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Oldies 97.1 Nashville

M

Michael_Boehm

Guest
After reading these boards the past few months, I have concluded that "oldies" is a dead radio format. Also, the brand name "oldies" is no longer used on most stations. Well, then why is a station like "Oldies 97.1" in Nashville doing fairly well? It must be making money, because Cumulus is still running the station. They also use oldies in their slogan: "Good Times and Great OLDIES". David Eduardo, OldiesCat, Radiolover78, and anyone else, can you help me with this?
 
Oldies in Nashville

Right now, 97.1 is benefiting from:

- the fact Oldies in general was healthy when 96.3 bounced the format
- they're enjoying a honeymoon period
- not sure they're necessarily in it for the long term; they picked it up
because their doomed AC format was tanking.

I'd be interested in knowing their average listener age. Can't deny they're really doing great 25-54.

My .02: if I were doing something similar to 97.1, I'd have used something different than "Oldies" for a name and positioner (show of hands, please-- has "good times/great oldies" been run into the ground or what?). If they have any vision for the future, they'll recognize that Oldies was 96.3's brand name and gently evolve out of the Oldies terminology, formatics, etc.

> After reading these boards the past few months, I have
> concluded that "oldies" is a dead radio format. Also, the
> brand name "oldies" is no longer used on most stations.
> Well, then why is a station like "Oldies 97.1" in Nashville
> doing fairly well? It must be making money, because Cumulus
> is still running the station. They also use oldies in their
> slogan: "Good Times and Great OLDIES". David Eduardo,
> OldiesCat, Radiolover78, and anyone else, can you help me
> with this?
>
 
I do not necessarily agree with you. But to answer your question in a general way, just assume that there is an exception to almost anything.

> After reading these boards the past few months, I have
> concluded that "oldies" is a dead radio format. Also, the
> brand name "oldies" is no longer used on most stations.
> Well, then why is a station like "Oldies 97.1" in Nashville
> doing fairly well? It must be making money, because Cumulus
> is still running the station. They also use oldies in their
> slogan: "Good Times and Great OLDIES". David Eduardo,
> OldiesCat, Radiolover78, and anyone else, can you help me
> with this?
>
<P ID="signature">______________
[email protected]</P>
 
Re: Oldies in Nashville

>> Oldies formats are doing well in several markets, including major market like Phoenix, AZ, where KOOL 94.5 is #1 min the arbs. But, the fact remains, the ad people dont care, the demos they are going after are not what oldies give them(so they say). Yes, you can be highly rated and still not be attractive to the ad people, because the older end of the listners are not what they want anymore. Until this changes, then oldies will still drop as a viable format and XM and Sirius continue to pickup the slack.
 
> After reading these boards the past few months, I have
> concluded that "oldies" is a dead radio format. Also, the
> brand name "oldies" is no longer used on most stations.
> Well, then why is a station like "Oldies 97.1" in Nashville
> doing fairly well? It must be making money, because Cumulus
> is still running the station. They also use oldies in their
> slogan: "Good Times and Great OLDIES". David Eduardo,
> OldiesCat, Radiolover78, and anyone else, can you help me
> with this?
>

Well, here is what I think. There was Oldies 96.3 and I guess Cumulus just wanted to basically continue that station, just on 97.1 FM. Don't know what to think about the name, but the slogan is really over used and they could have thought of something better, but who cares? I guess enough listeners are listening to the station and they're (the owners)are making enough money off the oldies format. Perhaps in the future, they will evolve out of the actual "oldies" name.<P ID="signature">______________
The Place for the Latest Happenings in Radio
www.freewebs.com/radiostuffandnews
This site has been updated! Check it out! Thanks
</P>
 
Re: Oldies in Nashville

> Right now, 97.1 is benefiting from:
>
> - the fact Oldies in general was healthy when 96.3 bounced
> the format
> - they're enjoying a honeymoon period
> - not sure they're necessarily in it for the long term; they
> picked it up
> because their doomed AC format was tanking.
>
> I'd be interested in knowing their average listener age.
> Can't deny they're really doing great 25-54.
>
> My .02: if I were doing something similar to 97.1, I'd have
> used something different than "Oldies" for a name and
> positioner (show of hands, please-- has "good times/great
> oldies" been run into the ground or what?). If they have
> any vision for the future, they'll recognize that Oldies was
> 96.3's brand name and gently evolve out of the Oldies
> terminology, formatics, etc.

