As summer comes near, here are a few thoughts and predictions concerning what the next three to four months will bring to some Atlanta radio stations. These are just predictions with a little research, but some it reflects the trend we are seeing now in Atlanta radio.
1. You will STILL see WUBL on the air on 94.9 and STILL see them struggling during the summer months. I emphasize the word “still” because as many radio listeners want that station to be defunct, it is STILL present despite its failing ratings. Talking about a garden weed that you can’t kill. Somehow, the CC managers in Atlanta are keeping WUBL like it was their last precious asset in the Atlanta market. It looks like something’s gotta give in the future, so it remains to be seen what happens next. Perhaps, by two years out, WUBL will be nonexistent. If WUBL makes an early exit this year, one might think about all the options of what CC will do to 94.9. What will happen to the Sounds of Faith? Will the new format be the same failure as WUBL? By the way, not all of CC stations around the country are bad, however. It is bad managers making bad choices leading to bad results. Yes, I do hold an unfavorable view of CC as a whole, but sometimes, credit should be given where credit is due. There are some CC stations that are doing extremely well in other markets. Obviously, Atlanta is not one of them.
2. Even with the departure of Eagle 106.7, Kicks has not benefited as much from the ratings. I’m still surprised that Kicks has a 4.2 rating for the spring according to the latest Arbitron ratings. I would assume that it would be close to a 5.0 or even higher than a 5.5 rating knowing that most of the Eagle listeners has switched toward the Kicks.
3. You can expect the next “Theme Weekend” for B98.5 to start on July 4. It looks like they are doing its theme weekends at least once every month. This could give us a few inferences and assumptions.
–B98.5 weekends without its themes are extremely boring with a few listeners.
Thus, it is B98.5’s creative way to get more listeners involved by establishing
intermittent theme weekends in place of their boring usual weekends
–The station is trying to put a dagger into the TrueOldies Channel and other
stations who may compete for radio listeners. Having a 70’s weekend on
Father’s Day as well as one with the TrueOldies debut back in March are clues of
what I am talking about.
–In addition to July 4, you may expect the weekend of August 1-3, Labor Day,
October 10-12 or October 17-19, and possibly the weekend before Thanksgiving
Day to have a theme weekend
–The theme weekends may be the alternative of having people requesting songs
to hear during the workday. Knowing how restricted their playlists are, it would
be logical that songs that are not frequently played or played at all would be
dumped into their theme weekends. Hence, you can hear a Bill Withers or a Kool
& The Gang song in one of their theme weekends compared to their regular
playlist lineup
4. By September or October, predicted Arbitron ratings may result in the following.
–1st Place At least one or two urban AC stations will get the gold
–2nd Place WSB-AM- I’m not a news talk listener but from what the
ratings are telling, they are doing consistently well. I would give them
an 8.0
–3rd Place B98.5- The introduction of Steve & Vicki will boost its ratings
to about the 5.3-5.7 range. Its so called “Atlanta’s best variety of soft
rock,” its limited playlist, and their wacky theme weekends will endure a
top 5 finish again for the summer. Now, as long as Delilah gets off this
station…
Other stations
–Kicks- I have a lot of respect for this country radio station because I
hate WUBL. The ratings should be a little bit higher to about a 4.8 or
even 5.0
–WJZZ- Recent posts say that WJZZ is gradually sliding. A 2.3 will
probably be the best come fall
–River- The TrueOldies Station will still continually take some of the
audience away from 97.1. I wouldn’t be surprised if their ratings drop
below 4.0
–TrueOldies- After a mediocre showing, I would expect a rating of 2.5-2.8
–Star94- Don’t know too much about Star94, but from what most people
say, they are close to or in a disaster. Ratings I guess will continue to
slide downwards
–And last but not least, WUBL- If I was realistic about this, I would
probably give them a 2.0 for them this fall. Optimistically, heaven knows
that this station should be off the air
These are my two cents about what the next few months will bring. Being an Atlanta radio listener for the past 18 years, the past two or three years has been a wild one for Atlanta radio.
