Sunday, June 21, 2009

Perfecting Formatics

Star 94 and The Bull, two stations oft covered here as up-and-comers in recent weeks, pushed their way skyward in the May PPM’s. 99X at 97.9, Cumulus Media Partners’ baby translator, also made impressive gains.

Both Star 94’s and The Bull’s Persons 6+ shares hit new whole numbers, with Star at 4.0 and The Bull at 3.0. Star’s performance was its best since the introduction of PPM, and The Bull’s share the highest since its first Arbitron book in 2007. The Bull’s Winter, 2007 share indicated trial; this time, it denotes a real audience.

In the coveted 25-54 demo, Star 94 showed up at a 3-way tie for #7; most direct competitor Q100 was tied for #5. The Bull was in a 9-way tie (yep, that’s PPM for you) for #10. Kicks, The Bull’s Country foe, was caught in that same tie as far as average (rounded) rating (but was 1,100 persons ahead of The Bull).

Mornings on Star with Cindy & Ray continued to climb, resting in a tie for #8; Q100’s Bert Show was #4. Star’s afternoon drive, featuring the syndicated Ryan Seacrest, performed fairly well in a tie for #5 compared to #4 for Q100. (Seacrest is the one show on Star whose potential I have questioned.) Afternoon drive with Lance Houston continued to be The Bull’s strongest daypart, tying Kicks for #7 in average rating but actually edging out Bill Celler by 600 people.

Star 94 PD JR Ammons must have the station sounding like he wants because Star has been spending the past few weeks tweaking its formatics. Star modified its positioning from “Atlanta’s #1 Hit Music Station” to “Atlanta’s Hit Music Station.”

I think the subtle change was a smart one. First, Atlanta’s #1 Hit Music Station acknowledges the competition; the new version minus the number does not. CHR outlets in markets with only one station in the format have used “The #1 Hit Music Station” for years, but that sweeper connotes the station is the place for the top hits; “Atlanta’s #1 Hit Music Station” suggests it’s better than the other CHR station.

Second, all of its sweepers now reference hits in some shape or form. (One of them, “The Biggest Hits from the Biggest Stars,” is almost the same as The Bull’s original positioning, “The Biggest Stars, The Biggest Hits.”). The strategy seems to be to make Star 94 top-of-mind when a listener thinks of hit music.

Star 94 made an excellent choice with Heather Branch for middays. She has a rich sound and fits the format beautifully. As she has felt more comfortable in recent weeks, she has been interjecting more tidbits about entertainment stars within Star’s tight talk restrictions.

I really enjoy listening to a jock who loves what he’s doing. Star 94’s Darik at Night is such a personality, and that he’s having a great time comes right through the speakers. Since he replaced Nudge in early 2007, Darik has only been getting better and interacts excellently with listeners.

I still miss the jingles on Star and feel they could brighten the station considerably. I had heard the ReelWorld package was dropped because Lincoln Financial was frowning on barter. Yet Seacrest is partly barter so I don’t know the validity of that. And, jingles can be had at a nominal cost. But I hand it to JR for pulling Star 94 back in the right direction and making it sound good again.

AAA’s Future
When I started doing Atlanta Airwave Action several months ago, I decided to make two resolutions in order to keep from getting burnt out as I did writing an Atlanta radio column several years ago. The first was to stick pretty much to commentary and not try to be the first with breaking news. The second was to post the column when something noteworthy happened in Atlanta radio and not adhere to a regular schedule.

I have lived up to the first resolution. However, I have been posting a column almost every Monday evening. After all, I felt that if readers did not find a new post on a regular schedule, they might think I had stopped writing it and not return.

I had been trying to post every Monday evening even if nothing much happened during the preceding week, if the weekend was a holiday or if I was slammed with my paying work. But frankly, being “forced” to post on a regular basis kind of turned doing the column into a chore; and it’s been difficult to write some of them over the past several weeks.

So…I’m not going to adhere to a regular schedule. I will still update the blog fairly often so please check occasionally. For those of you who are my Facebook friends, I will notify you of each new column on my Facebook page. And, I will mention the blog occasionally on Radio-Info.com.

I’ve received a lot of response from people in and outside the industry, and I appreciate all of it! I hope you will continue to check back.

Roddy Freeman

Thanks for reading. Feel free to email me at roddyfreeman@bellsouth.net.

Link to Rodney Ho’s AJC TV & Radio Blog:
http://blogs.ajc.com/radio-tv-talk/

Monday, June 8, 2009

The GRHOF Revs It Up

Many of us bemoan what’s happened to our favorite medium under consolidated ownership. We reminisce about the fun of radio back in the day. Well, the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame is proving that while enthusiasm for radio might have waned, enthusiasm for yesterday’s radio is very much alive among those who loved it.

One reason for the organization’s health might be the man who leads it, John Long, President of the GRHOF, a man who lives and breathes radio. John jocked and programmed his way across the country during the halcyon days of AM top 40. He plied his craft at such legendary places as WAPE in Jacksonville and WHBQ in Memphis; he worked with legends like Paul Drew, Rick Dees and the Greaseman. John himself is steeped in Georgia radio history, having started his career hanging out at Atlanta market powers WQXI and WFOM.

The Georgia Hall of Fame’s website, at http://www.grhof.com/, is jam packed with photos, articles, audio and video airchecks, and more.

I attended last year’s annual GRHOF awards banquet, which featured a Z93 reunion, and frankly was blown away. Aside from the amazing program and array of all-star radio people who turned out, the packed room was full of good cheer and of passion for the radio business. The entire state of Georgia was aptly represented.

The highlight of this year’s event on October 17 at the Atlanta/Marietta Hilton Conference Center is a 94Q reunion. Ticket sales and hotel reservations are running far ahead of 2008.

The GRHOF’s 2009 Legacy Candidate slate consists of Marcus Bartlett, Bob Carr, Al Ciraldo, Charlie Doss, Ed Dunbar, Milt George, Don Elliott Heald, Bill Hoger, H. Randolph Holder Sr., Sonya Hamm, Mike Kavanagh, Thomas Maxwell, Chuck McClure, Dick Meeder, Ed Mullinax, Mather Payne, Mike Rieneri and James W. Woodruff, Jr.

The Career Achievement Candidates include Don Benson, Ryan Cameron, Greg Davis, Don Edwards, Leslie Fram, Johnny Gray, Larry James, Don King, Ben Lucas, Marvin Massey, Mike McDougald, Jerry Rogers, Rick Shaw, Harold Shedd, Jim Wesley, Dennis Winslow, Burl Womack and Steve McCoy & Vikki Locke.

Following the passing of Mike Kavanagh last fall, the WSBHistory.com website was transferred to the GRHOF’s care and trust in accordance with Mike’s expressed wishes. John Long is presently retooling the site, which soon will be ready for re-launch. The site under Mike’s direction was a complete encyclopedia of the historic station’s past and its people, and it will only get better.

The GRHOF was recently approved as a 501C3 non-profit organization by the IRS, meaning any donation is now tax deductible. Anyone making a contribution of $100 or more will receive a receipt to use as tax backup.

If you’re reading this, you obviously have an interest in radio. You’re welcome to join the GRHOF whether you’re in the radio business or not. For a one-time donation of $25 (which does not include the banquet), you’re a member for life. You’ll be enhancing your radio experience and helping preserve and remind people of Georgia radio’s rich heritage.

Roddy Freeman

Thanks for reading. Feel free to write me at roddyfreeman@bellsouth.net.

Link to Rodney Ho’s AJC Radio & TV Blog:
http://blogs.ajc.com/radio-tv-talk/