Hey, I just heard that LA's classical format is going country on Monday, & that could hurt the remaining classical commercial stations such as markets as New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, & Dallas. Also, Washington flipped from classical to news/talk not too long ago, so has San Diego on the AM dial as well. So if the Times were to sell QXR to Emmis or CBS, are they going to flip it over to a country format if the classical music were to go away? Tell us what you think about it.
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Should 96.3 WQXR go country?
- Thread starter dgendvil
- Start date
Commercial Classical does seem to be going by the wayside across the country, but I can't see the Times dumping the format right now. Even if they do, I'm not convinced that country would be the best replacement for it. Country's problems in NYC have been well-documented, despite the insistence of some folks who feel that country would somehow set the world on fire in NYC. There's other missing formats that probably stand a better chance at higher numbers and more desirable demos than country, but I can't see the Times turning WQXR into, say, a modern rocker or a CHR competitor to Z100. Maybe, down the road, they'll divest themselves of WQXR, but as recently as a few months ago, they were announcing that a sale was not being planned.
A
AlvaJr
Guest
That's right; no plans for country.
There is really no threat to the remaining classical stations from changes in other markets... as long as they are not owned by the big "corporate radio" companies.dgendvil said:
And, although these stations' raw ratings might look like they could be improved by a flip, classical listeners tend to be more affluent than average and revenues should reflect that.
C
chuckydoll
Guest
A classic Know-Nothing
You want country on 96.3 that bad? Come up with $400 million to buy WQXR from the New York Times Company. They will flat out tell you NO.
You want country on 96.3 that bad? Come up with $400 million to buy WQXR from the New York Times Company. They will flat out tell you NO.
Bill790 said:
But they don't. Sol Levine in LA flipped KMZT to country due to declining billings, which were so low as to apparently not producing a profit. While classical listeners may be affluent, they are mostly over 55 and not a target for agency buys.
B
Bob1370
Guest
Why would they want to reformat a station that's successful in reaching its target demos, lucrative, and relatively low in cost to operate, not to mention a source of good will for the company that owns it? Especially when making such a change would create an uproar that would make the protests over CBS-FM 18 months ago look like a child's birthday party by comparison.
And if they WERE crazy enough to make a format change, my money would be on an upscale, NPR-ish but more uptempo flavor of news/talk with heavy use of some of the more prominent NY Times reporters as frequent contributors and commentators...in short, a station that brought a lot of the Times to the FM band. Think WTWP in Washington, the Washington Post station, and you get the idea. I don't think the Times would change QXR, but if they do, that's the only thing they'd be likely to change to.
And if they WERE crazy enough to make a format change, my money would be on an upscale, NPR-ish but more uptempo flavor of news/talk with heavy use of some of the more prominent NY Times reporters as frequent contributors and commentators...in short, a station that brought a lot of the Times to the FM band. Think WTWP in Washington, the Washington Post station, and you get the idea. I don't think the Times would change QXR, but if they do, that's the only thing they'd be likely to change to.
Re: A classic Know-Nothing
Here's a better idea: What's the going price for 99.5 FM? It'll only be a matter of time before they're sold - I know it's a big market but how many "fundraisers" do you need to hold to get by as a non-comm... Either way, 96.3 and/or 99.5 will probably flip to another form of female-leaning AC or Spanish before country.
chuckydoll said:
Here's a better idea: What's the going price for 99.5 FM? It'll only be a matter of time before they're sold - I know it's a big market but how many "fundraisers" do you need to hold to get by as a non-comm... Either way, 96.3 and/or 99.5 will probably flip to another form of female-leaning AC or Spanish before country.
ks31 said:
With the largest US radio markets (LA and SF) both seeing a return to country, NYC could be next in line but it won't be WQXR - for the reasons already listed. NY Times is too smart to flip formats, thus upsetting their listener base. They'll have what happened to CBS when they killed the beloved CBS-FM in favor of Jack FM.
