Post by musicradio77 on Oct 18, 2005 16:25:40 GMT -5
By DAVID HINCKLEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
While the oldies format has a lot of loyal followers in these parts, the case of WMTR (1250 AM) in Morristown, N.J., shows that it can be tricky to translate that into big radio success.
In January 2004, WMTR switched from pop hits to '50s and early-'60s oldies, hoping to 1) lower the age of its audience, and 2) grab listeners who could no longer get that music on oldies WCBS-FM (101.1).
WMTR did lower its average listening age, from the high 60s to the low 60s, and ratings went up.
Still, a relatively small suburban AM station has a lot of competition for listeners and ad dollars, and oldies audience are often perceived by advertisers, rightly or wrongly, as a limited target mostly receptive to older-folks products. While WMTR has a range of sponsors, one regular spot sells cemetery plots.
For economic reasons, then, WMTR has no overnight jock. It sells Saturday and Sunday mornings as paid programming and it carries play-by-play for several sports teams, including Syracuse football, the Knicks and Rangers.
"It's a balancing act," says Dan Finn, vice president of parent Greater Media. "You want to be consistent for your listeners, but it's also a business."
Soon after WCBS-FM dropped oldies in June, WMTR began playing more '60s music: Beatles, Motown, etc.
"It was a no-brainer to jump into that hole," says Finn - and for an oldies format, this is clearly the station's best shot.
Some oldies fans worried this summer when Greater Media flipped sister station WPEN (950 AM), outside Philadelphia, from early oldies to sports talk. Philly is different because it still has a full-signal FM oldies station (WOGL), but the move still illustrates the tight economics for small AMs.
Now the Eastern Broadcasting Co. says that as of Nov. 1 it will be moving its Southeast Asian programming to 1170 AM - a frequency on which Greater Media has been simulasting WMTR.
But Finn said last month he is "encouraged" about WMTR, whose recently enhanced nighttime signal carries to the Hudson and into parts of the city. "We're hoping to sustain our growth," he said.
THIRTY YEARS: The City Council last week approved a proclamation to recognize Fred Buggs, universally known as "Bugsy," for 30 years on the radio.
He's now heard 2-5 a.m. Tuesday-Friday and 2-7 p.m. Saturdays on WRKS (98.7 FM). Over the years he's also worked at WWRL, WBLS and WQHT.
BY THE BOOK: Radio's summer Arbitron ratings come out today, and while the summer "book" is less crucial because it doesn't determine ad rates, this one contains interesting minidramas.
One is whether the Jack format on WCBS-FM has stabilized. Then there's the chance WRKS, which has been on a roll, can topple perennial leader WLTW (106.7 FM) from the No. 1 spot overall.
A third is whether WWPR (105.1 FM) can edge ahead of hip-hop rival WQHT (97.1 FM). Power last week lost program director Michael Saunders, who left after an internal investigation triggered by Attorney General Elliot Spitzer's payola probe. WWPR's parent Clear Channel has not commented on why Saunders left, saying only that veteran Doc Wynter is the temporary program director.
BON JOVI TO 'PLJ: WPLJ (95.5 FM) no longer has the same competition with WHTZ (100.3 FM) as it had 20 years ago, but they still keep an eye on each other.
When WPLJ announced Friday it has landed Jon Bon Jovi for an "Off The Record" show Oct. 30 at the Hard Rock, morning cohost Todd Pettengill remarked, "I'll bet they're sticking a butter knife in their heads at Z100 now."
AROUND THE DIAL: Tony Paige, a 30-year sports journalism veteran, has made it to a full-time gig at WFAN (660 AM). He'll be doing 1-5:30 a.m., plus Saturday nights 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Paige worked at WFAN 1995-2000, then returned in 2003. When Paige is off, Monday and Friday, Evan Roberts will take the 1-5:30 a.m. shift....Patti Smith plays and talks with Dennis Elsas tonight at 8 on WFUV (90.7 FM).... New York magazine this week has a feature on Wendy Williams, afternoon host at WBLS (107.5 FM).
