Star 102.5

[Buddy Shula]

Are you paying your PD a living wage? On Call 24 hours a day, doing Music Logs at 3am, and he still has a second full time job! "Work Smarter, not Harder" is a good strategy. Being more efficient and organized is always helpful. No reason to be creating logs at 3am. Is he also doing all the production and traffic?

Most PDs have little control over programming these days. They oversee multiple stations in several markets. I agree that the programming suffers because of this, but it's not because the PD is lazy. They just follow orders to stay employed.

I agree with you that most Radio these days is generic. That's been the case for a long time. Local PDs have little input into playlists. It's been said by the experts that the listener is the "product". Programming is just "filler" before the next stop set...

Well first off, I pay every employee at my station WAY over a living wage. My PD happens to be an overachiever and loves his work.

Also, he has ALL the say on the playlist.

Unless your actually in radio, you would not know these things.

 

[Buddy Shula]

You missed the sarcasm. Of course, JACK is puffery. It's supposed to be mocking corporate playlists with the "witty voice guy". It's rather lame.

Ask Buddy how much 107.7 FM is bringing in. It's practically nil.

AAA requires effort which explains why very few groups will try it. It requires skilled programming and quality salespeople who are willing to target a certain niche. Just as WECK is reaching a certain demographic, so can a well run AAA format. With every passing year, fewer people care about Radio- So it may be moot anyway...

1077 is now actually losing money with no events

 

[Buddy Shula]

If Star is holding Top 5 Women 25-54, Women 25-49 and in combo with Kiss potentially being in the Top 5 Women 18-49, it's all good. Except for the few people here who have access to the full ratings report, it's all speculative because we see only Persons 12+.




It would be fair to ask: Is there really any need for "staying til 5 in the morning" to program any kind of music. These things can be done from home, and parameters can be set in Music Master or Selector to accomplish a near perfect mix.



The Breeze last year had a more tradition approach to All Christmas. Star, being Hot AC, was more contemporary, although not so much that listeners didn't hear the dreaded Holly Jolly Christmas more than a few times.

Will Star and Breeze battle each other for All Christmas supremacy this year? Which station goes first? Will Classic hits WHTT join the fray? WWSW, the Classic Hits station in Pittsburgh has for years gone All Christmas with notable success. Stay tuned.



Most PDs in Buffalo are responsible for more than one radio station. It's doubtful that any of those PDs are "lazy." More likely they're spread too thin. There are only so many hours in a day. PDs are dealing with staff reductions and slashed research and promotion budgets. Having one PD per station is a luxury and those days are rapidly vanishing. Some PDs handle entire clusters. Some handle multiple markets.

Word is Entercom slashed their KissMas concert, Kiss the Summer Hello and Starry Night promotions, and the salary cuts first enacted as temporary have been made permanent. Radio is on life support. Most PDs are doing their best and working beyond expectations to keep their stations competitive. Programming has never been a 9 to 5 job, and it's most assuredly not these days.

Trust me, there are some lazy PDS in Buffalo. And yes, both star and breeze will usher in Christmas this year. It’s the only time both do good in ratings

 

[Rusty Bridges]

Imagine being that "lazy PD." He/she must have some life of luxury. Now let's ponder ... there are three major clusters in Buffalo: Entercom has approximately three PDs (not counting Janet Snyder, who is jokingly said to be the PD of Kiss.) Townsquare has three PDs; Cumulus has two PDs; then there's the mom 'n pop shops, each with a PD. Who could be the "lazy PD?" Be caller 9 at 888-LAZY*

*fictitious

 

[spt87]

Someone mentioned everyone still thinks of 102.5 as "Rock 102" - listened to Rock 102 a lot as a teen.

Too bad Entercom with 102.5 as one of the few super power FMs isn't able to do more with that signal. If WBEN ever needs to jump to FM it would be a great place to go.

 

[Rusty Bridges]

Too bad Entercom with 102.5 as one of the few super power FMs isn't able to do more with that signal.

What more could they with it? It's Hot AC. Hot AC, like CHR, depends on the music that's being produced. Entercom is "dancin' with the girl what brung 'em."

If WBEN ever needs to jump to FM it would be a great place to go.

They tried that. It failed. Wouldn't matter even with 110 kW. Alte kakkers just couldn't find FM.

 

[davideduardo]

What more could they with it? It's Hot AC. Hot AC, like CHR, depends on the music that's being produced. Entercom is "dancin' with the girl what brung 'em."

However, Hot AC stations can compensate for temporary product shortages by upping the recurrents and even the more recent gold. That is also a technique AC stations use on occasion.

They tried that. It failed. Wouldn't matter even with 110 kW. Alte kakkers just couldn't find FM.

When Clear Channel tried that with KOGO in San Diego, the FM contributed nearly nothing. I think that the bigger companies are going to do those formats on AM until the listeners disappear and then AM will totally die except for a few ethnic and religious propositions.

Even KLove will not keep AMs if they are forced to take one to get a good FM.

 

[CassChopper96]

I think Hot AC stations are able to play older music. Iheartmedia must no how to program radio stations when they own kbig and kiis in Los Angeles

 

[davideduardo]

I think Hot AC stations are able to play older music. Iheartmedia must no how to program radio stations when they own kbig and kiis in Los Angeles

KIIS, KBIG and The Coast are what we call the "Wall of Women" which give to advertisers a huge one-stop buy of women from 18 to 54. Even if one slumps due to product, another will generally rise to compensate, giving quite consistent results that an ad agency will like to see. While there is a lot of station to station sharing, advertisers don't look at overlap; they look at the actual audience each time their ad runs and the iHeart stations deliver in that respect.

 

[ckg279]

You're not going to change older listeners' habits by launching a AAA format in Buffalo. Those listeners cling to 97 Rock and 104... maybe Jack and the Canadian FMs for a little variety. If older listeners want new rock they get it from WYRK because today's Country sounds a lot like re-cycled 70s and 80s rock.

http://https://ratings.****************/content/arb037

Wow! WEBR subscribes to Nielsen and it debuts with a point five. Nowhere to go but up.

ACTUALLY, WEBR debuted in the June '20 book(covering March-May)with a .2, then notched a .4 and a .4-finally getting a .5 in the latest book.

 

[CassChopper96]

I think some people are overreacting Entercom probably has no plans to do anything to WTSS

 

[Rusty Bridges]

When Clear Channel tried that with KOGO in San Diego, the FM contributed nearly nothing. I think that the bigger companies are going to do those formats on AM until the listeners disappear and then AM will totally die except for a few ethnic and religious propositions. Even K Love will not keep AMs if they are forced to take one to get a good FM.

This is such an intriguing issue. A savvy GM once advised, "When you buy, make sure you have an exit strategy." More than a few people have asked, "Who's gonna buy that station?" When ownership passes and/or the medium just does a dead-man's dive into the deep water, the land may have more value than the facility. And there's also a tax write off somewhere in the IRS Code. But really...

 

[SirRoxalot]

The current GMs and corporate management have an exit strategy. It's "make as much money as possible now and pad my retirement." As far as planning for the future is concerned, "the future is now." They're not concerned about 10 years from now, or even 5 years from now. The "farsighted" are looking at next year (mostly because they have to come up with a budget). Most are looking at this quarter, and maybe next quarter.

BTW, that strategy isn't confined to radio. It's rife in corporate America.

 

[TheBigA]

BTW, that strategy isn't confined to radio. It's rife in corporate America.

Wow.