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WRXP IS A MESS

R

RadioNation

RXP: Please, Please decide on what rock format you want to do. It's been two years and this idea of a Mashed Potatoes Rock Format can't work. Either go full blown Modern Rocker (With a 90's focus like Radio 104.5 in Philly or go full AAA like WXRT in Chicago. An active or mainstream rocker will never work in NYC (look at various forms of K-Rock over the years)

Playing Van Halen into Coldplay back to Metallica into Joan Jett is not going to work. I don't understand what it is about NYC that just can't accept a full blown modern rocker. Look at Boston, Wash DC, Chicago, San Fran, Philadelphia, Houston, LA, Dallas, - all major markets (albeit diff. demographics - but all are supporting at least 1 or 2 modern rockers.)

WRXP has HUGE, HUGE potential and is the only only in NYC doing this format. Increase your listenership with even less talking, have 10 songs in a row - no dj banter. Have your basis as a 90's Alt Rocker w/ at least 2 new songs an hour and an 80's alt. track thrown in once an hour. Unless they are lighting the ratings world on fire right now with what they're doing - they need to do some serious soul searching now!
 
New York City is just not a rock town. Never has been and never will be. We support Q 104.3, but that's because they play all of the classic stuff, a lot of stuff we remember from WABC and WPLJ. As far as rock today, NYC just doesn't support it. Maybe it's time to throw in the towel and sell the station to ESPN.
 
I think they should go with a format similar to WFNX in Boston. Core bands they play daily like Muse, Phoenix, Broken Bells, Silversun Pickups, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Metric, The Killers, Passion Pit, Band of Horses, along with older alternative acts like U2, The Cure, Nirvana, Sonic Youth etc would work better than what they are doing now.
 
Exactly! That would be a best case scenario, but i'd even settle for a Radio 104.5 type format because its mainstream enough to be supported in NYC, but still plays some new music and doesn't venture off. I'm just being realistic, I know NYC would never support a station like KROQ or even WFNX, but I think a WRFF type would do well here
 
vinceapple said:
New York City is just not a rock town. Never has been and never will be. We support Q 104.3, but that's because they play all of the classic stuff, a lot of stuff we remember from WABC and WPLJ. As far as rock today, NYC just doesn't support it. Maybe it's time to throw in the towel and sell the station to ESPN.
Click to expand...

Or perhaps the better educated, the core audience of an Alt-Rock or AAA station, have moved on from terrestrial radio and utilize new technology to hear the latest in Rock music.
 
MarcR said:
vinceapple said:
New York City is just not a rock town. Never has been and never will be. We support Q 104.3, but that's because they play all of the classic stuff, a lot of stuff we remember from WABC and WPLJ. As far as rock today, NYC just doesn't support it. Maybe it's time to throw in the towel and sell the station to ESPN.
Click to expand...

Or perhaps the better educated, the core audience of an Alt-Rock or AAA station, have moved on from terrestrial radio and utilize new technology to hear the latest in Rock music.
Click to expand...

Then RXP needs to change their IMAGING among other things, there is absolutely no continuity - NYC can support a smart, mainstream alternative station that is presented not as "frat rock" or "too cool for the room" but rather as a station that has its core around 90's alternative to get the 25-34.
 
RadioNation,

Emmis may have run out of options on how to improve WRXP as far as a rock station.

If WRXP adopts to a full blown AAA or full blown Mordern Rocker like what you've suggested, they may not do much better than a 2 share which they've been hovering around.

I do agree that mixing the music of Cold Play and Pink Floyd on the same station is not really appetizing to a lot of rock fans.




Thanks,
Kevin L. Sealy
 
But their TSL must be awful. A rock station usually builds its format around TSL. This isnt a Top 40 Style Format. If you're going to do a rock format, you need to build it around a core number of artists and expand the format to create a strong TSL. By throwing in polar opposites of rock - i.e. Metallica and Passion Pit, i would believe in most cases their be massive tuneout between the two.

I know rock is extremely difficult to program today because there are so many styles, however once a station identifies its core artists, it can build upon there, RXP has never done that.
 
Boy, talk about a hot topic - this thread sprouted a second page in just a couple of hours! It's as if WRXP changed formats or something...

