Thanks for sharing that. I figured I wasn't the only one afflicted with that disease. I also loved the differences between the various stations on my trips.
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
Fl Ratings & More
- Thread starter John FL
- Start date
Thanks for sharing that. I figured I wasn't the only one afflicted with that disease. I also loved the differences between the various stations on my trips.
It’s hard to believe but at one time there was just one area code in use from Miami to Vero Beach. This demonstrates the incredible population growth of Florida and of course life before technology and mobile phones.
The area from Miami to Vero Beach was once an expansive area referred to as “The Tropical Coast.” Today, Miami through Palm Beach County is referred to as The Gold Coast and the Treasure Coast consists of Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties, the counties just north of Palm Beach.
It was the “negative connotation” of the Gold Coast area of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, that local governments opted for a separate and distinct identity. The name Treasure Coast refers to a Spanish Treasure Fleet lost offshore in a hurricane in the early 1700’s.
It’s an interesting history and it’s an area of Florida most don’t know but for many of the locals, now including me, that’s not such a bad thing.
I’ve enjoyed reading about broadcasting history and those who made it their livelihood. There’s many big names in radio who gained experience and sharpened their skills in small town radio across the country.
Some in broadcasting started in small towns such as Vero Beach and decided to stay there. Others left for fame and fortune. Then again, some return to a gig in a small market after a lifetime of achievement, by their choice.
Ft. Pierce-Stuart-Vero Beach is my new radio market home and I hope I did it justice. Radio here has exceeded my expectations and it's a good place to be.
It’s market #102 next –Melbourne-Titusville-Cocoa. That will probably be on Monday. Have a good weekend!
The area from Miami to Vero Beach was once an expansive area referred to as “The Tropical Coast.” Today, Miami through Palm Beach County is referred to as The Gold Coast and the Treasure Coast consists of Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties, the counties just north of Palm Beach.
It was the “negative connotation” of the Gold Coast area of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, that local governments opted for a separate and distinct identity. The name Treasure Coast refers to a Spanish Treasure Fleet lost offshore in a hurricane in the early 1700’s.
It’s an interesting history and it’s an area of Florida most don’t know but for many of the locals, now including me, that’s not such a bad thing.
I’ve enjoyed reading about broadcasting history and those who made it their livelihood. There’s many big names in radio who gained experience and sharpened their skills in small town radio across the country.
Some in broadcasting started in small towns such as Vero Beach and decided to stay there. Others left for fame and fortune. Then again, some return to a gig in a small market after a lifetime of achievement, by their choice.
Ft. Pierce-Stuart-Vero Beach is my new radio market home and I hope I did it justice. Radio here has exceeded my expectations and it's a good place to be.
It’s market #102 next –Melbourne-Titusville-Cocoa. That will probably be on Monday. Have a good weekend!
It’s hard to believe that Melbourne-Titusville-Cocoa is radio market #102 because from I-95, it looks like one sprawling city/town after the next. While Brevard County/The Space Coast is a long stretch from north to south, it’s quite narrow from east to west. That probably explains the market size. iHeratMedia and Cumulus are the larger operators that have a presence in the market. Perhaps they are positioned there anticipating future growth.
Here is demo information for the area: Population: 531,400. Black: 54,300 (10%) Hispanic: 51,800 (10%). The median age of Melbourne is 46. The median age of Cocoa is 37. The median age of Titusville is 46.2.
Melbourne-Titusville-Cocoa receive many Orlando signals. WDBO-FM, for example, is a news/talk format that doesn’t show in the local ratings but Cumulus’s WMMB-AM does. In fact it’s the #3 station in the market by share and that’s without an FM translator. So while Brevard County is in Orlando’s TV market, the radio listeners there prefer a local news radio station.
Despite two classic hits signals from other markets that cover portions of Brevard County, it’s the local station, 6000 watt WSBH-FM that dominates and is either #1 or #2 overall in the market.
WSBH's owner is listed as Horton Broadcasting Co Inc. However, accurate info is not always easy to get on these small, private companies. It appears they operate out of Stewart Florida (Treasure Coast) and are more into television broadcasting stations than radio. They (may) own the previously discussed AC WHLG-FM (Coast 101.3) on the Treasure Coast with a D/B/A name of WHLG-FM. The address for Horton and WHLG-FM is the same. Either way, this is a small radio ownership company.
WSBH-FM (98.5 The Beach) (Space Coast’s Greatest Hits) has a roster of jocks. The AM drive guy has been a fixture in Brevard County radio since 1996. Dave Poore A/K/A “SuperDave” is on middays from noon to 3 PM. There’s a specialty program called “Lunch ON the Beach” at noon. There’s a number 1 song featured at 1 O’ clock (#1 at 1) and “The 2 O’ clock Twin Spin.”
It’s refreshing seeing the midday daypart given attention and an injection of fun too. I’ve long been in favor of specialty programing, especially on gold-based formats. Those formats can grow stale. How positive the effect is on ratings is probably debatable. But, in diary markets, making positive impressions on listeners is key. Those picked to participate in the ratings will (hopefully) mention your station. In my view, making those extra programing efforts that the listeners appear to enjoy doesn’t hurt.
The station plays a lot of titles one would find on most classic hits stations. However, there are a number of hits in the mix, on a limited rotation, that can be put in the “wow” category. It’s another way of keeping the format fresh. King Harvest's "Dancing in the Moonlight" is one example.
The G.M’s bio reads: “Dave joined WSBH-FM 98.5 The Beach in 2007 to help launch the station, promoting and branding the format to help make it the number 1 station in the core population demo (35/64 ) in Brevard County. The Beach has held that position for over 8 years.” While this probably needs updating, it would appear WSBH is in good hands.
More on Radio Market #102 on the way.
Here is demo information for the area: Population: 531,400. Black: 54,300 (10%) Hispanic: 51,800 (10%). The median age of Melbourne is 46. The median age of Cocoa is 37. The median age of Titusville is 46.2.
Melbourne-Titusville-Cocoa receive many Orlando signals. WDBO-FM, for example, is a news/talk format that doesn’t show in the local ratings but Cumulus’s WMMB-AM does. In fact it’s the #3 station in the market by share and that’s without an FM translator. So while Brevard County is in Orlando’s TV market, the radio listeners there prefer a local news radio station.
Despite two classic hits signals from other markets that cover portions of Brevard County, it’s the local station, 6000 watt WSBH-FM that dominates and is either #1 or #2 overall in the market.
WSBH's owner is listed as Horton Broadcasting Co Inc. However, accurate info is not always easy to get on these small, private companies. It appears they operate out of Stewart Florida (Treasure Coast) and are more into television broadcasting stations than radio. They (may) own the previously discussed AC WHLG-FM (Coast 101.3) on the Treasure Coast with a D/B/A name of WHLG-FM. The address for Horton and WHLG-FM is the same. Either way, this is a small radio ownership company.
WSBH-FM (98.5 The Beach) (Space Coast’s Greatest Hits) has a roster of jocks. The AM drive guy has been a fixture in Brevard County radio since 1996. Dave Poore A/K/A “SuperDave” is on middays from noon to 3 PM. There’s a specialty program called “Lunch ON the Beach” at noon. There’s a number 1 song featured at 1 O’ clock (#1 at 1) and “The 2 O’ clock Twin Spin.”
It’s refreshing seeing the midday daypart given attention and an injection of fun too. I’ve long been in favor of specialty programing, especially on gold-based formats. Those formats can grow stale. How positive the effect is on ratings is probably debatable. But, in diary markets, making positive impressions on listeners is key. Those picked to participate in the ratings will (hopefully) mention your station. In my view, making those extra programing efforts that the listeners appear to enjoy doesn’t hurt.
The station plays a lot of titles one would find on most classic hits stations. However, there are a number of hits in the mix, on a limited rotation, that can be put in the “wow” category. It’s another way of keeping the format fresh. King Harvest's "Dancing in the Moonlight" is one example.
The G.M’s bio reads: “Dave joined WSBH-FM 98.5 The Beach in 2007 to help launch the station, promoting and branding the format to help make it the number 1 station in the core population demo (35/64 ) in Brevard County. The Beach has held that position for over 8 years.” While this probably needs updating, it would appear WSBH is in good hands.
More on Radio Market #102 on the way.
We’ve seen the classic rock format perform well in a number of markets we’ve visited. It’s the story across the country too. Melbourne-Titusville-Cocoa could be an exception, but we can’t assume based on beauty contest numbers. Cumulus’s WROK-FM (95.9 The Rocket) (The Space Coast’s Classic Rock Station) is on The Treasure Coast’s ratings report as well. There, the format has been earning fractional shares or low 1’s. It’s a 25,000 watt Class C3 stick out of Sebastian which is north of Vero Beach on The Treasure Coast.
On the Space Coast, the shares are similar. In looking at the coverage map, the signal blankets Indian River County where Vero Beach is and is also considered local for Palm Bay and Melbourne. Cocoa and home to younger demos is regarded as a fringe signal. A station may look likes it’s under performing overall but it could be #1 with men 25-54 for all we know.
In each market I’ve been trying to find a station a little off the beaten path to discuss. And that brings us to an NPR affiliate and WFIT-FM (Florida Institute of Technology). At 4,700 watts, local coverage is over Melbourne and not Cocoa. In fact the signal doesn’t even reach Titusville to the north. Various ratings reports list the format as AAA (Adult Album Alternative) music. The station is in 8th place.
The stations’ website https://bit.ly/2XGSFJC states: “music from genres including indie rock and pop, jazz, folk, alternative, blues, classical, world and more. We feature live music sessions with local and touring artists…” As an NPR affiliate, there’s also news and information magazine type features. It’s been a listener-supported radio station serving the Space Coast community for 40 years.
I know little about the AAA format, except it doesn’t look like a popular, mass-appeal format. I doubt the format is done on commercial radio the way this public radio station does it. I have no idea what type listener is attracted to the AAA format either.
Regarding a more mainstream format, there’s CHR (Top 40.) The ratings for Melbourne, Cocoa and Titusville have 5 stations/signals that appear in the ratings. Not all are local.
