• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Smooth Jazz Officially Dies In Milwaukee

D

Double D

Guest
This does not surprise me...the stations management was never fully committed to a successful "Smooth Jazz" format anyway.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=572989

As I've been saying all along, all WJZI had to do was mimic Jones Smooth Jazz/WAUN 92.7-FM in Green Bay, WI to vastly improve their product.

http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,47318.0.html

Isn't it ironic that a new SJ station like Jones Smooth Jazz/WAUN 92.7-FM in Green Bay WI is prospering, while at the same time "Smooth Jazz" in Milwaukee WI officially dies as of today. :mad: ???
 
WJZI has been 'smooth jazz' for over a decade. And their ratings haven't been that bad.

What likely prompted the switch was the after-effects of Milwaukee losing its lite AC station a few years ago (when Light 97 became "The Brew"). Sure, WEZY out of Racine is still doing it, but their signal suffers to the north and west. Hence, no lite FM for the office-listening crowd. WJZI has been trying to gain that audience since Light 97 ended, even hiring their former morning host. This move basically makes them a hybrid of sorts between AC and smooth jazz.

From a competitive standpoint, it probably wasn't a bad decision. There's a much bigger audience for lite than smooth jazz.
 
I think we'll see many struggling SJ stations morphing into a Lite or hybrid if there's a big enough hole in their respective markets. Many Smooth Jazz stations would be better off being just "Smooth 93.3s" or whatever and ditch the instrumentals. In fact, take the instrumentals out of any current SJ playlist and you have left is a viable AC hybrid in your market. I doubt if we'll see a trend with these defections. CC definatley won't defect from their own affiliate company, but non-CC stations will be more free to do that and develop a "Smooth" or full-out AC format. Too many SJ stations have no staff who know what to do with the stations and will just rely on the networks to keep them going until they decide another direction.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom