KYYS/Kansas City now "The Boulevard"

35° - overcast at 9:50pm

KYYS Web Statement? Certainly there was a better way to begin this message to former listeners. Looks like a cut and paste from someone's memo..."here's the web statement..."

KYYS/Kansas City signed off at 1pm today - after playing Billy Squier's "In The Dark". And then "The Boulevard" signed on with Jackson Browne's song of the same name.

Entercom Market Manager Dave Alpert was quoted in All Access: "It had nothing to do with the staff - it was all about two stations playing the same music."

With the change - some legendary air talent is on the street with the change...including longtime AM drive talent Max Floyd.

Floyd signed on the original 102.1 KYYS as PD in 1974 after coming to the market from the same post at then-AOR KLZ-FM/Denver.

Following a format flip on the 102.1 frequency in 1997 - KYYS was resurrected on the 99.7 frequency with most of the former 102.1 staff joining including Floyd.

Randy Raley remembers KYYS - including the KY102 days - here.

But with the end of one format is the beginning of another. 99.7 The Boulevard debuted at 1pm - here's the first hour of music:

• Boulevard/Jackson Brown (1980)
• Beautiful Day/U2 (2000)
• Hey Nineteen/Steely Dan (1980)
• Refugee/Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1980)
• Madman Across The Water/Elton John (1971)
• One Headlight/Wallflowers (1996)
• Sunshine Of Your Love/Cream (1967)
• While You See A Chance/Steve Winwood (1980)
• Blinded By The Light/Bruce Springsteen (1973)
• Losing My Religion/REM (1991)
• One Of These Nights/Eagles (1976)
• Train In Vain/The Clash (1980)
• Suffragette City/David Bowie (1972)

Sounds like a great mix of music. While I hate to hear of some legendary calls going away - The first hour of the Boulevard sounds like a radio station I could easily listen to. I'll be listening over the weekend. Added: My thoughts on first listen here.

And - when The Boulevard hires an airstaff - there's some choice local legendary talent formerly on 99.7/KYYS available that might just fit in fine with the new approach....just a thought.

More Fall Numbers

36° - drizzle at 7:25am

Happy Friday.

Yesterday on All Access - consultant Anthony Acampora broke down the Fall numbers released for New York and LA. In the 25-54 demo - classic rocker WAXQ is #7 with classic hits/oldies WCBS-FM #9.

Acampora notes that WCBS-FM did dip slightly in the demo.

In LA - classic rock KLOS ranks #12 25-54. The station up slightly overall 12+. Also in LA: noted that "Movin' 93.9" doesn't appear to be moving anywhere in the numbers - even after some hefty marketing efforts.

Looking forward to more of Anthony Acampora's analysis in the days to come. Thanks to Anthony and Joel Denver again!

Chicago: WDRV dips slightly (again) 12+. WLUP up just a couple tenths. In Milwaukee: WKLH showing consistent performance and ranked #9 12+. WQBW (The Brew) off over a half point.

Classic rock KYYS/Kansas City going away. Tom Taylor reporting this morning that the veteran air staff including the legendary Max Floyd are out.

Station has been plugging "A to Z" to start Monday - assuming that will not happen. The rumored shift is to AAA as "The Boulevard". Details to be released later today.

More tonight. Have a great Friday.

Not The Way To Start 2008

Ouch.

All Access reporting this afternoon that "CBS/DENVER VP/Programming and CBS VP/Classic Hits Programming KEITH ABRAMS is out due to restructuring."

Keith an industry friend. All around good guy. One of radio's finest.

Not so many years ago when he was Programming in Salt Lake City - Keith moonlighted voice-tracking a shift for my Clear Channel oldies station. Best of luck to him and his family. I can't imagine someone with his talent being away from the biz very long.

Dreams Come True

28° - clear at 11pm

It happened in Dallas today. After 3-1/2 years, the Eagle has landed - again.

All Access reporting:

"It's like old times again in DALLAS, as CLEAR CHANNEL has revived Rock KEGL (THE EAGLE), effective immediately. The new format replaces Spanish-language Oldies "LA PRECIOSA."

"CC/DALLAS Pres./Market Manager J.D. FREEMAN told ALL ACCESS that the EAGLE left in MAY of 2004, and we've done research since then. We found two things: 1) that there was a large base of rock fans in DALLAS; and 2)The EAGLE still had a terrific reputation with that audience. That why we decided to use the EAGLE brand."

As much as I'd like to say "we called it" - the truth is we were just daydreaming a few weeks back:

Welcome back Eagle! See the new website here - it gets straight to the point!

The Weekend Classic Rock FM

38° - sunny at 9:45am

Happy Weekend. The big game here in town tomorrow: Michigan vs. Michigan State. Good luck finding cheap tickets to this one!

Knowing Your Market. Dave Lange writes this morning:

"Every market IS unique. I've worked in over 100 markets as a programmer, VP of Programming or consultant and there are obvious and clear differences in each one of them."

