OLDIES 103.7 PROGRAMMER(S) TAKE NOTE...KOOL/PHX SOLID #1 IN LATEST PPM'S

[DavidEduardo]

What is so drastically different about this market vs. Salinas/Monterey, where KPIG has a marginal signal yet consistently pulls around a 3-share, typically #2 for english-speaking stations? I hear it's way better in the "desirable" demos.

If you mean 25-54, in the winter book the station was 15th, and 9th in 12+.

It does, however, rank higher in billing although that's a relative thing since the top biller in that market does less than 10% of the billing of any of the top 3 or 4 SF stations.

Monterey Salinas Santa Cruz is market 80, but ranks 121st in billing, typical for a shadow market near a much larger one.

 

[DavidEduardo]

First, for a market with as few stations as Salinas/Monterey, is a 3 share a viable number? Shouldn't it be closer to a 4 or 5 to be considered viable?

Actually, excluding LPFM and translators and such, there are 66 stations licensed to the two counties, 35 commercial and 31 noncoms. And there is only $14 million in total radio revenue to feed all those stations.

Second, I suspect that the population mix is different -- more college students and more old hippies, both of whom probably tolerate a wider range of music.

Well, for starters, the market is about 44% Hispanic. That changes the entire flavor of any comparison with the San Francisco MSA.

 

[DaveBayArea]

If you mean 25-54, in the winter book the station was 15th, and 9th in 12+.

Interesting. That's what I meant, and although my info is a couple of years old now it either means that the person telling me that was wrong or they've taken a significant nose dive.

Dave B.

 

[DaveBayArea]

KPIG wasn't that long ago. They tried the experiment, for what, 2 years? In fact, they bought co-channel KGA in Spokane to turn it down in order to give KPIG a better signal.

But we only got to hear KPIG with that stronger nighttime signal for about 3 weeks before they switched to the brokered programming. I get 1510 fine at night now in Newark. It's just that it's no longer worth listening to.

KPIG had a regular live local Saturday afternoon concert featuring excellent local bands. They also did traffic and weather reports that mentioned the Bay Area -- in fact, they often mentioned the Bay Area first in those reports. So, I think you have no idea what weren't even listening; otherwise you'd have known this.

Plus some great touring acts. That Ham Jam show was definitely a staple whenever I could get it on a Saturday afternoon. I used to listen a lot - probably 2 hours a day on average. I'm one of the few who is willing to listen through static and compromised fidelity to hear programming I enjoy, and believe me it wasn't easy. I don't disagree that they mentioned traffic for the Bay Area, but I think it would have been better if they took the time to voice-track the breaks separately or attempt in some way to treat San Francisco as its own market - at least during drive time.

Dave B.