Let’s discuss 102.1: KRBQ

[Radiopaw]

Hey all!

So I wanted to make a thread about this a while ago, but ratings have remained abysmal and it hasn’t cracked into any meaningful demographics. Now whether or not you feel Audacy is in the position to try new things or shake up the market, this station is the first to change in their cluster.

Lance Venta had a fantastic idea for this station on his “Format Changes I’d Like to See” on Radio Insight and I’ll clip the relevant part, but highly recommend a read.

“The demographics of the Bay Area are rapidly changing due to many of the tech businesses in the city abandoning their real estate for virtual offices. Audacy Classic Hip Hop “102.1 Jams” KRBQ currently is at a 1.3 share. San Francisco itself is 37% Asian. While there’s a lot of cultural differences between the different nations, could a format that includes more K-Pop, Bollywood, J-Pop and others along with other CHR and Hip Hop artists create a new mass-appeal brand while featuring hosts from the local communities?”

The above is a quote from his blog.

I think he makes a fantastic idea as it would appeal to the Asian community and younger listeners. K-Pop is extremely popular. Billboard posted an article in 2019 about the genre’s rise, and it certainly hasn’t slowed down. Continuing to bleed into CHR radio and frequently making Billboard charts. I would say that J-Pop would be very accepted in this format too, though I’d debate Bollywood and say that 92.3 has that covered for a strong half of the market - one with the large portion of the population too.

I think this would be a very interesting experiment for 102.1, and perhaps could revitalize radio with the 18-32 age group. (Pardon if I got the numbers wrong.)

That being said, KPop, CHR, J-Pop and Hip-Hop on 102.1 would be an amazing experiment and the Bay Area is a perfect home for it!

 

[DavidEduardo]

There needs to be an understanding of the vast differences in cultures between the Indian sub-continent, SE Asian nations as different as Thailand and Vietnam, Korea, The Philippines, China and Korea.

A more familiar situation: if you put Regional Mexican music on a station, nobody from South America or the Latino nations of the Caribbean would listen. Same language, different cultures.

And, keep in mind that K-Pop is the CHR of Korea, but even more adult Koreans don't listen or favor it. Bollywood music is most popular among adults in much of India, but it divides into the various subsets based on the different languages of India; there are many.

 

[Identnut]

There is an Asian CHR station on Honolulu and although it plays some Filipino hits, the backbone is mostly K-Pop. It is simply the biggest Asian music scene right now, with a following that spans the Pacific rim regardless of whether the people understand Korean or not.

And let us not forget that this music has a following among some White and Hispanic listeners, so a station that plays this music would benefit from them as well. A mostly K-Pop playlist with an English-language presentation would likely be the way to go.

 

[TheBigA]

I may have said this in another thread, but Audacy is doing this classic hip hop format in several markets, including WXBK in NYC. That station is also getting ho-hum 6+ numbers. But it is Audacy's main format that targets minorities.

Currently, their main station for format development is KITS. That one appears to be a success. They seem to have a problem with the Hot AC Alice station. That might be the next one that needs work.

 

[Radiopaw]

There is an Asian CHR station on Honolulu and although it plays some Filipino hits, the backbone is mostly K-Pop. It is simply the biggest Asian music scene right now, with a following that spans the Pacific rim regardless of whether the people understand Korean or not.

And let us not forget that this music has a following among some White and Hispanic listeners, so a station that plays this music would benefit from them as well. A mostly K-Pop playlist with an English-language presentation would likely be the way to go.

Agreed entirely, the size of the K-Pop genre is simply massive right now. I think the format you’re proposing would be a bit different but I see both having success potential in the bay.

 

[Radiopaw]

I may have said this in another thread, but Audacy is doing this classic hip hop format in several markets, including WXBK in NYC. That station is also getting ho-hum 6+ numbers. But it is Audacy's main format that targets minorities.

Currently, their main station for format development is KITS. That one appears to be a success. They seem to have a problem with the Hot AC Alice station. That might be the next one that needs work.

KLLC has nowhere near the dire situation of KBRQ, why would it go first? It has had double the ratings several times in the last few months and has never reached under a 2 where as KRBQ lives on the bottom of the ratings.

 

[TheBigA]

KLLC has nowhere near the dire situation of KBRQ, why would it go first?

I don't know that it would. But as I said, they seem to like the classic hip-hop format despite weak ratings.

Audacy has had terrible ratings with its CHR stations, especially WBBM-FM Chicago. So blowing up KRBQ for CHR is unlikly.

