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Pure Country 89's ratings are pure trash!

M

MarkW

A 1.8 share in ages 12+!!! ROTFLMAO

(flip to page 17)

GREAT IDEA becoming country signal #4, on a frequency near the very bottom of the dial, playing largely the same music already heard on 93.1 and 99.5.

Crosstown competitor 95.9 & 92.7 CJWF does a much better job spicing up the playlist to differentiate from the Detroit stations and does a much better job connecting with the local area by sponsoring community events, offering local on-air giveaways, and providing local news & traffic reports. CJWF also has a superior air staff. The afternoon DJ on CIMX does not belong on the air.

No one in Windsor (or Metro Detroit) gives two rips about Bobby Bones. Syndicated country morning shows do not work around here.

I realize Bell Media wants to propagate its national brands, blah blah blah, but I don't see how a 1.8 share in a fairly small market such as Windsor is adding much to the bottom line.

I'll also note that 88.7 and sister station 93.9 have constant audio chain issues (and for that matter, AM 800 often does not sound very good, either).

88.7's 1.8 share puts it in last place among English language AM & FM stations based in Windsor, even behind the musical trainwreck known as CBC Music 89.9 FM (another station with horrendous sounding audio).

For years and years, it was uncommon to see 88.7 score anything less than a 5 share in Windsor. Times sure have changed.
 
MarkW said:
I realize Bell Media wants to propagate its national brands, blah blah blah, but I don't see how a 1.8 share in a fairly small market such as Windsor is adding much to the bottom line.
Click to expand...

You have to understand they're not selling one station. They're selling 16 million people. Radio is a small part of their deal.

www.bellmedia.ca

Radio advertising

Reaching 12 million listeners weekly Source: Numeris PPM Data: Spring 2023, Mo-Su, 2a-2a; Total Canada + Diary Data: All Measured Markets – Numeris Spring 2023, Mo-Su, 5a-1a; + Radio Count Bell Media’s market-leading brands bring Canadian communities together 103 radio stations across 50+ markets
www.bellmedia.ca www.bellmedia.ca
 
That's what Overregulation of Formats and CanCon do in a border market. Maybe they can put up a giant "Faraday Fence" around Windsor to keep US signals out? Or perhaps jam all the US signals within Canada like Cuba does? Even when they only count Canadian stations in their ratings, they can't compete. But look at 500 watt CKWW at 2.1 beating the old CKWW-FM at 1.8! US stations eschew older listeners, and there are no full market mainstream 60s and 70s Gold stations on the US side. You have to wonder what CKWW would do on a facility LIKE (I know they can't put it on 800) CKLW 800, with The Big 8 presentation in the US ratings.
 
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You have to understand they're not selling one station. They're selling 16 million people. Radio is a small part of their deal.
Click to expand...

I guess I fail to see how a severely underperforming FM helps the greater cause.

There are other plug-in formats available that would likely outperform Country.

I suspect Bell Media thought 88.7 with its big signal, format change publicity, and Bobby Bones would force 95.9 into submission. Their thesis didn't pan out.
 
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MarkW said:
I guess I fail to see how a severely underperforming FM helps the greater cause.
Click to expand...

Country is an easy format to sell, regardless of ratings. Very much like sports. Detroit/Windsor is a very active country market, so to have a station in the format there opens the door for a lot of national money. The goal isn't to get ratings but to make money.
 
Country has good power ratios, but adopting the format is hardly a guarantee for success. See 106.7 The Fox in Detroit. And Big 95.5 in Chicago.

The "national money" for Bell's country format already existed before 88.7 went Country. The question is by how much can those national spot rates be raised by including 88.7 in the mix? Based on 88.7's putrid AQH listener results, I'd contend not by very much.

I would be surprised if 88.7's cash flow performance is living up to initial expectation.
 
People aren't used to commercial formats in the 88-92 MHz Band. It's caught on in Chicago with WRME 87.75 MeTV FM due to the other stations eschewing Older Demographics. Maybe The Big 8 should be on 88.7. But of course, their government wouldn't allow it.
 
I wouldn't mind seeing a format very similar to the current CKWW format on FM. The dilemma would be finding a replacement format for 580. Would a Toronto oriented sports/talk format perform OK on 580? I have no idea.

I also don't know if a 70's focused format would attract enough advertiser interest to justify using a 100,000 watt directional FM signal for that purpose.

I think either 89X in retooled form (i.e. mostly classic alternative) or The River should've been kept in place. Not both; one or the other. Scrapping both was stupid.
 
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Schroedingers Cat said:
People aren't used to commercial formats in the 88-92 MHz Band. It's caught on in Chicago with WRME 87.75 MeTV FM due to the other stations eschewing Older Demographics. Maybe The Big 8 should be on 88.7. But of course, their government wouldn't allow it.
Click to expand...
Non-comm in 88-91.9 is only a thing in the US.
In Canada, non-comm and commercial stations are spread throughout the band.

Bell isn't programming this station for Detroit.
 
MarkW said:
I think either 89X in retooled form (i.e. mostly classic alternative) or The River should've been kept in place. Not both; one or the other. Scrapping both was stupid.
Click to expand...
Wouldn't WRIF, WLLZ, and maybe WCSX cover 90s alternative? (That's not taking into account WDZH flipping to Alternative after 89X's demise.)

