Upstate ratings

[101tm]

https://ratings.****************/content/arb191

We begin to see the effects of the 106.3 and 98.9 format switch with Magic - just recently in the top 3 - collapsing down to a 2.9 share. Meanwhile, WYRD has re-entered the top 5 after a long absence at #5, undoubtedly due to the boosted signal and hype they put around it. WGTK was down slightly, but holding up considering it now has WYRD to compete with head on.

It seems like The Lake has been struggling this year to get the numbers it was. While The Block was up, it doesn’t seem like they’ll ever be seeing those 2+ shares again.

Summit’s translators seem to be doing quite poorly - especially X-98.5 which is a bit concerning since it’s the last station in that cluster that isn’t rhythmic or urban, and it really hasn’t been doing well for a while. Too early to see what the 99.5 change will do. It seems like none of the translators do as well as they did 5-6 years ago. 98.5 and 99.5 used to crack over a 1 share, and The Block did better than that.

 

[AMRocks]

One thing I'd like to add. Yes, absolutely having that bigger signal is helping WORD, but we're also beginning political season. That's also helping with the boost in ratings. Remember, during high politics time, WORD did quite well on the inferior signal. The test will be how well it does compared to two years ago before the midterm elections. (I suspect that it will do really well!)

 

[101tm]

One thing I'd like to add. Yes, absolutely having that bigger signal is helping WORD, but we're also beginning political season. That's also helping with the boost in ratings. Remember, during high politics time, WORD did quite well on the inferior signal. The test will be how well it does compared to two years ago before the midterm elections. (I suspect that it will do really well!)

Actually, News/talk combined is getting almost an 8 share between 94.5 and 98.9 RIGHT NOW, which is almost unheard of in any other nearby market for the format. Certainly not in Columbia or Charlotte (if you add NPR, maybe). I know IHeart’s talk station in Raleigh-Durham is generally in the 6+ top 3, but that’s one of the few I can think of, especially that isn’t NPR. So you’re right. GSP is unfortunately a very polarized and politically active market that favors the type of talk programming that 94.5 and 98.9 are offering so it shouldn’t be hard for talk to do well. I guess the local hosts are popular…

I wonder how much of Magic’s loss is due to confusion or listeners trying other stations out vs. signal loss. I’m betting more on confusion due to the fact it was only promoted once per hour up until the change and was sort of shoved over to 106.3 without much attention at first, and they didn’t mention really until days after that it was on 95.1 and 101.5 as well. I don’t think the signal declined that much over the market to cause that much of a drop, but it’s not really obvious where those Magic listeners went. Maybe some of them liked the talk format.

 

[tylerSC]

I wonder if the midday ratings on WORD declined since Vince Coakley was dropped, or was there an improvement? I still listen on WBT, although I don't necessarily agree with his viewpoint.

 

[101tm]

I wonder if the midday ratings on WORD declined since Vince Coakley was dropped, or was there an improvement? I still listen on WBT, although I don't necessarily agree with his viewpoint.

That’s a good question. I wonder if Bill Frady’s show is popular? I much would prefer Vince Coakley, but I can see Frady doing well with their audience. It doesn’t seem like it’s pulled the station down.

 

[genius]

That’s a good question. I wonder if Bill Frady’s show is popular? I much would prefer Vince Coakley, but I can see Frady doing well with their audience. It doesn’t seem like it’s pulled the station down.

If it makes you feel any better I can tell you now that Frady and Tara confided to a source that trying to equally balance DeSantis, Trump and Tim Scott is very very dizzying. Tara was the other day on air trying to defend her recent interview with DeSantis as “objective in respect with others” following a lot of complaints 🤣Not to mention while the ratings are up the demos sure aren’t.

 

[101tm]

https://ratings.****************/content/arb191

This is a very weird one. Jamz at an 11 share (yet no one will take them on outside of translators), a massive surge for WMYI and WROQ and WYRD-FM that seems pretty abnormal.