Cumulus’s WAOA-FM (107.1 A1A) is the leader of the pack (5th place in share) but is in a tight race with iHeart’s WFKS-FM. (Kiss 95.1) (#1 For New Hit Music) You would think WAOA would be leaps and bounds ahead as it has a powerful 100,000 watt signal that can reach as far north as Daytona Beach and clearly covering all of Brevard and The Space Coast. WFKS has a 4,300 watt signal.
WAOA’s brand ‘A1A’ refers to the road that’s near the Atlantic Ocean through eastern Florida. Cumulus has some live and local talent. iHeart has syndication like Elvis Duran and Ryan Seacrest. Both formats are Top 40R. The WFKS calls were dropped in 2011 by sister Jax station and picked up here.
iHeart’s Top40M WXXL (X1067) from Orlando earns fractional shares. iHeart’s WLDI (Wild 95.1), another Top 40R, is a 100,000 signal all the way from Palm Beach County, yet scrapes the ratings near bottom. That honor belongs to WPOZ-FM-HD2 offering a rhythmic Top 40. If the WPOZ calls sound familiar, it’s because they were discussed in Orlando and Daytona Beach. This is a Central Florida Education station.
WPOZ-FM is a Christian Contemporary format. Through translators, relays etc., WPOZ-FM is heard in multiple Central Florida markets. WPOZ-FM is popular on the Space Coast and is currently #4 overall.
More on Space Coast Radio to come including the current #1 station in the market.
On the Space Coast, the shares are similar. In looking at the coverage map, the signal blankets Indian River County where Vero Beach is and is also considered local for Palm Bay and Melbourne. Cocoa and home to younger demos is regarded as a fringe signal. A station may look likes it’s under performing overall but it could be #1 with men 25-54 for all we know.
In each market I’ve been trying to find a station a little off the beaten path to discuss. And that brings us to an NPR affiliate and WFIT-FM (Florida Institute of Technology). At 4,700 watts, local coverage is over Melbourne and not Cocoa. In fact the signal doesn’t even reach Titusville to the north. Various ratings reports list the format as AAA (Adult Album Alternative) music. The station is in 8th place.
The stations’ website https://bit.ly/2XGSFJC states: “music from genres including indie rock and pop, jazz, folk, alternative, blues, classical, world and more. We feature live music sessions with local and touring artists…” As an NPR affiliate, there’s also news and information magazine type features. It’s been a listener-supported radio station serving the Space Coast community for 40 years.
I know little about the AAA format, except it doesn’t look like a popular, mass-appeal format. I doubt the format is done on commercial radio the way this public radio station does it. I have no idea what type listener is attracted to the AAA format either.
Regarding a more mainstream format, there’s CHR (Top 40.) The ratings for Melbourne, Cocoa and Titusville have 5 stations/signals that appear in the ratings. Not all are local.
Cumulus’s WAOA-FM (107.1 A1A) is the leader of the pack (5th place in share) but is in a tight race with iHeart’s WFKS-FM. (Kiss 95.1) (#1 For New Hit Music) You would think WAOA would be leaps and bounds ahead as it has a powerful 100,000 watt signal that can reach as far north as Daytona Beach and clearly covering all of Brevard and The Space Coast. WFKS has a 4,300 watt signal.
WAOA’s brand ‘A1A’ refers to the road that’s near the Atlantic Ocean through eastern Florida. Cumulus has some live and local talent. iHeart has syndication like Elvis Duran and Ryan Seacrest. Both formats are Top 40R. The WFKS calls were dropped in 2011 by sister Jax station and picked up here.
iHeart’s Top40M WXXL (X1067) from Orlando earns fractional shares. iHeart’s WLDI (Wild 95.1), another Top 40R, is a 100,000 signal all the way from Palm Beach County, yet scrapes the ratings near bottom. That honor belongs to WPOZ-FM-HD2 offering a rhythmic Top 40. If the WPOZ calls sound familiar, it’s because they were discussed in Orlando and Daytona Beach. This is a Central Florida Education station.
WPOZ-FM is a Christian Contemporary format. Through translators, relays etc., WPOZ-FM is heard in multiple Central Florida markets. WPOZ-FM is popular on the Space Coast and is currently #4 overall.
More on Space Coast Radio to come including the current #1 station in the market.
Last edited:
Cumulus owns and operates a country format that appears to do well in the Melbourne-Cocoa-Titusville market tied at 5[SUP]th[/SUP] place. The WHKR-FM calls may sound like W Hit KickeR. Hit Kicker was the former branding and a popular one at that for the country format. Today it’s Nash FM 102.7 (Today’s Best Country). Although, when I did some sample listening, (the things I do for this thread) I heard “Hit kicker” still used in the voice imaging.
Nash is Cumulus’ own brand. The brand launched in 2013 in New York City of all places. I recall the radio boards talked a lot about that event. Eventually, other Cumulus properties adopted the brand, especially those offering modern country. Some brands were strong enough to not make the switch but carried the programing and some of the personalities instead.
The station’s local personality, Eric Deniro, is a native Floridian born in Cape Canaveral Hospital. According to his bio, he is 79 and has been an on and off radio personality for nearly 70 years in Brevard County/The Space Coast. Amazing. While I wouldn’t think a 9 year old could be hired for a radio job, I bet he was interviewed live on the radio. That was a fairly common event years ago, especially in smaller markets. A new store or a big sale was happening, and there was radio talking to people live.
The #1 station in Melbourne-Cocoa-Titusville is an AC format. WLRQ-FM (Lite Rock 99.3) (Brevard’s Official At Work Station) This station goes back at fourth at #1 with Cumulus’ Classic Hits WSBH-FM. There’s a live/local morning show (Mike and Mindy) and a PM drive show. (Ken Holiday) He’s been associated with the Space Coast/Melbourne area since 1979 and is high up the iHeartMedia food chain.
I found the “Lite Rock” brand an interesting name. What I heard was typical AC titles that could have been featured on any other brand AC. My definition of light/lite rock doesn’t include Bruno Mars. SiriusXM’s “The Bridge” (mostly 70s, some 60s, some 80s mellow/folk rock) is what defines the term for me.
Obviously WLRQ didn’t sound anything like The Bridge. But for their core listeners, I suppose a Bruno Mars is today’s equivalent of a Paul Simon. I guess it’s more about the overall sound of the songs and not a type of music that’s tied to the past. And so it goes.
I was first aware of The Space Coast and especially Cocoa & Cocoa Beach from the “I Dream of Jeannie” 60s’s TV series. It looked like a cool place to live when I was a kid, even though the series was filmed in Hollywood. When we visited Cocoa Beach for an anniversary weekend, it had a Fort Lauderdale vibe so I was not surprised of the young median age there. I was only there that one time but I liked it a lot.
At one of the restaurants, the background music was similar to “The Bridge” but had some jazz crossover to it. This would have been artists like Steely Dan, Earth, Wind & Fire, George Benson, Chicago etc. Al Jarreau’s “We’re In This Love Together” came on and I was in heaven. It was the perfect song for that special moment. I have an incredible memory of songs and I’ve often tied them to life events.
That song from 1981 will not only remind me of the good times of Cocoa Beach, but to the soundtrack that was South Florida in the early 80’s. I’ve experienced a lot of music and radio in my life. But in my view, early 80s radio sounded so incredible. That may not have been the case for you as it depends on your age and where radio was home. If you lived in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale back then, you'd understand why.
That concludes our radio analysis of The Space Coast. It’s time to take a little detour on our ratings journey across Florida. I sense we need to "break format" just a bit. Let’s call it an unscheduled stop. That will be next.
Nash is Cumulus’ own brand. The brand launched in 2013 in New York City of all places. I recall the radio boards talked a lot about that event. Eventually, other Cumulus properties adopted the brand, especially those offering modern country. Some brands were strong enough to not make the switch but carried the programing and some of the personalities instead.
The station’s local personality, Eric Deniro, is a native Floridian born in Cape Canaveral Hospital. According to his bio, he is 79 and has been an on and off radio personality for nearly 70 years in Brevard County/The Space Coast. Amazing. While I wouldn’t think a 9 year old could be hired for a radio job, I bet he was interviewed live on the radio. That was a fairly common event years ago, especially in smaller markets. A new store or a big sale was happening, and there was radio talking to people live.
The #1 station in Melbourne-Cocoa-Titusville is an AC format. WLRQ-FM (Lite Rock 99.3) (Brevard’s Official At Work Station) This station goes back at fourth at #1 with Cumulus’ Classic Hits WSBH-FM. There’s a live/local morning show (Mike and Mindy) and a PM drive show. (Ken Holiday) He’s been associated with the Space Coast/Melbourne area since 1979 and is high up the iHeartMedia food chain.
I found the “Lite Rock” brand an interesting name. What I heard was typical AC titles that could have been featured on any other brand AC. My definition of light/lite rock doesn’t include Bruno Mars. SiriusXM’s “The Bridge” (mostly 70s, some 60s, some 80s mellow/folk rock) is what defines the term for me.
Obviously WLRQ didn’t sound anything like The Bridge. But for their core listeners, I suppose a Bruno Mars is today’s equivalent of a Paul Simon. I guess it’s more about the overall sound of the songs and not a type of music that’s tied to the past. And so it goes.
I was first aware of The Space Coast and especially Cocoa & Cocoa Beach from the “I Dream of Jeannie” 60s’s TV series. It looked like a cool place to live when I was a kid, even though the series was filmed in Hollywood. When we visited Cocoa Beach for an anniversary weekend, it had a Fort Lauderdale vibe so I was not surprised of the young median age there. I was only there that one time but I liked it a lot.
At one of the restaurants, the background music was similar to “The Bridge” but had some jazz crossover to it. This would have been artists like Steely Dan, Earth, Wind & Fire, George Benson, Chicago etc. Al Jarreau’s “We’re In This Love Together” came on and I was in heaven. It was the perfect song for that special moment. I have an incredible memory of songs and I’ve often tied them to life events.
