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Sinclair selling KOMO, KVI & KPLZ

bobdavcav said:
What I don't understand is why radio companies don't try to find more unique names for their stations in this age of online radio. Just looking at Seattle and Portland for instance, there are two stations called 99.5 The Wolf, one in Portland and one in Dallas. There are also two Z100s, Portland and New York. This was prior to smart speakers so it may not be relevant, but there were 3 K103FMs at one point. These were Portland, Centralia/Chehalis, and Spokane. Looking at Seattle, there was another station with a Classic Hits format in Arkansas that until recently was using the name Star 101.5. When 106.1 in Seattle was still known as Kiss, it shared a branding with two other stations, one in Dallas and one in Evansville. I almost forgot about 102.9 Now, which was patterned and imaged after Dallas. And that's just the Seattle and Portland markets. Zoom out to the entire country and there are many more.
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Names that can be used are very hard to find. For example, if a streaming station in New Hampshire wants to call itself "The Rat" and registers it as a national mark and is listenable in Idaho, nobody in that state can use the "Rat" name there. So finding names that are unencumbered is very hard now.

And once a company has a name that they own, they will use it over and over. Or when a name never got registered nationally and there are lots of different users, others will pick it up in unused states or areas.
 
Kelly A said:
Seriously? Coming up with new branding names will help bolster radio's battle against competition?
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... or worrying about someone using your name in some other distant state and market?
 
If you look at the playlist of both KWEE and KPLZ, same songs and artists. So, it looks like Star is now this "new"" Variety Hits format No longer Hot AC.
 
Thats what I think as well.i also like the huge variety, but thats the problem. A I'm sick of the over researched music. MORNIG SHOW USES ACTORS FOR SCRIPED BITS Chr aka Jubal and Brooke and Jeffery but don't hold a candle Like said above, Julian has great energy, but does a 12 to 24 approach work with this approach?? Been around these part a dew years, Seattle is a wasteland of failed morng team. Good luck climbing Mount Rainer, the meters will tell the story.
 
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bigmouth said:
Thats what I think as well.i also like the huge variety, but thats the problem. A I'm sick of the over researched music.
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So, then, stations should play songs people DON'T like? The intent of research is to separate good from bad. We don't play bad songs.

"Variety" in music means "only songs I love, one after another". It does not mean "lots of songs".
bigmouth said:
MORNIG SHOW USES ACTORS FOR SCRIPED BITS Chr aka Jubal and Brooke and Jeffery but don't hold a candle Like said above, Julian has great energy, but does a 12 to 24 approach work with this approach?? Been around these part a dew years, Seattle is a wasteland of failed morng team. Good luck climbing Mount Rainer, the meters will tell the story.
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The ratings always tell the end result. They are research into what happened. Programming research intends to find out what could happen and gives a roadmap... yet still is not a guarantee of success as there are many variables involved.
 
I guess my point was “variety” has little meaning to listeners. If they perceive it as music they like, they will listen but listeners are not stupid. If they don’t like it the idea of “variety” goes in the dumpster. It really is a no win situation. I admit as a programmer I have used the term before, but I don’t think it is very effective today.
 
seatownmedia said:
I guess my point was “variety” has little meaning to listeners. If they perceive it as music they like, they will listen but listeners are not stupid. If they don’t like it the idea of “variety” goes in the dumpster. It really is a no win situation. I admit as a programmer I have used the term before, but I don’t think it is very effective today.
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It may not have much meaning to listeners, but “variety” seems to work, even if it doesn’t actually involve much variety. It’s been used for decades, and that’s not because it was a flop. If research indicates it no longer resonates, stations will quit using it.
 
Kent said:
It may not have much meaning to listeners, but “variety” seems to work, even if it doesn’t actually involve much variety. It’s been used for decades, and that’s not because it was a flop. If research indicates it no longer resonates, stations will quit using it.
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What research indicates, somewhat obtusely, is that if it's your kind of variety, the term reinforces your liking of the station. In other words, you like the blend and thus "variety" rings true and that confirms your choice of that station. It's the same psychology as additives in your gasoline... if your car runs well with that brand, you believe that it is because they have some secret ingredient and you continue to seek that brand when possible.

All of this, of course, is what advertising folks call "puffery" which is a precise term about claims that are neither verifiable nor tangible. "It tastes better" is puffery while "It tastes better because it uses real lemon juice" is a verifiable claim. "Better mix" is puffery while "more hit songs every hour" is a verifiable claim.
 
