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Rock 104.5 is retiring

RickSchmidt said:
It won't be Easy and it won't be Power. Tipping your hat with web domains is not something that Cox generally does.
I think there is a hole for lite ac (or easy) but if it's anything like the Dove in Tampa, it's not a 25-54 winner. If it was me,
I'd put OKV on the big stick and do that Easy thing on 106.5...or urban ac...or young country...or surprise, Rock 106.5

On the other end, I would not be shocked to see the return of Planet Radio to CC...or at least some type of rock format, ala 98ROCK in Tampa. Rock goes away...the hole is open because X would have to shift a ton and piss off their core to cover the lane. Pretty sure Klinger is ready for a move back to Jax...
Click to expand...

There is a misconception that a softer, easy listening AC is always old. Easy 93.1 (WFEZ) 25-54 adult and women numbers are impressive. That station was tied and was even beating the 4 decades + AC leader – WLYF – in key cells and not just 45+ with info I have from a few months ago.

WFEZ was designed to be different than The Dove because of specific market reasons. But Cox tweaked The Dove as well. WDUV had been around 15th in 25-54 for decades. Today, it has approached Top 5 status. It's around 10% in 35-44, 25% 45-54 and 45% 55+. Sure WDUV skews older, but there is enough 35-54 to be very competitive. (Info courtesy David Eduardo in a Miami board posting)

I understand each market is unique. Still, Jacksonville is no different than anywhere else in that a portion of the listening audience will favor lighter music at work or just to relax to at leisure or to help with those stress moments. I don’t believe it is a problem with demand or even viability. Convincing the suits, that a whole other challenge.

As far as how rock has fared after Planet, maybe the emotional connection that existed between the listeners and Planet just went away with the station. The whole idea behind re-branding Rock 105 to Rock 104-5 was so 104-5 could feature many of the songs Planet played - that hole in the market thing. Perhaps the Planet brand will return to CC one day as a replacement to the fading fast Jack FM. Maybe it’s easier to eventually just be 107-3Rock. Cox could do rock on 106.5 but would the results be that different? Would it even make sense?

At any rate, a lot of speculation on my part. It’s normal for all of us to make a pitch for favorite formats. For all we know, this could all be a lot of hype or even a stunt without much changing. But right now, I’m convinced a tightly-formatted Easy AC on a big stick makes total sense and hopefully I've made my case. There's a hole in the market. The format works best when it can be picked up inside buildings. "Lite" may call themselves that but when Jack FM plays a number of the same songs - that ain't lite! Trust me on this, the business community would welcome a real at work station. You know how I stand. We'll know soon enough if Cox Jacksonville agrees.
 
Screw the suits, they don't make the station, the DJs and listeners do.. no listeners, no sales.

Does Cumulus have stations down there? Could they sell 104-5? This is a big signal and could become the next installment of NASH-FM

-Rob
 
RickSchmidt said:
It won't be Easy and it won't be Power. Tipping your hat with web domains is not something that Cox generally does.
I think there is a hole for lite ac (or easy) but if it's anything like the Dove in Tampa, it's not a 25-54 winner. If it was me,
I'd put OKV on the big stick and do that Easy thing on 106.5...or urban ac...or young country...or surprise, Rock 106.5

On the other end, I would not be shocked to see the return of Planet Radio to CC...or at least some type of rock format, ala 98ROCK in Tampa. Rock goes away...the hole is open because X would have to shift a ton and piss off their core to cover the lane. Pretty sure Klinger is ready for a move back to Jax...
Click to expand...

I mentioned on a previous thread that I had heard a rumor of format swap on the 97.9 frequency. I didn't mention it in the post but I heard it could be a new version of Planet. I still think it was a wishful thinking rumor.

I do not think Cox is going to have another rock station with all of the cross promotion for X.

This is an interesting situation and I can't wait to see where they go with this move. I am sure whatever it is, it will just make their cluster stronger.
 
It’s been interesting reading 104.5 listener comments. Radio doesn’t always provide a means for typical listeners to get things off their chest. Every once in a while radio shows a human side and at least 104-5 is being given a proper send-off.

Social media and the fact that listeners have access to a wealth of info have turned the casual listener into a much more knowledgeable consumer. Interesting too is I agree with their opinions of Jacksonville as a radio market. We may arrive there for different reasons. But what unites is love of our favorite kind of music and how it saddens us that it goes away and all that remains is a lot of sameness. Often what remains is shoved down our throats - take it or leave it.

In this string and others, it’s easy to spot radio people. Often times, they speak of knocking the other guy down a few pegs or offering more of the same or even destroying something heritage or making that cluster stronger regardless of how much of that format already exists. I’m all about winning too. Decisions not only have consequences but it’s far less common to see radio folks actually speak of how those decisions truly benefit listeners. I find that very disturbing.

