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WARH

J

Jay_F

The Arch is sure getting off to a great start in the ratings, they are certainly one of the early Variety Hits success stories.

For those of you in St. Louis, what are your opinions of this station? Are you surprised to see them do so well? Do you think it will last? Any impressions you have of the station would make interesting reading to me.
 
I like the Arch quite a bit. Musically, they are pretty much the same as "Jack," but I think the reason that they are doing so well is that they have the personality that Jack lacks by having a full staff of veteran jocks, and not just a computer filled with obnoxious liners. I like the name better, in that it reflects on the market. People know the Arch; they don't know Jack.

It will be interesting to see how they do long term. Personally, I think that the fomat might just have some staying power, even if the ratings do level off a bit from the initial curiosity.

> The Arch is sure getting off to a great start in the
> ratings, they are certainly one of the early Variety Hits
> success stories.
>
> For those of you in St. Louis, what are your opinions of
> this station? Are you surprised to see them do so well? Do
> you think it will last? Any impressions you have of the
> station would make interesting reading to me.
>
 
> I like the Arch quite a bit. Musically, they are pretty much
> the same as "Jack," but I think the reason that they are
> doing so well is that they have the personality that Jack
> lacks by having a full staff of veteran jocks, and not just
> a computer filled with obnoxious liners. I like the name
> better, in that it reflects on the market. People know the
> Arch; they don't know Jack.

Well said. It's for the same reasons that I believe KPKX "98-7 the Peak" here in Phoenix (which I'm pretty sure was one of the first stations in the U.S. with this format) is doing well (although their 12+ numbers have descended a bit over the past couple books.) From what I gather, they are live and local in most or all dayparts. And the "Peak" name fits well in this market, just like "Arch" is appropriate for St. Louis. One of the slogans used by 98-7 the Peak is "mountains of music" - I LOVE THAT! BTW, Emmis launched "The Peak", but then they sold the station to Bonneville.

Unless I'm forgetting/missing something, I don't understand the relevance of the "Jack" name in NYC or Chicago.
 
> Unless I'm forgetting/missing something, I don't understand
> the relevance of the "Jack" name in NYC or Chicago.

Hi Tanim! Long time no see. How have you been? As for the "Jack" name, it comes from the creator of the format. His radio name was "Cadillac Jack."
 
> The Arch is sure getting off to a great start in the
> ratings, they are certainly one of the early Variety Hits
> success stories.
>
> For those of you in St. Louis, what are your opinions of
> this station? Are you surprised to see them do so well? Do
> you think it will last? Any impressions you have of the
> station would make interesting reading to me.
>

I think they'll hang in for a while, but we'll have to wait and see. Many so called Jack stations have dropped just like Jammin Oldies did after the halo wore off. This station may hang in longer with an air staff.

Those of you who aren't old enough to remember what Top 40 radio WAS thirty-plus years ago...it was a little bit of everything for everybody....plus news, sports, Paul Harvey, and 'NBC Weekend Monitor' all on one radio station. Where you could hear Steppenwolf after Kenny & Dolly Islands in the Stream.

What changed? Move-ins, research, niche formats due to overcrowding of the dial....when the time came when we as an industry realized we couldn't be all things to all people, and we 'specialized', that's when the original 'jack' concept first (read: old school top 40 and MOR) died.

Today, it's all about immediate choice. It will never be the way it used to be. The stations that succeed are the ones that pick their brand and their battle, and fight on one front being the best they can be. Sad as it may be to some.

The 'we'll play what we want' throw-it-against-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks mentality of today's Jack format is a novelty come too late. Truth is, even the Arch, or Jack, or Tom, Dick or Harry or whatever....even THEY have rotations, and you can get the oh-wow effect only so many times before Men Without Hats or Billy Idol, or whatever 'hasn't been played much lately' song gets....played one time too many. The hard question is, what is their BRAND? A cool new and different NAME does not a BRAND necessarily make.
 
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