KOAI-FM

[ugmo2000]

So in other words.....a 55+ person would take the time to fill out that stupid publishers clearing house form but not look at a website concerning their so called FAVORITE radio station?

[OldGringo]

So in other words.....a 55+ person would take the time to fill out that stupid publishers clearing house form but not look at a website concerning their so called FAVORITE radio station?

Considering I have been on this board about 4 years or so, I would say "no" because most over-55's are just not into discussing radio... particularly since so few people on the boards are in the kind of postions that can influence programming anyway.

[little1]

So in other words.....a 55+ person would take the time to fill out that stupid publishers clearing house form but not look at a website concerning their so called FAVORITE radio station?

Personally, I think it's a self-fulfilling prophecy kind of thing...That since most advertisers don'y buy 55+, stations don't cater to them...and since they don't cater to them, they don't get a lot of older listeners...and since they don't get a lot of listeners, they don't show up in ratings, and since they don't show up much in ratings, stations don't cater to them, etc...

But yeah, if my parents favorite radio station went of fthe air, I doubt thatthey'd search out a fan forum to bitch about it on...They'd probably just find another station, drop in some CD's, or turn off the radio...

And it is ALL about demographics...
KLUV is a perfect example of this...Listen to them and tell me how often you hear 50's era oldies...When I workd there in the erly to mid 90's, you'd still hear some Dion. some early girl groups, doo-wop types, etc...Now that's all been replaced by 60's and even 70's era oldies...

Why?
Because of the demographics..Let's say you were 20 circa 1955-60.  Now you're 65-70.
Now move it to 1965-70.  You're 55-60.
Now move it to 1975-80.  Now you're talking 45-50 year olds...Go listen to KLUV for an hour and see where most of the music falls...

[Pamela2515]

I've been listening to the Oasis since they first started........oh my gawd!!!  What the heck happened to them??  Surely they will be back, or someone........Dallas, Texas is too big of a city not to have a smooth jazz station. I'm not very happy about this........ No more concerts?? Bummer.......

[jd]

I've been listening to the Oasis since they first started........oh my gawd!!!  What the heck happened to them??  Surely they will be back, or someone........Dallas, Texas is too big of a city not to have a smooth jazz station. I'm not very happy about this........ No more concerts?? Bummer.......

There's an interesting parallel to this story in Philadelphia, but this one has a different ending.  (This was mentioned briefly here a few days ago, and here are some details.)

In mid August Clear Channel switched the format of WJJZ 106.1 from Smooth Jazz to a Hot AC that could be mistaken for a Movin' type station.  To quote from a post on the Philly Board titled "Is it really Movin' 106.1?": The original "Movin'" in Seattle is described as a "Rhythmic-leaning station that doesn’t lean heavy on Hip-Hop" aimed at women 28-40(!).  The article doesn't say whether Clear Channel has hired (Alan) Burns as consultant for "Philly's 106.1," only that it's "a version of 'Movin''" with "an even broader target."

A few days ago, a press release announced that Smooth Jazz was returning to Philadelphia soon, with the WJJZ call letters: "We are very excited about bringing smooth jazz back to the Philadelphia market," said John Fullam, Greater Media Philadelphia's Vice President and Market Manager.  "We sensed a lot of disappointment among listeners and advertisers when WJJZ changed its format last August.  It's gratifying to be able to relaunch a station with such a loyal following and that has been successful for so long in Philadelphia."

Interesting news, but don't get your hopes up.  As radio markets Dallas and Philadelphia, of course, are not that similar. And the smooth jazz format there wasn't blown up by CBS; it was Clear Channel.  As covered here at length, Oasis listeners grew older. Could the format have been made more appealing to the more coveted younger demographics? In CBS's view it wasn't possible, and to them Movin' was a logical choice.  As for Philly's Smooth Jazz redux, check back in about a year.  Sorry to say it, but I doubt it will work.

[JayDavis]

But wouldn't 55+ listeners have more disposable income than younger listeners so higher end items could have been advertised on The Oasis ??

Just a thought and question.

[OldGringo]

But wouldn't 55+ listeners have more disposable income than younger listeners so higher end items could have been advertised on The Oasis ??

Just a thought and question.

Ad agencies don't buy 55+ by instructions of their clients. There are virtually no buys against anyone over 55, and the trend is to go to 18-49 instead of 25-54, which was the traditional sales demo.

[SuperRadioFan]

For Smooth Jazz fans, thought you'd be interested in knowing that the Summer Book in San Diego (released today) shows the #1 station 12+ is Smooth Jazz KIFM.  I don't know what the "yonger" demo #s are, we know they can't be #1 with just 55+.  David any explanation as to why Smooth Jazz works in LA and San Diego but not DFW?  

[OldGringo]

For Smooth Jazz fans, thought you'd be interested in knowing that the Summer Book in San Diego (released today) shows the #1 station 12+ is Smooth Jazz KIFM.  I don't know what the "yonger" demo #s are, we know they can't be #1 with just 55+.  David any explanation as to why Smooth Jazz works in LA and San Diego but not DFW?  

KIFM is 51% (Spring... the Maximiser data is not out till tomorrow) 55+, 31% 45-54. So it is getting very old, too. In 25-49 it is 11th. In 18-49 it is 13th, and in 25-54 it is 2nd. This means that nearly all the under-55 is in 50-54. I would suspect it has a couple of years left, but not much more. It is 11th in billing, off by nearly 40% from its peak in 2000.

The profile is, if anything, older in SD than in DFW, which explains the decreasing billing over the last 6 years.

[little1]

But wouldn't 55+ listeners have more disposable income than younger listeners so higher end items could have been advertised on The Oasis ??

Just a thought and question.

More disposable income, but they''re less prone to be tempted by advertising...Most 50+ folks have their brand loyalty pretty well cemented...And they're not going to switch easily....Which means any advertising at them needs to be that much more repetitive, which costs more...

I've worked at KAAM, a station that did okay in the ratings, but didn't bill diddly squat...All of it's listeners were 55+, and while their were some high-end advertisers that WOULD advertise, the vast majority of advertisers had no interest in our listeners...Which is why 1310 got sold to become the Ticket....
Which is a station that 12+ doesn't do that much better than the old KAAM did, but bills ridiculously large amounts...Why?  Because all (well, 90%+) of their listeners are males aged 25-54, in other words, a demo ad agencies are willing to pay for....