Wolf falls to 1.1

[emprex]

The Bay Area Demographics changed a lot since 50 years ago. For radio we need to look at what can bring the rating up for today and the future.

Gordon McLendon was considered a radio legend, and yet today's programmers don't seem to be following his ideas at all.

I think they are. That's why they're playing country music on this station. The market was once a good market for that format. It just needs to find the right signal and the right mix. But the potential is there. Otherwise, they could just try another flavor of AC.

The other point though is it's not 1959. How many usable signals did SF have in 1959? What alternatives did the public have to radio in 1959? Maybe that's why the Wolf has a 1 share.

 

[DaveBayArea]

Part of the problem is the signal itself. 95.7 has problems in a number of areas. It almost doesn't matter what format they put on, if you can't receive it clearly without fuzz or multipath distortion, you're tuning somewhere else sooner or later.

That used to be the story about 98.9 - until it became Estero Sol and someone tried a format that worked. 95.7 is a full class B on Mt. San Bruno. Their coverage pretty much matches KSAN (the bone) exactly. No, it's not a powerhouse like KQED or KMEL. But that argument only goes so far.

Dave B.

 

[Madmansam]

Part of the problem is the signal itself. 95.7 has problems in a number of areas. It almost doesn't matter what format they put on, if you can't receive it clearly without fuzz or multipath distortion, you're tuning somewhere else sooner or later.

That used to be the story about 98.9 - until it became Estero Sol and someone tried a format that worked.

Dave B.

So Dave, I am guessing that some sort of Spanish Music would be successful on 95.7, if programmed correctly?

 

[DaveBayArea]

So Dave, I am guessing that some sort of Spanish Music would be successful on 95.7, if programmed correctly?

I wouldn't necessarily say that. But maybe. I use 98.9 as an example because probably 1/2 dozen owners blamed the compromised signal as the reason their format didn't succeed. Then along came Univision. We've seen lots of failed formats on 95.7 too, and people blame the signal. But people will put up with weaker signals - or move the cord around on their clock radio - if there's something worth listening to.

Dave B.

 

[DavidKaye]

Nope. Quite a few FMs, including KOIT-FM, KYLD-FM, KBRG-FM, KBLX-FM, KMVQ-FM, and 107.7 signed on after. Actually KOIT signed on exactly in 1959.

KUFY (now KSAN) in 1963
KOIT in 1959
KNBC-FM (now KMVQ) 1947
KRE-FM (KBLX) 1949
KSFR (KYLD) 1957

Again, the radio landscape is not significantly changed from 1959 when KROW became KABL. So, you're discounting FM? What about KPEN (now KIOI)? I believe that by 1963 they were something like #7 in the Bay Area. Sure, that was unusual for an FM, but it just goes to show that FM did have an audience.

 

[TheBigA]

Sure, that was unusual for an FM, but it just goes to show that FM did have an audience.

I'm not discounting the entire band. Just saying that the landscape has changed since 1959. People didn't really have access to both bands at the time. FM wasn't standard in most cars, and it wasn't on most portables or home radios. So it operated at a disadvantage. Plus add to it all the new competition to traditional radio that didn't exist in 1959. All that has greatly affected programmers and operators. Point being: I think if Gordon McClendon was alive today, and he was really as much an innovator as he was, I doubt he'd focus as much attention on his air signal. Certainly not on AM.

 

[ScottBurns]

As mentioned in multiple threads, the The Wolf's signal is spotty, especially in the city itself. Coming up the 101 from South Francisco into the city, the signal is especially bad. Isn't that why the station, at times, has seemed to target the East Bay, especially some of the suburbs? I often have heard some of their remotes being broadcast from locales in the suburban East Bay. And that part of the market probably features more of the demographics that the station is after.