Colorado Media Newsroom
August 22nd, 2023, 01:51 PM
From Radio Insight:
https://radioinsight.com/wp-content/images/2021/04/wrvw-200x200.pngIn the time before consolidation, it was a radio truism: Competition made everybody better and listeners were the winners. Legendary format battles (https://www.edisonresearch.com/ten_great_radio_battles_of_the_80s_and_early_90s/) were part of radio?s excitement for industry people, but we see now that the marketing they prompted also benefited radio overall.
In the late ?90s/early ?00s, as consolidation took hold, the rise of cluster strategies redrew the landscape, and the nature of competition changed. Some historic format battles ended because one owner controlled both stations. New stations were not launched to win, but to interfere with a competitor or diversify a sales portfolio.
The wars of attrition that popped up in those years weren?t the stuff of legend. They didn?t make everybody better. They sapped an incumbent?s resources. If a format was hot ? Country in 1992, Top 40 in 2008 ? a new competitor might expand a format?s shares. Just as often, it would replace a 7-share radio station with two 3.5 share outlets. When KRRL (Real 92.3) took on KPWR (Power 106) for L.A.?s Hip-Hop franchise, the clearest winner was Adult R&B KTWV (The Wave), the recipient of KRRL?s former Jammin? Oldies shares.
We haven?t thought much about the impact of competition lately:*
The sort of marketing that went with format battles ended with the advent of PPM ratings measurement, first because broadcasters thought they no longer needed it, but then because the resources were not there. From here, we now see the impact of less promotion on radio listening overall.
While many of the wars of attrition remain, direct format battles have often been replaced by adjacencies on a format spectrum. Los Angeles had four AOR stations at most times in the late ?70s. Now, you can hear their hits on a rock-leaning Classic Hits (KRTH), an Adult Hits outlet (KCBS), and a gold-based Active Rocker (KLOS), but no dedicated Classic Rock.
Prominent mainstream stations continue to be taken out of circulation on a regular basis. WJBR Wilmington, Del. (https://wjbr.com/), is this week?s example. Now the issue is when format holes are created and not always filled, (https://radioinsight.com/blogs/245223/format-holes-and-the-finite-dial/) which isn?t good for overall radio usage when listeners no longer have to default to a second-choice station. Sometimes the hole is Country in New York City, one that isn?t always occupied, but sometimes it?s Hot AC in Washington, D.C., now unfilled for four years.
So it?s worth noting a few July PPM ratings developments:
Audacy Country KKWF (The Wolf) Seattle (https://www.audacy.com/seattlewolf) has had a phenomenal several months following the departure of Hubbard rival KNUC (the Bull). That station has hovered at or under a 1 share since becoming Triple-A KPNW (https://989pnw.com/), but non-comm rival KEXP (https://www.kexp.org/) has lost two shares. (To be fair, KEXP has had big ups and downs without direct competition).
Alternative KITS (Live 105) San Francisco, (https://www.audacy.com/live105) the station that prompted my article about ?format holes? last fall, returned from Adult Hits ?Dave-FM.? July PPM saw a record high for the frequency (2.2-3.1-3.), but Classic Hits KOSF (103.7 FM ?80s Plus) (https://80splusradio.iheart.com/) also benefited (2.4-3.0-3.9).
Hip-Hop/R&B WERQ (92Q) Baltimore (https://92q.com/)returned to its market?s top spot (5.5-7.0). 92Q was one of the last dominant stations in the format before COVID. 92Q does not have direct competition, although you can hear both D.C.?s WKYS and WPGC, mired in their own war of attrition 45 minutes away.
WRVW (The River) Nashville (https://1075theriver.iheart.com/) was up 3.9-5.5, following WNFN (Hot 106.7)?s switch to Classic Country. Eyes are now on Tampa/St. Petersburg, where WPOI (Hot 101.5) (https://www.hot1015tampabay.com/) is rumored to be undergoing changes as I write this. Tampa Bay is a market where legendary CHR battles (Q105 vs. WFLZ in 1990, Hot 101.5 vs. WFLZ in 2011) have settled into wars of attrition. In the mid-?90s, WFLZ, left to its own devices, was one of the stations that revitalized CHR. So what happens next?
All contemporary formats have struggled, particularly over the last three years. With streaming clearly responsible for some of that, it?s been harder to troubleshoot the individual format issues that also exist. I?ve wondered for five years why Country no longer dominates such onetime strongholds as Seattle, Atlanta, or Houston. Now, KKWF has higher combined shares than KKWF and KNUC a year ago. Was it as simple as Country just having its own lane again? In Top 40, Seattle was one of CHR?s last strongholds; it?s easy to see that one end when KQMV (Movin 92.5)?s Brooke & Jubal became two separate morning shows.*
It?s hard to tell what benefits will accrue to Tampa?s WFLZ if WPOI makes anything less dramatic than an outright format flip. So far, in markets like Miami and Chicago, having a mainstream CHR and a gold-based CHR (or two, in South Florida) hasn?t changed the landscape much, suggesting those changes read as modifications, not outright flips to listeners, and stations like WBBM-FM (B96) Chicago and WFLC (Hits 97.3) Miami still play some currents. In some markets, CHR is alone and still in the 3-4 share range.
