Spring Ratings Comments: Monmouth, Middlesex, Sussex, Morristown.

[lance]

Middlesex/Somerset/Union

Not much changed from the winter to the spring other than the tanking of WABC. It's amazing that WCTC doesn't perform a little better. Greater Media might want to consider adding 1450 to the WMTR/WWTR simulcast, giving it a nighttime signal in the market. If not, perhaps talk to the folks at EBC Radio who's 1680 WTTM it LMA's from Multicultural is close to finalizing its tower move from north of Princeton to Lindenwold in the Philadelphia market.

Meanwhile Greater Media continues to insert ads for 100.1 WJRZ, which has no signal whatsoever, in its weekly newspapers in Middlesex County trying to win former CBS-FM listeners.

Morristown

These twice a year markets are tricky to get a sizeable audience measurement, but for WABC. OUCH! You don't just lose 9% of the overall audience just like that.

Great job for the aforementioned WMTR/WWTR combo! Interesting to see WXRK, WAXQ, WDHA, and Jack all rise. Shows the breakdown of this book, samplewise.

Sussex

Continued dominance by WSUS. The evolving of Max 106.3 from CHR to Hot AC seems to have sent much of their listeners back to Z100. Granted it stays in the family, but while Z100 doesn't sell their numbers in Sussex County, Max does.

Monmouth/Ocean

Two words sum up the story here: G Rock!

What a performance by everyone over on West Bangs. Turning two longtime underachieving frequencies into a big time winner. There's a lot of things being done at WHTG/WBBO that others should take into account when managing a radio station in this day age that need to be mentioned: live & local 24/7, a heavily active promotions department, local emphasis, and a willingness to be quick and active on new music.

Elsewhere, interesting to see the drop at The Breeze. The next few months will be interesting there as I've seen many former WCBS-FM listeners in Monmouth and Middlesex counties in that matter switch over to 107.1.

Nice rebound for The Hawk.

Trenton

Sorry to see the book embargoed. We'd all love to see the impact the 94.5/97.5 frequency swap had, if any.

General

From looking at all of these books, there's one format that could make an impact in all of these markets. Country. It won't work in New York itself, but the audience is there in the suburbs. Out of market stations like WCTO in Morristown and Sussex and WPUR in Monmouth/Ocean prove that the audience is there looking for the product.

As G Rock proved today, give the listeners a reason to tune in and they'll come.<P ID="signature">______________
</P>

 

[am-fm]

> Middlesex/Somerset/Union
>
> Not much changed from the winter to the spring other than
> the tanking of WABC. It's amazing that WCTC doesn't perform
> a little better. Greater Media might want to consider adding
> 1450 to the WMTR/WWTR simulcast, giving it a nighttime
> signal in the market. If not, perhaps talk to the folks at
> EBC Radio who's 1680 WTTM it LMA's from Multicultural is
> close to finalizing its tower move from north of Princeton
> to Lindenwold in the Philadelphia market.
>
> Meanwhile Greater Media continues to insert ads for 100.1
> WJRZ, which has no signal whatsoever, in its weekly
> newspapers in Middlesex County trying to win former CBS-FM
> listeners.

Since WJRZ streams online, I guess they want to picke them up at work at the computer.

As far as WCTC going oldies, one can dream......and in AM ST too!<P ID="signature">______________

AOL IM: wnjoldies or jamminoldies105
CBS-FM lives at http://67.83.115.5:8010
Oldies Board co-moderator</P>

 

[westlife]

> It's amazing that WCTC doesn't perform
> a little better. Greater Media might want to consider adding
> 1450 to the WMTR/WWTR simulcast, giving it a nighttime
> signal in the market.

Would Oldies work on the 1450 signal? Yes. Is it worth killing WCTC for? No.

> If not, perhaps talk to the folks at
> EBC Radio who's 1680 WTTM it LMA's from Multicultural is
> close to finalizing its tower move from north of Princeton
> to Lindenwold in the Philadelphia market.

EBC could even more easily jump to Multicultural's 1430 WNSW in Newark, covering the desired central NJ area with a signal that's actually a little better than WTTM, at least during the daytime.

> From looking at all of these books, there's one format that
> could make an impact in all of these markets. Country. It
> won't work in New York itself, but the audience is there in
> the suburbs. Out of market stations like WCTO in Morristown
> and Sussex and WPUR in Monmouth/Ocean prove that the
> audience is there looking for the product.

So maybe WCTC can go Country instead! I'm sure Jack Ellery would love that.

<P ID="signature">______________

</P>

 

[JerseyShor]

> From looking at all of these books, there's one format that
> could make an impact in all of these markets. Country. It
> won't work in New York itself, but the audience is there in
> the suburbs. Out of market stations like WCTO in Morristown
> and Sussex and WPUR in Monmouth/Ocean prove that the
> audience is there looking for the product.

