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Audacy Layoffs
- Thread starter freqdev
- Start date
I could see them cutting the local staff at The Fan or a lot of it which they’ve done at two sports stations, and maybe 106.3. The music stations are already on skeleton on air staffs so I’d guess any cuts would be primarily behind the scenes.
Hoping that "Audacity" will pull the plug on one of their stations soon, not a big fan of "The Block" or "The Fan" both seem redundant, and the others just aren't sounding as good lately.
I would like The Block more if it sounded more like or identical to WXBK in NJ / NYC (Also called The Block but more classic hip hop)... Technically a sister station in a different market.
I've been listening to WSPA a bit more lately, some of the songs they play are also on WRTH, but then they'll play a song that sounds like it should be on WFBC or WHZT and not on WSPA.
I would like The Block more if it sounded more like or identical to WXBK in NJ / NYC (Also called The Block but more classic hip hop)... Technically a sister station in a different market.
I've been listening to WSPA a bit more lately, some of the songs they play are also on WRTH, but then they'll play a song that sounds like it should be on WFBC or WHZT and not on WSPA.
The fan is a very bad AM signal. There is not much to do with it when the market is several separate cities.
But that market is NOT New York CIty and does not have nearly 30% Hispanics from the Caribbean... a main part of the target in NYC.
Believe me, in a market that size they do music research.
Audacy would be insane to do away with The Block. They’ve managed to get three translators in each principal city of the market and have had some of the highest shares I’ve seen for a translator station with the Urban Contemporary format which had been a hole in the market for decades. I’ve actually thought Entercom/Audacy being able to cobble The Block together without having to give up any of their existing stations has been a smart move, and the ratings have paid off.
Considering the market didn’t even have an Urban Contenporary station when a lot of the songs the NYC Block plays came out, except for what crossed over to CHR or Urban AC, I don’t know how well classic hip hop would do and I doubt it would do nearly as well as the Urban format currently on 96.3/104.5/107.7. If anything, a classic hip hop station in GSP to have a chance would have to draw in both African Americans and non-Hispanic whites, something that would be quite difficult in a market where country gets the ears of many non-Hispanic whites and CHR isn’t extremely successful.
Considering the market didn’t even have an Urban Contenporary station when a lot of the songs the NYC Block plays came out, except for what crossed over to CHR or Urban AC, I don’t know how well classic hip hop would do and I doubt it would do nearly as well as the Urban format currently on 96.3/104.5/107.7. If anything, a classic hip hop station in GSP to have a chance would have to draw in both African Americans and non-Hispanic whites, something that would be quite difficult in a market where country gets the ears of many non-Hispanic whites and CHR isn’t extremely successful.
It probably would've been good for Iheart to try classic Hip Hop on 104.9 vs adding another sports station, they already got rid of that rock station on WROO. Or even Classic Country to compete with WESC maybe would also be cool, something like Outlaw 105.5 in Asheville.
For this market I agree, its unique and not like neighboring big cities like Charlotte or Atlanta. The Block works with each translator signal in its core city of that part of the market.
I can feel a big difference tho listening to WJMZ vs WBAV or even WOSF, I just feel like the Charlotte stations have a much more focused playlist and keeps you looking forward to whats next. WSOL in the Jacksonville area is another good example of that and thats what I like about them.
I can't seem to listen to WJMZ for like 3 songs on a row without losing interest, The Block in Upstate SC plays too much currents and not enough throwback hits, but they seem to compete well against WHZT.
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I'm so glad that some message board radio geeks are never put in charge of programming radio stations.
This all comes from the mistaken idea that some person is put in charge of a station and then goes on to play their favorite songs.
The fact is that each market is different, at least a little bit, due to the ethnic and age differences in the population, the formats of competitive stations and even the amount of local business.
And most stations do some kind of research, whether in their own market or by sharing with very similar markets.
And, even with that, some stations will always not do as well as others in those mysterious 12+ share numbers... just like not every Toyota model sells as well as the Camry.
Theey also think.. just because theres a format hole, it needs to be filled...
and akin to what you said, they think because it works in one market, the other market... 750 miles awya.. should do it the same exact way
I see this in cases when (and this is real, no kidding!) someone posts that the format on WSKQ in New York should be put on WLEY in Chicago to fix the perpetual bad ratings the Chicago Spanish language station has!
Of course, over 60% of the Hispanic meters in NYC go to Dominicans, most of the WSKQ air talent is Dominican or from the Greater Antilles. In Chicago, nearly 90% of the Spanish dominant Hispanics are from Mexico and there are, statistically, no significant Dominican populations in that market.
And, in a generalized statement, the core musical values of blue collar Dominicans and blue collar Mexicans are nearly 100% different. The error here is that Spanish as a common language does not mean that different national origins have similar tastes in music, humor and entertainment. Nobody would say that a station in Nigeria that broadcasts in English should play the same music and speak with the same accent and vocabulary as one in North Dakota.
(Of course, the biggest issue in Chicago is that the station is a suburban rimshot with less than ideal signal strength over the HDHA areas.
WJMZ has won by default for years. The Block and even to a much lesser degree Rejoice 96.9 is the first real competition they’ve had other than 103.3/103.9 briefly. They haven’t had to put a whole lot of effort in to grab most of the urban audience.
I don’t think iHeart would want a third country station in the same cluster. WESC is a country gold format and WSSL is a new country format that still goes back 15-20 years on occasion.
I don’t think iHeart would want a third country station in the same cluster. WESC is a country gold format and WSSL is a new country format that still goes back 15-20 years on occasion.
Really, what's to say that some radio enthusiasts don't already own or program a good radio station? LP stations are a nice example, such as WXRY 99.3 in Columbia and WZWK 101.5 in Greenville, both do very well within their target area...sometimes beating out some full market signals...
Another one I like is 92.1 WGYT in Greer,
all oldies and no commercials.
WRBK 90.3 in the Rock Hill area also has a nice playlist/following and almost no commercials but they don't have a website or a stream yet.
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WXRY shows with 0.0 in Columbia. As does WZWK in its market.
The issue for both is the question of how they sustain operations, the big issue for all tiny non-profit organizations.
I've casually known Steve Varholy at WXRY for 15 years or so. He's obviously doing something right all these years.. BUT hes also been in radio before.
and people/stations like this isnt what I was referring to.
I listen to WRBK on the way to the beach but it's on several frequencies around the state and from Bennettsville to I-95 I can pick up the one serving the Florence area.
how is this substantiated?
It would be nice if the old WAVO format could be on a group of noncommercial stations around the state like WRBK has.
Non-com stations run on donations. In 2014 WAVO asked listeners for donations for its stream, and they were unsuccessful.
Nielsen doesn't publish LPFM ratings. Not even their translators.
Not for its stream. They actually were successful in paying for music for the broadcast, for several years.
Who's to say a similar format wouldn't get donations on a network in SC, if the frequencies were available?
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