 

[Radiopaw]

I don't know that it would. But as I said, they seem to like the classic hip-hop format despite weak ratings.

Audacy has had terrible ratings with its CHR stations, especially WBBM-FM Chicago. So blowing up KRBQ for CHR is unlikly.

Ah, I misinterpreted the post. Personally I don’t think they’re looking to replace Alice yet, they’re not showing any signs of being dissatisfied with the station and it sometimes makes an appearance in the demographics.

Not to mention when we get reports on morning shows, Sarah & Vinnie do pretty well.

I think we have way too much adult contemporary in the bay, but there is a business reason for that clearly.

 

[TheBigA]

I don’t think they’re looking to replace Alice yet,

I agree.

 

[Street Novelist]

Alice doesn't need to be replaced. The format is popular in the Bay. But the Sarah and Vinnie Show needs to go.

 

[Weiserguy]

I don't know that it would. But as I said, they seem to like the classic hip-hop format despite weak ratings.

Audacy has had terrible ratings with its CHR stations, especially WBBM-FM Chicago. So blowing up KRBQ for CHR is unlikly.

Audacy *had* a CHR in the SFBA, KMVQ/99.7, but it got spun off to Bonneville a few years ago as a consequence of the CBS Radio merger/acquisition (along with KOIT, KBLX and KUFX in San Jose).

Interestingly, KOIT is #1, has been since at least last summer, and KMVQ has consistently been in the top 5 since summer. KBLX is middle of the pack, but ties or beats KYLD each month. OTOH, KRBQ is in a virtual tie with KUFX, even though it is a full market signal and KUFX is a [strong] South Bay signal. (All stats I've quoted are 6+.)

So is it that Audacy isn't all that competent, or that Bonneville is just a better operator?

BTW, I happen to think RadioPaw is onto something. I'd be curious to see whether a format like K-POP can catch on in this market. It sure couldn't do much worse than KRBQ. In fact, bringing KDFC's classical format back couldn't do worse.

 

[TheBigA]

I'd be curious to see whether a format like K-POP can catch on in this market.

Can you program a 24/7 format strictly with K-pop? Typically, we need about 400 songs.

 

[Weiserguy]

Can you program a 24/7 format strictly with K-pop? Typically, we need about 400 songs.

Honestly, I'm not the person to ask that question of. But there must be someone who (a) has experience in radio programming, (b) has expertise in the K-POP amd/or J-POP music scene, and (c) is part of the Asian community and culture, so s/he can walk the walk. Someone who'd value the opportunity to be part of launching a new concept in a market that might be receptive to it. It's not a concept that would play well in Texas, but here? Definite maybe.

I have little doubt you will shoot down this idea. But before you do that, ask yourself how you yourself got your leg up in this business. By always sticking to conventional wisdom, and poo-poohing any original ideas? Maybe, but I doubt it. "Linear" broadcasting is dying on the vine, and the only way it gets rebooted is if someone is open to taking risks with new ideas that could bring in new listeners.

I'm no expert in the Asian culture, despite knowing many people who are. But I live here, and I'm surrounded by them, and they have very little in the way of radio. There are a handful of weak graveyard AM's and one rimshot FM coming out of the far South Bay, but AFAIK that's it. Might be worth a shot, can't do worse than KRBQ is already doing.

 

[Identnut]

Can you program a 24/7 format strictly with K-pop? Typically, we need about 400 songs.

Stations in South Korea seem to do it just fine, obviously. Granted, what is popular in the East won't always be popular in the West.

Even KUCD in Honolulu plays some Filipino tracks for variety, as that is a big population in the West Coast. But the big hits are Korean. J-Pop is almost a non-factor as Japan is a very insular market and its labels aren't interested in expansion. I think the only tracks in Japanese that play on KUCD are Japanese versions of K-Pop songs or tracks by K-Pop artists like BTS's "Stay Gold".

 

[TheBigA]

Might be worth a shot, can't do worse than KRBQ is already doing.

Once again, the assumption is the KRBQ is not achieving its goals for Audacy. I see the same assumption made about WXBK in NYC. Bad 6+ ratings, so it must be a failure. As we always say: No one makes serious decisions based on 6+ ratings.

Your first paragraph is worth discussing: There must be someone. The demographics of SF are not a secret. The folks at Audacy can see the percentages. The question is can they make money with that audience? That's the unanswered question. We don't know how KRBQ is billing right now. But blowing it up for a format where they have no experience is beyond risky.