"If you don't take a careful and long look at all the factors in the 'market environment' you are going to leave audience, images, and dollars on the table that if wasted will limit your growth. It's also important to look at the competition and see who has impacted the audience and for what reason. For the real successful stations in always goes beyond 'the music position or mix.'"

Dave's entire post is here.

What If: Paragon Media's Bob Harper ponders:

"Why - when we know things of all kinds naturally clump together - do radio stations build music clocks that keep artists or song types equally separated? Why is our music so tidy in a messy world?"

"What is so crazy about four Elton Johns in two hours? Why do we let the software play fewer George Strait oldies when he has a top Current; at just the time listeners are probably more interested in the artist, not less? Which of Newton’s laws says you can’t play two Powers back-to-back sometimes?"

Bob Harper blogs here.

Spoof Our TV Commercial. Very cool - from CILQ/Toronto. Fans of the station have been doing their versions of the station's new TV spots. And the station is posting them along with the originals on their website. Check out the galleries here.

Also from CILQ: Guitar Lesson videos on the web from PM driver Kim Mitchell. This is very clever and is a great example of what a little imagination can do. See the videos here.

I'm betting Kim Mitchell was stoked about doing these videos too. The cost: almost nothing!

Led Zeppelin Reunion: Postponed. All Access reporting today:

"Hard rock icons LED ZEPPELIN have postponed their reunion concert from NOV. 26th to DEC. 10th, as guitarist JIMMY PAGE recuperates from a fractured finger. The band will still headline The AHMET ERTEGUN Tribute Concert at The O2 Arena in LONDON; it will be their first performance together in 19 years."

HD Radio meets the iPOD

Inside Radio reports:

"On the heels of the release of Apple's new iPod, Inside Radio has learned Polk Audio will announce the next generation of HD Radio tuners this afternoon that will establish a direct connection between HD and iPods - and in the process bring e-commerce to HD. In an alliance with Apple, Polk's new I-Sonic ES2 HD Radio will include an iPod docking station that features a "tagging button" which will allow listeners to buy songs they hear on HD Radio stations via iTunes. The advancement requires HD stations to encode their signals and insiders say eight radio groups have committed to encoding."

Could this be the shot-in-the-arm needed to jump-start consumer awareness of HD Radio?

Added: All Access reporting that Clear Channel has signed to be the first to sign on with the HD Radio/iPod/Polk Audio model.

Afternoon Update

"Overnight we have scores of PPM experts offering station and group folks assistance. Some of these same experts would have us believe they are qualified to confront Arbitron and take the lead in what amounts to an ongoing ratings police action. My opinion is most of these so-called experts are not qualified to discuss the subject matter at any serious depth." - David Martin.

Read Dave's post here.

All Access reports: "the cumes for an in-tab based on the partial sample that was improperly processed was just about the same as the full properly processed sample."

Meanwhile: Paragon Media has been updating readers on the Arbitron Consultant Fly-In with its new blog. A recap of yesterday posted this morning; I'd expect another one soon. Read here.

Other notes of interest:

You Tube: Using embedded You Tube videos on your station site? Google's new You Tube ad strategy is now kicking in.

Do you mind their ad inventory on your website? Something to ponder. Your mileage may vary. Jaye Albright on that topic here.

btw: kudos to Google for monetizing its You Tube investment in a user-friendly way. More from Mark Ramsey here.

Satellite merger update: All Access reporting (Wednesday) that Entravision has told the FCC that if the Sirius/XM merger were to happen "the agency should allow existing terrestrial licenses to form a consortium and proceed to establish and operate a qualified competitor".

The company also "asks the FCC to require SIRIUS and XM to relinquish their spectrum so that competition can resume".

Giving up half of the combined spectrum entered my mind early into this merger talk. (this last piece reposted from yesterday; it wound up on my "bumped" list. I was "oversold". Poor inventory management on my part...oops...LOL)

Wednesday News and Blogs

76° - very cloudy at 2pm

Good afternoon from Michigan.

Imus. Lots of speculation about where he'll turn up next now that him and CBS have settled.

Is Citadel Broadcasting in his future?

Added - from All Access: "Employment is a large driver of ratings in a PPM world. In examining MEMORIAL DAY ratings, employed respondents showed much lower listeneing levels versus non-employed respondents. Much can be attributed to their non-commute on a holiday and no in-office listening." PPM market or not, Classic rock is ready-made for long weekend specials to keep your at-work audience listening. Here.

Royalties. The NAB drove a point to members about the discussion of performance royalties for terrestrial radio by sending a mock invoice to its members. Read the NAB release here.

Steven Van Zandt said it best a few weeks back: "I am a songwriter and a performer and I own record companies and publishing companies and I do not believe radio should pay anything to anyone. And I mean every kind of radio."

Meanwhile: RAIN reports that the new internet streaming royalties are in effect - even though Sound Exchange may not be enforcing them pending ongoing negotiations. More here. Danger Will Robinson: liability for the new rates has begun and is very real.