I find it interesting as well in just how many people continue talking about and recalling how much they loved and miss Planet. It’s probably how you see things. In some radio camps, Planet’s exit represented a great conquest. For others, it was a painful loss and didn’t really have to happen. Deciding to go after Planet wasn’t a listener-centric decision; it was strictly business.

Typical of radio people too is they speak of holes in the market that should be filled. But it’s their strategy that creates the mess and the hole in the first place. IF a frequency flip happened between 97.9 and 107.3 that resulted in Planet returning, I think it would be very rough going especially with listeners making comparisons to what once was. Then too, you are back to the same problem of a genre of music being way too fragmented.

Jacksonville is a great place to live. People who live here are very down to earth. I really like that. It's supposed to be a mid size market. But, man, there have been lots of radio decisions that have been down right brutal. I sometimes get the impression decisions are made like we are top 5 instead of top 50. These boards are all about opinions and I'm entitled to mine. The folks have and continue to support radio in Jacksonville. I just feel that loyalty, that devotion and really all the $$$ radio has made as result of people listening in the first place doesn't really mean much as they say in a press release.

We will soon witness a business decision that will probably have ripple effects. Change always does. No matter what happens, it will be talked about for quite some time on these boards. This time maybe, just maybe that marketing press release will speak to recognizing and serving an underserved market. What will be even better is if many of us “out here” truly believe those words and it isn’t a bunch of B.S.
 
It doesn't seem to me that WFYV is giving any sort of time on the radio like WYSP did for anybody to say anything. No memories. no listener calls. I know. I've been listening online.
The DJ's just say tune to 102.9 and dont even talk of memorieds of there own. Why not? Have they not been there long enough ? Doesn't 33 years of being in the same format mean something memorable happend ? or do people really not give a damn about radio anymore?
Facebook is one thing, but how about on the actual radio itself ?
 
Expect 104.5 to flip sometime between 8:30 & 10:00 PM on Sunday night. Lynyrd Skynyrd is the last act of the night for Welcome to Rockville and I would not be surprised if Cox pushes the buttons to the new format during the set for Skynyrd.

I have not seen any apparent requests for a call sign change, but knowing how things are, this could happen after the flip.

@JohnJax: Good to see you back again on here expressing your thoughts, which I always enjoy. I would do more of the same here myself, but the high school football world has me consumed more than anyone really can imagine. Yes, high school football is a year round thing in this state (for those of you who didn't know), but now with the state of radio, I wouldn't trade in what I am doing right now for anything. If I do anything in radio again, I will likely be doing something in the lines of a podcast/live web streaming.

Anyways, Sunday night is going to be a fun night to see what happens. I know I will be listening to the live web stream of the flip. Later!
 
John Holcomb II said:
It doesn't seem to me that WFYV is giving any sort of time on the radio like WYSP did for anybody to say anything. No memories. no listener calls. I know. I've been listening online.
The DJ's just say tune to 102.9 and dont even talk of memorieds of there own. Why not? Have they not been there long enough ? Doesn't 33 years of being in the same format mean something memorable happend ? or do people really not give a damn about radio anymore?
Facebook is one thing, but how about on the actual radio itself ?
Click to expand...

John, I get where you are coming from but it wouldn’t be good radio and it’s just too risky. It’s rare to see a station announcing a retirement. It’s a lot different from a long-term on air talent announcing a (voluntary) retirement. While listeners may be sad to see someone leave, they usually are happy for the person so at least the calls aren’t depressing.

Even with heavy editing, there is a risk something inappropriate could air. It appears 104-5 listeners overall don’t like nor want X102-9. With all the time and effort being made to promote X, they would be shooting themselves in the foot. As far as favorite memories go, what may be special to the caller may be totally irrelevant to many listeners. It would wind up being a turn-off to many and at this point, they just can’t afford pissing off even more people than they have already.

@JAWilson - thanks. Glad to see you are busy and it's good to see you pop up here once in a while. If your interests are still in radio, it may be worth a shot to check out WOKV. They have one fantastic team there with a number of younger voices - like you. At any rate, if you are happy doing what you are doing...that's half the battle. Take care!
 
RickSchmidt said:
It won't be Easy and it won't be Power. Tipping your hat with web domains is not something that Cox generally does.
I think there is a hole for lite ac (or easy) but if it's anything like the Dove in Tampa, it's not a 25-54 winner. If it was me,
I'd put OKV on the big stick and do that Easy thing on 106.5...or urban ac...or young country...or surprise, Rock 106.5

On the other end, I would not be shocked to see the return of Planet Radio to CC...or at least some type of rock format, ala 98ROCK in Tampa. Rock goes away...the hole is open because X would have to shift a ton and piss off their core to cover the lane. Pretty sure Klinger is ready for a move back to Jax...
Click to expand...

