Oldies 106.7 - Your Impressions?

[itburnswhenipee]

Oldies 106.7
Day One

It appears this is an extremely broad-based Gold format that will likely erode TSL and cume for Dave FM and 97.1 The River.

Oldies 106.7 is much too broad for a major market, where major market programmers must identify and superserve a niche within any format (for example, V103 superserves 25-54 Urban female, while Kiss 104.1 superserves 35+ Urban female). As it is, Oldies 106.7 vacillates between Classic Gold (Beach Boys, The Monkees, Beatles) and Classic Hits (Eagles, Fleetwood Mac). This leaves 106.7's flank open to attack from 97.1 and Dave, which can tighten their respective playlists and re-brand as Classic Hits. Perhaps, 106.7 may even be vulnerable to attack on the upper end from even another Classic Gold station.

Biggest critique: 106.7 must tighten focus, playlist and branding to reflect either Classic Gold or Classic Hits. Not both.

 

[jal41]

Re: Oldies 106.7

Dave is a 70's-today format (like B98.5). 106.7's only competor in the no songs from the past 20 years department is 97.1 The River.

 

[jabba17]

I agree with jal41. 106.7's only real competitor is River. B98.5 and Dave only compete with them among preset-pushers. Will 106.7 steal some of River's share or not?

 

[BIGSTICK]

Of course I love it. And I am sure I am not alone.

 

[lipripper]

Here's that old way of thinking, again:
As it is, Oldies 106.7 vacillates between Classic Gold (Beach Boys, The Monkees, Beatles) and Classic Hits (Eagles, Fleetwood Mac).
What's been the one grip about radio stations? Tight playlists of 300 songs. Now here's a station going deeper, playing more cuts and the first thought you have is to tighten the playlist and focus.

UNBELIEVABLE.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

Oldies 106.7 is much too broad for a major market

Maybe...but I don't think changing the mix would be worth their effort. They'll get their 1.5-1.7 share no matter whether they tighten things up or not. And they'll probably make money given the low overhead.

 

[BIGSTICK]

Here's that old way of thinking, again:
As it is, Oldies 106.7 vacillates between Classic Gold (Beach Boys, The Monkees, Beatles) and Classic Hits (Eagles, Fleetwood Mac).
What's been the one grip about radio stations? Tight playlists of 300 songs. Now here's a station going deeper, playing more cuts and the first thought you have is to tighten the playlist and focus.

UNBELIEVABLE.

EXACTLY MY THOUGHTS AS WELL. What the hell, tighten the playlist. It will be 105.7 again.. I just heard ELO, followed by Tom Jones. It is a cool playlist. In fact I don't think I have even heard Fleetwood Mac?

 

[lilburncommunityradio]

Here's that old way of thinking, again:
As it is, Oldies 106.7 vacillates between Classic Gold (Beach Boys, The Monkees, Beatles) and Classic Hits (Eagles, Fleetwood Mac).
What's been the one grip about radio stations? Tight playlists of 300 songs. Now here's a station going deeper, playing more cuts and the first thought you have is to tighten the playlist and focus.

UNBELIEVABLE.

I would have to agree with Lip.. This station is covering a big range of music. I think it is a great station, and once some of the bugs are worked out this will be probably the best oldies presentation that this town has seen in a long while.
Why some complain about the same 300 songs, then complain that a station plays too broad a list is beyond most of us..

 

[itburnswhenipee]

Here's that old way of thinking, again:
As it is, Oldies 106.7 vacillates between Classic Gold (Beach Boys, The Monkees, Beatles) and Classic Hits (Eagles, Fleetwood Mac).
What's been the one grip about radio stations? Tight playlists of 300 songs. Now here's a station going deeper, playing more cuts and the first thought you have is to tighten the playlist and focus.

UNBELIEVABLE.

Well, don't get me wrong. On a personal level as a radio fan, I'd like to hear a greater variety of songs and I face "burn" on records like anybody else.

However, from a corporate programmer's point of view, you can only succeed with a schizophrenic playlist in Fargo, North Dakota or Lewiston, Maine where there is only one radio station.

In a major market like Atlanta, you must identify and superserve a niche within a format. For example, within the Urban format, Kiss 104.1 superserves a 52-year-old African-American female, while Hot 107.9 superserves a 16-year-old African-American male. You would not combine the two playlists as Atlanta's "Urban" station and then segueway from Soulja Boy's "Crank Dat" to Anita Baker's "Sweet Love."

