Rock 92.9 To Bloomberg

[davideduardo]

True. I think the problem in New York was that Jack-FM had too many Alternative Rock songs from the 1980s and 90s. NYC never had a successful Alternative Rock station, although several stations tried the format and failed. So WCBS-FM as Jack was playing songs that might have been very familiar in LA, Seattle and Minneapolis that were not familiar to New Yorkers.

Jack was locally researched in New York.

The fact is that it was developing much stronger 25-54 demos than the prior "oldies" format. It was successful.

However, the development of the PPM in Philadelphia (the first true test market) showed a strength for a modernized oldies format such as we now call "classic hits". As that format was adjusted in the early PPM tests (around 2002) it revealed that a more 80's based focus with little 60's was going to be a big 25-54 generator. Rather than let someone else grab this format in New York City, CBS went to "Classic Hits" after a relatively brief "Jack" period.

It was an interesting turn of events. CBS Radio began putting Jack on multiple stations after its initial success in Los Angeles. Many of those former CBS stations still have Jack-FM to this day, still going strong. But others like WCBS-FM NYC and WJMK Chicago saw Jack fail and never return.

Jack did not fail in New York City. It had, indeed, better 25-54 than the oldies format had at the end and it was still growing when it was cut off. It looked considerably better than the prior "oldies" format which was leaning very old.

 

[TheBigA]

The DJs at WCBS-FM were beloved personalities, and the format change was big local news. Even the mayor, Michael Bloomberg spoke out against the change. It was bad PR for the station and the company. So the head of CBS radio was replaced by Dan Mason, who made the popular decision of rehiring all the old DJs (I think one didn't return). They didn't say anything about the music changes, but the music very obviously changed. Dan Mason became a revered radio leader, and the station returned to the top of the ratings.

Now, 20 years later, the once beloved personalities have either passed away or are in their 80s.

 

[CTListener]

The DJs at WCBS-FM were beloved personalities, and the format change was big local news. Even the mayor, Michael Bloomberg spoke out against the change. It was bad PR for the station and the company. So the head of CBS radio was replaced by Dan Mason, who made the popular decision of rehiring all the old DJs (I think one didn't return). They didn't say anything about the music changes, but the music very obviously changed. Dan Mason became a revered radio leader, and the station returned to the top of the ratings.

Now, 20 years later, the once beloved personalities have either passed away or are in their 80s.

So you're saying listener (or at least the mayor's) complaints DID play a factor in the change from Jack to a classic hits format that discarded the moldy oldies?

 

[wprt949]

Beasley has a successful "Jack" like product that it launched in Philadelphia to pre-empt Jack. They called it BEN-FM, as in Ben Franklin.

This is why Jack was never launched in Philadelphia. To this day, BEN has no DJs, and competes with Audacy's WOGL

Correction Ben fm has a morning show but the rest of the day has no djs

 

[luperm]

So you're saying listener (or at least the mayor's) complaints DID play a factor in the change from Jack to a classic hits format that discarded the moldy oldies?

Not a chance. I suspect that CBS figured they'd try and leverage it for some positive spin ("you spoke, and we listened"). And what politician would not love some good publicity.

David has repeatedly said that the change from Jack to (the new) CBS-FM was primarily PPM data driven.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Now, 20 years later, the once beloved personalities have either passed away or are in their 80s.

This is the thing a lot of people are forgetting when they pine for radio the way it used to be: many of the practitioners of that art are gone, or retired. With repeated cutbacks, there aren't a lot of replacements lined up. For that matter, there aren't as many replacement listeners lined up, either, due to demographic or other factors.

 

[Derek]

Granted, it's not like Jack FM-style stations have never had DJs.

I recall WARH in St. Louis, with liners from John O'Hurley, having a morning show, which has been hosted by many personalities, including Spencer Graves, who went on to work with iHeart.

Same with Bonneville's KPKX The Peak in Phoenix. Very personality driven with the John Hurley liners. It did well for several years until Bonneville killed it to move the sports station over from the AM side.

 

[MassMusicMan]

This is the thing a lot of people are forgetting when they pine for radio the way it used to be: many of the practitioners of that art are gone, or retired.

I've been on this board for almost 25 years, and the stuff that people reminisce about hasn't changed a lick. Blah blah blah Group W blah blah blah old talk host who isn't political blah blah blah WODS.

When do I start seeing nostalgia for Artie the One Man Party or Nik Carter?

 

[TheBigA]

So you're saying listener (or at least the mayor's) complaints DID play a factor in the change from Jack to a classic hits format that discarded the moldy oldies?

I don't know if I can make that connection. All I know is there was some bad PR.

 

[davideduardo]

So you're saying listener (or at least the mayor's) complaints DID play a factor in the change from Jack to a classic hits format that discarded the moldy oldies?

It didn't. The change was done over a year into the new Jack format and was a total revision of the former "oldies" format into a new "classic hits" format. The purpose of the change was to be better prepared for the introduction of the PPM in New York City based on the interesting results they were seeing in Philly.

 

[TheBigA]

It didn't. The change was done over a year into the new Jack format and was a total revision of the former "oldies" format into a new "classic hits" format. The purpose of the change was to be better prepared for the introduction of the PPM in New York City based on the interesting results they were seeing in Philly.

Yet the Jack format remained in other PPM markets, including LA, where it co-existed with classic hits on KRTH, and both remain to this day.

 

[davideduardo]

Yet the Jack format remained in other PPM markets, including LA, where it co-existed with classic hits on KRTH, and both remain to this day.

Exactly. The thoughts of those of us involved in the Philadelphia PPM test in the early 2000's was that CBS did not want to lose the gold based hits opportunity in NYC, given the history that the CBS-FM brand had with the elderly version of the same format concept.

Interestingly, in NYC they took the "new" version of "oldies" into a much more modern date span than what they evolved into in Philly. Of course, they were essentially launching a new format and not modifying an old one... which is what they did in Philadelphia.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Looks like not many former WBOS listeners followed the music over to WRCA (and translator).

(Link to most recent ratings won't post for some reason).

 

[Fenway1912]

Looks like not many former WBOS listeners followed the music over to WRCA (and translator).

(Link to most recent ratings won't post for some reason).

Boston

Nielsen Audio PPM Monthly Ratings Boston (Market #10) Population: 4,423,400 Black: 379,700 - Hispanic: 566,400 Average Quarter Hour Share for

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