Second time actually. About a decade ago when Jan Jeffries took over programming, they removed the vast majority of 60s music and almost all pop. Was generally more downtempo. Presentation was dull as a doornail. The DJs were barely allowed to talk. After he left, they slowly went back to being more pop-friendly but it was still more downtempo. Before the Jan Jeffries era, it was comparable to Me-TVFM, just a tad bit more uptempo. After Jan Jeffries, they reverted into a more mainstream Classic Hits format but it still had a lot of downtempo music. They eventually started doing "No slow weekends" with all uptempo music. And yep, they went back to a rock lean after The Loop flipped. Wade Linder was shifted over to 94.7 after The Loop went away. These days it seems like a higher energy, mostly Rock-based Classic Hits format. WLS was rock leaning in the 80s, I think they're trying to capture that for some listeners.
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Chicago Radio Ratings: August 2022
- Thread starter pjc1961
- Start date
Second time actually. About a decade ago when Jan Jeffries took over programming, they removed the vast majority of 60s music and almost all pop. Was generally more downtempo. Presentation was dull as a doornail. The DJs were barely allowed to talk. After he left, they slowly went back to being more pop-friendly but it was still more downtempo. Before the Jan Jeffries era, it was comparable to Me-TVFM, just a tad bit more uptempo. After Jan Jeffries, they reverted into a more mainstream Classic Hits format but it still had a lot of downtempo music. They eventually started doing "No slow weekends" with all uptempo music. And yep, they went back to a rock lean after The Loop flipped. Wade Linder was shifted over to 94.7 after The Loop went away. These days it seems like a higher energy, mostly Rock-based Classic Hits format. WLS was rock leaning in the 80s, I think they're trying to capture that for some listeners.
Was the first attempt at rock classic hits in response to K-Hits? I believe K-Hits was a bit more uptempo, but WLS-FM was able to stay on top of them with the ratings.
Ultimately, I always hated WLS-FM survived and WJMK as K-Hits didn’t. However, with the way Audacy is running their classic hits stations outside of CBS-FM and a few others now, I’d probably rather it be WLS.
WLS-FM at least in the 6+ was generally doing fine. Was beating K-HITS in the 6+. They played mostly 60s and 70s Oldies with a lot of 80s and some 50s. But they obviously were not getting young enough demos with that music. Thus the change. They dropped the majority of the 60s that were not rock based and went heavy on the 70s and 80s, all rock based. Softer edged however. They brought in a lot of the original WLS airstaff including Brandt Miller and Fred Winston. They shoved Dick Biondi into late nights (10PM-2AM or something) I don't think Fred Winston lasted more than a week. They were not allowed to use their personality. It was awful to listen to. John Landecker was good friends with Jan Jeffries and went back there for nights, but even his show wasn't as entertaining as it normally would be. Jan left in 2015. They did a big A-Z feature in September of that year. Really opened up the library. Dick Biondi was moved to Saturday mornings before he left.
MeTV-FM signed on in 2015 and musically played a lot of what WLS-FM had played before (60s, 70s and some 80s) At the same time WLS-FM started improving it's presentation with the existing 70s-80s based format. I think that's what led to Entercom flipping WJMK in 2017.
MeTV-FM signed on in 2015 and musically played a lot of what WLS-FM had played before (60s, 70s and some 80s) At the same time WLS-FM started improving it's presentation with the existing 70s-80s based format. I think that's what led to Entercom flipping WJMK in 2017.
Oh I forgot about that whole Dick Biondi fiasco. Most of Jan’s programming decisions weren’t great. It basically took the stations failing for Jan and Cumulus to loosen the strings after 2010-2013 or so and then a while after, maybe even the bankruptcy (or after JJ left) for them to turn things back over to PD’s to make more localized decisions, which was most prominent in CHR where they had that infamous Hot AC bent, successful or not. I’m not sure if that strategy was used on formats outside of CHR, AC, and classic hits.
I do notice that a lot of Cumulus’s classic hits stations are patterned after WLS-FM and carry the rock lean, except for the ones that have been in the format for a while in larger markets like KCMO. WHTT, WGRR, and WJJK. WJJK is one of the most rock oriented classic hits stations there is (although WJJK isn’t classic rock as I’ve seen suggested before).
I do notice that a lot of Cumulus’s classic hits stations are patterned after WLS-FM and carry the rock lean, except for the ones that have been in the format for a while in larger markets like KCMO. WHTT, WGRR, and WJJK. WJJK is one of the most rock oriented classic hits stations there is (although WJJK isn’t classic rock as I’ve seen suggested before).
Rock is what works. Cummulus also owns KCFX which is why KCMO is more pop leaning
Thinking out loud: although it cumes less, would it make sense Audacy will swap the middling performance of WBMX and give WSCR an FM simulcast? 104.3 has been pretty lackluster.
They run 104.3 on the cheap. They do have board ops pretty much all the time as far as I know, but as far as airstaff it's either syndicated or shared
Ed Lover - They carry his show on other stations
Rick Party - Syndicated
Sonic - They carry him on some of their CHR stations.
