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Summer Doldrums

S

SpareChange

There doesn't seem to be much interest in this board these days. A few of the usual suspects have posted, but save for the Oldies-WJJL thread, this board's been asleep. I'm surprised the Spring rating book thread, normally an active subject, received as little response as it did. The 12+ numbers looked interesting, but perhaps they were no surprise to the pros and pundits that post here.

I guess it's no surprise WYRK once again leads the pack, given it's the only Country format station in the market, and a good one at that. But WBEN is down from Winter and Spring, something that would normally bring out those who love and hate the station. There's been little written about three AC stations running neck and neck, no crossfire between the Kiss-Z101 fans and heaven forbid, not a stitch written about Jack and the Lake, two stations that have generated hundreds of posts on this board. Must be everybody's gone fishin'.
 
Must be everybody's gone fishin'.
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Well, ever since we got that bass boat...

Seriously, it's summer. It's 12+. It's all been said. If 25-54 nubers show up on the board (in violation of TOS), maybe it'll generate further response.

Phone's ringing... "We were biting this morning.... we were biting this morning."

Gotta go.
 
Random thoughts:

If anyone even had a hint of who was top 5 25-54 I'm sure the fish would be biting! Seriously though, I didn't find the Spring book to be all that eventful.

The market could get interesting later in the year with the trade mags buzzing about groups like Citadel looking for ways to trim the fat.

Does Regent think it's protecting WYRK with WECK...or are they contractually obligated to air that format on WECK? Something has to give there.
 
A friend offered the 25-54 numbers to me but has yet to deliver, most likely because she doesn't have them. Probably waiting on one of her radio pals to come through. One of the things that looks interesting in the 12+ ratings at Radio & Records is... ta-daaaa... The Lake.

At this point you're saying, "Oh no, here we go again." But, is it time for Entercom to give up on the format? It's doing a 2.6, down from a 3.3 in Winter and a 2.9 a year ago, tied with Z101 and getting edged by AM 740 CHWO. (Scratches head) You'd think after all these years, the Lake would be doing better than a 2.6, niche format or not. It doesn't seem to have taken any numbers from 97 Rock or any other station... so does this indicate only 2.6% of available radio listeners 12 and older at any given time like the station?

A simulcast of WBEN on 107.7 might be more productive (crazy as it sounds.) Eventually, WBEN is going to have to make the leap to FM, because that's where the "young" listeners are, why not start now? Oh, and 107.7 gets into Monroe county and Rochester quite nicely, which may nibble at the fringe of WHAM, thereby helping Entercom in that market as well.

How sad, WWKB, WLVL and WECK tied with a point 8, WUFO beating them with a point 9 and WWWS pulls a 1.5. Why not just plug the output of the WWWS studio into the WWKB STL.


-9-
 
not a bad idea...WWWS has averaged that number for a long time now, up and down yes...but they seem to be doing ok and I wouldn't mind listening to a classic soul station at night.
 
mimo said:
not a bad idea...WWWS has averaged that number for a long time now, up and down yes...but they seem to be doing ok and I wouldn't mind listening to a classic soul station at night.
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I'll second that motion....anything is better than "JATS" = Just Another Talk Station.

One of the other stations should take on WYRK I know 107.7 tried but if another FM station were to do it they could gain some audience. It might take awhile but I've seen it happen elsewhere.

MS
 
Here's a vote for the Lake keeping things the way they are. I was doing paperwork at home yesterday and had the Lake on. The music was absolutely fantastic. Even my wife, who despite my radio career doesn't pay all that much attention to my field, commented on the great songs she was hearing as she walked in and out of the room. I can't understand why it doesn't do better. Its music selection, at least to this listener, is the best in Buffalo radio. Yeah, I know the critics out there will say the lack of success is due to its laid back presentation and the incessant lake sound effects, which have grown old. And they do have a point. But to me it's all about the music. And the station plays what I want to hear more than another other.
 
More random thoughts:

I'd agree the Lake's music fulfills a needed niche. Their mic processing drives me nuts though.

How about oldies on WECK? I know the time has almost come for an end for music on AM.

Did I hear a commercial for a Bay City Rollers concert on 97 Rock yesterday? Holy crud!!!
 
WYRK'in It Out

WYRK is the market leader, but nobody seems to want to take them on head-on. Why?

Well, I think I have an inking. WYRK is getting about an 11.5 share. If somebody goes after them head-on, what can they expect? An even split? That's pretty doubtful, considering their status as a heritage station. So, you're looking at maybe a 4.5. That would be nice for WBEN and 97-Rock.

So, what stations have less than a 4.5 share 12+? Well, if we only look at this book and not past performance, there's The Edge. Could Citadel take them country? Maybe, but they'd give up their strong position in Men 18-49 that bundles nicely with their strong position in Men 25-54 on 97-Rock. Their 12+ gain would likely be marginal, and a drop in Men drops them out of buys directed toward that demo.