The effect of our radio-dial contractions is harder to know when not all the stations involved have published ratings. In Memphis, the loss of Hot AC WMC-FM (FM100) last month led to a huge jump for WLFP (The Wolf) ? (https://www.audacy.com/997thewolf)which replaced it on 99.7 ? and a noticeable one for 102.7 Kiss FM, (https://1027kissfm.iheart.com/) which changed frequencies and segued to Hot AC as a result. But Country WGKX and another Hot AC convert, WHBQ, aren?t published this month, so the exact dynamic is hard to judge.
Here?s how I feel about competition now:
I still believe there are programming solutions for CHR, Hip-Hop, Alternative, and Country ? all formats where wars of attrition still exist. Only Country seems to have a path forward right now; even there, spring diary market ratings and July PPMs are inconsistent. Not every station in a war of attrition is there of its choosing, or has as obvious a way out as KITS. Nor should CHR get comfortable as a 3.7-share format anywhere. This column exists to troubleshoot format issues, and these are all discussions that need to continue.
That said, radio also benefits from big, successful stations and the signal that they send to listeners and to ourselves as broadcasters. It was good to see so many success stories in July, especially as stations like WJBR continue to come off the board.
At a moment when losing WJBRs or WMC-FMs is a regular occurrence, it is probably better for broadcast radio as a medium to be able to offer local FM listeners one station in every major music format rather than ?two of some, none of others.? The long game is still creating a better streaming experience and a new platform to succeed FM with lots of easily managed choice.
The competition that would make everybody better at the moment is stations competing more vigorously against themselves and their own legacies. The history of Live 105 in 1987 or 1995 made returning to Alternative a daunting proposition. For this month anyway, it?s not.
The competition that would truly make everybody better is by radio as a whole against other platforms. Right now, that seems to be manifesting itself mostly as liners about radio having ?no subscription fees.? I actually consider that to be a viable selling proposition, but more so when broadcasters can offer a robust, better-organized platform. And the question remains whether the unity that can either organize or market radio will continue to be undermined by a 25-year-dynamic of broadcasters weaponizing stations against each other.
more (https://radioinsight.com/blogs/257546/does-a-lack-of-competition-make-everyone-better/)
https://radioinsight.com/wp-content/images/2021/04/wrvw-200x200.pngIn the time before consolidation, it was a radio truism: Competition made everybody better and listeners were the winners. Legendary format battles (https://www.edisonresearch.com/ten_great_radio_battles_of_the_80s_and_early_90s/) were part of radio?s excitement for industry people, but we see now that the marketing they prompted also benefited radio overall.
In the late ?90s/early ?00s, as consolidation took hold, the rise of cluster strategies redrew the landscape, and the nature of competition changed. Some historic format battles ended because one owner controlled both stations. New stations were not launched to win, but to interfere with a competitor or diversify a sales portfolio.
The wars of attrition that popped up in those years weren?t the stuff of legend. They didn?t make everybody better. They sapped an incumbent?s resources. If a format was hot ? Country in 1992, Top 40 in 2008 ? a new competitor might expand a format?s shares. Just as often, it would replace a 7-share radio station with two 3.5 share outlets. When KRRL (Real 92.3) took on KPWR (Power 106) for L.A.?s Hip-Hop franchise, the clearest winner was Adult R&B KTWV (The Wave), the recipient of KRRL?s former Jammin? Oldies shares.
We haven?t thought much about the impact of competition lately:*
The sort of marketing that went with format battles ended with the advent of PPM ratings measurement, first because broadcasters thought they no longer needed it, but then because the resources were not there. From here, we now see the impact of less promotion on radio listening overall.
While many of the wars of attrition remain, direct format battles have often been replaced by adjacencies on a format spectrum. Los Angeles had four AOR stations at most times in the late ?70s. Now, you can hear their hits on a rock-leaning Classic Hits (KRTH), an Adult Hits outlet (KCBS), and a gold-based Active Rocker (KLOS), but no dedicated Classic Rock.
Prominent mainstream stations continue to be taken out of circulation on a regular basis. WJBR Wilmington, Del. (https://wjbr.com/), is this week?s example. Now the issue is when format holes are created and not always filled, (https://radioinsight.com/blogs/245223/format-holes-and-the-finite-dial/) which isn?t good for overall radio usage when listeners no longer have to default to a second-choice station. Sometimes the hole is Country in New York City, one that isn?t always occupied, but sometimes it?s Hot AC in Washington, D.C., now unfilled for four years.
