WBOS

[TheBigA]

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Radio should not try to sound like someone's personal iPod. Gigantic mistake. It's called BROADcasting for a reason.

And as has been pointed out: It's WORKING! This station is #1 in it's market. Sometimes shallow is what the market wants.

 

[MarkW]

Yeah, 100.3 WHEB is #1 in a small market with few city grade signals. In other markets where the same playlist is used, ratings have been sinking.

For many years - WHEB was a terrific small market rock station.

 

[davideduardo]

ZZO's 6+ share has tanked over the past couples surveys. Similar results at 105.7 "Man Up!" in Greensboro, which uses the same awful premium choice (I call it "poor choice") central playlist from iHM corporate; their numbers are at or near a record low for the current brand.

Premium Choice is not a format delivery provider. Premium Choice is a system where iHeart stations can pick programming, ranging from talk shows and specialty shows to things like the Seacrest workparts.

Remember, iHeart does not syndicate Seacrest... they provide the individual pieces of the show which a station can plug in to their own music and commercial and service element format clocks. The elements are downloaded and assembled on the station's own digital storage system for airplay.

Playlists are developed by the local content manager in conjunction with the corporate format specialist. If the market is larger, they do research. If it is to small to afford testing, iHeart will take a "consensus" of station research in markets that have some similarities. Adjustments can be made for local artists, regional differences, etc.

There are really no "central playlists" as the music is done locally on each stations under the guidance of local and national programmers.

Stations in markets like that don't sell by numbers. They sell by advertiser acceptance, results and relationships.

 

[TheBigA]

For many years - WHEB was a terrific small market rock station.

You don't sell the past.

 

[MarkW]

There are really no "central playlists" as the music is done locally on each stations under the guidance of local and national programmers.

The above is simply an untrue statement!!!

Compare the playlists of WVBZ Greensboro, WZZO Allentown, WHEB Portsmouth, WBFX Grand Rapids and certain other iHM mainstream rock stations. They are identical in most if not all dayparts, song for song. The same songs play at the same time (give or take a few minutes) and in the same order.

In the evening, it's taken one step further -- all of the above stations feature "Bodhi" as their evening personality. It's basically an unbranded syndicated show. All of the stations play the same music and the same voicetracks from Bodhi in the same sequence.

Let's take Greensboro's 105.7, for example. Do you think iHM actually gave the local OM the option of choosing a national cookie cutter playlist over a custom one? Puh-leeese. They came in and said, "We're eliminating your music / research budget. Here's a list of __ nationally developed playlists from which you can choose. This will be the source of all music on your station going forward." Alternatively, iHM might have said, "We're reducing your music / research budget for your cluster," effectively forcing local management to resort to a nationally developed playlist for one or more stations.

In Greensboro, what used to be a 4.0 or 4.5 share radio station in WVBZ is now a 2.8 share radio station. In Grand Rapids, what used to be a mid/upper 2's radio station in WBFX has been languishing mostly in the 1's since adopting the centrally developed playlist.

WHEB can get away with it because of market size and lack of competing signals playing Rock (the alternates are all out of market stations with much weaker signals).

 

[CTListener]

Couldn't some of the ratings decline be attributable to the death rattle of rock as mainstream music, which, face it, has been going on since hip-hop's birth, rise, and spread to suburbia?

 

[TheBigA]

WHEB can get away with it because of market size and lack of competing signals playing Rock (the alternates are all out of market stations with much weaker signals).

You make it sound as though all of that is a bad thing. But put it in context with the replacement of local stores with big box retail, local restaurants with national chains, local services such as hair cutteries, eyewear, and even medical services, and it's all part of a community that has become extremely established and normal for people who live there.

It's not like there's a lot of great local music that they might want to hear on the radio the way it may have been done in the 1930s. They want to hear the national artists who they see on TV, who play songs they know. That's why this station is #1. Sure they also have access to Sirius, Pandora, and Spotify, but when they listen to those services, it's all national music too, even when they create their own personal playlists. So why pay $20 a month for something you get for free?

 

[MarkW]

Yes, ignoring the preferences of local listeners in favor of using a homogenized playlist that resembles a fiery trainwreck in an effort to be all things to all people is absolutely a bad thing, in my view.

It's not like there's a lot of great local music that they might want to hear on the radio the way it may have been done in the 1930s.

Who said anything about "local music" ? Certainly not I!

They want to hear the national artists who they see on TV, who play songs they know. That's why this station is #1.

This isn't 1993. Replace TV with YouTube and you'll be on the right track. I already explained why the station is #1 - they are the only game in town (with a good signal, that is) as far as Rock music is concerned.