Audacy isn’t a smart company, but they have completely collapsed Magic and its potentially lucrative AC format down to a 2 share. And the signal can not be blamed for all of that collapse because ”news”/talk at points got 5-6 or even higher shares putting it in the top 3 on 106.3 in its heyday. Oldies got a 3 something share on a shoestring budget. I think a lot of the AC listeners got lost and went elsewhere since the move of Magic was barely promoted. 93.3 and 93.7 aren’t doing much better on their class C signals.

I find it hard to believe 98.9 gained all of these listeners when there’s no driver (maybe Bud Light? 🤣 ) just because they moved the format. There isn’t an imminent election or primary and the DJT indictment wouldn’t have happened during this period. It’s a better signal but how much of the market is getting it that couldn’t before? They did drop Dana Loesch last week which is a plus I guess, she was just a slightly less sarcastic or snarky Tara. I’m not familiar with her replacement.

 

[tylerSC]

I guess the signal change helped WORD and hurt Magic. Unless more folks are concerned about the Trump indictment and that is driving listeners to the talk format. And you now have more local SC interest in the presidential contest with Nikki Haley and Tim Scott joining in, and Lindsey Graham is constantly ranting and raving about his perceived unjust persecution of Trump. He let Stephanopolous have it recently one Sunday morning; wasn't nice at all.

 

[101tm]

I guess the signal change helped WORD and hurt Magic. Unless more folks are concerned about the Trump indictment and that is driving listeners to the talk format. And you now have more local SC interest in the presidential contest with Nikki Haley and Tim Scott joining in, and Lindsey Graham is constantly ranting and raving about his perceived unjust persecution of Trump. He let Stephanopolous have it recently one Sunday morning; wasn't nice at all.

I think what hurt Magic more than anything was how little promotion the change in frequency got. WORD constantly promoted it with Tara, Charlie, etc. They even had somebody use a Trump sounding voice and make a commercial about their “big beautiful signal.” Magic didn’t get anything so a lot of listeners probably thought it went away and went to WROQ or The Lake. It didn’t appear to help 103.3 or 95.9 who stays very stable around a 2 share almost every month. I still think it’s hilarious how WORD is having to avoid being very complimentary to the candidates from SC because that would affect their #1 candidate. I don’t know why 94.5 never turned their stereo carrier off, especially now with 98.9 having such a strong signal.

I’m in Charlotte and getting 98.9 clearly on the eastern side of town. The stereo carrier being turned off has definitely boosted the signal. I was able to get 106.3 almost to the NC state line, it still has a listenable signal to Gaffney or slightly past. However if I lived in NC and wanted to hear news/talk I would listen to WBT before WORD. I can see why Radio One probably didn’t want Vince Coakley on 98.9. The signal is good around the metro and in areas of the Charlotte market as far as FM 98.9 is stronger/clearer than 99.3.

 

[KyleSmith1988]

I've noticed even tho 103.3 and 106.3 have similar coverage from about the same area, but 103.3 seems to do better as a class A, because of its taller height. 106.3 has like 9x the Effective Radiated Power as 103.3 WRTH (25,000 vs 2,700). If you ever saw 106.3's tower you would wonder how it's signal got out further than just a few miles, its tower is tiny compared to the surrounding area.

In parts of Shelby NC its sometimes easier to hear WRTH vs WSPA despite being 40 miles away from Greer, same here in Gaffney as well at about 30 miles.

 

[101tm]

106.3

I've noticed even tho 103.3 and 106.3 have similar coverage from about the same area, but 103.3 seems to do better as a class A, because of its taller height. 106.3 has like 9x the Effective Radiated Power as 103.3 WRTH (25,000 vs 2,700). If you ever saw 106.3's tower you would wonder how it's signal got out further than just a few miles, its tower is tiny compared to the surrounding area.

