WRXP: IS EMMIS ALLOWING IT TO FAIL???

[WNTIRadio]

Because it doesn't work for the vast majority of listeners, the ratings and billing #'s show it. The least they could do is tweak the music log to smooth out some of the jarring segues. A few jocks that aren't trying to be funny or "cute" a la the Nik Carter syndrome would go a long way. They've got a super talent in Paul Cavalcante who's relegated to weekends. He's effective without being an ass on the air.

What the hell are they doing after 8pm... I don't get this "basement" thing with paying two people to do the job 1 person could do. At the end of the day, it's a business and needs to be run effectively. If they're hemorrhaging money as one of the earlier posters said, then why have two jocks on at a time when most 25-54 rock listeners have shut the radio off?

And I don't have a format... though my posting name here may suggest it, that's outdated (I really should get around to another one, but hey, others have places they're no longer at in their names too) and I'm a contractor/consultant these days for a variety of formats, from rock to religious and a few things in between.

Personally, if I were to simply choose a format for RXP that I think would work the best, it would be Country. Done right, it would get a 3.0-3.5 and bill well, despite what the naysayers think. Country these days is pop with a slight twang. They would have it all to themselves and could build a brand.

 

[RockTheGlobe]

Because it doesn't work for the vast majority of listeners, the ratings and billing #'s show it. The least they could do is tweak the music log to smooth out some of the jarring segues. A few jocks that aren't trying to be funny or "cute" a la the Nik Carter syndrome would go a long way. They've got a super talent in Paul Cavalcante who's relegated to weekends. He's effective without being an ass on the air.

What the hell are they doing after 8pm... I don't get this "basement" thing with paying two people to do the job 1 person could do. At the end of the day, it's a business and needs to be run effectively. If they're hemorrhaging money as one of the earlier posters said, then why have two jocks on at a time when most 25-54 rock listeners have shut the radio off?

The ratings are better than K-Rock's were before they signed off. K-Rock hardly ever broke a 2-share in its final year or two; RXP, while still in the low 2s, at least maintains numbers above that threshold, so it seems more Rock listeners are in the RXP camp than were in K-Rock's. And if they're hemorrhaging money as people here are rumoring, then how come they haven't sold or LMA'd the station?

Personally, I am not a fan of Paul Cavalcante... it seems that he got so used to the style of delivery needed for CD101.9, he can't turn it off now.

 

[Brooklyndon]

As one myself, I appreciate the diversity of RXP and the fact that I don't have to go through three or four different presets to hear Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Van Halen, The Killers, Echo & The Bunnymen and Stone Temple Pilots. I like all of those bands, why is it so against your rules for me to hear them all on the same station?

"One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong."

And no it isn't Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, though perhaps it should be.

 

[RockTheGlobe]

As one myself, I appreciate the diversity of RXP and the fact that I don't have to go through three or four different presets to hear Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Van Halen, The Killers, Echo & The Bunnymen and Stone Temple Pilots. I like all of those bands, why is it so against your rules for me to hear them all on the same station?

"One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong."

And no it isn't Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, though perhaps it should be.

Your restrictive and rigid format-programming judgments on what does/doesn't belong are exactly what RXP is trying to defy, and it's what I like about the station. I still can't believe how everyone here appears to want to crucify them for trying something new. I'll quote you another cute axiom: "Change or die." If radio keeps merrily chugging along, holding to the same rules it's followed for the past 20 years, overall listenership will continue to decline. At least someone's trying something different.

 

[WNTIRadio]

Sometimes there's just a mix of music that doesn't work. RXP's doesn't work. There's plenty of things they can mix in to create an eclectic rock station without resorting to the same old same old. It's just a mash-up between Q-104 and the Alt. version of K-Rock. What I'm saying is be MORE adventurous and don't go to that Van Halen, AC/DC, GnR well that's been bled dry by every rock station on the planet. That would truly be something different.

One look at the TSL of RXP will tell you everything you need to know. Rock and AAA leaning rock is a high TSL format by design; RXP's execution of it isn't a high TSL format. And for the demos they're chasing, TSL is more important than cume.