So it?s worth noting a few July PPM ratings developments:
Audacy Country KKWF (The Wolf) Seattle (https://www.audacy.com/seattlewolf) has had a phenomenal several months following the departure of Hubbard rival KNUC (the Bull). That station has hovered at or under a 1 share since becoming Triple-A KPNW (https://989pnw.com/), but non-comm rival KEXP (https://www.kexp.org/) has lost two shares. (To be fair, KEXP has had big ups and downs without direct competition).
Alternative KITS (Live 105) San Francisco, (https://www.audacy.com/live105) the station that prompted my article about ?format holes? last fall, returned from Adult Hits ?Dave-FM.? July PPM saw a record high for the frequency (2.2-3.1-3.), but Classic Hits KOSF (103.7 FM ?80s Plus) (https://80splusradio.iheart.com/) also benefited (2.4-3.0-3.9).
Hip-Hop/R&B WERQ (92Q) Baltimore (https://92q.com/)returned to its market?s top spot (5.5-7.0). 92Q was one of the last dominant stations in the format before COVID. 92Q does not have direct competition, although you can hear both D.C.?s WKYS and WPGC, mired in their own war of attrition 45 minutes away.
WRVW (The River) Nashville (https://1075theriver.iheart.com/) was up 3.9-5.5, following WNFN (Hot 106.7)?s switch to Classic Country. Eyes are now on Tampa/St. Petersburg, where WPOI (Hot 101.5) (https://www.hot1015tampabay.com/) is rumored to be undergoing changes as I write this. Tampa Bay is a market where legendary CHR battles (Q105 vs. WFLZ in 1990, Hot 101.5 vs. WFLZ in 2011) have settled into wars of attrition. In the mid-?90s, WFLZ, left to its own devices, was one of the stations that revitalized CHR. So what happens next?
All contemporary formats have struggled, particularly over the last three years. With streaming clearly responsible for some of that, it?s been harder to troubleshoot the individual format issues that also exist. I?ve wondered for five years why Country no longer dominates such onetime strongholds as Seattle, Atlanta, or Houston. Now, KKWF has higher combined shares than KKWF and KNUC a year ago. Was it as simple as Country just having its own lane again? In Top 40, Seattle was one of CHR?s last strongholds; it?s easy to see that one end when KQMV (Movin 92.5)?s Brooke & Jubal became two separate morning shows.*
It?s hard to tell what benefits will accrue to Tampa?s WFLZ if WPOI makes anything less dramatic than an outright format flip. So far, in markets like Miami and Chicago, having a mainstream CHR and a gold-based CHR (or two, in South Florida) hasn?t changed the landscape much, suggesting those changes read as modifications, not outright flips to listeners, and stations like WBBM-FM (B96) Chicago and WFLC (Hits 97.3) Miami still play some currents. In some markets, CHR is alone and still in the 3-4 share range.
The effect of our radio-dial contractions is harder to know when not all the stations involved have published ratings. In Memphis, the loss of Hot AC WMC-FM (FM100) last month led to a huge jump for WLFP (The Wolf) ? (https://www.audacy.com/997thewolf)which replaced it on 99.7 ? and a noticeable one for 102.7 Kiss FM, (https://1027kissfm.iheart.com/) which changed frequencies and segued to Hot AC as a result. But Country WGKX and another Hot AC convert, WHBQ, aren?t published this month, so the exact dynamic is hard to judge.
Here?s how I feel about competition now:
I still believe there are programming solutions for CHR, Hip-Hop, Alternative, and Country ? all formats where wars of attrition still exist. Only Country seems to have a path forward right now; even there, spring diary market ratings and July PPMs are inconsistent. Not every station in a war of attrition is there of its choosing, or has as obvious a way out as KITS. Nor should CHR get comfortable as a 3.7-share format anywhere. This column exists to troubleshoot format issues, and these are all discussions that need to continue.
That said, radio also benefits from big, successful stations and the signal that they send to listeners and to ourselves as broadcasters. It was good to see so many success stories in July, especially as stations like WJBR continue to come off the board.
At a moment when losing WJBRs or WMC-FMs is a regular occurrence, it is probably better for broadcast radio as a medium to be able to offer local FM listeners one station in every major music format rather than ?two of some, none of others.? The long game is still creating a better streaming experience and a new platform to succeed FM with lots of easily managed choice.
The competition that would make everybody better at the moment is stations competing more vigorously against themselves and their own legacies. The history of Live 105 in 1987 or 1995 made returning to Alternative a daunting proposition. For this month anyway, it?s not.
The competition that would truly make everybody better is by radio as a whole against other platforms. Right now, that seems to be manifesting itself mostly as liners about radio having ?no subscription fees.? I actually consider that to be a viable selling proposition, but more so when broadcasters can offer a robust, better-organized platform. And the question remains whether the unity that can either organize or market radio will continue to be undermined by a 25-year-dynamic of broadcasters weaponizing stations against each other.
more (https://radioinsight.com/blogs/257546/does-a-lack-of-competition-make-everyone-better/)