Jeffrey said:
Not to say that dance is their cup of tea but a station similar to Pulse in approach (as we call perhaps a niche formatted station) and not formatted for suburban women (as most NY. stations seem to be) might actually bring some listeners back to radio instead of the eventual demize of radio as we know it today.
Jeffrey, THANK YOU FOR NAILING THIS ON THE HEAD!
It seems as of recent that "niche" is a dirty word in the radio industry. But let's look at it this way....when you put your favorite tunes on an iPod, in effect you are creating your own "niche" of music that you enjoy. The reason why people who have flocked to satellite radio have STAYED there is because the majority of the channels have "niched" programming catered to their specific tastes; channels that cater to rock fans, heavy metal fans, classic rock fans, hip-hop fans, dance music fans, etc.
The big outcry against "Jack" wasn't just the fact that it replaced a legendary oldies station out of WCBS but that the music was just too general...like an "iPod jukebox" of sorts. To which that was a mistake right there because by being too general, you isolated people at times. And even though 'KTU may be doing well from a ratings point of view, they have become VERY general in terms of the format, sticking TOO safe. Should be VERY interesting to see what happens with 'KTU around the first book with Pulse 87 (if they make it in there). Even with the new rock station WRXP, they too are being very general. I don't see a Q-104 listener switch over to the station, listen to Zeppelin only to be followed up by the Barenaked Ladies. And who knows WHAT the heck K-Rock is trying to do.
Country may be considered "niche" to some and often enough it has been argued that such a format would NOT work in New York City. Yet, as Ray Rossi pointed on another board, country concerts that do take place here SELL OUT. If there wasn't a big enough base of country fans here, then no one would give a crap about attending concerts like Rascal Flatts, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood....just to name a few. In that sense, I hope country fans DO get a position on the standard dial somewhere!
Niche..smiche...we have to change that thinking now! Niche is not a five letter dirty word....anymore.
