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WMRQ to WCCC - IT'S WAR

104.1 WMRQ on a good day comes in here in Old Greenwich but usually dies in Darien at at exit 10. I used to try to get it on my Carver TX-11. now I try to get MRQ on my Sangean HD-1x tuner. I have in the past had a Directional antenna in Pomfret CT or my walkmens back in 1998-2001 to get both 104.1's just to move the antenna ie the headphone cable to get another radio station it was really cool to be able to do that although on a Non Directional antenna ie a car WBCN usually won out. although WBCN, WMRQ WCCC, WAAF were all listenable and I was in the 5 market rock island on a hill I would listen to WAAF the most and in the morning 955 WBRU. the I moved on top of skiff Mountain for 3 years until 2004 in kent Ct where 104.1 was weaker than 106.9 WCCC signal wise however, anyone remember 92.9 Rock. That station kicked serious A** but CC thought that an AC format did better and pulled the plug :( as for the 104.1 frequency, there was 103.9 WFAS westchester, and Q104.3 yes 80 miles away from NYC! coming in. about every frequency had a radio station on it. Dennis J is probably unaware that for 3 years I was Living at 1,300 feet on skiif mountain for too far away from his 103.3 in sharon. I could never get my 103.5 KTU until I got the Carver tuner in 2003 off ebay... then it was game on.. I could begin to even get Albany radio stations on the same frequency as the NYC ones. :)
 
Jay F said:
Instead of competing against middle of the pack WCCC why doesn't WMRQ flip to country and compete against #1 rated (and #2 PPM Country station in the U.S) WWYZ? Not saying they could beat a heritage station like that but the country slice of the pie in Hartford is now very large.
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I agree 104.1 should flip to country to take ratings away from 92.5, the current format on 104.1 isn't working. KC 101.3 in this book rated better then WMRQ.
 
Ken said:
Jay F said:
Instead of competing against middle of the pack WCCC why doesn't WMRQ flip to country and compete against #1 rated (and #2 PPM Country station in the U.S) WWYZ? Not saying they could beat a heritage station like that but the country slice of the pie in Hartford is now very large.
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I agree 104.1 should flip to country to take ratings away from 92.5, the current format on 104.1 isn't working. KC 101.3 in this book rated better then WMRQ.
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That was just in the September book, and comparing 6+ numbers for an alternative station (I use that term loosely) and a CHR is apples and oranges. The breakouts would show completely different demos. MRQ definitely targets a different audience, and with WKSS, WKCI, and WTIC-FM all running variations on Top 40, that's a crowded market in Hartford.

There was a dip in the September book for WMRQ to a 2.8 (shifting of meters?) May was a 3.3 (KC101 2.4, a share lower.) June was a 3.6 (KC101 had a 2.8.) July was a 3.7 to KC101's 2.6. August was a 3.3 to KC101's 2.4. September was where 'MRQ dropped off to a 2.8 and KC101 jumped up to a 3.0.

I'd say a 6+ share averaging over a 3 is not bad for an Alt Rock station. Hell, they pulled a 3.5 in the last New Haven book (although, WPLR pulled an 8.7....) It looks like they run neck and neck with WPLR in the Hartford market, and are consistently just behind WCCC in overall 6+ numbers on a consistent basis... but who knows what the juicy details look like.

Also... Arbitron has WMRQ listed as a Modern AC... I guess that fits more what I'm hearing. I never thought I'd say "Maroon 5" or "Daughtry" in the same sentence as "Radio 104."
 
104.1 has been used as a spoiler for much of its history with mixed results, beginning with when it went up against WWYZ as a soft AC station in 1978. Magic 104 wasn't an overnight success, gradually gaining ground by hanging in thru the eighties as YZ kept tinkering with variations of an AC format that had already peaked in the late seventies. How vulnerable is WWYZ today? Even with significantly less cume than AC giant WRCH, the time spent listening is obviously very impressive to get overall shares in double digits. That means Country 92-5 is VERY WELL LIKED and would suggest that country listeners in this "Land of Steady Habits" aren't necessarily scrambling for an alternative in that arena. A format challenger might get by on a modest fraction of WWYZ's share, but who's to say 104.1 would fare any better than a 3.0 as the "other" country station?

While a 3.0 has long been considered a minimum share to get by on a major Hartford FM, an overall number like that doesn't mean they can't still be competitive in key demographics. Exclusivity as an alt rocker also gets WMRQ involved in certain clubs and concerts that generate listener interaction and station revenue. A difference between a 2.8 and 3.4 wouldn't change that by much. You can't really know whether a format is successful unless you're looking at the billing. Hey, who's to say the WDRC-AM network doesn't make some money with a .5 share as long as Brad Davis still gets people into Enfield Ford? I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but has the owner of WMRQ ever changed a format?
 
GlennO said:
I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but has the owner of WMRQ ever changed a format?
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Glenn makes a great point... There's a first time for everything, but Fuller's never changed a format in 26 years. WJJF was always country under his ownership, WPJB Narragansett Pier was always soft AC, WBMW has always been AC, WWRX Pawcatuck has always been Rhythmic CHR, WTNN has always been country. Of course, W248AB/W246CC Bolton has been 'Bomba' and WMRQ has been whatever you want to call what they're doing now.
 
Power wasn't the only time 104.1 tried to be a spoiler to 93.7. There was the early nineties flip to hot AC as Star 104.1 which pitted them almost directly against one of the most heavily promoted stations in Hartford radio history: Mix 93.7. It turned out to be bad for both stations.

Reacting to a single monthly ratings trend can drive people as crazy as watching their IRA or 401K accounts every day. It's a batting average subject to bumps.

Just because a station doesn't constantly dominate in the ratings doesn't mean there isn't a passionate fan base or interest among sponsors. The opposite can also be true. WRCH had a huge beautiful music audience right up until 1989, but they had to change to Lite because the audience wasn't attracting enough big advertisers. The transition went pretty smoothly while their lower-rated sister AM WRCQ created an uproar with format fans when they dumped standards. Many country stations traditionally had to get bigger audiences than competing formats just to get the same billing due to advertisers' attitudes toward the country crowd. I would think those doubts have been disspelled with today's country success - except maybe New York.
 
Even WLTW in New York had to evolve into the (lack of) lite rotation of songs they play now...

reelyreal said:
...There's a first time for everything, but Fuller's never changed a format in 26 years... WBMW has always been AC...
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Actually, WBMW flips every December to all-Christmas - but that's splitting hairs... ::)

By the way, a station in South Jersey has already gone all-Christmas - and we're at the midway point of October! :eek:
 
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