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Why has the B94 switch been such a popular topic?

P

Pratte4Life

I hesitated creating this post because it could be taken in the same way Bob Smizik's 1993 cynical "Why are people excited that the Penguins are in the playoffs? It's only the first round!" column could be.

But this has not only been the hottest topic anyone can remember on the Pittsburgh board, but has been leading the entire Radio-Info community for a week and is even generating more interest than Don Imus' return.

And I'm dumbfounded.

Could it be that because this is the internet, therefore attracting a younger audience, that this topic has been so popular?

Maybe it's because CHR, or Top 40, has never been my cup of tea that I don't get it.

It's the music of fads and not basics. CHR has always been 5-10 songs I like and 30-35 I don't to me (which has nearly become the WDVE percentage of late as well).

It is a format more about videos and the way an artist looks than the sound.

Maybe it's because B-94 wasn't getting great ratings when they switched the format that I don't get it. In fact, when K-Rock had Howard Stern I believe the ratings improved.

Maybe it's because it seems the talent let go when B-94 first went out of business won't be coming back. Your heart naturally goes out to those who went down with B-94 in 2004 and that's kind of what makes this switch a bit tragic. Good people have now lost their jobs not by their own doing but because of corporate mismanagement.

And you know, doesn't the recent format flops at CBS just show these people have absolutely no idea on how to do anything original or fresh?

"What? The X doesn't have Howard Stern anymore? Well- WE'LL PICK HIM UP- even though he'll only be around for a few months and use his program to do nothing but promote satellite radio?

We can't make K-Rock work without Stern? Okay- let's try a talk format with primarily recycled talent that has not succeeded in the format before.

What? We can't make that work? Well, let's go back to what we did in the 80s and 90s!"

Realizing that a large audience of B-94's target audience won't know anything about the Jim Quinn-Liz Randolph scandal, B-94 will always be the station of the Quinn-Randolph scandal to Pittsburgh just like Channel 11 news will always be the outfit that showed Bud Dwyer's suicide.

And perhaps, if any of B-94's audience does find out about it, it will help them attract new listeners for the same reason I started listening to rock music with raunchy lyrics when I was a teenager.

But I'm inclined to believe Pittsburgh businesses WILL remember B-94 as that station. They are of the age to remember it.

And you have to wonder if a station with that reputation running a dying format is going to sell a lot of ads.
 
Fact is, B94 WAS and WILL BE the biggest thing since swiss cheese. Sure, there was that stage that a lot of people went thru and lost interest in it, but as the old sayings go,

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

AND

Don't know what you got til it's gone.

It was gone, people missed it, wanted it back, and now it is. People might appreciate it more now the second time around, plus, many people had good memories with B growing up and kind of like reminiscing about that too!
 
As for why the B-94 switch has been such a popular topic, it probably comes down to the fact that most of us on these boards are radio people. Certainly, most, if not all, of us understand radio is a business and always has been. However, there was always something about heritage stations. Whether we work in the business or just love it, heritage stations mean something to us. As a personal example, I grew up in Texas and Oklahoma. I can remember listening to AOR KZEW only to find it had become soft AC KKWM right about Christmastime in 1989. I used to also listen to CHR Y-95 only to find it switch to a dance-CHR as Power 95 in 1991 and then to Oldies 94.9 about six months later. When I look at the Dallas stations from that era, about the only FM stations that are the same, or even similar, are 96.3 KSCS, 99.5 KPLX, 101.1 WRR, 103.7 KVIL, and 104.5 KKDA-FM. Heritage stations always gave me the hope that I could have the best of both worlds. I could enjoy my life 24/7 by having a decent paying radio job that was also stable enough to have a good set of friends and a family.

Most of us in radio never got that. I worked at stations in Oklahoma, Indiana and Missouri during my radio career, and I never lasted more than three years at any one station. There was always either a format change, a better job, an ownership change and/or a management change that shook everything up. I never stayed in any one area long enough to make good friends, and I only had one relationship that almost lead to marriage but broke up a few months before the wedding. From the stories I hear from my radio friends, my story is pretty much typical, and it's why I got a job outside of radio and just dabble around in it part-time now. Stations like B-94 were where we always wanted to work. Those people didn't have the typical radio story, and they always inspired hope that we could one day get to that level. So, we were sad to see B-94 go away. We're also happy to see that CBS was actually willing to admit failure and give the old format another chance. Again, all of us can relate to working for a station that kept going further and further down the crapper because management and/or ownership couldn't admit to having made any mistakes. So, we're happy to see Keith Clark say, "[B-94] shouldn't have gone away."

