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Press Communications: "PARTY's" Over, Time For YOU to Spin The Wheel of Formats

S

sNEWSer

Press Communications: "PARTY's" Over, Time For YOU to Spin The Wheel of Formats

Looks like there'll be "A New Sheriff in Town" on 94.7FM. It would seem like their version of "throw it at the wall and see what sticks" programming strategy will need some refining. The playing field has changed and being the only game in town probably isnt going to be a viable strategy anymore. Playing those bizarre tracks that i hear on Thunder 1063 all too often just sound out of place and the format just seems unfocused with mis-matched talent. Rockin' Country branding with ill-fitting ballads never really made sense to me but at least now people in North Jersey, Staten Island, NYC and the Hudson Valley will have some new cowboys and cowgirls to call their own. Seems like Press has alternatives all around them between 947 and Cat Country from Ocean Country on south. Time to read a chapter in the book of creativity...

Best of Luck Cumulus and welcome to this here watering hole in the NYC-metro!

Competition is supposed to be a good thing though right??!!

Break out the cold ones as the "PARTY" just came to an end! ;)

Can i bother anyone else for their thoughts??
 
Re: Press Communications: "PARTY's" Over, Time For YOU to Spin The Wheel of Formats

Why should "Thunder" change what it is doing? They seem to obviously be doing it quite well. The obscure tracks are what make it a nice listen. I see no reason for Press to worry. They are catering to Monmouth County and South, the listeners it picks up in North Central NJ are a bonus, not something they count on or even aim at. I think Press has a few other stations in it's cluster that it needs to worry about fixing.
 
Re: Press Communications: "PARTY's" Over, Time For YOU to Spin The Wheel of Formats

Maybe alienating Ocean County listeners all those years wasn't the best idea after all...

The News/Traffic/Weather/Commercials all have been completely irrelevant to Ocean County listeners and most of the time the 106.5 frequency was never even mentioned by the airstaff.

I can't imagine anyone was driving from Tuckerton up to Middlesex County just because they heard a commercial on Thunder and the traffic reports covering the Turnpike were never too useful to listeners in Manahawkin...
 
Re: Press Communications: "PARTY's" Over, Time For YOU to Spin The Wheel of Formats

We recently passed the fourth anniversary of when Press Communications unceremoniously pulled the plug on its alternative station, G Rock 106.3/106.5 ... a station that got the ratings that it did without anywhere near the level of promotion that Thunder has been fortunate to get (events all over the area, advertising on billboards and buses, booths set up in malls, etc.). One can only wonder how well it would have done if Press had put in the effort toward making the station a success, but that was never a priority. The station was left to die on the vine, with a lot of former listeners having no idea how good the station had become with the addition of Terrie Carr & Matt Murray. Well, as of today, Thunder is now going to have to face some stiff competition for the Country audience, and some changes are going to have to be made. I know this isn't the time when most people listen to radio, but after 7:00 PM, when Thunder switches over to voicetracking/automation, where do you think Country fans are more likely to go? Hmmmm...
 
Re: Press Communications: "PARTY's" Over, Time For YOU to Spin The Wheel of Formats

luperm said:
To the automated Nash FM?
Click to expand...

In all honesty... YES! From what I have sampled in the last 24+ hours, "Nash-FM" is focused, balanced and the presentation at this stage is very good. Would I have loved to see them launch with an airstaff? Of course but just having a viable option back on the dial is refreshing!

Thunder 106 never sounded (to me) like any of the above. One minute you hear a familiar or "power song" and then you hear an unfamiliar song opening up an hour or a music set. That just sounds so "off" to me but again its my opinion from a country music listener perspective. I think if Thunder wants to go the Rockin Country" route then they should stick to it or find another "branding" to use because the playlist is very misguided. As far as talent goes, I have tried so many times to connect with the "jocks" on the station but they just don't appeal to me or seem like they even belong in this market in the shadows of NYC. Theres actually a few shifts where I hear people that I wouldn't even use on an AC let alone "Rockin" station but then again I'm just a listener, what do I know?

As I said in my original post, now that there is "Competition" it will be very interesting to see how this plays out. As another poster noted, they seem to WANT to be M/S/U & NYC more than a Monmouth-Ocean station. I rarely (aside from car dealers) hear any spots from any clients really in the core of the 106.5 listening area. I guess now perhaps they will wanna look into that to keep their revenue stable... not that I know what they bill...

All said and done, I welcome another country station to the area and may the BEST one Win or even...SURVIVE!
 
Re: Press Communications: "PARTY's" Over, Time For YOU to Spin The Wheel of Formats

sNEWSer said:
luperm said:
To the automated Nash FM?
Click to expand...

In all honesty... YES! From what I have sampled in the last 24+ hours, "Nash-FM" is focused, balanced and the presentation at this stage is very good. Would I have loved to see them launch with an airstaff? Of course but just having a viable option back on the dial is refreshing!

