Someone is Flipping Format

[TakeItFromMe]

Mark my words cowboys, change is a comin. ;D
All I can say is it is something Fresh for Seattle.
Write it down, on this day, so said takeitfromme ???

 

[Bongwater]

So where is the Fresh stuff coming (and it had DAMN WELL BETTER NOT BE "A Better Mix of The Fray, Kelly Clarkson, and every other song any radio station AC-like these days plays!")

My Ouija board said it was KBKS. Yours?

Speaking of (near) format flips, just a few minutes ago, KRWM began it's Delilah programming, but started out on what I believed at first to be the Christmas format feed of Delilah. The intro began and the first strains of "The Christamas Song" Nat "King" Cole began to play before it was suddenly cut and an average Delilah feed, with "A New Day" Celine Dion kicked in just as I was pulling into my driveway...

Did YOU hear that too?....

 

[mammaknowsbest]

The Fresh rumor has been around for weeks at Infinity. KBKS or JACK, both need change. Makes more ya ya sense for 60 plus Steve Rivers to program Fresh than KBKS. Mamma smelles change in the air. I believe it was mamma who told you MOVIN would force KBKS to make changes. Guess mamma and the ya ya sisterhood knew what they was talkin about after all. Search is on for a new morning show at Infinity too. Guess this finally proves after a year and a half that mamma really does know best.

 

[majoradio]

All I can say is it is something Fresh for Seattle.

..as FRESH as 'this' once was?

http://boomp3.com/m/219bd9761537

 

[Stephen_TheMCO]

Speaking of (near) format flips, just a few minutes ago, KRWM began it's Delilah programming, but started out on what I believed at first to be the Christmas format feed of Delilah. The intro began and the first strains of "The Christamas Song" Nat "King" Cole began to play before it was suddenly cut and an average Delilah feed, with "A New Day" Celine Dion kicked in just as I was pulling into my driveway...

Did YOU hear that too?....

Sounds like Christmas is comin' to 106.9 again.  It is around that time I guess, that they roll out the all-christmas format.

The Fresh rumor has been around for weeks at Infinity. KBKS or JACK, both need change.  Makes more ya ya sense for 60 plus Steve Rivers to program Fresh than KBKS.  Mamma smelles change in the air.  I believe it was mamma who told you MOVIN would force KBKS to make changes. Guess mamma and the ya ya sisterhood knew what they was talkin about after all.  Search is on for a new morning show at Infinity too.  Guess this finally proves after a year and a half that mamma really does know best.

I'm hoping Jack doesn't go away.  I think the station and the format would do better if they would swap groups of songs in and out of rotation every few months or so, and add in some rare hits that you don't really hear anymore today.  They have that "play what we want" attitude, which gives them freedom to play anything, that they aren't really taking advantage of.  Jack can do ALOT better than how they are doing now.

I'm leaning toward KBKS going Fresh.  I browsed through another "Fresh" station's playlist, and it sounds like KUBE's 80s, 90s, and current playlist (with a little bit of KPLZ's).  They could even keep the same airstaff through the format change and segway right into the new format............if it were that kind of world...

If KBKS goes "Fresh", then I think the new 104.5 (whenever they decide to put it on the air) might probably pick up the pieces and go head-to-head with KUBE.  The signal out of Enumclaw, if they so choose to transmit from there in the end, would be a factor in any success in that, so they'd have a challange ahead of them.  A translator or booster near downtown Seattle might benefit 104.5 in the long run, unless they can fight to get up to Cougar Mtn.

 

[radioprofessor]

FRESH is not really a niche format, but a new version of AC, or Bright AC. Sample Morning Hour on Fresh NY:

Daughtry: Home
Underwood: Before He Cheats
Creed: Arms Wide Open
Aguilara: What a Girl Wants
Rod Stewart: Forever Young
Snow Patrol; Chasing Cars
Timberlake: Cry Me A River
Mayer: Waiting For the World To Change
UB-40: Can't Help
Pink: Who Knew

Top Played Songs on Fresh are very similar to the AC in titles and rotation:

Fresh: Home, Big Girls, Bubbly, Hey There Deliliah, Wait For You: 27 spins a week for Powers
AC/KRWM: Home, Big Girls, Wait For You, Hey There Delilah, Buble: 27 spins a week for Powers
HOT/AC/KPLZ: Bubbly, Who Knew, Rockstar, Look How Far We've Come, First Time: 48 spins a week for Powers
CHR/KBKS: Stronger, Apologize, Bubbly, Who Knew, Over You: 100 spins a week for Powers

Fresh is a new way to do AC. In New York Fresh debuted well and really hurt WLTW, JACK and WPLJ. The station runs automated with 52 minute music sweeps
In LA, KBIG is now playing the FRESH playlist, but without using the name. They have music intensive personalities and eight minutes of commercials an hour.

