Name: northern Michigan radio stations
Age: various
Occupation: supposed entertainers and informers of the north
Last Seen: Traverse City/Petoskey/Cadillac/etc.
Bee-otched For: surviving on poor ratings
-Age: various
Occupation: supposed entertainers and informers of the north
Last Seen: Traverse City/Petoskey/Cadillac/etc.
Bee-otched For: surviving on poor ratings
Yesterday, hell ALMOST froze over.
And the key word here is "almost".
Four out the five major radio station groups in Northern Michigan - Midwestern, Northern, Black Diamond and Blarney Stone - were all represented in the Fall 2018 radio Nielsen ratings. WTCM-FM remained the ratings champ despite the departure of longtime morning man Jack O'Malley. Northern subscribed for the first time in ages, so now we know how their aging rocker, WKLT paired up against the younger-skewing Rock 105 and 95-5. KLT is ahead, but only by .6 of a point: 6.6 vs. 6.0. However, Rock 105/95-5 gained a full point since the Spring '18 book.
Other stations that did well include the usual: WCCW-FM 107.5, WTCM-AM 580 and Big Country 102.9.
The one company that decided not to subscribe to the book was MacDonald-Garber, so we don't know how 106 KHQ, Lite 96.3, 104.5 Bob FM, 96.7 The Bull, 1270 WMKT or The Ticket did. Generally, KHQ is in the five range, Lite 96 is in the fours while Bob is in the twos. Bear in mind that a lot is going on at MacGar, and it's not all positive. KHQ and Bob's morning show hosts both quit. As a matter of fact, Bob's morning host, Finster quit without another job lined up. Trish MacDonald Garber's attitude has notoriously been rotten over the years. No wonder why turnover at the company has been crazy over the years.
But yes, the north has its fair share of underperforming stations. Now that Northern subscribed to the book, we know that KLT and KLT only is the only station in their cluster that's doing well. The Fox is only above a two share while ESPN 106.7/105.5 is at a pathetic 1.5.
Other ratings-challenged stations include Classic Rocker The Bear (1.7), which is still struggling, even with Omelette handling morning duty. It appears that KLT is the go-to when it comes to classic rock in the north. Q100, OTOH only had a .6, but considering that the station it replaced, country Y100 never had ratings of any kind, it is an improvement.
Probably the biggest shocker in the book is that 101.9 WLDR, the 100,000-watt station whose transmitter is the closest to Traverse City, has pitiful ratings. Under previous management, it was in the low one share range. Now, it's at a .9. It makes me wonder if adult contemporary is the right format for the market, or the station.
It's also worth noting that ratings for the market's non-commercial stations are now listed. Interlochen NPR news station WICA 91.5 is the highest rated non-comm in the market with a 3.2. Classical sister WIAA 88.7 ranked in with a 2.9. CMU Public Radio's stations had a 1.7. However, none of the market's religious stations (i.e. WLJN, Smile FM, Northern Christian Radio) proved that they had listeners.
You know, Northern Michigan is a market where change rarely happens. Station owners think that soccer mom music is the way to go, but as we've learned with WSRT/You FM, EZ 95-5 and 92.9 The Breeze, it's not the point. Same with overplayed 80s/90s oldies and yes, classic rock.
What's also tough is that Northern Michigan has long been very vanilla in terms of people. Yes, whites love rap and hip-hop, but Trish apparently doesn't and so do some of the big advertisers. This is probably why those itching for something rhythmic on KHQ will have to wait for their syndicated shows on the weekend. Without her stations listed on Nielsen, it's kinda tough to tell how terrestrial radio up north is doing versus digital offerings.
There are some formats that might do ok up north that are currently absent. Even though WCBY 1240 carries classic country, their signal is limited to the Straits area. I wouldn't count out rhythmic CHR, but it might be risky in terms of attracting advertisers. I do want to say that alternative or AAA might be an ok choice, but with 106.3 The Mitten not lasting too long, that would be a risk, too.
With a plethora of options for listening enjoyment, Northern Michigan radio needs to step up their game. Anything below a two share is pitiful for a 100,000 watt FM station. It's like any other business: if you have customers, you make money. But, if a tree falls in a forest and there's nobody out there to hear it, does it make a sound?
I don't think there's any business in Northern Michigan that has a schvoogie button.
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Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
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