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The Mountain changing formats

Yup...just need to allocate funds to important things like that instead of the "other things".
 
96.5 Jack FM seems to be throwing some fun punches at 103.7's new format.
 
Re:

Could the imaging on 103.7 possibly sound any more limp? The playlist is not nearly as adventurous as it could be, either. Station has a very boring sound overall.

Someone asked why 92.5 dumped Rhythmic AC. The answer is pretty simple -- the ratings were underwhelming and CHR offered greater upside.

92.5 generally hovered around a 2.5 or 3.0 share when it was full-bore Rhythmic AC. That was when 106.1 was the only CHR in the market and 98.9 was still playing Smooth Jazz.

There are more stations vying for females 25-44 in the Seattle market these days than there were back then. I think this station will be near the back of the ratings pack (among FM stations) for a long time. Wouldn't surprise me if it becomes the market's third CHR eventually.
 
re JackFM

Hey Jack! Listener of your station too, and the 1970s-90s mix is pretty good. Not the same 100 songs over and over like your Entercom competitors. I'd say someone at CBS needs to bring back AAA. ;)

-crainbebo
 
Re: imaging on 103.7 Star has the most boring imaging in the market, and only uses what imaging they have every 4th song or so. Hot at least uses it every other song at least.
 
bobdavcav said:
Re: imaging on 103.7 Star has the most boring imaging in the market, and only uses what imaging they have every 4th song or so. Hot at least uses it every other song at least.
Click to expand...

Why do you think that's the case?
 
KMTT is now KHTP......Further proof "call letters don't matter".

"Hot TP"? Stay classy there Entercom.......
 
I was making reference to the posts by others here and on other boards that argue "call letters don't matter whatsoever anymore". However it seems with every major format change, the call letters of the changed station change as well.

So yes, in a subtle way they DO matter. Or just enough to make the effort to pick them and change them.

Interesting the KMTT calls would wind up there instead of back in the pool. But I guess if you're even going to park them anywhere, it's FURTHER proof that call letters matter more than those who think otherwise would care to admit. I think the 910/94.7 HD2 simulcast could use a better imaging than what they have and hopefully "The Mountain" could be resurrected as such. But I hope they keep the current format. It's one of the best stations on AM (or otherwise) out there.
 
Bongwater said:
I was making reference to the posts by others here and on other boards that argue "call letters don't matter whatsoever anymore". However it seems with every major format change, the call letters of the changed station change as well.

So yes, in a subtle way they DO matter. Or just enough to make the effort to pick them and change them.

Interesting the KMTT calls would wind up there instead of back in the pool. But I guess if you're even going to park them anywhere, it's FURTHER proof that call letters matter more than those who think otherwise would care to admit. I think the 910/94.7 HD2 simulcast could use a better imaging than what they have and hopefully "The Mountain" could be resurrected as such. But I hope they keep the current format. It's one of the best stations on AM (or otherwise) out there.
Click to expand...

They're changed for other reasons, but don't let that stop you.
 
LITTLEBOYBLUE said:
Interesting piece from SeaTimes about John Fisher.
http://seattletimes.com/html/nicolebrodeur/2021803888_nicole15xml.html
Click to expand...

Very interesting and enjoyable news article. I think 20 years at The Mountain was a good run for Mr. Fisher. But I am reminded that formats and markets evolve over time, and station management need to evolve and recognize the trends, and make changes when they are necessary.

To me, The Mountain and even Smooth Jazz KWJZ are victims of managment error. Formats can become stale and I think this is what happened here. These were two stations that had terrrific connections to their listener base. Like a good friend. Personal and intimate. Yet they both ultimately failed to retain a strong listenership at the end. Sure, one can blame the marketplace----those damn 30-somethings and their digital devices. But perhaps there was more to it. Maybe the population stilll needed intimacy with their radio personalities, but in a different way. Maybe the music scene evolves and the station doesn't stay with the trends. Or maybe, and this hurts, folks are simply tired of hearing the same voice over, and over again.

So what I'm saying is that both announcers and management must be on their toes and change with the times and the trends. The Mountain's HD Channel 2 signal is of high quality and worthy of your ear. If there was a mistake that was made it was to not slowly ingratiate Channel 2 into the main line of Channel 1. If it was me, I would have moved the 103.3 translator to Capitol Hilll (to cover Bellevue and Seattle), and ran the HD 2 signal on that channel, and then transitioned the main line 103.7 mHz over a period of 6 months into that HD 2 program.

Oh well, I guess we'll see how things go.................
 
This was planned well in advance. In spite of it's problems, KMTT still very much had a loyal and dedicated audience, if not as big in the PPMs as Entercom would have liked. And a lot of that of Entercom's own doing.

But there was no way in hell KMTT could compete in Classic Rock. And certainly not with "The Mountain" imaging and no major promotion of the Classic Rock switch, no lineup of personalities, no real effort. Nothing. So they knew it.

First, KZOK OWNS that format in Seattle. KJR-FM is no match. So when KMTT flipped to Classic Rock on their main channel and put the original KMTT format on HD-2, we all knew KMTT itself was on life support.

Second, "The Mountain" evoked thoughts of "that coffeehouse music channel" in the minds of Classic Rock fans. Which is why it was largely ignored. And those who remained were likely holding out because KMTT wasn't ENTIRELY Classic Rock (you still heard a Dave Matthews tune and a few '90s tracks.) But they could never impact KZOK or KJR-FM in any major way. It was just slightly better to remaining KMTT listeners than what the other stations offered. But far from they expected of KMTT. So KMTT just schlepped along with this as their listeners were steadily jumping ship to other options (and NOT particularly to the HD-2 channel. A radio station can only jerk it's listeners around so long before they've completely had it with them.)

It was just easier for them to slowly kill it off. Besides as I said, the writing was on the wall. And they had other plans.....
 
Can't believe it's almost been 3 years since KWJZ went off the air. RIP.

-crainbebo
 
Bongwater, while I agree with your analysis, how is Click not dead yet? They've tweaked musically how many times now? I heard them going very rhythmic the other day, like Gym Class Heroes, then a few songs later Cobra Starship, neither song they touched when they first launched.
 
KLCK is an anomaly. And while they COULD skew towards AAA, I don't see it happening. First, once you've completely disillusioned people with terrestrial commercial radio, getting second chances is not going to be easy. And let's face it. Unless you're a teenybopper, a soccer mom, an old butt-rocker, an armchair quarterback, a grouchy old white guy, a suburban cowboy or a religious nut. Seattle commercial radio just isn't for you. Because this is how myopic and narrow the selection of formats has gotten.
 
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