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Only 10 Full-Power Commercial FM Stations in Minneapolis

G

Gregg.

For some reason, Minneapolis has a low number of full-power commercial FM stations for Market #16... only ten (92.5, 93.7, 94.5, 97.1, 100.3, 101.3, 102.1, 102.9, 104.1, 107.9). There are two full-power non-commercial FMs in the commercial section of the dial (98.5, 99.5). And there are a few lower-power stations in the mix (96.3, 107.1 and the 105 trio).

Compare Minneapolis with a similar-sized market like Phoenix: 14 full power commercial FMs and several more lower power and move-in FMs. But Phoenix has no non-commercial FMs in the commercial band.

With fewer FM outlets, there are fewer opportunities for new formats in Minneapolis. That's why there is no AC and no Alternative Rock station in the Twin Cities. There's only one Top 40 station, while most large markets have two. And being very white, there are no commercial Urban, Rhythmic or Latin FM stations in Minneapolis either.
 
3848526 6

Between "The Current" and Cities, there really isn't room or need for an "alternative rock" station in the Twin Cities. Those stations effectively serve that audience - the hip, indie crowd on the Current, the more mainstream Modern AC side on 97. There's not that much hit music in that category that isn't being exposed by existing stations.
 
Comparing Phoenix to Minneapolis is a matter of geography. Once you are out of the metro area there is nothing for 100's of miles that will support an FM station. So there is plenty of room on the dial in Phoenix for an FM station without too much worry about overlap. Minneapolis on the other hand has lots of small cities, each of which can support an FM station taking up spectrum space for a full power FM. I am thinking here St. Cloud and Rochester for example. Then there are lot of the smaller cities taking up one or more a piece (e.g. Stillwater, Owatonna). So it may have been a lot more difficult to squeeze in an FM in Minneapolis than in Phoenix.
 
There is almost no overlap between the music on a commercial alternative station and what either Cities or Current do. Do the typical "alt." terrestrial listeners default there and a bit to 93.7 because there's no where else to go? Sure. But musically the formats are completely divergent. The Current is a NonComm AAA and Cities is a Hot/Modern AC/AAA. Viewing a music log of commercial alternative stations such as KRBZ/Kansas City, KDXA/Des Moines, WLUM/Milwaukee, WWWX/Appleton etc. will confirm this to be the case.
 
Irregardless, the alternative music that people want to hear in the Twin Cities is played by those radio stations. If it were that desired, one of those stations would be playing it. There are not a whole lot of records that fall "between" those stations and would be enough for a fully new alternative outlet - which would also cut into the stations mentioned, leaving everyone with halved shares that still wouldn't sustain the new one. But then, I'm in the radio business.
 
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