Now, does any of this mean B-94 will be an instant overnight success or that it might not be a failure like K-Rock and The Zone? Of course not. However, we're happy to see CBS has admitted the previous two formats were a mistake and that they want to fix those mistakes. I'm sure CBS knows B-94 had some problems toward the end of its life, and I suspect they also know they lost some ground by getting rid of the format for three years.

However, you have to give CBS credit for realizing there is nothing more promotable than heritage. I can guarantee you B-94 didn't have the exact same listeners for 23 years. Something I never understood was why radio seemed to never grasp the idea that being, "the station your parents listened to," didn't have to be a bad thing. After all, most Americans still live in or near their hometowns. The businesses that have been around for generations have survived mainly because of a quality product but also because their heritage emphasized that quality product. B-94 was that rare station that meant quality and proved it for so many years and for several generations.

As for why you don't get the popularity on this board of the "B" coming back, I'm sure you have your reasons. Maybe you're not a radio person and can't relate to the lifestyle of the business. Maybe you work on the business side of radio instead of the programming side and think you have an answer that would be guaranteed to work right now. Maybe you work in sales and never had much success in selling the CHR format. Maybe you're one of those radio people who has been fortunate enough to have started at a heritage station, and you now take it for granted that you'll always be there. Maybe you like the nomadic style of radio and the wide variety of places you can see, which means you never saw those heritage stations as somewhere you wanted to be. I say "maybe" because I don't know where you come from or what your mindset is. You could have an entirely different reason. However, let me close by bringing up this point. I know you're here because you love radio. You may not love radio the same way I do, but you love at least some aspect of it, or you wouldn't be here. So, was there ever one station, whether still around or not, that you just really loved? If you can answer that question in the affirmative, you understand why so many are happy to see B-94 back.
 
Kent said:
As for why the B-94 switch has been such a popular topic, it probably comes down to the fact that most of us on these boards are radio people. Certainly, most, if not all, of us understand radio is a business and always has been. However, there was always something about heritage stations. Whether we work in the business or just love it, heritage stations mean something to us. As a personal example, I grew up in Texas and Oklahoma. I can remember listening to AOR KZEW only to find it had become soft AC KKWM right about Christmastime in 1989. I used to also listen to CHR Y-95 only to find it switch to a dance-CHR as Power 95 in 1991 and then to Oldies 94.9 about six months later. When I look at the Dallas stations from that era, about the only FM stations that are the same, or even similar, are 96.3 KSCS, 99.5 KPLX, 101.1 WRR, 103.7 KVIL, and 104.5 KKDA-FM. Heritage stations always gave me the hope that I could have the best of both worlds. I could enjoy my life 24/7 by having a decent paying radio job that was also stable enough to have a good set of friends and a family.

Most of us in radio never got that. I worked at stations in Oklahoma, Indiana and Missouri during my radio career, and I never lasted more than three years at any one station. There was always either a format change, a better job, an ownership change and/or a management change that shook everything up. I never stayed in any one area long enough to make good friends, and I only had one relationship that almost lead to marriage but broke up a few months before the wedding. From the stories I hear from my radio friends, my story is pretty much typical, and it's why I got a job outside of radio and just dabble around in it part-time now. Stations like B-94 were where we always wanted to work. Those people didn't have the typical radio story, and they always inspired hope that we could one day get to that level. So, we were sad to see B-94 go away. We're also happy to see that CBS was actually willing to admit failure and give the old format another chance. Again, all of us can relate to working for a station that kept going further and further down the crapper because management and/or ownership couldn't admit to having made any mistakes. So, we're happy to see Keith Clark say, "[B-94] shouldn't have gone away."

