WMIB is now doing adult hits and WFEZ doing E-Z Oldies has probably proven more successful than anyone imagined. Older adults have a lot of options to include even Soft AC and exciting weekend programming @WFLC so I wonder where does this leave Magic 102.7 and did they actually box themselves into a corner?
A while back in another Magic post, I recall poster David Eduardo discuss the importance of attracting Hispanics to the station in the audience mix. Today, Magic 102.7, at least to me, sounds like it could just as soon be a station in Kansas. The playlist is generic and they don't reflect or take advantage of the uniqueness that is South Florida. As far as ratings go, I think it shows increased listener disinterest.
Hybrid oldies format always have to reinvent themselves to stay fresh and to stay competitive in 25-54. When Bruce Kelly was announced to replace the retiring Rick Shaw, I was actually excited about that and thought it was a great choice. There would be some name recognition as Bruce was a part of the S. Fla radio landscape in the early 80's, maybe it was even the late 70's too. I thought also that Bruce could have helped Magic shed a very old image. When I listened to Bruce for those first few months, I thought the topics he brought up were smart and contemporary and the fact that he got the morning show highlights presented on YouTube (I think) could generate interest among the social network crowd who probably skewed a bit younger too.
The music stayed mired in a heavy dose of 60's hits. Each hour Rick Shaw's voice remained doing all those PSAs. It's never an easy task for talent to follow a legend, but in the case of Bruce it would appear the odds were clearly stacked against him. My feeling was if he was hired in the first place to accomplish a goal, he should have been given at least a fair shot at success. Bruce didn't last very long and lower than expected ratings became the usual reasoning. Still, I think Magic (back then) could have moved a little deeper into the 80's and I think Bruce could have shined a bit more because it would have been a better fit. As far as those PSAs go, if contractually that was part of the deal then at the very least they should have been off the top of the hour. Maybe a radical idea, but IMHO Bruce's voice made a lot more sense to be used to get listeners used to him quicker.
The other day I found an old Top 500 countdown list Magic featured from 1993. While I wouldn't expect Magic to sound like they did back then today, it does get back to David's comments. Magic seemed to feature a lot of the songs that were popular on the old WQAM and actually there were lots of rhythmic/Motown elements that probably did attract minorities to the station. Magic back then sounded different than other oldies stations. As time went on, Magic decided to add an increasing number of rock-oriented titles to the mix. With Bruce on board, it seems at least to me there was an opportunity to be a retro soundtrack of S. Florida bringing back a number of songs popular on Y-100, 96X, I-95 etc. that were also shunned on sister WLYF.
Yeah, this all sounds like Monday morning coaching. But this board did discuss a lot of what I discussed here even way back when. A couple of times I wrote the former PD expressing some of these concerns but I received the usual cordial reply and nothing else. Stuart Elliot has probably said 100 times he wasn't interested in returning to radio. But I believe he could have been talked into at least one weekend shift. Many listeners would have happily recalled Stuart and their youth - another good fit. Magic enjoyed a good deal of success being like a soundtrack of WQAM. I just thought it made sense to move it up in time another notch to what I believed to sound a bit more like the greatest CHR found anywhere in the country.
The business of radio is tough for me to understand where I sit because decisions are not always logical. Today, there's a heritage radio station that appears to be needing life support. Magic 102.7 should not be earning 2+ shares, it should be at least double that. I hope someone "gets it" over there before it's too late. Apologies for the long post but I have very fond memories of Magic and I love the live and local vibe of the station and I would just hate to see that all go away!
A while back in another Magic post, I recall poster David Eduardo discuss the importance of attracting Hispanics to the station in the audience mix. Today, Magic 102.7, at least to me, sounds like it could just as soon be a station in Kansas. The playlist is generic and they don't reflect or take advantage of the uniqueness that is South Florida. As far as ratings go, I think it shows increased listener disinterest.
Hybrid oldies format always have to reinvent themselves to stay fresh and to stay competitive in 25-54. When Bruce Kelly was announced to replace the retiring Rick Shaw, I was actually excited about that and thought it was a great choice. There would be some name recognition as Bruce was a part of the S. Fla radio landscape in the early 80's, maybe it was even the late 70's too. I thought also that Bruce could have helped Magic shed a very old image. When I listened to Bruce for those first few months, I thought the topics he brought up were smart and contemporary and the fact that he got the morning show highlights presented on YouTube (I think) could generate interest among the social network crowd who probably skewed a bit younger too.
The music stayed mired in a heavy dose of 60's hits. Each hour Rick Shaw's voice remained doing all those PSAs. It's never an easy task for talent to follow a legend, but in the case of Bruce it would appear the odds were clearly stacked against him. My feeling was if he was hired in the first place to accomplish a goal, he should have been given at least a fair shot at success. Bruce didn't last very long and lower than expected ratings became the usual reasoning. Still, I think Magic (back then) could have moved a little deeper into the 80's and I think Bruce could have shined a bit more because it would have been a better fit. As far as those PSAs go, if contractually that was part of the deal then at the very least they should have been off the top of the hour. Maybe a radical idea, but IMHO Bruce's voice made a lot more sense to be used to get listeners used to him quicker.
The other day I found an old Top 500 countdown list Magic featured from 1993. While I wouldn't expect Magic to sound like they did back then today, it does get back to David's comments. Magic seemed to feature a lot of the songs that were popular on the old WQAM and actually there were lots of rhythmic/Motown elements that probably did attract minorities to the station. Magic back then sounded different than other oldies stations. As time went on, Magic decided to add an increasing number of rock-oriented titles to the mix. With Bruce on board, it seems at least to me there was an opportunity to be a retro soundtrack of S. Florida bringing back a number of songs popular on Y-100, 96X, I-95 etc. that were also shunned on sister WLYF.
Yeah, this all sounds like Monday morning coaching. But this board did discuss a lot of what I discussed here even way back when. A couple of times I wrote the former PD expressing some of these concerns but I received the usual cordial reply and nothing else. Stuart Elliot has probably said 100 times he wasn't interested in returning to radio. But I believe he could have been talked into at least one weekend shift. Many listeners would have happily recalled Stuart and their youth - another good fit. Magic enjoyed a good deal of success being like a soundtrack of WQAM. I just thought it made sense to move it up in time another notch to what I believed to sound a bit more like the greatest CHR found anywhere in the country.
The business of radio is tough for me to understand where I sit because decisions are not always logical. Today, there's a heritage radio station that appears to be needing life support. Magic 102.7 should not be earning 2+ shares, it should be at least double that. I hope someone "gets it" over there before it's too late. Apologies for the long post but I have very fond memories of Magic and I love the live and local vibe of the station and I would just hate to see that all go away!
