Airwaves: August 25, 2006
Emmis gets Movin
Seems like every time I go on a vacation, something big happens in radio. This
time is no exception, as KZLA (93.9 FM) drops country while I am with
the family in a condo in Mammoth.
In case you missed it -- and judging by the huge volume of email I've received,
you didn't -- KZLA switched formats from country music to "urban adult contemporary" last
Thursday morning. As reported in the Daily Breeze on Friday, even the program
director was taken by surprise. The move leaves Los Angeles without a country
station for the first time in, well, ever.
Funny thing. When KZLA went country in 1980, the format was sweeping the nation. KLAC (570
AM) was already playing it, KHJ (930 AM) announced they were going to
play it, and KZLA AM and FM went with it in order to steal some of KHJ's thunder.
At the end of 1980, that made for four country stations in Los Angeles alone,
not counting those in other cities that could be heard here.
Now, unfortunately, an entire format isn't being played locally. For the radio
industry, that's bad. Expect more XM and Sirius subscribers in
the coming months, and a continued decline in the number of people even turning
on a regular radio. One of the few well-produced and listenable stations on FM
is gone.
Sure, there are those who say this is a great move on the part of owner Emmis.
In fact, every story I've read, including last week's Breeze, speaks of the changing
demographics in Los Angeles, and the synergy in selling ads for the new Movin
93.9 and sister hip-hop station Power 106.
I disagree.
First, Emmis had a format exclusive with country, followed by an audience that
is fiercely loyal, relatively young, and with lots of spending money. With over
25 years in the format, it was now a heritage station ... one with nationwide
influence that could truly sell itself.
Movin, on the other hand, plays the same music that can be found on numerous
other stations in town including KIIS-FM (102.7), KBIG (104.3 FM), KJLH (102.3
FM), The Beat (100.3 FM), Hot 92.3 FM, and to a lesser extent, Jack (93.1
FM) and Power 106 itself. Hardly a musical mix that people can't already get.
Rick Dees for mornings is probably a good choice, but one must remember
that Dees himself most certainly did not make KIIS-FM the powerhouse it was in
the 1980s. Rather, it was the entire package: Dees in the morning with some of
the best top-40 jocks in the country (Big Ron O'Brian, Bruce Vidal, Paul Freeman,
et. al.) the rest of the day, and contests, promotions and presentation that
were first-rate. It also helped that KIIS-FM had the top-40 format essentially
to itself, at least on FM.
Finally, Emmis is not known for brilliance. Instead, they are known for overly
researching every thing they do, and having consultant Guy Zapoleon on
board at Movin proves that they still do. Zapoleon is also a research before
you use the bathroom kind of guy, as are all consultants. As an example of Emmis
research, when 105.9 FM was called Magic 106, they were late
adding Randy Newman's I
Love L.A. because it didn't test well in ... Indianapolis.
The amazing success of Power 106 was an accident -- Emmis wasn't sure it wanted
to even try it at first -- as are most of the company's big formats. That's not
really a bad thing, just a fact. But from what I've heard so far on Movin, including
burnt has-been hits from Ricky Martin, Lou Bega, and Will Smith along with burnt
hits already overplayed on the stations previously listed and ... it will take
a miracle for this station to attract an audience.
Unless it changes drastically, I give it a year. Two tops.
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Copyright © 2006 Richard Wagoner and The Copley Press.
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