Choosing Country Over a Pot of Gold

It is a question that broadcasters find themselves having to ponder a lot more often. Which of two viable music stations will be displaced? Last Wednesday, July 22, they chose twice.

That day, Connoisseur Media announced that 3.4-share 6-plus KBAY (Bay Country) San Jose would be moving to the dial position of 5.3-share Classic Rock KUFX, following the sale of the station’s old frequency to KLOVE, making K-Fox an HD2/streaming-only station.

Ironically, KBAY’s Country format was born in 2022 following the sale of rival KRTY to KLOVE. Then-owner Alpha Media displaced Classic Hits on KBAY, which had only recently returned to the format after attempting a younger-skewing gold-based AC approached. (KRTY has continued since then as a relatively enduring streaming-only outlet.)

In Houston, Audacy unveiled the August 13 move of KILT (Sports Radio 610) Houston’s format to FM, displacing Adult Hits KKHH (The Spot), which had effectively been the market’s only Classic Hits station as well. 

The Spot was a top-5 station 25-54 and, with a 4.7 share, the highest rated 6-plus station in Audacy’s Houston cluster, which also includes Hot AC KHMX (Mix 96.5), Spanish Contemporary KLOL (Mega 101), and Country KILT (The Bull), which was up 2.7-3.0 in June.

Houston still has a successful Classic Rock outlet in No. 3-rated KGLK (The Eagle), and there are predictions among market observers that the Classic Hits franchise will not remain open indefinitely. San Jose’s gold-based FM options are now San Francisco’s Classic Rock KSAN (The Bone) and KOSF (Classic Hits 103.7).

All of the numbers quoted here, except for the Spot’s 25-54 share, are 6+ and don’t reflect either the target demo numbers or billing results that went into these decisions. Highlighting the move certainly isn’t meant to indicate an across-the-board statement on Classic Hits at Audacy, whose successful major-market outlets include KRTH (K-Earth 101) Los Angeles and WCBS-FM New York.

But the continued consolidation of music radio on the FM dial, as the result of AM-to-FM spoken-word moves, the sale of frequencies to religious owners, and even outright station shutdowns mean that broadcasters will continue to face tough choices involving seemingly viable stations.

The moves are certainly a vote of confidence for Country, the most successful current-based format. They come during the ascent of Ella Langley, the most phenomenal new artist since Morgan Wallen. Audacy, despite having dropped Country on the current WXBK New York, is a format dynasty. Connoisseur has quickly become a player in the format, in part by having the closest Country stations to New York and San Francisco, where Country radio has an inconsistent history.

The moves also reflect a likely desire to stay in a current-based format. Country has not only the strongest current product, but the most-viable radio/records relationship in the industry. In general, owners have been more willing to hold on to a low- (or at least lower-) rated current-based franchise than they used to be. Despite CHR’s travails, many stations hold fast to ratings well below those that caused owners to flee the format in the early ’90s. 

As KBAY’s history shows, Classic Hits owners have had longstanding ambivalence over its demos. Even after PPM measurement bolstered the format in the late ’00s, a number of major-market holes, particularly Atlanta, were never filled, while openings in Houston and Baltimore were only filled by Classic Hits moving close enough to Adult Hits for an existing station to function as both.

Classic Rock seemed solid, by comparison, until the recent decision by some of iHeart’s stations not to bill themselves that way. Classic Rock has had the same concerns about the “demographic cliff,” but the format’s surprising appeal to younger listeners helped allay those fears for a while. 

I continue to think of both Classic Hits and Classic Rock as big, appealing, easily understood franchises. I see their future audience as less hung up than ever on the age of the music, as borne out by Thriller being a top 10 album and “Billie Jean” being a top 10 request. But I’m not the salesperson testing that hypothesis on a regular basis.

As more markets become more under-radioed again, we’ll see more difficult choices that will likely affect all formats. Some broadcasters fantasize about a right-sizing of the competitive landscape that makes things easier for remaining owners, but the stations sold or shuttered outright aren’t just AMs or “rimshot” signals like KZMJ (Majic 94.5) Dallas, they’re just as often WMC (FM100) Memphis or WTSS (Star 102.5) Buffalo, N.Y.-level powerhouses. 

In general, radio has been hurt by the diminishing number of choices in most markets. I can stream my way around market holes. No New York station in any format is playing “Choosin’ Texas” during the day. I’ve heard it twice in my last 90 minutes of listening. But most listeners won’t do that work. 

Sometimes the missing station is site-specific. I was in Detroit last weekend, where radio overall still sounds good and was easy to hear in my ride-shares. But on Saturday morning, I was in a restaurant with a Jammin’ Oldies playlist and suddenly nothing seemed more right for that market than a format that hasn’t existed there for years. The station that should have been Jammin’ Oldies, based on its history, was WDRQ. But at the end, that station was its market’s second Country, until its sale to religious Family Life Radio.

If streaming radio’s infinite choices were easily used and understood, no market would have to be under-radioed. San Jose is, of course, where KRTY went to streaming without even an HD-2 placeholder in 2022, and had an apparent 4.6 share based on Nielsen numbers that leaked out before the station was removed from PPM. In a tech-savvy market, KRTY carried over much of its airstaff and promoted the move heavily. 

It will be interesting to see if The Spot is replaced. I can envision scenarios by which Houston might get a Classic Hits outlet, but owners have their own priorities, and the years have shown that they’re rarely based on available share alone. And as two Country moves in San Jose in less than five years have shown, perhaps you can’t count on those frequencies either long-term.

Meanwhile, there’s still two weeks for you to hear The Spot. We’ll take a Final Listen next week.