WNUA to country as big 95.5

[raccoonradio]

http://www.big955chicago.com/main.html

 

[MarkW]

Re:

This is not a bad move. If Clear Channel goes with a heavily live & local line-up, as promised, it has the potential to do damage to US 99.5. If they go with Bobby Bones in the morning and a crapload of voicetracked or syndicated programming in multiple other dayparts, then I think US 99.5 has little to fear.

HOWEVER, a flip to Modern Rock (a la Radio 104.5 in Philly) when Merlin was screwing around with 101.1 perhaps would have been a better move.

I am surprised Clear Channel didn't throw in the towel on Spanish-language programming sooner. It's been a very long time since this station has been able to put together a string of respectable ratings books, and billing wise, this station underwhelmed more often than not.

 

[Gregg.]

Do markets like Chicago, Boston, Detroit and Minneapolis really need TWO Country stations? Because all have gotten second Country stations in the last couple of years. Most Southern markets only have two Country stations and those are places where many people actually LIVE the Country lifestyle. In the last ratings, WNUA was tied for #20 while CBS's longtime Country station in Chicago, WUSN, was tied for #7. In the November demo break down, WUSN was #6 among 25-54 adults and #7 among 18-34 adults. OK, not bad. But what happens if you divide that Country audience among two radio stations?

On the other hand, what else are you going to do? Even if you say Chicago doesn't need two Country stations, I guess it really doesn't need five FM stations (WOJO, WLEY, WPPN, WVIV/WVIX and WNUA) broadcasting in Spanish either. Other than WOJO, the rest are in the one-point-somethings, including WNUA.

And then there's the problem that there are so few formats that young adults want to hear anyway. It's basically just Top 40, Hot AC, Country, Urban, Latin and maybe Rock or Contemporary Christian in some but not all markets. We remember what those WNUA call letters once stood for... New Age, the forerunner of Smooth Jazz, which is when the station achieved its highest ratings. But Clear Channel blew up the Smooth Jazz format even when it's overall numbers were good because the demos were aging. And today, young adults don't want to hear anything instrumental or challenging, Jazz, New Age, Smooth Jazz, Classical, Easy Listening, etc.

So Country is as good a format as any for 95.5 to land on. I'm sure iHeart will do what Cumulus is doing. Put several syndicated shows on the station, including Bobby Bones in mornings, and only employ a few local DJs. So even if the ratings are only so-so, it will be an easier sell than Latin Hits.

 

[davideduardo]

In the last ratings, WNUA was tied for #20 while CBS's longtime Country station in Chicago, WUSN, was tied for #7. In the November demo break down, WUSN was #6 among 25-54 adults and #7 among 18-34 adults. OK, not bad. But what happens if you divide that Country audience among two radio stations?

The real issue is that WUSN is essentially tied for 4th in billings,

Even if you say Chicago doesn't need two Country stations, I guess it really doesn't need five FM stations (WOJO, WLEY, WPPN, WVIV/WVIX and WNUA) broadcasting in Spanish either. Other than WOJO, the rest are in the one-point-somethings, including WNUA.

While Chicago definitely did not need three regional Mexican stations, the other two have unique formats, pop and AC, and are on rather small signals so they do pretty well as part of a cluster. Agencies that buy Hispanic radio look for the additional reach other formats give.

So even if the ratings are only so-so, it will be an easier sell than Latin Hits.

Actually, WVIV/WVIX has the Latin Hits (CHR) format. WNUA was regional Mexican... so they simply replaced one kind of country with another.

 

[MarkW]

Country is a strong biller in the midwest. US 99.5 is routinely one of the highest billing FM stations in Chicago -- certainly top five. It's not a matter of "need," it's a matter of what makes the most strategic sense.

CC's country station in Boston is earning what might very well be record ratings for that tiny Class A signal. The ratings are 2x - 3x higher than anything WFNX generated over the last 10+ years. Clear Channel is kicking the crap out of the Cumulus-owned Country station in Atlanta.

Not all recent CC country station launches have been successful, though. Their recently launched station in Raleigh, for example, has terrible ratings, as does their recently launched station in Dayton, OH. These are both low budget outlets, though. Tons of voicetracking with the syndicated Bobby Bones out of Nashville in AM drive.

