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CC's poorly programmed AC stations

C

CurtisNEPA

I found out that Clear Channel's AC(or hot AC) station that tends to play "80's(or even 90's) thru NOW are deceiving their listeners! There is a station around here that is branded KISS and claims to be playing hot AC product, but when I listen to the station, most of the programming comes from Premium Choice, and some of the songs are too sleepy, especially those from the 70's. I even hear Bee Gee's Emotion, which was never part of the playlist before the company decided to fire their local talent. I often hear Anita Baker which was mostly heard on R&B and the now-dying smooth jazz stations, but that artist was never heard on mainstream AC stations that are owned by different companies like Cumulus or Entercom. And what about Barry White? Except for his #1 hit "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe, his other songs are deemed not suitable for today's AC standards, and is only heard on oldies or R&B outlets.

Glad I live 50 miles away from the market that has a KISS, and no place around here plays that station. I would definitely stay away from that station the next time I travel on I-80 west because that can put me to sleep with boring oldies music mixing with Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, and Daughtry. When you program a station that targets 25-44, they SHOULD NOT put in older music(I'm not talking about the 80s, but anything pre-1975)! That can drive off younger listeners.

God, this is why I don't trust Clear Channel. They say they are the number one broadcaster in the country, but they are the worst when it comes to programming certain formats, when you live in a medium-sized market. CBS's AC outlets are very well programmed, so does Cumulus and Entercom, and even Townsquare. They have local talent, with the exception of Delilah or John Tesh at nights. Even the Westwood One's AC formats has a better playlist.

The solution is for CC to sell the small market stations to locally owned companies and hire back local talent. Their ratings usually take a hit when they use Premium Choice.
 
CurtisNEPA said:
I found out that Clear Channel's AC(or hot AC) station that tends to play "80's(or even 90's) thru NOW are deceiving their listeners! There is a station around here that is branded KISS and claims to be playing hot AC product, but when I listen to the station, most of the programming comes from Premium Choice, and some of the songs are too sleepy, especially those from the 70's. I even hear Bee Gee's Emotion, which was never part of the playlist before the company decided to fire their local talent. I often hear Anita Baker which was mostly heard on R&B and the now-dying smooth jazz stations, but that artist was never heard on mainstream AC stations that are owned by different companies like Cumulus or Entercom. And what about Barry White? Except for his #1 hit "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe, his other songs are deemed not suitable for today's AC standards, and is only heard on oldies or R&B outlets.
Glad I live 50 miles away from the market that has a KISS, and no place around here plays that station. I would definitely stay away from that station the next time I travel on I-80 west because that can put me to sleep with boring oldies music mixing with Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, and Daughtry. When you program a station that targets 25-44, they SHOULD NOT put in older music(I'm not talking about the 80s, but anything pre-1975)! That can drive off younger listeners.

God, this is why I don't trust Clear Channel. They say they are the number one broadcaster in the country, but they are the worst when it comes to programming certain formats, when you live in a medium-sized market. CBS's AC outlets are very well programmed, so does Cumulus and Entercom, and even Townsquare. They have local talent, with the exception of Delilah or John Tesh at nights. Even the Westwood One's AC formats has a better playlist.

The solution is for CC to sell the small market stations to locally owned companies and hire back local talent. Their ratings usually take a hit when they use Premium Choice.
Click to expand...
"Emotion" is by Samantha Sang although it was penned by the Gibb brothers.
 
CurtisNEPA said:
There is a station around here that is branded KISS and claims to be playing hot AC product, but when I listen to the station, most of the programming comes from Premium Choice, and some of the songs are too sleepy, especially those from the 70's.
Click to expand...

You are mistakenly thinking that Premium Choice is a syndicated format. It is actually a set of workparts that are combined at the local station with the music selected for that particular market. If the music leans toward more traditional AC, that is because management decided going in that direction was appropriate for the market.

I even hear Bee Gee's Emotion, which was never part of the playlist before the company decided to fire their local talent.
Click to expand...

The use of local talent or not is a separate decision and has nothing to do with the music selection, which is a different process.

Glad I live 50 miles away from the market that has a KISS, and no place around here plays that station.
Click to expand...

