2.3 is the new four (down a hair from the previous 2.5 which was about to become a four)
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Spring Has Sprung
- Thread starter SirRoxalot
- Start date
I looked at the plays for the last 7 days, and 40% of the spins are 70's songs. And only about 6% of spins are pre-1975 songs.
Nearly all the earlier 70's and much of the more AC sounding later is not part of WHTT.
And in any case, playing compatible 70's along with the 60's songs and the Frank and Perry tunes is a very different flavor that has no risk of direct competition from WHTT. While some songs may overlap, it is the total mix that defines the station (I worked early in my career at a duopoly where two of the stations overlapped nearly 60%, yet there was little or no audience sharing or cannibalization, as the songs each played exclusively defined the sound).
Based on playlists and, for the moment, ignoring the "mood" of the presentation (which is probably the biggest thing WECK has going for differentiation), the listener to WHTT is not going to be flipping to WECK during a stopset when they might, to repeat the names, find Frank and Perry crooning upon arrival. Just a different lifestyle and core.
As a person who has seen sales double in a year just with a change in sales manager (and no programming change) I think Buddy can do more than "make a nice living" and with the second translator, getting into the 3 share range is certainly possible.
Not true. Take a look at the audience reports at https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Arbitron_Radio_Today.htm and you will see that 18-34 is a huge consumer of radio... along with new media.
Noted, but I wouldn't call a station that has only 19.5 kW of ERP as "a killer signal".
'Bolt, you're old enough to know that it's about revenue. The Lake wasn't bringing it in. Alt 107.7 is bringing in more than they did. I don't know where you got the idea that I "despise anything different." You're the one continuing to whine about a lost format that played ancient music.
You have data to support this? A station with a 1.3 that airs very few commercials is generating revenue? You weren't even aware that The Edge transitioned to Alternative quite a while ago. Ancient music? What the hell is WECK or any Classic Rock station playing???
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Buddy Shula
Guest
WLKK makes money on concerts. That’s it. The spot money is minuscule. Its a wasted signal.
It all depends on height.
At 300 feet, it's a glorified Class A. At 2,000 feet, it's near flame-thrower status.
First, let me say that, if I get all the radio jargon stuff here correct, maybe WECK is going to prove success. I still think that the operation is economically unsustainable, but, if folks are listening, I'm sincerely happy for a local business. Good work by them!
Seems to me that the shifts from just one period to the next are very limited in their business relevance. Period-to-period churn is a part of any industry, no?
Also, I'm not certain what WBEN's programs are like now. As I recall they had/have two marquee guys (Sandy Beach and Dick Bauerle's brother, Tom) that cover contemporary topics. And, I imagine they have some kind of news/weather/traffic overview thing in the morning still(?)... think it was hosted by Bill Lacy(?) - at least as I recall. Wouldn't that kind of programming be about as rock solid (ratings-wise) from period to period as it gets... and it's interesting that listeners would jump ship. Having said that, I used to be a fairly regular listener and one day found myself sick of it (or maybe laughing at it); literally turned it off shortly after 10am one morning and never went back. (I guess I'm partly responsible for their decline - lol.) So, with that drop, would a station like that resort to some type of PR hype?... like a controversial subject(?).
Finally, kudos to my kinda sorta "favorite" station, WYRK.
Seems to me that the shifts from just one period to the next are very limited in their business relevance. Period-to-period churn is a part of any industry, no?
Also, I'm not certain what WBEN's programs are like now. As I recall they had/have two marquee guys (Sandy Beach and Dick Bauerle's brother, Tom) that cover contemporary topics. And, I imagine they have some kind of news/weather/traffic overview thing in the morning still(?)... think it was hosted by Bill Lacy(?) - at least as I recall. Wouldn't that kind of programming be about as rock solid (ratings-wise) from period to period as it gets... and it's interesting that listeners would jump ship. Having said that, I used to be a fairly regular listener and one day found myself sick of it (or maybe laughing at it); literally turned it off shortly after 10am one morning and never went back. (I guess I'm partly responsible for their decline - lol.) So, with that drop, would a station like that resort to some type of PR hype?... like a controversial subject(?).
Finally, kudos to my kinda sorta "favorite" station, WYRK.
Per Mr. Gleason, at least 46% of the music on WHTT is pre-1980. That hardly makes it an "80s station" as originally tagged by Buddy.
WECK is featuring a lot less of the "Frank and Perry crooning" than it is '60s and '70s pop. It appears that about 30% of its music is '70s pop. The '60s pop is also familiar to older WHTT listeners since the music used to be played on the predecessors of the current format. To say that crossover between the two is ignoring market history.
A look at the Buffalo/Niagara Falls ratings indicates that listening in WNY skews toward an older audience. Four of the Top 5 skew 35+ - and in the case of WBEN 50+. WYRK's country format does attract 18+, but does better 35+. With WYRK, WBEN, WGRF and WHTT consistently in the top 5, the lean is older. Even WBLK is dayparted to attract an older audience during the day. The Kiss/Star conglomerate does well, but overall the younger demos are not as strong as the upper demos.
