Warm 98

[Radio25]

I wonder that since latest book for WARM 98 was way down of there will be any changes with staff in the near future.

 

[Arbitorn]

Does anyone really think the era of a giggling, self-involved he and she in the morning is not over? I don't care what national job they had, what can they tell me that will make a difference in my day? All I get is pablum. Where is the content? We are getting close to a universal "I really don't care." response to what the average person thinks about radio.

I played an air check of John Landecker from the early 70s for the 17 year old. He said, "No wonder you listened to it all the time!" Landecker didn't talk about his frigging dogs or his cute kids or giggle with his partner about the Oscars.

WARM98 is as cookie cutter vanilla as a station can be. A big, broadcast yawn.

 

[Bill from White Plains!]

Warm 98 is down because of Christmas. This happens every year. Not really a surprise or a concern. They're back to where they are used to being, maybe taking a little bit of a hit from 94.9. Arbitorn I doubt you're really in B&M's target demo. The show is doing well.

 

[Paul Braden's Ghost]

Big Landecker fan. But people change. What Landecker talked about 40 years ago when listening as a 17 year old has absolutely no interest to what's important to me in my 50s. Pertaining to Warm...as Bill said, I doubt if friend and board legend Arbitorn is now or has ever been in the Warm target. But one other point should be made. To me, most current AC morning shows seem to be working from a dated template built from the FM AC stations of the early 80s. Those days have passed. Audience and lifestyles have changed. That approach sounds tired and cliched. There needs to be a new approach. I don't hear that from B&M.

 

[Arbitorn]

I probably wouldn't listen to Landecker today either. Just like i don't want my 60s muscle car back. I remember the good stuff and forget the overheating, bad synchronizer, spongy brakes and leaky convertible top. My son heard something compelling in the air check...at least he knew it was compelling to me. He could understand why radio was such a big part of our lives then. He sounded a little jealous. Was radio overtaken due to events beyond their control? Was it suicide? A combination of both? Whatever, it is not as compelling today and I think it's a shame. I know I'm not the target of just about any station, but I think the gigglefest and dog-talk he and she morning shows are as tired as "on your side, eyewitness" TV news. It was time for a reinvention twenty years ago.

That's why all-Christmas music can double the share of two or three stations in the same market every year. Those listeners aren't getting what they WOULD spend those quarter hours listening to the rest of the year. They've shown us they WOULD listen...radio hasn't given them a reason to.

 

[Imlivinontheair]

Would love to hear the Landecker air check if you could post it online somewhere.

 

[radiotrumpet78]

What would be interesting would be to poll the listeners during the all-Christmas time period to ask what they would like to hear after Christmas.

"Warm98 wants to know what is missing on Cincinnati radio. Tell us what you would like to hear by going to warm98.com, clicking on Survey and tell us what is missing. We would like to keep you as a regular listener after the holidays."..cue jingle (with sleigh bells).

 

[Arbitorn]

Great idea.

 

[Bill from White Plains!]

Arbitorn, those listeners that are doubling Warm 98's share are already listening to radio. They just abandon their regular station for a month and a half. Had there been a huge migration of people to radio for Christmas music, as you theorize, then there would have been a cume spike for the market. That didn't happen, and in fact, cume for the Holiday book is lower than the yearly average. Looking at AQH cume, you can see that when Warm 98 went back to its regular format, several stations had double digit percentage increases in their AQH cume, while Warm lost more than half of theirs. Stations that came back strong were WGRR, WREW, WOFX, and WUBE. WAKW saw the same pattern, with WNLT increasing by almost half after WAKW goes back to regular format.

So, in summary, the listeners are already there and they are getting what they want for ten and a half months of the year somewhere else.

 

[Imlivinontheair]

good ideas

Great idea.

It is always possible to run a listener survey during regular programming as well. Maybe they will get some viable feedback that would lead them to better morning show material.

I think the concept of giving the audience what they want can't help but strengthen listening loyalty. At least it will make the audience think that someone is listening to them.

 

[Paul Braden's Ghost]

Won't only a small percentage of listeners respond to that type of survey request? Can any radio station afford to drive their programming based on that small of a sample?

Greater question, isn't the Warm brand well past it's expiration date on that frequency?

 

[Bill from White Plains!]