"One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong."

And no it isn't Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, though perhaps it should be.

And what doesn't belong? Try VAN HALEN. I can hear that anywhere. Q-104, WDHA, WBAB, CBS-FM (Jump), WPDH, WNNJ, WRKI... some of these, yes, are suburban signals, but that's where the bulk of your rock audience lives. Plus those songs have been beaten to death for the past 25 years. IF you're going to play one of those artists, there's your chance for an "oh wow" by going a little deeper than the 4 consultant approved cuts. We all bought and listened to the albums, we know the other songs on them. It's not like now with downloads.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

To respond to the original post: Emmis stock was at eighty-some cents before Smulyan's offer went public. The reason the EMMS ticker has gone down recently is because some believe Smulyan will not be able to complete the transaction. If that happens, then the stock will probably go back to 87 cents.

 

[frozenfiresb]

If RXP chooses to play Guns'n'Roses, the least they could do is not play "Sweet Child Of Mine" every single time. God forbid someone tunes out if "Nightrain" or "Rocket Queen" come on (assuming they sat through "Sweet Child Of Mine"). I consider Guns 'n Roses overrated (and I like a lot of harder rock/metal) but "Sweet Child" and "Paradise City" get played to death on Q1O4 and the suburban stations so going deeper may help to differentiate from every other rock station. Same thing with AC/DC and Van Halen, all these bands have lengthy catalogs and there's no need to hear "You Shook Me All Night Long" or "Runnin' With The Devil" every time.

I don't think these overplayed hard rock artists fit in with the image RXP is trying to convey but I'm just saying that most bands have recorded more than 5 songs.

 

[TheBigA]

I don't think these overplayed hard rock artists fit in with the image RXP is trying to convey but I'm just saying that most bands have recorded more than 5 songs.

I'm sure they have, but the general public only cares about a couple. Merle Haggard has written and released hundreds of songs, but if he does a show and doesn't sing Okie From Muskogee, people throw things at the stage. Radio is like a live show in a big arena. People buy a beer or take a wiz when the artist plays the album cuts. They come to hear the hits.

As I've said, this isn't college radio. The goal isn't to play the most obscure bands or tracks.

 

[Dick Skinner]

10. Keeping a non-morning-friendly, overly granular rock n' roll personality at the helm of the morning show (Pinfield)...
[/quote]

Granular? Could you have meant glandular, or possibly grandiose? Just wondering.

 

[radiojomo]

What the hell are they doing after 8pm... I don't get this "basement" thing with paying two people to do the job 1 person could do. At the end of the day, it's a business and needs to be run effectively. If they're hemorrhaging money as one of the earlier posters said, then why have two jocks on at a time when most 25-54 rock listeners have shut the radio off?

Those two jocks are already on RXP payroll by doing other stuff at the station, I doubt they get paid extra to DJ. In fact, they're saving money by having the staff DJ.

It doesn't take much to fix up RXP if you consider this, New York in the 90's was all about the Alternative and Grunge revolution. Stations like Z100 even spun Alternative hits. Just focus on 90's gold and spin in some new Alternative hits from artists like Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Grizzly Bear, The Black Keys and Muse. Ditch anything under the 90's in exception for The Cure, Bob Marley, The Clash and the Smiths, mainly any 80's Alt stuff that you won't hear on 104.3 or 101.1. Drop all the 80's hair band stuff like AC/DC and Guns 'N' Roses. Drop Pinfield and Fram and either go all music in the mornings or find a new more entertaining morning show that would garner a high TSL and some live reads for advertisers.

 

[WNTIRadio]

He meant granular, as in he sounds as if he gargled with rock salt and razor blades. That would be my guess.

And as far as the two nighttime guys go, isn't it a rule that they must be AFTRA to be on the air and therefore get paid scale (last I remember it was $250 a shift, it may have gone up since then) to be on the air? So they're not doing two jobs for the price of one. That's $500.00 per night minimum, instead of $250.00 for an historically low rated rock daypart. Look at any modern rock or AAA leaning station and see the cume go way down after 8pm.

