WJLQ "Q-100" switching formats?

[jasonharper2013]

I will Have A Playlist Up At Pulse Music Board

 

[bamatide]

So far the station sounds OK... Actually it is boring.

I've heard Kings Of Leon - Use Somebody four times now

Why don't they start new launches off with all guns blazing instead of cueing up 100 songs and hitting repeat?

It is just boring as hell.

 

[bamatide]

they just played Beyonce - Sweet Dreams - twice in the past 20 minutes

 

[CHRles]

It's a new station, this is their first day on the air. Few people in Mobile and Pensacola have discovered it yet so the idea is to bang the Power records in hyper rotation.
20 minutes apart is absurd though that could just be a first day glitch. You might want to wait a few days or weeks before giving it too much criticism.
My beef with Cumulus-owned CHRs is that many of them have the same exact playlist. At the same time, the I branded CHRs tend to be a lot hotter sounding than some of the other Cumulus owned CHRS, such as Q-100 Atlanta or 104.3 ZYP Huntsville.

 

[bamatide]

Once they kick into high gear - I just hope they have somewhat of a LOCAL sound (jocks that talk about things happening in the area, etc)

i have already heard a few tracks that I have not yet heard on WABB so that is a positive sign

any idea if they will ever get a morning show? I checked out a few I stations and did not see anything about morning shows. This will be a huge turn off for me if they don't have a good morning show in the future.

 

[bamatide]

I'm listening to nashville's i106 online - it sounds really good and edgy. i like! I'm pretty excited about this new i100

 

[Tibbs4]

Nashville's i106 has serious signal issues with the hills, etc., and going against one of the nations strongest CHR stations is tough.
Clear Channels WRVW 107.5 --- down the hall from where Romer lurks.

But, it's not full of chatter and commercials yet, so it's even reaching 40+ year old males, which is interesting to watch
unfold. All in all it is a fresh station.

With the 100.7 signal, i100 should be pretty well received. The websites and the music, etc are pretty much the same for both
stations. Kickoff was the same, as well, so you can see where it'll go if you listen to www.i106hits.com from Nashville, the hit music
capitol of the world....

rob? is it a keeper? cceng you (and me, as well) are to damn old to be listenin anyway...

 

[bamatide]

the i station in Dallas is great. Ive been listening to it all day.. I really hope this is what we can expect out of our new I

i think if they can get a great morning show, do some live club remotes, and do something different for the drive home - WABB is going to take a beating

 

[Nate Wesley]

any idea if they will ever get a morning show? I checked out a few I stations and did not see anything about morning shows. This will be a huge turn off for me if they don't have a good morning show in the future.

Not a bummer for me. With CHR stations, I'm just there for the music.

 

[MN Maniac]

If I-100 is serious about making an impact here, they will have to be LOCAL, LOCAL, LOCAL. That means hiring local jocks with some degree of talent. And of course, this costs money.

The beautiful thing about WABB is it's heritage. It's been CHR/Top 40 forever, going waaaaay back to the days on 1480AM. That's something you can't gain traction against by simply filling a hard drive with hot music and slick digital effects sweepers. Several have tried and failed against WABB. This includes several previous attempts by WJLQ and by Cumulus on both 100.7 and 104.1.

Let's hope Cumulus opens their wallet and does this right. WABB could use a strong competitor. It would make them a better radio station.

 

[Tibbs4]

You are asking Crumulass to actually give something of value or serve? Do you realize what you are asking?

 

[jackshell]

Listening to the launch made me wistful for the launch of Hot 104. I hope they do it right this time. Scotty Adams in mornings again too. Exciting launch, go get 'em, i100.

 

[amfmxm]

If I-100 is serious about making an impact here, they will have to be LOCAL, LOCAL, LOCAL. That means hiring local jocks with some degree of talent. And of course, this costs money.

The beautiful thing about WABB is it's heritage. It's been CHR/Top 40 forever, going waaaaay back to the days on 1480AM. That's something you can't gain traction against by simply filling a hard drive with hot music and slick digital effects sweepers. Several have tried and failed against WABB. This includes several previous attempts by WJLQ and by Cumulus on both 100.7 and 104.1.

Let's hope Cumulus opens their wallet and does this right. WABB could use a strong competitor. It would make them a better radio station.

But that's not going to happen.

Operating jockless means operating expenseless. And, frankly, the longer they can run with no commercials or few commercials (a year or two) the better chance they have of carving out a share or two or three from WABB's hide--which is the whole point of the exercise. By providing another CHR button that listeners can punch when 'ABB goes into a stopset, i100 can chop WABB's TSL... and thereby chop their AQH (share).

By bringing WABB down a peg--into the mire of the Middle Of The Pack--the better WBLX & Magic look, without Cumulus actually having to spend any money to improve their own stations. America is a great place!

They know they'd never beat WABB in head to head combat. They're just hoping to cripple them. Shoot 'em in the kneecap.

It's a race to the bottom. The worst of our radio nightmares come true!

 

[Nate Wesley]

If I-100 is serious about making an impact here, they will have to be LOCAL, LOCAL, LOCAL. That means hiring local jocks with some degree of talent. And of course, this costs money.

