Feedback: Various Topics (Feb 23, 2008)

RE: Oldies on 103.7 or 105.7.

There are two formats that are on the up-and-up in the world and not yet in San Diego. With two stations looking to fill holes (possibly) the smart money is one will go with the MOVIN format, which is similar to Magic 92.5 but has a broader emphasis on Dance and Rhythmic AC. The other format, basically a newer blend of oldies, is the Classic Hits format, which emphasizes more Rock and Rock/Pop from the 70s and 80s, like KFRC-FM in San Francisco. The latter is owned and operated by CBS of all things, and if I'm not mistaken, CBS also owns the Movin format in SFO as well. I think any or both of these formats are ripe and likely for San Diego. What do you think?

From Robert:

There is a lot of good music being made now, but American Radio Stations are good at ignoring it and playing crap. Try listening to Virgin Radio out of London to hear some great current tunes with live DJ's.

From Jared:

J-Lo isn't a star. She has no talent. She can't sing or act. The only reason she got famous is because of indies paying Channel 933 to play her bad songs. Payola of this sort also was rampant at Independent 92.1 and untold other stations. I don't like labels telling me what I should be listening to and this kind of payola is what made me no longer interested in music on the radio. And I don't care about J-Lo's news as you asked.

Just In...Jennifer Lopez Has Twins (9am, Feb 22, 2008)

Rumor: 105.7 To Go Oldies? (Feb 22, 2008)

and

"1090 will continue sports, but they will seperate the simulcast. It is a brilliant move to beat CBS to the punch, and to make more money for themselves. But forget billing how much was their collections ? and how much were their expenses? The Padres and Ted Leitner are not free, and definately not cheap!"

Deathwatch: Sophie-FM and KGB-FM (Feb 22, 2008)

June of 2007 marked the beginning of Sophie FM, a blend of AAA and Hot A/C, a format that is aimed at women 25-34, a demographic far too narrow for the station to be successful. With consistent low ratings and KPRI-FM upgrading its signal to with the metro, you can bet that Sophie-FM's pre-emptive strike attempt to capitalize on AAA music failed poorly because that station's playlist has no heritage like what KPRI-FM has.

Speaking of heritage, KGB-FM has just plain played the same 100 heritage songs to death everyday for the past 17 years, and with KPRI-FM moving in, expect KGB-FM's post DSC ratings to tumble to the floor, though not as low as Sophie FM. With KPRI-FM giving San Diego a better choice in a mixture of AAA and heritage rock in one station, expect KGB to tweak the playlist, but both stations could go farther to match the playlists of XM Channel 40's Deep Tracks and XM Channel 46's Top Tracks channels, both of which get extensive listening time in my house.

As for the rumor of oldies coming to 103.7, I expect at least some kind of mixture of fun oldies with fun new music to appear as a format. Sophie is a bore. 103.7 needs to get its act together, acknowledge that Sophie is a loser, dismantle it, and put together a station that fills a niche not being served or is better than a lone incumbent that's serving it. Channel 933 comes to my mind as the station 103.7 should be programming against and try a dance pop leaning top 40 format similar to the old Q106 station, call it something like Q104, and get a new format on the air. Its HD2 channel could be KRTH-FM.

The Wires (Feb 22, 2008)

Broadcasting and Cable: Bill Would Let Stations on Mexico Border Continue Analog Broadcasts

25 Sexiest TV Women in the World (10am, Feb 21, 2008)

Check it out here and see where Kristen Bell ended up on the list.

XLNC1 Move to 104.9 Completeting (Feb 21, 2008)

The orientation and installation of the station's antenna is in compliance with the Mexican government and the U.S. government; the station cannot change or alter it. This is what was authorized. The station is working within the limits of their assigned location and frequency.

This endeavor has been time consuming and expensive for a non-profit, non-commercial station like this one. 104.9 FM is the result of many years of perseverance, dedication and patience. Their commitment to provide the San Diego region with a classical music station is unshakable and they are ever grateful to their founder Victor Diaz and his wife Martha Barba de Diaz as well as their members who with their support and trust have helped the to go through these changes.

If there are still listeners who cannot get their signal, the station recommends for you to get a directional antenna pointing southeast. This might help your reception. Another way to listen to XLNC1 is via the internet, don’t forget www.xlnc1.org.

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact XLNC.

The Wires (Feb 21, 2008)

Kurt Hanson: TERRESTRIAL RADIO LISTENING DOWN 3% IN PAST YEAR. Arbitron's recently-updated "American Radio Listening Trends" report, now with Fall 2007 data, shows a 3% decline in U.S. per capita radio listening over the past year - and a 16% decline over the past nine years. The nine-year trends also show a 19% decline in P18-34s, a 12% decline in P35-64s, and even a 12% decline in P65+. Read the rest at Kurthanson.com. Also: Are Clear Channel's HD2 channels streaming illegally? It seems that Clear Channel’s streaming is illegal under the DMCA, which requires that a media player identify the title, album, and artist for the song being played.

