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Philadelphia Radio PPM Ratings: January 2018

CTListener said:
"Talk/Personality" and "All News" -- have these new format labels entirely replaced "News/Talk"?
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Every website that posts ratings puts their own labels in the format column. So, without being rude, the issue is why "AllAccess" has given new names to some formats.

Perhaps there is a touch of R&R here... to be different from Billboard, they renamed Top 40 as "CHR" for their own chart. The name stuck!
 
I guess we can tell who won the Super Bowl. Eagles flagship WIP-FM zooms to #1. But it probably helped the other sports station, WPEN, as well. And KYW, too, with the station's sports updates and news coverage.

And do you wonder why WOGL goes all-Christmas, even though it doesn't approach the holiday numbers posted by WBEB? Christmas music still gives WOGL a slight boost. And when it returned to Classic Hits, it suffered a slight drop off. WBEB dropped as well, but finished at #2. It probably would have been #1 if the Eagles weren't in the playoffs and Super Bowl.
 
Two things for me. One- WRFF Radio 104.5 is my favourite commercial station in philly. Note how I said "commercial" because it is not my favourite station overall. That would go to WKDU 91.7 and WDBK 91.5. Anyway, 104.5 has creeped up from their abysmal holiday ratings, so that's good, but sitting at 15th in the market is a bit worrisome. They'll stick around for a long time Im sure, but squeaking by doesn't bode well for a station. Secondly, BEN FM! Great job! They jumped from a 2.3 to a 3.1. Best numbers they've had in a while.
 
radiodx10 said:
Anyway, 104.5 has creeped up from their abysmal holiday ratings, so that's good, but sitting at 15th in the market is a bit worrisome.
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Wait a few months. This is a typical pattern for this station. It drops during the holidays, and slowly climbs back up to a 4 share by the spring.
 
WRFF = too much chatter, when they were on auto pilot a few years back their ratings were almost doubled, the Alt audience does not want to hear constant chatter and I do believe Johnny specifies that, so why all this friendly jock jargon...
 
Gunsmoke said:
WRFF = too much chatter, when they were on auto pilot a few years back their ratings were almost doubled, the Alt audience does not want to hear constant chatter and I do believe Johnny specifies that, so why all this friendly jock jargon...
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You mentioned this before. When WRFF first signed on and put DJs on shortly after, it was just Johnny and Wendy. Johnny was on 6A-2P, then Wendy was on 2P-10P. Now, there are 4 jocks, and those jocks cover.... 6A-Midnight. So they've gained 2 extra hours. It doesn't seem they are taking extra breaks, and all of the breaks I hear are tied into the music they just played/are about to play. (And occasional promos/contests).

Their ratings are down, and the past few months, it's been an odd cross section of Christmas and Eagles siphoning off listeners. But they're really not doing anything different than they were in years past. The station is extremely steady in their sound and presentation.
 
As noted, it’s not as though there’s a sudden spike in “chatter.” And even if it were, it can be faulty logic to assume that becase “A” and “B” are true that A directly correlates to B, without accounting for a host of other variables and supporting data.
 
What I feel is a shame is that WRFF is the only commercial outlet for "alt rock". I know a station like the beloved WDRE 103.9 will never come back, but boy I wish it would. Just genuine radio, with really personable hosts and music that cut no corners. It would give WRFF a serious run for its money, considering it is STILL playing the same well-trodded 90s alt rock hits and the most annoying modern alt hits. If I hear AJR's "sober up" one more goddamn time....

Philly can't sustain two alt rock stations, at least from what I've heard. Philly has such an odd FM band.
 
radiodx10 said:
What I feel is a shame is that WRFF is the only commercial outlet for "alt rock". I know a station like the beloved WDRE 103.9 will never come back, but boy I wish it would. Just genuine radio, with really personable hosts and music that cut no corners. It would give WRFF a serious run for its money, considering it is STILL playing the same well-trodded 90s alt rock hits and the most annoying modern alt hits. If I hear AJR's "sober up" one more goddamn time....

Philly can't sustain two alt rock stations, at least from what I've heard. Philly has such an odd FM band.
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AJR's "Sober Up" is the #3 Alt song in the nation. I don't have access to WRFF's testing... but just looking at the chart position, it looks like it's gonna test well, so they're gonna spin it hard.

As for if WDRE went against WRFF today... it wouldn't give WRFF "a run for it's money" because WRFF sadly doesn't make much money. What you consider the "most annoying modern alt hits" seems to be what the masses are asking for, so the stations are playing.

