Quad Cities need an Urban AC station

[radiohost40]

I was reading through some other posts on the board, and I agree there needs to be a shake up in the Quad Cities radio market. For a market of its size, it is very underserved. I took a look at the demographics for the Quad Cities and they could really use an Urban AC station. Star 93.5 should flip to an Urban AC, like "Today's R&B and Old School, the new 93-5 The Vibe." The argument will be made that you can't sell urban formats to advertisers. That's just not true. Champaign-Urbana, a much smaller market than the QC, has an Urban AC station. Plus, an Urban AC format will give advertisers a listener base that has, I would argue, as high of a disposable income as the listeners of many other formats. If I were programming an Urban AC format in the QC, I would make it a cross between Milwaukee's Jammin' 98.3 and 1290 WMCS. Put a community minded morning show on (like the morning magazine on WMCS) and program 40 minutes of continuous R&B and Old School every hour after 10am. There would be a live mid-day shift, voice tracked afternoon shift and a live DJ on at night to do a Moments in Love show. Friday and Saturday nights could have a live, old-school mix show.

 

[pbf1]

More stations in Milwaukee, and higher black population (14% vs. 6%) may be a contributing factor to no one doing the format in QC.

 

[EnergyDeKalb2]

The problem with the Quad-Cities is that the black audience in the area is slim. Not that others wouldn't listen, but it is hard to get advertisers to a station that will, at best, be lucky to crack the top 10. Don't get me wrong, it would sure be nice to have an urban or an urban AC, and over time that could happen, but at this point there just isn't an audience for it. A friend of mine in the area who works for a station said that he knows the demographics in the area are much skewed compared to other markets of similar size. Here the audience age is more in the 30-45 age bracket, where most areas this size are more 18-34.
That is why we have an oldies station in the top 5, with the format dying nationwide. That is why we have a country station that is pushing a 20 share 12+, and the other top stations all cater an older audience (WOC, Q105.6, Mix96).

 

[icycool7227]

Oh yeah sure, take away this market's ONLY hot AC station. Yeah, that'd be the thing to do - NOT!

Do you know that hot AC is the best format I have heard on radio? We have two of these stations here in the Milwaukee market and they are usually the only ones I tune to when I want to get a good song in my head. Shame on you! I'm glad I had a listen to KQCS when I was in a car with my dad traveling to Grand Junction, CO and Las Vegas, NV last May, and it sounded GREAT! Lots of small market urban AC stations don't even have a website let alone a stream. Take WTTH for instance in Margate City, NJ, WGNL 104.3 in Greenwood, MS, and WVIB V-100 in Holton, MI. No websites, no logos easily viewable, and no streams. A station without a website and stream sucks! I don't think an urban AC station here wqould have a website. Maybe I'm wrong. But without hot AC, the radio dial would be BORING!

I was reading through some other posts on the board, and I agree there needs to be a shake up in the Quad Cities radio market. For a market of its size, it is very underserved. I took a look at the demographics for the Quad Cities and they could really use an Urban AC station. Star 93.5 should flip to an Urban AC, like "Today's R&B and Old School, the new 93-5 The Vibe." The argument will be made that you can't sell urban formats to advertisers. That's just not true. Champaign-Urbana, a much smaller market than the QC, has an Urban AC station. Plus, an Urban AC format will give advertisers a listener base that has, I would argue, as high of a disposable income as the listeners of many other formats. If I were programming an Urban AC format in the QC, I would make it a cross between Milwaukee's Jammin' 98.3 and 1290 WMCS. Put a community minded morning show on (like the morning magazine on WMCS) and program 40 minutes of continuous R&B and Old School every hour after 10am. There would be a live mid-day shift, voice tracked afternoon shift and a live DJ on at night to do a Moments in Love show. Friday and Saturday nights could have a live, old-school mix show.

 

[qcradioguy]

ICYCOOL---

The Quad City market is already boring. Something new and different would spice it up, instead of the cookie cutter stations in the QC!!

 

[spnkyrdgrl]

When one company owns the market so far over the only other competitor in town, you will have 'cookie cutter' radio (lazy fat calf sydrome). Too bad radio has to cater to the almighty dollar. Kids don't spend money, so stations aren't programmed for them. I agree with you though, but until kids dollars count in this town, nothing will change.

 

[radiohost40]

I agree, but radio advertising is such a strange business. It's always bothered me that radio companies won't put urban and ethnic formats on the air just because they are guided by stereotypes that some groups are not likely to have high disposable incomes or businesses don't want to attract a certain type of clientele. That's wrong and I don't see the facts to back up that thinking. The thought that someone can't "sell" an urban ac or spanish format is just not true. An urban ac format reaches listeners with generally high disposable incomes and crosses demographic lines. Furthermore, listeners to a niche format (whether it be urban ac, alternative rock or classic country) are loyal, and because of that, more likely to visit businesses advertised on the station.