Power 100.1 - Athens

[Blazeradio]

"Athens' new #1 Hit Music Station" sounds like every other Top 40 in nation. The greatest college rock music town in the world now has no rock radio station. True, Bulldog rarely played locals during the day, but at least they had a local music show on Sunday night. Guess those bands have been Cox-blocked.

But hey, "Power" works in Orlando (WPYO-FM), so it must work in Athens. Strong corporate logic. I must admit, it's these type of decisions that make me happy to see the radio industry bleeding money. The one HUGE advantage radio had over everything else -- being local -- has long been ignored by penny-pinching executives. Ignore the locals, and they will ignore you.

 

[trhodes96]

Bulldog quit being relevant when ipods, youtube, and every other way to get new music took over. I worked at Bulldog... college kids weren't digging what we were doing even before we flipped to classic rock. At least they kept Kris and Evan on the payroll... they are on Magic now.

Good people at Cox Athens... I wish them well.

Tim Rhodes

 

[top16]

Bulldog quit being relevant when ipods, youtube, and every other way to get new music took over. I worked at Bulldog... college kids weren't digging what we were doing even before we flipped to classic rock. At least they kept Kris and Evan on the payroll... they are on Magic now.

Good people at Cox Athens... I wish them well.

Tim Rhodes

Tim,
I hated to see you go from the Bulldog earlier this year. Kris Harris has been such a mainstay on the Bulldog and hated to see him and Evan go, even if it is just down the dial. I believe there were more listeners to the Bulldog than being actually accounted for. Damn Ipods, satellite radio, and modern technology. When can I hear Kris & Evan over at Magic 102.1 should I choose to find them in the future?

 

[trhodes96]

Damn... I hope I didn't spill the beans... ut oh... maybe it hasn't come out yet. Oops.

Thanks for the kind words... I did Athens cause it was fun and the people were great. Certainly not for the money.
Kevin Steele was awesome to me and I hope they do well in their new format.

 

[Blazeradio]

Rhodes! Good to hear from you. Loved your show on Bulldog and 96Rock. But I must disagree. True, new technology added to the demise of radio. But instead of capitalizing on what makes radio unique from Internet radio, satellite radio and iPods, corporations ignored the distinction and made radio the same everywhere. Radio abandoned the listeners first ... leaving a wide open field for new technology to pick up the slack.

I also find it hard to believe people weren't listening to Bulldog. Gosh, everyone I know listened to that station (and are really bummed now ... especially about the 80s rock show). I was lucky enough to go to the '80s station event they had at the Melting Point back in the spring. Only way to go was to win tickets from the station. I thought there would be like 50 people there and was shocked to see close to 250! Besides, it's my understanding that there are no Athens ratings books ... so who exactly knows how many people are listening?

I guess I was one of the few who still listened to radio because I enjoyed the local personalities and the music tailored to our area (seriously, I doubt any other rock station played as much R.E.M. and Drivin' N' Cryin). But I'm done. Anyone know where I can get a good deal on XM?

 

[matt0629]

Man, I turned on the radio last night and I am still in shock. There is no way around it. This stinks. I was so excited when Evan was added to the morning show and Tim Rhodes was on in the afternoons since I listened to him in Atlanta. They have taken a 180 degree turn right into middle of Crapville within 6 months. I am now left with the choice of Vanilla Ice, Rick Astley, or two UGA graduates pining over the Bulldogs on AM while in the car driving around the town responsible for REM and The B-52s. Can't Michael Stipe do something about this?

 

[CHRles]

The new Power 100.1 sounds great, and musically puts Atlanta's CHRs to shame.

 

[TheMusicMan]

The station honestly doesn't sound bad, but something's not adding up here. Even knowing that rock was toast on 100.1, I was absolutely floored when I caught the end of "Party In The USA" segue into a "Power 100.1" sweeper around 7 tonight.

I'm still at a loss for why Cox felt the urge to kill The Bulldog, but especially to put on another CHR? I'm a Top 40 guy through and through, but really? First off, sister station 95-5 The Beat - with which Power shares substantial portions of their playlist - has a flawless signal in Athens and does wonderfully with the UGA students. Star 94 and Q100 mostly come in well in the car, along with B93.7 from Greenville-Spartanburg. I know Power provides a static-free CHR throughout Athens and indoors, but that still doesn't completely justify dropping The Bulldog, which played a solid music mix, had young demographic appeal and occupied a less crowded niche.

I wonder what they're going to do with regard to airstaff. Canned from Atlanta or Greenville?

 

[CHRles]

B-93.7 Greenville is a great CHR/Pop station serving the Upstate region of SC. Probably one of the best sounding CHRs in the South.
95.5 The Beat targets the Atlanta market, and is a Rhythmic CHR. Local advertisers in Athens cant afford to invest their money on Atlanta's 95.5 The Beat, nor should they need to. With Power 100.1 they've got a local outlet that 18-34 year olds, especially females, can relate to.

 

[TheMusicMan]

B93.7 is indeed a solid station, although I slightly preferred their sound earlier in the decade. I doubt most UGA students/Athens residents are even aware of its existence, though.

I'm sure my personal listening habits are of no consequence to Cox...that having been said, I'm still going to listen largely to the Atlanta stations even through occasional static. I'm a huge admirer of Star 94 and a sucker for the big city aura that the Atlanta outlets exude. Power's music mix will draw me in somewhat, but if the other formatic elements are weak, I won't have much reason to listen.

Athenians might place the clear reception a little higher on their priority list, though.

