[BC] WCBS-FM

[Rich Wood]

------ At 02:28 PM 2/4/2006, Mike McCarthy wrote: -------

>I'll take a 1.7 12+  and 4.0 in 25-54 over 3.4 12+ and 2.0 25-54 any day.
>
>12+ numbers are simply totals which give the <<<whole>>> 
>picture.  Smart marketers know which parts of the picture are the 
>best to go after.  THAT'S SMART PROGRAMMING.  While I despise what 
>CBS did to WCBS and WJMK, it's well rooted in research.

Unless you work for those stations and have legal access to the 
hourlys and demos you can't know how successful these stations are. 
If someone gives you those figures and you disclose them, Arbitron is 
going to have a problem with the station and has several ways of 
discouraging their release to non-subscribers. In the paper book, 
there have been labels on the cover explaining a station's violation. 
Stations have been reported "below the line" where the out of market 
stations reside and a few have had their results removed from the 
data. Many stations violate those rules but don't divulge the data or 
use them in sales. It's a stupid thing to do.

The only thing that's legal to release is the 12+ overall figure that 
you find in the trades.

>It's the result of a successful PD who knows how to rotate songs in 
>and out of a large library which makes a station truly a ratings 
>success.  Many have yet to figure it out.....and rely too much on 
>surface research and not on real observation.

The key is rotating material in and out of a limited playlist. It 
gives listeners the comfort of familiarity and controlled repetition 
while avoiding burnout.

Listen to SIRUS or XM for a week. You'll hear a lot of repeats. Their 
entire libraries aren't online all the time. Remember, virtually all 
the satellite programmers learned their trade in radio.

I've been listening to the oldies channels (where there's a huge 
library available) and I hear the same songs several times a week. 
It's rare that I hear something that's not familiar to me. Often when 
I do, I understand why it should remain unfamiliar.

Rich


Rich Wood
Rich Wood Multimedia
Phone: 413-303-9084
FAX: 413-480-0010