 

[davideduardo]

Look at any modern rock or AAA leaning station and see the cume go way down after 8pm.

I'm presuming you mean "rating" and not cume, as radio is seldom evaluated based on hour to hour cume.

Look at any radio station and see the rating go down the later it gets in the evening, because the overall rating of radio, PUR (Persons Using Radio) goes down dramatically as midnight is approached.

Looking at a different market, LA, which has two alternative stations and a AAA / Classic Rock Hybrid (KYSR, KROQ, KSWD) and each of those stations loses about 75% of its rating between 5 PM and 11 PM in quite even steps. Similarly, the market total radio rating at 5 PM is over a 12, and is at 6 by 8 PM and under a 3 after 11 PM. As to share, one of the stations increases share from 5 PM to Midnight, one is fairly level in share, and one goes down (remembering that there are always 100 shares).

 

[Brooklyndon]

One look at the TSL of RXP will tell you everything you need to know. Rock and AAA leaning rock is a high TSL format by design; RXP's execution of it isn't a high TSL format. And for the demos they're chasing, TSL is more important than cume.

I was reading on the Boston board that some stations think that the PPM favors cume over TSL, so they program for cume.

Which, in my opinion, is yet another radio industry behavior that makes the medium unpallatable to advertisers: the industry is training its listeners to change stations. What are the odds a spot gets heard if the entire audience tunes out when the spots come on?

It's lunacy. Radio is a niche product, a dying one at that, and a growth strategy will fail everytime. The executives must know this, so I can only assume that the advertisers are now playing a role in programming the stations on which they advertise.

 

[radioguy39nj]

One look at the TSL of RXP will tell you everything you need to know. Rock and AAA leaning rock is a high TSL format by design; RXP's execution of it isn't a high TSL format. And for the demos they're chasing, TSL is more important than cume.

It's lunacy. Radio is a niche product, a dying one at that, and a growth strategy will fail everytime. The executives must know this, so I can only assume that the advertisers are now playing a role in programming the stations on which they advertise.

Radio stations are programmed to be advertiser-friendly. After all, it is advertisers who pay the bills. As for listeners, the ultimate consumers, who cares about them? NOBODY!

It has always been that way, but today's corporate ownership, at least IMHO, has given advertisers greater control of musical formats and the music that can be played.

 

[Rusty Muck]

they had all the time in the world to flip 101.9 to top 40
but they let cbs beat them to it with now 92.3 if 101.9 would have flipped krock would still be on the air

You seem to think that CBS would've kept K-Rock going and that they had no other choice but to keep that format on 92.3, and you also seem to think that 101.9's only choice was Rock once 92.3 went Top 40. Even if 101.9 flipped to Top 40, CBS could've done a number of things with 92.3, including Country, Spanish-language or an FM simulcast of WINS, WCBS-AM or WFAN.

If 92.3 NOW-FM doesn't survive, a simulcast with WFAN could happen. CBS has a sports simulcast in Detroit and a news simulcast in SF. Both are market leaders.

After Bonneville moved all-news WTOP in Washington from AM to FM in 2006, that station's ratings skyrocketed and is the top-biller in the DC market by a wide margin.

It's not just NOW-FM that would (or should) have to have a target on their back... what about Fresh FM - or both? And what AM station should be simulcast first: WFAN, WCBS-AM or WINS?

 

[badjef]

[WOW! I didn't think an LA station would bill so much higher than NYC! How does this bode for Hot's outlook and Emmis' future in NY?

The LA market bills significantly more than the NY market and has for quite a long time. Estimates for 2010 put LA at near $750 million, and NY at around $600 million.

Why is that?

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[DToTheJ]

I would think that CBS is satisfied with cutting into Lite FM's audience, with them usually being the number one station (sans one period when it was CBS-FM that knocked them off). Z-100's a top fiver, so I wouldn't think CBS would give up on Now just yet...

