Ratings 2/3 to 3/2

[CAwasinNJ]

There were quite a few surprises this month. First, KNRS made a big jump to land solidly in first place. Ignoring the Holiday period, they've had modest growth each month since last summer. News/talk has been a well performing format for a while now and not just in Salt Lake. KSL hasn't been joining in that party lately, but they had unbelievable numbers last Oct.

Classical 89 was up noticeably in January and went up even more sharply in February. Classical is another format that has been getting notice across the country. I don't think it's time yet to see about any other station flipping to classical, but for some of the worse performing stations that can think of doing something that 89 isn't it might be worth thinking about for a minute or two. I'll bet the staff at BYU Broadcasting is happy they didn't dump the format a few years back.

In the "whoa" column is FM100.3 who, according to Radio Insight repeating Chris Huff, had their worst rating in nearly 10 years. It's definitely not time to panic but worth keeping an eye on. The Arrow was also sharply down while ZHT was sharply up. Connected?

In the country wars, KSOP-FM was sharply down while K-Bull was sharply up by almost the same amount. At least that makes sense. It's still not really a contest with KSOP-FM winning handily and The Eagle a distant third.

Kool-FM's jump last month has maintained and the numbers are even a bit bigger. And that's on a 250 watt translator + an HD2. Might Broadway consider flipping The Eagle or even U92 and see what it can do? Those with a long memory might remember that what's now U92 was oldies "Magic 92" when it was on 92.1 in Tooele County and got a little signal into Salt Lake on a booster. They used the Drake-Chenault jingles.

[oldiesfunhouse]

I vaguely remember Magic 92. What I have a memory of is KSOS being on 92.1 back sometime in the mid 90s. I believe it was run by a guy called brent Larsen. It spent some time on 92.1 and 96.7 if memory serves. You didn't mention KUDD Mix 105.1. Aren't they basically the same format as KZHT? You said ZHT was up but I wonder how they are doing compared to Mix. I say that because I'm wondering if they'd ever consider moving Kool to the 105.1 frequency. I'm sure Mix is a bigger draw but I'm just curious. I really would like it if Broadway would simulcast KALL on a listenable FM signal. Whatever they're doing on 92.1 barely exists on any of my radios. Does 95.9 cover areas that 96.3 doesn't? I always kind of wondered why they don't simulcast KXRK's HD2 signal on 95.9 instead of the main signal. Do you all think the Eagle's days are numbered? I wonder what the future of Business 99.1 is. I tuned in to both 99.1 and 99.5 HD2 the other day and the audio was horrible, particularly on 99.1. To me it sounded over modulated and the Bloomberg signal was choppy. I don't remember what day that was. It seems like a lot more care was given to it when it was Easy 99.1. I miss that station. I wish someone would pick up that more soft AC format in the Salt Lake area. "This is KOSY 101.5." Why not?

[henry]

Flipping U92 to oldies is the ULTIMATE white flag.

To have *any* future, radio needs to be *winning* over Gen-Z listeners, not bolstering dying Boomers living in the 1960s. U92 sucks because the station has had ZERO investment in it for at least five years. Heavy use of voicetracking. Nonsensical playlists. Very little audience interaction compared to years past. When is the last time you saw a U92 billboard? 2016, by my count.

It's like the Seattle radio boards and KUBE. KUBE didn't die because KUBE was bad. KUBE didn't die because hip-hop isn't popular (it's more popular than ever... on Spotify). KUBE was euthanized. iHeart flipped frequencies, then flipped it back, then did no promotion-- and now it's playing ESPN. Not a great way to invest in winning over the next generation, imo.

The corporate greed of the past 20 years is coming home to roost. We have to stop feeling *entitled* to an audience simply because we have an FM stick. There is too much media fragmentation now. CHRs have to actively FIGHT to win every single under-30 listener they get, and drag them into the audience. I pray Broadway do the right/hard thing and invest in Utah's premiere/legacy youth-oriented station. Put some real effort into making it a place to hang out. Live mixes. QUALITY live remotes (not just sponsors, but places youth actually go). Listener texts and calls nearly every break. Talk about UTAH stuff nearly every break. Make it the "KSL" for youth and minorities who don't "fit in."

But that all takes money. That takes risk. So, sadly, they'll do the lazy/shortterm thing and probably put ESPN on it or something stupid.

[David]

Do people under 30 really listen to radio in large numbers in 2022? My impression is that the majority of radio listeners are in the 35-64 age group, i.e. baby boomers and Generation X, and that the Generation Z crowd prefers to stream music online or download songs to their iPods or cell phones. If only a small percentage of Generation Z are active radio listeners, it's no wonder that stations like U92 barely bother with trying to attract new listeners.

[kenglish]

Maybe stations just appear to not want listeners? If you stood in a parking lot, handing people nice new radios, and asking them to try them out...."if you like it, you can keep it", how many folks would bother?
Would they simply shrug their shoulders and say "I already have a phone"?

It's like trying to get someone interested in shortwave, when you can only show them Brother Stair, World's Last Chance, Pastor Melissa and Alex Jones.

Put something on that new listeners want, rather than what everyone else already has, and they might come back

[CAwasinNJ]

Mix and ZHT are both CHR. Mix isn't setting the ratings world on fire, but it's doing much better than U92 or The Eagle. Unless your name is Hollander you don't flip a station that's doing relatively well and leave a station that's doing poorly alone. (That's a reference to Infinity in NYC.)

