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WLS AM/FM SOLD

howardm said:
Demographics and ad revenue drive these changes, listeners in certain age brackets tend to spend more money than older age brackets. Can't stop the train of life, but satellite radio does tremendous job of filling the gap, plus home satellite radios are very affordable and work well with a south frontage toward signal.
Click to expand...

I understand about demos, but why would you have a station with a lot of good named DJs and not let them speak? Makes no sense.
I've said it before, there's an opportunity for some other radio station in Chicago to go with a better mix of 60s & 70s music.
 
I guess you are talking about WJMK.

BTW WLS FM has been "falling" 6+ down from 4.6 July to 4.0 this rating period:

http://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb005

I do not have access to the specific demo breakouts but most of the money usually is in the sub 55 demos. As a publicly held corporation, Cumulus has be "aimed" at money demos to pay bondholders and shareholders.
 
secondchoice said:
I guess you are talking about WJMK.

BTW WLS FM has been "falling" 6+ down from 4.6 July to 4.0 this rating period:

http://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb005

I do not have access to the specific demo breakouts but most of the money usually is in the sub 55 demos. As a publicly held corporation, Cumulus has be "aimed" at money demos to pay bondholders and shareholders.
Click to expand...

Whether it's WJMK or some other station, there is a hole in the market now for a personality based oldies format--60s & 70s with even a few 50s sprinkled in here and there. There are a helluva lot of people that miss Dick Biondi's Friday Night Request show which was very popular for several years.
Yeah I know all about the fact that it's harder to sell 54+, but you can't convince me that at least one station in Chicago can't benefit from filling this hole. There are many stations in Chicago with very low ratings that can't do anything but improve by picking up an Top 40 oldies based format.
 
radioman148 said:
Yeah I know all about the fact that it's harder to sell 54+, but you can't convince me that at least one station in Chicago can't benefit from filling this hole.
Click to expand...

It's not "harder". It's virtually impossible.

In Top 10 markets like Chicago, most of the significant accounts are agency based. And, with the caveat that there may be an occasional exception, agencies don't buy radio for 55+.

Even in Tampa / St Petersburg where there is a recognized and attractive retirement community, it's nearly the same. WDUV is #1 in 12+, but it is 14th in billings because it appeals predominantly to 55+.

WLS-FM was down to around 15th in "The" sales demo and it would be expected that revenues would eventually be even lower than 15th.
 
David,

Is it viable for a station that virtually has very low or next to no ratings, (the Chicago area has quite a few) to pick up an oldies format and make a profit?
I would think there are some low rated stations in this metro area that would have substantially greater numbers that could translate to a profit for them considering "said station" would be the only one in the area playing mainstream Top 40 hits from the 60s & 70s with a bit of 50s sprinkled in.
With a low staff or just a computer playing the music, couldn't this format show at least a small profit if it was the only station doing this?
 
radioman148 said:
David,

Is it viable for a station that virtually has very low or next to no ratings, (the Chicago area has quite a few) to pick up an oldies format and make a profit?
Click to expand...

Yeah.

I think so, at least. Oldies (real 60's oldies) could be put on a suburban signal in an area that would likely have a concentration of non-ethnic residents. Since the bread and butter of many suburban lower power (Class A) signals is direct sales, they can forget about ratings, agencies and such and concentrate on local business.

Since many local business owners may be listeners themselves or, at least, be friendly towards the format, a well managed and well sold operation in that format fills a need and can make money.

With a low staff or just a computer playing the music, couldn't this format show at least a small profit if it was the only station doing this?
Click to expand...

I think there are plenty of mature Top 40 DJs who might either work fulltime, voice track or do part time work for such a station... if I were doing it I'd try to be live as much of the time as possible... and include lots of community announcements and local goings-on.
 
DavidEduardo said:
radioman148 said:
David,

Is it viable for a station that virtually has very low or next to no ratings, (the Chicago area has quite a few) to pick up an oldies format and make a profit?
Click to expand...

Yeah.

I think so, at least. Oldies (real 60's oldies) could be put on a suburban signal in an area that would likely have a concentration of non-ethnic residents. Since the bread and butter of many suburban lower power (Class A) signals is direct sales, they can forget about ratings, agencies and such and concentrate on local business.

Since many local business owners may be listeners themselves or, at least, be friendly towards the format, a well managed and well sold operation in that format fills a need and can make money.

With a low staff or just a computer playing the music, couldn't this format show at least a small profit if it was the only station doing this?
Click to expand...

I think there are plenty of mature Top 40 DJs who might either work fulltime, voice track or do part time work for such a station... if I were doing it I'd try to be live as much of the time as possible... and include lots of community announcements and local goings-on.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
The Classic Hit music really does not fit WLS. It was fun listening to the "Oldies" God forbid we use that word in front of Jan! Bringing on DJ's from the past was brilliant and refreshing. What a station to have Fred and Dick spinning records again. But PLEASE play the music we gre up with. We have the Drive and K Hits all playing the same songs. CBS in New York screwed up and than rethought what they did and brought back the Greatest Hits of All Time. The only way to show the owners of WLS that the people of Chicago want "Oldies" will be shown when the ratings fall to the basment.