In parts of Shelby NC it’s sometimes easier to hear WRTH vs WSPA despite being 40 miles away from Greer, same here in Gaffney as well at about 30 miles.

In a lot of ways the WROO 104.9 facility is better than 106.3. I get an HD lock on it past Spartanburg on 85 because the tower is so dang high.

The only real benefit 106.3 has over 103.3 is the signal to the south which is obviously much better. 103.3 has adjacents on BOTH sides with WZSN 103.5 C3 to the south and WHQA 103.1 A to the SW so the signal really starts to have issues south of Simpsonville. 106.3’s also slightly better to the area around Powdersville but that’s about it. I’ve never noticed many issues with the 103.3 signal in Greenville other than some issues with it weakening a bit west of downtown. 106.3 was a move in to a market that has almost no vacant frequencies left for a full powered FM though, so I guess it was as good as they could do. It took a number of changes for the 104.9 move from 96.7 and upgrade to happen as well as the upcoming 95.9 move in to 95.5.

 

[KyleSmith1988]

Im all for Magic and Planet swapping at this point, it seems more people miss Magic on 98.9 than Planet being heard beyond our area (Upstate)

93.3 has similar coverage as 98.9 and Planet on 106.3 would still reach the core of Rock fans in our area and still complement 101.1

 

[101tm]

Im all for Magic and Planet swapping at this point, it seems more people miss Magic on 98.9 than Planet being heard beyond our area (Upstate)

93.3 has similar coverage as 98.9 and Planet on 106.3 would still reach the core of Rock fans in our area and still complement 101.1

I agree, they should have just put WORD on 93.3 and left Magic alone. If you want a successful AC you want it on a good signal. 106.3 isn’t worthless but it’s better for a niche format. Then again, it doesn’t seem like Audacy Greenville really cares about making AC successful. So strange because it’s generally a lower overhead format, is still doing well generally on terrestrial radio, and generally easy to sell.

I was able to get 104.9 and 106.3 pretty well in Grover NC yesterday. 103.3 was having some issues in spots due to the 103.3 translator in downtown Charlotte coming in and out.

 

[KyleSmith1988]

I believe 106.3 got messed up when they pulled Charlie FM off the air, almost as quickly as it went on the air I believe all the way back in 2007 when they moved WYRD to FM.

And just like then, its predecessors Chuck FM and Awesome 99.5 also recently went away, so now would be the time to fill that void on one of the strong signals like 93.3.

102.5 The Lake is the closest thing still to that, which I think Magic can do better than them if on the bigger 93.3 and The Planet wouldnt lose much (moving to 106.3) since neighboring markets already have Rock station options like WTMT, WQNS and WEND.

 

[101tm]

I believe 106.3 got messed up when they pulled Charlie FM off the air, almost as quickly as it went on the air I believe all the way back in 2007 when they moved WYRD to FM.

And just like then, its predecessors Chuck FM and Awesome 99.5 also recently went away, so now would be the time to fill that void on one of the strong signals like 93.3.

102.5 The Lake is the closest thing still to that, which I think Magic can do better than them if on the bigger 93.3 and The Planet wouldnt lose much (moving to 106.3) since neighboring markets already have Rock station options like WTMT, WQNS and WEND.

106.3 was always such a dumpster fire after Entercom bought it. The chaotic “Walk” for a year or so, then the ill-fated Greenstone female talk format that lasted less than a year, then Charlie FM which wasn’t a bad idea but it wasn’t around long enough to see if it had a ratings impact. I’m not sure why they even bothered with Charlie since it got replaced so quickly. The market was outgrowing 1330 and 950 and a key election was coming up which was probably the reason for putting WORD on 106.3 in 08. But why did they waste time with Charlie?
Chuck FM got a 1+ share, seems like by the time it moved to 99.5 and became Jack things started falling off, then The Lake signed on and made it irrelevant. I’m pretty sure that was the nail in the coffin for Chuck/Jack. Earth FM also had already been affecting Chuck/Jack once they modernized their music outside of the softer 60s/70s titles they started out with.

