I definitely think Millennials and Gen X are the target audiences. As I suggested in the ratings thread; if WCHI starts emulating WBUZ, a Nashville Active that reports to Alternative, it might be the right course of action to strengthen its ratings.Angie in the morning and the gimmicky playlist suggest to me this station is more interested in appealing to millennials who might not typically be P1's for rock radio as opposed to the people who genuinely appreciate & breathe rock music.
"Sad but True" (pun intended!).
As I suggested in the ratings thread; if WCHI starts emulating WBUZ, a Nashville Active that reports to Alternative, it might be the right course of action to strengthen its ratings.
You got me. Maybe somebody from iHeart Chicago lurks on this forum?How would this station, owned by an small regional company, get on the radar of iHeart Chicago?
I will say that, after checking the Nashville bookings, WBUZ pulled a 3.4, 3.4, and a 3.2 the last three months in not the most rock-friendly environment,
What I meant is that for a station like WBUZ to exist is that it has to contend with three country stations (all of which book well) and a couple of powerful urban stations (one owned by Cumulus, another by iHeart), plus the well-regarded Lightning 100, multiple other noncommercials, and a strong iHeart classic rocker. It's a tough environment for that station to just exist, much less book 3.0+.I'm not sure I agree with that characterization of that city. If you look beyond that station in the ratings, there is a wide array of rock stations in Nashville, including several non-commercial stations.
It's a tough environment for that station to just exist, much less book 3.0+.
iHeart has and is building a big presence in Nashville.How would this station, owned by an small regional company, get on the radar of iHeart Chicago?
iHeart has and is building a big presence in Nashville.
The problem with your logic, speaking as a local, that straight-ahead Active hasn't worked since the late 80's (unless you're WIIL, who doesn't reach the entire area). The Loop never successfully transitioned to the paradigm of the 90's and every attempt to include music from post-1990 backfired. The Blaze is still fondly remembered by some but it didn't last very long. Neither did The Zone; the "40 minutes non-stop rock" format wound up backing them into a corner advertising-wise. I also remember The Zone having a rather confused playlist (Jimi Hendrix AND Lamb of God?!), which probably did it no favors. Chicago hasn't had a true Active since the Zone; the closest was Q101's final phase from 2007-11, which was basically a slightly cracked mirror of KPNT.A formula similar to the one used by WRIF in Detroit and KAZR in Des Moines is what 95.5 needs - straight-ahead Active Rock featuring a couple currents an hour, a couple 70s/80s classics an hour from credible bands (meaning Van Halen, Ozzy, Zeppelin, Def Leppard...NOT Journey or Bryan Adams), and the rest of the playlist rounded out with guitar-oriented rock from the Grunge era forward. Alternative spins should be limited to mass appeal groups such as the Killers or high testing singles from groups such as Cage the Elephant or Awolnation.
I've never seen a 90's intensive rock station feature such a poor selection of Metallica cuts. Why does 95.5 refuse to play anything pre-Black album?!?! (Watered-down DC101 followed the same playbook, so I guess I shouldn't be terribly surprised.)
If 95.5 wants to continue to play Journey, Night Ranger and Bryan Adams, then it should remove Limp Bizkit (another band it overplays incessantly), Drowning Pool, et al. and retool as a Classic Rock station to directly compete against WDRV. Right now, 95.5 is basically throwing a bunch of crap at the wall and not doing a particularly good job of appealing to any cohort.
Rock 103.5 was very much in the Active Rock lane, and only failed because Mancow bolted for Q101, which then positioned its playlist more closely to that of WRCX. Bob & Tom were filler until AMFM decided where to go next.The problem with your logic, speaking as a local, that straight-ahead Active hasn't worked since the late 80's (unless you're WIIL, who doesn't reach the entire area). The Loop never successfully transitioned to the paradigm of the 90's and every attempt to include music from post-1990 backfired. The Blaze is still fondly remembered by some but it didn't last very long. Neither did The Zone; the "40 minutes non-stop rock" format wound up backing them into a corner advertising-wise. I also remember The Zone having a rather confused playlist (Jimi Hendrix AND Lamb of God?!), which probably did it no favors. Chicago hasn't had a true Active since the Zone; the closest was Q101's final phase from 2007-11, which was basically a slightly cracked mirror of KPNT.
I am sure WIIL's presence is a complication for any Chicago rocker that wants to have more of a pulse than WKQX. You have to hold your own against WIIL in the northern reaches of the market and also directly compete against WKQX.
I do think you and I are on the same page with the 80's ballads, Journey, Night Ranger, Poison, etc. all gotta go. The Metallica selection also needs to get those 80's thrash classics on the table; if KPNT and WBUZ can yank out "Master of Puppets" and "One" without issue then WCHI oughta do the same. Everyone knows "DARKNESS, IMPRISONING ME! ALL THAT I SEE, ABSOLUTE HORROR!" at this point, "One" won't scare anybody off.
WBUZ pulled a 3.4, 3.4, and a 3.2 the last three months in not the most rock-friendly environment
I'm well aware that they do very well, they're the one of the top performers of iHeart's Nashville operation. Sometimes even the top performer.Now take a peek at WNRQ...
WBUZ does not chose the format under which they report to Billboard. Billboard decides, based on airplay, what format a station is grouped with for its charts.WBUZ is a little more aggressive currents-wise, but that's because they regularly pull from the Alternative format to flesh their playlist out (which is why they report to the Billboard Alternative panel despite being registered as an Active to Nielsen).
I know. I was saying that they pull Alternative currents (and play Alternative-leaning songs in general) frequently enough that Billboard put them on their Alternative panel instead of their Active (Mainstream Rock) panel. There's a college station out in Iowa, KIWR, that has played currents from artists as heavy as Trivium and Of Mice and Men, but they add enough Alternative currents and spin enough Alternative gold that Billboard assigned them to their Alternative panel as well.WBUZ does not chose the format under which they report to Billboard. Billboard decides, based on airplay, what format a station is grouped with for its charts.