"Linear" broadcasting is dying on the vine, and the only way it gets rebooted is if someone is open to taking risks with new ideas that could bring in new listeners.

Which is exactly why I support the idea of bringing KEXP to the bay area. As I said in that thread, KEXP will bring people to radio who likely don't currently listen. The main advantage of KEXP is that it's non-commercial, so it doesn't need to sell it's format to advertisers. A K-pop station would. If you're targeting the Asian population, it helps to have sales people in that demographic. That's what Audacy has done in the markets where it owns Hispanic stations. That's what they'd need to do here.

 

[TheBigA]

Stations in South Korea seem to do it just fine, obviously. Granted, what is popular in the East won't always be popular in the West.

Obviously, but what percentage of the Asian population is Korean. From what I can see, Chinese make up the majority of the minority. Koreans are under 2%. We shouldn't lump all Asians in one group. Each one is very distinct. My take is that Audacy has no expertise in this area. You don't try to learn in a Top 5 market.

 

[Radiopaw]

Obviously, but what percentage of the Asian population is Korean. From what I can see, Chinese make up the majority of the minority. Koreans are under 2%. We shouldn't lump all Asians in one group. Each one is very distinct. My take is that Audacy has no expertise in this area. You don't try to learn in a Top 5 market.

I will say though, K-Pop specifically extends well beyond the Asian groups. It’s popular with young people of all races and backgrounds right now.

It has been since 2019 or so, and its popularity has leaked over to CHR. KMVQ has played G-IDLE for example.

That all being said, I do love the point about radio being less linear, music is a creative outlet and one of the major types of media for self expression. I think the radio market is in an awkward place, because things like Mediabase and Billboard group formats into awkward places. Most people who like alternative bands don’t call them alternative, and they often get grouped up with more modern adult contemporary music, now that’s alternative - we know that is a struggle of a format, but it’s a good example because in most places “alternative” doesn’t ring true with population.

I think people overestimate the power of streaming in some situations, I think car radio will remain a strong place for a while. It has plenty of advantages that I’d love to get into it but my post is getting long.

The main issue with radio right now is declining revenue, despite signs pointing to the radio listenership remaining steady.

I think that’s a very complex subject and probably related to economic conditions changing, another complex subject. Haha.

That all being said, I do think that Cumulus’s experiment with Atlanta’s 99X is a good example of a format that “didn’t really exist” in major markets being tested out.

And with radio attempting to appeal to large groups of people, K-Pop is one of the first genres in a while that can bridge the cultural gaps. Talk to anyone in Gen Z or an early Millennial, or take it from me (27) — It’s pretty much all people my age talk about.

 

[TheBigA]

I think the radio market is in an awkward place, because things like Mediabase and Billboard group formats into awkward places.

We're talking about a major national radio company, not a company based in SF. Would things be different if they were strictly local? Maybe. But they're not. That's why I say it's a tough stretch for a company that has no experience in the format. The hardest part is to find advertising, not play the music.

I do think that Cumulus’s experiment with Atlanta’s 99X is a good example of a format that “didn’t really exist” in major markets being tested out.

Except that 99X was a heritage station, and they brought back the heritage staff to execute it. It's not strictly about the format, but the presentation. In this case, it was an established presentation with established talent playing established music. Of course it's a hit. The fact that it took this long to launch was the big surprise. What you're proposing in SF is a very different thing.

And with radio attempting to appeal to large groups of people, K-Pop is one of the first genres in a while that can bridge the cultural gaps. Talk to anyone in Gen Z or an early Millennial, or take it from me (27) — It’s pretty much all people my age talk about.

I think there are easier ways to do the same thing. There's a thread in another group about a Taylor Swift format. That's a better example.

 

[Yabadabado1]

Fine. Switch to a K-pop [or combo of K-pop and other J-pop, etc. music] How long will Audacy give it till it finds its feet? 3 months? 6 months? A year? More? Also, are there enough business' [Korean/Japanese/etc.] to target for advertising purposes and getting them to advertise on said station? Granted, you might have a few "American" type business' attempting to advertise but if they don't see an increase in minority shoppers, they may pull their advertising fairly fast.

 

[TheBigA]

How long will Audacy give it till it finds its feet? 3 months? 6 months? A year? More?

They have given WXBK two years of 1 share ratings. They aren't quick to drop a format. They stuck with CHR in LA for years before doing the KNX simulcast.

But you're right about the advertising issue, and that's why they won't do this.