Now, does any of this mean B-94 will be an instant overnight success or that it might not be a failure like K-Rock and The Zone? Of course not. However, we're happy to see CBS has admitted the previous two formats were a mistake and that they want to fix those mistakes. I'm sure CBS knows B-94 had some problems toward the end of its life, and I suspect they also know they lost some ground by getting rid of the format for three years.

However, you have to give CBS credit for realizing there is nothing more promotable than heritage. I can guarantee you B-94 didn't have the exact same listeners for 23 years. Something I never understood was why radio seemed to never grasp the idea that being, "the station your parents listened to," didn't have to be a bad thing. After all, most Americans still live in or near their hometowns. The businesses that have been around for generations have survived mainly because of a quality product but also because their heritage emphasized that quality product. B-94 was that rare station that meant quality and proved it for so many years and for several generations.

As for why you don't get the popularity on this board of the "B" coming back, I'm sure you have your reasons. Maybe you're not a radio person and can't relate to the lifestyle of the business. Maybe you work on the business side of radio instead of the programming side and think you have an answer that would be guaranteed to work right now. Maybe you work in sales and never had much success in selling the CHR format. Maybe you're one of those radio people who has been fortunate enough to have started at a heritage station, and you now take it for granted that you'll always be there. Maybe you like the nomadic style of radio and the wide variety of places you can see, which means you never saw those heritage stations as somewhere you wanted to be. I say "maybe" because I don't know where you come from or what your mindset is. You could have an entirely different reason. However, let me close by bringing up this point. I know you're here because you love radio. You may not love radio the same way I do, but you love at least some aspect of it, or you wouldn't be here. So, was there ever one station, whether still around or not, that you just really loved? If you can answer that question in the affirmative, you understand why so many are happy to see B-94 back.
Click to expand...

Yeah...what he said *lol*.

Seriously though...we've seen B94 die a slow death during the last few years by seeing the quality of music go down and the change in imagery to B93.7, or 93.7 BZZ or whatever. It was literally becoming a shadow of its former self.

I have heard many on this board say the CHR is dead and not coming back. I don't agree with that. The quality of pop music is starting to rebound. It went down when the sound of CHR in the 80's and early 90's suddenly did an about-face and gave way for modern rock, grunge, and gangsta. This hurt CHR's image, and until a few years ago, we didn't see an end in sight. Now the light at the end of the tunnel is finally here.

We heard K-Rock make its debut, then saw that tank and then the Zone was going to pull it out of its doldrums. We saw two abysmal failures, and the advantage is, B94 is still fresh enough in everyone's mind that soon listeners will forget these two failures even existed. There's certainly a chance for failure here, but I think it's a lot more likely to succeed now.

So...why is this so popular? Because the majority of us were lobbying for the return of B94. We all had a great exchange of ideas as to why it could work. Not because of nostalgia or living in the past. It was PURE COMMON SENSE. We all discussed that the station could succeed as a CHR or an Adult CHR without the repetition. We all discussed the jock lineup, bring back the alums, or get the fresh new talent? Time will tell on that one. But the bottom line is, SOMEONE FINALLY LISTENED!!!

We had also discussed a topic that debated whether or not those with decision-making capability ever monitored this board. I'm sure none of them will come out and admit that they ever would, but we see some big names show up on here every once in a while with clout in the biz. Keep in mind that nobody on this board is an amateur...we are all professionals at different levels and we have a lot to offer the industry. We don't always agree on everything...we simply exchange ideas and put them in this forum. I would like to think some people in the right positions glean some ideas from this board.
 
kenhawk1160 said:
I have heard many on this board say the CHR is dead and not coming back. I don't agree with that. The quality of pop music is starting to rebound. It went down when the sound of CHR in the 80's and early 90's suddenly did an about-face and gave way for modern rock, grunge, and gangsta. This hurt CHR's image, and until a few years ago, we didn't see an end in sight. Now the light at the end of the tunnel is finally here.
Click to expand...

I think the success of American Idol can be attributed to CHR and pop's newfound popularity these days.
 
First of all, I am not a radio industry person. I am a completely random 25 year old guy who has been searching the Internet non stop since Friday night for any news or discussion about the B.

Kent pretty much hit the nail on the head about heritage stations... I grew up on the station. B94 was born in 81. I was born in 82. All the way up to my senior year of high school in 2000, (when Kiss launched) B94 was the only game in town for me and my friends.

