September '21 book

[ckg279]

Per AllAccess and Radio Online. 12+ only

1. WBLK 9.2 (up 1.6)
2. WYRK 8.2(down 1.2)
3. WGRF 7.1(no change)
4. WBEN 6.1(down .7)
5. WHTT 5.1(down .6); sidebar: The last 4 trends have seen it being either a 5.7 or a 5.1 .

Other notes:

-WECK did a 3.7 in this book, trend-wise.
-News talk is cooling fast as a format; WBFO remained at 2.7 in this book.
-WLKK(107.7 and 104.7 The Wolf)did a 1.3 in this book, which I THINK is the first one since the ALT audience was fully excised.

Comment away, folks!

 

[Buddy Shula]

Not sure what you mean about "trend wise" This is the summer book. July-Sep combined.

WECK BEAT... STAR 102.5, WBUF, WEDG, WBFO, WLKK, WNED and came a sliver from WMSX, all 12 plus.

In demo 35 plus, WECK is top 6

Brian eluded to WECK being a "small station". Really? We BEAT a few 110,000 watt stations, a few 50,000 watt stations, with our 1KW and a 75,000 weekly cume, mainly only in Erie County. That's a small station? I know you would like to think it is, but it's not. Our company is small, not the station. That would be like saying the EDGE or BUF is a "small station"

It's about time you realize what is going on here. We are seeing the demise of corporate radio. Plus, if you were to take the RAW QUARTER LISTENING HOURS 12 plus, WECK has been #7 for the past three months.

I love not being on this board anymore because it pains me to see so many people wrong "That dog aint huntin" (Dan, get it's right again) "Yeah, they dropped 80's music they were playing" (We have not played 1 80's song since I have owned the station), Brian says "we're stealing the HTT logo" Wrong again! Our old logo did NOT have a jukebox, It was a record. "Tom Langmyer is going to buy WECK" (I will NEVER sell WECK, or NEVER have partners!) "Great Lakes is taking over" (Nope, just programming advising) "Yeah the debt is probably high" ( I own the station, the land , the building, the translators, the license, outright. ZERO DEBT!

I know CKG likes to get me on these rants, and baits me. Doesn't bother me, because I like setting the facts straight, not speculation.

WECK will be the only major station standing. You better start realizing that

I realize that you all are just speculating, I also realize you hate the thought of WECK winning as you are not routing for the local guy, because you wish you owned a station, and never could.

And just for kicks, WECK IS THE #1 RATED OLDIES STATION IN AMERICA... WHTT NEVER had that distinction. I met with my Nielsen rep, and that was confirmed.

So, there. That's it for now. I won't be checking this out for another month. Keep speculating, meanwhile my incredible team and I go back to work making local radio history! Stay tuned.......more to come.

 

[Rusty Bridges]

Buffalo-Niagara Falls, #59, Persons 12+ September 2021

WBLK really "powered up" while sister station WYRK slipped out of the stirrups. This is one of those reports where PDs and OMs look at diary placement, questioning the impact on the statistical underpinning of the results.
~
Curious, this one. I expected WBEN to stabilize, perhaps remain flat, but it continues to slide, from an 8.7 in June (April-May-June, Spring book) to 6.1 in September (July-August-September, Summer book). That's a substantial loss. When such a loss occurs Persons 12+, it usually reflects a loss in target demos.

On the other hand, WBFO, as noted earlier, looks equally gaunt.

