Programming a Cincinnati AM Radio Station

[AMNut]

??? If it was your job to program a music format on an AM station in Cincinnati what music format do you think would work given what is already available???

 

[Toddy-0]

No brainer....

Revert 55KRC back to AC/HotWax Weekends, Keep Jerry and Craig on mornings, move Limbaugh to WLW, move Cunningham back to 9 to Midnight, rehire those on WDJO and put whatever on WDJO (All Elvis or Power Pig or whatever).

 

[NoWayNoCC]

I'd do not just a "Jack"-type format but a "super-Jack", with a playlist much bigger than what is usually found on "Jack"-type stations.

It definitely makes more sense than some of the nonsense that's on AM radio here right now. Hell, even an "All 'Electric Company' music, all the time" format makes more sense than what most AM stations around here are playing now. (Wokka wokka wokka! Wokka wokka wokka!)

 

[DJJack1]

If you're going to do music on AM, it's gotta be something old. It was older songs that were recorded for AM radio to begin with, so that's the only music that will still sound halfway decent. EIther adult standards <not the stuff that gets played on that FM nostalgia station...something like the AM Gold format that was mentioned on another thread> or classic country.

Don't go oldies cuz WDJO has carved out a nice little niche for themselves with that format, and unless they're still doing the "dollar a hollar" promotion, they actually are racking up a nice load of spots. They've filled that niche and there ain't enough audience -- or business -- for two of em.

 

[ouuc]

Retrain for a new career. Music on AM is D-E-A-D! Don't you guys get it?

 

[KevinFodor]

I'm afraid I have to agree with the previous poster.

"Hot Wax" on WKRC would leave them with a product that is, sadly, unsellable at the agency level. (I don't
agree with this line of thinking, but I've come to the conclusion that the broadcast industry doesn't have the time or interest in trying to change the thinking of the buyers.) That leaves you with local direct business.
That might allow a WDJO to survive...but not a WKRC, whose managers have to answer to owners who have to answer to Wall Street about profits.

Oh, and for you oldies fans...the countdown is ticking for Classic Rock and Classic Hits. I give those formats
about another 5 or so years.

Music on AM? It won't happen unless digital radio can come through with its' hefty promises for audio
equity with FM. And, from what I've heard from engineers, that very well may not be accomplishable.

 

[ouuc]

Don't be afraid to agree with me. I make a lot more sense than a lot of people on these boards.

 

[Toddy-0]

One thing I forgot to add to my revision of KRC...an independent news/sports staff.

I miss having 3 commercial news staffs, along with the old WGUC and WVXU competition.

 

[DJJack1]

I see NoWay and I are the only two who are actually going to answer the guys question. Oh well...<shrug>

Yes....today's music on AM radio is dead..and rightly so. Music as a mainstream format, designed to bring in maximum profits and maximum audience, is dead on AM radio. We know that. That wasn't the question. I submit that It is possible to NARROWCAST a music format to a specific audience that may not be all that into what's being heard on FM. I also submit that it would be an older audience. Someone posted on another thread that it is older folks who have the most disposable income, and he found himself listening to AM radio more and more. Do you really think he's alone? I don't.

Honest to God, I think a full-service MOR format would draw a small but extremely loyal and affluent audience. I may be all wet, but that's cuz we live by the river.

So if the station was going to be a music station anyway, what would you put on it? I presume that was the original question.

 

[Toddy-0]

DJJ: I'm sorry, I thought I had answered him. If you are going to have a music format, it's got to be an entertaining one but it also has to have ancilliary items such as news, sports and traffic.

If music was dead on AM, why have bumper music? The best station in town for music on AM is still 700.

I disagree with the death notice of music on AM. I maintain the two reasons music was yanked from AM were for ASCAP/BMI reasons and media consolidation. Make every station sound the same.

The advertising dollar and space is there. If someone couldn't sell 55KRC with music, that salesperson wouldn't be a salesperson long. A format isn't just a format, it's got to have substance to survive. When the personality/disc jockeys were greatly downsized, the heart and soul of radio (regardless of radio band) died with it.

 

[ouuc]

The problem with some of you guys is that you live in Utopia and you have a distorted sense of reality.

Examples:

1. If the guy couldn't sell music on 55-KRC, he wouldn't be a salesman long. Well, the greatest salesman in the world won't make money if agencies won't buy the concept. And they won't.

2. MOR has a loyal audience. Businesses and agencies don't buy loyal. They buy numbers.

3. Bumper music on WLW means music isn't dead on AM. I hope that is a sarcastic comment, because if it isn't, that poster's credibility is less than zero.

4. The two reasons music was yanked from AM were for ASCAP/BMI reasons and media consolidation. Obviously those are business decisions. What makes you think that companies will reverse their thinking?