That song from 1981 will not only remind me of the good times of Cocoa Beach, but to the soundtrack that was South Florida in the early 80’s. I’ve experienced a lot of music and radio in my life. But in my view, early 80s radio sounded so incredible. That may not have been the case for you as it depends on your age and where radio was home. If you lived in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale back then, you'd understand why.
That concludes our radio analysis of The Space Coast. It’s time to take a little detour on our ratings journey across Florida. I sense we need to "break format" just a bit. Let’s call it an unscheduled stop. That will be next.
We’ve been taking a look at various radio markets starting with the biggest #11 Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood and moving in descending ranking order. Our last market was the 12[SUP]th[/SUP] discussed, #102 Melbourne-Cocoa-Titusville. We’re coming down to the homestretch with only 4 markets to go.
As I looked at the Nielsen ratings for Florida radio markets, I realized Key West and The Florida Keys weren’t included. Why is that? Maybe it’s based on population? So, I thought this would be a bit of a change of pace and a learning experience to look at radio in the Florida Keys.
The Florida Keys and Key West are in Monroe County. According to recent U.S. census data, there is an estimated population of 76,636 with a growth rate of -0.45%. I believe this is the first county we have come across that is not only not growing but is losing residents. Key West’s population is just over 24,000.
Monroe County is also on the mainland in S.W. Florida, south of Naples/Marco Island. Besides Everglades’s tours and air-boat rides, there’s not much there in population. The median age of Monroe County is 46.7. The median age of Key West is 41. The median age of Key Largo in the Upper Keys is 52.9.
When I checked out Radio-Locator.com I was surprised to find 39 radio stations that may be within distant listening range of Key West. I was thinking the entire Keys and Monroe County would have around that number of FM stations given the sparse population. Seems like there are way more radio stations than needed.
In trying to find ratings of any kind, I came upon a classic hits station with the calls WWUS-FM and the branding “The Florida Keys Radio Station.” This is a 100,000 watt station. On a cached page it said at the bottom of the page “US-1 Radio has been the most listened to radio station in the Florida Keys since 1989!” http://www.us1radio.com/twif.cfm
That would imply the result of ratings or maybe it’s hype, I have no idea. At any rate, we’re off and running. Whatever measurements are in place, it would be nice to know. Hopefully, this venture into the Keys will prove to be a good little detour. More to come.
As I looked at the Nielsen ratings for Florida radio markets, I realized Key West and The Florida Keys weren’t included. Why is that? Maybe it’s based on population? So, I thought this would be a bit of a change of pace and a learning experience to look at radio in the Florida Keys.
The Florida Keys and Key West are in Monroe County. According to recent U.S. census data, there is an estimated population of 76,636 with a growth rate of -0.45%. I believe this is the first county we have come across that is not only not growing but is losing residents. Key West’s population is just over 24,000.
Monroe County is also on the mainland in S.W. Florida, south of Naples/Marco Island. Besides Everglades’s tours and air-boat rides, there’s not much there in population. The median age of Monroe County is 46.7. The median age of Key West is 41. The median age of Key Largo in the Upper Keys is 52.9.
When I checked out Radio-Locator.com I was surprised to find 39 radio stations that may be within distant listening range of Key West. I was thinking the entire Keys and Monroe County would have around that number of FM stations given the sparse population. Seems like there are way more radio stations than needed.
In trying to find ratings of any kind, I came upon a classic hits station with the calls WWUS-FM and the branding “The Florida Keys Radio Station.” This is a 100,000 watt station. On a cached page it said at the bottom of the page “US-1 Radio has been the most listened to radio station in the Florida Keys since 1989!” http://www.us1radio.com/twif.cfm
That would imply the result of ratings or maybe it’s hype, I have no idea. At any rate, we’re off and running. Whatever measurements are in place, it would be nice to know. Hopefully, this venture into the Keys will prove to be a good little detour. More to come.
We continue looking at radio in the Keys where apparently no public published ratings exist. My assumption is there are no subscribers given all the small, local operators. I haven’t come across an iHeart, Cox, Entercom etc, at least not yet.
Based on the info in Radio-Locator.com, I tallied up the FM formats for Key West to include the non-commercial stations. There are 5 religious formats, 1 Christian Contemporary, 2 Public Radio, 1 Top 40, 2 Adult Album Alternative (AAA), 1 Sports, 1 Country, 1 Classic Rock, 1 Classic Hits, 2 Alternative, 1 Dance, 1 Tropical (Spanish)
Whatever mental image you have of Key West, these available formats will either support that image or confuse you more. I’m surprised at all the Religious formats for starters. The image I have of Key West as a party kind of town is probably what’s throwing me a bit. There are no Urban formats. While the Black population is just over 13%, that only equates to just a few thousand people.
There’s also no Adult Contemporary format. But after doing a little digging, I discovered that Florida Keys Media’s 100,000 watt AC/Hot AC WAVK: 97.7 FM - MyFM - "Today's Hits and Yesterdays Favorites" has been temporarily replaced by a Sports format. Sister station 1600 AM WKWF is having repairs done to its transmitter and it can no longer broadcast for the time being.
What that tells me is WAVK is probably not their top performer. Brand interruption is happening but apparently the company considered all their options and this decision made the most sense from a risk perspective. Interestingly, this move was made instead of keeping the AM dark temporarily. 1600 AM WKWF, by the way, is a 500 watt station and the oldest radio station in The Keys going on the air in 1945.
The aforementioned Florida Keys Media appears to be the big player in town. All their FM stations are 100,000 watts. There’s WCNK: 98.7 FM - Conch Country - "Today's Country & Legends." There’s a syndicated morning show Big D & Bubba followed by live, local talent.
There’s Classic Rock WAIL: 99.5 FM - The WAIL - "Rockin the Keys." Apparently their morning show host is a local legend, Bubba Tood, at least he is according to their website.
WEOW: 92.7 FM - WOW 92/7 - "Todays Hit Music" is the obvious CHR or Top 40R. The company sites demographic info such as “Long time morning and afternoon drive host Rude Girl and Bill Bravo anchor this extremely popular station that crosses all demographics.” I previously mentioned the company indicated their classic hits format was the most listened to station on the Keys. This info is coming from somewhere. Perhaps the company does local research in lieu of formal ratings.
Speaking of Classic Hits, there’s WWUS: 104.1 FM - US 1 Radio - "Your Classic Hit Station." This is true to the format given the good variety of genres in the mix. A sister classic rock station I believe benefits WWUS allowing them to not be one note - just rock hits. What’s interesting about this station is they are a part news/talk station too.
They feature a daily morning and PM drive news magazine. While I listened to the station last night, I heard an ABC News feed at the top of the hour. It was brief but something you rarely see. It was a throwback to a time AM Top 40 stations were not all about the music.
Syndicated Tom Kent is on at night. I’ve always liked Tom and the kind of show he delivers. He’s been doing this for many years now. I heard a lot of great music. He injects “local” content in at times. Going automated at night is an option, to me this sounds so much better.
If we had published ratings to look at, I would think many of Florida Keys Media’s stations would be in the Top 5 overall. They’ve got all the major formats pretty much covered and 100,000 watts at each station to boot.
More Key West Radio next.
Based on the info in Radio-Locator.com, I tallied up the FM formats for Key West to include the non-commercial stations. There are 5 religious formats, 1 Christian Contemporary, 2 Public Radio, 1 Top 40, 2 Adult Album Alternative (AAA), 1 Sports, 1 Country, 1 Classic Rock, 1 Classic Hits, 2 Alternative, 1 Dance, 1 Tropical (Spanish)
Whatever mental image you have of Key West, these available formats will either support that image or confuse you more. I’m surprised at all the Religious formats for starters. The image I have of Key West as a party kind of town is probably what’s throwing me a bit. There are no Urban formats. While the Black population is just over 13%, that only equates to just a few thousand people.
There’s also no Adult Contemporary format. But after doing a little digging, I discovered that Florida Keys Media’s 100,000 watt AC/Hot AC WAVK: 97.7 FM - MyFM - "Today's Hits and Yesterdays Favorites" has been temporarily replaced by a Sports format. Sister station 1600 AM WKWF is having repairs done to its transmitter and it can no longer broadcast for the time being.
What that tells me is WAVK is probably not their top performer. Brand interruption is happening but apparently the company considered all their options and this decision made the most sense from a risk perspective. Interestingly, this move was made instead of keeping the AM dark temporarily. 1600 AM WKWF, by the way, is a 500 watt station and the oldest radio station in The Keys going on the air in 1945.
The aforementioned Florida Keys Media appears to be the big player in town. All their FM stations are 100,000 watts. There’s WCNK: 98.7 FM - Conch Country - "Today's Country & Legends." There’s a syndicated morning show Big D & Bubba followed by live, local talent.
There’s Classic Rock WAIL: 99.5 FM - The WAIL - "Rockin the Keys." Apparently their morning show host is a local legend, Bubba Tood, at least he is according to their website.
WEOW: 92.7 FM - WOW 92/7 - "Todays Hit Music" is the obvious CHR or Top 40R. The company sites demographic info such as “Long time morning and afternoon drive host Rude Girl and Bill Bravo anchor this extremely popular station that crosses all demographics.” I previously mentioned the company indicated their classic hits format was the most listened to station on the Keys. This info is coming from somewhere. Perhaps the company does local research in lieu of formal ratings.
Speaking of Classic Hits, there’s WWUS: 104.1 FM - US 1 Radio - "Your Classic Hit Station." This is true to the format given the good variety of genres in the mix. A sister classic rock station I believe benefits WWUS allowing them to not be one note - just rock hits. What’s interesting about this station is they are a part news/talk station too.
They feature a daily morning and PM drive news magazine. While I listened to the station last night, I heard an ABC News feed at the top of the hour. It was brief but something you rarely see. It was a throwback to a time AM Top 40 stations were not all about the music.
Syndicated Tom Kent is on at night. I’ve always liked Tom and the kind of show he delivers. He’s been doing this for many years now. I heard a lot of great music. He injects “local” content in at times. Going automated at night is an option, to me this sounds so much better.
If we had published ratings to look at, I would think many of Florida Keys Media’s stations would be in the Top 5 overall. They’ve got all the major formats pretty much covered and 100,000 watts at each station to boot.
