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The evolution of Hot 98.1

C

carolinaradio

Has anyone else noticed the very gradual transition of Hot 98.1 from a Rhythmic CHR to a straight up CHR? The likes of Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Ellie Goulding, etc. now make up the majority of the playlist with next to no urban or hip-hop/rap material that's not charting CHR left (no more Gucci Mane...). Another practice the station has stopped doing is mainly playing hip hop/rap remixes of mainstream CHR hits that made them more rhythmic friendly. The point of Hot was always to protect sister Jamz as a flanker that was urban enough to block a competitor from coming on the scene but it seems like that's no longer the case. They're basically a younger leaning B 93.7. It started around a year or so ago after Cox sold it but it's really noticeable now.

This really isn't a massive surprise considering the shift nationwide on many stations from Rhythmic CHR to CHR, but it's funny the market basically has 2 CHR's now and it hasn't really been noticed. The only issue is that many of the personalities are just bad, not that Hawk and Tom are any better though.
 
At anytime Hip-Hop Rap Horse Manure looses Airplay, it is a Positive. It was Label swayed Programmers that gave that Crap the light of day, years ago, that ran the upper part of the CHR audience over to that Homogenized Twangless Southern Pop that they still label...Country. Wait!...not so fast! Listen to this Logic. I said it, but there were dozens of others that shared the opinion: They can't Sing or even Play, yet their label is panning for Airplay....Hmmmmmm?

I like Hawk & Tom, but their biggest let-down is what the PD has given them to Play, and attempt a carving in the Morning tree.
Again, Gunfighters, without Bullets.

The Pop product has always been there, but when your Programmer follows the whims of the Labels, for whatever reason, then the application renders poor results. A CHR should be near the Top. Now just look at how efficient Country Radio is ran....it was on TV last night for three hours. Some of the worst sell-out, hood ornament sludge that I have ever seen. To compeeeeeeeet....with that....CHR has to return to F.E.I....."Fight Ending Intentions"!
 
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I thought this was a thread about a top 40 station. Hot has done very well to be around for so long (almost 15 years). It breaks a 5-share, pretty good in this day and age.

As Scooter says, CHR has To compeeeeeeeet.... not just with CDs, but with Pandora, iPods, cell phones, iPhone music, and whatever is on MTV. It is not 15-20 years ago when people would call in and request their favorite songs every night, and the "Top 9 at 9" was a huge deal. Augusta doesn't even have one. In Charlotte, the two country stations are top 2 while CHR isn't in top 5.
 
It's also interesting to note that while Hot skews more CHR, B93.7 has been skewing towards rythmic CHR. Both come on the heels of the departure of Dave Jackson from Summit, where he was critical of the moves to move things like Bastille into the Hot mix, to Entercom, where he now programs B.

I'd say the moves in the opposite directions for each station have actually made them much closer together in their sound and playlist. During the transition, Hot sounded as if it was having an identity crisis and the move didn't seem to make sense when they had been routinely beating B93.7 as a rythmnic CHR. Now, they have come full circle in the move.

It'll be interesting to see now that the two are closer together if anything changes ratings wise. I suspect not as B needs more than just a little more urban lean to fix it's problems IMO.

Strangely, the aging Hawk and Tom still seem to appeal to a younger audience as both of my kids and their peers like to listen to them. Of course, that's just a small sampling and, no matter what I can't see that holding forever.
 
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It is not a stretch for me to defend Hawk & Tom. I know Heidi from years back, Love her too. That Morning show has Talent, but kept crippled, by probably some Pencilneck Corp PD, and/or Hemroidal Consultant. I have not monitored much, but I can smell the rot of Fat Stop-Sets, and a Burnt Playlist. If you gave them some Bullets, they could shoot at something; maybe #4. Also, in that Entercom building, going to waste, is Mark Hendrix. I consider him one of the Best Air Talents, that I have ever heard...Damn Good, and Dangerous, if seated in the right Daypart! Hot 98's Biggest Flub is warm bodies receiving a paycheck, when real Announcers are outta work. Hot has no Hawk & Tom!
 
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To have a somewhat troubled signal, Hot does better than B on average it seems. At this point I think a Clear Channel CHR can be ruled out of the picture in the future. As a genre, a station playing exclusively hip hop/rap has had trouble commercially in the past 5-6 years. As a result, many rhythmic CHR's have "evolved" in to pop CHR stations that have dance/rhythmic pop tendencies. Prime example, B-96.3 WBBM-FM in Chicago, Now 92.3 NYC, Amp 97.1 LA. Current CHR charts that lean rhythmic are helpful to these stations as well. Hot is merely (albeit late) following a trend. They are definitely a little still rhythmic than B, but a rhythmic CHR they no longer are. I'm just surprised Summit is leaving a space for an Urban station so wide open. Hot was always just "urban enough" to keep a competitor from entering the space, but that's no longer the case.

For whatever reason, the only region Rhythmic CHR as we knew it seems to be struggling on is the southwest due to the large hispanic population. However, the format is done in Greenville, SC and most other markets in the country.
 