Sure they also have access to Sirius, Pandora, and Spotify, but when they listen to those services, it's all national music too, even when they create their own personal playlists. So why pay $20 a month for something you get for free?

Let's see - Sirius offers at least four channels with playlists far closer to my own personal tastes than what we can hear on 100.3 WHEB. I can pick a channel that is best suited for my current mood without having to worry about trainwreck segues (e.g. Led Zeppelin into "Beverly Hills" by Weezer). I don't have to sit through stupid commercials. Engagement between channel programming staff and the audience via social media is far superior, too.

On Spotify and Pandora I can skip songs I dislike and immediately hear another from my genre of interest. On the free versions of these apps, commercial breaks are much shorter than what is heard on FM radio.

Frankly, I find your suggestion that 100.3 WHEB is a perfectly suitable substitute for Sirius, Pandora or Spotify to be ludicrous. Hey, if you love the station, that's cool. However, I think plenty of users of the aforementioned services would be frustrated beyond belief if they had to depend 100% on FM radio for aural programming.

 

[TheBigA]

Yes, ignoring the preferences of local listeners in favor of using a homogenized playlist that resembles a fiery trainwreck in an effort to be all things to all people is absolutely a bad thing, in my view.

What data do you have on the "preferences of local listeners?" Have you done any analysis of their music collections? Or is just your personal opinion?

Look, you want what you want. That's fine. Listen to whatever you want. I don't care. But when you say the #1 station in town is ignoring the preferences of local listeners, that's just plain wrong. They didn't get to be #1 by doing that.

I find your suggestion that 100.3 WHEB is a perfectly suitable substitute for Sirius, Pandora or Spotify to be ludicrous.

Where did I say that? Nowhere. So you're wrong. What I said was that Sirius is a national service, and you hear the same playlist in Portsmouth that you hear in Sacramento, regardless of local preferences. People like what people like. Quit trying to foist your own personal preferences on other people.

 

[Least]

Time for me to drag out that dead horse again (from the listener's perspective). Regarding playlists, FM is in no way comparable to that of satellite. Satellite also has more channels to put on a greater variety of playlists. That's the benefit of subscription services than being stuck with OTA broadcasts. The business model of Satellite radio is to get subs, and the way of doing that is to have more variety.

With that said, I don't fault WHEB for its playlist. I have it as an FM preset, but I listen to more podcasts for talk, satellite for a mix of music and talk, and music saved into my phone. I've said numerous times, the issue with rock is the reliance on the same songs with little new music. Those on here who I have debated in the past play every card from rock isn't popular, to the songs played are the ones people want to hear, to there being too much fragmentation in rock. I said it before, the answer for big market stations is to branch into new songs. There are channels across SiriusXM that play new. There is enough in the playlist.

I said to the insiders that my opinion is new music is the main reason for the boom in country right now. I said that is what rock needs. I was given that stupid quote from WKRP in Cincinnati, to which I give my own retort from the movie Airheads. "If they are so good, why aren't they climbing up the charts babe?" "Because you never play them, babe." I've been told that perhaps if I don't like FM, then I should listen to something else. So, that's what I do. Since FM wants to continue this diatribe of they not being any part of the state of the format, then I chose to go my own way. Since then, I've found much more new acts than FM even knows exists. FM is only great for a nostalgia trip. Other than that, the future isn't FM, at least not for rock music. Since FM has no care for my musical taste, I have no care for FM.

 

[TheBigA]

I said to the insiders that my opinion is new music is the main reason for the boom in country right now. I said that is what rock needs.

That's an interesting observation, and I can tell you why that is: The record labels in Nashville are more interested in getting radio airplay than the rock record labels. That's really it. There are several major organizations that bring together country artists, labels, and country radio. They get together and compare notes and talk about ways to drive more audience to their music and their radio stations. You never see that happen in rock or alternative music. Never. So those genres are getting more isolated, and more fragmented, while country music is growing.

 

[MarkW]

What data do you have on the "preferences of local listeners?" Have you done any analysis of their music collections? Or is just your personal opinion?

So, you're actually suggesting with a straight face that WHEB's playlist is based on in-depth local research? (Even though the playlist is identical song-for-song with numerous other iHeart radio stations in small & medium markets?)

Also, didn't WHEB have much stronger ratings a decade ago? I seem to recall them being a 9 or 10 share radio station on a rather consistent basis.

As for my suggestion that you were likening Sirius/Pandora/Spotify to FM radio, here's what you said:

Why pay $20 a month for something you get for free?

I erred in referencing WHEB specifically, but it sure seemed you were implying that the value proposition of Sirius, Pandora & Spotify for fans of music - as compared to FM radio - is negligible. If that is the argument you are making, I respectfully but vehemently disagree.

