Timeless classics coming to The Lake

You read it here first in my previous blog 102.7 FM goes Christmas, and then...

Looks like The Radio Group is getting ready to pull the trigger on the new format for 102.7 FM the first week of January. Email sources tell us that 102.7 FM (currently playing a lame Christmas format) will switch to Timeless Classics The Lake 102.7 in a new blend of the oldies format. You have to wonder how The Radio Group thinks they can make this format work in the Kingston market when both CORUS and CTVglobemedia dropped their oldies and all-time favourite formats with their switch to FM frequencies earlier this fall.

Time will tell...keep your radio tuned!

102.7 FM goes Christmas, and then...

With the transformation of KIX to their new Canadian frequency at 93.5 FM, the powers-that-be at The Radio Group have tuned 102.7 FM into Kingston's only Christmas station. It's nothing new, Oldies 960 did it a couple of times, but with both AMs having gone to FMs with new formats and needing to establish their audiences, it was highly unlikely CORUS or CTVglobemedia would go to a Christmas format. One rumour circulating is that John Wright is going to offer a "present" in the form of a new format on 102.7 FM after Christmas.

Watch for John Wright to come to the rescue of a demo that got screwed by the big media companies, with an all times favourites format. As one observer pointed out, it's a demo that is completely open in the new Kingston radio landscape (please, enough rock formats already!).

John Wright is the guy who brought rock back to the Kingston airwaves after rock listeners got screwed by CHUM when they yanked The River and switched to The Point (opps!). Imagine, free of can-con rules with 102.7 FM being an American station, listeners could tune into All Elvis Weekends or All Beatles Weekends.

Time will tell...keep your radio tuned!

Dear "Mr. H"

Dear Mr. H, please stick your hand down your pants and grab the hard thing you feel. That hard thing is the knot your panties are obviously tied in! After reading your comments from my "The Drive 98.9 FM launches with Immodium" blog, I'm worried you're getting a little too worked up over my take on Kingston's radio market.

The first thing I need to clarify is that while I'm amused that Kingston radio jocks and sales reps have spent their time (and your money) reading my rants, you're not the target audience. This site was created for, and the majority of it's readers come from, Kingston advertisers. The more I worked with businesses in Kingston, the more I found that each was very confused by what the different sales reps from the mighty 3 Kingston radio properties were telling them. Here's rule #1 for this blog: I'm here to help them make sense of things, and to vent my opinion on the good or bad job I see Kingston radio stations doing. If I got your goat, great!

1. I'm going to call it CTVglobemedia. You can call it whatever you want. Since CTVglobemedia owns it, and CHUM as we all knew it is now part of the ingredients that make up CTVglobemedia, you can have all the heritage you want. We don't refer to the owners of CFMK and CFFX as Frontenac Broadcasting or Power Broadcasting. Please refer to rule #1.
2. The AMC Pacer was a great car. Don't diss it! As far as changing your format, you can do whatever you want for whatever reason you want. It's kinda like hair colour... go ahead and die your hair pink. It's your hair, but it doesn't mean I can't laugh at you. Please refer to rule #1.
3. You're a little too quick to dismiss the BBM book. Why bother spending the thousands of dollars to be part of the survey if you only "take it with a grain of salt, blend it with 2 or three other books, spin it, toss it, and it'll be over by the time Christmas comes?" The last time I checked, it's what the advertising agencies use to book spots in a market, and if big budget spenders like Tim Hortons, McDonalds, Coors Light, and East Side Mario's use those numbers, they must usually mean something. I was dismissing this single book, since it's the survey of stations that doesn't take into account your station switch, Lite 104.3's switch, KIX Country's split, ect. Maybe if you had the number 1 station in most demos you would take the book more seriously than just with a grain of salt. But that's just my opinion. Please refer to rule #1.
4. The DRIVE 98.9 FM or 98.9 The DRIVE... whatever! It's a name, and in my opinion, lacks edge. But I'm just one person with an opinion. The fact that you believe in it is great! It's your brand, you spent the money developing it. Please refer to rule #1.
5. See previous point.
6. Before telling me to look something up, do your research. Oh forget it, I'll do it for you: http://songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2709

Sincerly,

The Radio Guy

The Drive 98.9 FM launches with Immodium!

Take that old people! Nothing like telling the blue-hair seniors who were loyal to 1380 to go screw themselves by launching with Nirvana's Immodium! In case you missed it (or your radio doesn't get the frequency) 98.9 FM official launched at 3 p.m. today. Naming a station after a day-part? We'll see. While the fall book isn't really going to tell us much (except if FM96 made any dent into K-ROCK's audiences), the Spring book will tell us if CTVglobemedia can put an old Kingston jock to grab the young male audience.

Time will tell...keep your radio tuned!

98.9 launching at 3 p.m.

