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Smooth Jazz coming back to Detroit...sort of

J

jt1120

Guest
"SMOOTH JAZZ 104.7" (THE OASIS) has just signed on FM translator W284BQ in DETROIT. The station simulcasts on 107.5 WGPR HD-2. For SJ fans, that could be a good thing (IF you are one of the seven people in Detroit that has HD radio), but it's being brought back by the same idiot who has singularly killed the format across the country to begin with! Broadcast Architecture and it's honcho Allen Kepler have put a network together with Kenny G and Dave Koz hosting radio shows (didn't know they went to Specs Howard) and summarily got dozens of local radio hosts fired.
This is the guy that says "Just My Imagination" is Smooth Jazz. The reason this format has flopped all acorss the country is because HE dictates what is and is not SJ. He says people don't like the flute, so that's why his stations don't play Alexander Zonjic. Plan on one Kenny G song PER HOUR! He says what songs are SJ regardless, because as he puts it "they test well." If you ask me, sure, I like the Temptations, but it isn't what I listen to a SJ station for! You are not meeting the expectations of the listener! You are confusing the listener, and that's why countless SJ stations across the country have abandoned the format.
If a station wants to do this format correctly, the first thing you do is NOT take any calls from Broadcast Architecture and program your station IN HOUSE! And for goodness sake, play SJ and not a bunch of watered down pop vocals! Check out smoothjazz.com or smoothjazznow.com and you'll see the difference.
 
jt1120 said:
"SMOOTH JAZZ 104.7" (THE OASIS) has just signed on FM translator W284BQ in DETROIT. The station simulcasts on 107.5 WGPR HD-2. For SJ fans, that could be a good thing (IF you are one of the seven people in Detroit that has HD radio), but it's being brought back by the same idiot who has singularly killed the format across the country to begin with! Broadcast Architecture and it's honcho Allen Kepler have put a network together with Kenny G and Dave Koz hosting radio shows (didn't know they went to Specs Howard) and summarily got dozens of local radio hosts fired.
This is the guy that says "Just My Imagination" is Smooth Jazz. The reason this format has flopped all acorss the country is because HE dictates what is and is not SJ. He says people don't like the flute, so that's why his stations don't play Alexander Zonjic. Plan on one Kenny G song PER HOUR! He says what songs are SJ regardless, because as he puts it "they test well." If you ask me, sure, I like the Temptations, but it isn't what I listen to a SJ station for! You are not meeting the expectations of the listener! You are confusing the listener, and that's why countless SJ stations across the country have abandoned the format.
If a station wants to do this format correctly, the first thing you do is NOT take any calls from Broadcast Architecture and program your station IN HOUSE! And for goodness sake, play SJ and not a bunch of watered down pop vocals! Check out smoothjazz.com or smoothjazznow.com and you'll see the difference.

Terrific post. It echoes what we have been saying on the Smooth Jazz board for almost 3 years now. I suppose there are some who would prefer a garbage product to no product at all, but not me. ;)
 
AC Tones said:
jt1120 said:
"SMOOTH JAZZ 104.7" (THE OASIS) has just signed on FM translator W284BQ in DETROIT. The station simulcasts on 107.5 WGPR HD-2. For SJ fans, that could be a good thing (IF you are one of the seven people in Detroit that has HD radio), but it's being brought back by the same idiot who has singularly killed the format across the country to begin with! Broadcast Architecture and it's honcho Allen Kepler have put a network together with Kenny G and Dave Koz hosting radio shows (didn't know they went to Specs Howard) and summarily got dozens of local radio hosts fired.
This is the guy that says "Just My Imagination" is Smooth Jazz. The reason this format has flopped all acorss the country is because HE dictates what is and is not SJ. He says people don't like the flute, so that's why his stations don't play Alexander Zonjic. Plan on one Kenny G song PER HOUR! He says what songs are SJ regardless, because as he puts it "they test well." If you ask me, sure, I like the Temptations, but it isn't what I listen to a SJ station for! You are not meeting the expectations of the listener! You are confusing the listener, and that's why countless SJ stations across the country have abandoned the format.
If a station wants to do this format correctly, the first thing you do is NOT take any calls from Broadcast Architecture and program your station IN HOUSE! And for goodness sake, play SJ and not a bunch of watered down pop vocals! Check out smoothjazz.com or smoothjazznow.com and you'll see the difference.

Terrific post. It echoes what we have been saying on the Smooth Jazz board for almost 3 years now. I suppose there are some who would prefer a garbage product to no product at all, but not me. ;)

Pardon me, I may be out of the loop here, but I thought programming anything else on a translator besides the originating station's programming was bad juju per FCC law.

So now, you can get a translator and pretty much put anything you want on it now?
 
WGPR has added HD subchannels now and the "Oasis" format is running on their HD-2, so 104.7's programming is coming from 107.5 HD-2. That gives Detroit two SJ stations on HD Radio now. I've heard BA is no longer consulting 98.7 HD-2 so that's probably still the better choice of the two for true SJ fans.
 
Good question, buckeye. I'd have to guess it's outside of WIOT's contour.

Personally, I like the product. I was on I-696 last weekend and the signal was good from Warren until past Wixom (on I-96) where it began to fade.

I welcome the return of Smooth Jazz to Detroit!
 
Bongwater said:
Pardon me, I may be out of the loop here, but I thought programming anything else on a translator besides the originating station's programming was bad juju per FCC law.

So now, you can get a translator and pretty much put anything you want on it now?

there is a loop hole (if you want to call it that) that allows HD signals to be re-broadcast on analog translators... Clear Channel, Saga and others are doing this across the country to create additional FM stations. Usually you see an AM broadcasted on an HD Subchannel of an FM then that HD Subchannel 'rebroadcasted' on the Translator to give an AM station an FM signal. (even if its a lower powered translator).
 
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