Posted by Allan Sniffen on February 06, 2008 at 11:02:17:
In Reply to: Re: 101.9 RXP: Where Is The Audience? posted by Steve Gosset on February 06, 2008 at 10:01:25:
>>>First, they tried more alternative, then AAA, then classic rock. It disenfranchised whatever audience it had by not offering something that couldn't be heard elsewhere on the dial and done better.<<<
Yes, but what lead WNEW to all of that? Weakness in the format.
>>>As I have noted in previous posts, I have rejected the notion that AAA is essentially a suburban format, given stations like WXRT in Chicago, KMTT in Seattle, KBCO in Denver and KFOG in S.F<<<
But this is New York. Markets vary. Look at the playlist from Musicradio WABC in the seventies vs. WLS in Chicago. New York was far more rhythm than Chicago... which was far more rock oriented.
>>>My view is that many potential listeners of a AAA format are not listening to terrestrial music radio because there's been nothing out there for them.<<<
Chicken and the egg argument. You're arguing there has been no station therefore there are no listeners. I'm arguing there was no demand therefore there is no station. Historically over the last thirty years, the evidence is on my side.
>>>And it's too blithe to dismiss these successes as being in "whiter" markets. <<<
I'm not doing that at all. My opinion is based on the track history of what formats have succeeded (and not succeeded) here.
>>>My view is that many potential listeners of a AAA format are not listening to terrestrial music radio because there's been nothing out there for them. <<<
First of all, drop "terrestrial" from your argument because this as ZERO to do with satellite radio. There aren't enough listeners to it in any one market for it to be having any impact.
>>>you can be a non-entity in 12+ if you get the right folks listening, as WNEW-FM had during its heyday. <<<
Hold on. The success of WNEW-FM as a progressive rock station was in an era when ratings didn't matter on FM. It didn't demonstrate that hitting the right demos is a solid strategy because it existed prior to profit demands on FM. In fact, once the world changed and FM became a profit center, WNEW-FM as a progressive rock station disappeared.
>>>are vulnerable, because now there is something different.<<<
We'll see. I'm not convinced that an esoteric rock station that plays things from all over the field is going to have legs in a market with well focused alternatives.