New AC KDGE Star 102.1 in Dallas-Ft. Worth

It had been technically two and a half years that one of the top five markets lacked an AC and that is the #5 market, after KVIL debuted as Hot AC. Three and a half years that it lacked a true AC, since KVIL 'retooled' its AC format and took the 'Bright AC' or 'Fresh AC' approach with the "Best Variety...90s, 2k, and Today" slogan. Th modeled its AC format after its sisters' WWFS (now WNEW-FM)/NY, WIAD/Washington, and the defunct WCFS/Chicago.

Today we have a new AC in Dallas and we had it since the midnight of Dec 26.

Unfortunately, KDGE had not been doing well in audience shares over the past several years with its long time dedicated Alternative format in the DFW market while its sister KEGL is doing pretty well with its Rock format over the past several years despite its failure and several flips in the mid 00s.

On Nov 16, 2016, iHM toasted KDGE 27 years old alternative format in favor of stunting X-Mas music and that yielded an alternative hole for the #5 market. Many members on the DFW board saw a potential AC format coming to KDGE. Which also would bring the AC format back to the market the first time in almost three years. Some thought it could be branded "Sunny 102.1" much like its sister KODA Sunny 99.1 from the neighboring market. At midnight on Dec 26, 2016, KDGE flipped from X-Mas to its current AC format as "Star 102.1".

I didn't even know about the new AC until the first week of February 2017 which is also the week right before the weekend of my birthdate. I found about the flip when I was observing the Neilsen BDS ratings. I did remembered back in the middle of November 2016 a couple of my friends shared sad posts on Facebook about the change to KDGE legacy alternative format. I'm not even sure if I remembered hearing anything about KDGE starting or already stunting X-Mas. Almost like I didn't even cared what's happening in the market of my own residence. On the personal side, I was busy working full-time as a technician for my company, taking computer programming training courses over Java, trying to fix my PC, and preparing to return to my university for another bachelors degree all at the same time during that time.

KDGE AC approach is very sweet. Not too uptempo and not too soft. A little old leaning with almost enough recurrent/current being aired that a liberal AC would aired. KDGE is halfway between a conservative AC and a liberal AC. It looks like they're doing around a couple 70s a day, 5 80s an hour, 1-2 90s an hour, 0-1 00s an hour, 3-4 recurrents/currents an hour. Too many 80s for an AC in 2017 to even consider it a liberal AC at all, most liberal AC aired 2-3 80s an hour since the past few years. But, if I were to focus an AC heavily on 80s in 2017, I usually would stick to around four 80s an hour at most.

Their playlist included tracks like "Right Here Waiting", "In Too Deep", "Your Love", "Hungry Like the Wolf", "Can't Fight the Moonlight", "How Do I Live", "Imagine", "Livin' la Vida Loca", "The Lady in Red", "Missing You", "Kyrie", "Faith", "Your Song", "Treat You Better", "Stitches", "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Wanted Dead or Alive", "Livin' on a Prayer", "December 1963", "Straight Up", "You Can't Hurry Love", "In the Air Tonight", "Don't Stop Believin'", "Open Arms", "Faithfully", "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)", "Any Way You Want It", "Jessie's Girl", "I Want to Know What Love Is", "Don't Wanna Know", "Animals", "Sugar", "Moves like Jagger", "Payphone", "Every Breath You Take", "Careless Whisper", "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "La Isla Bonita", "Papa Don't Preach", "Open Your Heart", "Crazy for You", "True Blue", "Holiday", "Lucky Star", "Into the Groove", "Borderline", "Piano Man", "Uptown Girl", "Because You Loved Me", "Mad about You", "Heaven Is a Place on Earth", "Hips Don't Lie", "Human Nature", "Bad", "Smooth Criminal", "Man in the Mirror", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Billie Jean", "Rock with You", "P.Y.T.", "Thriller", "Beat It", "Black or White", "You Are Not Alone", "How Will I Know", "I Wanna Dance with Somebody", "Thinking About You", "Photograph", "What Is Love", "Demons", "Purple Rain", "Little Red Corvette", "1999", "When Doves Cry", "Kiss", and many more.