We were wrong on the date, and in a few minutes we'll see if we were wrong about the format. CTVglobemedia is going to launch 98.9 at 3 p.m. CTVglobemedia staff were told to keep a lid on the launch, but we expect to hear Jim Elyot greet listeners and take his spot full-time again, back on the airwaves of Kingston.

Was the delay from the original start date format related, was it because of the on-air talent? Who cares! At 3 p.m. we'll get to hear launch that will likely be better than the JOE-FM to FM96 switch (copying The Sepranos with 30-seconds of dead air...WTF?). The last time CTVglobemedia (then CHUM) launched a station here in Kingston, the relaunch was memorable. From The Team 1380 to All Time Favourites 1380 CKLC by playing Elvis Prestley's "A Little Less Conversation" was classic! A pretty close second was K-Rock's launch in 2001 with The Tragically Hip's "New Orlean's Is Sinking." What's a good, Canadian, classic alternative song... hmm... "Blow at High Dough" by The Hip or "Unsound" by the Headstones would be two good bets.

Time will tell...keep your radio tuned!

Kingston airwaves ready to get "Bounced" with classic alternative

With two of the three new stations now on-air (Lite 104.3 and KIX Country 93.5) CTVglobemedia is set to launch The Bounce 98.9 FM according to sources. Having spent the past few weeks testing their signal with a loop of classic alternative, listen for the new station to go live with Jim Elyot as the morning show host on Monday, November 19, 2007. This format is a bit surprising since CHUM/CTVglobemedia has historically shied away from direct format competition (i.e. reformatting The River to The Point leading up to K-Rock's launch, creating a Hot A/C format on FLY-FM leading up to CORUS's launch of Lite 104.3). But it shows that the market is now cluttered for music formats in Kingston, leaving only one hole to fill: Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR).

If CTVglobemedia indeed launches a Classic Alternative format on 98.9 FM, watch for for a CHR format on 102.7 FM, although likely a lot better formatted in the hands of John Wright.

Time will tell...keep your radio tuned!

Corus launches new easy listening station for Kingston

Corus Entertainment was the first out of the box in launching their new FM station at 12noon today, the reformatted, rebranded Lite 104.3 FM. It proves that our inside info was close when we predicted a Magic 104.3 FM. With CTVglobemedia having gone to a more Hot AC format with FLY-FM, the door was left open for someone to come in and go after the Women 35+ who don't want to hear Britney or Beyoncé.

Here is the official release from Corus:

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On Monday, October 15th, 2007, a brand new radio station hit the Kingston airwaves, reflecting the tastes of adults who enjoy an Adult Contemporary style of music and programming. This station will be appealing to adults 35 to 64, in particular - women.

Lite 104.3 - Kingston’s Lite Rock plays music that includes artists such as: Elton John, Phil Collins, Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Billy Joel and other fabulous artists from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s!

With a blend of everyone’s favourite “Lite Rock” songs, and a commitment to “no repeat workdays”, Lite 104.3 is soon to be a hit with the Kingston work force! Whether its at one of the areas five largest employers: CFB Kingston (5,277 employees), Queen’s University (4,200), The Limestone District School Board (2,720), Correctional Services (2,670), Kingston General Hospital, or anywhere else Kingstonians are working - Lite 104.3 will provide listeners with their favourite music throughout the work day - without repeats! And when the station breaks we promise to be back in two minutes - Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm!

With a mix of your favourite songs from the past, and some of your newer favourites, Lite 104.3 will be a station you can share with everyone. You’ll never hear “on air content” that is offensive, never again will you be embarrassed by your choice of stations.

Lite 104.3 will also feature “The Classic Café”, weekdays from 12pm to 1pm. Then Saturday mornings from 7am to 12pm, tune in for “The Saturday Morning Oldies Show”! When it comes to local information, Lite 104.3 has got you covered! With local news every 30 minutes, weekdays from 6am to 9am and every 60 minutes from 9am to 6pm, Lite 104.3 will keep you informed about your community.

Lite 104.3 and “no repeat work days” can be heard on air in the Kingston area at 104.3 on the FM dial, or world wide at www.lite1043.ca

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Who will be next to launch their new FM stations? Word inside is that K-ROCK will hold true to their intention and launch 93.5 FM as KIX, giving them 102.7 FM available from Cape Vincent, NY to add a third format, but they are in no hurry. My bet is with CTVglobemedia, but with firm competition to the Female AC part of the market, will they branch their Top 40 on 98.9 FM when they have Hot AC on FLY-FM?

Time will tell...keep your radio tuned!

New CORUS FM station to launch on October 15?

It looks like CORUS Entertainment will be the first to launch their new FM radio station in Kingston on October 15, 2007. The event, billed as a client appreciation mixer, is being held at King Street Sizzle in similar fashion to how CORUS relauched 96.3 JOE-FM to FM96 on June 28, 2007 at the Tir Nan Og. Since CORUS has been testing the 104.3 FM frequency for the past few weeks, they should reach the required 30-day frequency broadcast test before they can go live. Will it be The Edge 104.3 or Magic 104.3?