Both Country stations in Minneapolis-St. Paul have excellent ratings, although as of late, Buz'n 102.9 (the CBS station) has gotten the better of heritage station K102.

For sales purposes, this station will complement 93.9 MyFM nicely.

 

[TheBigA]

Do markets like Chicago, Boston, Detroit and Minneapolis really need TWO Country stations? Because all have gotten second Country stations in the last couple of years.

It depends on the execution. CBS launched the second country station in Minneapolis, hired their old staff, and beat the heritage Clear Channel station in the ratings. OTOH, CC launched Bobby Bones in Boston, and after a brief explosion thanks to no commercials, the station has settled to a 1 share. I think that's what will happen in Chicago. They have a crappy signal, and they're going against CBS. ABC tried to take on US99 15 years ago with a better signal, and it flopped.

For sales purposes, this station will complement 93.9 MyFM nicely.

That's partly why they're doing it. The other reason is to get a Chicago clear for Bones. Cumulus would LOVE to get Blair Garner on there. Not gonna happen. Score one for CC.

 

[davideduardo]

HOWEVER, a flip to Modern Rock (a la Radio 104.5 in Philly) when Merlin was screwing around with 101.1 perhaps would have been a better move.

The problem with Modern Rock, using WRFF in Philly as the example, is that they may be in the top 10 in ratings, and even top 5 in 18-34 and 18-49, the station bills below 15th in the market. It's just a tougher sell. Country tends to overindex in sales, while Modern Rock (except traditional, heritage stations like KROQ) tends to severely underindex.

 

[crainbebo]

Bigwigs, including those at Cheap Chan...I meant iCrapmedia, think smooth jazz is for 65+ only. That's why they say it doesn't sell. But WNUA had it's highest ratings as a SJ station in the late 1980s-mid 2000s. Why would artists like Richard Elliot, Dave Koz, Steve Cole, Boney James et. al. still release new albums when only a handful of radio stations are even playing the songs? Over in Albuquerque, there's a smooth jazz station called "103.7 The Oasis." K279BP/1510 KOAZ. Sure it may not be a high billing market, but Steve Hibbard (old Jones Smooth Jazz PD) runs it. Great smooth jazz/latin guitar/urban vocal playlist. Manhattan Transfer one minute, Norman Brown the next. You would think smooth jazz would be high-billing in African-American predominant markets, like Atlanta, Chicago, NYC, etc.
I'm younger, much younger than 65, but I still listen to smooth jazz and the urban AC vocals all the time. Same with the good old soft rock. Not this One Direction and Meghan Trainor crap that's on AC ("All About That Bass", give me a break) but stuff like Billy Joel, Elton John, Gloria Estefan, the late Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes, etc.
I don't see a webstream for this new "103.9 the Groove" anywhere. Would like to get a sample of the programming and see if this is just a bunch of Kenny G hits mixed with AC, or if it's really smooth jazz.

-crainbebo

 

[davideduardo]

Bigwigs, including those at Cheap Chan...I meant iCrapmedia, think smooth jazz is for 65+ only. That's why they say it doesn't sell.

It's not any "bigwigs", whoever they are, but the ad buyers who find the format reaches predominantly listeners that are too old for them to be of interest.

The real concern is with audience that is over 55. There is little to no agency business for 55+ in the very big markets where most buys come from local, regional and national advertising agencies and even the local accounts that can afford large market radio are often sophisticated transactional* buyers.

* "Transactional" refers to very rigid buying specs including demographic targets and pre-established Cost Per Point goals against only that target. So if a buy is against 25-54 and the station ranks 25th in that demo, it does not matter if they do great in 55+ because those numbers don't even get looked at.

But WNUA had it's highest ratings as a SJ station in the late 1980s-mid 2000s.

That was a decade to three decades ago. The nice 35-54 audience that was there for The Wave in LA in 1987 is now all over 65, and there are very few under 55 that ever came in to replace the ones that aged out of the sales demos.

Some of the best operators in radio tried to fix the format and keep it performing competitively in the under-55 demos. In the major markets, nobody is left.

