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Rhythmic CHR Returns to Des Moines

The only thing that makes me wonder is that the chatter on their Facebook page indicates some sort of 'possible' carrying on of the format by one of the larger groups (encouraging everyone to contact them, etc. Not being able to speak more at this time etc.) and I can't help but remember that some of the Connissuer people have ties to Cumulus and Citadel.......

Could it be that Cumulus will pick up the torch to compete with Clear Channel?? Was this planned?

Probably not but it is just fun to speculate...... ;)
 
The Outsider said:
Clear Channel killed the format once before. They do have the frequency that The Beat was on they they could use as KPTL has been struggling for years, but would they flip it?
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Only if forced to by something Culmulus does. The Beat hurt KISS' ratings considerably and when they dumped The Beat the audience went right back to KISS.

If Cumulus flips one of the country stations to CHR to go after KISS, does CC launch rhythmic? Maybe, but more likely they flip something to country to go after Cumulus' remaining country. If there's only one country station in Des Moines, that station will be number one.

The question is whether Cumulus flips to pop CHR to go head to head with KISS, or flips to rhythmic. (Or keeps their country monopoly, since country remains the #1 music format in Des Moines.)
 
Cumulus will probably not keep two country stations. They didn't in Waterloo, and they didn't in Cedar Rapids once they got a hold of KROJ.

I wonder which is more likely to get swapped. I would think KJJY.
 
Casey said:
Cumulus will probably not keep two country stations. They didn't in Waterloo, and they didn't in Cedar Rapids once they got a hold of KROJ.
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In Waterloo, there was little chance anyone else would switch to country. In CR, KROJ never showed in the ratings. I think in DM they probably will flip one of them to go after KISS. They may also swap 1700 and 98.3, figuring the sports will do better on FM. (It would but not enough to justify using one of their FMs for sports.) But none of this will happen soon. The Cumulus takeover has been delayed, and making changes in Des Moines won't be a top priority.

Casey said:
I wonder which is more likely to get swapped. I would think KJJY.
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In Waterloo they kept the one with the better demos and switched 92.3; so in Des Moines that would mean KJJY gets flipped.
 
I think there was more to switching KROJ other than just poor ratings. KHAK is the number one in the market, and Cumulus was well aware that no one will be able to make a dent in KHAK's listening share. So why compete with yourself? Clear Channel has two country stations in Cedar Rapids, and both have failed miserably to even come close. Clear Channel does not stand a chance in Cedar Rapids when it comes to country, unless they change their game. Fixing KKSY would be an excellent start. Nearly a month now, and it is inaudible. Then if they would hire real air-staff instead of these worthless syndicated jocks, they may actually pull in some listeners. They would still fail to do much to KHAK without reaching Iowa City, so they could either pick up a translator or swap WMT-FM's format with KKSY. Neither will ever happen. Clear Channel's other country station, KMJM, could also use a makeover. I would argue more people listen to KWMT in Cedar Rapids than KMJM.

Last time I looked, KJJY had 2-3 more points in the diary than KHKI, so I wouldn't be positive that KJJY would go. 2012 will likely be the year we see a flip, if one occurs.
 
It would seem obvious that Saga's KSTZ HD Translator on K260AM 99.9 will probably go Rhythmic CHR once HITS goes away. They can run it cheap, it doesn't bill that well so they can have very low overhead and bill it as part of the larger package that comes with the big stations. Best of all, they can chip away ALOT of KKDM's audience.

Note- they seem to have now moved the translator to the big Altoona tower on the east side of Des Moines giving this good Des Moines metro coverage.
 
As far as the idea of Cumulus flipping a Country station, I think this will become more likely when KMGO completes their new transmission site. They will have good coverage for all of Des Moines. This will no doubt put a damper on Cumulus' current monopoly in Des Moines. Keeping two country stations will not be worth while.
 
Casey said:
As far as the idea of Cumulus flipping a Country station, I think this will become more likely when KMGO completes their new transmission site. They will have good coverage for all of Des Moines. This will no doubt put a damper on Cumulus' current monopoly in Des Moines. Keeping two country stations will not be worth while.
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I don't know. After upgrading, KMGO will only put a 60 dBu signal over about 40% of Polk County. It will cover most of the city of Des Moines, but it won't be reliable north or west of the city. Since 95% of listening occurs within the 60 dBu contour, those people north and west of Des Moines won't be willing to listen to it. Those in the 54-60 dBu contour will probably be able to hear it on good home stereos and car radios, but they'll use enough radios that can't get it that they won't set aside car or home time to listen to it, plus their seek may not stop on it even on those better radios. There will also be a decent portion of the Des Moines market that just won't be able to get any signal reliably.
 
Time will tell if this upgrade even happens. One CP has already expired and they had to get another to keep it alive. I'm not even sure there has been any actual construction at the site. This is going to be expensive to build brand new tower of that height. With the economy as it is, would it be worth it to become a second-tier Des Moines station?

My gut is that if Cumulus changes format on 92.5 or 97.3, you will see country on 100.3 in very short order.
 
Since Saga will probably do CHR on 99.9, that will be the extent of the Des Moines CHR 'battle' landscape for some time. A 100KW regional mainstream and maybe a local Rhythmic city based 250watt translator on steroids.

