Providence music radio in 5 years

[jockitch]

Just some off-the-wall predictions I'll deny having made in 2010:

PRO-FM: Still CHR with no daytime staff changes unless Tony Bristol leaves,in which case there will be changes. I hate to throw a damp towel on the fires of those waiting for a killer night jock but in 5 years nighttime radio is going to be very unimportant to younger demos who have other ways to occupy their time when it comes to entertainment so I wouldn't expect much. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up syndicated.

Coast: If the Jack/Mike formats prove successful over a period of time,this will be the station to go with one. As of now they are adding 70s weekdays in addition to more variety on the weekend but the music mix is unfocused for a female-targeted station. If no variety format they will till be hot ac & they're smart enough to know Joan Edwardsen is their main selling point so barring a complete market takeover I see out-of-town voicetracking after morning drive.

HJY: In spite of running on other CC stations,Q&A are not permanent nights. The shift isn't important enough & will be less important in 5 years. They're the future morning or afternoon team. HJY will keep rockin'& will continue to be dominant. They will break in new talent to replace the old talent with gradually. They know they can't spring new voices on this station's audience. How they rock depends on the future of rock music over the next five years.

B101: Moving more towards classic hits & eventually classic rock as gradually as they moved from oldies to the current format. Who works there,like the other 2 CC music stations,will depend greatly on who's in charge. If Corwin goes others could automatically follow.

WCTK: Still country & with a stable staff from New Engand,it should continue that way. Robby Bridges may have found his groove unless a dream job in another format comes along.

Lite: They will stay an ac station on the lighter side. Big question could be Charlie Jefferds & if he decides to give it up.

Hot 106: I don't believe this format is going away anytime soon but don't keep enough tabs on the station to have an opinion on staffing changes down the line.

Fun 107: Unusually stable staff for a small market station so that should continue unless JR wants another challenge. Listeners know what kind of music they'll hear other than the non rhythmic major hits they throw in so they're focused musically. Not much change here.

Two other predictions: there will be music on 99.7 & the next trend will be fewer weekenders at every station since even the best of them really add nothing to the bottom line.

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

I would think that WPRO-92.3 and WWLI-105.1 will pretty much have their current formats five years hence. They'll probably still be the top two (or two of the most popular) stations in town.

I'm not sure WHJY-94.1 will still be a rock station; rock radio listening is way down nationally thanks to the format's traditional target audience (young adult men) nowadays being more interested in rap and hip-hop.

I think that long before July of 2010, there will be a big-signal urban FM station in Providence.

WWBB-101.5, if still doing "oldies", will be playing hits recorded between 1975 and 1990. And such a change to their "oldies" format may occur sooner rather than later.

99.7? That's interesting. With Boston's WEEI buying 103.7 and with it to carry the Celtics this Fall, and the Red Sox next Spring, 99.7 may not remain a sports station. Certainly, 103.7 will dominate sports radio listening in Providence, especially once the Sox are heard there next Spring. But sister station WSKO-790 may remain all-sports, mixing syndicated sports talk and the city's minor-league teams (Pawswox and P-Bruins), perhaps with some college sports when they fit-in the schedule.

Unfortunately, there probably will be a lot more syndication and voictracking five years hence. Except for a couple of high-profile morning shows, Providence-area music-formatted stations will be pretty much all voictracking/satellite/syndication. This will be the case across most of the country, with perhaps only a few major markets having much in the way of locally-produced radio programming, whether music or talk.

 

[jockitch]

> I would think that WPRO-92.3 and WWLI-105.1 will pretty much
> have their current formats five years hence. They'll
> probably still be the top two (or two of the most popular)
> stations in town.

Agreed. Lite will keep evolving as the definition of "light rock" changes. Even with changes they are a constant. PRO-FM has its heritage which fewer & fewer people will care about in the future but no one has really gone against them.
>
> I'm not sure WHJY-94.1 will still be a rock station; rock
> radio listening is way down nationally thanks to the
> format's traditional target audience (young adult men)
> nowadays being more interested in rap and hip-hop.

It's unusual for a market's #1 station to be a rocker,but HJY is. I agree the long-term prognosis may be iffy but I don't think their concern is long-term. Some feel they're the classic rock candidate eventually but it won't be classic rock as we now know it. Luckily they've never overreacted to down books.

> Unfortunately, there probably will be a lot more syndication
> and voictracking five years hence. Except for a couple of
> high-profile morning shows, Providence-area music-formatted
> stations will be pretty much all
> voictracking/satellite/syndication. This will be the case
> across most of the country, with perhaps only a few major
> markets having much in the way of locally-produced radio
> programming, whether music or talk.

I agree with this because the handful of recognizable names in this or any other market have laid the groundwork for themselves in the past & those select few are now the elite of the market. Whether or not they're untouchable is another matter but their jobs are the safest since no one is moving up to take their places. Every market has lots of good quality jocks who are making no impact other than fitting in with the station's sound. They will be hurt the most as life will become an eternal job hunt resulting in lateral moves. The recognizable names will last until their audience ages or they get fed up & leave the business & the lower paid people who probably shouldn't even be in radio may actually last because every station will always need them even if they're not on the air.

 

[onradioct]

> 99.7? That's interesting. With Boston's WEEI buying 103.7
> and with it to carry the Celtics this Fall, and the Red Sox
> next Spring, 99.7 may not remain a sports station.

Is WEEI-FM carrying the Celtics this year?

 

[Jacko]

> I'm not sure WHJY-94.1 will still be a rock station; rock
> radio listening is way down nationally thanks to the
> format's traditional target audience (young adult men)
> nowadays being more interested in rap and hip-hop.

I don't agree. HJY is a very high-rated rock station, without having Stern. Plus, they have 24 years of heritage behind them. Them may tweak the format in the coming years, perhaps to a more classic rock approach, but I expect them to be rock for a long time.

> 99.7? That's interesting. With Boston's WEEI buying 103.7
> and with it to carry the Celtics this Fall, and the Red Sox
> next Spring, 99.7 may not remain a sports station.
> Certainly, 103.7 will dominate sports radio listening in
> Providence, especially once the Sox are heard there next
> Spring. But sister station WSKO-790 may remain all-sports,
> mixing syndicated sports talk and the city's minor-league
> teams (Pawswox and P-Bruins), perhaps with some college
> sports when they fit-in the schedule.

WEEI is not carrying the Celtics, it's actually WRKO. 103.7 WEEI-FM may carry the games, but that depends on the Celtics current contract in Providence (if they even have one). WEEI-FM is slated to carry the Red Sox in 2006 as long as 850AM WEEI gets the rights renewed.

Jacko<P ID="signature">______________
I live for my dream,
And a pocket full of gold.
</P>

 

[FMRadio1]

> WEEI is not carrying the Celtics, it's actually WRKO. 103.7
> WEEI-FM may carry the games, but that depends on the Celtics
> current contract in Providence (if they even have one).
> WEEI-FM is slated to carry the Red Sox in 2006 as long as
> 850AM WEEI gets the rights renewed.

They've already been renewed--for next year only. Entercom picked up a one year option on their current agreement for 2006 earlier this year. They will continue to negotiate a longer term deal with the team, but that doesn't mean other outlets like Infinity/Boston or Greater Media can't steal the rights away for 2007. If Entercom loses the Sox after next season, chances are Citadel would get the rights back for Providence and the games would be back on WPRO.

--Mike Thomas