It was tried, WJRZ/100.1 was country - they couldn't compete with WPUR. Maybe if it was on a Monmouth County station?

 

[lance]

> It was tried, WJRZ/100.1 was country - they couldn't compete
> with WPUR. Maybe if it was on a Monmouth County station?

Recall that WJRZ's country phase coincided with the existence of Y107. WWZY was pulling 4 shares then, while WJRZ was partially running off satellite.

<P ID="signature">______________
</P>

 

[Markd]

> Sussex
>
> Continued dominance by WSUS.

They dominated alright with a 17 share. WNNJ FM did very well as well with nearly a 10 share.
The evolving of Max 106.3 from

> CHR to Hot AC seems to have sent much of their listeners
> back to Z100.

Actually WHCY aka Max 106.3 reports as a CHR/Pop not a Hot AC. Okay if you determine that a CHR station that plays no Rap would be a Hot AC then that is what you would call Max. But Max 106.3 rotates currents a bit too often to justify the title of Hot AC. Also most Hot AC stations play more 80's rock. Max plays hardly any. I would actually classify Max 106.3 as a CHR/Rock station or "Rock 40". They play mostly rock at this point with few pop hits. Actually Z 100 has cut back on rap as well. But Z 100 plays more Dance and Pop hits than Max.

Numbers wize Max lost listeners with their 3 share but most of those listeners were 12-22 year olds. This is a demographic that is impossible to sell. So losing these listeners was not that big a deal.

This is why in that when a new second CHR station comes into a market and makes an impact in many situations the long-time CHR will evolve to CHR/Rock or Hot AC. It brings up the demographics to tyhe 18-39 group which is far easier to sell. For a CHR/Pop station playing rap to sell well they would need to get a 5 share or better and be in the top 5. That is why WPLJ moved away from CHR in the early 90's and never went back even when Z 100 was in a decline in 1996.
Still I am surprised Max went down so much.

Over the years though WHCY has had spikes and dives in the ratings both during their Country days and their CHR days. Sometimes they go from a 3 to an 8 share then back down to a 3 or 4 again. This seems to be a pattern with this frequency.

One thing I am surprised about is the Oldies 1360 WNNJ pulled no ratings. They have not pulled any ratings since the Spring of 2002 during their easy listening days.

They were from the late 90's to the Spring of 2001 pulling 2 to 4 shares. Then in the Fall of 2001 they got no ratings. In the Spring of 2002 they got a mid 2 share and also in the Fall. Then when they went Country they pulled no ratings in Spring 2003, Fall 2003, Spring 2004, Fall 2004. They went Oldies that Fall.

In their spring book they still pulled no ratings. I feel this is not accurate. They are getting listeners. Phone calls come in regularly. People are really enjoying Max Kinkle's show. Max Kinkle along with Rob Ryan get an overwelmingly positive response when they do live remotes. The parking lot was full when they did thei live remote from Andover diner.

So they are getting the listeners...I cant believe they are not even getting 2 percent. A one share would be believable but no measurable audience is just hard to believe with this format especially after CBS FM folded into Jack.

 

[radiolover78]

> > Sussex
> >
> > Continued dominance by WSUS.
>
> They dominated alright with a 17 share. WNNJ FM did very
> well as well with nearly a 10 share.
> The evolving of Max 106.3 from

WSUS will likely always be the dominating station in the market. It is a "family" station, listened to at work all over the area, there are LOTS of "soccer moms" in this area too, and during the winter, everyone tunes in for school closings and storm information. WNNJ offers the same services, but WSUS is just known all over and has been serving this area for over 25 years. It sure has built up its heritage here. Believe it or not, Clear Channel owns the station. They kept it pretty local considering it is owned by CC. I am surprised it isn't "Lite 102.3" or "102.3 Lite FM". Probably because the station is doing so well.

As for WNNJ FM, they are doing well. A lot of males listen to the station.

