doug@terak.UUCP (Doug Pardee) (01/17/85)
> I hope that radio stations will consider the consequences of > program changes very carefully. Since when does an area need three > top 40 stations in the same area (One can be found in the Modesto/ > Stockton area of California...)? Whatever happened to a good old > ROCK (Boy George is not what I consider ROCK!) stations like WKRP? I'm sure that radio stations do consider the consequences. But an interesting sidelight (well, I think it's interesting, and I'm in control here :-) ... If you were to take an informal poll to establish radio station ratings, you would probably be way off from the official ratings. On Monday the Arizona Republic had the nerve to report the current Arbitrons for the Phoenix radio market (one which is overloaded -- too many stations and not enough listeners). The results floored me. The number 1 station in Phoenix was a News/Talk station, on AM! By a mile! Number 2 was an elevator-music FM. Well back in 3rd spot was a country-music FM. The rock stations that everyone THINKS are popular didn't even make the overall top 5. The local Espanol stations did quite well, coming in 3rd and 5th on the AM band. The religious stations did poorly, with the best of the six coming in 18th overall, and four not even getting one mention. Just goes to show you never can tell... No wonder the Arbitrons are supposed to be confidential. -- Doug Pardee -- Terak Corp. -- !{hao,ihnp4,decvax}!noao!terak!doug
dsi@unccvax.UUCP (Dataspan Inc) (01/21/85)
Yeah, but look at the dilution of the CHR audience. We have enough
FM stations for a small Bannana Republic in Charlotte, and although a
country station is first and a Urban Contemporary slid to third (only because
the # 3 mailed out a Million Dollar Prize Catalogue to every mailbox in the
TSA) the remaining 8 stations out of the top 10 are CHR, and all are FM.
The total audience adds up to about 51 % but no station has more than
about 6.9 %. It must be really hard to go out and sell #7 (which is down
from # 4, the first FM CHR station, by 0.9 points) or #9, which has a 2.7.
But you won't see CHR stations leading markets much more. Broadcasting just
reported today that WGN is #1 in Chicago , urban contemporary WGCI #2,
and easy CHR WLOO #3. At SFO and DCA, news/talk is also #1 and urban contemp.
#2 in SFO ( I don't know about WKYS yet). Talk is #1 also in DTR, u.c.
#1 in Houston/Galveston, a/c in DFW, and easy at PHL.
IF CHR IS SO DAMN GREAT, why isn't it winning in the big markets ?
(snif!) Well, Buffalo just lost their AOR station (WGRQ) to Barry Manilow,
and you can expect WMET @ ORD to follow suit as well soon.
Some person lambasted me last summer for having the unmitigated gall
to claim that excessive CHR causes audience dilution, listener fatigue, lower
cumes, and a lower rate card. I think the latest Arbitron evidence bears
this out in major markets.
Send flames !
dya