107.7 has great coverage outside the metro, but is far from a flamethrower in major portions of the metro. It does OK in the eastern suburbs, but fades in the city and 'burbs north and south of the city. I think it would be a perfect fit to simulcast WGR, which has a terrible signal in major portions of the metro at night. It would give the sports talker wide coverage in a large chunk of WNY. It would negatively impact the need for a "Buffalo Bills Radio Network" in a chunk of the Finger Lakes, but could expand the reach of the Bills and Sabres broadcasts nicely in WNY.
Buddy's a talented salesman, and has turned a moribund station into a nice niche player. He brought some great experience onboard in both sales and programming talent, and it's paying off. In the meantime, Town Square has struggled with a couple of big FM signals. I don't see any linkage between those two factors since they server vastly different audiences.
As the oldies format evolves on WECK, it will likely mean more audience sharing with the former oldies station, WHTT. I don't expect that to impact WHTT's target audience much. Any effect is likely to be 65+, which is good for WECK, and meaningless to WHTT.
What has gone largely unnoticed here is that there was a change in management at Cumulus Buffalo, and Cumulus is emerging from bankruptcy. I expect to see some changes at Cumulus Buffalo once they get through issues at bigger markets. (Entercom will likely go through the same process once they settle major issues with some of the former CBS stations.) Some of the changes will likely be good (more money spent on facilities that have been neglected due to tight budgets), and some may be of the "tighten, lighten, brighten" variety. Cumulus appears poised to enhance their digital commitment, which will have some impact. The move away from the extreme centralization of the Dickey era seems to have benefited Cumulus. Hopefully, Cumulus Buffalo will dig itself out of the #3 position in sales revenue in the market and everyone will benefit. If not, there could be more Westwood One on the air in the future in Buffalo.
WECK is featuring a lot less of the "Frank and Perry crooning" than it is '60s and '70s pop. It appears that about 30% of its music is '70s pop. The '60s pop is also familiar to older WHTT listeners since the music used to be played on the predecessors of the current format. To say that crossover between the two is ignoring market history.
A look at the Buffalo/Niagara Falls ratings indicates that listening in WNY skews toward an older audience. Four of the Top 5 skew 35+ - and in the case of WBEN 50+. WYRK's country format does attract 18+, but does better 35+. With WYRK, WBEN, WGRF and WHTT consistently in the top 5, the lean is older. Even WBLK is dayparted to attract an older audience during the day. The Kiss/Star conglomerate does well, but overall the younger demos are not as strong as the upper demos.
107.7 has great coverage outside the metro, but is far from a flamethrower in major portions of the metro. It does OK in the eastern suburbs, but fades in the city and 'burbs north and south of the city. I think it would be a perfect fit to simulcast WGR, which has a terrible signal in major portions of the metro at night. It would give the sports talker wide coverage in a large chunk of WNY. It would negatively impact the need for a "Buffalo Bills Radio Network" in a chunk of the Finger Lakes, but could expand the reach of the Bills and Sabres broadcasts nicely in WNY.
Buddy's a talented salesman, and has turned a moribund station into a nice niche player. He brought some great experience onboard in both sales and programming talent, and it's paying off. In the meantime, Town Square has struggled with a couple of big FM signals. I don't see any linkage between those two factors since they server vastly different audiences.
As the oldies format evolves on WECK, it will likely mean more audience sharing with the former oldies station, WHTT. I don't expect that to impact WHTT's target audience much. Any effect is likely to be 65+, which is good for WECK, and meaningless to WHTT.
What has gone largely unnoticed here is that there was a change in management at Cumulus Buffalo, and Cumulus is emerging from bankruptcy. I expect to see some changes at Cumulus Buffalo once they get through issues at bigger markets. (Entercom will likely go through the same process once they settle major issues with some of the former CBS stations.) Some of the changes will likely be good (more money spent on facilities that have been neglected due to tight budgets), and some may be of the "tighten, lighten, brighten" variety. Cumulus appears poised to enhance their digital commitment, which will have some impact. The move away from the extreme centralization of the Dickey era seems to have benefited Cumulus. Hopefully, Cumulus Buffalo will dig itself out of the #3 position in sales revenue in the market and everyone will benefit. If not, there could be more Westwood One on the air in the future in Buffalo.
Looks like a lot of listeners turned Jack off. Maybe they could use that in one of their snarky promotional things they play between songs. I used to listen to Jack regularly, but about three months ago I noticed they began playing the same damn 80s songs over and over. I like the 80s. Lived it. Liked a lot of the music. Still do. But how many times can you hear Tainted Love, We've Got the Beat, Super Freak, Here Comes the Rain Again and Take On Me? Same thing with some of the old rock on 97. It's almost predictable. Right. I know it isn't. But it seems that way some times. BTW, WHTT plays a lot of the same 80s songs that 93 plays but least WHTT plays a lot of 70s stuff to break up the repetition. Except for the Eagles. 104 could call itself Eagles 104 some times. It's like they play Hotel California three times a day. Probably don't, but it seems like they do.