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
While the oldies format has a lot of loyal followers in these parts, the case of WMTR (1250 AM) in Morristown, N.J., shows that it can be tricky to translate that into big radio success.
In January 2004, WMTR switched from pop hits to '50s and early-'60s oldies, hoping to 1) lower the age of its audience, and 2) grab listeners who could no longer get that music on oldies WCBS-FM (101.1).
WMTR did lower its average listening age, from the high 60s to the low 60s, and ratings went up.
Still, a relatively small suburban AM station has a lot of competition for listeners and ad dollars, and oldies audience are often perceived by advertisers, rightly or wrongly, as a limited target mostly receptive to older-folks products. While WMTR has a range of sponsors, one regular spot sells cemetery plots.
For economic reasons, then, WMTR has no overnight jock. It sells Saturday and Sunday mornings as paid programming and it carries play-by-play for several sports teams, including Syracuse football, the Knicks and Rangers.
"It's a balancing act," says Dan Finn, vice president of parent Greater Media. "You want to be consistent for your listeners, but it's also a business."
Soon after WCBS-FM dropped oldies in June, WMTR began playing more '60s music: Beatles, Motown, etc.
"It was a no-brainer to jump into that hole," says Finn - and for an oldies format, this is clearly the station's best shot.
Some oldies fans worried this summer when Greater Media flipped sister station WPEN (950 AM), outside Philadelphia, from early oldies to sports talk. Philly is different because it still has a full-signal FM oldies station (WOGL), but the move still illustrates the tight economics for small AMs.
Now the Eastern Broadcasting Co. says that as of Nov. 1 it will be moving its Southeast Asian programming to 1170 AM - a frequency on which Greater Media has been simulasting WMTR.
But Finn said last month he is "encouraged" about WMTR, whose recently enhanced nighttime signal carries to the Hudson and into parts of the city. "We're hoping to sustain our growth," he said.
THIRTY YEARS: The City Council last week approved a proclamation to recognize Fred Buggs, universally known as "Bugsy," for 30 years on the radio.
He's now heard 2-5 a.m. Tuesday-Friday and 2-7 p.m. Saturdays on WRKS (98.7 FM). Over the years he's also worked at WWRL, WBLS and WQHT.
BY THE BOOK: Radio's summer Arbitron ratings come out today, and while the summer "book" is less crucial because it doesn't determine ad rates, this one contains interesting minidramas.
One is whether the Jack format on WCBS-FM has stabilized. Then there's the chance WRKS, which has been on a roll, can topple perennial leader WLTW (106.7 FM) from the No. 1 spot overall.
A third is whether WWPR (105.1 FM) can edge ahead of hip-hop rival WQHT (97.1 FM). Power last week lost program director Michael Saunders, who left after an internal investigation triggered by Attorney General Elliot Spitzer's payola probe. WWPR's parent Clear Channel has not commented on why Saunders left, saying only that veteran Doc Wynter is the temporary program director.
BON JOVI TO 'PLJ: WPLJ (95.5 FM) no longer has the same competition with WHTZ (100.3 FM) as it had 20 years ago, but they still keep an eye on each other.
When WPLJ announced Friday it has landed Jon Bon Jovi for an "Off The Record" show Oct. 30 at the Hard Rock, morning cohost Todd Pettengill remarked, "I'll bet they're sticking a butter knife in their heads at Z100 now."
AROUND THE DIAL: Tony Paige, a 30-year sports journalism veteran, has made it to a full-time gig at WFAN (660 AM). He'll be doing 1-5:30 a.m., plus Saturday nights 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Paige worked at WFAN 1995-2000, then returned in 2003. When Paige is off, Monday and Friday, Evan Roberts will take the 1-5:30 a.m. shift....Patti Smith plays and talks with Dennis Elsas tonight at 8 on WFUV (90.7 FM).... New York magazine this week has a feature on Wendy Williams, afternoon host at WBLS (107.5 FM).