Well, 106.5 was "Power 106" for a few days. That was fun stuff. It would be great to have rock back on the signal even though it's only a 6K-A. While the old calls (WBGB) are on a Scottsville, KY non-comm, WPVJ is available. Man, I miss the fun we had at Big 106.5.
 
JohnJax said:
John Holcomb II said:
It doesn't seem to me that WFYV is giving any sort of time on the radio like WYSP did for anybody to say anything. No memories. no listener calls. I know. I've been listening online.

Facebook is one thing, but how about on the actual radio itself ?
Click to expand...

John, I get where you are coming from but it wouldn’t be good radio and it’s just too risky. It’s rare to see a station announcing a retirement.
Click to expand...

SO how was WYSP different, John? what about WFNX (i may have the calls wrong) in Boston?
Those guys were aloud to say there goodbyes. Is it because in the case of Philadelphia, listeners weren't totaly screwed - there is another classic rocker (all be-it not as hard) WMGK?
Retirement is pretty much saying "format change" right? Lots of stations seem to anounce that these days.
X102-9 and WFYV target different demo's, I think.
 
A Facebook post a couple of days ago mentioned "shutting her down for good at the Rock 1045/105 tower."

With the lack of domains registered so far... am I the only one thinking of the possibility that COX could just shut down the transmitter entirely? Literally retire 104.5 itself into Jacksonville Radio history forever?

That is very, very rare for a major company to do so. COX did it two years ago by taking off 96.7 the Coast in Connecticut, but the station was being sold to EMF, and they needed to make transmitter maintenance.

Then again, COX could just be very sneaky, and may register domains on Sunday at 8:00 PM.
 
I find the Facebook comments humourous. Some of them say they can't stand X102.9 (which I like better) and some of them are comparing this to the loss of Planet Radio! Uh, hello people..... Planet was way more like X102.9 with modern/alt rock than Rock 1045/105!
 
RBRadioWaves said:
A Facebook post a couple of days ago mentioned "shutting her down for good at the Rock 1045/105 tower."

With the lack of domains registered so far... am I the only one thinking of the possibility that COX could just shut down the transmitter entirely? Literally retire 104.5 itself into Jacksonville Radio history forever?

That is very, very rare for a major company to do so. COX did it two years ago by taking off 96.7 the Coast in Connecticut, but the station was being sold to EMF, and they needed to make transmitter maintenance.

Then again, COX could just be very sneaky, and may register domains on Sunday at 8:00 PM.
Click to expand...

This is the segue that I needed to ask this question that I have been wanting to ask. Is it possible to shut down the transmitter and other equipment and use it on a different frequency? I guess the question I am asking is, could they give Power their own call letters and get them off of the translator while staying on the 106.1 frequency?

As if you can't tell, I don't know anything technical about radio.
 
901Rocks said:
Uh, hello people..... Planet was way more like X102.9 with modern/alt rock than Rock 1045/105!
Click to expand...

Planet was alternative in the 90's, then became active. No, it was nothing like X.

G
 
Planet Radio was initially straight up alternative under JR. Like many alts at the time, including X1015 in Tallahassee that I took over prior to Planet, they were all over the place. I remember the first segue I heard when CC asked me to monitor Planet - Jewel Who will save your soul directly into Korn Freak on a Leash. I hired Chumley from JRR and Klinger from the KRO to replace Scott Strange (now Lazlo in KC) & Beaner who left. Crissy, no H no T, and Dick Dale were already there. I pulled the station wayyyy back and played a lot of what is now modern AC along with safer friendly singles that were ska, reggae, swing, electronica. It was not even close to active rock. Hell, we had PAMS jingles just to be goofy.

One of the biggest fights I had was with the Universal rep, because Godsmack's first single was #1 and Planet would not play it. It was too hard. Things changed after I brought in Bubba for mornings, because more males started to come to the station from WFYV and we were trying to find a way to keep them after 10a. After I left to program 98ROCK in Tampa, Planet became much harder but the alt format was headed that way. Even KROQ was playing Metallica. In the end, Planet's demise was not the music as much as it was the 22 units per hour & Lex and Terry. Just prior to X's launch, I am pretty sure that Planet was #2 25-54. Give credit to X - they went after Planet hard and Chumley's GM would not budge on inventory (if they cut inventory, planet and the cluster would not hit budget). It was very short sighted. L&T were on a slide but locked into a deal with CC corp & Planet could not dump them, because CC Jax was paying a huge chunk of L&T salary. Music was not the death of Planet, it was spots & an am show that was aging.
 
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