THE END OF THE BLACK FORMATTED STATIONS?

[kevinsealy]

Although this topic may seem premature, with the PPM showing that R&B and Hip- Hop stations losing ratings in dramatic numbers in Philadelphia and now in New York what does the future hold for WQHT (Hot 97) and for WBLS?

Some programmers said it could be the end of their formats. But Black radio in the late 70's and early 80's, especially WBLS sprinkled in Barbra Streisand, John Lennon, the Doobie Brother and Abba who had no connection with R&B.

Will Hot 97 have to throw in acts like Green Day and Maroon Five along with 50 Cent and Jay-Z just to survive?





Thanks,
Kevin L. Sealy

 

[JerseyDude]

I have been listening to Urban radio my entire life. I am tired of hearing garbage like T-Pain,Keyshia Cole and Soulja Boy. Stations that play this crap should add a little Maroon 5 and Kevin Michael. Stations that bang that Keyshia stuff into the ground should flip to Top 40 or AC. I wouldn't miss her.

 

[disney fanatic]

I don't listen to some current urban stuff, but I do listened to 60's, 70's and 80's urban music on the station as part of Hal Jackson's "Sunday Classics" and Felix Hernandez's "Rhythm Revue".

 

[jayskillz]

In my opinion WBLS has really dropped the ball. They could really do something different here and take a chance.
They should drop the "Today's R&B and Classic Soul " nonsense. 98.7 kissfm does that and they do it well. With WLIB going
gospel, BLS could mix hot urban talk & music. I don't mean wendy williams gossip garbage. Classic soul / old school hip-hop /
and dance A unique mix of classic new york urban hits. With legendary classic NY air personalities & mix-show dj's & local talk
Of course this would never happen. But it would be great. You don't need to add wack rock or cornball pop queens to make a
station successful. Black formatted stations, if ran correctly can still exist.

 

[JerseyDude]

jayskillz ,

I love that idea. It will never happen because it makes too much sense.

 

[davideduardo]

In my opinion WBLS has really dropped the ball. They could really do something different here and take a chance.
They should drop the "Today's R&B and Classic Soul " nonsense. 98.7 kissfm does that and they do it well. With WLIB going
gospel, BLS could mix hot urban talk & music. I don't mean wendy williams gossip garbage. Classic soul / old school hip-hop /
and dance A unique mix of classic new york urban hits. With legendary classic NY air personalities & mix-show dj's & local talk
Of course this would never happen. But it would be great. You don't need to add wack rock or cornball pop queens to make a
station successful. Black formatted stations, if ran correctly can still exist.

I'm amazed. We have an Arbitron issue that is veery serious, and you blame the station, based on 28 days worth of test data. There is nothing wrong with WBLS. There is a great deal wrong with the PPM sample.

 

[4dude]

I hope Adult Urban stations dont end!!!!!!

Smooth R&B is the best

 

[FCR]

In my opinion WBLS has really dropped the ball. They could really do something different here and take a chance.
They should drop the "Today's R&B and Classic Soul " nonsense. 98.7 kissfm does that and they do it well. With WLIB going
gospel, BLS could mix hot urban talk & music. I don't mean wendy williams gossip garbage. Classic soul / old school hip-hop /
and dance A unique mix of classic new york urban hits. With legendary classic NY air personalities & mix-show dj's & local talk
Of course this would never happen. But it would be great. You don't need to add wack rock or cornball pop queens to make a
station successful. Black formatted stations, if ran correctly can still exist.

I'm amazed. We have an Arbitron issue that is veery serious, and you blame the station, based on 28 days worth of test data. There is nothing wrong with WBLS. There is a great deal wrong with the PPM sample.

Yeah, the survey sizes have been a huge topic of debate, even outside the NY market. That's why Cumulus, Clear Channel, and others sent Arbitron a letter last week saying "you've got 30 days to put a new plan in action."

 

[Lando Griffin]

In my opinion WBLS has really dropped the ball. They could really do something different here and take a chance.
They should drop the "Today's R&B and Classic Soul " nonsense. 98.7 kissfm does that and they do it well. With WLIB going
gospel, BLS could mix hot urban talk & music. I don't mean wendy williams gossip garbage. Classic soul / old school hip-hop /
and dance A unique mix of classic new york urban hits. With legendary classic NY air personalities & mix-show dj's & local talk
Of course this would never happen. But it would be great. You don't need to add wack rock or cornball pop queens to make a
station successful. Black formatted stations, if ran correctly can still exist.

I'm amazed. We have an Arbitron issue that is veery serious, and you blame the station, based on 28 days worth of test data. There is nothing wrong with WBLS. There is a great deal wrong with the PPM sample.

Yeah, the survey sizes have been a huge topic of debate, even outside the NY market. That's why Cumulus, Clear Channel, and others sent Arbitron a letter last week saying "you've got 30 days to put a new plan in action."

Crybabies!

 

[oaktree]

As long as there is "successful" urban programming, decent and listenable music, relateable personalities, community involvement and, most of all -- a strong business ethic and plan -- urban radio will survive as well as any other format.