KISS is not a "station". It's just a branding term used by Clear Channel for a variety of CHR, CHurban, Urban and similar stations. It's one of the valuable service marked station names that they own, and can use freely.

When you program a station that targets 25-44, they SHOULD NOT put in older music(I'm not talking about the 80s, but anything pre-1975)! That can drive off younger listeners.
Click to expand...

If you are aiming at the 35-54 part of the demo, then some 70's may certainly be appropriate.

The solution is for CC to sell the small market stations to locally owned companies and hire back local talent. Their ratings usually take a hit when they use Premium Choice.
Click to expand...

Since you do not tell us what station you are referring to, we can't look at the ratings. It would be helpful if you told us what station it is that you find unappealing.

For the moment, I am assuming you mean WKSB, Kiss 102.7 in Williamsport. Using the Fall book, the station is #2 12+ and tied for 2nd in 25-54. It is also the market's #2 biller, only about 12% below the revenues of the country station which has more than 50% better ratings. By all measures, this is a very successful smaller market station.
 
Last edited:
David,

As some one who programmed for CC very recently (and oversaw a Premium Choice AC and CHR), I must correct your assumption that music for Premium Choice stations is chosen specific to the individual market. With only the ability to add a fill song here or there, each format has but one log and one log only, which comes from a CC programmer, and fed in via WAN. The song files themselves, are stored locally and played from the station, using a standardized numbering system created by corporate. There is no leeway in music scheduling, as voicetracks are meant to be standard across all Premium Choice stations, without exception. The imaging, on the other hand, can be decided upon and created locally to refine the positioning statements. But, when you hear PC talent doing breaks, on occasion, they will use a positioning statement that is not used locally. The local station...can only grin and bear it.
 

When you program a station that targets 25-44, they SHOULD NOT put in older music(I'm not talking about the 80s, but anything pre-1975)! That can drive off younger listeners.
Click to expand...

Some 70's songs still do well. Brick House, Night fever, and RESPECT (a 60's song) does very well with our format, with Katy Perry, Bruno Mars.
 
The Premium Choice stations have been playing some interesting songs lately. I have heard "I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That" by Elton John and "Hello" Lionel Richie on KMXA-99.9 Minot, ND, and "Unbreak My Heart" Toni Braxton on KISC-98.1. Makes me happy! More "real" soft rock songs from the 80s and 90s please!

-crainbebo
 
crainbebo said:
The Premium Choice stations have been playing some interesting songs lately. I have heard "I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That" by Elton John and "Hello" Lionel Richie on KMXA-99.9 Minot, ND, and "Unbreak My Heart" Toni Braxton on KISC-98.1. Makes me happy! More "real" soft rock songs from the 80s and 90s please!
Click to expand...

Each Premium Choice station can program different music according to the market it is in. Premium Choice is not a format but a system whereby stations integrate voice tracked and local talent into a music format created for each specific station. There is no "one size fits all" music list for all premium choice stations. And Premium Choice covers multiple formats, too.
 
Replying to the first post, Clear Channel had a terrible time changing their Greenville, SC station from AC to Hot AC. There is a whole thread devoted to this somewhere. My 102.5 would add a lot of new, high energy material that seemed to indicate a switch, but they would hold on to the strangest out-of-character material from the 70s and 80s.

These days the people who post here say My is clearly Hot AC, but it's boring because after they dropped all the older material and added a lot of new harder-rocking material, they quit trying to keep adding newer songs.
 
vchimpanzee said:
Replying to the first post, Clear Channel had a terrible time changing their Greenville, SC station from AC to Hot AC. There is a whole thread devoted to this somewhere. My 102.5 would add a lot of new, high energy material that seemed to indicate a switch, but they would hold on to the strangest out-of-character material from the 70s and 80s.

These days the people who post here say My is clearly Hot AC, but it's boring because after they dropped all the older material and added a lot of new harder-rocking material, they quit trying to keep adding newer songs.
Click to expand...

In any case, whatever they did worked. They are in a virtual tie for 2nd place in revenue in the market, just behind the maga-share leader which has an urban format.
 
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