Similarly, it's a train wreck to hear a segueway from the Drifters' "Under the Boardwalk" to Pink Floyd "Brick in the Wall."

 

[ClarkKent]

The Good: It's refreshing to hear oldies on the dial again...and to have a station around (apart from the country stations) that probably won't play Alicia Keys...I swear I hear part of that "No One" song at least 3 or 4 times during a commute. Wide range of stuff, too, and very good sound quality. Also very encouraged to hear someone besides Imus and Shannon on the mic.

The Bad: What I've heard of the new format still leaves a lot to be desired in presentation. Imaging is weak, and I've heard a lot of technical glitches...coming out of a spotset in to the middle of a song, long pauses between spots and music, sweepers firing OVER a commercial, but I'm hopeful that stuff will get ironed out.

Overall: B-minus. Good choice of format and the music sounds great, but would like to see a full on-air lineup, better imaging and smoother execution.

 

[cessnaairplane784]

I took a listen at the new format, and it wasn't bad at all. As sad as to see the Eagle go, it was nice to bring some stuff that was absent from Atlanta radio for the past year. Some Diana Ross & The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Beatles, Johnny Rivers, Eagles, Stevie Wonder and more. The last time that songs like these were ever heard was back when 94.9 Lite fm was playing some oldies. This is what variety is all about, and I think that is what the majority of Atlanta radio listeners want, some variety with minimal to no repeats. 106.7 will have a lot of potential, and it has me turning the radio up more often.

It will be interesting to see how 106.7 shapes up once the latest rounds of ratings come about this fall or winter. I would predict that 106.7 will stay the same in the ratings, and I'm not surprised if it actually dropped compared to the Eagle due to the change. Not many people favor oldies or listen to them, and those who are in the 18-35 age range don't give a big babboon's bottom about listening to oldies. They would instead listen to rap if given the choice between oldies and rap. I obviously prefer oldies even though I fall in the 18-35 age range.

The River will be decreasing in ratings thanks to 106.7. I am very surprised that the radio company who owns The River and B98.5 are doing well financially even though their playlists for those two stations are "so so so so large." -oh, I said that with so much cynicism. Truthfully, those two stations have the slimmist number of songs anywhere to the point that you just can't listen to them anymore. So, I guess boring playlists gives you high ratings, eh?

The Bull, I know, will do a whole lot better, and probably will reach the top 15 or even top 10 radio stations in Atlanta due to the volume of country listeners. I do feel that all the loyal country listeners will be flocking to the Bull like a buffet line serving lobster and caviar. Obviously, The Bull is the most publicized country radio station in Atlanta right now, so they will get the largest slice of the cake. So congradulations, Clear Channel. Ain't it nice to see some of your ratings go upward, Clear Channel, although I'm not sure that you guys deserve it.

I can see the true oldies format being around for the next two or three years. After that, heaven knows what will happen next with all the constant changing and shuffling going on among Atlanta radio stations.

 

[OutOfTheBiz]

I So, I guess boring playlists gives you high ratings, eh?

Yes. That has been proven over and over again for decades.

 

[MRFLASHPORT]

not that impressed yet, not enough Motown/R&B, too much "safe" top 40 classic rock washouts you can hear played three times a day on the Cox FM toilets, it's obviously sat fed voicetracking...I know I'm living in a fantasy land thinking we'd have a REAL oldies station such as K-Earth 101 in Atlanta...I'll put my money it's another "one year wonder" format.

I do say the signal sounds decent....but that doesn't get listeners...oh well, back to switching between Kiss 104 and my newly acquired Sirius radio...

 

[whit979]

Similarly, it's a train wreck to hear a segueway from the Drifters' "Under the Boardwalk" to Pink Floyd "Brick in the Wall."

Similarly, not everything on a Mainstream CHR station will appeal to its listeners. They tune in, listen for a time, tune out. The result is major cume numbers. So, perhaps think of True Oldies like a "CHR Oldies" format.

The Bad: What I've heard of the new format still leaves a lot to be desired in presentation. Imaging is weak, and I've heard a lot of technical glitches...coming out of a spotset in to the middle of a song, long pauses between spots and music, sweepers firing OVER a commercial, but I'm hopeful that stuff will get ironed out.