It's when the listeners stop listening, the advertisers stop buying and the radio stations get sloppy that will kill the format -- just like it does in any format.

 

[chuckydoll]

No -- just a self-serving thread

[EDIT]

NYC is majority black and brown. It makes sense for FM stations to target that population.

It also makes sense if people would remember to turn off Caps Lock when posting a thread!


[EDIT-inflammatory]

 

[raydofan]

In my opinion WBLS has really dropped the ball. They could really do something different here and take a chance.
They should drop the "Today's R&B and Classic Soul " nonsense. 98.7 kissfm does that and they do it well. With WLIB going
gospel, BLS could mix hot urban talk & music. I don't mean wendy williams gossip garbage. Classic soul / old school hip-hop /
and dance A unique mix of classic new york urban hits. With legendary classic NY air personalities & mix-show dj's & local talk
Of course this would never happen. But it would be great. You don't need to add wack rock or cornball pop queens to make a
station successful. Black formatted stations, if ran correctly can still exist.

I'm amazed. We have an Arbitron issue that is veery serious, and you blame the station, based on 28 days worth of test data. There is nothing wrong with WBLS. There is a great deal wrong with the PPM sample.

Yeah, the survey sizes have been a huge topic of debate, even outside the NY market. That's why Cumulus, Clear Channel, and others sent Arbitron a letter last week saying "you've got 30 days to put a new plan in action."

A few questions come to mind:

1) Were the PPMs applied concurrently with the diaries?

2) Are the dips and spikes attributable to operator error?

3) Why isn't there a cell phone application that does the same thing the 'pager' does?

4) How does this one month make a difference, when advertisers inevitably look for trends?

 

[BJSteigner]

Time to kill the fake music on the radio and bring back the real stuff...That's what the audience wants.

 

[adma]

Time to kill the fake music on the radio and bring back the real stuff...That's what the audience wants.

In a thread like this, esp. after the "white supremacist fantasy" comment, that reads a little iffy...

 

[xmradiopro]

Does this mean we might see WRKS go back to a Top 40 station possibly NYC official Oldies station, MOR, Country, Standards, etc. ?
I myself would like to see WRKS go back to their WOR-FM or WXLO call letters for a Super Oldies format something like WPIX had..remember NYC officially still doesn't have a Oldies station as WCBS-FM is Classic hits.

Although this topic may seem premature, with the PPM showing that R&B and Hip- Hop stations losing ratings in dramatic numbers in Philadelphia and now in New York what does the future hold for WQHT (Hot 97) and for WBLS?

Some programmers said it could be the end of their formats. But Black radio in the late 70's and early 80's, especially WBLS sprinkled in Barbra Streisand, John Lennon, the Doobie Brother and Abba who had no connection with R&B.

Will Hot 97 have to throw in acts like Green Day and Maroon Five along with 50 Cent and Jay-Z just to survive?





Thanks,
Kevin L. Sealy

 

[davideduardo]

1) Were the PPMs applied concurrently with the diaries?

There are no diaries. In a PPM market, diaries stop being used when the PPM starts.

2) Are the dips and spikes attributable to operator error?

There are no "operators." If the meter is moved during the day, its detections count. If it does not, they don't.

3) Why isn't there a cell phone application that does the same thing the 'pager' does?

Because to use a cellphone, Arbitron would have to adapt different models, suitable to the taste and use of each participant, and modify each. Right now, none has a proper microphone for detection. This will take years to work out.

4) How does this one month make a difference, when advertisers inevitably look for trends?

Each "month" in PPM is the equivalent of three months of diary surveying. There is no trending; the panel is the same size every daym minute, week, month, year.

 

[raydofan]

1) Were the PPMs applied concurrently with the diaries?

There are no diaries. In a PPM market, diaries stop being used when the PPM starts.

Not even in the initial stages-to compare methodologies?

2) Are the dips and spikes attributable to operator error?

There are no "operators." If the meter is moved during the day, its detections count. If it does not, they don't.

So, what happens when the unit isn't docked, isn't carried, and doesn't cover all listening habits? Is all the information rendered moot, even if the device is deployed properly only 23% of the time?

3) Why isn't there a cell phone application that does the same thing the 'pager' does?

Because to use a cellphone, Arbitron would have to adapt different models, suitable to the taste and use of each participant, and modify each. Right now, none has a proper microphone for detection. This will take years to work out.

OK: Module, modified sim card, one of those sneaky programs like the Feds use to tap...? Some cell phones have voice-actuated dialing-I think the technologies are quite close to each other.

4) How does this one month make a difference, when advertisers inevitably look for trends?

Each "month" in PPM is the equivalent of three months of diary surveying. There is no trending; the panel is the same size every daym minute, week, month, year.

Please clarify 'there is no trending'. We're counting on all the same behavior every day, week, month, year? Granted, there is a more real-time picture of listening habits in the sample, but how does 1=3 in the is case?