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Thanks David for making my point. We play music that listeners like, and cater to our p1s. I love hearing the finger songs because I've burned out on hearing want the core audience wants. Doesn't matter, if I like it or not, I'm there to perform. A good example is Kcdx, I love streaming that station, but is it ratings juggernaut? It helps to be commercial free. If songs are unfamiliar to me or I vaguely remember them, there might be a problem. Research is and everything that that's under that umbrella is critical to success. In a large market you simply can't be everything and expect to do very well. You. need to listen for a day. I'm sure a focused and researched approach will be forthcoming.
 
seatownmedia said:
Variety hits. What an odd name. And wasn’t there a previous Seattle station that tried this?

Good Night, And Good Luck.
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That's KJAQ Jack FM 96.5, they are still around. Their "Variety Hits" format is mostly 80's and 90's hits. The version used by most stations with the format.
 
You're right kilo, It's a trademarked brand and male centric. The music is researched and has a rock bend to it. I recall mix 96.5, a mix station at 107.7. The one that really mixes it up is Kexp, it helps that it's commercial free. I'm sure there were a couple others. Now with so much competition from so many sources you really need to be really focused, well researched, and have top notch talent to make any headway in any of the top 40 markets. Seattle is #11, and is very different from most others. Morning shows that have done well lately: Jubal, Brook and Jeffery, Danny Bonaduce, the men's room, and news. (kiro, komo, kuow) Within the past 10 years Kent and Alan, Bob Rivers, Fitz and further back Crow, Robin and Maynard, Pat Cashman to some extent, Larry Nelson. I may be missing a couple more, but going back even further, my favorite Lockjock, Charlie Brown, Ichabod, Bruce Murdock, Langen and West and a few others. You do well in the morning, it sets you up for the rest of the day!
 
DavidEduardo said:
... or worrying about someone using your name in some other distant state and market?
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Will it help radio against competition? I don't know, but it couldn't hurt. I have an equally obsessed radio friend in New York, and we decided to play around with her smart speaker one day. We were trying to get it to play among others Alt 92.3 in New Orleans. If you told it to simply play Alt 92.3 however, it would come up with New York. We had to tell it to play Alt 92.3 from iHeart Radio in order to get New Orleans. There has also been documented confusion between stations with similar brands. The biggest example would be between Philadelphia and Providence, when listeners would think they were visiting the website of WBEB and instead they were at WBWB. This was before smart speakers were as prevalent as they are now.
Another example would be the recently rebranded KVPR, which was using the name Valley Public Radio but with initials and a logo similar to Vermont Public Radio. They sighted confusion between the two as the reason for their rebrand. Those are two that I know about, but it wouldn't surprise me if there are others now that most people have smart speakers.
 
Everyone on these boards clamor for wide playlists with lots of new music and deep cuts from other eras. Wonder if it will work? Also wonder if someone will fill the typical HOT-AC lane now that STAR has gone with a variety 80's, 90's to Today approach and little music in the morning? KUBE, HOT, or even one of the country stations are probably likely options. Doubt the HOT-AC lane will stay open for long.
 
bobdavcav said:
Will it help radio against competition? I don't know, but it couldn't hurt.
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It could hurt a stations' pocketbook. If you just arbitrarily change the name to whatever, that means buying new promotional materials, brand registration costs, plus on air imaging. It's one reason we talk about how stations just don't change format. Expensive proposition.
bobdavcav said:
I have an equally obsessed radio friend in New York, and we decided to play around with her smart speaker one day. We were trying to get it to play among others Alt 92.3 in New Orleans. If you told it to simply play Alt 92.3 however, it would come up with New York. We had to tell it to play Alt 92.3 from iHeart Radio in order to get New Orleans. There has also been documented confusion between stations with similar brands. The biggest example would be between Philadelphia and Providence, when listeners would think they were visiting the website of WBEB and instead they were at WBWB. This was before smart speakers were as prevalent as they are now.
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Well there you go. You've officially crossed over into DX'ing a smartspeaker.
 
guruofradio said:
Everyone on these boards clamor for wide playlists with lots of new music and deep cuts from other eras. Wonder if it will work? Also wonder if someone will fill the typical HOT-AC lane now that STAR has gone with a variety 80's, 90's to Today approach and little music in the morning? KUBE, HOT, or even one of the country stations are probably likely options. Doubt the HOT-AC lane will stay open for long.
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Hopefully the new direction for KPLZ works out for them. If so, we have an example of a radio station with a wide playlist that can find success in a big market.
 
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