Absolutely. We are entering a new era in broadcasting and as demographic shifts occur and time moves along this stuff is going to happen. The new environment is changing all kinds of things.
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Something is up at KQ
- Thread starter aspric
- Start date
There's no way EMF wants the 105s. If they want to take on KTIS, they will only do it with a full market signal. More likely that Cumulus would take one of the 105s off the air first.
New logo? New liners? No pre 1990 tunes? A 10,000 commercial free song bit? All possibilities.
New logo? New liners? No pre 1990 tunes? A 10,000 commercial free song bit? All possibilities.
The reason I think it would be either 92.5 or 93.7 is money. EMF, or any other buyer for that matter, would not be willing to pay nearly as much for what amounts as 2 rimshots (105.1 and 105.3) and what now amounts to a translator (105.7) as they would for a 100kw full market signal.
For the record, I do NOT think they would be selling KQ. If this crazy prediction comes true I think they'd sell 93.7 and shift KQ to the 80's-2010's (not the largest shift honestly). No way would they "stunt" with a "build a new KQ" if the plan was to sell it weeks to months later. Listening now, honestly, KQ sounds more like how 93X sounded in the early 90's before they flipped to KEGE than it does to the "old" KQ anyway. I had honestly never listened because I didn't like Classic Rock as much as new rock back in the 90's and now the 90's IS classic rock.
Of course, they could also be taking KQ in more of a "classic hits" direction, but again, I'm confused because if the logic is "KQ is doing poorly" 93X is doing even worse.
EMF already did their buying spree in the Twin Cities. They got 95.3 and 96.3 from the Pohlads, to go with all the translators they own. And wound up handing 95.3 to a previous owner. They're not buying anything else there due to the dominance of KTIS, which does similar programming. They even admitted that. The Twin Cities doesn't fit into their plans as much as other markets. So relax, folks.
That was the plan, keyword was. Those plans have since changed and they now seek full market signals for KLOVE in all markets. This is playing out in St Louis right now, home of another "heritage" station:
Gateway Creative Broadcasting Makes Counter Offer To Acquire KDHX
A battle between Christian radio behemoths may be underway in St. Louis. Gateway Creative Broadcasting, which owns Christian AC "99.1
radioinsight.com
They didn't "want" 95.3 or 96.3, but Pohlads wanted out and offered a price that was good. Neither signal was a full market signal, and 95.3 is actually about on par with most of their translators, so it wasn't a big surprise to see them recoup half of the purchase price for the pair by selling that one.
I don't think we can assume they won't buy another signal in Minneapolis. In 2021 we could have, but plans have changed.
Getting the audio processing cleaned up a bit would be a good start.
The current audio is too clipped.
Not asking for KSJN sounding, but get back to the processing sound about 10 years back.
The current audio is too clipped.
Not asking for KSJN sounding, but get back to the processing sound about 10 years back.
That made me cackle!
Now they’re stunting with Soul Asylum’s “Somebody To Shove” on repeat. Could this be pointing to a flip to Alternative or Classic Alt, such as co-owned 99X/Atlanta?
Soul Asylum is old enough to be considered Classic Rock, but I still can’t wrap my head around why they’d stunt for over a week just to return to the format.
Soul Asylum is old enough to be considered Classic Rock, but I still can’t wrap my head around why they’d stunt for over a week just to return to the format.
Based on current stunting, perhaps my earlier prediction about mixing in classic alt or AAA tracks will come true?
I like that Soul Asylum song they're using for stunting quite a bit.
Soul Asylum hails from the Twin Cities.
Based on current stunting, perhaps my earlier prediction about mixing in classic alt or AAA tracks will come true?
I like that Soul Asylum song they're using for stunting quite a bit.
Soul Asylum hails from the Twin Cities.
I think the station could benefit from something like that, but I also think the change is going to be a bit bigger with all the promotion. We will see on Thursday morning.
What's also interesting is, going back into the playlist from the overnight hours this morning, some of the songs sprinkled in to the usual classic rock repertoire. "If You Leave" by OMD, "Left Of The Dial" by the Replacements, "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode, and, strangely enough, "1999" by Prince.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed that. Another one that I saw was Rusted Root “Send Me On My Way.”
KQ flirted with AAA in the 90s, as I recall it reported to one of the trades as such for a time. I wonder with Cities being a Hot AC, they're going to position in a slightly more "Quality Rock" direction, like they've also tried with KZEL in Eugene. Still based in classic rock, but a little more broad and a little less AC/DC.
I agree, it might appear they would go in a WXRT direction. If Audacy owned them it would be obvious, but we'll see tomorrow.
Also, betting Lisa Miller will be joining Steve Gorman, which would be the reason for their time off, to work on being on the air as a team. WLOL did that when they let Bergie go and brought in the other two, whose names escape me.
Moose(?) Miller and Elanor Mondale (Miller, Mondale, & Hines).
Also, is it just me or is anyone else noticing that they are already starting to sound different than they did before the stunting began? More like the "center" of the format is around 1995, playing mostly 90s with a few core 70s, 80s, and early 2000s thrown in? It also seems like the overall song selection is "lighter" but that could just be a "morning" thing. Admittedly I didn't listen to KQ a bunch before this started, just comparing playlists from mid-march to today.
As someone they probably want to target, they are gonna have to really step up marketing to let people like me know that this isn't my dad's KQ (IE 70's based) anymore. I know they have already been drifting into the 80's but my brain still thinks of this as a station my 70 year old dad would love, not 40's me.
If you had KQ playing "It's The End Of The World As We Know It" by R.E.M repeatedly on your bingo card, check that one off. It's started, as of noon CDT. I expect this to be ongoing.
Of course, that song has some history in Twin Cities radio. ABC, when they owned KQ and had purchased the old 93X, used it in a stunt to launch The Edge on that signal in 1994.
I was listening a bit this morning, and they played some interesting stuff. "Sweet Dreams" by Eurythmics, "Rio" by Duran Duran, even Elvis Costello. And of course, local artists like the Replacements, Soul Asylum ("Black Gold" this time), Jayhawks and Prince (Purple Rain). This new version of KQ could be pretty interesting.
Of course, that song has some history in Twin Cities radio. ABC, when they owned KQ and had purchased the old 93X, used it in a stunt to launch The Edge on that signal in 1994.
I was listening a bit this morning, and they played some interesting stuff. "Sweet Dreams" by Eurythmics, "Rio" by Duran Duran, even Elvis Costello. And of course, local artists like the Replacements, Soul Asylum ("Black Gold" this time), Jayhawks and Prince (Purple Rain). This new version of KQ could be pretty interesting.
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That song in another stunt? Yeah, real original.
It does kinda make sense. And probably appropriate. As soon as I heard it, and noticed it was 12 noon, I thought, "uh oh, here we go."
However, in place of the Jayhawks song, I would have gone with "Closing Time" by another local band, Semisonic.
Now back to some classic alt rock songs.
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