You mean Eduardo? What's the point of your participation, then? He makes every conversation in this forum better.
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WZLX vs. WBOS
- Thread starter Retro
- Start date
You mean Eduardo? What's the point of your participation, then? He makes every conversation in this forum better.
Yep when you don't have to worry about sales weasels making goal in order to keep the lights on, or the air staff being of such quality that they attract and retain the coveted P1 listener, it is easy to run a radio station.
If you have a guaranteed budget you could play the sounds of whales humping it won't make a difference
Beasley loves Bloomberg .... they pay the freight on 1330AM and the translator on 106.1
WUMB and their 9000 translators..... what do they care they are funded right?
Do you know what the IRS calls a business that does not show a profit on a regular basis? A HOBBY!
If you have a guaranteed budget you could play the sounds of whales humping it won't make a difference
Beasley loves Bloomberg .... they pay the freight on 1330AM and the translator on 106.1
WUMB and their 9000 translators..... what do they care they are funded right?
Do you know what the IRS calls a business that does not show a profit on a regular basis? A HOBBY!
One of the good things about this board is that radio professionals and those who are outside the business but interested can share opinions and perspective.
I've been in the business for a few years, and during much of my career finding out what listeners want and trying to deliver it has been a key aspect of my work. But not all listeners want the same thing, and not all owners and managers take the same approach to delivering it.
There are many ways to make a successful station, so keep an open mind to new information.
OK I get that Boston radio operates in a universe of its own, what works elsewhere does not work here, etc etc etc.
But when David posts something, it is from years of experience including current major market stuff I tend to read it from the point of someone that knows what works
There are very few people on this forum I give that amount of respect to....
And we could say we’re not interested in your theories or stats, Norm. Goes both ways.
Genuinely curious here. Tell us how YOU think alternative can be done in Boston ‘the right way’. Everytime I see you here, you’re always angry and swearing, dismissing pros like David or BigA (who I’d rather listen to than someone that has an ever-present bitter attitude about radio) who have put in decades of work into this business, or talking down to non-industry posters. I and maybe some others would be willing to hear you out, but not with the fighting words.
(And dismissing such opinions/insight isn’t a good look. I’ve learned a lot through being a member of RD since I first created an account well before I worked in radio.)
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Great, then show us how it’s “done the right way”. Since you seem so certain that it would work, I’m sure you’ll have no problem convincing a bank to give you the money to buy a station so you can program Alternative “the right way”.
In the final six months or so of Alt 92.9's life, they seemed to be doing Alternative "the right way" (for Boston). Ratings were responding positively. Not sure if those numbers would've been monetizable if given more time - we all know Alternative generally is a soft performer when it comes to power ratios - but the numbers definitely moved upward after the station finally scaled back spins of stale 90's post-grunge and pop/punk tunes and began introducing currents & recurrents in a substantial way.
WAAF, before Entercom ransacked the station by depriving it of the 97.7 signal and later its morning show, usually performed in the low to mid 2's in ages 6+ (and probably at least double that in Men 25-54), and that was with a playlist I would simply describe as OK - far from great. For the vast majority of stations in the market, such numbers are not very lucrative, but it would almost assuredly be at least a minor improvement for 92.9.
WAAF was such a limp sounding station toward the end that it was having difficulty fending off New Hampshire's Rock 101 in the BOSTON ratings!
WAAF, before Entercom ransacked the station by depriving it of the 97.7 signal and later its morning show, usually performed in the low to mid 2's in ages 6+ (and probably at least double that in Men 25-54), and that was with a playlist I would simply describe as OK - far from great. For the vast majority of stations in the market, such numbers are not very lucrative, but it would almost assuredly be at least a minor improvement for 92.9.
WAAF was such a limp sounding station toward the end that it was having difficulty fending off New Hampshire's Rock 101 in the BOSTON ratings!
WERS is somewhere around 22nd in 25-54.
Were it a commercial station, it wold have minimal sales and likely be looking for a new format. Unless you are an ethnic / minority station or a localized suburban station, you generally can't make money with a 1.0 share.
As a non-commercial station, it has a different objective than profit. Non-coms are either listener supported or subsidized by a college or government agency and they live from grants and donations. As long as those who support the station cover its expenses, you can consider that its goals and purposes are being met.
There is nothing a commercial station can learn from WERS.
Now... you can uninvite me from participating in the thread, again. But when you make inaccurate or unrealistic statements such as "it is definitely possible" all of use who have worked in radio will let you know.
Hello David, sir! I am not uninviting you to not be in this thread! You know a lot about the industry from a business and programming perspective
While I am only technically a listener, and do not know what the financial susceptibility of a radio station is, I have been very actively involved with regular reading and happenings in radio for a very long time now.
So, with those insights, minus a radio stations minimum sustainability, from a listeners point of view, it looks quite viable.
With that said David, I ask you. What is the minimum share that a major radio station needs in order to at least break even? I do know that it has to do with a stations demos, as opposed to the beauty pageant rating also.
In a larger market, perhaps the top 15 to even 20 stations get good enough ratings in some segment of the audience that advertisers want to have access to. They make money, but some more than others.
In smaller markets it may be 10 to 12 stations can make money... again, some more than others.
Of course, stations that might show up 15th in 12+ might be #1 or #2 in a subset, like "men 25-44" and get good revenue. And ethnic stations that are the best way to reach Hispanics or Blacks may not need the highest 12+ numbers, but they have to show something.
The stations that are not in the "winners' circle" will have to depend on low rates and a specialized audience. That is why you see stations with lesser signals going for non-English language formats or paid religion or some other niche. They can't compete with the bigger signal stations, so they find a niche they can own.
And, of course, about half of all US stations don't make money.
Thank you David for answering my question.
Spinning the dial right now, I am getting the perception that not only does WZLX do a much better job, but they seem to have a larger playlist, and more modern also!
For example, WZLX within the past 15 minutes played Slaughter "I Will Remember You." On the other hand, within only the past 5 minutes, WBOS just played Iron Maiden "Iron Man."
WZLX just played "Paronoid" by Iron Maiden instead. Very presently, they are playing "Flagpole Stita" by Harvey Danger. That seems much more recent than what WBOS plays. It all seems this way anyhow.
The last time I compared their lists, it wasn't that ZLX was larger, but that it was better. There were more hits, while WBOS was playing songs that didn't matter. I saw songs being played on WBOS that would make me change the station. Not so with ZLX. At the time I said 'It's no wonder that ZLX is killing BOS.'
It is quite ironic that Beasley has a huge play list in comparison to WBOS, go figure!
I'm assuming that you heard and meant:
I Remember You - Skid Row - From the "Skid Row" album released Jan. 1989; single released Nov. 1989
Iron Man - Black Sabbath - from the "Paranoid" album released Sept. 1970; single released Oct. 1971
Paranoid - Black Sabbath - from the "Paranoid" album released Sept. 1970; single released Aug. 1970
Flagpole Sitta - Harvey Danger - from the "Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?" album released July 1997; single released Apr. 1998
I don't understand how WERS got brought up... at best, it's a AAA station, not alternative.
Meanwhile WAAF was not and never was a Boston station, it was a Worcester station that happened to be owned by companies with an office in Brighton.
Meanwhile WAAF was not and never was a Boston station, it was a Worcester station that happened to be owned by companies with an office in Brighton.
Wasn't WKAF part of the Boston market?
WERS wsz brought up because of the Alternative idea back on to WBOS as well. At least the best as I understand it.
Yes, it wss Skid Row "I Will Rem You" instead, ny bad!
That is true, but WKAF was a blink in the overall history of AAF... and still didn't do much for the upper north shore.
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