According to you, sales have been very strong since you bought the station about a year ago and ratings didn't matter. So why the change in format? Do you expect us to believe the fact that the Spring ratings show you're sitting with a 2.3 (share 12+) and down from the previous share of 2.5 in the Winter '18 report and a long way from your projected 4.0 share by now didn't have anything to do with the change?
From reading past posts, there are some pretty smart people on this board. Who's kidding who? Buddy, it appears ratings matter to you after all.
From reading past posts, there are some pretty smart people on this board. Who's kidding who? Buddy, it appears ratings matter to you after all.
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Buddy Shula
Guest
Ratings has zero to do with change. Just wanted to expand our audience and future. I moved to this new direction weeks before ratings came out. Find another 1KW radio station in a large to medium market in the entire U.S. that has a 2.3 share 12 plus..... By the way, know-it-all, do you know what the 35 plus and 50 plus numbers were in the Spring book? Probably not...because you know nothing. Go ask WBUF with their 50K signal and Wall Street pockets why they got beat by a 1K AM station. Go ask WMSX why a 1K station came 2 tenths of a point away from beating them. Go ask WLKK why a company would pay 13 million dollars for a station that loses to a 1K that I paid 550K for. Sales mean more than ratings by far.....but ratings are still nice. You did not mention that WECK is up a full share point from the Fall book. Go have another beer, while I continue to work at 5pm on Saturday from the office on making local radio relevant. While you are a monday morning quarterback, I am actually making a difference. Sit back and just enjoy the show that real broadcast people put on for you.
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The nerve of some people, huh Buddy. BTW, whatever happened to The Nerve. It was a cool radio station. Nobody writes about Rochester anymore on this board. "Ninety five one, ninety five five, The Nerve." Used to listen to it all the time out of high school when I drove delivery Buffalo to Rochester. Rochester radio deserves more buzz on this board.
Sadly Bob Smith was a big part of that.
Buddy must be stressed out. He's paying for Nielsen Ratings and is obsessed with getting a 4 share or better. It may never happen. He has stated that the format is aimed at 55+ demos. That makes the 35-55 demo irrelevant, since they probably aren't listening to WECK.
If most of his business is local direct, buying ratings may be a needless expense. Some of his comments contain vitriol toward Corporate Radio, so maybe he has an axe to grind. WECK did beat JACK and some others. 92.9 has an excellent signal, so a 2 share is pathetic. By comparison, WECK getting into the mid 2s is respectable.
Clearly, Buddy isn't satisfied with the ratings. Oldies will be a niche format for an Old audience. If he can sell it and stay profitable, then it's a successful venture...
If most of his business is local direct, buying ratings may be a needless expense. Some of his comments contain vitriol toward Corporate Radio, so maybe he has an axe to grind. WECK did beat JACK and some others. 92.9 has an excellent signal, so a 2 share is pathetic. By comparison, WECK getting into the mid 2s is respectable.
Clearly, Buddy isn't satisfied with the ratings. Oldies will be a niche format for an Old audience. If he can sell it and stay profitable, then it's a successful venture...
Buddy, you must be taking "Diversionary Tactic Lessons" from Trump resorting to name calling and bringing up JACK and MIX when the discussion on this thread is all about your own NEW WECK, "Buffalo's good times and great oldies station".
While you point out your station's ratings, you conveniently forgot to mention that the Summer '17 book share (12+) was 2.6. So the station's 4 book trend is 2.6, 1.4, 2.5 and now 2.3. So, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt - you own a 2.5 share radio station and you've got a lot of work to do to get to your new goal- a 5.0 share. This is especially true since your demos are top heavy 70+. I guess you're shooting for more 50-70, huh?
But don't worry about any of this. I'm just a beer drinkin', know-it-all, Monday morning quarterback with nowhere near the knowledge of the radio biz that you have.
Can somebody please pass me another Blue Light?
That's because that market is a model of consistency. WBEE or WDKX top the ratings and the others pretty much stay the same.
Oh, and here's a good story on how your beloved Nerve moved from South Bristol to Baker Hill: https://www.fybush.com/site-20180713/
Why wouldn't you be working at 5pm on a Saturday? It's YOUR station. If you're like most entrepreneurs you work 60+ hours a week to make your business survive. Now, if it were 5am on a Sunday....THAT would be impressive.
I went back and plugged in the Buffalo population data, the diary sample size and those ratings numbers. It would appear that the 2.6, the 2.5 and the 2.3 are all the same number. In fact, anything from about a 1.8 to a 3.2 are the same number. And considering the fairly narrow older demo targeting of the station, the range may be greater.
And then, the 1.4 looks like sampling error as the number is an outlier.
The same explanation applies for the 1 to 2 point wobbles with the leading stations: sample error sometimes, and statistical range other times. There is probably a better probability that a station will go up or down due to statistical sampling's margin of error on that sample size than due to programming changes.
David, that was my point when I suggested Buddy's WECK is a 2.5 radio station. Thanks for doing the math and giving all of the rated stations some wiggle room. I'm sure Mr. Shula will find it more useful than some.
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