Not trying to dig directly on you, sorry if it came off that way! Personally, I would love to see WRFF open up the music library a bit, but I know that would probably kill the ratings a bit because the tune-out factor would be higher. So they make a great compliment to other new music sources that I have.
 
No you're fine! I certainly get that WRFF has to play the most popular alt rock songs. I'm not bashing them for that, I just personally hate the song. I don't blame them for sticking to the safest route they can, seeing as how alt rock is harder to profit from. Folks with such a niche music taste like me are out of luck when it comes to commercial radio. Hence why I dig the college stations the most.
 
Well hey I want young adult males, who wouldn't want to spend 4x the money to reach a 1/4th of the audience with a second ran sports station rather than the markets only modern rock choice! Amazing how so many make sick loads of cash to waste the advertising budgets of companies that are clueless. Yeah I know the superbowl numbers, they won't last, and I'm talking about the past couple of years as I strongly believe in the new guy running the 2nd sports station. Hey might not be able to beat WIP but in time he will get WPEN much much more respectable and hey even mediocre ratings with sports makes agencies drool.
 
I would suggest the companies--by and large--are far from clueless. They understand the ins and outs and yes, rely on their agencies to execute, but said agencies are typically held to account and need to demonstrate the value of the strategies. (Note--I'm not talking about those significantly smaller markets where Mabel's Beauty Salon is buying the one station in town and assumes it works because...well, she heard her own ad.)
 
DOB said:
Well hey I want young adult males, who wouldn't want to spend 4x the money to reach a 1/4th of the audience with a second ran sports station rather than the markets only modern rock choice! Amazing how so many make sick loads of cash to waste the advertising budgets of companies that are clueless. Yeah I know the superbowl numbers, they won't last, and I'm talking about the past couple of years as I strongly believe in the new guy running the 2nd sports station. Hey might not be able to beat WIP but in time he will get WPEN much much more respectable and hey even mediocre ratings with sports makes agencies drool.
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Stations negotiate rates based on delivery of a client's target demos. Sports stations deliver men very efficiently, and they deliver them broadly across 25-54, 25-44, 18-34 and 18-49 (the dominant male buy specs from agencies). Advertisers are not paying a higher CPP due to female listening or missing coverage of certain age groups as seen in stations that lean older or younger.

So nobody is paying "4 x the money" as ad rates are based on delivery. Agencies set CPP goals, and what they will pay each station is negotiated based on that station's delivery of ratings points in the target demo.
 
I know for a fact in the Philly market females are more into their sports teams just as much or even more than males, especially the Eagles, Phillies and heavy on the flyers, they do love Canadian men, lmao. But will not listen to any type sports radio, I never noticed a female listening to either WIP or WPEN.
 
Gunsmoke said:
WRFF = too much chatter, when they were on auto pilot a few years back their ratings were almost doubled, the Alt audience does not want to hear constant chatter and I do believe Johnny specifies that, so why all this friendly jock jargon...
Click to expand...

Another example, last night around 6:10 the jock Jesse was talking about Lebron James for five minutes like he was some sort of god, we need him, billboards all over, this and that, does the average listener really want to hear this meaningless jargon. This is just one of many examples of the 1045 jocks talking way out of context and format, and the ratings are proving it, revert back to the way you were a few years back, music intense, that's when you always were above a 4.0..who decided to put more personality in this station, new PD? I thought everyone knew personality radio stopped when WIBBAGE died.
 
Gunsmoke said:
Another example, last night around 6:10 the jock Jesse was talking about Lebron James for five minutes like he was some sort of god, we need him, billboards all over, this and that, does the average listener really want to hear this meaningless jargon. This is just one of many examples of the 1045 jocks talking way out of context and format, and the ratings are proving it, revert back to the way you were a few years back, music intense, that's when you always were above a 4.0..who decided to put more personality in this station, new PD? I thought everyone knew personality radio stopped when WIBBAGE died.
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WRFF has had the same PD (Johnny) since the station signed on. So no new PD. And no PD would allow a 5 minute talkset, regardless if the topic did hit on something that was a big news story.

Checking Media Monitor, Jessie talked out of Paramore's "Misery Business" and talked about the recent Awolnation show/acoustic session the station had, and frontsold their new single. All total? About a minute. So I don't know what you were listening to or what you made up, but a 5 minute talkset about LeBron James didn't happen around 6:10.


WRFF's recent few bad months probably has more to do with Christmas season, and the Eagles Superbowl run, with WIP gobbling up listeners like mad.
 
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