The Future Of Country Radio In Boston

[Retro]

Earlier this past week, Radioink posted this article:

The Bifurcation of Country - Radio Ink

(Mike McVay) Country, as a radio format, has been eroding for several years. Country is seeing an audience rating slide that’s greater than that of other mass music formats.

radioink.com

My question is Boston losing cume for its 2 stations? While I do not really listen to either "The Bull", or "Country 102.5" either, it was my understanding that one station is New Country, while the other is Classic Country instead. The truth be told, I cannot tell the difference between both stations at all.

My question is do you think that in the not too distant future, that these stations will have to be more fragmented than they are now, as per what the article indicates?

 

[TheBigA]

My question is Boston losing cume for its 2 stations?

It's not just Boston. The country format in many cities has gone steadily down this year. One theory is the lack of major concerts. For more than 10 years, Kenny Chesney closed out his tour with two sold out shows at Gillette. But not last year. Several other top stars played Gillette, but not last year. I sense that the lack to active touring has hurt the country format, because the format drove people to those shows and also broadcast live from them. Touring ties in with the new releases, and also helps introduce new stars.

And both country stations are currents-based stations, basically playing the same songs in the same rotation. That's where the money is in the format.

 

[raccoonradio]

Indeed the pandemic-caused absence of concerts hurts. iHeart depends on things like concerts and festivals/artist promotion in formats like country, etc. They went CW in Boston on 101.7 in June of 2014 and used the "hot new country" slogan which led WKLB--new songs/artists and some recurrents--to declare themselves "Boston's #1 for Hot New Country".
They even cancelled their long-running country oldies show.
Gradually WKLB's ratings had been getting better
and better and iHR wanted in.

There's enough listeners to sustain two CW stations here but the lack of concerts hurts.
iHeart has similar Bull stations around the country with Bobby Bones in mornings (the Pittsburgh one launched as Big [104.7] as CBS at the time already had a "Bull" on an HD signal).
Some markets can also justify classic country
stations.Pittsburgh has 3 currents--the other 2 are Entercom's Y108 and Forever's Froggy--plus Forever's Willie statons for classic country.

Cumulus in Worcester does have a Nash Icon at 98.9; billed by Westwood One as "a current-based music mix with a superstar library based in the late '80s, '90s and early 2000s". So, as of now
Boston does fine with two country stations plus any rimshotters like 98.9; WOKQ on NH seacoast; Cat Country from New Bedford at 98.1...