Flying under the radar - Q102 - major success in the making?!!

Can anyone explain to me why Q102's transition to 100% classic hip-hop earlier this year went largely unnoticed (if not completely unnoticed) by the trade rags? I mean - we're only talking about a TOP FIVE market station here.

The station's AQH share has more than doubled since the change. It's caused 98.1 Kiss FM to make reactionary music tweaks. It appears to be taking market share away from KMEL as well. All this on a station whose reception ability is worse than many of its peers. It wouldn't surprise me if Q102's success causes Hot 105.7/100.7 to bow out of the hip-hop race, even though there are some demographic differences between their target audience and that of the other hip-hop stations.

Speaking of which - how incompetent must Univision's music research arm be? How on earth did they not see the gaping hole for a classic hip-hop station? 102.1 with a mediocre signal is pulling decent numbers in the South Bay!!! They have even edged ahead of Wild 94.9 there!!! Hot 105.7 trails badly. In fact, in the South Bay, I only count two San Francisco-based commercial FM music stations that earned higher numbers in June - 99.7 Now and 96.5 KOIT. (Q and Star 101.3 were tied.)

Hot 105.7 might be nearly as big of a disaster as Nash from a ratings standpoint. This despite the fact their pre-launch stunting garnered NATIONAL attention, and certainly seemed to portend the imminence of a throwback jamz-type station. Talk about a disappointment...

Would love to see how Q stacks up to the competition both overall & South Bay only from an A25-54 standpoint.

MarkW said:

Can anyone explain to me why Q102's transition to 100% classic hip-hop earlier this year went largely unnoticed (if not completely unnoticed) by the trade rags?

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Not sure what you mean. I recall the beak-up of the classic rock simulcast got quite a bit of coverage at the time. I did a search and found a whole lot of stories on the subject.

Re:

You are comparing a limited San José signal with a San Francisco signal, and a general market station with an Hispanic market station.

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Hot 105.7/100.7 is not strictly a "Hispanic market station," although it certainly features a playlist amenable to young Hispanic adults who were born & raised here.

The station whose signal is limited (i.e. weak) in San Jose is Q102 - and they are beating 105.7 (whose signal blasts into the South Bay) by a MILE!

Between 105.7 & 100.7, HOT has decent coverage of the consolidated San Francisco - Oakland - San Jose market at large, yet is drawing absolutely anemic ratings.

Not sure what you mean. I recall the beak-up of the classic rock simulcast got quite a bit of coverage at the time. I did a search and found a whole lot of stories on the subject.

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I can tell.

I'm not referring to the initial flip to Q102. When the station launched, it was Rhythmic Hot AC, and the flip was covered extensively.

Instead, I'm referring to the evolution of the station's format from Rhythmic Hot AC to Classic Hip-Hop. This transition received virtually zero attention despite the fact it's been a ratings goldmine so far.

MarkW said:

This transition received virtually zero attention despite the fact it's been a ratings goldmine so far.

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Maybe it got lost because this was one of several major market stations that made this change. The first may have been in Houston or Philadelphia. They got tons of attention, and a lot of other stations copied the format.

I've been waiting for someone to bring this up! Since they flipped the station has sounded amazing, in my opinion. Anecdotally, I have a lot of friends who listen and we are mostly mid to late 30s. We even jokingly use hella bay like the morning show statement.

I knew it was just a matter of time before classic hip hop became a viable format. The question- how long does it last? Will it have the staying power of classic rock or is it the next jammin oldies?

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There's no way in heck that 102.1 has a better signal in Santa Clara county than 105.7, yet 102.1 is posting very respectable ratings there these days!!!! (much better than 105.7)

As far as the discussion of the S.F. market at large is concerned, you overlooked KVVZ in your analysis, it would appear.

HOT 105.7/100.7's market-wide ratings are not nearly as good as the K-Bays and Mix 106.5's of the world. I still believe Univision blew a golden opportunity. When folks heard Nelly during the stunting phase, everyone thought it was going to be a rhythmic throwback station of some kind....and people were EXCITED about that prospect.

MarkW said:

There's no way in heck that 102.1 has a better signal in Santa Clara county than 105.7, yet 102.1 is posting very respectable ratings there these days!!!! (much better than 105.7)

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KRBQ targets the general market. KVVF targets Hispanics exclusively. They appeal, each, to a different universe.

KVVF is part of a cluster that includes KBRG and KSOL; it targets Hispanics.

As far as the discussion of the S.F. market at large is concerned, you overlooked KVVZ in your analysis, it would appear.

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The 65 dbu contour of KVVZ is mostly over water and does not cover many Hispanics.

