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WRGV makes its move

A

amfmxm

CC's 107.3 "Hit Music Now" WRGV doubled its 12+ share in both Pensacola and Mobile according to the just-released Fall 2011 Arbitron. Sure, it's easy to achieve a 100% increase when you start with nothing, but the Pensacola numbers are close to being serious... and having the jump mirrored in Mobile serves as corroboration that it ain't a fluke.

In Pensacola WRGV went from a 1.3 share to a 3.0 share. It is unfortunate that now we can't see all the numbers for all the stations, since Arbitron has declared Pcola (and Mobile) "subscriber-only" markets--meaning that only subscribers' results are released for publication--but, for comparison sake, in the Spring book WABB had a 3.4 share in Pensacola. So pulling a 3.0 isn't bad for a first effort. In fact, it's damn good.

In Mobile, WRGV went from a 0.8 share to a 1.5 share--nowhere close to WABB's normal levels... or WBLX or any of the traditional leaders. But it is a good start.
 
I wonder how much of that is CC just programming a better CHR than the competition? There seems to be an ongoing belief in radio circles that WABB is just struggling and not reaching their full potential anymore, so it may be a "crime of opportunity" for CC, so to speak.

Me, I don't know much about this format, so I can't bring myself to listen to either long enough to see who's doing what. ;)
 
Zach, Clear Channel does indeed do well in CHR across the country, so it isn't much of a stretch to think that they've got some serious programming talent behind 107.3.

At the same time, WABB still rules the CHR roost in both Mobile and Pensacola (at last report), so publishing their obituary prior to their death might be a tad hasty. Within the format, WABB has been the #1 player in Mobile for around 40 years and in Pensacola for around 25 years. Not bad.

The entire format isn't what it used to be, as its original (Top 40) cross-genre basis has been peeled-away into niche formats. What we've really got now is a format heavily focused on rhythmic/urban/hip-hop music, and in these two markets, WABB has had to share those listeners with a pile of stations dedicated to that core.

On the other hand, I wouldn't minimize the impact of Bernie's passing a few years back. He was the brains behind WABB. They've carried on, but losing a key man like Mr. Dittman hurts in small organizations like these.

Poledo, CC could certainly buy 97.5 at some point (though they'd probably have to sell something else to stay under the local caps), but my guess is that their preference would be to whip 'em with a stick they already have. Let's see how WRGV does at that task over the next few years.
 
amfmxm said:
Within the format, WABB has been the #1 player in Mobile for around 40 years and in Pensacola for around 25 years. Not bad.
Click to expand...

How much of that is laziness, though? I ask because I'm still relatively new to the area and didn't really have any preconceived notions about the local radio and TV news and have found that the highest rated news (WALA and WKRG) are the worst newscasts in the entire market.

There seems to be some "we listen because we always have" stickiness to radio and TV down here. WABB just sounds so much worse, what little I've heard. It's not a BAD station by any stretch, just not the polished product that one hears in other markets from corporate players.
 
Zach, I was in the market for about a decade... have been gone awhile... and last heard WABB a few months ago. In all that time, IMHO, they have always had the best air talent in the market and the best imaging in the market--by a long shot. And to my ear, they've always been the closest thing to a mass-appeal CHR in the market--a task that has gotten harder and harder to achieve in recent years as pop music has become so urban-focused.

Tastes change. Current-based rock, for instance, barely exists anymore. Not just on radio, but in American society in general. The 18-34 Caucasian audience is splintered into a couple dozen subgroups. So finessing the music side of CHR programming is tough. Satisfy one or two slices of the audience and you piss off 90 percent of the rest.

But beyond the music, Bernie was always good about over-paying for superior on-air talent and over-paying for superior imaging and promotion. It cost him some profit in the short-haul, but it made it very difficult for anyone else to compete. I don't know whether his descendents have maintained that philosophy in this recession. If they're pinching pennies instead, they're opening the door to the likes of WRGV. BTW, I've never worked for WABB or for CC, so I don't have a dog in this fight. But I did know Bernie Dittman, and he was a great broadcaster. He ran WABB like it was in market #30 instead of market #96--and that's how you keep beating the Clear Channels of the world...
 
I certainly bow to the people with experience, and you seem to have it amfmxm. I am an outsider and can go only go by what I hear. So when it comes to a format like CHR it's out of my league. I've heard Dittman is pinching pennies these days, but I don't have the WABB of a decade ago to compare it to like you do. So if you say it's still good, I can't argue with that.

But that still doesn't explain WRGV's sudden surge in the ratings, and I know as a listener that even if a station does something really well for 20+ years people will sometimes wander over to the fresh sound.
 
I couldn't help but partially interrupt the thread to agree with the following:
Zach said:
I'm still relatively new to the area and didn't really have any preconceived notions about the local radio and TV news and have found that the highest rated news (WALA and WKRG) are the worst newscasts in the entire market.
Click to expand...
WKRG is embarrassingly bad.
 
Nate Wesley said:
WKRG is embarrassingly bad.
Click to expand...

I settled on Local 15. It's also embarrassingly bad in so many ways, but they actually seem to cover all the murders & robberies that happen each day in Mobile, whereas the others tend to gloss over stuff like that for positive human interest fluff.
 
Move over to the Florida side of the market and you won't have to choose a TV news station. We have only one, WEAR TV 3. At least it's in HD! Those poor folks down in Fort Walton/Destin have no TV news and just have to pick up scraps from WEAR, WMBB, and WJHG.
 
The last four posts make me wish this site had message boards for discussing TV stations in other states.
 
There's always AVS Forum, but that site logs me out every time I press post. I've given up on it. Perhaps I was banned?
 
briancraig said:
I like Mel Showers on WKRG. He never changes, seems the same as he did when I was a little kid and I'm 46.
Click to expand...

I grew up with Mr. Showers too. Met him once, a great human being.

He's part of the many problems I have with WKRG's current news product, unfortunately.
 
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