QC Ratings are out

[silentsquealer]

Second book in a row that 97X is #2, gaining 4 tenths of a point this time to reach 9.9 Impressive.
Mark & Steve at KUUL must not be too happy to see they're not gaining any ground on the dorks,
in fact dropping from 6.2 to 5.6

Star 93.5 takes a nosedive dropping from a 3.0 to a 1.6
and their direct competition Mix 96 went from a 5.1 to a 7.3
I'm thinking Star is playing too many currents...

B100 posted a nice gain to go from 6.0 to 6.7
Probably due to the fact that the morning show is actually FUNNY

WOC dropped from 6.8 to 5.9 probably due to firing the wrong Jim...

Q106.5 lost a half point going from 7.0 to 6.5 If it wasn't for that 100kw stick, they'd be lucky to have a 2 share.

Rock 1049's listeners seem to be finally finding the station going from 3.8 to 4.8
Anyone got a good antenna amp so I can pull these guys in???
Maybe a directional antenna with a rotor so I can swing it around and pick
up WIXO out of Peoria! THAT station knows what rock is.

Baseball season is here, KJOC going from 0.5 to a 1.6
that's it? The cubs are halfway decent this year!
I just noticed that KJOC, Star 93.5 and WGN are all tied at 1.6
I think I smell a format flip at Star...

except for WLLR owning the market AGAIN going from a 17.6 to a 18.8
the rest of the list is irrelevant.

Thoughts...
Simulcast Rock 1049 on the 93.5 frequency
Somebody buy WLLR and demolish the tower.
Make Q106 figure out what that sucking sound is that's going out over the air. Oh, that's normal?
WOC, fire the correct Jim, or at least, don't renew.
Mark & Steve will be appearing live, in line at the soup kitchen when the contract is up in March.

 

[EnergyDeKalb2]

Unfortunately, Q106 is probably not going anywhere with those numbers, even though they did drop.

KUUL is a heitage station and Mark and Steve are not that bad. Only problem is, they have not gone up in ratings. I think Mark and Steve will continue for another year before they finally pull the plug.

I think it is really too bad that Clear Channel and Cumulus don't swap the KUUL signal and the 93.5 signal. That way Cumulus could mess that signal up and Clear Channel could put on a real Top 40 station to knock down on B100.

We all know that Cumulus won't compete with themselves and put on another Top 40. What do they do with that signal?

Well, it would appear that the obvious choice is to do country again. However, I know that won't work, it has not worked before, and would show that there really is no creativity here in the QC market.

Cumulus has tried doing a soft favorites station before, with no results. Country, no results, numerous times. Top 40 only after the heritage station got bought out by the folks at EMF...

I think there is an untapped market that we do not have a format for here, and it would do great. However, at what expense to their own other stations? Lets try....

Urban format on 93.5. Or, try a rythmic format on there. Or, maybe a dance station. Something off the wall. Something way different.

There are so many rock stations and classic hits stations in town, but the numbers seem to suggest that it is a popular genre and the market can support basically 3 stations doing very similar formats: 97X versus Q106 versus KUUL. Yes, they all have their little quirks, and their own direction, but just enough to keep them all a little different.

Cumulus has the problem that they are going up against very established stations in the market. They broke new old ground with the relaunch of 97X and the Dorks in the morning. They made good inroads with Rock 104.9, which has now been on every Cumulus FM signal except 99.7.
B100, as mentioned before, will stay where they are because they have no competition. Cumulus as mentioned before went after WLLR, with no luck. They went after Mix 96, with dismal results. Sad that Mix continues to go up and Star drops. Star sounds better than Mix. But Cumulus is doing the format on the cheap as well. They don;'t have a strong jock line-up, and appear to be putting no money into it.

What is left? Will there be a format flip in the area? What else is out there? The Spanish station on AM looked great last book, looks crappy this book by not even appearing. Obvious where the diaries go is whats going to help the outlining stations. Always someone different near the bottom.

Would be neat if we knew what the low power FM station that plays urban on 92.5 got for ratings, and how 98.9 is faring with its new format. Of course, ratings mean nothing to 98.9 now. I am not sure if 92.5 gets rated due to them being an LPFM. Anyone else have some thoughts on this?

--EnergyDeKalb

 

[silentsquealer]

I think once the Clear Channel privatization goes through, we'll likely see more changes.
I expect KUUL to go top 40 then.
Star has too weak of a signal to really get the market they are going after, at work listening.
Your signal has to penetrate buildings better than that.

So either flip the format, or maybe make it a simulcast of another station.
One option that sounds absolutely insane on it's face, but might
be realer than it seems is to simulcast KJOC on 93.5

You gotta admit, 1170's signal is awful. But being on 93.5 would be a huge upgrade
and Cumulus already has the rights for the Bears, why not move them over from Rock 104-9?

 

[RadioLoverIL]

Again, another ratings period where the QCs goes down as the "WLLR & everybody else" market. As, once again, it beats out the 2nd & 3rd highest rated stations combined! The other stations in the market have to feel like they're being smothered by a beach whale. When 1 station has almost a fifth of the audience, it's hard for the others to grow.

Breaking it down by rankings:

WLLR--what else can be said. The key thing with them is that station just never drops off from daypart to daypart. No doubt it's the music that makes that station click.

