Why doesn't SF have room for another Classic Hits station?

[HenryOchs]

With all this talk about San Francisco radio getting so over radioed with tons & tons of spanish and rhythmic stations in that market, why doesn't San Francisco have any room for another classic hits stations like KLSX in Los Angeles & the old Eagle 94.1 in San Diego? They need a station like 97.1 the Drive in Chicago, 99.5 the Mountain in Denver, 102.3 the Mountain in Wilkes Barre, 107.7 the Lake in Buffalo, 93.1 the Lake in Madison, which plays a deeper variety of classic hits & album cuts, & 98.9 in Rochester, which mostly plays stuff from the 80's & 90's, not the same 300 song playlist at KLOS, & I don't like the voiceover from Jack, too. Jack doesn't play too much of their heavy stuff, like what KLOS does, & the old KNAC, too. Besides I listen to those stations online, too. I love the stations in Chicago because they're a lot better than the SF stations.

Here are the links to most of those stations:

98.9 the Buzz, Rochester www.buzzrochester.com url

99.5 the Mountain, Denver www.995themountain.com url

102.3 the mountain, Wilkes-Barre www.102themountain.com url

93.1 the Lake, Madison www.931thelake.com url

97.1 the Drive, Chicago www.wdrv.com url

Cheers

 

[dgendvil]

That's the same thing that I talked about last week on the Los Angeles board.

 

[calguy]

With all this talk about San Francisco radio getting so over radioed with tons & tons of spanish and rhythmic stations in that market, why doesn't San Francisco have any room for another classic hits stations like KLSX in Los Angeles & the old Eagle 94.1 in San Diego? They need a station like 97.1 the Drive in Chicago, 99.5 the Mountain in Denver, 102.3 the Mountain in Wilkes Barre, 107.7 the Lake in Buffalo, 93.1 the Lake in Madison, which plays a deeper variety of classic hits & album cuts, & 98.9 in Rochester, which mostly plays stuff from the 80's & 90's, not the same 300 song playlist at KLOS, & I don't like the voiceover from Jack, too. Jack doesn't play too much of their heavy stuff, like what KLOS does, & the old KNAC, too. Besides I listen to those stations online, too. I love the stations in Chicago because they're a lot better than the SF stations.

Here are the links to most of those stations:

98.9 the Buzz, Rochester www.buzzrochester.com url

99.5 the Mountain, Denver www.995themountain.com url

102.3 the mountain, Wilkes-Barre www.102themountain.com url

93.1 the Lake, Madison www.931thelake.com url

97.1 the Drive, Chicago www.wdrv.com url

Cheers

The WOLF used to be The Drive. It was patterned after the Bonneville Drive in Chicago. It failed. The real problem in many west coast and southwest markets in that the ethnic make-up won't currently support many of these Classic Hits/Classic Rock stations. I'm not being racist, but if you look at the population it's easy to see why there are so many foreign language and rhythmic formats now. The further east you go the more rock stations you hear.
I've been astounded when I travel. I work with a guy who went back to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and he was blown away at how many Rock stations there were in Cleveland. I would love to hear more Classic Rock-Hit's stations, but the ratings don't seem to support them. I was posting on another board about how many inexperienced people have been brought in to major market stations now. My guess is that Chicago has more experienced people there at the moment. I remember a time when every station I tuned to in San Francisco sounded great. My guess is that it will come around again some day for SF. It all moves in cycles...

 

[atwater kent]

At least 3 stations have tried and failed at Classic Hits in the past 10 years. KSAN, The Drive and Max. 4, if you count KFRC. 4 different approaches and era mixes but all were versions of light Classic Rock. KSAN, The Drive and, at times, KFRC were pretty well formatted and programmed. (Max was a mess from the beginning. Then it got worse.) Despite the high level of interest on this board, does anyone really think KFRC has a chance to even regain its mediocre rank and revenue of 3 years ago? What will make this time different? "The Duke?" The sappy nostalgia theme of the recent posts on these boards has almost no basis in reality as a viable format.

 

[XM RADIO]

AtwaterKent,,Yes KFRC will make it!!! I really think CBS will come out swingin, I would predict KOIT will loose the listeners that they temporaliy had the last 10 months,, and KFRC will put a big dent in KOITs ratings!! I find myself listening more, than the previous KFRC,,, Much wider playlist, and the Line up hasnt arrived yet!! I would much rather listen to The Duke,, than a Lamont and Tonnelli morning show,,, so far Im impressed!! Kenny in Concord

 

[sfradio]

At least 3 stations have tried and failed at Classic Hits in the past 10 years. KSAN, The Drive and Max. 4, if you count KFRC. 4 different approaches and era mixes but all were versions of light Classic Rock. KSAN, The Drive and, at times, KFRC were pretty well formatted and programmed. (Max was a mess from the beginning. Then it got worse.) Despite the high level of interest on this board, does anyone really think KFRC has a chance to even regain its mediocre rank and revenue of 3 years ago? What will make this time different? "The Duke?" The sappy nostalgia theme of the recent posts on these boards has almost no basis in reality as a viable format.

you forgot KBGG 98.1

 

[LKellerIII]

"At least 3 stations have tried and failed at Classic Hits in the past 10 years. KSAN, The Drive and Max."

KSAN didn't so much fail, as it was re-imaged as "The Bone." I believe it does OK in the ratings - as well or better than other stations that are considered viable, like Live 105, and Alice. Bonneville obviously did some things well (KOIT, KDFC), but both of those efforts at classic hits were poorly executed.

"you forgot KBGG 98.1"

K-Big had a puny playlist of only 70s songs - it got to be very tedious listening after a few days. As I remember it, they tried to re-position as more of a "Classic Rock that Rocks station" - but it didn't really have a chance to work - Clear Channel bought it, and decided to fill the void for "Old School" (Kiss-FM) that had been created when KSOL (98.9) went Spanish.

 

[Talking Furniture]

KSAN, as a Classic Hits station, failed. They fired the program director and relaunched the station as The Bone. The Bone began as a hard edged, Ozzie, AC/DC and hair band station. They've become a more mainsteam Classic Rock that Rocks playlist in the last few years. This format has done much better than the Classic Hits version.