5. The audience and ad space is there. Well, the ad space would be there, because a music format on AM will have a lot of avails! But the audience? They must be hanging out with Osama Bin Laden. Anyone under 60 has plenty of listening experience with FM radio. Many people under 40 had no real listening experience with AM. The fact that one poster on this board (a radio geek, no doubt) went back to AM doesn't signify a trend.

You should read "Technopoly", non-fiction book by Neil Postman. It's a little dated, but it has relevance. He traces technological developments from the beginning of time until the book's publication. Time after time, he cites cases where humans have abandoned old technology when a better affordable technology is introduced. He also discusses the fallout from each change, such as job displacement. The overwhelming majority will not return to the old technology after the new one catches on. FM was better than AM because of clarity, fidelity, stereo, noise reduction, etc. People checked it out and liked it, and never came back to AM for music. And now, with the web, satellite, digital cable music channels, and HD radio, more people will be checking these out, like them, and eventually abandon FM. Radio geeks like us aren't typical radio listeners, so the fact that a few geeks think Dusty and Company are great doesn't mean a thing.

I believe I did answer the guy's original question. If my boss said that I had to program music on an AM station in Cincinnati, I would get out because it can't be done successfully anymore. Failure would be a sure thing, followed by dismissal. And please don't reply with something stupid like, "Well, my idea will work". It won't.

 

[lash]

I'm going to beg to differ regarding music on AM. Current radio ownership is another major reason why music left the AM band. Almost everybody took their music to FM, changing their AM's to talk, sports etc. Then in the last 5 years when music was tried again on AM, it wasn't promoted well, and was poorly executed.

I'm going to sight some stations where its still very successful.

12+ numbers

WDIA Memphis #3, followed closely by WLOK
WOKY Milwaukee Top 12
WCAO Baltimore #9
WJAS Pittsburgh #10
WSM Nashville #12
WAKR Akron Top 10

Want more? Remember you never stressed what kind of music. You generalized!

And I have to give an honorable mention to WDJO in your backyard. As a small market turn around expert, I use music on AM for every station I've ever purchased and turned around. Do the right format in each market. It can work, does work and can work in many places.

I salute the idea of 55KRC returning to its music heritage. Done correctly it could be a winner. Give me KRC and I'd take it top 10. Listeners are looking for something different, even a return to what they knew. Why do you think people are leaving in droves to satt., internet, Ipods and more? Its because the 10,000 CC owned stations, and others have under programmed cookie cutter crap on FM for the last 5+ years.

 

[major]

Why do you think people are leaving in droves to satt., internet, Ipods and more? Its because the 10,000 CC owned stations, and others have under programmed cookie cutter crap on FM for the last 5+ years.

My idea on that is...too many commercials, in addition to the other reasons.

 

[ouuc]

They are not leaving in droves to go to AM. The handful of stations that you cited are all programming to aging demographics, and they will be extinct in short order.

What do you mean that you'll take WKRC Top 10? It already is!

You keep begging to differ. At some point you'll be begging, because your station's audience will die off and your revenues will dry up soon.

 

[lash]

Beg to differ, especially on WDIA, and some of the others play gospel, and southern gospel with strong ratings.

55KRC, top 10 as a music station! Or any heritage AM for that matter, in any market.

So are you in the radio business ouuc? How many stations have you run? Programmed? Owned?

I've been doing this for 30 years, with the last several as an owner of nothing but music AM's. It won't be drying up soon! But you can keep begging for it.

 

[ouuc]

I am now in a media-related business. I worked for 25 years as an air talent, programmer, music director, and station manager. Certainly not hall of fame material, but I held my own and was successful. I haven't been an owner, but that is not an exclusive club.

In the next few years, there will be a huge migration away from terrestrial music radio. The young are already forcing this issue. As older people start to catch up to the technology, you will see listeners get sucked away like a vacuum. New and established musicians are already bypassing radio and debuting songs and entire CDs on web sites like AOL and MySpace. With all kinds of new content becoming available on players and cell phones, radio will assume a lower position on the media rung. This will also be true with information. People will not wait for the top-of-the hour news or the sports breaks every 20 minutes on sports radio. They will go on the web to get instant headlines, weather, scores, stock prices, traffic, etc. Many will have this downloaded to their cell phones, PDAs and in-car displays.

I'm not begging for anything to happen. I'm making a prediction based on what I know. Read and listen to media experts. And the people. It doesn't sound like it could happen, but watch. Traditional media outlets are scared bleepless, laying off people and cutting deals with websites and cell phone companies to provide content.

As an owner, I wonder what you think your properties will be worth in 10-15 years. You might want to sell now, before the bottom drops out.

 

[lash]

Most of what you have posted is being done already, but radio still lives. Remember these? TV will kill radio, MTV will kill radio, the internet will kill radio, Satt. radio will kill radio, I-Pods will kill radio.