It seems that Bell Media wanted a CHR and a Country that will serve Windsor specifically.
 
johndavis said:
Non-comm in 88-91.9 is only a thing in the US.
In Canada, non-comm and commercial stations are spread throughout the band.

Bell isn't programming this station for Detroit.
Click to expand...
You can HAVE commercial stations in Canada in 88-92 MHz along the border, but almost all of them along the Michigan US Canadian border in Canada are in the reserved band. I think CIMX is the only exception along that border.. For Windsorites who prefer more unregulated formats in the US, its like walking to the other end of the mall to visit a single store to listen to CIMX.
 
I'm looking for a list of commercial stations between 88.1 and 91.9 in Canada. I suspect that they are few and far between. Google seems to not be able to find it based on several searches. I'm going to call Radio's Best Friend now to ask him.

I thought CJRT 91.1 Toronto might be an exception, because the call letters appear that way, but it's public.
 
Schroedingers Cat said:
I'm looking for a list of commercial stations between 88.1 and 91.9 in Canada. I suspect that they are few and far between. Google seems to not be able to find it based on several searches. I'm going to call Radio's Best Friend now to ask him.
Click to expand...
A partial list (sorted by frequency):

88.1 CIND Toronto ("Indie88", adult album alternative)
88.5 CIBH Parksville, British Columbia ("The Beach", adult contemporary)
88.5 CILV Ottawa ("Live 88.5", alternative rock)
88.7 CIMX Windsor ("Pure Country 89", country)
88.7 CKYM Napanee/Kingston ("myFM", adult contemporary)
88.9 CHNI Saint John, New Brunswick ("Q88.9", rock)
89.3 CIJK New Minas, Nova Scotia ("Rewind 89.3", classic hits)
89.5 CHWK Chilliwack, British Columbia ("The Drive", classic hits)
89.9 CHNS Halifax ("The Wave", classic hits)
89.9 CIHT Ottawa ("Hot 89.9", top 40)
90.3 CKMP Calgary ("AMP Radio", top 40)
90.5 CJMB Peterborough, Ontario ("Freq 90.5", alternative rock)
90.5 CKXM Exter, Ontario ("myFM", adult contemporary)
91.3 CJZN Victoria ("The Zone", alternative rock)
91.5 CKBT Kitchener/Waterloo Region ("The Beat", top 40)
91.5 CKXR Salmon Arm, British Columbia ("BOUNCE 91.5", adult hits)
91.7 CHBN Edmonton ("KISS 91.7", top 40)
91.7 CICS Sudbury, Ontario ("Pure Country 91.7", country)
91.7 CIXL Welland/Niagara Region ("Giant FM", classic rock)
91.9 CJEC Québec ("WKND 91.9", modern adult contemporary)
91.9 CKLX Montreal ("91.9 Sports", sports)
91.9 CKLY Lindsay/Kawartha Lakes, Ontario ("BOUNCE 91.9", adult hits)
 
Wouldn't WRIF, WLLZ, and maybe WCSX cover 90s alternative? (That's not taking into account WDZH flipping to Alternative after 89X's demise.)

It seems that Bell Media wanted a CHR and a Country that will serve Windsor specifically.
Click to expand...

No one else in Essex, Kent or Lambton County in SW Ontario was doing CHR, so that one makes sense. Plus, only one spillover signal from Detroit with that format in a pure sense (WKQI).

Country made little sense to me for the reasons I mentioned earlier. Blackburn Media owns multiple country stations in the SW Ontario counties I mentioned, plus there are two Country FMs from Detroit that siphon listenership. Blackburn owns CJWF in Windsor, which is beating Pure Country 89 by a 2:1 margin.

WRIF only plays the biggest 90s alternative hits and WLLZ covers even less of that territory.

Personally, I would've kept 93.9 The River (which was earning a 5 share in Windsor) and either (a) placed Virgin Radio on 88.7 as opposed to 93.9, or (b) chosen one of Bell's other multi market formats.
 
MarkW said:
WRIF only plays the biggest 90s alternative hits and WLLZ covers even less of that territory.

Personally, I would've kept 93.9 The River (which was earning a 5 share in Windsor) and either (a) placed Virgin Radio on 88.7 as opposed to 93.9, or (b) chosen one of Bell's other multi market formats.
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Perhaps, but it's not as if alternative stations (or even a "classic alternative") would play deeper cuts from the 90s.

The River was likely not billing well in Windsor, so it did go on the chopping block.

Not sure if Bounce would be a better choice than Pure Country, although Windsorites can now have the choice to listen to more Canadians on a pop/variety station. (100.7 leans toward classic rock, and 96.7 as a Hot AC would unlikely be trounced by a Move station if Pure Country's performance in Windsor is anything to go by.)
 
It looks like some of them are AM to FM Squeeze Ins. As I recall, Radiosoft founder Peter Moncure figured out how to drop in a few 88-92 allotments at the CIII Channel 6 tower coordinates when it was in Paris, ON, on actual analog Channel 6, when there were interference issues with 88-92 MHz allotments, mitigated by co location and near co location.
 
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Perhaps, but it's not as if alternative stations (or even a "classic alternative") would play deeper cuts from the 90s.
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I disagree wholeheartedly if we're talking classic alternative.

Standard alternative - you are right that many (not all) of the 90s gold tracks that receive regular airplay are covered by WRIF already.

I'm hearing fewer ads on the present day 93.9 than I heard when it was The River.
 
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