Great points

>
> > After reading these boards the past few months, I have
> > concluded that "oldies" is a dead radio format. Also, the
> > brand name "oldies" is no longer used on most stations.
> > Well, then why is a station like "Oldies 97.1" in
> Nashville
> > doing fairly well? It must be making money, because
> Cumulus
> > is still running the station. They also use oldies in
> their
> > slogan: "Good Times and Great OLDIES". David Eduardo,
> > OldiesCat, Radiolover78, and anyone else, can you help me
> > with this?
> >
>
<P ID="signature">______________
The Place for the Latest Happenings in Radio
www.freewebs.com/radiostuffandnews
This site has been updated! Check it out! Thanks
</P>
 
Re: Oldies in Nashville

> Right now, 97.1 is benefiting from:
>
> - the fact Oldies in general was healthy when 96.3 bounced
> the format
> - they're enjoying a honeymoon period
> - not sure they're necessarily in it for the long term; they
> picked it up
> because their doomed AC format was tanking.
>
> I'd be interested in knowing their average listener age.
> Can't deny they're really doing great 25-54.
>
> My .02: if I were doing something similar to 97.1, I'd have
> used something different than "Oldies" for a name and
> positioner (show of hands, please-- has "good times/great
> oldies" been run into the ground or what?). If they have
> any vision for the future, they'll recognize that Oldies was
> 96.3's brand name and gently evolve out of the Oldies
> terminology, formatics, etc.
>
> > After reading these boards the past few months, I have
> > concluded that "oldies" is a dead radio format. Also, the
> > brand name "oldies" is no longer used on most stations.
> > Well, then why is a station like "Oldies 97.1" in
> Nashville
> > doing fairly well? It must be making money, because
> Cumulus
> > is still running the station. They also use oldies in
> their
> > slogan: "Good Times and Great OLDIES". David Eduardo,
> > OldiesCat, Radiolover78, and anyone else, can you help me
> > with this?
> >
>

As an all encompassing umbrella I prefer, as a programmer, "Greatest Hits of All Time". No oldies and no era mention, ie 60s & 70s, to pigeonhole you.
<P ID="signature">______________
Everyone is entitled to my opinion.</P>
 
Re: Oldies in Nashville

OMG! Oldies can and still makes money! It is just a matter of how much! I have worked at an oldies station for years and we MAKE money year in and year out. Therefore
if you are in a market without oldies and have a signal like cumulus in Nashville did it is an excellent move.

OLDIES is a BRAND NAME LIKE COKE!!!!! You do NOT have to train people to know what you are they know what they will get.

The Oldies format (60' based) SURVIVED THE onslaught of JAMIN OLDIES stations of 6 years ago when everyone pronounced the format dead. NOW everyone is all JACKED up over Jack and mark my words in two years JACK will be gone. UNLESS these GMs who say hey we can run jockless and make big money realize that the format HAS TO EVOLVE into something more than just an ipod on 100kw.

Simply put thats the fact jack.

Having said that this is what I do.........the greatest hits of all time Oldies 105.1

Hey where is that guy that came up with NEW COKE? Oh how about PEPSI CLEAR?

Call your oldies station KOOL or Boomer

Also Oldies station can now and should Not play the same 300 songs over and over
Play the Hits and spice it with great oh wows,personality,info and FAmily Fun<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by o1600985 on 10/06/05 01:50 PM.</FONT></P>
 
Oldies

Well, it's always a "matter of how much".

Oldies is indeed a brand name, but today (in the 'real world' of radio in 2005),
it's more like Tab than Coke. The "oldies" brand name connotation is basically Beatles/Elvis era music- few of today's successful, profitable Oldies stations are Beatles/Elvis stations, more like Beatles/Elton John era.

Nobody's arguing that Cumulus made the right move in Nashville- they did. But the "oldies" brand name to a 55 yr old means one thing and it's means something quite different to the 40-45 yr olds Oldies stations need listening today. Your prediction about Jack being toast in 2 yrs is obviously emotionally generated and I'm not sure you appreciate what a high percentage of Jack-type stations are getting big numbers early. You can poo-poo it all you want and wave your "oldies are forever" flag, but Oldies is being challenged and Jack is for real- pretty hard to deny the facts.

