I know all those songs very well. I grew up in the era. Being an early radio 'nut' as a kid I pretty much knew every song on the top 40 charts from about 1966 forward through the 1980s when I stopped jocking for sales and management. So, I'd give it a listen here and there if such a station existed here. But I am in the demographic that is not desired by most advertisers.
KAAM is a fine example of the commercial load you could expect unless you are in a big retirement center. I really doubt anyone complains the commercial breaks go on forever on KAAM. If anything, it is the paid talk shows and informercials they are forced to sell to get the revenue they need.
From the sales side (commercials) it would give me nightmares. I'm talking prospecting for advertisers. Those that will want to even hear you out and those that would buy are so slim, so many 'no' answers certainly would make you doubt your abilities and rack up such expense in acquiring an account, I doubt the commission from the sale could ever recover the time and actual expense of gaining the sale. Part of sales is renewals. Having been in a situation selling such a tough format, I can tell you renewals are very rare because it is very hard to get enough people listening in a certain business trade area to produce results. I know there are many folks that might enjoy the format but after years of being ignored by radio, not that many listen to radio as they did even when they are aware of the station. Simply, they don't have the radio habit. Rather, they're big TV viewers.
To get what I mean about renewals: you might spend 20 hours trying to get that 'yes'. That order, say, is $500 and let's say $75 goes to you. You spent money using your car to visit the client to get that order, perhaps several visits. The $75 isn't much (about $3.75 an hour less car expenses), but if they renew, a regular followup visit on your way to get another yes is no big deal...you were going that way anyway. Once you get about 40 of those renewals you start to make some cash and you simply keep replicating the same plan. Sure you lose about 20% of your accounts a year but you're getting new accounts all the time. So, the upfront cost is acquiring each account. If they won't renew, you lose money...lots of it and even if your station has a monthly draw to guarantee you some money, it is generally ultra poverty wages and it is not forever, usually the first few months. Simply put, you could flip burgers and earn what you get for a monthly draw but could likely make more since you could work longer hours. It's impossible to sell advertisers outside business hours.
So, to really put this in perspective, I would love the format on FM. Even AM in my city is okay. But when you look at the struggle to get the revenue (unless in a retirement area), there are so many easier options that show better chances at success, most station owners who can't just shell out cash every month opt for an easier path.
