Thunder Country 106.3/106.5 Near the Top

[Barry]

The  Winter overall ratings for Monmouth-Ocean counties show WKMK/WTHJ moving from 3.2 to 4.0. This places the country station in a tie with WOBM for #2 among music stations.
This would indicate that putting Thunder on a second frequency was a good move-the demand is there.
Country is doing great throughout the region. In Buffalo NY, WYRK, which has been #1 for quite a while, is now rated an awesome 12.1 overall.

Monmouth-Ocean Ratings: http://www.radio-info.com/markets/monmouth-ocean

[SoulCrusher]

It should be noted that WHTG/WBBO, as G Rock Radio, consistently pulled ratings that were just about as strong for its first couple of years. And it did so with very little money invested in its promotion and local events. Thunder 106, on the other hand, has been the beneficiary of a marketing blitz like nothing we've seen around here in some time: advertising on billboards and television, and hosting well-known recording artists at venues all over the listening area. It is succeeding because Press Communications is putting forth the effort to make it a success. One can only wonder how well G Rock would have done had it been treated like a top priority instead of the red-headed stepchild of the Press cluster.

Other observations: B98.5 and Magic 100.1 continue to prove that we have more than enough CHR & Soft Rock stations with their cellar-dwelling ratings. Some will try to defend them by pointing out the limitations of their signals. But you can't explain away how they are getting topped by NYC & Philadelphia frequencies, many of which cover even less of the market than they do. The same is true of the far superior ratings of the predecessors of both stations (Thunder 98.5 & WJRZ with it's Oldies/Classic Hits formats). I think it's time to throw in the towel on both, especially considering the major format holes in the areas (most notably, Modern Rock & News/Talk).

[ansky212]

Thunder 106, on the other hand, has been the beneficiary of a marketing blitz like nothing we've seen around here in some time: advertising on billboards and television

Where are these billboards?  I drove down the parkway last week all the way from exit 150 to 88 and did not see a single billboard for Thunder.  I also drove down Route 70 for over 10 miles and didn't see anything there either.  What TV stations are they advertising on?  I have not seen any ads...

I do love the station.  It's too bad WLTW is putting up a translator on 106.3 in NYC that is going to kill Thunder's signal everywhere in the immediate NYC area.

[hubcity]

Thunder 106, on the other hand, has been the beneficiary of a marketing blitz like nothing we've seen around here in some time: advertising on billboards and television

Where are these billboards?  I drove down the parkway last week all the way from exit 150 to 88 and did not see a single billboard for Thunder.  I also drove down Route 70 for over 10 miles and didn't see anything there either.  What TV stations are they advertising on?  I have not seen any ads...

I do love the station.  It's too bad WLTW is putting up a translator on 106.3 in NYC that is going to kill Thunder's signal everywhere in the immediate NYC area.

Actually, you've made an interesting observation: they're not visible from the Parkway, generally.  (Actually, by design, there aren't a lot of billboards visible on the Parkway south of exit 125.)  They're on Route 9 in South Amboy, on Route 33 in Howell...

[Nick]

The main thing is that it's doing way better than the disaster known as Hit 106.

[djdalanj69]

Thunder is on The Rotating Digital Billboard that is visible on The Driscoll Bridge heading south bound. It's over to the left. It's been on that for several months.

[Turnpike Tuner]

Other observations: B98.5 and Magic 100.1 continue to prove that we have more than enough CHR & Soft Rock stations with their cellar-dwelling ratings. Some will try to defend them by pointing out the limitations of their signals. But you can't explain away how they are getting topped by NYC & Philadelphia frequencies, many of which cover even less of the market than they do. The same is true of the far superior ratings of the predecessors of both stations (Thunder 98.5 & WJRZ with it's Oldies/Classic Hits formats). I think it's time to throw in the towel on both, especially considering the major format holes in the areas (most notably, Modern Rock & News/Talk).

B is holding its own in Ocean County in the target demo's from what I heard thru the grapevine, don't know how WJRZ did. Mon/Oc is always a tough market because very few stations have full market coverage, and diary/PPM placement isn't the best (just ask stations whose 60 db contour stop at Brick).

Press is marketing almost all of the stations - I've seen billboards in Ocean County for B, and ones in Monmouth for Thunder and The Breeze. Only station not getting pushed is Great Gold 1410 - and given the signal (500 watt AM), can't say I blame them.

[DToTheJ]

Thunder 106... advertising on billboards...

Where are these billboards?  I drove down the parkway last week all the way from exit 150 to 88 and did not see a single billboard for Thunder.  I also drove down Route 70 for over 10 miles and didn't see anything there either.  What TV stations are they advertising on?  I have not seen any ads...

Do subliminal messages during thunderstorms count? 

[JustPastBuffalo]

The  Winter overall ratings for Monmouth-Ocean counties show WKMK/WTHJ moving from 3.2 to 4.0. This places the country station in a tie with WOBM for #2 among music stations. This would indicate that putting Thunder on a second frequency was a good move-the demand is there. Country is doing great throughout the region. In Buffalo NY, WYRK, which has been #1 for quite a while, is now rated an awesome 12.1 overall.

Soon as I saw "South Amboy" and "WYRK" on this thread, this guy from Buffalo had to post.

As a PD and on-air person doing news-talk, Classic Rock and Classic Hits, I've competed with WYRK Buffalo for many years and can say it's a great radio station that is successful in all the important demos: Persons 25-54, Women & Men 25-54. A few years ago it was even #1 Persons 18-34 and often ranks Top 3 in that demo. Much of its success is a direct result of live, local personalities, including a strong morning show that knows and loves Country, consistent promotion throughout the year and very little voice tracking. It's a "full 50kw" signal on 106.5 and the only Country station on FM in the market. Make of that what you will, the point is, it's a well-programmed radio station. Buffalo isn't 'Jersey or Philly and it sure isn't NY, but WYRK does something special, has the listeners to prove it and could serve as a good template of how Country works.