More Key West Radio next.
In virtually every Florida radio market we’ve looked at so far, we’ve seen something unique about each of them. Key West is no exception.
In our Space Coast discussion, we came upon the first AAA format in the state of Florida. In Key West, there is an Adult Album Alternative format. There’s also two Alternative formats. That’s a lot of alternative. I checked out synonyms for the word ‘alternative.’ Different, unusual, unconventional and alternate were among the words I found. Maybe these best define alternative formats too.
Keys Media Company’s AAA WKYZ-FM 101.7 (Pirate Radio Key West) is a 100,000 watt signal that covers the Lower Keys (Key West) and Middle Keys. “Loud, proud, and independent” is a slogan you’ll hear when you stream the station. “New music and rewind classics mixed together” is their message. “The Florida Keys Independent station” is another.
You get the impression this is a one of a kind radio station? Jack Smith is one of the morning show’s co-hosts. He was born into a radio family and has an extensive background in the business of radio as well. It was in August of 2011 when Pirate Radio Key West was born. Apparently, he was instrumental in the creation of what he described as “a true original.”
So there you have it. There’s a library of singers and bands in their website that’s very large. I recognized many of the classic artists but there’s more I never heard of. When you think of Key West, there is a lot of uniqueness to life there. While I don’t have any ratings info to refer to, I have a feeling this station and concept probably has many loyal listeners.
In my previous post, I said there were two AAA formats in Key West. That was not correct. The aforementioned WKYZ also broadcasts on 96.7 via a translator.
Keyed Up Communications Company owns Alternative WIIS-FM 106.9 (Island 106.9) (The Keys New Rock Alternative). At 5700 watts the signal covers the Lower Keys well enough.
The station’s website says “Island 106.9 is the original independent new music station in the Florida Keys. We’re all locally programmed. There’s no corporate programming! We are the first locally owned/independent radio station in Key West.” I suppose that’s a little shot to WKYZ but that’s radio.
There’s a 1000 watt station owned by Butler Broadcast Consultants, LLC. It looks like the format is Alternative and at one time it was Adult Hits. It’s WXKW-FM 104.9 (104.9 The X.) It was in their Facebook page that I got the answer I was seeking regarding no ratings info for The Keys:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/thexkw/about/?ref=page_internal
“Unfortunately there are no Nielsen reports, or Arbitron polls to confirm any listeners in the radio business in Key West. I believe the last one was in 2002, based from Miami asking how many people listened to Florida Keys stations, and the answer was none.”
So, that’s probably some of the answer. It was obvious Nielsen was not measuring The Keys since there were no published ratings. It would have been nice if someone clarified. There's much going on in the news and people are preoccupied. So I'll leave it at that.
It’s off to Key Largo and The Keys wrap up next.
In our Space Coast discussion, we came upon the first AAA format in the state of Florida. In Key West, there is an Adult Album Alternative format. There’s also two Alternative formats. That’s a lot of alternative. I checked out synonyms for the word ‘alternative.’ Different, unusual, unconventional and alternate were among the words I found. Maybe these best define alternative formats too.
Keys Media Company’s AAA WKYZ-FM 101.7 (Pirate Radio Key West) is a 100,000 watt signal that covers the Lower Keys (Key West) and Middle Keys. “Loud, proud, and independent” is a slogan you’ll hear when you stream the station. “New music and rewind classics mixed together” is their message. “The Florida Keys Independent station” is another.
You get the impression this is a one of a kind radio station? Jack Smith is one of the morning show’s co-hosts. He was born into a radio family and has an extensive background in the business of radio as well. It was in August of 2011 when Pirate Radio Key West was born. Apparently, he was instrumental in the creation of what he described as “a true original.”
So there you have it. There’s a library of singers and bands in their website that’s very large. I recognized many of the classic artists but there’s more I never heard of. When you think of Key West, there is a lot of uniqueness to life there. While I don’t have any ratings info to refer to, I have a feeling this station and concept probably has many loyal listeners.
In my previous post, I said there were two AAA formats in Key West. That was not correct. The aforementioned WKYZ also broadcasts on 96.7 via a translator.
Keyed Up Communications Company owns Alternative WIIS-FM 106.9 (Island 106.9) (The Keys New Rock Alternative). At 5700 watts the signal covers the Lower Keys well enough.
The station’s website says “Island 106.9 is the original independent new music station in the Florida Keys. We’re all locally programmed. There’s no corporate programming! We are the first locally owned/independent radio station in Key West.” I suppose that’s a little shot to WKYZ but that’s radio.
There’s a 1000 watt station owned by Butler Broadcast Consultants, LLC. It looks like the format is Alternative and at one time it was Adult Hits. It’s WXKW-FM 104.9 (104.9 The X.) It was in their Facebook page that I got the answer I was seeking regarding no ratings info for The Keys:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/thexkw/about/?ref=page_internal
“Unfortunately there are no Nielsen reports, or Arbitron polls to confirm any listeners in the radio business in Key West. I believe the last one was in 2002, based from Miami asking how many people listened to Florida Keys stations, and the answer was none.”
So, that’s probably some of the answer. It was obvious Nielsen was not measuring The Keys since there were no published ratings. It would have been nice if someone clarified. There's much going on in the news and people are preoccupied. So I'll leave it at that.
It’s off to Key Largo and The Keys wrap up next.
Key Largo, Florida. It’s the first major island and town you come to from the Overseas Highway (U.S. 1). Miami’s around 65 miles away so there’s some Miami stations that can be heard in Key Largo.
For stations, 35 miles or less from Key Largo including non-commercial ones, there’s the following: 2 Spanish Hits, 1 Tropical, 1 Regional Mexican, 1 Classic Rock, 1 Adult Contemporary, 1 Country, 1 Dance, 1 Religious, 2 Christian Contemporary, 1 Jazz.
Noticeably absent is anything Alternative, unlike what we saw in Key West. Like the Lower Keys, there’s no Urban format. Blacks make up less than 2% of Key Largo’s population which is less than 10,000. Similar to Key West, the population is not growing but declining.
While the Hispanic population of Key Largo and Key West are both around 22%, Key Largo offers more rhythmic and Spanish formats. The close proximity to Miami makes Key Largo a good “stay-cation” destination so that must be a factor too, at least during “normal” times.
AC WKLG (Star 102.1) is a 100,000 watt station that is owned by the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce. I don’t believe Chamber ownership is anything I’ve seen elsewhere. When the economy is roaring, I would think they would get a good piece of the local advertising pie.
Florida Keys Media own a couple of the big stations in the Upper Keys. WCTH (100.3 FM - Thunder Country) ("The Best in Country") is 100,000 watts. It serves both South Miami-Dade County and the Upper Keys. Nationally syndicated host Bobby Bones is on in the mornings and Dougie Hitchcock is on in PM drive. He’s been with the station since 2006 and has a long association with South Florida radio.
WFKZ (103.1 FM - The SUN) ("Classic Rock for the Keys") is a 50,000 watt station that features live and local talent. Their PM drive program is called "The Hoebee in the Afternoon Experiment" and is simulcast on their sister country station in Key West, WAIL-FM.
The company also stated in their webpage that their midday host, Joey Naples (The King of Cool), is the #1 show in the Keys. Florida Keys Media has indicated “ratings-like” results for their other stations in Key West too. While there aren’t formal ratings, maybe the company conducts their own surveys.
While not actually a Florida Keys radio station, WDNA-FM is worth a mention. It’s a listener supported/non-commercial station offering a jazz format. 88.9 WDNA (Serious Jazz – Miami). We don’t see too many jazz stations around. WDNA’s 7400 watt signal does cover Key Largo and north. Jazz always seemed like one of a number of soundtracks for South Florida. It would not surprise me if the station has its share of listeners in Key Largo.
So, that concludes our discussion of radio in the Keys. Despite the owner/operators best efforts, I suspect running a station or even cluster there is challenging even before Covid-19. Without ratings, they must sell their stations/formats based on content and reputation. There is some good format longevity there. I wish them well.
We say goodbye to The Keys and literally head to the complete opposite end of the state. Market #125 –Pensacola is next.
For stations, 35 miles or less from Key Largo including non-commercial ones, there’s the following: 2 Spanish Hits, 1 Tropical, 1 Regional Mexican, 1 Classic Rock, 1 Adult Contemporary, 1 Country, 1 Dance, 1 Religious, 2 Christian Contemporary, 1 Jazz.
Noticeably absent is anything Alternative, unlike what we saw in Key West. Like the Lower Keys, there’s no Urban format. Blacks make up less than 2% of Key Largo’s population which is less than 10,000. Similar to Key West, the population is not growing but declining.
While the Hispanic population of Key Largo and Key West are both around 22%, Key Largo offers more rhythmic and Spanish formats. The close proximity to Miami makes Key Largo a good “stay-cation” destination so that must be a factor too, at least during “normal” times.
AC WKLG (Star 102.1) is a 100,000 watt station that is owned by the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce. I don’t believe Chamber ownership is anything I’ve seen elsewhere. When the economy is roaring, I would think they would get a good piece of the local advertising pie.
Florida Keys Media own a couple of the big stations in the Upper Keys. WCTH (100.3 FM - Thunder Country) ("The Best in Country") is 100,000 watts. It serves both South Miami-Dade County and the Upper Keys. Nationally syndicated host Bobby Bones is on in the mornings and Dougie Hitchcock is on in PM drive. He’s been with the station since 2006 and has a long association with South Florida radio.
WFKZ (103.1 FM - The SUN) ("Classic Rock for the Keys") is a 50,000 watt station that features live and local talent. Their PM drive program is called "The Hoebee in the Afternoon Experiment" and is simulcast on their sister country station in Key West, WAIL-FM.
The company also stated in their webpage that their midday host, Joey Naples (The King of Cool), is the #1 show in the Keys. Florida Keys Media has indicated “ratings-like” results for their other stations in Key West too. While there aren’t formal ratings, maybe the company conducts their own surveys.
