What does the future hold for Country Legends?

[purpledevil]

With the recent change of KILT from country to new country it got me to thinking. Cox debuted Country Legends 97.1 in 2002 as a 1-2 punch with sister station 93Q to grab ratings from both ends of KILT, since KILT was playing pretty much every decade of country music, and was the country king in Houston, at the time. This left KKBQ handling the newer released country hits, and KTHT playing the old familiar classics.

Now that KILT has turned into "The Bull" and only plays newly released country music, with apparently no golds or classics anymore, what could this mean for 97.1? Cox no longer needs the classic country format to draw demos from KILT, as 93Q and The Bull are focusing on the same core group now. Keep in mind too, 97.1's PPM ratings have not been very high, and continue to stand at around a 2 share. Could this development spell the end for the Legends?

 

[rageradio]

yeah time for something different.. but this is Cox so they'll probably hang on to it for another 10 years

 

[foursider]

Doesn't much matter. 97.1 only had 20 songs on their playlist, anyway. They might have been legends; but, they weren't nearly all the legends.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

Hopefully a format flip to oldies / classic hits - the biggest format hole in the Houston market.

 

[jlt1984]

I would prefer they keep the format, as the new "pop" country does nothing for me. However, it'd be nice if they would overhaul the imaging - ten years without any refresh is ridiculous.

 

[brian6969]

Honestly, I hope they don't change it. I'm 32 years old and now that they have mixed some of the hits from the 90's, that station is right in my wheelhouse with the music that I grew up listening to. It's also a good alternative after you get tired of the same 60 or so songs that are in rotation between KILT and KKBQ.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Given the demographics of where the 97.1 signal is best, the current format is probably the optimum choice for the frequency. And the ~2.0 ratings aren't bad for a rimshot. Country Legends just marked its tenth anniversary, on a station that had seen numerous format failures since signing on in 1992.

However if Cox was to acquire, say, KRBE, it wouldn't surprise me if they sold 97.1. I'm sure one of the national religious networks would love to have the signal--it covers a huge area of southeast/east Texas.

Hopefully a format flip to oldies / classic hits - the biggest format hole in the Houston market.

And a reminder that 97.1 actually had an oldies format for a few months when it was a simulcast of KLDE 107.5 following the frequency swap with 94.5 in July, 2000. The simulcast was broken when Hot 97.1 launched in November, 2000.

And let's not forget that the original format of 97.1 was......Classical (simulcast of KRTS.)

 

[rageradio]

I think we've seen the last of the oldies format in the way of 50s & 60s doo wop. There may be a hole but I don't think any of the radio conglomerates are willing to fill it. Just not profitable to them. Why do you think Cox changed 107.5?

 

[willdav713]

I think we've seen the last of the oldies format in the way of 50s & 60s doo wop. There may be a hole but I don't think any of the radio conglomerates are willing to fill it. Just not profitable to them. Why do you think Cox changed 107.5?

But Cox owns KONO in San Antonio, and the KLDE station flipped around the same time KLOL flipped.
Cox thought they could go after KKRW the only rocker left. Which is a classic rocker.

 

[rageradio]

They have oldies on 107-5 hd 2

 

[rbrucecarter5]

They have oldies on 107-5 hd 2

Well - duh - and on 104.1 HD-2. HD-2 - where stations send unwanted formats to DIE. Not a viable alternative to the 99.9% of Houstonians who don't have HD radios. I am talking about a serious effort to serve the oldies audience in Houston. Rim shot would be OK - just have somebody put the darn format on the air. If it flies in Dallas, San Antonio, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, it should work in Houston. It is in the top ten in all of those markets except Chicago, where two stations divide up the audience.

Somebody is eventually going to make money off of oldies / (real) classic hits in Houston. It is only a matter of time before somebody wants to make the money. It certainly has more of a shot at rating well than classic country, which is way down in the Houston ratings. All it takes is somebody with the desire to do so, and who can rise above the stigma of the last oldies station - which had a really strange playlist.

 

[Drucifer]

My country legends come from my IPOD nano/FM transmitter with my own extended playlist and the WSM-AM podcast.

 

[jd]

Then there's RadioTuna.com, ...with thousands of stations available online. A good choice for "Country Legends" is "CMR Memories."

Select Country and Folk from the menu on the left, go to Country then scroll down the station list to get there. In the last few minutes they've played The Statler Brothers, Ronnie Milsap, Dolly Parton, Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson and Sonny James.

And if that's not the Country Legends you want, click the next one on the list, called "Dave Wilson Country." It's a really good mix of the old stuff, too.

 

[rageradio]

but an alternative to the listener that wants oldies nonetheless. If Cox really believed there was a need to keep the Oldies format on 107.5, they would have. There was a need to do something with that station to boost its ratings and profits. I don't remember much of an outcry when KLDE/KHTC flipped and I was at Cox when that happened. If so one of the other clusters would have picked it up... a few years have passed and no one has attempted to bite into the format. Yes oldies still has an audience in San Antonio (KONO), New York (WCBS) and Los Angeles (KRTH) but apparantly not enough in this market. My music isn't played on the radio anymore either. I was jamming to dance/alternative/synthpop on 93Q and KRBE in the late 80s and early 90s. Any last trace of it left the air in the early days of The Point.

 

[bigtom101]

I don't remember much of an outcry when KLDE/KHTC flipped and I was at Cox when that happened. If so one of the other clusters would have picked it up... a few years have passed and no one has attempted to bite into the format. Yes oldies still has an audience in San Antonio (KONO), New York (WCBS) and Los Angeles (KRTH) but apparantly not enough in this market. My music isn't played on the radio anymore either.