The beautiful thing about WABB is it's heritage. It's been CHR/Top 40 forever, going waaaaay back to the days on 1480AM. That's something you can't gain traction against by simply filling a hard drive with hot music and slick digital effects sweepers. Several have tried and failed against WABB. This includes several previous attempts by WJLQ and by Cumulus on both 100.7 and 104.1.

Let's hope Cumulus opens their wallet and does this right. WABB could use a strong competitor. It would make them a better radio station.

But that's not going to happen.

Operating jockless means operating expenseless. And, frankly, the longer they can run with no commercials or few commercials (a year or two) the better chance they have of carving out a share or two or three from WABB's hide--which is the whole point of the exercise. By providing another CHR button that listeners can punch when 'ABB goes into a stopset, i100 can chop WABB's TSL... and thereby chop their AQH (share).

By bringing WABB down a peg--into the mire of the Middle Of The Pack--the better WBLX & Magic look, without Cumulus actually having to spend any money to improve their own stations. America is a great place!

They know they'd never beat WABB in head to head combat. They're just hoping to cripple them. Shoot 'em in the kneecap.

It's a race to the bottom. The worst of our radio nightmares come true!

The sad(?) part about it all is, I don't think most people miss the jocks all that much. With the core listeners i100 is trying to attract, they're already used to iPods and streaming stations without them--except for morning shows.

They'll definitely want a few familiar faces for when they do live remotes, so I don't expect them to go totally DJ free. But this 'local local local' monetary effort just to beat WABB--I agree, I'm not sure 'beating' 97.5 is the goal. I think along with Jack FM on 104.1, Cumulus would be plenty happy with one solid combo of non-urban properties versus Clear Channel and other broadcasters.

 

[icycool7227]

I really think WABB stinks because they don't stream and wouldn't give or sell me the blue t-shirt! Geez, enough said!

 

[bamatide]

i-100 sounds MUCH better than WABB - I am now hearing jocks on there and they sound great. This station is 10000000's time hotter sounding than WABB.

The imaging is great

 

[jackandcoke]

i-100 sounds MUCH better than WABB - I am now hearing jocks on there and they sound great. This station is 10000000's time hotter sounding than WABB.

The imaging is great

Cool. We've got a CHR War. Assuming i100 is the better spread, it should take them about two years to beat WABB in Pensacola and three years to beat them in Mobile--in ratings. In revenue it will take them five or six years to pass 'ABB in billing, assuming Cumulus can hire & retain a decent sales staff for five or six years. In the real world.

And in the real world (given Cumulus' history & 100.7's history over the past 20 years)... anybody want to place any bets?

 

[bamatide]

i-100 sounds MUCH better than WABB - I am now hearing jocks on there and they sound great. This station is 10000000's time hotter sounding than WABB.

The imaging is great

Cool. We've got a CHR War. Assuming i100 is the better spread, it should take them about two years to beat WABB in Pensacola and three years to beat them in Mobile--in ratings. In revenue it will take them five or six years to pass 'ABB in billing, assuming Cumulus can hire & retain a decent sales staff for five or six years. In the real world.

And in the real world (given Cumulus' history & 100.7's history over the past 20 years)... anybody want to place any bets?

i think it will be A LOT sooner than that.

 

[Nate Wesley]

I really think WABB stinks because they don't stream and wouldn't give or sell me the blue t-shirt! Geez, enough said!

I hope i100 stiffs you on T-shirts too.

 

[jackandcoke]

i-100 sounds MUCH better than WABB - I am now hearing jocks on there and they sound great. This station is 10000000's time hotter sounding than WABB.

The imaging is great

Cool. We've got a CHR War. Assuming i100 is the better spread, it should take them about two years to beat WABB in Pensacola and three years to beat them in Mobile--in ratings. In revenue it will take them five or six years to pass 'ABB in billing, assuming Cumulus can hire & retain a decent sales staff for five or six years. In the real world.

And in the real world (given Cumulus' history & 100.7's history over the past 20 years)... anybody want to place any bets?

i think it will be A LOT sooner than that.

Well...... Dittman's sales staff is going to be positioning i100 as "the format of the month"... "the latest in a long, long line of stations to take a shot at us--most of which are now playing religion or Korean music"... "wait a year and see if Cumulus is still in business"... all sentiments that will be echoed by the sales folks from Clear Channel, Pamal, and the others. And for the agency folks and clients doing the buying, all this resonates because there's some truth in all of it.

And, of course, in Mobile--where WABB does the vast majority of its billing--The New i100 is positioned (by WABB) and perceived (by buyers) as a "Pensacola station."

And all CHR stations are positioned (by competitors) and perceived (by buyers) as a "kids station." When the Pamal sales rep tells the car dealer that "15-year olds ain't buying no cars" it hits home. Or when the Clear Channel says "yeah, they sound good, but their target audience doesn't listen to FM anymore" it makes a lot of sense to the buyer.

So then the questions become:

a) How good are the Cumulus salespeople, and/or

b) How long will Cumulus stick with it with no (or little) revenue coming in

It's a tough game we're in.