> > CHR to Hot AC seems to have sent much of their listeners
> > back to Z100.
>
> Actually WHCY aka Max 106.3 reports as a CHR/Pop not a Hot
> AC. Okay if you determine that a CHR station that plays no
> Rap would be a Hot AC then that is what you would call Max.
> But Max 106.3 rotates currents a bit too often to justify
> the title of Hot AC. Also most Hot AC stations play more
> 80's rock. Max plays hardly any. I would actually classify
> Max 106.3 as a CHR/Rock station or "Rock 40". They play
> mostly rock at this point with few pop hits. Actually Z 100
> has cut back on rap as well. But Z 100 plays more Dance and
> Pop hits than Max.
>
> Numbers wize Max lost listeners with their 3 share but most
> of those listeners were 12-22 year olds. This is a
> demographic that is impossible to sell. So losing these
> listeners was not that big a deal.
>
> This is why in that when a new second CHR station comes into
> a market and makes an impact in many situations the
> long-time CHR will evolve to CHR/Rock or Hot AC. It brings
> up the demographics to tyhe 18-39 group which is far easier
> to sell. For a CHR/Pop station playing rap to sell well they
> would need to get a 5 share or better and be in the top 5.
> That is why WPLJ moved away from CHR in the early 90's and
> never went back even when Z 100 was in a decline in 1996.
> Still I am surprised Max went down so much.
>
> Over the years though WHCY has had spikes and dives in the
> ratings both during their Country days and their CHR days.
> Sometimes they go from a 3 to an 8 share then back down to a
> 3 or 4 again. This seems to be a pattern with this
> frequency.
>
> One thing I am surprised about is the Oldies 1360 WNNJ
> pulled no ratings. They have not pulled any ratings since
> the Spring of 2002 during their easy listening days.
>
> They were from the late 90's to the Spring of 2001 pulling 2
> to 4 shares. Then in the Fall of 2001 they got no ratings.
> In the Spring of 2002 they got a mid 2 share and also in the
> Fall. Then when they went Country they pulled no ratings in
> Spring 2003, Fall 2003, Spring 2004, Fall 2004. They went
> Oldies that Fall.
>
> In their spring book they still pulled no ratings. I feel
> this is not accurate. They are getting listeners. Phone
> calls come in regularly. People are really enjoying Max
> Kinkle's show. Max Kinkle along with Rob Ryan get an
> overwelmingly positive response when they do live remotes.
> The parking lot was full when they did thei live remote from
> Andover diner.
>
> So they are getting the listeners...I cant believe they are
> not even getting 2 percent. A one share would be believable
> but no measurable audience is just hard to believe with this
> format especially after CBS FM folded into Jack.
>

I was very surprised that WNNJ AM didn't make it into the ratings. They do have lots of listeners and I hear callers making requests on Rob Ryan's show. I enjoy listening to him personally and I even make a request once in a while. Perhaps since country failed so miserably, not many people have moved back to 1360 WNNJ AM because they may still think it is country.

<P ID="signature">______________
Kevin</P>

 

[AngelBlue]

> Middlesex/Somerset/Union
>
> Not much changed from the winter to the spring other than
> the tanking of WABC. It's amazing that WCTC doesn't perform
> a little better. Greater Media might want to consider adding
> 1450 to the WMTR/WWTR simulcast, giving it a nighttime
> signal in the market. If not, perhaps talk to the folks at
> EBC Radio who's 1680 WTTM it LMA's from Multicultural is
> close to finalizing its tower move from north of Princeton
> to Lindenwold in the Philadelphia market.
>
> Meanwhile Greater Media continues to insert ads for 100.1
> WJRZ, which has no signal whatsoever, in its weekly
> newspapers in Middlesex County trying to win former CBS-FM
> listeners.
>
> Morristown
>
> These twice a year markets are tricky to get a sizeable
> audience measurement, but for WABC. OUCH! You don't just
> lose 9% of the overall audience just like that.
>
> Great job for the aforementioned WMTR/WWTR combo!
> Interesting to see WXRK, WAXQ, WDHA, and Jack all rise.
> Shows the breakdown of this book, samplewise.
>
> Sussex
>
> Continued dominance by WSUS. The evolving of Max 106.3 from
> CHR to Hot AC seems to have sent much of their listeners
> back to Z100. Granted it stays in the family, but while Z100
> doesn't sell their numbers in Sussex County, Max does.
>
> Monmouth/Ocean
>
> Two words sum up the story here: G Rock!
>
> What a performance by everyone over on West Bangs. Turning
> two longtime underachieving frequencies into a big time
> winner. There's a lot of things being done at WHTG/WBBO that
> others should take into account when managing a radio
> station in this day age that need to be mentioned: live &
> local 24/7, a heavily active promotions department, local
> emphasis, and a willingness to be quick and active on new
> music.
>
> Elsewhere, interesting to see the drop at The Breeze. The
> next few months will be interesting there as I've seen many
> former WCBS-FM listeners in Monmouth and Middlesex counties
> in that matter switch over to 107.1.
>
> Nice rebound for The Hawk.
>
> Trenton
>
> Sorry to see the book embargoed. We'd all love to see the
> impact the 94.5/97.5 frequency swap had, if any.
>
> General
>
> From looking at all of these books, there's one format that
> could make an impact in all of these markets. Country. It
> won't work in New York itself, but the audience is there in
> the suburbs. Out of market stations like WCTO in Morristown
> and Sussex and WPUR in Monmouth/Ocean prove that the
> audience is there looking for the product.
>
> As G Rock proved today, give the listeners a reason to tune
> in and they'll come.
>
I agree country would be a nice addition.