HOT 105.7/100.7's market-wide ratings are not nearly as good as the K-Bays and Mix 106.5's of the world.

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That's because each of those has considerably greater coverage. As I said, KVVF has a higher share of people covered with a decent signal than KRBQ does.

[/B] I still believe Univision blew a golden opportunity. When folks heard Nelly during the stunting phase, everyone thought it was going to be a rhythmic throwback station of some kind....and people were EXCITED about that prospect.

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The station was intended to be an Hispanic targeted rhythmic station. And it was intended to be a longer term play, knowing that the classic hip hop stations have essentially all peaked and then faded within a short period of time.[/SIZE][/FONT]

DavidEduardo said:

KRBQ targets the general market. KVVF targets Hispanics exclusively. They appeal, each, to a different universe.

KVVF is part of a cluster that includes KBRG and KSOL; it targets Hispanics.



The 65 dbu contour of KVVZ is mostly over water and does not cover many Hispanics.



That's because each of those has considerably greater coverage. As I said, KVVF has a higher share of people covered with a decent signal than KRBQ does.



The station was intended to be an Hispanic targeted rhythmic station. And it was intended to be a longer term play, knowing that the classic hip hop stations have essentially all peaked and then faded within a short period of time.[/SIZE][/FONT]

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I was born and raised about 2 miles from the 105.7 transmitter (I could hear it across the entire band) so I don't think anyone is arguing what it's coverage looks like in San Jose. I have the up-most respect for David E. and his background but I too am curious how this will all shake out. I think one of the goals of Hot 105.7 was to bring back the old nostalgia of Hot 97.7 (KHQT) which ALSO focused heavily on Rhythmic CHR aimed at Hispanics. Having worked there (on Zanker Road), the formula they used back then worked. That was also different times, no PPM's so we'll see how (in 2015) their "Hot" format does. I hope both owners give it enough time.

As for Q102, I know it's well received and liked by those that I know in San Jose however I don't know if they represent the entire population of San Jose. They are Hispanic though.

stewie said:

I was born and raised about 2 miles from the 105.7 transmitter (I could hear it across the entire band) so I don't think anyone is arguing what it's coverage looks like in San Jose. I have the up-most respect for David E. and his background but I too am curious how this will all shake out. I think one of the goals of Hot 105.7 was to bring back the old nostalgia of Hot 97.7 (KHQT) which ALSO focused heavily on Rhythmic CHR aimed at Hispanics. Having worked there (on Zanker Road), the formula they used back then worked. That was also different times, no PPM's so we'll see how (in 2015) their "Hot" format does. I hope both owners give it enough time.

As for Q102, I know it's well received and liked by those that I know in San Jose however I don't know if they represent the entire population of San Jose. They are Hispanic though.

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Question for David E.

Do you think K265DI on 100.9 does anything for "Hot"? That translator looks good on paper but the topography has to kill that signal.

TheBigA said:

Maybe it got lost because this was one of several major market stations that made this change. The first may have been in Houston or Philadelphia. They got tons of attention, and a lot of other stations copied the format.

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Houston was the trendsetter for the "classic hip hop" (or "throwback hip hop") format, as Radio One launched KROI "Boom 92." But the launch took place this past October, and I'm sure that KRBQ "Q102" did not transition to classic hip hop till this past spring. So far this is the only such outlet under Entercom yet it's doing a good job programming this phase of Q.

MarkW said:

HOT 105.7/100.7's market-wide ratings are not nearly as good as the K-Bays and Mix 106.5's of the world. I still believe Univision blew a golden opportunity. When folks heard Nelly during the stunting phase, everyone thought it was going to be a rhythmic throwback station of some kind....and people were EXCITED about that prospect.

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I thought KVVF "Hot 105.7" had around a 3.0 share soon after it launched, at least in the immediate San Jose portion of the market. It hardly ever shows up under the overall Bay Area ratings at all if I can remember.

I'm not referring to the initial flip to Q102. When the station launched, it was Rhythmic Hot AC, and the flip was covered extensively.

Instead, I'm referring to the evolution of the station's format from Rhythmic Hot AC to Classic Hip-Hop. This transition received virtually zero attention despite the fact it's been a ratings goldmine so far.

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A similar situation occurred with KMEL and KBLX back in the 1990s. Both had "quiet transitions" to urban, although KMEL officially still falls under rhythmic yet programmed musically as an urban to a broadbased audience. The Black population isn't much to go around outside of Oakland and the East Bay but both have been successful without relying on a CHR title always.

I wonder if this keeps up would KMEL tweak like they did Kiss-FM?

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Naw, KMEL is doing just fine with its programming as it has been. At least KYLD has already been tweaked to a pure Top 40 nowadays.