While not actually a Florida Keys radio station, WDNA-FM is worth a mention. It’s a listener supported/non-commercial station offering a jazz format. 88.9 WDNA (Serious Jazz – Miami). We don’t see too many jazz stations around. WDNA’s 7400 watt signal does cover Key Largo and north. Jazz always seemed like one of a number of soundtracks for South Florida. It would not surprise me if the station has its share of listeners in Key Largo.
So, that concludes our discussion of radio in the Keys. Despite the owner/operators best efforts, I suspect running a station or even cluster there is challenging even before Covid-19. Without ratings, they must sell their stations/formats based on content and reputation. There is some good format longevity there. I wish them well.
We say goodbye to The Keys and literally head to the complete opposite end of the state. Market #125 –Pensacola is next.
Don't Overlook WQCS
John, this entire series has been a delight to read (obviously a labor of love for you!). I'm enjoying learning about the stations in markets around the state, particularly since my four years in Florida have been spent entirely on the Treasure Coast. I wanted to note, however, that in discussing the Fort Pierce market, you should have mentioned WQCS. You've commented on some public radio stations in other markets, and WQCS does rather well in the Nielsens in our neck of the woods, regularly in the top four stations among those surveyed. The station is unique in the market and does offer several locally-produced talk and music programs to complement its NPR and classical music core, which I hope they will retain. Keep up the good work!
John, this entire series has been a delight to read (obviously a labor of love for you!). I'm enjoying learning about the stations in markets around the state, particularly since my four years in Florida have been spent entirely on the Treasure Coast. I wanted to note, however, that in discussing the Fort Pierce market, you should have mentioned WQCS. You've commented on some public radio stations in other markets, and WQCS does rather well in the Nielsens in our neck of the woods, regularly in the top four stations among those surveyed. The station is unique in the market and does offer several locally-produced talk and music programs to complement its NPR and classical music core, which I hope they will retain. Keep up the good work!
Thanks, Alex. I appreciate the feedback.I'm a big fan of NPR and Public Radio in general. I've got WQCS on as a car preset and have talked about the station in the past. So now your post has given WQCS additional credit.
I decided to keep The Treasure Coast market limited to a few pages as I've been doing for all the smaller markets. I'm thinking in a forum such as this, most of the readers live somewhere else, even out of state, than the market that's being discussed. I thought "The Mayor of the Airwaves" segment and 25 years on the air, celebrity, politician interviews etc. showed something unique to the market. So, I spent some time on that instead. I thought that would be something most of the readers would find interesting.
What would be the best if those with a local perspective in these markets contributed to the conversation. Maybe that will come. Sometimes people discover these strings months after they posted.
Market #125 –Pensacola. There’s not much to the ratings report. Apparently there are not many subscribers. Cumulus Media appears to be just about the only player in town but that’s not true.
If the link works, here’s a look: https://ratings.radio-online.com/content/arb317
Population: 429,100. Black: 71,900 (17%). Hispanic: 23,900 (6%). The median age of Pensacola is 40.6. The media age of Escambia County, home to Pensacola, is 38.1.
Radio-locator. Com reports that 54 radio stations may be within distant listening range of Pensacola. Outside of Pensacola and Escambia County, these signals come from Alabama to the west, and Santa Rosa and Okaloosa Counties in Florida to the east.
It’s less than 60 miles between Pensacola and Mobile, Alabama. That’s an entirely different radio market as well, even bigger than Pensacola.
This is the first market we’ve discussed that is in Central Time. It’s amazing how far west Florida actually goes. Trippy.com reports it’s over 830 miles from Key West to Pensacola and over 12 hours in driving. This West Florida community probably identifies more with Alabama than they do Florida. Pensacola is in the Mobile-Pensacola-Fort Walton Beach TV market as well.
At the top of the Pensacola ratings (of subscribing stations) is Cumulus Media’s WJTQ-FM. (Jet 100.7) (Pensacola’s Classic Hits). This is a rock ‘n roll/rock pop/classic rock format and not the variety type we’ve seen in most of Florida. It’s typical of the kind of format and music programing you find in North Florida.
I checked out the station a number of times. One day I heard Maria Danza and remembered her hosting Westwood One’s syndicated oldies format a while back. She’s not listed in the roster of jocks. I’m thinking the programing was a fill-in for an absent jock. As I listened, I realized iHeartMedia has a much better product in their Premium Choice programing. They have made some great improvements. I found Westwood One’s sound was a little uneven.
As I wasn’t sure Maria Danza was still associated with Westwood One, I looked it up on Wikipedia. While it’s not the most reliable source material, I was a quite disturbed at what I found. Westwood One rolled out different versions of classic hits.It is distributed by Cumulus so that’s the obvious connection to WJTQ.
Per Wikipedia “A spin-off format, dubbed "Classic Hits / Rock" by Westwood One, features an anti-disco presentation with no music associated with black artists.” You'd think that would have been written with more sensitivity while expressing the idea the format would be rock oriented. I've always thought of classic hits as Top 40 for adults reflecting a wide variety of hits. I've long believed the format name needed better labeling to signify one being rock oriented and the other more Top 40 for adults.
Anyway, I did find a classic hits station in nearby Alabama that's color-blind. That and more next.
If the link works, here’s a look: https://ratings.radio-online.com/content/arb317
Population: 429,100. Black: 71,900 (17%). Hispanic: 23,900 (6%). The median age of Pensacola is 40.6. The media age of Escambia County, home to Pensacola, is 38.1.
Radio-locator. Com reports that 54 radio stations may be within distant listening range of Pensacola. Outside of Pensacola and Escambia County, these signals come from Alabama to the west, and Santa Rosa and Okaloosa Counties in Florida to the east.
It’s less than 60 miles between Pensacola and Mobile, Alabama. That’s an entirely different radio market as well, even bigger than Pensacola.
This is the first market we’ve discussed that is in Central Time. It’s amazing how far west Florida actually goes. Trippy.com reports it’s over 830 miles from Key West to Pensacola and over 12 hours in driving. This West Florida community probably identifies more with Alabama than they do Florida. Pensacola is in the Mobile-Pensacola-Fort Walton Beach TV market as well.
At the top of the Pensacola ratings (of subscribing stations) is Cumulus Media’s WJTQ-FM. (Jet 100.7) (Pensacola’s Classic Hits). This is a rock ‘n roll/rock pop/classic rock format and not the variety type we’ve seen in most of Florida. It’s typical of the kind of format and music programing you find in North Florida.
I checked out the station a number of times. One day I heard Maria Danza and remembered her hosting Westwood One’s syndicated oldies format a while back. She’s not listed in the roster of jocks. I’m thinking the programing was a fill-in for an absent jock. As I listened, I realized iHeartMedia has a much better product in their Premium Choice programing. They have made some great improvements. I found Westwood One’s sound was a little uneven.
As I wasn’t sure Maria Danza was still associated with Westwood One, I looked it up on Wikipedia. While it’s not the most reliable source material, I was a quite disturbed at what I found. Westwood One rolled out different versions of classic hits.It is distributed by Cumulus so that’s the obvious connection to WJTQ.
Per Wikipedia “A spin-off format, dubbed "Classic Hits / Rock" by Westwood One, features an anti-disco presentation with no music associated with black artists.” You'd think that would have been written with more sensitivity while expressing the idea the format would be rock oriented. I've always thought of classic hits as Top 40 for adults reflecting a wide variety of hits. I've long believed the format name needed better labeling to signify one being rock oriented and the other more Top 40 for adults.
Anyway, I did find a classic hits station in nearby Alabama that's color-blind. That and more next.
Last edited:
Cumulus has an AC in their cluster. This is WMEZ-FM (Today’s Soft Rock 94.1). It’s trended down to the 2 shares in the latest book. This is the second AC station we’ve come across that uses the Soft Rock branding. Still, it’s typical AC fare. I don’t understand the Soft Rock designation. Perhaps soft rock is thought to convey a more positive image among younger listeners.
John Tesh is syndicated talent on at night. I never understood the popularity of his show and all that “Intelligence For Your Life” ramblings. He’s on quite a lot of stations so he must be doing something right. While I understand, I am not the target demo; that presentation style has remained the same for years. His wife Connie is also on with the same ramblings and approach. No thanks.
Urban AC WRRX-FM (Magic 106.1) (The Classic Soul Station) looked promising. The station earns average 3 shares. There is no resemblance to SiriusXM’s “Soul Town.” For commercial radio, a 70s focused station is just a thing of the past but it was an incredible decade for that genre.
There are contemporary songs in the mix so the brand is a little misleading. The classics are more along the lines of Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” and TLC’s “Waterfalls.” Both are fantastic songs that can be heard on variety-based classic hits stations and most AC today.
News/Talk 1370 WCOA-AM appears to be trending up to almost a 4 share. Diary markets are at a disadvantage but I would think the next book will see WCOA trend even higher with news taking center stage more than ever. Interestingly, their conservative syndicated talk line-up has what looks like weird start and end time. Rush Limbaugh is on 11 AM – 2 PM and Sean Hannity from 2PM – 5 PM. All one hour earlier because the market is in Central Time.
Cumulus’ WXBM (102.7 WXBM) (Your Country Station) is 100,000 watts that covers the western Florida Panhandle into Mobile Alabama. Despite the great signal, the station in the latest book is earning low 2 shares. There’s an over-saturation of the format. I counted four country formats with a 35 miles range of Pensacola. There’s more beyond that. But, I suppose if revenue is within norms, that's what matters. This isn’t the only market we see that situation of more than 3 country stations.
iHeart’s Active Rock/Progressive Rock WTKX-FM (TK101) (The Gulf Coast’s Rock Station) is often #1 overall in Pensacola. In 2014 the station studio's and broadcast center was moved to Mobile, Alabama to be consolidated with other iHeartmedia facilities. Apparently, the station has performed so well in Pensacola that in early 2020, WTKX opened a downtown Pensacola office and studios.
Interestingly, WTKX doesn’t show up in Mobile’s ratings, despite 100,000 watts and a signal that is local in both Pensacola, Florida and Mobile, Alabama. Within 35 miles of Pensacola, there’s another rock station and one classic rock that don’t subscribe to Nielsen. WTKX has been a rock radio station for over 33 years as it was established in 1987.