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being a mobile dj that
















being the mobile dj that I am, I listen to several different stations in a day and cover the dial in week, doing weddings corporate parties you have to to keep,up I also get brand new releases from country rhythm and mainstream each month many gigabytes, but what Im saying is to be a mobile dj you have to have it all, if I wanted the hottest in urban I would always hit 98.1 but I see the difference now
 
With Hot 98, don't expect a Programming Miracle here, for there is still a lot that could go wrong; namely a Consultant changing horses in the middle of the stream. If something leans, it leans, but that doesn't mean that it will fall. Just imagine some suit not pleased, and a new Programmer plugged-in to allegedly fix what the suit thinks is wrong. I have live through such. New plug-ins have to rearrange everything to create the illusion that they "Know"! I just don't see much hope for an advance, just because it now leans.
 
Still surprised that the Upstate region doesn't have an Urban Contemporary station. The Urban AC format on 107.3 JAMZ has been #1 for as long as I can remember with no competition insight.
 
I always thought 98.1 would evolve to Urban Contemporary or somebody else would, but that's apparently not the case. Summit Media must be confident enough in Jamz to let their buffer for it at 98.1 go away. Still weird hearing Taylor Swift on "Hot 98.1"....I would have suggested a rebrand or something
 
Disco died, and so did that "Unexplainable" Seattle Grunge stuff. They really are not trends, but pathways...Long Ones! However, that Horse Manure known as Hip-Hop/Rap is not, yet a Product of the Industry; making records, recording those that can't Sing nor Play, and using their weight to shove. At this time, a lot of PD's are starting to see this, and its uselessness has even become a Clearwater Chronicle for some PD's, that you discounted to not ever figure. That smell is Coffee, and even the Urban stations are starting to sniff. There are so many Talented Urban Artists that deserve the Airplay, and hopefully they will get it....Too much Good Soul Music! As for CHR, the Pop product has always been there, but maybe not on major labels. So, PD's have to go Hunting to meet the needs of their audience.
 
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What's really interesting is HOT's on-air staff is mostly African American which is odd for a pop station in the South. If a station were to go Urban, 107.3 JAMZ along with HOT 98.1 would drop in ratings. The format hole is definitely there. Similar situation happened with Cox/Summit in Orlando, FL. STAR 95.3 Urban AC and Rhythmic sister POWER 95.3, but no station was playing Hip-Hop. I-Heart Media launched an Urban translator and Coxs' Rhythmic POWER 95.3 went from pop to Hip-Hop.
 
ShawtyBlack_ATL said:
What's really interesting is HOT's on-air staff is mostly African American which is odd for a pop station in the South. If a station were to go Urban, 107.3 JAMZ along with HOT 98.1 would drop in ratings. The format hole is definitely there. Similar situation happened with Cox/Summit in Orlando, FL. STAR 95.3 Urban AC and Rhythmic sister POWER 95.3, but no station was playing Hip-Hop. I-Heart Media launched an Urban translator and Coxs' Rhythmic POWER 95.3 went from pop to Hip-Hop.
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in Greenville you can get WPEG Power 98 from Charlotte with rabbit ears, and also V-101.9 which are more true urban formats. Although they can be a bit spotty in the car, especially WPEG. But they come in good in Spartanburg. But locally, HOT 98.1 does not seem to be seeking a true urban audience, but rather a broader demographic in an attempt to lure listeners from B-93.7.
 
99.99999999% of Upstate SC listeners are not trying to get out of area stations that don't come in well, much less with rabbit eats.

HOT 98.1 played "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon today. With that song being as guitar driven as it is, I think this is the moment to say HOT 98.1 is officially as mainstream CHR as they come. Now, PLEASE kill B-93.7!
 
You know, I was thinking that HOT adding a song like "Shut Up And Dance" is actually quite significant. Even 6 months ago, they wouldn't dare have touched a pop/rock, driving track like that. It's one of the first non-alternative rock'ish songs to chart that high on CHR in a while but the last time that happened they would have resisted it. They also wouldn't have played a song like Maroon 5's "Sugar" without playing some kind of rhythmic remix, much less Ed Sheeran or Taylor Swift.

I just REALLY hope this station will turn up the heat (no pun intended) on B-93.7. Although B-93.7's music skews a bit more rhythmic/liberal and younger, its presentation is older sounding while HOT is safer and has more vibrant presentation. So odd.
 
carolinaradio said:
99.99999999% of Upstate SC listeners are not trying to get out of area stations that don't come in well, much less with rabbit eats.

HOT 98.1 played "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon today. With that song being as guitar driven as it is, I think this is the moment to say HOT 98.1 is officially as mainstream CHR as they come. Now, PLEASE kill B-93.7!
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Not going to happen. Ratings are too good.
 
carolinaradio said:
99.99999999% of Upstate SC listeners are not trying to get out of area stations that don't come in well, much less with rabbit eats.

HOT 98.1 played "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon today. With that song being as guitar driven as it is, I think this is the moment to say HOT 98.1 is officially as mainstream CHR as they come. Now, PLEASE kill B-93.7!
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The Charlotte stations come in clear in Spartanburg. But they start to become spotty in Greenville unless you connect rabbit ears to your home radio receiver. Amazing that younger folks fail to realize this. I grew up in the 70's and 80's where it was common practice to use an antenna to receive radio and TV stations both near and far. But of course internet streaming opens a whole new world ...
 
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