I have it on good authority that at least three stations are looking at this format option including the current AC station in Seattle. In Philadelphia, the market
leading AC moved to Fresh, pre-empting anyone else and had good success. While I understand Infinity is looking at the format I can assure you, with some authority
that it is not for KBKS. KBKS had a strong September trend, music is on target now and the morning show is changing for the better. I hope this clears up any mystery surrounding
Fresh. I was in the background on the creation of the format and assure you it is an inventive way to grow the AC brand, it is not a new brand.

 

[Mamaknowsbreast]

If it indeed happens, it seems like now would be an ideal time for a launch. With Warm going to x-mas tunes soon, you can let Warm listeners not interested in Christmas music sample a new station.

Now is the "Fresh" format solely owned by Infinity or is it a format that any company can sign up to carry?

 

[djdan]

Interesting. I wondered if someone make the move to Fresh and a similar type format in this market. It might be a good move for KRWM in order to prevent someone else from taking the format, provided Infinity doesn't already have the market exclusive. From a ratings point of view, I would say the jury is out on the format, or "new approach to AC." In New York the format debuted strong going to top 5 in the 25-54 adult and female demographic. Recent books have not been as strong, with the FRESH format down about 30% from the launch. 25-54 has been hardest hit in the last few trends. I tend to think it looks more like the JACK, MOVIN and 80's niche formats. Debuts well, but then falls off. KBIG is a straight ahead bright AC with personalities, contests and all the elements of a good AC radio station. The only problem is that KOST is a very good AC station already winning in the market. The music on KBIG is similar, but it is not Fresh. KBIG is a Clear Channel property, so maybe they can't own the FRESH imaging.

If KRWM or KQMV don't make the move (KQMV to protect KRWM), then I suspect KBSG or JACK would be the likely candidate. Bonneville enjoys much success with Bright AC stations and it would fit their company. JACK has run its course and Infinity could try and challenge KRWM and KPLZ in the Adult Female arena. I doubt KBKS would make the move, unless the plan was to take JACK CHR up against KUBE, then it would make sense from a sales point of view. You are just rebranding two stations. December seems to be the time when stations change format because sales drop off for a couple of months, there is no arbitron for three or four weeks and a station can get established in 1st quarter. Fresh is the "next wave" but really it is all based on a NY station that is tailing off. (Remind you of MOVIN as it was tailing off in Seattle, Portland, LA, SF and others jumped on and have seen no success).

 

[pbf1]

BUT...Movin' is a rehashed gold-based format (Jammin' Oldies, The Next Generation), and Fresh got some fresh competition, with CBS-FM coming back and stealing thunder.

Look at the Fresh vs. PLJ comparison, and look at whether Lite has rebounded. THEN do your report card on Fresh.

 

[djdan]

A quick look at NY monthly trends shows that when Fresh launched it took about 25% out of LITE and 15% of WPLJ in the 25-54 demographic. WPLJ regained its 25-54 share within four trends and is about where they were last year. WLTW started to regain its share at the four month mark too, then WCBS flipped. The Oldies flip hit WLTW again along with some other stations, but had minimal effect, as you might expect on Fresh or WPLJ. Fresh remains 30% off its best trends and WPLJ is back to where it was last year. I agree that WCBS is hurting LITE. I suspect Christmas music will return things to their usual position this fall, with Fresh falling off even more and CBS holding steady.

The lesson here is that WCBS is not a niche, but a real station with an established music position, heritage personalities, contests, advertising and imaging beyond music. It may have a longer life and may do more damage to LITE. Something KBSG or even JACK should consider before deciding to go to the Fresh format. WCBS sales are through the roof. By the time advertisers even looked at Fresh, the station was in decline. WCBS could be a top 7 biller in NY. Fresh was never even top 15. That is the biggest lesson learned with niche formats. It takes four-books to prove yourself.

This is all speculation because NY is going to the PPM. Advertisers are wondering what change is in store. Will AC, Hot/AC, ROCK and Oldies continue to benefit from the PPM as we saw in Philadelphia and Houston. You could potentially see LITE, WPLJ, Fresh and WCBS all grow in Fall if that is the case.

 

[pbf1]

Fresh remains 30% off its best trends and WPLJ is back to where it was last year.

And PLJ is still losing to Fresh. So I wouldn't be so quick to imply that Fresh a failure.

 

[mammaknowsbest]

[EDIT]As for Fresh FM, it is part of the ya ya change needed, an older version of MOVIN. KBKS should flip since MOVIN has prettymuch
buried the CHR on a two book, four book or single book. My bet is Warm beats Infinity to Fresh and even if Infinity has the rights who cares just play the music and image.
WPLJ loses to everyone because it is in the dying HOTac format. MOVIN killed off STAR here and forced them to play country and pop and become a mess of a station and
abandon HOtac which is buying them time tell Fresh kills them off. As Mamma predicted Movin would force big changes in Seattle on KBKS,
STAR and now someone is going Fresh. mamma is ya ya proud. Go sisters! mammaknowsbest

[EDIT-response to deleted post]