Evenings - Jockless
BMX Four, gone (Or at least Julian is).
Whether or not they flip the format on 104.3, I'm pretty sure the airstaff will remain with the company anyway because they are on other stations. This held true when they flipped 97.1 in Los Angeles. The jock from the CHR format, Bru is virtually on a majority of their CHR stations and continues to be, even without a station running him in Los Angeles.
Ed Lover - They carry his show on other stations
Rick Party - Syndicated
Sonic - They carry him on some of their CHR stations.
Evenings - Jockless
BMX Four, gone (Or at least Julian is).
Whether or not they flip the format on 104.3, I'm pretty sure the airstaff will remain with the company anyway because they are on other stations. This held true when they flipped 97.1 in Los Angeles. The jock from the CHR format, Bru is virtually on a majority of their CHR stations and continues to be, even without a station running him in Los Angeles.
David can correct me on this, but I believe the billing isn't spectacular. Also, while it may be the newest brand within that cluster, the format is going to be 5 years old in November, and does not seem to be garnering a lot of traction. Moving The Score to FM is a potential format for it, but in terms of others, I don't know what else you'd do.
WBMX is performing similarly to 100.3, which has moved all over the place in the adult-oriented radio universe.
It's not a guarantee for Audacy to flip a station if it's just below a 2 share in 6+. Look how long they held on to the alternative format at WNYL and KROQ.
The billing is likely well above costs, making it profitable. Changing formats guarantees at leas a year of losses and no guarantee. So clusters will stick with that kind of station longer, making fine tuning instead of a total makeover.
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WTMX must have seen a big drop in billing
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I've been streaming WCHI this week and actually like they way they sound. I'm curious why you think it sucks (I'm not trying to argue). I find that I can actually hang with Soundgarden to Def Leppard to Smashing Pumpkins much better than hearing the same 385 classic rock cuts that have been played into the ground on every classic rock in the country (The Drive is no different). Just FYI, I'm 56......but I can no longer sit through Killer Queen/Freebird/Layla any more. Obviously the 18-34 demo hasn't heard these songs 3 times a day for 40 years, but they will. I find myself either punching up our AAA, Alt rock or Bob station first, if I even bother listening. I jocked classic rock for many years, and I can't wrap my brain around why it's suddenly more popular than 20 years ago. What is it about 95.5 you dislike? I admit I haven't listened enough to time the rotation repeats.
95.5 is the same 385 Classic Rock songs over and over, except they play 90s and 2000s. That's really about the only difference. People that like full blown ROCK might not like it because they play Alanis, Matchbox Twenty, etc.
I think a lot of it is overtly cheesy sometimes. It's kinda weird hearing imaging for a big bad "RAWK 95.5" and then hear Alanis Morrissette, even though I like her music.
I don't personally dislike the station, but I understand why some people might not like it for the reasons I described. It doesn't really matter, because they have been quite successful.
Honestly, with Q101 starting to lean Active, their ratings are taking an uptick and Rock 95.5 is starting to go down. The rebranding back to Q101 is also helping.
Rock 95.5 should have taken the 00's, 10's, and current Rock lane before Q101 got their act together. Now it might be too late even if they were to start adding that stuff now. Q101, even when they aren't playing a lot of currents, sounds much fresher than 95.5, without having to lean on the rhythmic pop that dominated the late 10's.
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WKQX is not really leaning active.
Last hour or so via their website:
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under The Bridge
Cannons - Bad Dream
Lorde - Team
Pearl Jam - Even Flow
Gorillaz - Cracker Island
Linkin Park - What I've Done
Everclear - Father Of Mine
Imagine Dragons - Enemy
Tove Lo - Habits
MGMT - Electric Feel
It's pretty much the same as before with slightly more variety.
On the air however, there seems to have been more listener interaction. They did an exclusive concert with the Smashing Pumpkins at The Metro about a month ago and aired it live. The only way anybody could get in was to win tickets off the radio. They gave them out every 30min or so for about a week. Their phone lines were jammed. Nice to hear a call in contest, I'll tell you that.
Last hour or so via their website:
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under The Bridge
Cannons - Bad Dream
Lorde - Team
Pearl Jam - Even Flow
Gorillaz - Cracker Island
Linkin Park - What I've Done
Everclear - Father Of Mine
Imagine Dragons - Enemy
Tove Lo - Habits
MGMT - Electric Feel
It's pretty much the same as before with slightly more variety.
On the air however, there seems to have been more listener interaction. They did an exclusive concert with the Smashing Pumpkins at The Metro about a month ago and aired it live. The only way anybody could get in was to win tickets off the radio. They gave them out every 30min or so for about a week. Their phone lines were jammed. Nice to hear a call in contest, I'll tell you that.
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Call-in concerts were a BIG Q101 deal. They used to do that a lot. Even when the station was suffering from mediocre or terrible ratings they would always have jammed phone lines for the call-in tickets and would usually cause a brief ratings spike. They also used to pull down gaudy numbers from airing concerts live on the radio as well. It helped solidify Q101 as a special station.
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