The thing about business (both radio big business and Business 99.1) is that at the end of the fiscal quarter all that really matters is how much profit they make. As long as carrying Bloomberg on 99.1/99.5HD2 is more profitable than what iHeart could make flipping the station (contracts aside) it's going to stay. Period.

I can't speak to U92 specifically but the ideas henry just said are absolutely right about radio in general. 1) You have to spend money to make money. It's a cliche for a reason. 2) One of the big advantages radio has is the ability to be local and relevant to that local audience. Spotify can't do that.

According to Edison Research, the biggie in this field, upper demos are more likely to listen online. The thing that got the industry all abuzz last week is this: "39% of Americans 12+ have no radios in their household, and 57% of those age 12-34 have no radios in their household, a sharp contrast with 14 years ago when 4% of the U.S 12+ population had no radios." On the flip side, AM/FM listening dominates in the car. The audience is there, radio just needs to give them a reason to listen.

[David]

I wasn't sure if this news merits its own thread or not, so I'm including on the ratings thread. There's going to be some changes with KOOL 105.5 beginning this Monday at Midnight. That's when 105.5 will flip to a simulcast of 100.7 Bob FM, and KOOL 105.5 will be available only on 105.1 HD2. That makes me wonder if the KOOL 105.5 classic hits format is going to move to 92.5, since Bob FM is currently on U92's HD2 channel. U92 has been declining in the ratings for awhile now, and KUDD-HD2 actually eclipsed the main channel by several points in the latest ratings. Maybe that's proof that "dying Boomers" like me listen to the radio more than Generation Z. 😉

KOOL 105.5 Facebook post about the upcoming flip:
www.facebook.com/103448954993167/posts/367147585289968/?sfnsn=mo

[CAwasinNJ]

I think it's related enough for now.

First, 105.5 is going to have a hard time with anything if they keep flipping the station. Beyond that... Bob being on 92.5 HD2 has no relevance to what's on the main channel. The two aren't connected other than being on the same carrier. Bob does need to be on an HD somewhere/anywhere to qualify it to be on the translator. If Kool was going to be somewhere other than the 105.1 HD2 where it already is, the logical thing to do would be to at least tell the listeners about it rather than having them just assume it's gone and move on. It doesn't sound like they did that. (I don't do Facebook, so I didn't look.)

Did you really mean to say that KUUU HD2 had a higher rating than the main channel? KUUU HD2 isn't listed in the ratings and also isn't listed as a KYMV simulcast with Nielsen. I'm pretty sure it's not included in the KYMV numbers.

[amanuensis]

Two spelling errors in one short tweet does not give me confidence that this change is one step in a grand master plan.

This makes me frustrated with Broadway Media. The team they hired for this station really seems to have put a lot of effort into it, e.g., doing at least two rounds of surveying listeners about their favorite songs.

Henry is exactly right. Radio has no role with Gen-Z. My 18 yo daughter never listens to it. She always streams her phone over the car's speakers when driving. And streams at home. ALL of us streams at home.

The main reason why I don't stream my phone in the car is because I kind of like listening to live and local. And I guess because I am just too old to change.

[David]

Sorry CA, I got my call signs confused again, since I meant to say KUDD-HD2. I've corrected the error in my previous post. I also should have said KUDD-HD2 did better than U92 in the latest ratings. I had Covid in January, and I've had issues with "brain fog" ever since. I guess I need to go drink some Diet Mountain Dew and see if it will get my synapses firing again. 🙂

[christopherjohn]

Live and local radio is what is going to keep radio alive. The corporate radio stations have hurt radio and should be the first to go. Yes, radio has to share with a lot more mediums but still has a place. They have said for years that radio is dead even back 20 years ago. Still here. As for the younger generation, they still listen to the radio. Might be through Alexa or online but it’s still listening. How I know? I have a ton of younger listeners winning when I do my show. In fact just yesterday at my remote, I had a kid that had to be around 13-14 come up and wanted to meet us. You just have to give everyone every way possible to listen in and do it right. You need to have a good on air signal, if you do HD, do that right and keep your time alignment and levels good. If you have apps, make sure they offer a good experience with a reliable stream etc.

[David]

For those who don't use Facebook, here's an article from Radio Insight about the 105.5 switch taking place at Midnight on Monday the 28th.
radioinsight.com/headlines/222052/105-5-salt-lake-city-to-simulcast-100-7-bob-fm-kool-fm-to-move-to-hd-only/

[dspete]

Well the only positive sign is…
Until we can find a stronger signal?

[David]

Mar 27, 2022 21:49:59 GMT -6 dspete said:

Well the only positive sign is…
Until we can find a stronger signal?

This may not be a popular opinion, but I think it's time for Broadway Media to put either U92 or KEGA out to pasture and move KOOL 105.5 to either 92.5 or 101.5. Ditching KEGA makes the most sense to me. 101.5 has more power than KUUU, and KEGA has always placed a distant third behind KSOP-FM and KUBL. I don't see that changing in the future.

[Timmy]

It doesn't make any sense to "temporarily" remove a station from FM. If they were going to replace another station, they would do it when they could do it, not ahead of time, like this. Why would you ever want to remove what could be considered a decently successful station from an FM stick "temporarily"?? This doesn't add up to me. I think they're looking for a way to kill KOOL, which is sad, imho.