Why would artists like Richard Elliot, Dave Koz, Steve Cole, Boney James et. al. still release new albums when only a handful of radio stations are even playing the songs?

They do albums to sustain their appearances and concerts and club dates. It beats working as a used car salesman.

Over in Albuquerque, there's a smooth jazz station called "103.7 The Oasis." K279BP/1510 KOAZ. Sure it may not be a high billing market, but Steve Hibbard (old Jones Smooth Jazz PD) runs it.

Actually, Don Davis runs it. Steve programs it. And ABQ is not a Top 50 market, and most business is local direct. Mr. Davis has several stations doing specialized formats and they do very well... but the same approach would not work in the very large markets.

You would think smooth jazz would be high-billing in African-American predominant markets, like Atlanta, Chicago, NYC, etc.

Go back to the beginning... if most of the audience is over 55 in those agency driven markets, there will be no ad buys.

I'm younger, much younger than 65, but I still listen to smooth jazz and the urban AC vocals all the time.

You are the exception. There was not enough under-55 left for any of the major market Smooth Jazz stations to be sustainable, and that was nearly a decade ago.

Interestingly, the "Smooth Jazz" name was invented at WNUA. The owners did not want to license the "Wave" name from KTWV and Metromedia, so they had to come up with a different positioner. Interestingly, it was one of the co-creators of The Wave, Owen Leach, who hit on the smooth jazz term while doing one-on-one interviews with fans of the music. Several of them mentioned that "it is jazz, but smooth" and the name was born.

 

[TheBigA]

Why would artists like Richard Elliot, Dave Koz, Steve Cole, Boney James et. al. still release new albums when only a handful of radio stations are even playing the songs?

That's a good question. Why would any recording artist release albums if not for OTA airplay? Ask that question of the RIAA next time you see them. )

 

[Mediafrog+]

Interestingly, the "Smooth Jazz" name was invented at WNUA. The owners did not want to license the "Wave" name from KTWV and Metromedia, so they had to come up with a different positioner.

Of course, the WNUA call originally stood for "New Age" which was the format before the station morphed into Smooth Jazz. Same pattern followed by KTWV, the two incarnations of KOAI in DFW, and many other such stations launched in the mid to late 1980's.

Somewhere in my archives of radio stuff I have a bunch of original 1980's WNUA ads from Chicago Magazine, which I subscribed to for a number of years as it had the music listings for WFMT.

 

[Jeffrey]

I have to wonder if Iheart saw an opportunity before Cumulus flipped one of their underperformers to the Nash brand.

 

[davideduardo]

Of course, the WNUA call originally stood for "New Age" which was the format before the station morphed into Smooth Jazz. Same pattern followed by KTWV, the two incarnations of KOAI in DFW, and many other such stations launched in the mid to late 1980's.

There was no "morphing" into Smooth Jazz. WNUA, set up by some of the same folks that created KTWV, chose not to license the service marks used by KTWV which were the property of that station. So they took a phrase mentioned in one-on-one listener interviews and used it instead of "The Wave" to describe the new age / soft jazz / soft r&b format. The industry had been calling the format "New Adult Contemporary" or "NAC" but gradually adopted "Smooth Jazz" as the name of the format.

It turned out to be a good move, as the "tunes that make you go Ommmmm" were wearing thin and the more familiar mainstream material was proving to be the sustaining force in the format. It also slightly got the format away from the "songs you've never heard by artists you've never heard of" early feel of the format.

 

[JustinT]

They have a crappy signal, and they're going against CBS. ABC tried to take on US99 15 years ago with a better signal, and it flopped.

I thought the only downtown Chicago B with signal issues was 105.9, due primarily to 106.3. What's wrong with 95.5?

 

[TheBigA]

I thought the only downtown Chicago B with signal issues was 105.9, due primarily to 106.3. What's wrong with 95.5?

When I posted that, I thought WNUA was on a different frequency.

 

[davideduardo]

I thought the only downtown Chicago B with signal issues was 105.9, due primarily to 106.3. What's wrong with 95.5?

I looked at the predicted contours of WUSN and WNUA and they are identical.

