102.5 to flip to FM talk in two weeks

[Cedric]

Ok, I always hear that all of the money is Females 25-54... yet every person who's ever told me that was a sales weasel, and make no mistake about it, sales people know NOTHING about radio or what the listeners want. I understand that the target demo for a station like FLZ or Hot is going to be Females 25-54, but outside of CHR/AC, I think the listening audience probably skews more towards older males these days. In my experience, most people under 30 are not very interested in listening to terrestrial radio anymore.

I am convinced that regardless of all the statistical mumbo jumbo, if a station wants to get ratings and in turn make sales... all they have to do is play something DIFFERENT. Check it, I'm in 98 Rock & The Bone's target demos, and I can't stand either of those stations, and I happen to enjoy mainstream rock music. I know I sound like a broken record, but the only reason radio is dying is because of the content. I'm sick of people telling me to get a satellite radio if I want to hear variety. I don't want a satellite radio, I've heard it, and it kinda sucks. I'd rather hear my local terrestrial stations remain relevant by not playing the same 30 songs over and over. And no, I don't literally think they play ONLY 30 songs... however the amount of repetition on Cox stations is absolutely nauseating. I have a 45 minute drive to work everyday, and there is just absolutely no reason I should hear 8 of the same songs on the way home, as I heard on the way in... this is overkill even for a CHR. Sometimes The Bone will even play the same song at the same time everyday. Tune in at 1:30pm any weekday, and I guarantee you, you will hear Helmet's Unsung... try it out for yourself... they did it EVERYDAY this week.

*edit*
To be fair to Big Rig. 98 Rock does have A LOT less repetition than The Bone... my sincerest apologies for DIRECTLY comparing you to that stinker... and congratulations on finally burying them... ok I've gotta do my show now. Peace out.

[scottsvb5]

I'm with Cedric on this!

[scottsvb5]

I'm with Cedric on this!

And BigRig... your station is alittle better over the past 2 years and always better than 97X or 102.5 playlist..but you still play the same old songs from 20 years ago. If you play more New Music and mix in some other recognizable music that isn't played everyday on your station.. the  18-44 age groupl will catch on more.

[Parttimer]

Ok, I always hear that all of the money is Females 25-54... yet every person who's ever told me that was a sales weasel, and make no mistake about it, sales people know NOTHING about radio or what the listeners want. I understand that the target demo for a station like FLZ or Hot is going to be Females 25-54, but outside of CHR/AC, I think the listening audience probably skews more towards older males these days.

While that may be true, advertisers care about females, so stations deliver what they can sell.

I am convinced that regardless of all the statistical mumbo jumbo, if a station wants to get ratings and in turn make sales... all they have to do is play something DIFFERENT.

And time after time after time without fail, the station that plays "something different" loses.

[Cedric]

While that may be true, advertisers care about females, so stations deliver what they can sell.

---

And time after time after time without fail, the station that plays "something different" loses.

Advertisers may care more about females, but if there aren't that many females listening to terrestrial radio, why would advertisers still target that demo??? I don't even know any women who listen to terrestrial radio (with the exception of msmusicradio, and I don't even know her!) When I worked in sales it was at a talk radio station, so needless to say our target demo was OLD MEN lol.

...and CC paid Arbitron $101 Million last year for their services... no wonder the stations that play "something different" always lose. If it's true that playing "something different" is a sure way to fail, then why is it that everyone I talk to says they want more variety on their radio dial? I suggest that Arbitron's rating system is a fraud...

[badjef]

...and CC paid Arbitron $101 Million last year for their services... no wonder the stations that play "something different" always lose. If it's true that playing "something different" is a sure way to fail, then why is it that everyone I talk to says they want more variety on their radio dial? I suggest that Arbitron's rating system is a fraud...

I always considered Arbitron to be a fraud each time I saw a bad book, until our rating showed otherwise...

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

[Parttimer]

I suggest that Arbitron's rating system is a fraud...

I worked for an owner once who said, "If they're not gonna give me good ratings, what am I paying them for?"

[badjef]

I suggest that Arbitron's rating system is a fraud...

I worked for an owner once who said, "If they're not gonna give me good ratings, what am I paying them for?"

That's better.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

[gamefreak]

The whole idea of women not listening to radio is not true. My entire family, which includes 2 females listen to the radio. That is even when we had a car with and auxiliary port. The people I live with listen to the radio for music and if something happens when out and about. That and everyone I live with just have to listen to "Bob and Sheri" every morning. The people I live with say an MP3 Player doesn't give you News, Traffic and Weather reports in the morning. They also sat hooking in your MP3 Player is cumbersome when just driving to Wal-Mart to pick up groceries. That it is best just to turn on the radio.

Not to mention a good deal of cars don't have Satellite Radio or MP3 Port. Some people still may be driving older cars with only an AM/FM Cassette deck.You know some cars and trucks as late of 2002 are not even equipped with CD Players. Including my mom's 2002 Escort ZX2 or even some F-150 Trucks I ran across.   While most people who still have the stock radio on their 1996 Chevy Caviler don't even turn on the radio some do.

I speak to the contrary, I agree with turning on the radio for Traffic and Weather conditions but that's it. I much prefer my MP3 Player if I'm out and about.

I also know a lot of female friends and acquiescences that listen to radio.

[Tim]

For those of you who doubt most large & national advertisers make their ad buys based on women age 25-54....I know it for a fact:

For more than 20 years I sold a highly-rated and successful classic rock FM that was 60%-40% male/female....a great balance for a traditionally male format. When we got on most buys (75% were indeed Women 25-54), we were nearly always the last station to make the cut. And, the total dollars we got per buy were typically half that our country sister station.

Oh, I was also a jock/PD/MD for 2 decades before moving to radio sales...so...I worked in all areas of broadcasting...and was not just a "sales weasel".

Radio in 2012, sadly, is driven almost totally by revenue and wishes of advertisers. Huge corporations own most of the larger and mid-market stations...and when they are in charge, profit's all that matters. Not listeners, not the community, not station employees either.

Not happy about that? Call your US senator or congressman. The tel-com bill's passage in '96 is what started much of this crap. Not all of it...availability of automation to enable VTing that replaces live people is a big part of it too.