford -- formerly "Oldies 102.9" -- was "Big Hits" for a while last winter and spring, but backtracked in early June, dumping most of the '80s music, adding a bit of classic rock, and even bringing back some '50s and pre-Beatles '60s titles. Think "Silhouettes on the Shade," "Hanky Panky" and "Show Me the Way" in the same song set.
keyjock said:
Too late.
I would say the week of November 6th.
S
sp113
Guest
Well, I think the borderline ratings may be more indicative of the $$ value of the ratings.
The anecdotal thinking in the market is that WODS's 25-54 numbers are all really 45-54's. (And a look deeper into the ratings indicates that idea is not too far off the mark.)
They ad agencies have some resistance to buying older demos. It may not show up in the clients and agencies that ARE on the air....but mostly in the price they can charge for those spots....which is dicsounted due to their older leaning demo's.
And let's face it....as much as we all love Dale Dorman, his stay at 103.3 has been very uneventful. I don't think he even cracks the top 10 in the morning. Midday is doing well...and afternoons have performing OK with the Karen Blake's appearance. Nights and mornings are underperforming.
Now...if most of your audience is 45-54 (or worse yet 50-54)....how long before most of your P1 listeners are out of the demo completely?
I think this is why CBS has been quick to flip formats on a lot of their oldies stations...declining revenue, declining demo's...and the future ahead does look so bright for the format. Which is sad, because it is one of my regular stops on the dial!
The anecdotal thinking in the market is that WODS's 25-54 numbers are all really 45-54's. (And a look deeper into the ratings indicates that idea is not too far off the mark.)
They ad agencies have some resistance to buying older demos. It may not show up in the clients and agencies that ARE on the air....but mostly in the price they can charge for those spots....which is dicsounted due to their older leaning demo's.
And let's face it....as much as we all love Dale Dorman, his stay at 103.3 has been very uneventful. I don't think he even cracks the top 10 in the morning. Midday is doing well...and afternoons have performing OK with the Karen Blake's appearance. Nights and mornings are underperforming.
Now...if most of your audience is 45-54 (or worse yet 50-54)....how long before most of your P1 listeners are out of the demo completely?
I think this is why CBS has been quick to flip formats on a lot of their oldies stations...declining revenue, declining demo's...and the future ahead does look so bright for the format. Which is sad, because it is one of my regular stops on the dial!
Yes, but this is all circumstial theory. Eli packed his post up with facts (or as close as he could make him). Boston is NOT like New York, in that there are a lot of people in Boston who have been in Boston for a very very long time. It's brand recognition, like the setting on your toaster, the type of crust you prefer on your french bread, or your favorite pack of smokes (if u still smoke). Dale is not there to bring in a Howard Stern audience, he is there to keep the audience that is already there from defecting. These are the people who listened to RKO, Kiss108 Disco, and F-105. And hey, didn't Dale work at all of those? And that's the point. Oldies 103 is a Local station, brings in a local audience that local advertisers want. And I'll bet they make a great package buy with WBZ and ZLX!
Besides, with Mike FM already in the market, what else is there to go to?
(And don't say Urban AC or Rhythmic Hot AC, you know CBS won't do that in Boston)
Besides, with Mike FM already in the market, what else is there to go to?
(And don't say Urban AC or Rhythmic Hot AC, you know CBS won't do that in Boston)
Dale's ratings in the morning are (somewhat) better than his predecessor in the slot Paul Perry's were. He does (barely) crack the 25-54 top ten. The only reason Dale doesn't do better is because of Loren and Wally having been on 105.7 mornings consistently for over 25 years, and all of the people who apparently seem to think that they're funny.
Dale is a very talented heritage jock with significant local recognition, but he was bounced around the dial and only began his WODS show a few years ago. If he had been on that station for decades as well, he would be doing a lot better against L&W now.
I admire L&W's heritage and professionalism as well, but their humor... yuck! (IMO).
Dale is a very talented heritage jock with significant local recognition, but he was bounced around the dial and only began his WODS show a few years ago. If he had been on that station for decades as well, he would be doing a lot better against L&W now.
I admire L&W's heritage and professionalism as well, but their humor... yuck! (IMO).
The "official" Jack format is still available in Boston IMO Mike is gnerally a copy.
The mistake CBS did in NY was to get rid of the announcers. The way I would flip Oldies 103.3 to Jack would be to
a) KEEP the annoucers (I know Big Sticks Broadcasting may not like that)
b) Blend in those 400 oldies they keep rotating along with the 1000+ Jack tracks (The promo can say "WE're jacking up your oldies.")
c) Have Cogan himself do a guest shift.
