This is my 450th
post since I started blogging in September 2014. I can’t recall making a major
correction before today.
 |
| Bill Siemering |
My purpose
with SPARK! is to present news,
opinions, discussion, theories and occasional humor, but what I report must be based upon
facts. I am a believer in Bill Siemering’s first commandment to those of us in noncom public
media:
(Paraphrasing St. Siemering) Public
media is all about trust. Viewers, listeners and readers must trust that the water you
pour is “pure,” that what you say is not compromised by money our hidden
agendas. This begins with telling the truth.
Forgive me father,
for I have sinned. My sin is Sloth.
On Friday 6/24 I
published [link] the story “Classical
Music Rising” Is Gaining Momentum about the early stages of the new
SRG-sponsored Classical project. In the post there is a chart titled Project Partners (as of June 21) Most Recent
Nielsen Audio Ratings. It contained some inaccurate data.
I combined two
lists of data to create the chart and didn’t double-check my work. About a
third of the station numbers were not correct.
Below is the chart with the correct information. I have also posted this update into the
original post.
I try to make
certain that stats (ratings, revenue, etc.) that appear in SPARK! are
accurate. I regret any inconvenience or angst my error might have caused.
LISTENER COMMENTS
COMPARING KRCC WITH WUGA
From
a CONFIDENTIAL reader who asked not to be identified by name
Regarding the June 29 item [link] “WUGA
IN ATHENS, GEORGIA MOVES TO MAINLY NPR NEWS, DROPPING CLASSICAL”
CONFIDENTIAL WRITES:
Well KRCC did something similar by dropping
its afternoon music mix for the same shows. Its all about consistency.
The smaller Public Radio stations are trending towards that.
I prefer this because I don't care for the NPR News and related shows. KRCC did have enough audience for many years for its main music programs and made money doing that. But slowly the music shows have been secondary.
KRCC needs a second station their for music
programing. They may be difficult because of the many Contemporary
Christian Music (CCM) that do so well in the Springs.
Christian Music fans are just as loyal as Triple
A music fans. Trouble is Christian Music is more popular and has more
fans.
KEN SAYS:
I agree with many
of your observations, particularly that format-focusing is moving quickly into
small and medium size markets. But, CCM
being more popular than Triple A? Maybe
that is true in Colorado Springs where new folks must prove their born-again
standing before entering the city but Triple A rules nationally.
______________
WHAT ABOUT JOHN HICKMAN?
From reader
RickC50
Regarding the June 21 post [link] “MURRAY
HORWITZ RETURNS TO PUBLIC RADIO AS HOST OF “THE BIG BROADCAST”
RickC50 WRITES:
Shouldn’t you at least mention John Hickman
who originated the show on WAMU? Ed Walker took his place after John passed
away.
KEN SAYS:
Yes, I should have
mentioned John Hickman but I was not aware of him before I received your
message. Thank you for thinking of him.
Here is a portion of his obit from Washington Post published in November, 1999:
John Hickman, 55, a radio historian
and former program host at WAMU-FM was found dead Dec. 10 at his home in
Gaithersburg. He had a stroke in 1990 and had suffered from seizures and other
health complications since then.
Mr. Hickman joined the staff at
WAMU-FM in 1964 when he created "Recollections," a program featuring
vintage broadcasts from the "golden age of radio." This program later
became "The Big Broadcast," which is WAMU's longest-running program.
_______________
WHAT GIVES WITH WERS &
WUMB IN BOSTON?
From
an ANONYMOUS reader
Regarding the June 20 post [link] “WSGE,
KUTX & WXPN MAKE NOTABLE GAINS IN ONE-YEAR TRIPLE A TRENDS” http://acrnewsfeed.blogspot.com/2016/06/wsge-kutx-wxpn-make-notable-gains-in.html
ANONYMOUS WRITES:
WERS and WUMB seem to be perpetually
subject to wild swings in the ratings... One can, and probably should, point
the finger at WUMB’s well-documented signal issues. The move of WUMB to that
taller tower in Milton has made a world of difference for in-car
listening...but it doesn’t change the fact that they are trying to cobble
together a bunch of inferior signals to cover the whole Greater Boston
region. That strategy is dubious at best. What is going on?
KEN SAYS:
|
I’ve noticed the
same “wobbles.” In the case of WERS, their Modern Rock format has a lot of
similarities to commercial rock stations like WBOS and WXRV. All three stations
have lower time-spent-listening and higher listening-occasions because of the “trendiness”
of the music.
Regarding WUMB,
their listening is so small one or two listeners on the PPM “panel” can skew
their numbers from book to book. I don’t
think it is a question of coverage area. WUMB’s metro signal penetration looks
pretty good to me.
Hi Ken, the WUMB map is misleading. Like I said, the move to that new tower added a bunch of height, which really helped in-car listening. But their ERP is still a miniscule 160 watts. As in, 0.16kW. It doesn't penetrate buildings worth a damn.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the Radio Locator maps don't show highways, but there are two critical ones that rather neatly act as "boundaries" that stations have to cover to be successful. One is I-495, which is the "outer beltway". That passes through Taunton, Franklin, Marlborough, Lowell, and Lawrence (all visible on that R-L map aove). Any good Class B FM needs its 70dBu (not the 60dBu...the 70) to reach 495 to be a truly regional signal. That ensures that you can be heard in homes inside 495, and by cars travelling along 495.
For the smaller Class A signals, it's a similar game but now you're talking about I-95, which is more commonly referred to as "Rt.128" (and in this case, also includes I-93 until the "Braintree Split" where Rt.3 heads SE). This runs clockwise from Weymouth-ish, to Norwood, along that yellow chunk just south of the word "Newton", arcs up through Woburn and around to Lynn.
WUMB's location in Milton means it covers the southern part of that circle pretty well. But even its 60dBu is missing at least 1/3rd of that circle...never mind the 70dBu.
Worse still, WUMB has hordes of sources of interference. First, their own signals on 91.9 out of Falmouth/Cape Cod (WFPB) and Worcester (WBPR), plus 91.7's from Newburyport (WNEF), Maynard/Stow (WAVM/WUMG) and Marshfield (WUMF). And a 91.7 in Salem/Marblehead (WMWM) and Lunenburg (WTYN).
There's also a slew of little 91.5's all over the region (WMFO Medford, WZLY Wellesley, WUML Lowell, WBIM Bridgewater and...practically co-located with them...WMLN Milton) and the massive, flamethrower signal of WPRO-FM roaring into town on 92.3 out of Providence (completely with HD carriers, too).
All that noise really nibbles away a lot of WUMB's coverage.
But really it's the ERP that kills them. Sure their 60dBu covers a HUGE population but the ERP is so low that it's largely limited to in-car listening and they don't cover anywhere near a large enough area to be competitive in the car when Boston commuters routinely drive in from towns well outside I-495.
FWIW, theoretically WERS should be creaming WXRV; both have funding issues and relatively small staffs...but WXRV's 92.5 signal has to try to reach Boston from way up in Haverhill *and* deal with interference from WBOS 92.9's local signal. WERS transmits right from downtown Boston. But I suppose it's the presence of WBOS that creates a three-way split that ensures none of them really succeed.