What Pittsburgh Station Group should Compete with WDVE?

[Pratte4Life]

Thank you for getting us back to the original topic rather than trying to compare Perry Marshall to Farrah Frogitt.

Great post. Only thing I will add is that Pittsburgh would not only have been better off with Rover's Morning Glory, or for that matter crickets chirping, than Roth, but everywhere else as well.

Half the stations that carried Roth's show have since changed formats. That should tell you something.

 

[Parttimer]

This will never happen with the current "protect the mothership" mindset at DVE, where nothing can be done within the cluster that might take listeners from DVE (for instance, this is why 970 stinks, because if it was good it would take 25-54 males from DVE).

The station that should compete with DVE is DVE..... via their HD channels. Instead of their blues channel which appeals to a tiny little niche audience, they could do AAA, a rock AC, or a deep cuts channel that could keep the primary button on the radio set to 102.5 and further appeal to their people. Or they could even do a hair band channel. Then they could promote it a little and maybe it could actually become a revenue stream, and fill a real void in the market, and make HD something people want.

 

[Boss Radio]

Journey, damn it, more Journey.

 

[Boss Radio]

3. It is very apparent that even though Pittsburgh is in the Top 25 of markets, the station formats are absolutely pathetic. If the market is not trying to sell stations to soccer moms, theh they are trying to sell to the Viagra crowd. If anyone falls into the 18-35 demo in Pittsburgh, the options are limited. Same thing for African Americans in the 25-54 demo.

Are you saying stations would rather make money than present a broad musical spectrum?

You just may be onto something.

 

[feeball]

3. It is very apparent that even though Pittsburgh is in the Top 25 of markets, the station formats are absolutely pathetic. If the market is not trying to sell stations to soccer moms, theh they are trying to sell to the Viagra crowd. If anyone falls into the 18-35 demo in Pittsburgh, the options are limited. Same thing for African Americans in the 25-54 demo.

Are you saying stations would rather make money than present a broad musical spectrum?

You just may be onto something.

That's the business of it, but it's a business model that's suspect.

Look at it from a drug dealer perspective. Would a drug dealer want to target the 25-54 demographic? No.

Does television target the 25-54 demographic? Maybe back in 1998 when The Golden Girls was a hit, but not today.

THe goal should be to go after the young ones with the multiple credit cards and the jobs.

All businesses want to make money, otherwise why be in business.

The point I was trying to make is that there are formats the market desperately needs and instead, we get 15 stations that will play "If You Leave Me Now" by Chicago.

Last time that song made money for any station or for the band, Dwight Eisenhower was president and I don't even think Chicago was a band during the Eisenhower administration.

 

[Pratte4Life]

I have a feeling when Boss Radio plays poker he calls too early when he is holding a full house.

Sure, if you punch the ball into the line, you'll protect your 7-point lead. If you try to catch them by surprise, your lead might be insurmountable.

 

[Boss Radio]

3. It is very apparent that even though Pittsburgh is in the Top 25 of markets, the station formats are absolutely pathetic. If the market is not trying to sell stations to soccer moms, theh they are trying to sell to the Viagra crowd. If anyone falls into the 18-35 demo in Pittsburgh, the options are limited. Same thing for African Americans in the 25-54 demo.

Are you saying stations would rather make money than present a broad musical spectrum?

You just may be onto something.

That's the business of it, but it's a business model that's suspect.

Look at it from a drug dealer perspective. Would a drug dealer want to target the 25-54 demographic? No.

Does television target the 25-54 demographic? Maybe back in 1998 when The Golden Girls was a hit, but not today.

THe goal should be to go after the young ones with the multiple credit cards and the jobs.

All businesses want to make money, otherwise why be in business.

The point I was trying to make is that there are formats the market desperately needs and instead, we get 15 stations that will play "If You Leave Me Now" by Chicago.

Last time that song made money for any station or for the band, Dwight Eisenhower was president and I don't even think Chicago was a band during the Eisenhower administration.

25-54 isn't exactly the Lawrence Welk demo. Those people have multiple credit cards and jobs, too. You can't join AARP until you're 50.

 

[clangham]

Keymarket's stuff works in markets like Altoona, Meadville, and Franklin/ Oil City.

I've heard some REALLY scary stories about how bad their facilities are in some of the outlying markets.

They are the definition of minor-league.

AND SPEAKING OF FOREVER/KEYMARKET/RESULTS RADIO, CHECK THIS OUT;
http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,98214.0.html

 

[petey99]

Question: When was it that DVE quit playing all of the new rock and became 99.9% classic rock??

 

[Parttimer]

Even in the late 80's they only played currents that "fit"... they had one of the shortest active playlists in the country. So for practical purposes it's been that way for 20 years. It's how they held down 97 Rock without totally abandoning their perceived position as a full-fledged rock station.

 

[Bbabybear02]

Question: When was it that DVE quit playing all of the new rock and became 99.9% classic rock??

I'm Going To Guess sometime between 1997-2002 Cause i used to hear a lot of New Rock on DVE but now they want to try to give it all to The X. The X shouldn't even be playing Active Rock, Just Alternative.

 

[Bbabybear02]

By The Way i'm not Suprised that DVE is Falling in the ratings. The X is getting Better though. I'm actually listening to 107.5 The Eagle in Wheeling. Great Signel in The Pittsburgh and good Rock Mix. Maybe some of you should give that station a try.

 

[Raymond]

Is the X only getting better because of the hot playing of the Pens? Did you only really started listening to the X because it was still on after a game?

I most definitely agree with Parttimer in a post of his here regarding DVE and how they protect the mothership. I don't have access to past numbers, but does anybody know if the old Tunch & Wolf show made any kind of dent towards DVE? I bet if money were spent for that show, it would've made some kind of dent by now.

As an outsider looking in and a listener of all stations, I don't understand why the management would hold onto such a silly managerial style of "protecting the mothership". DVE's music is stale, their jocks (outside of Sean McDowell and Eric Taylor) suck and are boring. The DVE Morning is HORRIBLE and not funny at all.

With all that is so bad about DVE and the fact that their music is stale, why do they put so much money into that station and kill the others? Look at 3ws with the blood baths they received, KISS doesn't get much in advertizing except billboards (at least give 3ws billboards!); 970 is non-existent and 104-7 has bad art billboards and a losing Pirates team.

If the love were spread all around the Clear Channel cluster they would be making a lot more money overall on each station, rather than banking on one stale station. Let's face it. This isn't the DVE of the 80's.