So, the question, dear readers and posters: Have listeners burned out on right wing nutjob talk (WBEN) and news in general (WBFO)? As I noted a month or two back, the eternal demise of Limbaugh and the departure of Sandy Beach probably contributed to WBEN's slide. What's contributing to WBFO's skid?
~
WYRK down 1.4 shares might be attributable to the presence of Country competitor The Wolf... but until 107.7 puts up some consistent and improving numbers doing Country, the jury will remain out on that theory.
~
That Star 102.5 performs so poorly as a Hot AC, and continues to slide, is most intriguing, especially when considering the Person 25-54 numbers that were "accidentally" briefly posted here last month, which showed that Kiss far outperformed Star in that breakout. Is Hot AC dead, or is the product so bland that it excites fewer potential listners... or is Star poorly programmed?
~
Seems the Breeze finally got its day in the sun, posting the best numbers for that frequency since the Joy era. And here, both the PD, morning guy and OM, guys who were instrumental in pulling the Breeze out its doldrums, have left the station.
~
WECK is edging up, with the vaunted "4 share" in reach. The irony being this performance reflects the station's performance in the "Good Time, Great Oldies" mode. Can the "Big Weck" turn the 3.7 into a 4 share or better? Time will tell.
~
As consistent and good as it's been, the question arises, why doesn't WHTT do as well as Classic Hits stations in similar markets such as Pittsburgh, Cleveland... and even Kansas City, where Classic Hits formats put up consistently stronger ratings, sometimes in double digits?
~
The Edge is flat, but flat is actually good considering the station's morning team moved to rival sister station 97 Rock, which also is flat. No big bump for Shred and Ragan... yet?
~
WBUF seems stuck in neutral. Off one tenth of a share is considered flat. But here again, after more than a year in its "new" format, one might objectively expect the station to put up far stronger numbers. (Yeah, we know, tbolt... it should be doing the Lake format... there, I saved you the keyboard strokes... you're welcome.)
~
WGR is up, which is to be expected, and should be up dramatically in the Fall months as the Bills season progresses. Contrary to one poster's perspective here, the team is quite good. Again.

 

[TheBigA]

WYRK down 1.4 shares might be attributable to the presence of Country competitor The Wolf... but until 107.7 puts up some consistent and improving numbers doing Country, the jury will remain out on that theory.

Typically the way it works is the stations will share audience, not a one-or-the-other thing. They're playing most of the same music, although the Wolf has an emphasis on new artists. You hear more new artists, and you hear them more often. The WYRK audience won't completely leave their old friends, but expand their circle to include the Wolf.

 

[davideduardo]

As consistent and good as it's been, the question arises, why doesn't WHTT do as well as Classic Hits stations in similar markets such as Pittsburgh, Cleveland... and even Kansas City, where Classic Hits formats put up consistently stronger ratings, sometimes in double digits?

WECK is part of that. A true oldies station will partially fragment a Classic Hits station.

WBUF seems stuck in neutral. Off one tenth of a share is considered flat.

As much as an entire share point, +/-, is considered within the margin of error and, thus, flat.

 

[Rusty Bridges]

For the record (ahem) WHTT was one of the top five Oldies stations in the nation, IIRC, 1991 through '93. Oldies 104 consistently ranked top five (Monday-Sunday, 6 am-Midnight, Persons 12+ and Monday-Sunday, 6 am-Midnight, Persons 25-54) along with many major market Oldies stations including Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit and Chicago that also were doing the format. When considering this accomplishment, it helps to understand that at the time there were far more stations doing the Oldies format, especially in major markets, than there are today. For an Oldies station to be performing as well, in that rarefied air, was a major accomplishment, and it remains so. What's more, when WHTT was Classic Hits in its first phase, 1986-88, it was for a few books the highest rated station in format and consistently in the top five, rivaled by WKLH Milwaukee and KLSX Los Angeles, as well as similarly formatted stations in Dallas and Phoenix. Again in that rarefied air, a major accomplishment for a station in li'l ol' Buffalo.

And yes, it's understood, "share is share," relative to the pizza. Half a pizza is half a pizza whether the pizza is a 16 inch power plate or a 12 inch regular. Now, the square inches and amount of mushrooms and sausage (never pineapple) ... that's another metric... cume and AQH Persons.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Let's not get all lathered up about what's essentially a Summer book. A decline in News/Talk in that period is not unheard of. Let's see where things go over the next couple of months. Most of the number shifts are within the margin of error. A few are interesting - like WMSX going up while Star goes down. WECK had a nice book 12+. It's edging closes to that 4 share. 107.7 looks like it made a good decision. Since we know the previous months were moribund, a significant bump means that September was even better than indicated. Maybe they are making some inroads against WYRK. WYRK has gotten some bad publicity of late - especially with female listeners.