Enjoy the summer
1. You will STILL see WUBL on the air on 94.9 and STILL see them struggling during the summer months. I emphasize the word “still” because as many radio listeners want that station to be defunct, it is STILL present despite its failing ratings. Talking about a garden weed that you can’t kill. Somehow, the CC managers in Atlanta are keeping WUBL like it was their last precious asset in the Atlanta market. It looks like something’s gotta give in the future, so it remains to be seen what happens next. Perhaps, by two years out, WUBL will be nonexistent. If WUBL makes an early exit this year, one might think about all the options of what CC will do to 94.9. What will happen to the Sounds of Faith? Will the new format be the same failure as WUBL? By the way, not all of CC stations around the country are bad, however. It is bad managers making bad choices leading to bad results. Yes, I do hold an unfavorable view of CC as a whole, but sometimes, credit should be given where credit is due. There are some CC stations that are doing extremely well in other markets. Obviously, Atlanta is not one of them.
2. Even with the departure of Eagle 106.7, Kicks has not benefited as much from the ratings. I’m still surprised that Kicks has a 4.2 rating for the spring according to the latest Arbitron ratings. I would assume that it would be close to a 5.0 or even higher than a 5.5 rating knowing that most of the Eagle listeners has switched toward the Kicks.
3. You can expect the next “Theme Weekend” for B98.5 to start on July 4. It looks like they are doing its theme weekends at least once every month. This could give us a few inferences and assumptions.
–B98.5 weekends without its themes are extremely boring with a few listeners.
Thus, it is B98.5’s creative way to get more listeners involved by establishing
intermittent theme weekends in place of their boring usual weekends
–The station is trying to put a dagger into the TrueOldies Channel and other
stations who may compete for radio listeners. Having a 70’s weekend on
Father’s Day as well as one with the TrueOldies debut back in March are clues of
what I am talking about.
–In addition to July 4, you may expect the weekend of August 1-3, Labor Day,
October 10-12 or October 17-19, and possibly the weekend before Thanksgiving
Day to have a theme weekend
–The theme weekends may be the alternative of having people requesting songs
to hear during the workday. Knowing how restricted their playlists are, it would
be logical that songs that are not frequently played or played at all would be
dumped into their theme weekends. Hence, you can hear a Bill Withers or a Kool
& The Gang song in one of their theme weekends compared to their regular
playlist lineup
4. By September or October, predicted Arbitron ratings may result in the following.
–1st Place At least one or two urban AC stations will get the gold
–2nd Place WSB-AM- I’m not a news talk listener but from what the
ratings are telling, they are doing consistently well. I would give them
an 8.0
–3rd Place B98.5- The introduction of Steve & Vicki will boost its ratings
to about the 5.3-5.7 range. Its so called “Atlanta’s best variety of soft
rock,” its limited playlist, and their wacky theme weekends will endure a
top 5 finish again for the summer. Now, as long as Delilah gets off this
station…
Other stations
–Kicks- I have a lot of respect for this country radio station because I
hate WUBL. The ratings should be a little bit higher to about a 4.8 or
even 5.0
–WJZZ- Recent posts say that WJZZ is gradually sliding. A 2.3 will
probably be the best come fall
–River- The TrueOldies Station will still continually take some of the
audience away from 97.1. I wouldn’t be surprised if their ratings drop
below 4.0
–TrueOldies- After a mediocre showing, I would expect a rating of 2.5-2.8
–Star94- Don’t know too much about Star94, but from what most people
say, they are close to or in a disaster. Ratings I guess will continue to
slide downwards
–And last but not least, WUBL- If I was realistic about this, I would
probably give them a 2.0 for them this fall. Optimistically, heaven knows
that this station should be off the air
These are my two cents about what the next few months will bring. Being an Atlanta radio listener for the past 18 years, the past two or three years has been a wild one for Atlanta radio.
Enjoy the summer