The mistake CBS did in NY was to get rid of the announcers. The way I would flip Oldies 103.3 to Jack would be to
a) KEEP the annoucers (I know Big Sticks Broadcasting may not like that)
b) Blend in those 400 oldies they keep rotating along with the 1000+ Jack tracks (The promo can say "WE're jacking up your oldies.")
c) Have Cogan himself do a guest shift.
C
ciao99
Guest
carolinaradio said:
The rule of thumb in Boston is that if your audience is white and suburban you don't mess with the format no matter how poor the ratings and even if the format is duplicated numerous times across the dial.
That aside, I agree with the above posters. The station has excellent ratings. And who cares if they don't attract 12 year olds? Furthermore, people don't just stop spending money once they turn 35. In fact the older folks have more disposable income.
I used to do market research for CBS TV stations, and ran into these objections about the mature audience once in a while. But despite the naysayers, the older audience brings in the ratings and the revenue. There is room for other advertisers than fast food joints and cheap beer.
Wonder what the Summer Concert Series on the Esplanade did for the WODS ratings. A bump perhaps?
Three Dog Night, a band I've always been fond of, played pretty much the same old show, but jam packed the place. You couldn't move. They did do a rap version of "Mama Told Me Not To Come" reflecting not only the changing market, but a nod to that genre dropping off the 60s and adding more R & B from the 70s - the Philly Sound specifically.
Ciao has a point saying "The rule of thumb in Boston is that if your audience is white and suburban you don't mess with the format no matter how poor the ratings and even if the format is duplicated numerous times across the dial" however when WODS brings The Temptations & Kool & The Gang to the Esplanade they are definitely reaching out to a diverse audience. They could easily play Chubby Checker, an African American artist who has a huge white following, but "The Twist" has been dropped off Oldies playlists across the country in favor of The Bee Gees, The Philly Sound, and music from the Disco era. Certainly not Oldies per se. Chubby has a great campaign going to get The Twist on the air. It, and "The Monster Mash", are two audience favorites. Why not play "The Twist" since "Monster Mash" gets an annual set of spins every October
I think there's room for both sounds. Certain classics like "The Twist" and "Blueberry Hill" aren't going to shoo away listeners, nor will Connie Francis with a song or two. Chubby, Fats & Connie! Bring 'em back.
Three Dog Night, a band I've always been fond of, played pretty much the same old show, but jam packed the place. You couldn't move. They did do a rap version of "Mama Told Me Not To Come" reflecting not only the changing market, but a nod to that genre dropping off the 60s and adding more R & B from the 70s - the Philly Sound specifically.
Ciao has a point saying "The rule of thumb in Boston is that if your audience is white and suburban you don't mess with the format no matter how poor the ratings and even if the format is duplicated numerous times across the dial" however when WODS brings The Temptations & Kool & The Gang to the Esplanade they are definitely reaching out to a diverse audience. They could easily play Chubby Checker, an African American artist who has a huge white following, but "The Twist" has been dropped off Oldies playlists across the country in favor of The Bee Gees, The Philly Sound, and music from the Disco era. Certainly not Oldies per se. Chubby has a great campaign going to get The Twist on the air. It, and "The Monster Mash", are two audience favorites. Why not play "The Twist" since "Monster Mash" gets an annual set of spins every October
I think there's room for both sounds. Certain classics like "The Twist" and "Blueberry Hill" aren't going to shoo away listeners, nor will Connie Francis with a song or two. Chubby, Fats & Connie! Bring 'em back.
>>And who cares if they don't attract 12 year olds?
They're listening to 'ODS..."Mom" has it on in the car as she drives them to soccer practice
They're listening to 'ODS..."Mom" has it on in the car as she drives them to soccer practice
Chubby Checker is playing the Topsfield Fair this year
if WODS' formula works, if the name works, why tinker with it?
I REALLY didn't need to hear about a rap version of "Mama Told Me Not To Come.'
if WODS' formula works, if the name works, why tinker with it?
I REALLY didn't need to hear about a rap version of "Mama Told Me Not To Come.'
Varulven said:
I guess us middle-agers will have to face it. Those ARE the "Oldies" of the New Millennium.
K
keyjock
Guest
Just a casual observation, it seems that they are playing less Beatles.
Also noticed that they've gotten away from the term Motown.
And it looks as though they seem drop a year and add year: whereas
they used to be, say 64 - 78, now they are 65 - 79, for example.
Perhaps adjusting to the younger side of the demo and aging with
THEM. The oldest Thurs. night count that I can recall is 1965.
Also noticed that they've gotten away from the term Motown.
And it looks as though they seem drop a year and add year: whereas
they used to be, say 64 - 78, now they are 65 - 79, for example.
Perhaps adjusting to the younger side of the demo and aging with
THEM. The oldest Thurs. night count that I can recall is 1965.
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