More worrisome are continued reports that both cume and TSL are eroding for radio. Share becomes less impressive when the pizza gets smaller.

 

[topsound]

For the record (ahem) WHTT was one of the top five Oldies stations in the nation, IIRC, 1991 through '93. Oldies 104 consistently ranked top five (Monday-Sunday, 6 am-Midnight, Persons 12+ and Monday-Sunday, 6 am-Midnight, Persons 25-54) along with many major market Oldies stations including Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit and Chicago that also were doing the format. When considering this accomplishment, it helps to understand that at the time there were far more stations doing the Oldies format, especially in major markets, than there are today. For an Oldies station to be performing as well, in that rarefied air, was a major accomplishment, and it remains so. What's more, when WHTT was Classic Hits in its first phase, 1986-88, it was for a few books the highest rated station in format and consistently in the top five, rivaled by WKLH Milwaukee and KLSX Los Angeles, as well as similarly formatted stations in Dallas and Phoenix. Again in that rarefied air, a major accomplishment for a station in li'l ol' Buffalo.

And yes, it's understood, "share is share," relative to the pizza. Half a pizza is half a pizza whether the pizza is a 16 inch power plate or a 12 inch regular. Now, the square inches and amount of mushrooms and sausage (never pineapple) ... that's another metric... cume and AQH Persons.

We were twice cited in Radio & Records as the #1 Oldies station in the nation. 1991 and 92 IIRC. I believe it was for average share over the entire year, so we're splittin' hairs a little bit

I drive past WECK every day on the way to my non-radio gig. As an Oldies advocate I'm extremely happy for Buddy, Glenn, Tom, Sam and everyone there for flying the format, and local radio, flags so successfully. I wondered for years why no one was in the format (including the station I programmed from '08-'15!), other than those couple years of KB's revival. This will always be an Oldies town.

Schuh

 

[Lake Country Radio]

Buffalo-Niagara Falls, #59, Persons 12+ September 2021

WBLK really "powered up" while sister station WYRK slipped out of the stirrups. This is one of those reports where PDs and OMs look at diary placement, questioning the impact on the statistical underpinning of the results.
~
Curious, this one. I expected WBEN to stabilize, perhaps remain flat, but it continues to slide, from an 8.7 in June (April-May-June, Spring book) to 6.1 in September (July-August-September, Summer book). That's a substantial loss. When such a loss occurs Persons 12+, it usually reflects a loss in target demos.

On the other hand, WBFO, as noted earlier, looks equally gaunt.

So, the question, dear readers and posters: Have listeners burned out on right wing nutjob talk (WBEN) and news in general (WBFO)? As I noted a month or two back, the eternal demise of Limbaugh and the departure of Sandy Beach probably contributed to WBEN's slide. What's contributing to WBFO's skid?
~
WYRK down 1.4 shares might be attributable to the presence of Country competitor The Wolf... but until 107.7 puts up some consistent and improving numbers doing Country, the jury will remain out on that theory.
~
That Star 102.5 performs so poorly as a Hot AC, and continues to slide, is most intriguing, especially when considering the Person 25-54 numbers that were "accidentally" briefly posted here last month, which showed that Kiss far outperformed Star in that breakout. Is Hot AC dead, or is the product so bland that it excites fewer potential listners... or is Star poorly programmed?
~
Seems the Breeze finally got its day in the sun, posting the best numbers for that frequency since the Joy era. And here, both the PD, morning guy and OM, guys who were instrumental in pulling the Breeze out its doldrums, have left the station.
~
WECK is edging up, with the vaunted "4 share" in reach. The irony being this performance reflects the station's performance in the "Good Time, Great Oldies" mode. Can the "Big Weck" turn the 3.7 into a 4 share or better? Time will tell.
~
As consistent and good as it's been, the question arises, why doesn't WHTT do as well as Classic Hits stations in similar markets such as Pittsburgh, Cleveland... and even Kansas City, where Classic Hits formats put up consistently stronger ratings, sometimes in double digits?
~
The Edge is flat, but flat is actually good considering the station's morning team moved to rival sister station 97 Rock, which also is flat. No big bump for Shred and Ragan... yet?
~
WBUF seems stuck in neutral. Off one tenth of a share is considered flat. But here again, after more than a year in its "new" format, one might objectively expect the station to put up far stronger numbers. (Yeah, we know, tbolt... it should be doing the Lake format... there, I saved you the keyboard strokes... you're welcome.)
~
WGR is up, which is to be expected, and should be up dramatically in the Fall months as the Bills season progresses. Contrary to one poster's perspective here, the team is quite good. Again.