Syndicated “Lex & Terry” are in morning drive. I first heard them in 1997 in Jacksonville and didn’t think they were that good. But, individual tastes in syndicated personalities varies. It would appear Lex & Terry perform well for WTKX given its numbers.
There’s one more station I’d like to discuss as well as a wrap-up for Pensacola. That’s next.
John Tesh is syndicated talent on at night. I never understood the popularity of his show and all that “Intelligence For Your Life” ramblings. He’s on quite a lot of stations so he must be doing something right. While I understand, I am not the target demo; that presentation style has remained the same for years. His wife Connie is also on with the same ramblings and approach. No thanks.
Urban AC WRRX-FM (Magic 106.1) (The Classic Soul Station) looked promising. The station earns average 3 shares. There is no resemblance to SiriusXM’s “Soul Town.” For commercial radio, a 70s focused station is just a thing of the past but it was an incredible decade for that genre.
There are contemporary songs in the mix so the brand is a little misleading. The classics are more along the lines of Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” and TLC’s “Waterfalls.” Both are fantastic songs that can be heard on variety-based classic hits stations and most AC today.
News/Talk 1370 WCOA-AM appears to be trending up to almost a 4 share. Diary markets are at a disadvantage but I would think the next book will see WCOA trend even higher with news taking center stage more than ever. Interestingly, their conservative syndicated talk line-up has what looks like weird start and end time. Rush Limbaugh is on 11 AM – 2 PM and Sean Hannity from 2PM – 5 PM. All one hour earlier because the market is in Central Time.
Cumulus’ WXBM (102.7 WXBM) (Your Country Station) is 100,000 watts that covers the western Florida Panhandle into Mobile Alabama. Despite the great signal, the station in the latest book is earning low 2 shares. There’s an over-saturation of the format. I counted four country formats with a 35 miles range of Pensacola. There’s more beyond that. But, I suppose if revenue is within norms, that's what matters. This isn’t the only market we see that situation of more than 3 country stations.
iHeart’s Active Rock/Progressive Rock WTKX-FM (TK101) (The Gulf Coast’s Rock Station) is often #1 overall in Pensacola. In 2014 the station studio's and broadcast center was moved to Mobile, Alabama to be consolidated with other iHeartmedia facilities. Apparently, the station has performed so well in Pensacola that in early 2020, WTKX opened a downtown Pensacola office and studios.
Interestingly, WTKX doesn’t show up in Mobile’s ratings, despite 100,000 watts and a signal that is local in both Pensacola, Florida and Mobile, Alabama. Within 35 miles of Pensacola, there’s another rock station and one classic rock that don’t subscribe to Nielsen. WTKX has been a rock radio station for over 33 years as it was established in 1987.
Syndicated “Lex & Terry” are in morning drive. I first heard them in 1997 in Jacksonville and didn’t think they were that good. But, individual tastes in syndicated personalities varies. It would appear Lex & Terry perform well for WTKX given its numbers.
There’s one more station I’d like to discuss as well as a wrap-up for Pensacola. That’s next.
WCSN-FM (Sunny 105.7) is listed as a classic hits station in a number of sources. To me, it’s more along the lines of a Variety Hits/Adult Hits format but it doesn’t really matter. In fact they don’t use those very tiresome liners of playing anything or playing everything. But in many respects, they do.
The station is owned by Gulf Coast Broadcasting Company and its 5000 watt stick is in Orange Beach, Alabama. As I’ve been highlighting unique stations throughout this topic, I thought I would close the Pensacola market with this station.
Sunny 105.7 is branded as “The Voice of Paradise.” That conveys an incredible image given the station serves the Gulf Coast of Alabama and even into Florida. To me, the station represents the quintessential definition of a small radio station in a small town that isn’t conventional. I give them high marks for effort. Some of their taglines are: “The soundtrack of fun.” “Home of the super hits.” “The most music and the best variety.”
It’s a distant signal in Pensacola but the station does mention the city as well as others in the top of the hour I.D. While the station is no threat to Cumulus’ Classic Hits WJTQ (Jet 100.7) it’s great when other options are available to listeners.
On Sundays, 5 hours of 60s and 70s music with a few 50s thrown in for good measure is offered. Anita Blackburn’s syndicated “Absolute 80s” is on the schedule. On Sunday evening “Sounds of the Island” features “the best of local artists.” The station also peppers the playlist with songs of summer. Out of the blue you can hear songs like Martha and The Vandellas’ “Heatwave” or “Summer in the City” by The Lovin’ Spoonful.
Here’s a little more than an hour of the music I heard in exact order. Interestingly, there are no 70s or 90s represented here but I have heard 90s in other times I listened. The 70s are probably mostly heard during their oldies specialty feature. It’s refreshing to see stations like this still exist.
Barring additional comments from the galley, this brings a close to Pensacola. It’s off to Market 160 – Tallahassee is next.
The station is owned by Gulf Coast Broadcasting Company and its 5000 watt stick is in Orange Beach, Alabama. As I’ve been highlighting unique stations throughout this topic, I thought I would close the Pensacola market with this station.
Sunny 105.7 is branded as “The Voice of Paradise.” That conveys an incredible image given the station serves the Gulf Coast of Alabama and even into Florida. To me, the station represents the quintessential definition of a small radio station in a small town that isn’t conventional. I give them high marks for effort. Some of their taglines are: “The soundtrack of fun.” “Home of the super hits.” “The most music and the best variety.”
It’s a distant signal in Pensacola but the station does mention the city as well as others in the top of the hour I.D. While the station is no threat to Cumulus’ Classic Hits WJTQ (Jet 100.7) it’s great when other options are available to listeners.
On Sundays, 5 hours of 60s and 70s music with a few 50s thrown in for good measure is offered. Anita Blackburn’s syndicated “Absolute 80s” is on the schedule. On Sunday evening “Sounds of the Island” features “the best of local artists.” The station also peppers the playlist with songs of summer. Out of the blue you can hear songs like Martha and The Vandellas’ “Heatwave” or “Summer in the City” by The Lovin’ Spoonful.
Here’s a little more than an hour of the music I heard in exact order. Interestingly, there are no 70s or 90s represented here but I have heard 90s in other times I listened. The 70s are probably mostly heard during their oldies specialty feature. It’s refreshing to see stations like this still exist.
| Smuggler’s Blues | Glenn Frey | 1985 |
| Another One Bites The Dust | Queen | 1980 |
| Here I Go Again | Whitesnake | 1987 |
| No Parking On The Dance Floor | Midnight Star | 1983 |
| Kryptonite | 3 Doors Down | 2000 |
| Satisfaction | Rolling Stones | 1965 |
| I Wanna Be Your Lover | Prince | 1980 |
| Money For Nothing | Dire Straits | 1985 |
| Love Shack | B-52’s | 1989 |
| (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life | Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes | 1987 |
| Crazy | Gnarles Barkley | 2006 |
| What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy) | Information Society | 1988 |
| Winning | Santana | 1981 |
| Keep Your Head Up | Andy Grammer | 2012 |
| Authority Song | John Mellencamp | 1984 |
| Need Your Tonight | Inxs | 1988 |
Barring additional comments from the galley, this brings a close to Pensacola. It’s off to Market 160 – Tallahassee is next.
Market #160, Tallahassee, Florida. We are back in the Eastern Time zone. Tallahassee is Florida’s capital. It’s also home to (FSU) Florida State University. That brings a unique perspective to the market and one we saw in our discussion of Gainesville-Ocala.
Population: 287,300. Black: 84,600 (29%). Hispanic: 17,800 (6%). The median age of Tallahassee is a youthful 26.8. Tallahassee is located in Leon County and media age there is 30.7. I believe this is the youngest demos we’ve seen in all the markets we’ve analyzed. Here are the ratings if you want to follow along:
https://ratings.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb333
According to Radio-Locator.com, there are 50 radio stations that may be within distant listening range of Tallahassee. An interesting quirk to this market is the makeup of the non-commercial stations. FSU owns 5 radio stations with these format designations: 2 Public Radio, 1 College, and 2 Classical.
The not surprisingly named WFSU-FM has been a part of the Tallahassee radio scene for over 50 years. The news/talk station not only serves the greater Tallahassee area on 88.9 but to Panama City to the west on 89.1. WFSU-FM is 3rd or 4th in the market so it's quite popular. On 91.5, WFSQ-FM (Tallahassee)/90.7 WFSL-FM (Thomasville, Georgia) listeners will find Classical music and music programs 24 hours a day.
Florida A&M University manages an Urban Contemporary format that differs from the norm. WANM (90.5 FM) (The Flava Station). What a great brand! It shouts diversity! The format is a mixed bag that includes Gospel, R&B and "Old School," Neo-Soul, Hip-Hop, Reggae, and Jazz. It’s only a 1600 watt station but according to the school, the station has a large and diverse listening audience.
Speaking of Urban formats, Cumulus Media has a lock on the two biggest stations in the market. WHBX-FM (96.1 Jamz) is an Urban AC, often with double-digit shares on the top of the heap. It’s a 37,000 watt station Cumulus purchased in 1997. There’s a Westwood One syndicated morning show “Rick and Sasha.”
Middays is local and nice to see. Joe Bullard is considered a radio institution in Tallahassee. He’s been in radio since 1972 starting in Tallahassee for 15 years, on to Columbia Music for 14, then back to Tallahassee in 2001. Since 1976, he’s been the “The Voice of the FAMU Marching 100.” This is a marching band at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee. Kudos to Joe Bullard for his tenure!
Adams Radio Group has a four-station cluster in Tallahassee. They are a small operator with stations in Indiana, New Mexico, and Maryland. Their corporate offices are in Minnesota. Their “culture statement” reads as follows: “The Adams Radio Group embrace the core values of local radio. Each of our markets is live, local and focused to super serve the advertising client and the listener." Wonderful.
This looks like an interesting small company to explore so we'll take a look at their Tallahassee stations next.