Ever since I found out KDGE flipped to AC, I've been listening to it almost all the time. It's been six years since I actually listened to any local radio stations here in Dallas-Ft. Worth. I had been streaming mostly AC from many different cities across the nation. Mostly KMGL/Oklahoma City (my hometown), WLYF/Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, and so on. I've been streaming through many devices through my home, school, and work internet. I only listened to the local radio while I am driving to school. I even actually started collecting my own CDs, putting my CD music onto my phone, and listened to it in the car while I am driving to school and work.

As you figured, I replaced KVIL on my first preset with KDGE on all of the FM receivers in my house and my car. I even plugged in my Sony XDR-F1HD and start using it again that I hadn't use for six years. I even pulled out the Zune HD player to listen to KDGE daily. I replaced my broken Creative Zen player that I bought in 2010 with the Zune HD I bought last year for listening to my music and FM radio.

It's interesting to me. Here you have iHeart launch a true AC in Dallas, but the long-time co-owned AC in Houston has steadily morphed into Hot AC in the last few years, much like competitor KVIL-FM has done in Dallas.

Sure makes me wonder if this game plan is being jotted down in the iHeart Houston playbook for when the cracks start to appear at "The Beat".

I wonder if KVIL's ratings will improve following the flip to the "Amp" CHR format. If it eventually flops, perhaps it might flip back to AC, similar to the route that the other Amp station did in Philly.

As for KDGE in Dallas, they should drop the 70's music. This is 2017 and most of the disco as well as "soft" music from that decade is WAY too outdated for its format. I don't mind the 80's, since I'm enjoy them but the 70's stuff has got to go. iHeart doesn't run their AC's right. Within the next couple of years, all of the 70's stuff will be completely gone and the only way you hear them is through an oldies station.

The Harsh Reality said:

but the long-time co-owned AC in Houston has steadily morphed into Hot AC in the last few years, much like competitor KVIL-FM has done in Dallas.

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I don't really think so. I even thought that Tyler's Media legacy AC KMGL in Oklahoma City had even went a little further in the mainstream direction than iHM legacy AC KODA in Houston. Regardless, the AC from Dallas neighboring markets iHM KODA/Houston, Entercom KKMJ/Austin, and Tyler KMGL/Oklahoma City are very consistent, very reasonable, and very liberal AC. All three of those AC are very decent to me and they're angel in comparison to the direction KVIL took years ago.

KMGL is still a very decent AC to me even though they seems to be a little more mainstream than KODA alone.

The Harsh Reality said:

It's interesting to me. Here you have iHeart launch a true AC in Dallas.

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I know right! KDGE AC approach seems to be modeled after its true AC sisters from WLTW/NY, KOST/LA, and WMGF/Orlando. This is great for the Dallas-Ft. Worth market. I've been dreading for a true AC in Dallas for ages.

To me KDGE is neither too soft/old leaning or too young/hard leaning. Perhaps a little too soft/old leaning, IMHO. Much like what iHM WMGF in Orlando did. WMGF was at one time a troubled AC in 2010, but it succeeded by Summer 2012 after it took the ground between Soft AC and Mainstream AC around 2011. Much like what WMGF did in 2011, KDGE seems to had taken the ground between Soft AC and Mainstream AC.

CurtisNEPA said:

I wonder if KVIL's ratings will improve following the flip to the "Amp" CHR format. If it eventually flops, perhaps it might flip back to AC, similar to the route that the other Amp station did in Philly.

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I am not sure if Dallas-Ft. Worth is a young market or what, but that's too many countless CHRs in Dallas. I would think that at least either CBS or Cumulus could give up their poorly performed CHR for an alternative.

When KVIL went Hot AC, I thought Cumulus could have flipped KLIF to AC or something. It turned out iHM flipped KDGE to AC which yielded an Alternative hole in favor of filling the AC hole that had been left in the market for years by KVIL. I actually liked iHM AC's more than Cumulus AC's in general, so I am happy about the change.