 

[The Beat]

106.3 has pretty good market signal. I dont think the problem is as much as the signal quality or the programming savvy. Their real problem is that no one know what happened to Magic. The audience doesn't hang on our every word. So they don't know. They just think Magic became a talk station. Entercom should have dropped a little coin on promotions. Billboards, TV, heck- even Facebook ads. But they didn't. Now it's a 2 share station. Nothing to do with the frequency or programming. WORD was making that freq work. Look at how the ratngs fall off for WSPA. Enjoy that 9 cent stock price... until you are eventually delisted.... Audacy. Joe Field is spinning in his grave Dave!

 

[101tm]

Agree. If they had spent a quarter of the effort telling listeners Magic was moving that they put in to telling WORD listeners it was moving, it would have been a ratings non event. It hasn’t affected WORD’s. They promoted it once per hour up to the change. Even the day before, one :30 spot per hour going in to commercials. Somebody is clearly more invested in political programming than AC. Apparently the DJ’s weren’t even instructed to promote the move. Absolutely mind boggling.

They don’t promote the Anderson or Pickens/Oconee county translators either.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I believe 106.3 got messed up when they pulled Charlie FM off the air, almost as quickly as it went on the air I believe all the way back in 2007 when they moved WYRD to FM.

And just like then, its predecessors Chuck FM and Awesome 99.5 also recently went away, so now would be the time to fill that void on one of the strong signals like 93.3.

102.5 The Lake is the closest thing still to that, which I think Magic can do better than them if on the bigger 93.3 and The Planet wouldnt lose much (moving to 106.3) since neighboring markets already have Rock station options like WTMT, WQNS and WEND.

People in Charlotte want The Planet. At least that's what someone on this site posted.

I don't know what WQNS sounds like any more since I can no longer hear it in my motel room in the mountains. It used to be very clear because its tower was close by. Sure, I could listen while passing through Asheville but I don't think to do that. It used to be classic rock and may still be. Now what they could do to distinguish themselves is copy The Planet.

WTMT used to be "everything that rocks" but it's very much a classic rock station.

 

[vchimpanzee]

106.3 has pretty good market signal. I dont think the problem is as much as the signal quality or the programming savvy. Their real problem is that no one know what happened to Magic. The audience doesn't hang on our every word. So they don't know. They just think Magic became a talk station. Entercom should have dropped a little coin on promotions. Billboards, TV, heck- even Facebook ads. But they didn't. Now it's a 2 share station. Nothing to do with the frequency or programming. WORD was making that freq work. Look at how the ratngs fall off for WSPA. Enjoy that 9 cent stock price... until you are eventually delisted.... Audacy. Joe Field is spinning in his grave Dave!

Magic disappeared. Penn & Teller's response: "You fooled us!"

 

[KyleSmith1988]

I agree the Planet has been a staple in this area on 93.3. (As much as WYRD was on 106.3 / Magic was on 98.9) but WYRD is still boasting about out of market listeners in Columbia / Charlotte / Asheville / NE Georgia areas. However as has been discussed many times, most stations don't care about out of market / Fringe coverage, especially when it comes to ratings.

WTPT still has a good signal in parts of Charlotte but that isn't their target market, but perhaps that doesn't mean they cant enjoy or promote the out of market "potential" that their own sister station suddenly does. There are at least a few dedicated listeners which should matter just as much as local or brief listening... I think if its important it should be treated as such, because obviously the listeners and even advertisers care more about the stations than the owners do.

Most of the time I prefer WEND 106.5 over the Planet despite a weak signal in Gaffney, on a good radio it works just fine here, 106.3 as a Rock station may even complement neighboring 106.5 even though its 2 different companies. 106.3 bleeds over into 106.5 as far east as Cowpens so its hard to hear WEND once into Spartanburg County.