Population: 287,300. Black: 84,600 (29%). Hispanic: 17,800 (6%). The median age of Tallahassee is a youthful 26.8. Tallahassee is located in Leon County and media age there is 30.7. I believe this is the youngest demos we’ve seen in all the markets we’ve analyzed. Here are the ratings if you want to follow along:
https://ratings.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb333
According to Radio-Locator.com, there are 50 radio stations that may be within distant listening range of Tallahassee. An interesting quirk to this market is the makeup of the non-commercial stations. FSU owns 5 radio stations with these format designations: 2 Public Radio, 1 College, and 2 Classical.
The not surprisingly named WFSU-FM has been a part of the Tallahassee radio scene for over 50 years. The news/talk station not only serves the greater Tallahassee area on 88.9 but to Panama City to the west on 89.1. WFSU-FM is 3rd or 4th in the market so it's quite popular. On 91.5, WFSQ-FM (Tallahassee)/90.7 WFSL-FM (Thomasville, Georgia) listeners will find Classical music and music programs 24 hours a day.
Florida A&M University manages an Urban Contemporary format that differs from the norm. WANM (90.5 FM) (The Flava Station). What a great brand! It shouts diversity! The format is a mixed bag that includes Gospel, R&B and "Old School," Neo-Soul, Hip-Hop, Reggae, and Jazz. It’s only a 1600 watt station but according to the school, the station has a large and diverse listening audience.
Speaking of Urban formats, Cumulus Media has a lock on the two biggest stations in the market. WHBX-FM (96.1 Jamz) is an Urban AC, often with double-digit shares on the top of the heap. It’s a 37,000 watt station Cumulus purchased in 1997. There’s a Westwood One syndicated morning show “Rick and Sasha.”
Middays is local and nice to see. Joe Bullard is considered a radio institution in Tallahassee. He’s been in radio since 1972 starting in Tallahassee for 15 years, on to Columbia Music for 14, then back to Tallahassee in 2001. Since 1976, he’s been the “The Voice of the FAMU Marching 100.” This is a marching band at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee. Kudos to Joe Bullard for his tenure!
Adams Radio Group has a four-station cluster in Tallahassee. They are a small operator with stations in Indiana, New Mexico, and Maryland. Their corporate offices are in Minnesota. Their “culture statement” reads as follows: “The Adams Radio Group embrace the core values of local radio. Each of our markets is live, local and focused to super serve the advertising client and the listener." Wonderful.
This looks like an interesting small company to explore so we'll take a look at their Tallahassee stations next.
If there is one constant in the many markets analyzed here, it’s that CHR/Top 40 is not the leader of the pack in Florida. The only market where Top 40 showed good popularity was in Southwest Florida – Market #57 – Ft. Myers-Naples. To refresh your memory, both a Top 40M and a Top 40R are in the Top 5. Another Top 40R wasn’t far behind.
Tallahassee is behaving typical of the majority of markets we’ve discussed, despite the incredibly young demos. Adams Radio Group’s Top 40 WHTF-FM (Hot 104.9) (Tallahassee’s Hit Music Station) is in 9[SUP]th[/SUP] place overall slightly ahead of iHeartMedia’s 10[SUP]th[/SUP] place Top 40M WGMY-FM (107.1 KISS FM). WHTF has a 47,000 watt signal.
Syndicated Elvis Duran holds down AM drive as he does on many iHeart Top 40’s. Interestingly, Ryan Seacrest is not on the schedule. But he’s on ARG’s Hot 104.9 with the syndicated weekly AT 40 feature. WGMY’s signal has the advantage at 100,000 watts.
The “Hot” brand is often associated with Urban formats. Perhaps, it's a bit unusual to see it used for Top 40 and not the rhythmic kind. Given the diversity on campus, I suspect a Top 40R may have merits.
Adams Radio Group’s biggest player in 5[SUP]th[/SUP] place is a country format. 51,000 watt WWOF-FM (103.1 The Wolf). Their morning show (Cash & Casey) is live and local. IHeartMedia’s WTNT-FM (94.9 TNT) (Tallahassee’s #1 for new country) is The Wolf’s competition. TNT is also 51,000 watts so it’s an even playing field there. Smaller companies are often at a disadvantage signal-wise. TNT appears to be syndicated jocks only as I’ve seen them elsewhere.
There’s also a LPFM classic country in the market (WDXD-FM) at 101.9. (Big-D Country) (Tallahassee’s Hometown Station) The station is listener supported and run by Alan McCall. For those who frequent the North Florida board, his name may be familiar as he once posted there a lot.
Adams’ other properties are an oldies format (WQTL-FM) and an Adult Hits format (WXTY-FM). Both stations are usually found toward the bottom of the ratings report. Both formats don’t enjoy the best signals. WQTL (KOOL Oldies 106.1) is at 2,250 watts and WXTY (Tally 99.9) is at 5,500 watts. WXTY features a lot of overlap songs with Cumulus’ rock-oriented Classic Hits WGLF-FM.
Ironically, WQTL was once a variety-based classic hits station (Tallahassee’s Greatest Hits). That lasted three years. That was given up for the oldies format in a market that skews very young. Okay. I suppose if it's able to be sold, that's what counts.
Adams’ Adult Hits format was once branded as Hank-FM. In 2018, the brand name was changed to “Tally 99.9.” When the change occurred management said “We believe that Tally 99.9 better positions our station as the at work station. The Hank-FM brand created confusion with the listener.” If the intent was to create appeal for an at work station, perhaps Soft AC is an option. The market only has a Hot AC.
More Tallahassee and the market wrap-up on the way.
Tallahassee is behaving typical of the majority of markets we’ve discussed, despite the incredibly young demos. Adams Radio Group’s Top 40 WHTF-FM (Hot 104.9) (Tallahassee’s Hit Music Station) is in 9[SUP]th[/SUP] place overall slightly ahead of iHeartMedia’s 10[SUP]th[/SUP] place Top 40M WGMY-FM (107.1 KISS FM). WHTF has a 47,000 watt signal.
Syndicated Elvis Duran holds down AM drive as he does on many iHeart Top 40’s. Interestingly, Ryan Seacrest is not on the schedule. But he’s on ARG’s Hot 104.9 with the syndicated weekly AT 40 feature. WGMY’s signal has the advantage at 100,000 watts.
The “Hot” brand is often associated with Urban formats. Perhaps, it's a bit unusual to see it used for Top 40 and not the rhythmic kind. Given the diversity on campus, I suspect a Top 40R may have merits.
Adams Radio Group’s biggest player in 5[SUP]th[/SUP] place is a country format. 51,000 watt WWOF-FM (103.1 The Wolf). Their morning show (Cash & Casey) is live and local. IHeartMedia’s WTNT-FM (94.9 TNT) (Tallahassee’s #1 for new country) is The Wolf’s competition. TNT is also 51,000 watts so it’s an even playing field there. Smaller companies are often at a disadvantage signal-wise. TNT appears to be syndicated jocks only as I’ve seen them elsewhere.
There’s also a LPFM classic country in the market (WDXD-FM) at 101.9. (Big-D Country) (Tallahassee’s Hometown Station) The station is listener supported and run by Alan McCall. For those who frequent the North Florida board, his name may be familiar as he once posted there a lot.
Adams’ other properties are an oldies format (WQTL-FM) and an Adult Hits format (WXTY-FM). Both stations are usually found toward the bottom of the ratings report. Both formats don’t enjoy the best signals. WQTL (KOOL Oldies 106.1) is at 2,250 watts and WXTY (Tally 99.9) is at 5,500 watts. WXTY features a lot of overlap songs with Cumulus’ rock-oriented Classic Hits WGLF-FM.
Ironically, WQTL was once a variety-based classic hits station (Tallahassee’s Greatest Hits). That lasted three years. That was given up for the oldies format in a market that skews very young. Okay. I suppose if it's able to be sold, that's what counts.
Adams’ Adult Hits format was once branded as Hank-FM. In 2018, the brand name was changed to “Tally 99.9.” When the change occurred management said “We believe that Tally 99.9 better positions our station as the at work station. The Hank-FM brand created confusion with the listener.” If the intent was to create appeal for an at work station, perhaps Soft AC is an option. The market only has a Hot AC.
More Tallahassee and the market wrap-up on the way.
It’s probably been said at least a half-dozen times in this string that diary markets are at a disadvantage compared to their PPM market counterparts. There’s a good deal of ratings conversation going on right now, not here, but in the PPM markets.
For example, the recently released New York City ratings cover the period of April 23- May 20. The Tallahassee ratings we’ve been referring to represent the Fall of 2019 and were reported on January 24. It’s like everything has changed since that time. The economy was firing on all cylinders breaking all kinds of records. People were living normal lives. Kids were off to school and mom & dad were at work. Masks were for Halloween and eating out was the norm.
WFLA-FM is an iHeartMedia News/talk station. It’s “currently” in 6[SUP]th[/SUP] place in diary ratings for Tallahassee. Yes, we’ve seen those calls before in this string. WFLA-AM is in the Tampa and in the Sarasota radio markets too via translators etc. News/talk formats showed significant audience increases during the Pandemic. Perhaps there’s some leveling off now in the PPM markets but will probably rebound next time due to all the riots and protests over George Floyd’s senseless killing. The PPM reporting is almost real-time. That’s a clear advantage.
In July, there will be an updated ratings report for Tallahassee. I’ll be curious to see if some of the results we’ve seen and experienced in the PPM markets manifest on diary ratings. It may be comparing apples to oranges though. The PPM is far more accurate and the reasons are obvious.
There is an AC/Hot AC in Tallahassee. This is Cumulus’ WBZE-FM (Star 98.9) (A better variety of music from the 80’s, 90’s and today) In the PPM markets there was a decline in listening for the format and it’s easy to see why. Restaurants and “non-essential” stores and businesses were closed. There was work from home or getting laid off. Radio listening significantly changed. There was less exposure to AC.
I believe there are formats in diary markets that probably would perform better in the PPM. AC is one of them. In the PPM markets those who would not ordinarily listen to an AC format are exposed to it at work, a business or a restaurant etc., so the station gets credit for “listening.”