Thunder 106 never sounded (to me) like any of the above. One minute you hear a familiar or "power song" and then you hear an unfamiliar song opening up an hour or a music set. That just sounds so "off" to me but again its my opinion from a country music listener perspective. I think if Thunder wants to go the Rockin Country" route then they should stick to it or find another "branding" to use because the playlist is very misguided. As far as talent goes, I have tried so many times to connect with the "jocks" on the station but they just don't appeal to me or seem like they even belong in this market in the shadows of NYC. Theres actually a few shifts where I hear people that I wouldn't even use on an AC let alone "Rockin" station but then again I'm just a listener, what do I know?

As I said in my original post, now that there is "Competition" it will be very interesting to see how this plays out. As another poster noted, they seem to WANT to be M/S/U & NYC more than a Monmouth-Ocean station. I rarely (aside from car dealers) hear any spots from any clients really in the core of the 106.5 listening area. I guess now perhaps they will wanna look into that to keep their revenue stable... not that I know what they bill...

All said and done, I welcome another country station to the area and may the BEST one Win or even...SURVIVE!
Click to expand...

I saw a similar post on the NYC board and then saw this one. I could not have said it better myself. You hit the nail on the head for this country fan, too.

It will also depend on how far south the Nash signal reaches to see if it will impact their Monmouth/Ocean numbers, which is likely their focus, but businesses north of that will now have another outlet with a stronger signal to buy advertising on if the price is right. It will be interesting. No doubt Press is likely a bit shaken this week.
 
Re: Press Communications: "PARTY's" Over, Time For YOU to Spin The Wheel of Formats

There's no reason why Nash and Thunder can't co-exist. Nash is clearly aimed at NYC while Thunder is clearly aimed at Monmouth/Ocean. Thunder can aspire to serve a larger area all it wants, but in the end it's a Monmouth/Ocean station -- and can probably do rather well super serving it.

I like where Nash is heading and think it's programmed well.
 
Re: Press Communications: "PARTY's" Over, Time For YOU to Spin The Wheel of Formats

Radio Ink is carrying a reaction to the launch of Nash FM, from Rich Moreno the GM and part owner of Thunder.
FWIW, he indicated that he is proud that Thunder is different from other country stations, and that it is highly responsive to the wishes of its listeners. The GM proclaimed, "We will never be a follower."

Statement by Thunder GM Rich Moreno: http://www.radioink.com/Article.asp?id=2607951&spid=24698
 
Re: Press Communications: "PARTY's" Over, Time For YOU to Spin The Wheel of Formats

Barry said:
Radio Ink is carrying a reaction to the launch of Nash FM, from Rich Moreno the GM and part owner of Thunder.
FWIW, he indicated that he is proud that Thunder is different from other country stations, and that it is highly responsive to the wishes of its listeners. The GM proclaimed, "We will never be a follower."

Statement by Thunder GM Rich Moreno: http://www.radioink.com/Article.asp?id=2607951&spid=24698
Click to expand...

Never be a follower ... so says the guy whose company did all kinds of damage to the WHTG brand by playing utter drivel like John Mayer, Bon Jovi, Maroon 5, Five For Fighting, Avril Lavigne, and other luminaries while trying to present itself as "alternative" - then they had the nerve to blame the audience of the format for why ratings fell. No, subjecting that discriminating audience to sentimental fluff and bubblegum pablum had absolutely nothing to do with it ... what a bunch of clowns.
 
Re: Press Communications: "PARTY's" Over, Time For YOU to Spin The Wheel of Formats

Barry said:
Radio Ink is carrying a reaction to the launch of Nash FM, from Rich Moreno the GM and part owner of Thunder.
FWIW, he indicated that he is proud that Thunder is different from other country stations, and that it is highly responsive to the wishes of its listeners. The GM proclaimed, "We will never be a follower."

Statement by Thunder GM Rich Moreno: http://www.radioink.com/Article.asp?id=2607951&spid=24698
Click to expand...

If you listen closely, you can hear the sound of Rich Morena s#itting his pants. People who are secure (and not egomaniacs) don't say stupid things like this.

Ask anyone who works or worked at Press what is holding Thunder back - and the answer is upper management involving itself too much.
 
Re: Press Communications: "PARTY's" Over, Time For YOU to Spin The Wheel of Formats

What? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over the sound of the popcorn I'm making.
 
Re: Press Communications: "PARTY's" Over, Time For YOU to Spin The Wheel of Formats

DontStoptheRadio said:
They should bring back g rock radio
Click to expand...

Actually, they should sell one or two of their stations first, and then the new owners could bring back FM 106.3 or G Rock. If Press were running the show, they would end up just micromanaging the hell out of it just as they did for the first several years of owning it. The station sounded at its best easily when they finally relinquished control and allowed some good PDs/MDs to work their magic during the latter part of the decade. But at that point, the damage was done ... they lost listeners who wanted a great Alternative station and got way too much pop fluff in the mix. If it's going to be brought back, it needs to be done the right way ... unfortunately, Press can't be trusted to do that without screwing up royally again.
 
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