Little Steven on WCBS-FM: "...don't tell us WCBS is back, implying that it's back the way we remember it—we being the demographic that you decided meant nothing when you blew it up and now you're praying is still there."

(from Steven's upcoming column in Billboard later this week).

More Management. Consultant Gary Begin writes this week on All Access about "Managing Beyond The Basics". Some great thoughts. See "Consultant Tips".

This piece also found on Gary's website here.

Fred Jacobs wrote yesterday about an experience I've had more than a few times in my career...while dining with management and staff.

Share this with your GM or sales manager.

Have a great day.

More Houston PPM

I added this to the discussion of Houston's PPM numbers posted yesterday (below) - but thought I'd also post separately:

On All Access today, consultant Anthony Acampora reviews the new Houston June PPM numbers and notes the following:

Classic rock KKRW jumps from #7 in the last paper book to #1. Classic hits KHTC moves from #16 to #11t. Ranks are AQH A25-54.

What a great time for classic rock radio!

Sunday Morning Odds & Sods

74° - mostly sunny at 11am
Left: just off golf course down the street.

Good morning from Okemos.

Listening to WDRV/Chicago's Deep Tracks HD2 as I write. Steve Seaver on the air - playing Fleetwood Mac's Sentimental Lady; plus a great 1968 track from the Moody Blues "In Search Of The Lost Chord". I mentioned that album last Sunday.

Rock far from dead: Format PDs have to be psyched by the PPM numbers that have been rolling in - first from Philadelphia and now from Houston.

Lee Arnold reviews the latest Houston 6+ AQH numbers on his blog here. Lee sez: "Get ready for some interesting days ahead. Rock Radio - It’s like you never left!!!"

Added Monday 7/23: On All Access today, consultant Anthony Acampora reviews the new Houston June PPM numbers and notes the following:

Classic rock KKRW jumps from #7 in the last paper book to #1. Classic hits KHTC moves from #16 to #11t. Ranks are AQH - A25-54.

More PPM. Arbitron's Thom Mocarsky notes in Radio Daily News: "According to the June 2007 PPM radio ratings in Houston, Friday had the largest average quarter hour radio audience among persons, age 6 and older."

"It's also interesting to note that the bigger "lift" in Friday listening starts at 3:00pm and peaks in the 10pm to 11pm hour." This makes your weekend programming strategy all the more important.

PPM market or not - take advantage of that heavy Friday cume and carry it through weekend. Think something special - could be as simply as a "block party weekend". Kick it off early - Friday at noon or 1pm.

Classic rock is perfect for something special - every weekend. We've posted examples of other efforts here before.

Coincidently - caught this radio story in the Detroit Free Press yesterday: "Stations divide along strategic lines when it comes to grabbing your ear on Saturday and Sundays."

"Some stay with the same approach that brings in listeners all week long. Some change to reflect that people's habits aren't the same on weekends."

"As classic rock WCSX-FM programmer Bill Stedman put it: "Do you do on the weekends what you do Monday through Friday?"

Read the entire Detroit Free Press article on weekend radio here.

Radio Stories. Every radio geek loves inside stories. This one from Chicago's Rick Kaempfer - concerning the Dixie Chicks and a directive from a major market program director. Read here.

Have a great Sunday.

More Great PPM News from Philadelphia

84° - sunny at 6pm

Arbitron released May PPM cume numbers from Philadelphia today.

Once again rock looks great with the cume of classic hits, classic rock and rock up slightly from April's great showing.

From data published on All Access - classic hits WOGL was ranked #2 - followed closely by classic rock WMGK. WMGK moved up from 4 to 3 in rank. Rock WMMR moves from 9 to 8 in market rank.

All Access has the complete Philadelphia PPM cume numbers.

Monday Monday

86° - sunny at 11am

The start of a great week.

The importance of relationships. This week - Mark Ramsey is devoting his blog to "7 Days of Seth" - with a 7-part audio interview with Seth Godin. Seth provides a great perspective.

Part 2 of Mark's interview with Seth - posted here this morning - touches on making the best of radio's assets - and developing relationships with your listeners. Seth suggests turning your radio station into the "go to" source for your listeners.

I couldn't agree more.

Stationality. McVay Media's Daniel Anstandig - who've I had the pleasure of chatting with more than a few times - has posted Part 3 of his stationality series on the McVay website. Daniel directs this to AC - but its relevant to all radio formats. Read here.

Added: Paul McCartney's new CD still #1 for second straight week (with sales up 40%) per Street Pulse via All Access.

Added: Britney Spears not happy with WFLZ/Tampa billboards. Story and board photos from The Smoking Gun here.

Later This Week:

Tuesday (6/19) Bon Jovi on NBC-TV's Today Show
Wednesday (6/20) The Blues Brothers movie released this day in 1980
Wednesday (6/20) Bon Jovi on ABC-TV's The View
Friday (6/22) Chicago and America on NBC-TV's Today Show
Friday (6/22) Def Leppard on ABC-TV's Jimmy Kimmel Live
Saturday (6/23) Jefferson Starship on NBC-TV's Weekend Today Show