I'm in my mid-30s, meaning that I'm old enough to remember B96 during its dance period during much of the 1990s (the best that station ever sounded) as well as its transition from dance/rhythmic to hip hop/rhythmic. IMO, B96 went downhill when they phased out dance but even during the "Hits and Hip Hop" years. they had better ratings than they do now. WGCI is another one I'm not used to floundering around in the ratings. Throughout the 80s, 90s, and 00s, WGCI was always in the top 3 alongside WGN-AM. Of course, much of the listeners back then are now V103 listeners today. US99 is on the upswing now that Big 95.5 is no more (Chicago could not support 2 country stations!). I'm not a big rock fan but 95.5 needs to pick a lane on where they want to go. Based on what I read on what they play, it's very inconsistent (Bryan Adams AND Disturbed on the same station?) Do they want to be resurrection of 97.7 the Loop or classic Q101, or compete directly with 94.7 WLS or 97.1 the Drive? I miss the days when Chicago radio was actually great regardless of what genre the listener was into.
I agree with what has already been said about the sorry state of the once-mighty B96. It's hard to believe that that B96's current PD and MD are the same ones that were running the station during its 90s dance heyday. They also dropped the mix shows altogether. While the last few years of mixes weren't as good as the days of Bad Boy Bill, Julian Jumpin Perez, Bobby D, and the rest of the DJs from the 90s/00s, it's still weird that B96 doesn't feature any mix show content. I also find it a bit weird that sister station classic hip hop 104.3 Jams would have a negative effect on B96 as the latter is classified as a "Mainstream CHR/Pop" station rather than a "Rhythmic CHR" station (B96 hasn't been labeled rhythmic since 2012). Maybe because some people still think of B96 as a rhythmic CHR station considering its historical success as one? Of course, claiming Top 40 heritage can only go so far. WLS 890 "The Big 89/MusicRadio" was once Top 40 royalty decades ago too and they have been a talk radio station longer than they had been a Top 40 station. Part of my thinks its time to B96's ownership to pull the plug and try something new.
If B96 were to flip, what valuable format is there out there? Active Rock is too niche and is not "female-friendly" as radio advertisers tend to target women more than men. Plus, it has been tried many times as Jeremy mentioned earlier. One scenario I could see happen is that 96.3 would flip into a simulcast of 670 the Score like how 105.9 simulcasts 780 WBBM AM and the "WBBM" FM call letters are moved to 105.9 to be more consistent with the AM brand (that always confused me after 105.9 dropped the Fresh FM format). Since current-based music is struggling ratings-wise as younger people tend to hear new music on streaming sites (YouTube, Spotify, etc.), maybe the ownership could own the "dance" side of rhythmic as 104.3 Jams has classic hip hop/R&B covered and competitor 94.7 WLS has 80s-based rock/pop covered. 96.3 now switches to dance-pop from the 1990s (during B96's Killer Bee/Party Radio days), 2000s (such as the stuff heard on defunct Energy 92.7/92.5), and 2010s (Lady Gaga, David Guetta, and so on). At the same time 104.3 Jams would be retooled to be more urban not to conflict too much with 96.3. Both stations now have a larger, broader playlist instead of a tight 200-300 song playlist (My main beef with 104.3 Jams is that they are so repetitive) Of course, any form of dance pop have no chance of actually happening but I can dream, can I? The 670 Score simulcast I mentioned earlier is more likely to happen. Good thing for online radio stations and iPods!
Finally, what is the ethnic/racial breakdown on CHR listeners in Chicago and how it has changed over the years? I read several articles of R&R and other old music/radio magazines on worldradiohistory.com and learned that in 1990, B96 had roughly a 60/40 white (or non-ethnic)/non-white (ethnic) listening base (in comparison now-defunct Z95, [WLS-FM], had around 95% white audience) B96's Hispanic audience was nearly 30% and by 1995 it grew to 35% and B96's overall audience was 55% white and 45% non-white. The black audience was around 10% as many black listeners were loyal to WGCI. I also read an article that B96's Hispanic audience was around 40% in 2000 and the white and non-white listeners were about split 50/50. I assume that B96's current audience is mostly white nowadays. Ethnic populations have changed in the past 30 years. This doesn't help 95.5 Rock either as most blacks, Hispanics, etc. don't listen to rock. Maybe B96 goes back as Rhythmic? Of course, both pop and rhythmic music was different 20-30 years ago than it is now.