 

[dave73]

I looked at the predicted contours of WUSN and WNUA and they are identical.

Yes, the contours are about the same, but encarta95 brings up a good point about 106.3 being an issue for 105.9. When you're near 106.3's tower in Lansing Illinois (it's along side I-80/94 in Lansing, IL), 105.9 becomes difficult to listen to in the area. It still has interference going all the way to the state line of Illinois & Indiana. If it weren't for 105.9 & 106.3 being pre-1964 short-spaced stations, 105.9 might be lucky if they could be a 6kw class A station under the current rules, & transmitting from the suburbs.

 

[davideduardo]

Yes, the contours are about the same, but encarta95 brings up a good point about 106.3 being an issue for 105.9. When you're near 106.3's tower in Lansing Illinois (it's along side I-80/94 in Lansing, IL), 105.9 becomes difficult to listen to in the area. It still has interference going all the way to the state line of Illinois & Indiana. If it weren't for 105.9 & 106.3 being pre-1964 short-spaced stations, 105.9 might be lucky if they could be a 6kw class A station under the current rules, & transmitting from the suburbs.

Interestingly, in many countries stations are allocated on next adjacent channels with no problem except in the immediate transmitter area; requiring operation from antenna farms tends to minimize this.

 

[mimo]

Interestingly, in many countries stations are allocated on next adjacent channels with no problem except in the immediate transmitter area; requiring operation from antenna farms tends to minimize this.

This is true. Examples from Ottawa, we have 2 stations at 99.1 and 99.7 using the same tower, 97.9 and 98.5 within 2 blocks of each other downtown, 96.5 and 97.1 on the same tower across the river and 88.5, 89.1, 89.9, 93.9, 94.5, 94.9 all from the main broadcast tower. Note how close on the dial they all are and yet none of the stations that share a tower interfere with each other. The only problem is the 2 stations at 97.9 and 98.5, although the lowest powered, interfere with everything downtown on average to below average radios....on better quality radios, they just make other stations near the middle of the dial sound much weaker.

 

[dave73]

This is true. Examples from Ottawa, we have 2 stations at 99.1 and 99.7 using the same tower, 97.9 and 98.5 within 2 blocks of each other downtown, 96.5 and 97.1 on the same tower across the river and 88.5, 89.1, 89.9, 93.9, 94.5, 94.9 all from the main broadcast tower. Note how close on the dial they all are and yet none of the stations that share a tower interfere with each other. The only problem is the 2 stations at 97.9 and 98.5, although the lowest powered, interfere with everything downtown on average to below average radios....on better quality radios, they just make other stations near the middle of the dial sound much weaker.

That's where they have it right in your area, where 2nd & 3rd adjacents are rather close, & in most cases, on the same tower. In the Chicago market, 105.9 is a class B station, transmitting off the Sears Tower, while 106.3 is on a 6kw Class license (actual power is 4.4kw directional) around 20 miles south of Downtown Chicago. Now because 106.7 signed on under the current rules, 106.3 can not locate further north to reduce the interference on 105.9. That is why 106.3 has a null to the north, to protect 106.7. For 106.7, that's the same reason their frequency can not locate in Downtown Chicago, while still providing a Grade A contour over Des Plaines (106.7's COL), because of 106.3. Chicago has a number of pre-1964 short-spaced stations in the market, & that's why some stations can not locate closer to downtown. In Downtown Chicago, almost all stations are spaced .8mhz apart. I will only focus on the commercial band, since 91.5 is the only station licensed to Chicago, that transmits out of Downtown Chicago on the John Hancock (90.1 is licensed to Chicago, but operating on a grandfathered Class B license at 100kw from Addison, IL).

These are the frequencies that transmit from the Sears Tower: 93.9, 94.7, 96.3, 98.7, 100.7 101.9, 103.5, 105.9, & 107.5.

From the John Hancock, these are the stations that transmit from this building: 93.1, 95.5, 97.9, 99.5, 100.3, 101.1, 102.7, 105.1

Lastly, this is what transmits from the AON Center, 97.1 & 97.5.

Any frequency in bold are translators, & not many on these 3 buildings at the moment.