> OMG! Oldies can and still makes money! It is just a matter
> of how much! I have worked at an oldies station for years
> and we MAKE money year in and year out. Therefore
> if you are in a market without oldies and have a signal like
> cumulus in Nashville did it is an excellent move.
>
> OLDIES is a BRAND NAME LIKE COKE!!!!! You do NOT have to
> train people to know what you are they know what they will
> get.
>
> The Oldies format (60' based) SURVIVED THE onslaught of
> JAMIN OLDIES stations of 6 years ago when everyone
> pronounced the format dead. NOW everyone is all JACKED up
> over Jack and mark my words in two years JACK will be gone.
> UNLESS these GMs who say hey we can run jockless and make
> big money realize that the format HAS TO EVOLVE into
> something more than just an ipod on 100kw.
>
> Simply put thats the fact jack.
>
> Having said that this is what I do.........the greatest hits
> of all time Oldies 105.1
>
> Hey where is that guy that came up with NEW COKE? Oh how
> about PEPSI CLEAR?
>
> Call your oldies station KOOL or Boomer
>
> Also Oldies station can now and should Not play the same 300
> songs over and over
> Play the Hits and spice it with great oh
> wows,personality,info and FAmily Fun
>
 
Re: Oldies in Nashville

> (show of hands, please-- has "good times/great
> oldies" been run into the ground or what?).

Yes it has. There's nothing like saying GT/GO over and over on a station devoid of good times *and* great oldies.

Which is why many stations decide to ditch it instead of paying a licensing fee to the radio company that is trying to enforce a trademark on it.

You guess who holds the TM...

(hint: it's also known as the Borg)<P ID="signature">______________
...co-moderator of the Satellite Radio, Phoenix, and San Diego boards...</P>
 
Re: Oldies in Nashville

> > (show of hands, please-- has "good times/great
> > oldies" been run into the ground or what?).
>
> Yes it has. There's nothing like saying GT/GO over and over
> on a station devoid of good times *and* great oldies.
>
> Which is why many stations decide to ditch it instead of
> paying a licensing fee to the radio company that is trying
> to enforce a trademark on it.
>
> You guess who holds the TM... (hint: it's also known as the Borg)


GT/GO isn't owned or licensed by any radio group. it's been a generic oldies statement for about 20 yrs
 
Re: Oldies in Nashville

> > Which is why many stations decide to ditch it instead of
> > paying a licensing fee to the radio company that is trying
>
> > to enforce a trademark on it.
> >
> > You guess who holds the TM... (hint: it's also known as
> the Borg)
>
>
> GT/GO isn't owned or licensed by any radio group. it's been
> a generic oldies statement for about 20 yrs

Ahh, may have been.

But in 1990, Mid-Florida Radio, Inc. filed for the US Trademark on the phrase.

Said trademark was assigned to Chancellor Media in 1994.

Chancellor assigned it to AMFM in 2000 (when Chancellor was bought-out/merged).

http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=74118309

Which just happens to be the address of...

...Clear Channel.
 
Oldies

It's obviously lapsed. Otherwise, we both know CC would be suing (a-la KISS) anybody who used it.
 
Re: Oldies in Nashville

> >> Oldies formats are doing well in several markets,
> including major market like Phoenix, AZ, where KOOL 94.5 is
> #1 min the arbs. But, the fact remains, the ad people dont
> care, the demos they are going after are not what oldies
> give them(so they say). Yes, you can be highly rated and
> still not be attractive to the ad people, because the older
> end of the listners are not what they want anymore. Until
> this changes, then oldies will still drop as a viable format
> and XM and Sirius continue to pickup the slack.


As long as the media buyers are in their 20's I'm not sure it will change. as far as the stigma of 45+ being un-desirable, I feel it's about buying habits. The older demos are slower to buy newer items, but have more diposable income, and tend to pay in cash, while the younger demos are quicker to buy the new big screen TV or whatever, and charge it on their visa..

Money has been real easy to borrow the past few years; it seems like almost anyone can get a credit card nowadays, but things are starting to change, interest rates are starting to creep upward, and it's just become more difficult to file for bankruptcy. My point? as it gets harder to buy on credit,the buyer who can actually pay cash will become more desirable..and I think we all agree on who that is..
 
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