But in the diary market, let’s say you are a rock fan and regularly listen to iHeartMedia’s WXSR-FM, will you pay enough attention to jot down each station you hear in your normal day? I find it hard to imagine anyone would be that accurate or go through the effort. I suspect most people tune out background music unless they hear a song they really like. Maybe then they would hear the station's brand and jot it down. It doesn't seem like typical behavior though.
Those in radio management currently in a diary market who get promoted into a PPM market would probably need training of some kind so they can be successful. Diary markets have their challenges and PPM markets have their oddities too. It’s the business of radio.
This concludes the analysis of radio in Tallahassee, the Cliffs Notes version. Every market has a lot of radio history. I have a feeling Tallahassee has more than its share being the state capital. Having those participate who have/had a local perspective in the many markets brought up could have made this subject far more interesting. We’ve got just two more markets to go and then it’s our grand finale.
For example, the recently released New York City ratings cover the period of April 23- May 20. The Tallahassee ratings we’ve been referring to represent the Fall of 2019 and were reported on January 24. It’s like everything has changed since that time. The economy was firing on all cylinders breaking all kinds of records. People were living normal lives. Kids were off to school and mom & dad were at work. Masks were for Halloween and eating out was the norm.
WFLA-FM is an iHeartMedia News/talk station. It’s “currently” in 6[SUP]th[/SUP] place in diary ratings for Tallahassee. Yes, we’ve seen those calls before in this string. WFLA-AM is in the Tampa and in the Sarasota radio markets too via translators etc. News/talk formats showed significant audience increases during the Pandemic. Perhaps there’s some leveling off now in the PPM markets but will probably rebound next time due to all the riots and protests over George Floyd’s senseless killing. The PPM reporting is almost real-time. That’s a clear advantage.
In July, there will be an updated ratings report for Tallahassee. I’ll be curious to see if some of the results we’ve seen and experienced in the PPM markets manifest on diary ratings. It may be comparing apples to oranges though. The PPM is far more accurate and the reasons are obvious.
There is an AC/Hot AC in Tallahassee. This is Cumulus’ WBZE-FM (Star 98.9) (A better variety of music from the 80’s, 90’s and today) In the PPM markets there was a decline in listening for the format and it’s easy to see why. Restaurants and “non-essential” stores and businesses were closed. There was work from home or getting laid off. Radio listening significantly changed. There was less exposure to AC.
I believe there are formats in diary markets that probably would perform better in the PPM. AC is one of them. In the PPM markets those who would not ordinarily listen to an AC format are exposed to it at work, a business or a restaurant etc., so the station gets credit for “listening.”
But in the diary market, let’s say you are a rock fan and regularly listen to iHeartMedia’s WXSR-FM, will you pay enough attention to jot down each station you hear in your normal day? I find it hard to imagine anyone would be that accurate or go through the effort. I suspect most people tune out background music unless they hear a song they really like. Maybe then they would hear the station's brand and jot it down. It doesn't seem like typical behavior though.
Those in radio management currently in a diary market who get promoted into a PPM market would probably need training of some kind so they can be successful. Diary markets have their challenges and PPM markets have their oddities too. It’s the business of radio.
This concludes the analysis of radio in Tallahassee, the Cliffs Notes version. Every market has a lot of radio history. I have a feeling Tallahassee has more than its share being the state capital. Having those participate who have/had a local perspective in the many markets brought up could have made this subject far more interesting. We’ve got just two more markets to go and then it’s our grand finale.
Work brought me to Tallahassee and parts of the Panhandle, including Pensacola. Fort Walton Beach and our final destination Panama City were not on our agenda to visit.
When we wrapped things up in Pensacola and started the trek home, some of us expressed an interest in checking out Fort Walton Beach. Most of us never set foot there but we heard positives about the community. Virtually any travel site, surveys, and brochures proclaimed Fort Walton Beach to be #1, the best beach, the most beautiful etc. So, we were curious.
After spending several hours there, our impression was that the area was okay and a nice place to visit. But it certainly it wasn’t the best beach we ever saw. I learned that day the importance of effective marketing. It gets your attention for starters and that can bring in the business. Radio seeks to get the (P1) listeners' attention too. How that happens depends a lot on the company and their resources.
And so as I think of diary markets vs. the PPM, I have noticed methods of operations between the large companies and small ownership do have differences. I’ve been highlighting smaller company clusters throughout this string. It’s not to infer they are better but they offer another listener alternative. That’s probably a way to get noticed too. Researching these various markets has been a learning experience.
This is what I have discovered. The large and small companies that operate in diary markets have different approaches but the objective is the same. It’s to make favorable impressions on listeners so they remember you in a diary ratings mention.
The big companies have their nationally syndicated programs and jocks. A good deal of money goes into their music testing. There’s usually at least one local talent who is the face of the station participating in community events. But they have a talent roster that’s in the PPM too and so there’s always fine tuning. While the mom & pop operators look like they put forth more efforts, that's really what we see from a local perspective. The format that rolls out in a smaller market by a big company has had lots of efforts put in to it as well. Most of the heavy lifting is done elsewhere.
The mom & pop operators will often create their own in-house playlist, sometimes there is a service they use. Talent can come from the local community or from a bigger market. With so many displaced broadcasters, a gig away from the big city pressures is not uncommon. There’s many possibilities. Sometimes the small operator dominates, sometimes the big operator does. It's been interesting to check out.
In Fort Walton Beach “Community Broadcasters” appear to be doing well. Here’s the ratings link for Fort Walton Beach-Destin: https://ratings.radio-online.com/content/arb391
The median age in Fort Walton Beach is 40.2 years, 37.3 years for males, and 43.5 years for females. Fort Walton Beach is in Okaloosa County and the median age is 36.8. Info for entire market: Population: 235,600. Black: 21,600 (9%). Hispanic: 18,100 (8%).
While iHeartMedia has a few stations in the ratings, they are not local stations. Cumulus Media is the big company presence in Fort Walton Beach-Destin with the following: CHR, Rock, AC, and news/talk. We won’t discuss these as there is little difference with these stations than others previously mentioned.
Community Broadcasters runs stations in New York State, South Carolina, and of course in Fort Walton Beach. The company was established in 2006. In part, here is their vision statement: “Our vision was to become “a voice for the community” in smaller to mid-size markets. To achieve this, we’ve committed ourselves to local programming in all of the markets we serve. Our focus is local news, sports and area events, not just syndicated programming.”
So, as I mentioned above, we’ve seen this “local emphasis” frequently in many smaller company’s core values or mission statement. It's one avenue to differentiate yourself from others. We’ll take a look at their cluster next.
When we wrapped things up in Pensacola and started the trek home, some of us expressed an interest in checking out Fort Walton Beach. Most of us never set foot there but we heard positives about the community. Virtually any travel site, surveys, and brochures proclaimed Fort Walton Beach to be #1, the best beach, the most beautiful etc. So, we were curious.
After spending several hours there, our impression was that the area was okay and a nice place to visit. But it certainly it wasn’t the best beach we ever saw. I learned that day the importance of effective marketing. It gets your attention for starters and that can bring in the business. Radio seeks to get the (P1) listeners' attention too. How that happens depends a lot on the company and their resources.
And so as I think of diary markets vs. the PPM, I have noticed methods of operations between the large companies and small ownership do have differences. I’ve been highlighting smaller company clusters throughout this string. It’s not to infer they are better but they offer another listener alternative. That’s probably a way to get noticed too. Researching these various markets has been a learning experience.
This is what I have discovered. The large and small companies that operate in diary markets have different approaches but the objective is the same. It’s to make favorable impressions on listeners so they remember you in a diary ratings mention.
The big companies have their nationally syndicated programs and jocks. A good deal of money goes into their music testing. There’s usually at least one local talent who is the face of the station participating in community events. But they have a talent roster that’s in the PPM too and so there’s always fine tuning. While the mom & pop operators look like they put forth more efforts, that's really what we see from a local perspective. The format that rolls out in a smaller market by a big company has had lots of efforts put in to it as well. Most of the heavy lifting is done elsewhere.
The mom & pop operators will often create their own in-house playlist, sometimes there is a service they use. Talent can come from the local community or from a bigger market. With so many displaced broadcasters, a gig away from the big city pressures is not uncommon. There’s many possibilities. Sometimes the small operator dominates, sometimes the big operator does. It's been interesting to check out.
In Fort Walton Beach “Community Broadcasters” appear to be doing well. Here’s the ratings link for Fort Walton Beach-Destin: https://ratings.radio-online.com/content/arb391
The median age in Fort Walton Beach is 40.2 years, 37.3 years for males, and 43.5 years for females. Fort Walton Beach is in Okaloosa County and the median age is 36.8. Info for entire market: Population: 235,600. Black: 21,600 (9%). Hispanic: 18,100 (8%).
While iHeartMedia has a few stations in the ratings, they are not local stations. Cumulus Media is the big company presence in Fort Walton Beach-Destin with the following: CHR, Rock, AC, and news/talk. We won’t discuss these as there is little difference with these stations than others previously mentioned.
Community Broadcasters runs stations in New York State, South Carolina, and of course in Fort Walton Beach. The company was established in 2006. In part, here is their vision statement: “Our vision was to become “a voice for the community” in smaller to mid-size markets. To achieve this, we’ve committed ourselves to local programming in all of the markets we serve. Our focus is local news, sports and area events, not just syndicated programming.”
So, as I mentioned above, we’ve seen this “local emphasis” frequently in many smaller company’s core values or mission statement. It's one avenue to differentiate yourself from others. We’ll take a look at their cluster next.
Last edited:
Enjoying reading your posts here. Question and comment: Are all the WFLA's around the state a simulcast? Also when I visit Destin/Ft. Walton, the only station worth listening to is WSBZ The Seabreeze.
Thanks.
WFLA threw me for a loop because the calls are used in a number of markets. In Tampa, WFLA - AM (970) uses a series of translators. The station is on 94.5, 105.9, and 99.1. This enables the station to be heard in Clearwater and Sarasota-Bradenton. In Tallahassee, it's WFLA-FM, a separate station at 100.7. (Tallahassee's Talk Radio) Some of the lineup is the same like Glenn Beck, Rush, and Hannity. Both stations have their own news shows in the morning.
- Status