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What Happened to KUPD's Ratings?

G

Gregg

In the July ratings, 97.9 KUPD is down to #20. It wasn't long ago KUPD was a consistant top 10 station, vying with KSLX to be the top Rock station in Phoenix. Now Classic Rock KSLX has nearly double the ratings of Active Rock KUPD.

And their chief rival for young men, KEXX, recently gave up Alternative, a move you would have thought would boost KUPD, since they were going after the same young adult white male audience.

What happened to KUPD's audience?
 
Rock Radio is Dead, plain and simple. Not much new music to be excited about. So many Rock stations have fallen to the waistside over the past year. Just the way the business is rolling
 
If KUPD's morning drive is starting to struggle, this may be the beginning of the end for the large expensive ensemble morning show in the Phoenix market. Was Tim & Willy's departure from KMLE the first domino to fall?
 
Holmberg would probably be one of the first to admit that expensive morning shows will not last forever. His [Holmberg] days are definitely numbered. I love his morning show, but not everyone feels the same way that I do, and the ratings demonstrate that.
 
azenergyfan said:
Rock Radio is Dead, plain and simple. Not much new music to be excited about. So many Rock stations have fallen to the waistside over the past year. Just the way the business is rolling
Click to expand...

Classic Rock fans may well have expanded waistlines, but their old stations fall to the WAYside.... ;D
 
KDKB.

There's your answer.

KDKB used to be a perennial 2 share radio station. They now hover around a 3. Not a bad result given how many options are available on the FM dial in the Phoenix market. As long as that listenership stays within the family, Sandusky is probably content leaving everything as-is.

(KDKB is a very interesting station, btw. They do the next-gen Classic Rock thing much better than the now defunct WYSP in Philly and a number of CC stations across the Country.)
 
XMportable said:
KDKB is not afraid to mix up genre a lil. ex: They also add some classic alternative to their mix. KUPD just goes hard 24/7.
Click to expand...

Before there was "alternative" radio, KDKB played those songs when they were new. The first time I ever heard Culture Club or the Fixx was on KDKB, set up with a Rock of the 80's sonovox stager.

As for the current KUPD predicament, their cluster strategy has always been to keep the water really muddy to keep others away from the format. The shares ebb and flow, but they all stay in the family for the most part.
 
I will start off by saying I may be aging out of KUPD's demo as I will 40 next year but it seems that the current music they play all sound similar and I don't hear many tracks or artists that sound like they will stand the test of time. I used to love KUPD and still listen to the morning sickness, but thats about the only time anymore. It just seems like their is a lack of good quality new product for them to play. In the 90's and early 2000's you had many bands that were putting out multiple albums and had the longevity to them, which is what KDKB has capitalized on at KUPD's expense.
 
Didn't they just put a meme blasting the X's old listeners because of the bad ratings of X and now their ratings are plummeting as well? Funny how that works out.
 
azfmfan said:
I will start off by saying I may be aging out of KUPD's demo as I will 40 next year but it seems that the current music they play all sound similar and I don't hear many tracks or artists that sound like they will stand the test of time. I used to love KUPD and still listen to the morning sickness, but thats about the only time anymore. It just seems like their is a lack of good quality new product for them to play. In the 90's and early 2000's you had many bands that were putting out multiple albums and had the longevity to them, which is what KDKB has capitalized on at KUPD's expense.
Click to expand...

You may have a point that there isn't as much quality new music being released, especially in the "hard rock" genre (remember the criticism of Metallica's "Death Magnetic" album as being too loud?). Or, maybe KUPD's target audience (males 18-34) is abandoning radio faster than people thought.

If you ask catfish, there's nothing that a shiny new Nautel transmitter won't fix! It seemed to work for KDKB.
 
The current trend in Active Rock music isn't all that good. Just because you have 30 current slots, doesn't mean you have to fill them.
 
Yet contemporary Rock stations in other some markets are doing well... KISW Seattle is #2 (#1 in the previous ratings). WMMR Philadelphia is #7. KBPI Denver is tied for #11. WIYY Baltimore is #7.

So the news is not all bad for Contemporary Rock stations.
 
KUPD needs to shift it's format, maybe classic Rock? to bring them back to there heyday, Kids today don't listen to rock like we did. even Kool-FM is not the same no oldies anymore it is nuts radio is not the same KSLX and Kool sound almost the same. so maybe KUPD should build on that !
 
Since KUPD and KSLX are owned by the same company (as well as KDKB), it's not likely they'll flip KUPD to classic rock. Of course, they could REALLY turn back time and re-position it as "Cupid" and go CHR. ;D
 
PhoenixTrueOldiesWCFL said:
KUPD needs to shift it's format, maybe classic Rock? to bring them back to there heyday, Kids today don't listen to rock like we did. even Kool-FM is not the same no oldies anymore it is nuts radio is not the same KSLX and Kool sound almost the same. so maybe KUPD should build on that !
Click to expand...

They'd most likely lean more alternative than move toward classic rock. However, even adding more alternative tracks could alienate KUPD's core Hard Rock/Heavy Metal audience.
 
After a six-month hiatus from KOOL I've listened to them again this past week and it seems to my unscientific mind they have moved back towards their old Oldies/Classic Hits playlist save for a few Disco tracks (MJ's "Billie Jean" and the BeeGee's "Stayin' Alive" to note two classics).

KOOL would not be confused with KSLX which has stayed true to the Classic Rock format.
 
*

I go back to the 1950s with Arizona radio - as a listener and employee (my mother at KUPD in the 1960s, I at KDKB during late '70s and early '80s.)

KUPD was MOR. Remember 'MOR'?

Suddenly, Easter morning 1971, it was 'All new Cupid on in xx hours.' What was this 'new'? The beginning of Arizona market rock / AOR. KCAC (pre-KDKB), too.

Wow! KUPD and KDKB spelled doom for KRUX and KRIZ - their old-style yelling and talking over the music format. KUPD and KCAC played the music - sometimes an entire album without commercial interruption during prime-time evening hours.

KUPD-AM / KUKQ of the '80s and '90s was great; then Sandusky dumpt it for sports. UGH!!!

Too bad stations rise and fall - some fall forever - others get bought and their new owners let the air out of the excitement.

*
 
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