What's Entercom got? The Lake? I guess that they're a possibility given their poor performance. Country's been done on that frequency, but I think that the fact that Buddy Shula was a doing PM Drive tells you about the quality of their presentation.

Everybody else but WBUF is doing better than they're likely to as a challenger to WYRK, and Regent isn't going to compete with itself. Besides, as Country gets more and more diluted by Pop, the number of crossover songs on AC's like Star, WJYE, and WHTT continues to grow. That's more likely to nick away at WYRK than anything else.

It seems to me that WYRK might be winning the 12+ beauty contest for a long time to come.
 
Re: WYRK'in It Out

SirRoxalot said:
What's Entercom got? The Lake? I guess that they're a possibility given their poor performance. Country's been done on that frequency, but I think that the fact that Buddy Shula was a doing PM Drive tells you about the quality of their presentation.
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Buddy was doing nights at 107.7 WNUC. Sharon Nicholas was doing PM drive. Buddy is not one of the myriad of reasons for the lack of success at WNUC. John Casciani was determined to be a Buffalo competitor despite the poor signal and lack of resources. He also was far too loyal to people (like Sharon Nicholas) who had no business being more that a radio intern and protecting them seemed more important than success . The sound of the station was all over the place. It could have been a decently performing country alternative to WYRK by skewing the music a little older and being a more regional station as its' signal dictates but Casciani couldn't see that.
 
Good points, especially:
It could have been a decently performing country alternative to WYRK by skewing the music a little older and being a more regional station as its' signal dictates but Casciani couldn't see that.
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Casciani thought he stole the Hope Diamond when he sold the joint to Adelphia. He probably choked on his Brie and 1787 Chateau d'Yquem when he found out what Entercom payed for it a few years ago. Johnny C., What a guy. Which leads to the deduction that IF Entercom wanted to go country, they'd do it a helluva lot better than Casciani did with WNUC. They'd do it balls out and successfully as they do country in other markets, like San Francisco, Portland and, oh yeah.... Rochester. The Catch 22 is, Entercom might not at all be interested in taking 107.7 country because it might affect, in some incalculable way, WBEE in Rochester, the uncontested Queen of that market cluster. After all's said and done and the dust settles, my guess is the chirping crickets, swishing water, d-j story time and delightful music will be heard on 107.7 for some time to come. Anything to make David Field happy.

-9-
 
Good point about WBEE---country isn't likely to happen again. THE LAKE is fulfilling a niche and doing it just about as well as it possibly can given the signal. I think oldies would be the only other logical choice.
 
No sane company will bring oldies back to this market... Maybe some of the big ones (NY obviously has done it, and it's not even proven yet...)

The market is shrinking... Times are changing... Classic Rock is the new "oldies"

Hate to break it to all the people who miss oldies (and I have the feeling its primarily the 'older' folks on the board) it just ain't going to happen...

There is no logical reason for an oldies station
 
"There is no logical reason for an oldies station"

Maybe not for the kind of oldies station you recall from the past. But oldies radio has changed greatly in just a couple of years. The '50s songs, the doo-wop stuff, are gone. Stations like WCBS-FM have shifted their music mix a full decade forward to begin with the British Invasion and the peak of Motown, and emphasize the core acts of the 70s and 80s. The formatics resemble current CHR radio far more than the oldies radio of the past or the CHR radio of 30 or 40 years ago which inspired it. A station which begins with 1964 and plays mostly music which was popular between 1968 and 1988 is going to sound a lot different than the oldies stations of the past--and appeal to a much younger audience.
 
"There is no logical reason for an oldies station"

Maybe not for the kind of oldies station you recall from the past. But oldies radio has changed greatly in just a couple of years. The '50s songs, the doo-wop stuff, are gone. Stations like WCBS-FM have shifted their music mix a full decade forward to begin with the British Invasion and the peak of Motown, and emphasize the core acts of the 70s and 80s. The formatics resemble current CHR radio far more than the oldies radio of the past or the CHR radio of 30 or 40 years ago which inspired it. A station which begins with 1964 and plays mostly music which was popular between 1968 and 1988 is going to sound a lot different than the oldies stations of the past--and appeal to a much younger audience.

I agree with you Bob and to back you up, WSEN in Syracuse has done just what you said (are you their consultant?). They are one of the hottest sounding staions around and I can think of least 30 radio stations in Rochester and Buffalo that would be envious of their 25 - 54 numbers.
 
therealjm12 said:
WSEN in Syracuse has done just what you said (are you their consultant?). They are one of the hottest sounding staions around and I can think of least 30 radio stations in Rochester and Buffalo that would be envious of their 25 - 54 numbers.
Click to expand...

I'd love to hear what they are doing these days, as I used to think that they were a pretty awful station.
 
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