More Dominant z100 80s vs today

So z100 today is #1 18-34 18-49 and 25-54, just like they were in the 80s. They also are the top biller in nyc.

Does anyone know how they billed in the 80s for a valid comparison?

It would seem off the bat that elvis does better than the z morning zoo did, while 80s z100 did better middays and afternoons.

Then the 80s z100 had viable competition in 955 and 987, today they do not.

....but, minorities in the 80s were open-minded and listened to top 40, today that is not true, they listen to urban and hispanic formats almost exclusively.
Therefore z today has to defeat a divide and conquer mindset by the media and education system to get minority listeners, something z100 80s didn't have to deal with.

For me, I like today's music a bit better, but the presentation, jocks, imaging, jingles of z100 80s are simply unequaled.

I wanted to get all the facts out there, please let me know which one you think was more dominant and why you feel so.
I don't want this to go political, just disregard the minority analysis if that derails the purpose here, though I really can't see how an objective fair person would take issue with what is pretty undeniable, and I had to list it as z100 80s had that advantage over the z100 of today.

Z100 - Comparing Then and Now

I don't think it's that fair to think there is an "objective" comparison between the two because the Z100 of today, should they be engaged in such a contest, would have the advantage of foregone assurance of result. In other words, Z100 of the 1980s would have no idea that they were, 30 years down the road, going to be compared with the same station that they work at. Had they known that, they may have tried a little harder, to do things somehow differently, but how could they do that since they can't even begin to imagine how the current Z100 sounds? At the same time, the Z100 of today has the advantage of knowing all such foregone information...they know what they're competing with, in other words.

as a mobile dj I remember late 80'searly 90's black people would show up at a bar i djed in vista ny even in biker gear, it was a great time to see everybody dancing to guns and roses madonna cover girls and petshop boys..... yes we had to play variety back then and i thrived very well.

i noticed a big change in the 90's all the white people danced to under the bridge and the blacks to knockin da boots..... so you were not the only one who noticed this trend.

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but, minorities in the 80s were open-minded and listened to top 40, today that is not true,

Z100 definately has more competetion on the radio.

BMP, KTU, PLJ play alot of the same top 40
Then competing with QHT, WPR for the kids
Then competing with LTW, WFS for older group

Cant remember when so may stations were playng so many common songs.

First let me say that I have great respect for you David, I look forward to reading your insights here and appreciate the facts that you bring to the table.

I know it is hard to compare the 80s to today, the ratings system is completely different. I just listen to the old airchecks of urban stations and notice the major difference. They were playing madonna, hall and oates even duran duran, they must have done that because their p1s liked pop music in the 80s, outside of "Royals" that doesn't happen today. I wonder if the almost urban nature of chr rhythmic might skew the overview, just chr pop, it seems that minorities were more open to enjoying the format then than they are today. Also, Hispanics is difficult to define. Many 2nd and 3rd generation "Hispanics" don't consider themselves "Hispanic", and they truly are the very definition of mainstream America with tastes that are based on an opened mind. Being anti-collectivist I dont want to play the divide and conquer game and define each person as an individual so I like the fact that "hispanics" cannot be pigeonholed due to too much diversity in mindset and experiences.

As for z100 of 1985, we all know that those who buy radio time are very idiotic in that they need years before they commit to a well rated "new" station. In 1985 z100 was still pretty new, I'd love to know how they were billing in say 87 or 88, and also how well plj was billing as some have said that plj in the 80s billed more than z100, and while plj did dominate key young adult women demos, overall z100 had the better ratings, while plj would win women 18-34 and even 18-49, z100 would win w25-54, I guess the whole mom and child listening together thing explains that. That 18 mil in 85 is about 39/40 today, so today is stronger but I'd love to know a few years later when z100 was more established and ad buyers had to accept the results.

Thanks for the info! Weird that z100 dropped 3 million in 1986 and was outbilled by plj. Malrite paid like 8.5 for wvnj and then whatever the cost to upgrade to Empire, so to make more than double the cost each year is obviously a good return. However, I would think that both z and plj would be the #2 and 3 billers in NYC back then each year. WINS can run more spots so they will obviously be first, but with both z and plj being top 3 in every demo, each taking turns at #1 with the key adult female demos I would think that they would bill more.

Looking back it just makes no sense that in 88 or so PLJ went away from being that adult top 40 more mature option for the hits than z100 and tried to out z100 z100. Looks like they were making pretty much the same as z100 was, very successful with getting those adult female numbers. The station tanked and was never able to return to the success that they had 84 to 88.

I guess I would have to say that the z100 of the 80s was more successful than the station is today. PLJ was a real strong competitor and was 987 kiss fm too. Today, it is just not the same. 923 and 1035 are such an inferior product, hot 97 is urban and not a threat. The hot acs, plj is a joke, fresh has their own thing going but more of a ltw competitor than z100. Also, z100 is very dependent on Elvis, his numbers look stronger than the z zoo had, while the z100 of the 80s had just sick numbers midday and afternoon.

987 kiss fm was urban, but they were really mass appeal for the format. You would think that 971 and 1051 would take notes from the 80s kiss and put on a more mass appeal product.
Yeah, times are different now I get that, but kiss was such a great sounding urban station back in the day.

With the way ktu is tanking now I think it would be a good idea to be more than just a flanker for z vs amp radio, go back to being that mass appeal dance station that ktu was when they first started ktu version 2.0. That station just screamed New York, yeah maybe a tad too research driven as a sacrifice to being more fun, but it was still a great listen and created such passion.