In other words, tbolt was right abou WBUF

 

[Buddy Shula]

WECK is part of that. A true oldies station will partially fragment a Classic Hits station.

As much as an entire share point, +/-, is considered within the margin of error and, thus, fl

Let's not get all lathered up about what's essentially a Summer book. A decline in News/Talk in that period is not unheard of. Let's see where things go over the next couple of months. Most of the number shifts are within the margin of error. A few are interesting - like WMSX going up while Star goes down. WECK had a nice book 12+. It's edging closes to that 4 share. 107.7 looks like it made a good decision. Since we know the previous months were moribund, a significant bump means that September was even better than indicated. Maybe they are making some inroads against WYRK. WYRK has gotten some bad publicity of late - especially with female listeners.

More worrisome are continued reports that both cume and TSL are eroding for radio. Share becomes less impressive when the pizza gets smaller.

You are very correct. Not in your assessment of WLKK which has topped off from a ratings standpoint, but will generate decent direct business.

Your assessment of cume and TSL is correct. Like I have been saying, there are FAR LESS people listening to radio, which is why WECK will be in this horse race with top stations. The shares are going down for everyone who once had a 10 share Stations like WECK will be in the same league as them, because as they keep falling, WECK will stay the same, or go up a bit. The difference here is the bottom line. When Weck has a 3.7 and Star has a 3.6, who do you think will get hurt more? They will. Because I have zero debt and they have a ton of debt, and they are not investing a dime more. I am!

So here is what will happen and is happening. Listenership is going down, but it’s not extinct. The traditional big share stations will go down to a B type share level, thus, putting them in the same place as everyone else including WECK. Essentially, WECK is growing by default, as I always knew it would. We are beating big signal stations, not because we are getting so much better, but they are getting so much worse.

When the walls cave in, and the bankruptcies start piling up, we are in the buying mode, and will return these stations back to local radio roots.

 

[Buddy Shula]

We were twice cited in Radio & Records as the #1 Oldies station in the nation. 1991 and 92 IIRC. I believe it was for average share over the entire year, so we're splittin' hairs a little bit

I drive past WECK every day on the way to my non-radio gig. As an Oldies advocate I'm extremely happy for Buddy, Glenn, Tom, Sam and everyone there for flying the format, and local radio, flags so successfully. I wondered for years why no one was in the format (including the station I programmed from '08-'15!), other than those couple years of KB's revival. This will always be an Oldies town.

Schuh

Tom, I was always a fan of WHTT and admire the job you did with that station. It was a wonderful template for other stations to follow. I am not an oldies fan at all. I like REAL country music( Merle, Willie, Randy Travis, George Strait, Hank Jr etc, and talk radio . However, I appreciate these kind words from you, as you were an architect of that format. Even today, HTT is a tremendous value both for advertisers and listeners. Thank you again.