I don't see Cumulus doing anything different. The stations are too established to screw with. Unless things aren't as rosy as they seem. But at least, why give up the country 'cash cow' monopoly?

HITS 105.9 is claiming on Facebook they may still be around once the frequencies are sold but I have no idea how that is going to work outside of being a Des Moines based internet station. And that doesn't mean squat in terms of local terrestrial radio. Unless they are going to purchase 105.5 or pull some magic trick out of their sleeve at the last minute. (It's almost October)
 
The Outsider said:
radiorobert said:
I don't see Cumulus doing anything different. The stations are too established to screw with.
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That has never stopped them before.
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Very true. Maybe they are willing to take another gamble.

I guess I don't know anymore. How well ARE alot of these stations actually doing?? I get the impression u could pretty much do anything nowdays and it may or may not work just as equally as the next. Even the established 25-54 demo's everyone raves about have been found to not be doing nearly as well as some think.

Maybe we will have i97.3 or something soon.
 
I would be extremely surprised if Cumulus kept both Country stations. That's just not the Cumulus way.

Cumulus could actually get quite creative if they wanted. 1700 KBGG is not doing particularly well in the diary. 98.3 KWQW is doing okay with the talk format, but could it do better playing a music format?

i97.3 would be terrible, but quite possible. I personally like the idea of having the highest wattage station in Iowa playing Country, but I am sure my opinion doesn't count. Although I think they will swap 92.5.
 
Casey said:
I would be extremely surprised if Cumulus kept both Country stations. That's just not the Cumulus way.

Cumulus could actually get quite creative if they wanted. 1700 KBGG is not doing particularly well in the diary. 98.3 KWQW is doing okay with the talk format, but could it do better playing a music format?

i97.3 would be terrible, but quite possible. I personally like the idea of having the highest wattage station in Iowa playing Country, but I am sure my opinion doesn't count. Although I think they will swap 92.5.
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They could end up with two new music stations, 92.5 and 98.3, moving KWQW to 1700. The sports on 1700 will never amount to anything as long as CC has both the Cyclones and the Hawkeyes. Culumus seems to like CHR, any guesses what they might do on a 2nd new FM music station?

If Cumulus dumps one of the country stations, who flips to country first... CC on 100.3 or Saga on 103.3? (I don't think the KMGO upgrade will happen, and even if it does, it won't be a factor in the market.)
 
They might just keep the sports if 1700 is making money with it. It seems like Marty Tirrell has plenty of advertiser support for his show and from what I understand, he is an independent contractor who owns his show.
 
If they were to make changes-

1700 Sports
92.5 Country
94.9 Classic Rock
97.3 CHR
98.3 Talk (Possible flip)

Now, I don't know who or where Glenn Beck, Hannity and Bob & Tom would fall but DSM likes these shows and my thought is that 98.3 is actually less likely to flip. They are huge nationally and there is money to be made.

97.3 KHKI is the less established, more automated 'young country' format. This would have the least advertiser and demo damage with 92.5 absorbing the demo's and the dollars with their heritage.

Btw- There was a period where someone in our office had KHKI on quite a bit and rarely did I hear much in the way of ads. So it's probably safe to assume this would be the first to go if anything happens.
 
Hey fellas...perhaps a few ladies out there. 8)

I've kept my head in the sand for a quite a while now, watching the radio landscape in Des Moines move around these last few months...(and its been fun). However, since I heard Connoisseur had sold KZHZ and KZHC, I started to do some research on Cumulus, and I would agree with Casey and a couple others out there...they seem to throw caution to the wind and stir the pot in their respective markets, regardless of what the naysayers might suggest.

Unlike Citadel (playing it safe for the most part) Cumulus seems to enjoy a good station war...something that's definitely needed in Des Moines! (Look at what they just did in Cedar Rapids). Their new CHR format will overlap with B100...and they don't seem to give a hoot if it gets cannibalized by Cedar Rapids listeners. The big three have been playing "checkmate" for far too long, and its about time for someone to stir the pot!!

I've got the impression that Cumulus is a lot like The Honey Badger: "He Don't Care, he just takes what he wants" ;D

Also, not to make any definitive projections on what Cumulus may or may not do, but it was I and Radiorobert who initially suggested that Connoisseur would launch a CHR on their CP's back in 2006.

Just saying... :)
 
Has anybody seen the 'rumor' on the 'other radio board' about 97.3 KHKI flipping to Rhythmic CHR now that Cumulus has taken over? Word is a package has arrived from Atlanta and a staffer peeked inside.

Could be garbage....could be a bigger CHR war than we even have now coming in the near future.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if that were true. Not in the least.


Cumulus would actually be smarter to keep their Country monopoly, but that just isn't what they do. Of course if it is anything like the Cedar Rapids market, Cumulus has nothing to worry about. Clear Channel has two country stations in Cedar Rapids and still fails to even make a dent in Cumulus' KHAK. Last I saw KHAK was still going strong with a 18+ in the diary while Clear Channel had a combined total of maybe 1.
 
You have no idea what apparently has been going on between Cumulus and Connoisseur.....

Unbelieveable is all I can say and quite a feat as well. ;)

I gotta admit. Well played.

Get ready for a big full blown CHR war in Des Moines.
 
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