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WDZH (98.7 AMP FM)/ flips to Soft AC '98.7 The Breeze

I thought when I tuned in for the first time that I was gonna hear a bad clone of the old Magic 105.1.

To my surprise, that wasn't the case at all! This station has a very distinctive sound, musically speaking. There is almost zero overlap with any other station in Metro Detroit. I'm told the last time Detroit had a station that sounded like this is when 93.1 WLTI was still around. That was 25 years ago!

Over a few hours' worth of listening between today & yesterday, I've heard only two recurrents, zero currents, and everything else is gold library material (especially 70's, 80's and early 90's).

I'm skeptical as to how well this station will endure over the long term. I think a mild rhythmic AC, like 94.7 The Wave in Los Angeles, might've been a better option. I do hope The Breeze does well, because I like the fact this station plays a genre that has largely been ignored by mainstream Detroit radio stations for many years.

Suddenly, Metro Detroit has no shortage of softer AC music on the FM dial. Let's not forget about 102.7 K-Love! I realize K-Love's format is non-secular, but in terms of tempo, it shares some commonality with the new 98.7.
 
MarkW said:
I thought when I tuned in for the first time that I was gonna hear a bad clone of the old Magic 105.1.

To my surprise, that wasn't the case at all! This station has a very distinctive sound, musically speaking. There is almost zero overlap with any other station in Metro Detroit. I'm told the last time Detroit had a station that sounded like this is when 93.1 WLTI was still around. That was 25 years ago!

Over a few hours' worth of listening between today & yesterday, I've heard only two recurrents, zero currents, and everything else is gold library material (especially 70's, 80's and early 90's).

I'm skeptical as to how well this station will endure over the long term. I think a mild rhythmic AC, like 94.7 The Wave in Los Angeles, might've been a better option. I do hope The Breeze does well, because I like the fact this station plays a genre that has largely been ignored by mainstream Detroit radio stations for many years.

Suddenly, Metro Detroit has no shortage of softer AC music on the FM dial. Let's not forget about 102.7 K-Love! I realize K-Love's format is non-secular, but in terms of tempo, it shares some commonality with the new 98.7.
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The comparison to WLTI is somewhat apt as that station played a mix of current and older softer songs and that's what I heard when I tuned in yesterday. Formats of this type, most notably WRME in Chicago do seem to attract a lot of ears even though they generally aren't in the most attractive demos. I applaud Entercom for being willing to try this format out.
 
The Breeze 98.7 does sound good here in Detroit it’s about time we have a station like this, I think it could be a top 5 station in the ratings we’ll see.
 
BJSteigner said:
I wonder how long The Breeze brand will be on Detroit radio??
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Well, the format in its present incarnation has been on the air in Miami for nearly half a decade and is #1 in 25-54.

So the answer is probably the same as for any gold based format... KRTH or WCBS-FM or WODL or any of the big classic rockers... as long as they keep freshening the format, it can last between a long time and forever.
 
The Breeze in Detroit has turned into a huge disappointment for many listeners, With a constant playlist change this may explain why this station has only received a 2.9 in the latest ratings 2-20-2019, I Personally do not expect much from this station in the future.
 
I'd be awfully curious to know how well (or not) this station is performing in Adults 25-54; thanks in advance to anyone who can lend insight!

(The 6+ numbers are respectable, but I cannot help but wonder if the demos of this station are heavily weighted toward the 55+ crowd.)
 
I have no insight into that data, but I suspect it's about the same as AMP albeit with the average age much closer to 54 than 25. It's the only place on the dial to consistently get AC hits from the late 80s/ Early 90s and the group favoring that would be about 50. I think this flip was very wise for Entercom as iHeart has upped its game with WNIC considerably.
 
I like the move as well, even though I would've personally preferred something closer to 94.7 in Los Angeles.

98.7 now plays a ton of titles that are exclusive to the station that cannot be heard elsewhere on the regular FM dial in SE Michigan.

I did not at all like the direction of AMP Radio, except for the Chris & Julia morning show toward the end. Had that show been launched a couple years sooner - who knows - AMP might still be alive & kicking today. I'll never figure out how Rat & Puff survived as long as they did. Their show was morning radio for 15 year olds.
 
The station is currently ranked at #12. Not great but OK. Some Soft AC formats take a bit longer to start climbing.
 
Gregg. said:
The station is currently ranked at #12. Not great but OK. Some Soft AC formats take a bit longer to start climbing.
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Their numbers represent about a 50% higher cume than what AMP was pulling. Not sure it'll go much higher nor am I confident that Entercom is expecting much better than this. I think the format gives a lot of value to sell local ads in a package. Maybe they can peel some clients from WNIC.
 
Soft AC is earning 50% more unique listeners over the course of a week than CHR/Pop?!?!

I'm skeptical. If what you say is correct - I'd consider that a tremendous success, especially since so much of WDZH's cume was driven by listeners under the age of 25.

What is the weekly cume level of 98.7 The Breeze these days?
 
I'm going off of the monthlies. AMP was pulling about a 2.2 before the change and the most recent rating for the station was 4.1.

I guess I'm a bit surprised that you find it remarkable. The station went from a format with lots of competition to one where it effectively has one real competitor, and even then that one (WNIC) plays more modern poppy tracks throughout the day. The Demos were going to be disadvantaged, but it seems to have worked.
 
You mentioned cume increases earlier, and my earlier comments (and subsequent question) pertained to that topic. I'm already familiar with the age 6+ AQH share trends.

I have no idea how well Breeze is performing in advertiser-friendly demos, and I also have no idea if their 4.1 share is being driven by cume growth, TSL growth, or a combination of the two.

In the Detroit MSA during non-Christmas music periods, WNIC usually sees weekly cume of between 1.1 million and 1.3 million listeners. I'd be curious to know how well WDZH performs in that area.
 
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