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KSON down overall. KFMB up in ratings. What gives?
- Thread starter 34james
- Start date
Looks like KSON's ratings might have to do with the impending sale of KSOQ to EMF. The FCC has approved the sale of this station, along with KSWD and WGGI to EMF today.
Huh? How do you make this connection? Do you think the listeners are boycotting the station because of the impending sale.
I can't confirm that listeners, particularly in North County are boycotting KSON over the sale of KSOQ who will have a hard time picking up KSON's signal once the merger closes, although it seems possible.
You can't confirm it because it's not true. It's not even possible. It's something you're making up. The drop in ratings began BEFORE the sale was announced.
And as I've pointed out before, KSON was a #1 station BEFORE they added KSOQ.
The station should make an announcement regarding KSOQ being sold when the merger closes.
But what does that have to do with your false statement that "Looks like KSON's ratings might have to do with the impending sale of KSOQ to EMF?"
That is absolutely false. There is no connection at all.
There is some truth to the notion that interest and awareness in radio tend to go up when big changes happen, and people tend to start twisting the dial a little more when one of their favorite stations is affected. As an example, I worked for a cluster that flipped its oldies station to CHR in '01. Its 12+ numbers doubled after the flip while the heritage CHR was almost exactly flat. The heritage station's numbers didn't go down until the next book. We were told the management expected interest in the CHR format to be higher with the new competition and people trying to figure out which station they preferred.
The problem, though, is that most listeners don't notice until the changes actually start happening. I doubt the majority of San Diego area radio listeners even know that Entercom and CBS own stations in the market, and, of the ones that do know, the majority of them probably don't know who owns what and which stations could be affected.
The Big A's explanation of a general decline in country listening is much more likely.
The problem, though, is that most listeners don't notice until the changes actually start happening. I doubt the majority of San Diego area radio listeners even know that Entercom and CBS own stations in the market, and, of the ones that do know, the majority of them probably don't know who owns what and which stations could be affected.
The Big A's explanation of a general decline in country listening is much more likely.
It's possible that the general decline of country listening in San Diego and the sale of KSOQ correlate to KSON's slide in the ratings. People will eventually notice the changes once the station makes an announcement to 92.1's listeners and redirects them to 97.3 until KSOQ breaks off the simulcast and picks up the Air 1 feed.
Except that the ratings period was BEFORE the sale of KSOQ. So no, the sale of the station does NOT correlate at all with KSON's slide in the ratings. Stop repeating this.
The only case where this will affect listening is that of a person who lives and drives and works in areas where the main KSON signal does not reach.
The average listener does not pay attention to or care who owns a station. If they like the station, they listen. If they do not like it or can no longer hear it, they will not listen.
The only place where the KSOQ signal contributed significantly was in the Carlsbad / Vista / Oceanside triangle area. Otherwise, KSON has decent coverage of the market. KSOQ just added a tiny bit more coverage.
Except for superpower grandfathered KMYI, all the major FMs in the market... 16 of them... cover, plus or minus 100 k persons, 2.1 million people with their 70 dbu signal. Go out to the 60 dbu, and you have nearly all the market, save for the extreme NW and NE corners.
Any tiny loss from no longer having KSOQ will likely not change the station's 25-54 rank, so it won't impact revenue.
The mistake the poster is making is saying the sale has had an effect on current ratings. He is speaking in the present tense. Since the station is still broadcasting KSON, this is not possible. Once the sale is final and the format changes, we will see if there's any change to the ratings.
But the facts indicate that there has been a three book decline in KSON's 6+ numbers, and those ratings books predate the sale.
1. The first time that the audience will be aware that KSOQ went to EMF is when they wake up to K-Love or Air 1.
2. Without seeing Hot Zip data, it's hard to say if there are any meters in that stretch of North County anyway.
3. Just as with the diary, you're at the mercy of who Nielsen has on the panel. The difference is that the panel doesn't turn over as quickly with the meter. I have seen situations where the bottom falls out of a particular format in a market for no particular reason other than a lot of people on the panel don't like that format, and everybody takes a hit until people cycle on and off. No ratings system is perfect, but it's all we've got.
If I remember my market history, wasn't the whole reason KSOQ came to be was because Clear Channel flipped what was then Magic 95.7 out of Carlsbad to country after acquiring the rights to XHRM and moving the format there? So KSON added this to fill in the holes in North County before US95 could ever gain any traction.
That happened maybe back in '99. Even with hiring away KSON's morning show 95.7 never was a player and they bailed out of the format. KSON has always been well run.
KSOQ will flip to Air 1, which was known since Entercom announced the sale of that station along with two others to EMF.
No, KSOQ simulcasting KSON had nothing to do with KUSS (the defunct US 95.7 country station). Country began on 95.7 around 2004, and lasted until Nov. 2011. The KSON simulcast on 92.1 began around 2003, when KSON's corporate parent bought the station and ditched its previous alt-rock format. This also eliminated an alt-rock competitor to KSON's sister station FM 94/9. And eliminating a conpetitor to FM 94/9 was most likely the primary reason for the purchase of KSOQ.
Looking up the call signs, that timeline matches up. The alt-rock format would have happened after I moved out of the market. What was the story of that station?
92.1 was alt-rock for about two years (2001-2003). Called themselves "Premium 92" (because premium gasoline, at least then, was often marked 92 octane). And they had flipped from a classical music format, so perhaps they were hoping to keep some "premium" (i.e. high income) listeners.
Premium 92/1 (KFSD-FM) was owned by Art Astor and programmed by Michael Halloran. Astor himself voiced many of the station IDs, which was intended as a joke. Studios were located in Escondido. The station logos and artwork were created by Shepard Fairey (Obey Giant). Lots of recording artists came through the station for on-air interviews and live performances. 92/1 put local unsigned singer/songwriter, Jason Mraz into heavy rotation and helped break an unknown Canadian named Avril Lavigne. Guest DJs on Sunday night's "Coup d'Etat" included: Tony Hawk and Ozzy's son, Jack Osbourne. 92/1 placed a heavy emphasis on being “San Diego’s Independent Radio Station”, unlike 91X, which at the time was owned by Clear Channel. Premium Radio had a sister station in O.C., also playing Alternative Rock, called “Super Cool 94.3” (KMXN-FM). The Super Cool airstaff included Jeremy Pritchard and Christy Carter. Much of the airstaff from both of Astor’s Alt stations later went on to FM 94/9 (KBZT).
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