 

[TheBigA]

So, you're actually suggesting with a straight face that WHEB's playlist is based on in-depth local research?

No, I'm asking a question that you completely ducked. Nice job.

I erred in referencing WHEB specifically, but it sure seemed you were implying that the value proposition of Sirius, Pandora & Spotify for fans of music

Where did I say "for fans of music?" For the vast majority of general people, what they get for free on FM is suitable. If they're fans of music, especially niche music, then they should pay extra money and get 150 channels of commercial free music. Those are two very different products. I encourage fans to PAY FOR MUSIC. You can quote me.

 

[MarkW]

I'll answer your earlier question (I thought it was a rhetorical question, but evidently I was mistaken):

No, I have zero firsthand knowledge of the song/artists preferences of Rock radio listeners in the Portsmouth market. Not sure what that has to do with iHeart, though. It's very obvious they are using a national playlist (not unlike small market stations that rely on music programming fed by Westwood One and similar networks).

I'd love to know what WHEB's rating looked like before iHeart moved to the cookie cutter playlist. ZZO's seem to be faltering; WVBZ's seem to be falling off a cliff; WBFX's already fell off a cliff. I will name one market - where at least so far - it seems to be succeeding: Lima, OH.

 

[TheBigA]

No, I have zero firsthand knowledge of the song/artists preferences of Rock radio listeners in the Portsmouth market. Not sure what that has to do with iHeart, though.

You're arguing the station is "ignoring the preferences of local listeners." I'm just asking how do you know? This particular station appears to be fairly active in the market. They're not just pulling a 24/7 format in off the bird. Which is what a listener to Sirius would get, along with national hosts. Although yes they'd also get 149 other channels if they so desire plus a monthly bill. For 90% of the population, who just want to hear Stairway to Heaven and Sweet Home Alabama, that's not worth the extra money. BTW my guess is the majority of their audience tunes in for The Morning Buzz, not the music.

 

[CTListener]

You're arguing the station is "ignoring the preferences of local listeners." I'm just asking how do you know? This particular station appears to be fairly active in the market. They're not just pulling a 24/7 format in off the bird. Which is what a listener to Sirius would get, along with national hosts. .

Although SiriusXM does tend to go a bit deeper than most FM stations, mainly because there are no commercials or other elements (news, weather, traffic, etc.) to interrupt the music flow, just brief remarks from voicetracked DJs and the occasional short promo for another channel. More songs played per hour means more songs need to be in rotation to avoid repetition within dayparts. SiriusXM also has a habit of trying to break artists or songs based on who knows what -- YouTube popularity, music director's fandom, payola? Even the CHR and AC channels have put songs in heavy rotation that few OTA stations are even touching. Colbie Caillat's "The Little Things" comes to mind, as does a Vanessa Carlton track of a few years back, "Hands on Me." Stiffs of the highest degree, but plenty of push from SXM. SXM also played a song by British artist Olly Murs, "Dance With Me Tonight," that I don't believe was even sent to American radio. Gotta be fanboys on the payroll juicing up the playlists with songs they think should be hits.

 

[TheBigA]

Although SiriusXM does tend to go a bit deeper than most FM stations,

But my point is so what? Deeper isn't better. FM radio is not in the music distribution business. People want personal service, they should pay for it.

As I said, the big draw for WHEB is their morning show. That's the way it should be. All this talk about music is a distraction. It's all about Morning Buzz.

 

[MassMusicMan]

I listened to the Morning Buzz for the first time passing through NH last month. They ran a contest and talked for several minutes about...Garth Brooks. Even had callers try to identify his songs.

That was a statement to me about where country music stands relative to rock music in 2019. Conversely, I heard a country morning show recently play clips from 90s CHR hits as a contest. We've moved on from genres and decades.

 

[TheBigA]

We've moved on from genres and decades.

I agree...radio stations will be more about lifestyle and less about genre. The Garth thing doesn't surprise me. When Chesney sells out Gillette for two nights, those people aren't driving in from Jamaica Plain. It's a different clientele from Sunday afternoon.

 

[CTListener]

I agree...radio stations will be more about lifestyle and less about genre. The Garth thing doesn't surprise me. When Chesney sells out Gillette for two nights, those people aren't driving in from Jamaica Plain. It's a different clientele from Sunday afternoon.

Why not from Jamaica Plain? It, the Back Bay and West Roxbury (not to be confused with Roxbury) are Boston's toniest sections -- suburbs within city limits. Why wouldn't they be country music fans? There are plenty of country fans in Connecticut's wealthy communities, too.