WXLP--looks like Dwyer & Michaels are still paying dividends. Although, as a whole the station isn't getting the numbers that Q106 was getting when D&M were there. Part of that I feel is the morning show battle, even though led by D&M, is about as balanced as it's been in the market for quite sometime. Lots of good morning shows out there that could be splintering up the audience. But like was the case with Q106 when D&M was there, I'm sure WXLP's numbers fall like a rock after morning drive.

KMXG--maybe these are fluke numbers, jumping 2 points. I want to see if they can maintain their numbers for a 2nd straight book.

B100--outside of WLLR & WXLP, this station has maintained good consistency.

Q106--I have to agree. To get the numbers it's getting is rather impressive. Considering, minus Bob & Tom, it's a 1-person station with Gunner. Everything else, I believe, is tracked.

WOC--typically the spring has been the roughest ratings period for this station. With the presidential election and Iowa football coming up, it will have to be considered a major disappointment if WOC doesn't bounce back in the Fall.

KUUL--This has to be an eye-opener. You have a CC station that has virtually no personality (Q106) beating the station with the personalities. This has to be a bit of a concern.

Rock 104.9--This station is holding it's own.

Star 93.5--Wow....that's about all I can say. I can't remember the last time an mainstream FM station in the QCs ended up with such low numbers. I don't even think KBOB in it's last days as a country format were that low. When a sister station with a horrible AM signal ties you, no doubt we'll see a switch of formats here. Maybe they try one of WKBF's old formats....whether it be Adult Standards, or maybe as an 70s/80s Country station. I'm not sure how a Mellow Rock format would work in the market, but maybe they could look in that direction....playing stuff like Jackson Browne, The Eagles, Jim Croce, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, etc. Also, as squealer mentioned, it's not out of the realm of possibility for it to become a news/talk/sports station like KJOC is. With its wattage, that might be the perfect fit for a station of that size.

The rest of the stations, as mentioned before, it's just a matter who's hands diaries end up in. But that doesn't mean they couldn't be tinkered with.

For KJOC there's only so much that can be done because of the weak signal. WFXN-1230 needs some direction. They call themselves "Fox Sports Radio", yet outside of Jim Rome from 11 to 2, everything from 6a.m. to 6p.m. is ESPN Radio programming. That's gotta cause some confusion. Also, if they're going to be a sports station, they can't make it on just sports talk alone. They need some play-by-play properties. Like KJOC is to Chicago sports, I don't see why WFXN doesn't do the same with St. Louis sports, and pick up the Cardinals & Rams.

And beyond that, pick up as many national sports play by play broadcasts as possible and promote the fact you have them. I'm talking Westwood One & ESPN Radio's coverage of college football (each network has several games every weekend during the regular season, plus all of the bowl games), NCAA basketball games & tournament, Major League Baseball, NFL, etc., and let the sports talk be the backdrop.

 

[silentsquealer]

If I remember correctly KBOB The River ended with a 2.5 as people we're just starting to find it on the dial.
And it's focus was playing new country. It's funny that clear channel has a station in Cedar Rapids now with
that focus in it's format. I think it's called Kiss Country or something.

I'm not sure if Mix 96's numbers are a fluke though.
I've noticed several doctor's offices and other businesses that used to have
93.5 on are switched over to Mix. And that is what they are going after,
at work listening. I've said it before, I like the sound of the station. But either the signal
is killing it or Cumulus is killing it by not putting anything into it. Maybe it's the John Tesh effect?
I can only take so much of this "I'm so smart I'll share my intelligence cuz I'm awesome" shtick he's doing.
ugh. enough. I mean is this all we get Tesh or Delilah? They both suck!

I haven't seen the specifics on dayparts, as they aren't made public, but I have been
hearing that 97X is picking up alot of numbers throughout the day outside of
morning drive. And the format is very friendly with at work listening.
Non-offensive, familiar music and DJ's that don't rattle cages.
Plus if you're listening to KUUL, it automatically translates to LAME.
Not a cheap shot, but the whole play on the word cool is tired and unappreciated.

The whole thing with Q is disappointing.
Lousy station voice, voice tracked to death and the one live full timer/PD is boring at best.
The music is pretty lousy sometimes too. And it's supposedly classic rock, but they play stuff
that is old, but that doesn't qualify it automatically for classic. Some stuff I've never heard
in my life, ever. While I appreciate the attempt to expand the playlist a bit, it just seems too much
at times. I think on average you hear 4 breaks an hour at most. And when you play some
deep tracks, you have to properly stage and explain the song. Or at least backsell or presell them.
I have to go online just to figure what the hell they are playing sometimes!
I look forward to clear channel going private and somebody fixing this station.
The only bright spot here is a guy who filled in for Gunner while he was on vacation.
I think he went by Kevin Walker? I'm not sure, but he was animated and sounded like
he actually gave a crap about being on-air. You sir deserve better.

 

[EnergyDeKalb2]

Kevin Walker used to be the night guy on All Hit 989 when it was up and running. He had left for a brief while by going to Z102.9 in Cedar Rapids as PD then came back and then All Hit went off the air. I think Kevin just does fill-in roll for them for now. I imagine he was willing to go to other formats and so he kept on with Clear Channel rather than join Red Hot over at B100.
I bet they are saving him for when KUUL goes back to being a Top 40.

--EnergyDeKalb