Ghost, please explain how Warm 98 could be past its expiration date. It still gets good numbers, still makes money, and is an established brand in this market. Are Q102, B105, WGUC, WVXU, WLW....all expired brands? What else would you do with that frequency? How would you justify blowing up an established - 33 year old brand - that still performs well? You're willing to pay for a new station launch?

 

[Paul Braden's Ghost]

Example, B101 in Philly becoming More FM. I'm certain that you've read Jerry Lee's reasons for the change. 30 years ago, Warm played Neil Diamond, Bette Midler and Dan Fogelberg. They now play Pink, Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus. I considered it to be a fair question to ask if B101's reasoning might also apply at Warm. Clearly, your vote is no.

 

[Paul Braden's Ghost]

First, another Imus fan here, Bill. Great screen name.

As for the Warm name? I'm certain you've read about Jerry Lee and his reasons in changing the name of B101 Philly to More FM. I wasn't suggesting doing anything else with 98.5, just questioning if a change in name might be worth considering for similar reasons to those in Philly.

After all, how long has it been since WGRR called themselves "Oldies 103.5?"

 

[Bill from White Plains!]

Ghost, you are absolutely right about WBEB in Philly and if Jerry Lee thinks that was a good idea, then I'm sure he's correct. However, Warm 98 has gradually and methodically adapted to the modern idea of AC. They didn't stop playing Streisand one day and start playing Gwen Stefani. The name and station has evolved over time. I doubt anyone associates them with the artists they played in 1980 any more than anybody associates WUBE with Willie and Loretta.

 

[microbob]

I agree that More FM would be a better name for the station than WARM, but In Cincinnati, people in charge of the media here are scared of change. As you have said, Warm has a heritage of 30 + years.

 

[Bill from White Plains!]

Microbob, please explain how the generic sounding "More FM" would be a better name for a station with almost 34 years of brand equity in the market. I know it's fun for radio geeks to see stations change names and formats, but in the real business world this one would make no sense at all. As for the Philadelphia station, it's actually the second time it's changed names. It started out as EZ101 in 1980, became B101 in 1993, and now MoreFM in 2013. People in Cincinnati are obviously not scared of change because we have had a lot of it. And if you think change is good, I need only point to 94.1 as Exhibit A.

 

[microbob]

Bill, I don't know how long you have been in the Cincinnati market, but WARM 98 has a very different sound than it had 30+ years ago which is why I think it would be wise for an update in the image and name for the station. There is a reason why 94.9 is sounding better musically and ahead of WARM in ratings recently, since they recently dropped the name Rewind. Sunny is another name that is not used much when programming a AC station as there was one in Reno who dropped that name in favor of MoreFM despite being a top ranked station in that market. Here is why they decided to Drop the Sunny moniker in favor of More FM

We’re not making major programming changes, but we’re updating our nickname to better reflect our long-time position of ‘playing more music with less talk,’” said Tom Quinn, president of Americom Broadcasting, which owns the station. KRNO has changed over the years, but some people still think we feature music by Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan, Rod Stewart and Neil Diamond.” The update from Sunny 106.9 to More FM™ is designed to help us match listener perceptions with our current reality.

This quote above is what the name WARM means to the common radio listener in Cincinnati, when they think of the station.

 

[Bill from White Plains!]

microbob, I'm certain I've been around this town longer than you have and I'm also certain you are not a woman, 35-54. Therefore, without citing any actual research about why Warm 98 should change its name, I can only assume this is just your opinion as a radio enthusiast based on articles on trade web sites. Truth is, Warm 98 is still performing well in its demo. Rewind changed its name because it was no longer an 80s station. It's now a full blown Hot AC. Just because a few stations change their names doesn't mean it's a good idea everywhere. You're not giving any real solid evidence that a name change would make any sense. Truth is, Warm 98 has done a very good job of changing with the times. The potential loss of branding and cost of launching a new station doesn't make any sense. By the way, there are still lots of "Sunnys", including Saga's well-performing station in Columbus. Seems it wasn't long ago that everybody was flying the "Movin'" flag. In the 90s, it was "Arrow." There is absolutely no reason to kill a 34 year old brand that is still performing well.

 

[microbob]

WAJI Majic 95.1 in Ft Wayne which has had the same branding for 30 years has re branded to Best FM as of today. Saga has recently begun using the Sunny name on its Christian music properties so that name is being used on that format as well.