What is needed are two things:
1. Advertisers need to realize the revenue potential of the suburbs where country has more of an audience (They are too focused on NYC proper but guess what...the other half of NY radio listeners are from the burbs! with higher purchasing power too! Until they realize this, no country)
2. A station must become available for the format (There are many stations with "locked in" formats already in NY but there are also some wasted ones that would be good candidates for country - WFME and WBAI come to mind - all is needed is for their owners to sell the station to a company willing to program country. Until this happens, no country)
That's true!DToTheJ said:
So, instead of spewing the usual crap like "country won't work in NY" and "NY is too diverse of a market for country", I'm actually providing reasons why it won't work...for now, at least. I personally would like to see a return of the format for more diversity in NY radio. Only time will tell, but with the increasing popularity and "mainstreaming" of the format, I do believe country is a possibility in NY radio.
It would seem that an owner such as Entercom would be what it would take to get country back on in NYC. Much as CBS seems to be high on the "Jack" concept Entercom seems to be 100% behind "The Wolf" format. Might we see an Entercom or Cox make swaps to get a signal or two in NYC? Just a notion but I think that is what it would take to make this happen.
L
LinoNYC
Guest
"Here's a better idea: What's the going price for 99.5 FM?"
Try 120-150 M, even today as listenership decreases.
At those prices all you'll get is another crummy "hip-hop" station or more female-friendly pap.
Take a good listen to the commercial band today, what you hear is the product of endless research and conservative fear-driven instinct.
Country, Jazz, Pop Standards, intelligent talk and more recently,oldies. Gone.
If you know anything about WBAI you'll know that it's demise has been predicted for thirty years.
There are a number of non-comms located in the commercial band, they provide the only unique, non advertiser dominated fare, and, as radio listenership has been in long-term decline non-comm and ethnic are the only areas showing growth. In fact, non commercial stations are becoming the only place for genres that have fallen out of favor with Madison Ave.
Lino
Try 120-150 M, even today as listenership decreases.
At those prices all you'll get is another crummy "hip-hop" station or more female-friendly pap.
Take a good listen to the commercial band today, what you hear is the product of endless research and conservative fear-driven instinct.
Country, Jazz, Pop Standards, intelligent talk and more recently,oldies. Gone.
If you know anything about WBAI you'll know that it's demise has been predicted for thirty years.
There are a number of non-comms located in the commercial band, they provide the only unique, non advertiser dominated fare, and, as radio listenership has been in long-term decline non-comm and ethnic are the only areas showing growth. In fact, non commercial stations are becoming the only place for genres that have fallen out of favor with Madison Ave.
Lino
LinoNYC said:
Eventually even the radicals at Pacifica will wake up and realize that they could make a killing selling off WBAI.
One way they could spin the press release would be to sell off 99.5 and buy one of the crappy struggling AM's. They could say that with the money difference between what 99.5 would sell for and what they'd have to pay for the "replacement" they could keep the station afloat for x years. What about WNYH? That was bought for 2.2 million a few years ago. Throw 4 or 5 at it and pocket the difference.
Feel free to steal this idea if you like.
R
raydofan
Guest
Re: A classic Know-Nothing
Don't worry...the way radio in general is billing, and given competition that exists and looming (Satellite, Ipod, City WiFi) you could probably purchase Free FM NY for pennies on the dollar.
DToTheJ said:
Don't worry...the way radio in general is billing, and given competition that exists and looming (Satellite, Ipod, City WiFi) you could probably purchase Free FM NY for pennies on the dollar.
C
chuckydoll
Guest
Pinhead patriots can't shake their fantasy
The WNYC Foundation is not giving up 93.9. They saved that station after Rudolph Giuliani & Co. dumped it.
Family Stations will not give up 94.7 without getting a comparable AM in return. Comparable would be 660, 710, 770, 880 or 1130.
The Pacifica Foundation is not giving up 99.5 because there are no comparable signals in the 88-92 range.
Country is a lily-white, right-wing, pro-war format. New York is antiwar, pro-liberty, increasingly black and brown, Giuliani and Hillary notwithstanding. That alone is a good enough reason not to put a country station in NYC.
The WNYC Foundation is not giving up 93.9. They saved that station after Rudolph Giuliani & Co. dumped it.
Family Stations will not give up 94.7 without getting a comparable AM in return. Comparable would be 660, 710, 770, 880 or 1130.
The Pacifica Foundation is not giving up 99.5 because there are no comparable signals in the 88-92 range.
Country is a lily-white, right-wing, pro-war format. New York is antiwar, pro-liberty, increasingly black and brown, Giuliani and Hillary notwithstanding. That alone is a good enough reason not to put a country station in NYC.
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