Inside Music Media: Radio is treading on dangerous ground again in its desperation to force the HD issue. The industry is drinking iBiquity’s Kool-Aid, but if they, along with public interest groups like Media Access Project, get their way and force the merged satellite companies to include HD on future satellite radios they are opening the door to something more devastating. Wouldn’t it then be fair and in the public interest for satellite operators to be granted permission to use their repeaters as local radio stations?

San Diego City Beat: Is Ken Leigton Libeling Some Local Bands? Scroll down to the section titled "Slan--er, libel?" There is a lawsuit filed against Reader editor Jim Holman (Leighton's boss) in small-claims court. Could Leighton be fired for this? Looks like there may be a job opening for another freelancer; one who can get the facts straight without distorting them and has no grudge against Bob Ugly of FRSD or other local heroes who haven't gotten any press lately. Any takers? SDReader, are you with me on this?

Top 5 Reasons Why HD DVD Died (Feb 20, 2008)

4. Fidel Castro said he would retire when that format died.

3. The thought of having an entire series of a bad show on an HD DVD was just too creepy to bear.

2. It couldn't hold the entire wit and wisdom of Jessica Simpson.

and the #1 reason...

1. Everybody thought that it was a new premium cable channel!

The Wires (Feb 20, 2008)

NY Daily News: From David Hinckley -- Smooth jazz may be a relatively quiet format, but a number of listeners of the late WQCD (101.9 FM) don't mind making some noise about how much they miss it (read more - NY Daily News)

Hear 2.0: From Mark Ramsey -- Has Radio lost its guts? In times of change and disruption, you can generally be sure of at least one thing: He who innovates stands the best chance to survive and thrive. So where does that leave us in Radio?

Happy Hare: I got off the air of my 1p-3p Pacific time Internet radio show at SignOnRadio.com and went to Peet’s to quaff a cup of mocha, the best mocha there is. Their mocha is the reward I pay myself once a week if I have done a good show - I don’t have the patience of Job who often kvetched to God, so the petty IOU that I had outstanding with Him was soon allowed to lapse. Besides, in past decades, He has blessed me with more gifts than I can tell you about without coming off as braggy, one of the Seven Deadly Sins. But, I still set it down as Divine Intervention when I went to the discarded news paper basket at Peet’s and rummaged for The L.A Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, Wall Street Journal, or an occasional New York Times. There were none of these in the basket, only classified ad sections

Toshiba delivers its Betamax address (9am, Feb 19, 2008)

The Wires (Feb 19, 2008)

Inside Music Media: From Jerry Del Colliano -- There are few things that aggravate radio executives more than satellite radio. For years they were so blinded by the prospect of competition from satellite radio that terrestrial operators actually thought they were competing with satellite. Some still think so. This in spite of the fact that together XM and Sirius only have about 15 million paying subscribers. They run many music channels with no commercials -- and some channels have few listeners. They are money losing machines that have posed no threat to traditional radio -- not even for a minute. Meanwhile, the NAB is helping to mislead the industry into thinking that satellite radio is worth the millions and millions of dollars it spends every year on fighting the XM-Sirius merger

Fred Jacobs: Stations are constantly on the lookout for ways to garner attention and make some noise in their markets. If you take enough shots, every once in a while something breaks through in such a big way that it takes on a life of its own. And usually it does so in a way that couldn’t possibly have been predicted beforehand. Case in point is our client station WKLC, in Charleston, West Virginia. Like many stations, they were looking for an impactful promotion for Valentine’s Day, and they came up with the concept of giving away a free divorce to one “lucky” listener (read more - Jacobs Media).

WS Journal: A year from Sunday, TV stations will turn off their analog signals and broadcast in digital only. Viewers with cable or satellite service won't be affected, nor will be those who get stations over the air with a newer TV set with a digital tuner. Those who will be affected are the 13 million or so households that get TV broadcasts exclusively over the air and have a TV set more than a few years old (read more - Winston-Salem Journal)

Obituary: HD DVD From Matt Richtel -- HD DVD, the beloved format of Toshiba and three Hollywood studios, died Friday after a brief illness. The cause of death was determined to be the decision by Wal-Mart to stock only high-definition DVDs and players using the Blu-ray format (read more - NY Times).

Clear Channel-Bakersfield flipped the frequencies of Country KBKO and Classic Rock KDFO. KBKO is now found at 98.5 and KDFO is at 96.5.

Top 5 Stories of the Week (Feb 11-17, 2008)

4. Surprise storm hits San Diego on a sucky Valentine's Day.

3. KFMB-DT moves to channel seven on March 6th.

2. XLNC finally gets their new 104.9 FM operational.

1. KPRI-FM moves its transmitter to Mount Soledad for better coverage.