 

[GlennT]

We were twice cited in Radio & Records as the #1 Oldies station in the nation. 1991 and 92 IIRC. I believe it was for average share over the entire year, so we're splittin' hairs a little bit

I drive past WECK every day on the way to my non-radio gig. As an Oldies advocate I'm extremely happy for Buddy, Glenn, Tom, Sam and everyone there for flying the format, and local radio, flags so successfully. I wondered for years why no one was in the format (including the station I programmed from '08-'15!), other than those couple years of KB's revival. This will always be an Oldies town.

Schuh

Tom, appreciate the kind words. I’m honored to help carry on the Oldies legacy in Buffalo. Grateful for the opportunity that I’ve been given.

 

[Tower590]

WECK is a good radio station in most ways but people always pick on it here for some reason. There are things I don't like about it but the record was set straight mostly. I don't think that people who were at WHTT 30 years ago should brag about something that was better then today in ratings and WECK shouldn't do it either. The rating numbers for WECK are getting higher but I don't know what every month was. They announced Great Lakes Radio was rebranding WECK but they were redoing the formats and all the music for a couple of months before they announced it. I know an employee there who said that. They waited until everything was changed and then they put the name Big on it and WECK announced them as advisor and Joe Chille on the same day. That never happens on one day. It has to happen at least weeks maybe even months before announcements like they made come out. Also WECK was playing 80's music because I heard songs on there by Journey and other songs like by Phil Collins from the 1980's. I give them credit for what they do because of all the big and powerful corporate stations they beat. Maybe I was wrong on things that were my opinion about the DJ's even though they seem just dull to me. There is lots of jealousy in radio on this board. But WECK has to be something right because they only have 1,000 watts of AM and 3 translator booster channels on FM. They beat "big" stations on FM that have 50,000 watts and100,000 watts and more power than that. I think people do like home-town radio instead of fake home-town radio.

 

[CassChopper96]

Hot AC is far from a dead format. WTIC-FM from Hartford does very well

 

[ckg279]

To reference something Buddy mentioned: When I use the word trends, that is how RadioOnline.com referred to this market when they posted the ratings. Neither Buffalo nor Rochester are a PPM market. If you have a problem with the description, take it up with them.

 

[tbolt909]

107.7 looks like it made a good decision. Since we know the previous months were moribund, a significant bump means that September was even better than indicated. Maybe they are making some inroads against WYRK. WYRK has gotten some bad publicity of late - especially with female listeners.

Significant bump for The Wolf??? From a 0.8 to a 1.3. You set the bar really low. The AM station WWWS also has a 1.3. The Wolf is unlikely to ever hit a 2 share and will have no impact on WYRK or anything else.

WBUF has already rebranded from "Everything That Rocks" to "Next Generation Of Classic Rock". The current playlist is a jumbled mess of what was once called "Active Rock". It's another rehashed idea that truly is moribund. The combined ratings for WBUF and 107.7 are LESS than WECKs 3.7. As for Buddy, he only thinks the ratings are valid when they bring good news. The current "Book" was before their BIG rebranding...

 

[davideduardo]

I think people do like home-town radio instead of fake home-town radio.

But, mostly, they like the fact that Buddy has given a station to many of those over 55, an age group that the "big boys" don't pay any attention too but which the aforementioned Buddy has been able to monetize.

 

[Buddy Shula]

Significant bump for The Wolf??? From a 0.8 to a 1.3. You set the bar really low. The AM station WWWS also has a 1.3. The Wolf is unlikely to ever hit a 2 share and will have no impact on WYRK or anything else.

WBUF has already rebranded from "Everything That Rocks" to "Next Generation Of Classic Rock". The current playlist is a jumbled mess of what was once called "Active Rock". It's another rehashed idea that truly is moribund. The combined ratings for WBUF and 107.7 are LESS than WECKs 3.7. As for Buddy, he only thinks the ratings are valid when they bring good news. The current "Book" was before their BIG rebranding...