Then KVIL flipped to CHR. Now, I thought perhaps CBS could flip KVIL to Alternative and Cumulus could flip KLIF to Classic Country or vice versa. Even it seems like Dallas-Ft. Worth is a young market, it doesn't seems like a second and third CHR had worked at all... This is a North Texas market, I see two mainstream Country performing well, an Adult Hits performing well, and a Classic Hits performing well, I'd like to see how well a Classic Country could perform in North Texas.

CurtisNEPA said:

As for KDGE in Dallas, they should drop the 70's music. This is 2017 and most of the disco as well as "soft" music from that decade is WAY too outdated for its format. I don't mind the 80's, since I'm enjoy them but the 70's stuff has got to go. iHeart doesn't run their AC's right. Within the next couple of years, all of the 70's stuff will be completely gone and the only way you hear them is through an oldies station.

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I agree. Actually, 70s had been completely gone from almost all ACs by 2013 and 2014. For some reason, I even thought 5-6 80s an hour is too much 80s for an AC in 2015, let alone 2017. Most liberal ACs by now like KODA, KMGL, KOIT/SF only aired 2-3 80s an hour, 0-2 90s an hour, 0-2 00s an hour, and 4-6 currents an hour. Pretty much, most liberal mainstream AC in mid-sized and major-sized markets had already limited pre-2010 tracks by now.

But, then they're still a number of ACs out there that still pound on 4-5 or 5-6 80s an hour like WLTW, WLYF, WRVR/Memphis, and WEAT/West Palm Beach.

DavidEduardo said:

The issue there is that, even if you do mid 80's to early 00's, the age of the listeners will be 50 and over for the most part. In a transactional market, there is just not much money for demos that old.

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I agree. I still wonder how contemporary tracks of the 70s to 90s (talking about KLUV, KZPS, and KJKK) are doing well in 12+. Even KDGE actually picked up a bit in the March 12+ bookings.

I guess aside from Classic Hits, Classic Rock, Adult Hits, and AC, Classic Country is another thing. A successful format targeted to female listeners in their late 40s/early 50s doesn't guarantee a successful Classic Country in Dallas. At first, I thought a Classic Country in Dallas might forked out some of KLUV, KZPS, and KJKK listeners. Perhaps even KPLX and KSCS listeners if a competitor like KVIL decides to go Classic Country.

iHM's Classic Country KXXY isn't performing too bad in the Oklahoma City Non-PPM 12+ shares, same with KXBL in Tulsa, which is the reason why I thought Classic Country might work in Dallas as well. Oh yeah! That's right! Dallas and Houston are PPM markets meanwhile OKC and Tulsa aren't PPM markets... Dallas and Houston are still slightly younger markets then OKC and Tulsa in the end.

In addition, Dallas had a history of having a poorly performed AC (talking about KVIL), so attempting a Classic Country in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market wouldn't be a good idea at all.

I'm listening to this station right now, and they seem to be waaaaaay too heavy on post-2010 songs for my taste, although I probably shouldn't even be listening to this station anyway as I very strongly dislike the majority of the music of this and the previous decade. Personally I wish they'd add some more 90s songs particularly the softer songs of the early 90s.

KDGE is more of a Mainstream AC, except they're softer and older leaning than other established Mainstream AC like KMGL/Oklahoma City, KODA/Houston, KOST/L.A., and WLTW/N.Y. KDGE plays around 5-6 80s an hour and they still play a few 70s a day as of early 2019 even though their slogan says "The Best Variety of the 80s, 90s, and Today".

Since September 2018, Magic 104.1 KMGL dropped "Awesome 80s Weekend" that they had for nearly two decades or even longer, I believed. At the same time, they also started cutting their 80s down to 1-3 80s an hour. They used to play 3-5 80s an hour from January 2015 to September 2018. They changed their slogan from "The Most Variety of the 80s, 90s, and NOW" to "Today's MAGIC 104.1".

KDGE is also picking-up quite some momentum after two years. They ranked 4th place in the Dallas-Ft. Worth 12+ ratings for January 2019 with a 4.2 share.

I don't think that's too bad for 25-54. KDGE ranks were swinging between 9th and 14th for the last several non-Holiday books in 12+ as well with upper 2-ish and lower 3-ish shares.