If you have one of the top 10 restaurants in Chicago do you get rid of your cooks and change your menu?
 
Dr Wayne said:
The Classic Hit music really does not fit WLS. It was fun listening to the "Oldies" God forbid we use that word in front of Jan! Bringing on DJ's from the past was brilliant and refreshing. What a station to have Fred and Dick spinning records again. But PLEASE play the music we gre up with. We have the Drive and K Hits all playing the same songs. CBS in New York screwed up and than rethought what they did and brought back the Greatest Hits of All Time. The only way to show the owners of WLS that the people of Chicago want "Oldies" will be shown when the ratings fall to the basment.

If you have one of the top 10 restaurants in Chicago do you get rid of your cooks and change your menu?
Click to expand...

Well said Dr Wayne.
Here we have a station with Fred Winston, Dick Biondi, & John "Records" Landecker, all DJs that we like and we should be celebrating their return to the same station. Instead we've got music that doesn't fit what they represent and more importantly they're not being allowed to utilize their talents.
 
radioman148 said:
howardm said:
Demographics and ad revenue drive these changes, listeners in certain age brackets tend to spend more money than older age brackets. Can't stop the train of life, but satellite radio does tremendous job of filling the gap, plus home satellite radios are very affordable and work well with a south frontage toward signal.
Click to expand...

I understand about demos, but why would you have a station with a lot of good named DJs and not let them speak? Makes no sense.
I've said it before, there's an opportunity for some other radio station in Chicago to go with a better mix of 60s & 70s music.
Click to expand...

In ANY demo or decade of music you can pull at least 500-1000 songs that were huge mainstream hits. Problem is most radio programmers have never grown up and continue to play CRAP. Thay haven't a clue to GOOD MUSIC.

Give me 60s, 70s, 80s and I can play songs that don't sound dated. Thats the key to older music.

Oh...DJs bad or good ARE DJ's. And DJs have a tendect to ramble on and on and on if not reined in.
 
Seems like they are rotating about 250 tunes. Places that I frequent had WLS FM on th radio. Recently, they switched to K Hits. I think you will see a BIG DIP in the ratings. As far as the DJ giving personality to the station, I think that is at zero. Better to do voice tracking for them and let Biondi get a good night's sleep. What a waste of talent! Jan is setting on top of a gold mine and he got rid of all the shovels!
 
Dr Wayne said:
What a waste of talent! Jan is setting on top of a gold mine and he got rid of all the shovels!
Click to expand...

Jan is "mining" for gold. A huge percentage of the revenue in any top ten market is controlled by agencies. The advertiser's marketing department (correctly or not that is another thread) have told the agencies that advertising needs to be aimed at folks under 55. One can only guess that the marketing department at the advertisers company want to get customers "young" and hopefully have a customer "for life". Jan is trying to "mine" the sub 55 demos because that is where the "gold" is. The 6+ ratings shown do not result in sales. The various sub 55 demo groups is what advertisers want.

Feel fortunate that Cumulus has allow WLS FM play some form of "oldies". They "blew up" the only Classic hits / oldies station (with full market coverage) in the youth crazed Atlanta market leaving only a classic rock (with full market coverage) that is barely listenable for any one over 45.

BTW I am now or ever have been an employee of Cumulus, Citadel, ABC or Disney.
 
secondchoice said:
Dr Wayne said:
What a waste of talent! Jan is setting on top of a gold mine and he got rid of all the shovels!
Click to expand...

Jan is "mining" for gold. A huge percentage of the revenue in any top ten market is controlled by agencies. The advertiser's marketing department (correctly or not that is another thread) have told the agencies that advertising needs to be aimed at folks under 55. One can only guess that the marketing department at the advertisers company want to get customers "young" and hopefully have a customer "for life". Jan is trying to "mine" the sub 55 demos because that is where the "gold" is. The 6+ ratings shown do not result in sales. The various sub 55 demo groups is what advertisers want.

Feel fortunate that Cumulus has allow WLS FM play some form of "oldies". They "blew up" the only Classic hits / oldies station (with full market coverage) in the youth crazed Atlanta market leaving only a classic rock (with full market coverage) that is barely listenable for any one over 45.

BTW I am now or ever have been an employee of Cumulus, Citadel, ABC or Disney.
Click to expand...

I can only say that the current music on WLS-FM is unlistenable as far as I'm concerned. The DJs are all great, but they aren't being allowed to do anything. Also, these guys never played this music and were never associated with it.
This is a big turn off for me.

Here's hoping that WJMK or some other station picks up the music that WLS-FM used to play & brings Biondi & some others over.
WLS-FM is a disaster as it now stands.
 
Dr Wayne said:
Ok! With that said, why are the jocks talking less? How does that affect revenue?
Click to expand...

If it increases ratings. With PPM a program director can tell what causes listeners to tune out. So I can only guess that there was was "research" or Arbitron's PPM data that made WLS FM go this route.
 
Just thought I would throw this in (in addition to my other critiques of WLS-FM)....they are skewing more towards males now. I wonder if they are trying to take a little off of The Drive?

I doubt WJMK will pick up a lot of the 60s WLS-FM played - perhaps the ones that still test well 25-54, but I don't think they're going to pick up a lot of True Oldies material.
 
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