Time will tell...keep your radio tuned!

The Real Deal On Demographics

Radio stations sales reps love to give advertising clients ratings to show how well they are doing compared to the competition. The system is as old as commercial radio. Usually, the sales rep will give ratings for a demographic group that is the most favourable for their station ("hey Bill, we're the number 2 station for Adults 52-59!"). In reality, there are only 2 age groups that advertisers should care about: 18-49 and 25-54. Think about it.

From 18-49 you:

• go to college
• have your first job
• change jobs
• get into a whole lot of debt
• buy cars
• get a mortgage
• get married
• have kids

From 25-54 you:

• get married
• change jobs
• buy more cars
• sell your house and buy another
• have kids
• send your kids to college & university
• plan for retirement

Those two lists have one very big thing in common: spending money! Advertisers really only care about people who have money (or credit) to spend. The next time a sales rep for a radio station shows you the numbers, ask to see those age groups, either Males, Females, or Adults, to get a sense if you're advertising with the right station.

In Canada, the service that provides ratings to the broadcast industry is the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement- BBM (http://www.bbm.ca/en/home.html), a private company shared by the three groups that actually care about the ratings: radio stations, advertising agencies, and advertisers. Every year, the BBM surveys the Kingston market twice: in the spring and fall, which also coincides with all the great contests stations run (all to get more listeners, listening for longer).

This backgrounder will come in really handy when I start posting the Ratings Rankers, direct from the BBM, when they come out (April and December). In the meantime, I'll post some of the more recent Ratings Rankers from the fall of 2006 and the spring of 2007.

Time will tell...keep your radio tuned!

The Three New FM Stations For Kingston

Earlier this summer, the CRTC decided to allow three new FM stations to go to air in Kingston (http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2007/db2007-334.htm). The decision basically allowed CORUS to change their AM station CFFX Oldies 960 into an FM station (104.3), CHUM (now part of CTVglobemedia) to change their AM station All Times Favourites 1380 CKLC into an FM station (98.9), and K-ROCK 1057 Inc. to add a second Canadian station (93.5).

CORUS won the race of first to air, but don't let the format of 104.3 FM fool you. It won't be a classic country station. The old country playlist on CORUS' new frequency is a weak attempt to pull listeners from KIX 102.7 during the BBM survey. The strong rumour is that CORUS is going to add a Lite Rock format to partner with FM96 (the rebranded CFMK that didn't go Classic Rock, but instead chose "The Greatest Rock And Roll Of All Time" in a reformat and rebranding exercise earlier this summer). Targeting Females 25-54 is a natural move since most in the industry agree that FM96 was an attempt by CORUS to grab some of the Males 25-54. Looking at some of CORUS' existing brands, could Kingston see a Magic 104.3? Or maybe the braintrust at CORUS, after targeting the older listenership of K-ROCK with FM96 will set their sights on the K-ROCK's younger demographics and bring Kingston The EDGE 104.3, a clone of their popular alternative rock brand.

CTVglobemedia is doing market research to find out what listeners want from 98.9 FM, through a website (http://www.989.fm/) and with a telephone research firm. By listening to format samples, listeners can chose how often they would listen to a station that played "Classic Rock" or "Top 40s" or "Easy Listening" and just about every other format, with the exception of talk. The telephone research firm has been calling Kingston residents playing the same format clips that are on the website, and based on the questions asked by the phone surveyors, a good bet would see CTVglobemedia add a Top 40 format to their station. With FLY-FM's move to a more Hot A/C format in the past year, it's a safe bet to assume CTVglobemedia has been testing the local waters of some hotter playlists, and with their marquee station, CHUM FM in Toronto, they could easily pull it off. Looking at some of CTVglobemedia's existing brands (and brands they suveyed over the phone) could Kingston see a Energy 98.9 FM or The Bounce 98.9 FM?

The last piece of the Kingston airwaves puzzle is what John Wright at K-ROCK 1057 Inc. does. The basis for the application to add 93.5 FM was to give Wright the ability to compete with the other broascasters who would have multiple FM stations in the Kingston market. Arguably, Wright already had two through his partial ownership and ability to sell advertising on American station KIX Country 102.7 FM (WBDR). The strategy for 93.5 FM would be to move the format of KIX 102.7 to the new 93.5 FM Canadian station. The CRTC application and decision outlined a number of areas they would support in country music, aside from the format (funds for developing country artists, talent search, and music festival). All things considered, don't expect a new country station. The CRTC license does NOT mandate music format. So long as they spend the money how they said they would, they could play whatever format of music they wanted. I wouldn't be surprised to see 102.7 stay country, with the support of the festival, talent search, and artist development happening to keep the letter of the application in good standing, with a completely different format for 93.5 FM. With Wright's ties to Rogers Radio (through K-ROCK 105.7 FM) could Kingston see a 93.5 EZ-ROCK?

Time will tell...keep your radio tuned!