Quite frankly, KLDE/KHTC sucked in its last few years - the music mix was never right, and they never made a decent attempt at transitioning from "oldies" to Classic Hits (there is a difference). The signal being not city grade in the northern parts of the market didn't help either (yes...it was on 97.1 for a few months in 2000 - would have been better in the long run to have left it on there and put Country Legends on 106.9)

As to why KONO is still strong? Different upper management - Houston has always been a basket case management wise from what I am told from someone who works for Cox.

 

[willdav713]

I don't remember much of an outcry when KLDE/KHTC flipped and I was at Cox when that happened. If so one of the other clusters would have picked it up... a few years have passed and no one has attempted to bite into the format. Yes oldies still has an audience in San Antonio (KONO), New York (WCBS) and Los Angeles (KRTH) but apparantly not enough in this market. My music isn't played on the radio anymore either.

Quite frankly, KLDE/KHTC sucked in its last few years - the music mix was never right, and they never made a decent attempt at transitioning from "oldies" to Classic Hits (there is a difference). The signal being not city grade in the northern parts of the market didn't help either (yes...it was on 97.1 for a few months in 2000 - would have been better in the long run to have left it on there and put Country Legends on 106.9)

As to why KONO is still strong? Different upper management - Houston has always been a basket case management wise from what I am told from someone who works for Cox.

When KONO had competition between KSMG and KISS, I liked the San Antonio Oldies stations vs. KLDE. Sure there was KKHU, KFMK, and KNUZ for a short spell. But riding along to Grandmas house in Lake Jackson, 94.5 came in, while 97.9 didn't. My parents would never listen to the AM band and this was 1990. They would say I don't want to hear the static, or that is why FM Radio exists. If there was a good talk radio program on KKHU we would listen to that, but overall it was KLDE at 94.5 however during this time, I began to explore KKBQ, Majic 102, and Club 104 KRBE. Top 40 I listened to first then the Oldies stations.

The dial would be on Q96fm for San Antonio followed by Hot 103, then Magic 105.3, followed by 99.5 KISS (only when commercials were on Magic as they only played edited cuts) 10-15 minute version of New Order's "Blue Monday" along with 6 minute version of Dee-Lite "Groove's In The Heart", 2 Live Crew's "Mamalampenga", and Toni Toni Tone's extended album mix of "Feels Good"

KLDE is an example of a short playlist, getting shorter by management that didn't seem to put an effort into the station during it's last days.

Donavan's "Mellow Yellow" was played more in San Antonio than in Houston, along with his other hit "Sunrise Superman", Temptations were played more in San Antonio, along with Tommy James and the Shondells "Crimson and Clover" you couldn't play that song too many times like with Brown Eyed Girl, and Brown Sugar (which KLDE did) back in those days the Eagles weren't warped out on the radio. Please take me back to 1990 and let me be 21 instead of 10 for 6 months, just 6 months!

Oh one more thing KLDE loved the edited versions like 99.5 KISS, as I never heard the album version of the Door's "Light My Fire" neither Chicago's "Beginnings" KLDE and KISS heavy on the 7" singles. KONO was a mix of both KISS's 7" Single versions of songs, and KSMG's normal album play cuts. The same with the CHR as Club 104 played chopped up versions ad-libs absent when an song was available in a Ultimix, 7" versions of songs that didn't come out with Ultimixes whereas 93Q played the album version or the 12" like KSAQ in San Antonio.

 

[Drucifer]

Then there's RadioTuna.com, ...with thousands of stations available online. A good choice for "Country Legends" is "CMR Memories."

Select Country and Folk from the menu on the left, go to Country then scroll down the station list to get there. In the last few minutes they've played The Statler Brothers, Ronnie Milsap, Dolly Parton, Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson and Sonny James.

And if that's not the Country Legends you want, click the next one on the list, called "Dave Wilson Country." It's a really good mix of the old stuff, too.

Thanks JD. Done

 

[sdh483]

They have oldies on 107-5 hd 2

Well - duh - and on 104.1 HD-2. HD-2 - where stations send unwanted formats to DIE. Not a viable alternative to the 99.9% of Houstonians who don't have HD radios. I am talking about a serious effort to serve the oldies audience in Houston. Rim shot would be OK - just have somebody put the darn format on the air. If it flies in Dallas, San Antonio, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, it should work in Houston. It is in the top ten in all of those markets except Chicago, where two stations divide up the audience.

Somebody is eventually going to make money off of oldies / (real) classic hits in Houston. It is only a matter of time before somebody wants to make the money. It certainly has more of a shot at rating well than classic country, which is way down in the Houston ratings. All it takes is somebody with the desire to do so, and who can rise above the stigma of the last oldies station - which had a really strange playlist.

I'm probably one of 10 people in this town who has an HD radio in my car, and thank God for that. I have two choices for oldies, though I usually stick on 107.5's HD2 because they don't play any commercials. However, this format NEEDS to be on a main carrier for those who want oldies but who don't want to go spending money on another tuner.

 

[rageradio]

Not trying to be a jerk but I honestly don't see it happening.

 

[purpledevil]

Not trying to be a jerk but I honestly don't see it happening.

...and you would be right, rage. Gotta nice e-mail from someone in the know, that clearly stated that KTHT is here to stay. Reason being, it is the best format for the location of the signal there in Cleveland and the demos within its range. I, for one, am most pleased that Country Legends will remain a part of our dial.