I actually do have a couple of gripes about the station, now that someone has initiated what seems to be the monthly "WRXP sucks" thread:

1. Isn't WRXP's library supposed to be vast? That is, when I tune in and hear "Stray Cat Strut" at 5:50 PM yesterday, there is no reason why I should have to hear the same "Stray Cat Strut" at 3:50 AM the following morning - yet that's what happened. Playing a new song more than once within a certain timeframe is one thing, but this is just downright acceptable.

2. The original post mentions Van Halen... Has anyone ever heard the version of "Running With The Devil" that plays on WRXP? It's an edit of the song that I have not heard on any other radio station, which makes me believe it's an 'RXP creation. The song starts the same way, but then after the first verse, the song cuts to the second chorus. Then the first bridge/guitar solo and everything in between that and the final guitar solo right before the end of the song - at which point, they decide to plug in the part of the song they cropped from earlier ("Let me tell you all about it...") Then after that part is an abrupt edit to the end of the song. It's as if they performed a transplant on a great song that was unnecessary.

Then again, what else do you expect from a station that plays Van Halen and Stray Cats back-to-back...
 
I believe that 'RXP has limited choices. If that if they become a regular AAA station, they would be competing with WFUV, which is noncommercial, and has been in the format for quite some time. Harder alternative rock did not work out well for K Rock, which was basically propped up by Howard Stern. Classic rock is owned by Q 104. Perhaps they could play newer classic rock, but there may not be enough demand to build a format around that.
Perhaps they could move to a format like KINK FM in Portland, Oregon. It seems like AAA lite. KINK seems to be good for office listening, as they avoid most hard rock songs, and play relatively few unfamiliar tunes. There is some current music, but the number of new songs is kept to a limited amount, so that listeners have the opportunity to get familiar with them. And they lean a bit more pop than the average AAA, occasionally mixing in songs like Fireflies, by Owl City. Many rock purists may not like this format, but it seems like it could work in New York, which has not been much into hard rock.
 
I disagree, they have many choices (that is if they are going to stick with rock per se) If so, they can go AAA (WFUV is really a non issue due to the signal) much as Pulse 87 was a non issue for WKTU - although Tony Santiago would prob. disagree with that.

But back to the point - They need to start to focus on whatever genre of rock they choose. I assume the station is not happy hovering in the low 2's. RXP can break a 3 share by standing out (We can hear Pink Floyd on Q104 and Joan Jett on PLJ) Those audiences are established and not going to move.

I believe if RXP focuses on 1 genre of rock - and limits DJ talk, there would be more TSL - no need for DJ Banter, this is Market #1.
 
For more than two years, Emmis has insisted WRXP's rock format will work in New York. How much longer can Emmis keep trying to make this work? Emmis' other NY stations, Hot 97 and 98.7 KISS-FM are still doing OK but not as well as they used to. They can't continue to sustain 'RXP on the backs of those stations. It might finally be time to turn over 101.9 to ESPN. :)
 
Plus, an ESPN format would be easier to sell in a cluster with a Hot 97 and 98.7 Kiss-FM than an 'RXP would...
 
Change it to alternative with hardly any DJ's like wkrk (formerly k-rock, now Radio 923) in Cleveland. They went from around a 1.8 to mid 4's in cume in under a year by ditching the DJ's and just making it straight alternative. Just label it as "RXP", drop the "New York's Rock Experience" catchphrase, and make it like an ipod of 90's-00's alternative with some new rock thrown in.
 
In the past hour, RXP played Rage Against The Machine (!) followed by new Keane followed by a Van Hagar ballad. That may take the crown for their biggest 3-song trainwreck yet.
 
The Rage song, "No Shelter," might actually be one of the softer songs (if there is such a thing) of their repertoire...
 
Macker said:
Change it to alternative with hardly any DJ's like wkrk (formerly k-rock, now Radio 923) in Cleveland. They went from around a 1.8 to mid 4's in cume in under a year by ditching the DJ's and just making it straight alternative. Just label it as "RXP", drop the "New York's Rock Experience" catchphrase, and make it like an ipod of 90's-00's alternative with some new rock thrown in.
Click to expand...

We've been there and done that! It was called 101.1 JACK-FM. We all know how that ended up! :)
 
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