WBUF seems to have its airstaff in place

[DN14224]

Nope. At present, Jen Austin does 10am-3pm(she's also on another of Townsquare's classic rock stations, 99.1 WAAL in Binghamton; I don't know if she voice tracks for both stations or is based at one and VT's for the other. However, she's not on the airstaff of ANOTHER Townsquare classic rocker in NYS, WQBK in Albany).

Not only is Jen not based at either station, she's not even in this time zone.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/austinjen

 

[TheBigA]

In the past, we've noted that the Townsquare CEO Bill Wilson has said 50% of company revenue comes from digital. In this new interview, he says that bonuses for his air talent are not based on ratings, but rather meeting digital goals:

Townsquare’s Bill Wilson On Getting Big Results From Small Markets.

Fashioning a thriving digital business from a company that operates exclusively outside the top 50 markets may seem counter-intuitive to some but that strategy is paying off for Townsquare Media.

www.insideradio.com

Air talent are no longer bonused based on broadcast ratings but rather on achieving digital goals. And the pandemic has only accelerated the company’s “digital first” operating strategy with digital accounting for almost 50% of company revenues and on track to reach 60%-70% over next few years.

 

[SirRoxalot]

In the past, we've noted that the Townsquare CEO Bill Wilson has said 50% of company revenue comes from digital. In this new interview, he says that bonuses for his air talent are not based on ratings, but rather meeting digital goals:

Townsquare’s Bill Wilson On Getting Big Results From Small Markets.

Fashioning a thriving digital business from a company that operates exclusively outside the top 50 markets may seem counter-intuitive to some but that strategy is paying off for Townsquare Media.

www.insideradio.com

The article also talks about how Townsquare has been using local talent to fill the void created by the folding of local and regional newspapers and other media outlets in small-to-medium markets. They're generally super-serving a local audience and building their teams of "influencers" with more full-time employees than iHeart or Audacy have in similar-sized markets and more part-timers and/or stringers to bulk up their offerings. They also promote shows and pursue other NTR opportunities. They're striving to become THE local advertising option.

What they're doing in those small markets is very different than what they're doing in Buffalo as referenced by the size of the Buffalo news department. They're also not the only game in town as they are in many small markets so they have to compete differently here. They do well here in what have been exclusive market segments - country and what Frankie Crocker called urban radio. They've been less successful with stations that had direct competition.

It would be interesting to see if they're making 50% of their revenue in Buffalo from digital. At this point, I highly doubt it.

 

[TheBigA]

It would be interesting to see if they're making 50% of their revenue in Buffalo from digital. At this point, I highly doubt it.

I don't think they sell or measure digital locally. Some of their music websites are #1 in their genre. They get views in markets where they don't own stations.

 

[SirRoxalot]

I don't think they sell or measure digital locally. Some of their music websites are #1 in their genre. They get views in markets where they don't own stations.

If they're getting listeners wouldn't they show up in the Nielsen ratings? Isn't all audio, not just OTA radio, rated? If those sites were getting listeners we'd see it.

 

[TheBigA]

If they're getting listeners wouldn't they show up in the Nielsen ratings? Isn't all audio, not just OTA radio, rated? If those sites were getting listeners we'd see it.

Maybe you're not familiar with the Townsquare music websites. They own TheBoot.com, TasteOfCountry.com, and several more. These are music news websites, not sites that stream radio stations. Two different things. This content is also available for the local station websites, but the majority of the views come from the free-standing sites.

 

[davideduardo]

I can't seem to understand which markets like Jack and which don't. In some cities, Jack or a variant is still going strong. WCJK Nashville and KBPA Austin are almost always #1, 2 or 3. KCBS-FM in LA has very good 25-54 numbers. It's strong in Dallas, Seattle and Minneapolis. Yet in other places, it died a quick death, such as NYC and Chicago.

It actually did considerably better than the oldies version of CBS-FM. Much better 25-54 numbers. They only changed out of fear that what they learned in Philadelphia on their gold-based station during the early PPM tests might be "stolen" in NYC when the PPM arrived there about 6 years later.

 

[davideduardo]

If they're getting listeners wouldn't they show up in the Nielsen ratings? Isn't all audio, not just OTA radio, rated? If those sites were getting listeners we'd see it.

Pure streams and things like Sirius/XM are not encoded and not subscribed.

OTA radio including AM, FM, HD are in the radio book. Streams are not, but there are plans for a consolidated Audio-of-All-Kinds service, eventually.