... what AM station should be simulcast first: WFAN, WCBS-AM or WINS?

That - much like the criteria prior to this - is fodder for another thread...

I'll tell you why 101.9's a failure... they're not streaming their HD2 channel... ;D

 

[davideduardo]

I was reading on the Boston board that some stations think that the PPM favors cume over TSL, so they program for cume.

The PPM picks up a lot of exposure that does not represent actual listening. A bit over 90% of the listening quarter hours are given by just half the cume. So the other half listens less than an hour a week and is what might be called "accidental."

The PPM also shows what we knew, but what the diary did not show... each person's second and third most used station often have nearly the same usage as the top one... and they vary over time; this weeks top station is next week's third most used. So playing to that non-P1 cume is important in PPM.

But most formats have finite cume limits, and so attention has to be given to flow, flavor and overall execution. TSL is more important than most "studies" indicate. "Good Radio" is also more important than nuking everything any small group of listeners might like less... at some point, we have cut the playlist to 0 songs.

Which, in my opinion, is yet another radio industry behavior that makes the medium unpallatable to advertisers: the industry is training its listeners to change stations. What are the odds a spot gets heard if the entire audience tunes out when the spots come on?

Actually, by having fewer stopsets there is less tunout. Most stopset tuneout happens in the first minute or two, so more stops equals more tuneout. And, tunout at stops is usually done when it is really easy to change station, as in a car. In NYC, only about 25% of listening is in a car...

The executives must know this, so I can only assume that the advertisers are now playing a role in programming the stations on which they advertise.

The role advertisers play is indirect. If we know there are essentially no buys for audiences over 55 or under 18, then we don't build formats for those younger and older groups as there is no money there. Beyond that, advertisers have little influence except by means of forcing radio to consider what ages will be bought.

 

[davideduardo]

After Bonneville moved all-news WTOP in Washington from AM to FM in 2006, that station's ratings skyrocketed and is the top-biller in the DC market by a wide margin.

WTOP AM had a sucky signal that did not cover the market... a large part of the decision had to do with improving the coverage.

With WFAN and WCBS and even in many areas with WINS, signal is not an issue.

 

[radioguy39nj]

they had all the time in the world to flip 101.9 to top 40
but they let cbs beat them to it with now 92.3 if 101.9 would have flipped krock would still be on the air

You seem to think that CBS would've kept K-Rock going and that they had no other choice but to keep that format on 92.3, and you also seem to think that 101.9's only choice was Rock once 92.3 went Top 40. Even if 101.9 flipped to Top 40, CBS could've done a number of things with 92.3, including Country, Spanish-language or an FM simulcast of WINS, WCBS-AM or WFAN.

If 92.3 NOW-FM doesn't survive, a simulcast with WFAN could happen. CBS has a sports simulcast in Detroit and a news simulcast in SF. Both are market leaders.

After Bonneville moved all-news WTOP in Washington from AM to FM in 2006, that station's ratings skyrocketed and is the top-biller in the DC market by a wide margin.

It's not just NOW-FM that would (or should) have to have a target on their back... what about Fresh FM - or both? And what AM station should be simulcast first: WFAN, WCBS-AM or WINS?

WTOP is the highest billing station not in NY, LA or Chicago. That's how successful the migration to FM has been.

IMHO, if NOW-FM gets blown up, WFAN will be the first to simulcast. It would eliminate the baseball/football conflict issue. Mets baseball games would be simulcast on 660 AM and 92.3 FM, except when the Giants are playing. All Giants games would air on 92.3 FM. When the Mets' season ends, the Giants would simulcast on both AM and FM. This is done in a number of markets with MLB and NFL teams.

CBS has the unique situation of owning two news stations in the same market. If one were to be simulcast on FM, I'd think it would be WCBS-AM, since it is CBS' flagship radio station. WINS would likely be sold or flipped. Three news stations just wouldn't work.

CBS has been successful with a news simulcast in SF and will shortly begin another in Las Vegas. IMHO, the future on FM is about spoken word formats (news, news/talk, sports), not music.