The Beat of New York?

[DOB]

WKTU part 2 has had decent success being an uptempo adult chr/hot ac that fills in a niche between sister stations chr z100 and ac lite-fm.

They benefit from having a very good afternoon personality that is the perfect amount nyc without going too far and turning off suburban listeners.

Recently they have been tempted to chase some of the old PLJ listening, not so much as a benefit for them, but as a cluster to make sure that 102.7 doesn't gobble them all up.

Have they gone too far? They are really going away from what New York listeners have expected from them as the beat of New York, a format that is custom built for this market that probably wouldn't work in many other markets.

Today, they are playing the regular slow mix of Lewis Capaldi. The KTU of the past would also be playing this monster song, but it would an uptempo remix that offers a nice switch up from the regular mix that is being pounded by their 2 sisters and the competition at 102.7. You also see a song that is signature KTU in Regard's "Ride it" that they are not even touching.

I get the idea to hold back 102.7 with those WPLJ numbers out there. Those PLJ numbers can be a very nice addition to the station who secures them the most but the beat of New York is a brand that has worked in regards to on its own but more so for the NYC i-heart cluster. I think that they are getting away from this station being special for this particular market and that their is much greater potential in leaning back a bit to what WKTU was initially designed to be. It's not 1996, but a 2020 version that plays the right upbeat mix of currents, re-currents, and the very important gold selections of New York past hits (that's does differ from national with a bunch of titles) would make this station much stronger. Before the tainted holiday books (12 is a bit tainted as 13 is completely) WKTU had taken a hit, and with more shares out there from the demise of WPLJ that shouldn't happen.

Thoughts?

 

[DOB]

Just to add to this, 2 of the most played songs on WKTU are the slow regular mixes of Maroon 5 "Memories" and Selena Gomez "lose". There is a nice remix of Memories that just adds a little more beat to it, doesn't make it a 125bpm dance song, and a few nice dance remixes of Selena. The first 20 years of KTU part 2 would no doubt be playing upbeat remixes of these slow songs, as NYC loves remixes and KTU stayed true to being "The beat of New York".

 

[mjb1124]

I agree, the station has skewed too much towards milquetoast Hot AC lately. Not sure if it's more a reaction to PLJ departing, or just the PD stretching himself too thin, but it's clearly hurting the station in the ratings. I know WNEW has made big gains following the loss of PLJ, but KTU should really stay in their lane.

 

[d21ofnj]

La Mega should be "The Beat of New York" at this point. I hear more EDM mashups and dance remixes than KTU's Remix Top 30 show. Let WNEW take the PLJ audience, iHeart still has the top station in the game for the AC/soccer mom crowd and that's Lite-FM.

 

[Marcos_C]

A few months ago, I heard KTU play "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran. It was the original solo version, not the duet with Beyonce. Naturally, I was surprised to hear that song on KTU.

La Mega should be "The Beat of New York" at this point.

Actually, it is La Mega's competitor that more or less calls itself that. The slogan of La X 96.3 is "El Ritmo de New York" ("The Rhythm of New York"). Its format is Spanish Rhythmic AC.