Let me explain something, I still do not think ratings are valid. It's an archaic system, and I am NOT happy with a 3.7

 

[Rusty Bridges]

Essentially, WECK is growing by default, as I always knew it would. We are beating big signal stations, not because we are getting so much better, but they are getting so much worse.

This is a fair assessment, but the objective question is, what happens when those stations stop "getting so much worse" or actually go up?

§

Assessing the latest Persons 12+reveals some interesting points.

Comparing September '21 to August '21

6 stations went up, of those six, WBLK +1.4 and WMSX +0.8, posted the largest gains.

7 stations went down, one of which was a pubcaster, Classical WNED

2 stations remained point-to-point flat, 97 Rock and WBFO

4 stations lost more than 0.5 share or greater: WYRK, WBEN, WHTT, WTSS

1 station lost more than 1 share: WYRK

However, statistically speaking, if we use Dave Eduardo's earlier notation that +/- 1 share can be construed as flat, only one radio station showed a significant loss (WYRK); only one station showed a significant gain (WBLK).

Comparing September '21 (Summer) to June '21 (Spring)

6 stations went up, WGR (+0.5); WMSX (+0.8); WECK (+1.1); WEDG (+0.1); WBUF (+0.3) and WLKK (+0.6); of those WECK (+1.1) and WMSX (+0.8) posted the largest gains

8 stations went down, WYRK (-0.9); WGRF (-0.5); WKSE (-0.7); WBEN (-2.6); WHTT (-0.6); WTSS (-1.1); WBFO (-0.9); WNED (-0.6) Two of the eight stations that went down are pubcasters.

1 station remained point-to-point flat, WBLK

8 stations (all of those that went down) lost 0.5 share or greater

2 stations lost more than 1.0 share, WBEN and WTSS

1 station gained more than 1.0 share, WECK (+1.1)

 

[Buddy Shula]

WECK is a good radio station in most ways but people always pick on it here for some reason. There are things I don't like about it but the record was set straight mostly. I don't think that people who were at WHTT 30 years ago should brag about something that was better then today in ratings and WECK shouldn't do it either. The rating numbers for WECK are getting higher but I don't know what every month was. They announced Great Lakes Radio was rebranding WECK but they were redoing the formats and all the music for a couple of months before they announced it. I know an employee there who said that. They waited until everything was changed and then they put the name Big on it and WECK announced them as advisor and Joe Chille on the same day. That never happens on one day. It has to happen at least weeks maybe even months before announcements like they made come out. Also WECK was playing 80's music because I heard songs on there by Journey and other songs like by Phil Collins from the 1980's. I give them credit for what they do because of all the big and powerful corporate stations they beat. Maybe I was wrong on things that were my opinion about the DJ's even though they seem just dull to me. There is lots of jealousy in radio on this board. But WECK has to be something right because they only have 1,000 watts of AM and 3 translator booster channels on FM. They beat "big" stations on FM that have 50,000 watts and100,000 watts and more power than that. I think people do like home-town radio instead of fake home-town radio.

I agree with most of this, but I still do not remember playing an 80's song. Scouts honor! Maybe my PG Glenn does, but I just don't. WECK is doing a lot of thing right, including marketing. We are all over TV. I would have to think that does something to garner a 75000 cume. Also, WECK was at the Erie County Fair everyday. A million people! Hardly any other station was.

That to me is a no-brainer. I hired a programming advisor in Great Lakes. Just to help with some rebrand stuff. Not only would I never sell the station, but I would certainly never sell to them as they are looking to purchase big, in major markets. I know for a fact from talking to them, that Buffalo is not in their plans. Cities like Detriot are. We have a small consult agreement for a few months, then after that, it will be back to us to make local radio the best we can.

I am truly thankful for all I have. My station, my team, my clients, our listeners . I do not take it for granted one day, and I work my tail off til all hours of the night trying to get it right. Win or lose, we are doing the best we can, and I am proud of my entire team for that.