Obviously they are having trouble linking their local automation system to the satellite feed. At our True Oldies affiliate here in Alabama, we had problems with that in the beginning. It actually sounds like they may have missed wiring a relay or two into their automation computer. Gotta get the engineer to double-check those satellite relays! Oh yeah...and put LOTS of filler material into the system...they'll need it for those stop sets that aren't completely filled. Public service announcements, quick reminders to check out your website, etc. They'll probably get it all worked out eventually.

 

[trusty]

...it was nice to bring some stuff that was absent from Atlanta radio for the past year. Some Diana Ross & The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Beatles, Johnny Rivers, Eagles, Stevie Wonder and more. The last time that songs like these were ever heard was back when 94.9 Lite fm was playing some oldies.

So, lite dumped a few oldies for country and eagle dumped country for oldies. That, dear students. is how format seeks its own level...

 

[itburnswhenipee]

What this station also needs is a focused branding campaign to establish the new brand of 106.7.

"Good Time Oldies 106.7" is a deliverable message that could easily be supported by liners, drops, and jingles with the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" as the signature song. TV and print campaign could be supported with an ad featuring young girl writing on the bathroom wall, "For a Good Time, call.........106.7 FM"

 

[bgwilde1]

I'll go out on a limb..... I LIKE Scott Shannon!

I like listening to him (he does not sound as hard-lived as Scott Muni did, that one drove me nuts), and he is very nice in person, having gone out of his way to come to one of my remotes years ago in White Plains.

That being said....

- As far as the music, I like the selection. Even though some of the tracks are before my time, he plays stuff I can relate to, being one of the younger ones on the board, but not in my 20s!
-The processing needs HELP!!!!!! The songs sound like they have no "punch", the high frequency harmonics sound distorted (cymbals sound like breaking glass),
and it sounds like there is a background white noise somewhere over 14k. It helps me tell the difference from the sat and the local spots. Also, instead of the "warm" sound I have become accustomed to from a regular FM station, the sound seems harsh and cold, similar to a mp3 file ripped at a LOW bitrate and played on a 1" computer speaker with bad equalization.
- PC not firing correctly. Listening last night, I heard spots cut off, three seconds of dead air, then a song start cold. A few spots were not done running when another one would fire off, letting it step all over the incomplete commercial. It reminded me of Format 41 carts that were not cued correctly and misfired.

Will it work here? Time will tell, but it is hard for me to listen to right now. If it sounded better, I would certainly listen more!

 

[whit979]

"Good Time Oldies 106.7" is a deliverable message that could easily be supported by liners, drops, and jingles with the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" as the signature song. TV and print campaign could be supported with an ad featuring young girl writing on the bathroom wall, "For a Good Time, call.........106.7 FM"

Haha, I could see a commercial like that. Good song selection...would she write it in red lipstick?

Anyway, it's probably unlikely that will happen. ABC specifically asks their True Oldies Channel affiliates to only use "True Oldies" in their branding and imaging. Probably since most of the liners go over the satellite feed to all the affiliates.

-The processing needs HELP!!!!!! The songs sound like they have no "punch", the high frequency harmonics sound distorted (cymbals sound like breaking glass),
and it sounds like there is a background white noise somewhere over 14k. It helps me tell the difference from the sat and the local spots. Also, instead of the "warm" sound I have become accustomed to from a regular FM station, the sound seems harsh and cold, similar to a mp3 file ripped at a LOW bitrate and played on a 1" computer speaker with bad equalization.

They do their own pre-processing before the feed ever reaches the affiliates. What you're describing is what all the True Oldies stations hear when they get the feed. So it sounds to me like 106.7 may have taken their own processing out of the equation.

 

[amos]

Although I'm crushed he no longer sings the praises of my 'net station, I'm with Brent (and lots of Fox97 faithful)... 106.7 is a good move.

And while I understand the "tighten it up" smaller playlist, higher cume, less tuneout argument that others have made, I like the deeper cuts. I really enjoyed hearing "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell. When was the last time a station in Atlanta had that in rotation?

-amos

 

[ClarkKent]

I really enjoyed hearing "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell. When was the last time a station in Atlanta had that in rotation?

-amos

Both Eagle and WNGC's classic country shows play(ed) "Wichita Lineman" with some regularity, seeing as how Glen Campbell is generally considered to be a country artist...

I enjoyed hearing "Beep Beep" the other night. I forget the artist. "I'll show him that a Cad-ill-ac is not a car to scorn..." ;D