And here we are still standing. Radio will always out last technology as it changes with it. The demise or slowdown of this business has to do companies like CC, and the others. Why?

Cause most of them think like you do ouuc!

Sincerely,

Caretaker of the exclusive club of radio owners!

 

[hipporadio]

I am now in a media-related business. I worked for 25 years as an air talent, programmer, music director, and station manager. Certainly not hall of fame material, but I held my own and was successful. I haven't been an owner, but that is not an exclusive club.

In the next few years, there will be a huge migration away from terrestrial music radio. The young are already forcing this issue. As older people start to catch up to the technology, you will see listeners get sucked away like a vacuum. New and established musicians are already bypassing radio and debuting songs and entire CDs on web sites like AOL and MySpace. With all kinds of new content becoming available on players and cell phones, radio will assume a lower position on the media rung. This will also be true with information. People will not wait for the top-of-the hour news or the sports breaks every 20 minutes on sports radio. They will go on the web to get instant headlines, weather, scores, stock prices, traffic, etc. Many will have this downloaded to their cell phones, PDAs and in-car displays.

I'm not begging for anything to happen. I'm making a prediction based on what I know. Read and listen to media experts. And the people. It doesn't sound like it could happen, but watch. Traditional media outlets are scared bleepless, laying off people and cutting deals with websites and cell phone companies to provide content.

As an owner, I wonder what you think your properties will be worth in 10-15 years. You might want to sell now, before the bottom drops out.

THANK YOU ouuc for reinforcing one of the most difficult decisions I ever had to make. Our backgrounds are nearly identical except I was an owner/operator--for nearly ten years... And believe me--if that's an "exclusive club"--I'll choose the Historical Society any day! It is difficult, frustrating, and many times down 'n dirty. Fortunately, my options were not restrained by limiting my focus to "turning dying AMs around"--I had two on each band. Despite my affection for AM radio--and placing more time and effort in it than was justifiable--I doubt I would have survived two years without that first FM in the building.

Several years back, I had to entertain the infamous "offer you can't refuse"... It was emotional... But Thank God it remained rational! EVERY conclusion you published in your post I surmised back then--and consider at that time there was no iPod; XM was in its final stages as a business plan; and the web was running at 48k for most. The infamous Telcom bill was law, and I saw the writing on the control room wall. I had no problem accepting that my meager resources were no match for "the cluster" forming across town. I felt no shame or lack of accomplishment because of that. I remember my non-broadcast business partner telling me: "In a few more years those guys will have the same problem--only bigger." The company that purchased us has since been swallowed! Now we see the drama unfolding at CC, and I'd say to my old pard: "No--only MUCH bigger."

As for music on AM, and serving older demos by offering up the usual culprits... My retired parents live on the coast near Hilton Head. The mere mention of that location brings an instant identification of a particular demo to mind; yet on this very day, there is no "Frank, Bing, and Dino" format on local AM or FM... Furthermore, you won't find Motown or the British Invasion, no WGRR, and not so much as a WDJO on the South Carolina Lowcountry airwaves. Is there an audience? You bet! They have fully-loaded iPods, CD changers, and XM in every vehicle, boat, and home.

For the man here "turning AMs around with music"--I wish only the very best. For anyone (legally) meeting a business challenge of this nature, I will happily wait in line to shake his hand. I rejoiced earlier this year at the antics of Dusty and 'DJO... I hope... I Listen daily on the net... And remind myself there is no such thing as "the impossible". Understand that there is a fundamental difference between choosing to call U-Haul because your boss orders you to program a music AM--and having to remain in town with that AM because you have the responsibility of owning it! Sometimes that small fundamental can make a large difference... Sometimes.

 

[ouuc]

None of the new technologies by itself will kill music radio, but each one chips away. And this new generation of teens and college students is unlike any other generation we've seen before. This is an totally "on-demand" generation. They want what they want when they want it. They are not going to take your edited censored songs in the order you give it to them along with the clutter of spots and mindless DJ ramblings. Radio means nothing to the majority of them. It's an afterthought at best. And ignored at worst. And the boomers are embracing this new stuff, too. And of course the Grim Reaper will get his share of them eventually. When the population shifts in a few years and the wreckage washes up on the beach, owners who didn't bail out won't know what hit them.

Lash, I'm just trying to give you some advice. I wonder how many other owners are posting on a two-bit radio board instead of running their stations at 12:30 on a Tuesday afternoon. I imagine that's a very exclusive club.

 

[lash]

Guys, then I look forward to shaking your hands. And ouuc, I happen to have taken a vacation over the holiday. You invited to the great state of Tennessee, one of three states where we have bought, built and made a tremendous living with music on AM radio.

We'll be passing through Cincy tomorrow, and only WDJO will be on my radio.