 

[trhodes96]

Hey Blaze... I do agree that consultants and research were to blame for many stations sounding the same. Bottom line was sales people couldn't sell Bulldog. Even at super low prices, no one was buying. So in the end they had no choice but to flip...

 

[DToTheJ]

I am now left with the choice of Vanilla Ice, Rick Astley, or two UGA graduates pining over the Bulldogs on AM while in the car driving around the town responsible for REM and The B-52s...

Well, at least you can't complain about local radio not being local...

 

[jabba17]

First off, sister station 95-5 The Beat - with which Power shares substantial portions of their playlist - has a flawless signal in Athens and does wonderfully with the UGA students.

Don't forget that Cox has a CP for The Beat to move its xmitter intown to the B98.5 tower, basically removing itself from the Athens market altogether ( http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_list.pl?Application_id=1209588 ). This flip may have been to fill that coming gap.

 

[Dwulf]

Hey Blaze... I do agree that consultants and research were to blame for many stations sounding the same. Bottom line was sales people couldn't sell Bulldog. Even at super low prices, no one was buying. So in the end they had no choice but to flip...

Mr. Rhodes,

Someone should have fired the sales people. If they were too incompetent to sell advertising for a unique format station, they don't belong in the business. Now, instead of local advertising and local talk, 100.1 will be mostly national or regional commercials and music that I hate. It will not be any easier to sell advertising on what will be the #3 station in its demographic to the locals than it was the Bulldog.

The consultant who suggested the current format had to have studied at the same school as the consultants who advised New Coke as a good move. If the Bulldog had to flip, there were still other better formats out there.

 

[RhubarbFan]

I heard Kris on Magic yesterday afternoon,I guess Kevin will just concentrate on being pd,yes he is wounderful everyone who has ever worked with him has nothing but good things to say about him,I don't know when Evan is on. I hated tht Alex Brooks was let go from Magic.

 

[CHRles]

Hey Blaze... I do agree that consultants and research were to blame for many stations sounding the same. Bottom line was sales people couldn't sell Bulldog. Even at super low prices, no one was buying. So in the end they had no choice but to flip...

Mr. Rhodes,

Someone should have fired the sales people. If they were too incompetent to sell advertising for a unique format station, they don't belong in the business. Now, instead of local advertising and local talk, 100.1 will be mostly national or regional commercials and music that I hate. It will not be any easier to sell advertising on what will be the #3 station in its demographic to the locals than it was the Bulldog.

The consultant who suggested the current format had to have studied at the same school as the consultants who advised New Coke as a good move. If the Bulldog had to flip, there were still other better formats out there.

Last year Chttanooga's longtime Triple A 96.5 The Mountain went CHR. The move paid off big time.

 

[Insideradio]

I think it sounds good!

 

[jabba17]

Mr. Rhodes,

Someone should have fired the sales people. If they were too incompetent to sell advertising for a unique format station, they don't belong in the business. Now, instead of local advertising and local talk, 100.1 will be mostly national or regional commercials and music that I hate. It will not be any easier to sell advertising on what will be the #3 station in its demographic to the locals than it was the Bulldog.

The consultant who suggested the current format had to have studied at the same school as the consultants who advised New Coke as a good move. If the Bulldog had to flip, there were still other better formats out there.

Last year Chttanooga's longtime Triple A 96.5 The Mountain went CHR. The move paid off big time.

I've never understood why so many people have a man crush on the AAA format or get so amazed when it doesn't bring in the share. It's about as exciting as listening to Jan Wenner's iPod and only appeals to the artsy types who pretend to shun "guilty pleasure" music that isn't the darling of critics.

Z90Dave has never gotten significant share out of AAA, Rock 100.5 lost share flipping from AOR to AAA, and the disaster stories just continue to pile up in market after market.

 

[Dwulf]

Mr. Rhodes,

Someone should have fired the sales people. If they were too incompetent to sell advertising for a unique format station, they don't belong in the business. Now, instead of local advertising and local talk, 100.1 will be mostly national or regional commercials and music that I hate. It will not be any easier to sell advertising on what will be the #3 station in its demographic to the locals than it was the Bulldog.

The consultant who suggested the current format had to have studied at the same school as the consultants who advised New Coke as a good move. If the Bulldog had to flip, there were still other better formats out there.

Last year Chttanooga's longtime Triple A 96.5 The Mountain went CHR. The move paid off big time.

I've never understood why so many people have a man crush on the AAA format or get so amazed when it doesn't bring in the share. It's about as exciting as listening to Jan Wenner's iPod and only appeals to the artsy types who pretend to shun "guilty pleasure" music that isn't the darling of critics.

Z90Dave has never gotten significant share out of AAA, Rock 100.5 lost share flipping from AOR to AAA, and the disaster stories just continue to pile up in market after market.

It has nothing to do with a "man crush" and everything to do with the fact that not everyone gets a stiffy when they hear CHR on the radio. 100.1 in Athens will become just another CHR station in an already crowded market, leaving Athens without an AAA station or serious Alternative Rock Station with decent DJ's.

I am also pissed that I have nothing to listen to in the morning. Kris and Evan represented MY Demographic of 40+ male children of the 80's who want to here an eclectic mix of rock music.

I will post it again, the failure here is on the Sales people for lacking the skills to sell the advertising coupled with Cox Radio's love affair with overpriced consultants.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

I've never understood why so many people have a man crush on the AAA format or get so amazed when it doesn't bring in the share. It's about as exciting as listening to Jan Wenner's iPod and only appeals to the artsy types who pretend to shun "guilty pleasure" music that isn't the darling of critics.

The AAA format does really well in a number of markets, of which Atlanta is not one.