You mentioned that it's just playing the same so many songs over and over again, and then refreshing the playlist. Yes, that's true. But while the music never lasted, the character of the station did. Banana, Dave, Bubba, Shelley, etc... The talent brought a distinctly Pittsburgh feel to the station that no other station was ever really able to truly capture, except perhaps DVE. Over the course of those 23 years, I think a lot of people saw B94 as being just as much a part of the identity of Pittsburgh as the Steelers or Iron City.

So when Infinity pulled the plug in 2004, it was like coming home to find that your bedroom closet was empty and your life partner had left a note on the kitchen table. People were genuinely UPSET, even though the station was in obvious decline.

We've spent the past 3 years without a real replacement. Star established a similar play list, but never got that "Pittsburgh feel" that I mentioned quite right. Kiss has continued to go more and more in an urban direction.

In short, I think people are letting three years of frustration explode out on to this forum, and countless others I've seen around the Net. It feels like a part of our identity, a part of our history as Pittsburghers has finally been restored.
 
I was the first person who broke the news about the flip too!!!! 5 minutes after I heard it on the air too!!!!! I dseserve something........maybe a job in radio.... ;)
 
B-94 can't help but improve on the 0.9 The Zone got, but I want to comment on a few points.

I'm really not sure the formats that replaced B-94 in 2004 weren't good formats. As I mentioned before, I'm almost positive when K-Rock first debuted the ratings went up.

The problem was in the case of K-Rock that after awhile, it became ANYTHING but a rock station.

Sure, David Lee Roth didn't help matters much and he killed many a rock station. But the station was on for a year after that, and instead of hearing a hipper, more lively mix of rock music driving home from work than what WDVE offered, Pittsburgh got Kidd Chris (or was it Chris Kidd?).

My own work had me driving from midnight to 1 a.m. around Western Pennsylvania. It was the sort of time I'd like to hear some music on the radio, but instead Loveline was on the air.

In the 19 hours from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m.- K-Rock had 10 hours of talk programming.

How could they succeed when the majority of time they weren't broadcasting what they were marketing their brand as?

Same with "The Zone." If they had decided they were a sports station- and after all they carried Sporting News radio- they might have been able to beat out WEAE. If they were a "Man" station, then what was Loveline doing on the air- not to mention Paulsen and McIntire- who are hardly "shot and a beer" personalities?

Hence, I urge caution for the B-94 fans. The same people who said the station you love didn't work, and the same people who couldn't make two other formats work, are now in charge of this revival.

Optimistically, on another thread "DtotheJ" mentioned how B-94 was essentially playing the same playlist as MTV.

If that's all it takes, then I don't see how this could miss.

And guys, I may not be a pop music fan, but I think we can agree on one thing.

It's far, far, far superior to John McIntire or Kidd Chris (or was it Chris Kidd?).
 
trojan18 said:
... while the music never lasted, the character of the station did. Banana, Dave, Bubba, Shelley, etc... The talent brought a distinctly Pittsburgh feel to the station that no other station was ever really able to truly capture, except perhaps DVE. Over the course of those 23 years, I think a lot of people saw B94 as being just as much a part of the identity of Pittsburgh as the Steelers or Iron City.

So when Infinity pulled the plug in 2004, it was like coming home to find that your bedroom closet was empty and your life partner had left a note on the kitchen table. People were genuinely UPSET, even though the station was in obvious decline.
Click to expand...

DING-DING-DING-DING-DING! Excellent observation.
 
Here's an interesting data point. I gave a radio station tour to 8 girls yesterday (ages 15 to 17). During our discussion, I mentioned that B94 was back...

The reaction of these girls was amazing! They regarded this as the station of *their* youth and could not wait to begin listening again. I expected B94 to be Heritage to 25 - 44 (and older), but the reaction of these younger people was amazing. That a brand had that much lasting impact on people this young after a 3-year absence was incredible.

Done right, B94 may be a station that parents and their teenagers can both listen to.

And, what a concept...investment in heritage and for the longterm actually can yield profit, success and -- let's hold our collective breaths -- a little fun for listeners and the community.
 
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