Over the last few months, I’ve had an odd idea, not quite formed yet, on how I might launch a new CHR (or Hip-Hop, or Alternative) station in a market that already had one. I would earnestly encourage people to listen to the incumbent, too, in an effort to establish radio overall as a viable option for listeners of contemporary music. There might still be some sideways digs — “now you’ll have a new choice for better new music and fewer commercials” — but the goal would be to differentiate, not disable a rival. I admit it’s not quite there yet.
One of the first things you notice about Fort Myers, Fla.’s new CHR, Hot 93.7, is that a lot of work has gone into imaging the station differently from most of today’s Top 40 stations. One artist-drops promo begins with “our squad runs deep” and another declares, “We’ve got some pretty dope friends.” Heritage WXKB (B103.9) is pretty straightforward. Much of the B103.9 imaging that I’ve heard is around a main positioner — “The No. 1 Hit Music Station” – although there were also references to “feel good” and “live and local.”
Hot 93.7 is also going after B103.9, particularly in a launch promo that seeks to position the incumbent as “old and tired,” points out that the station is “over 31 years old,” and attacks “way too many commercials and really bad music.” That led Radioinsight’s Lance Venta to ask, “What is really gained taking shots at WXKB? … Attacking one competitor … fails to acknowledge that the target demo for Top 40 is quickly abandoning radio for other platforms. That should be who you’re targeting.”
The classic CHR attack model goes back to the early ’90s, too. WRBQ (Q105) Tampa was a Top 40 that had effectively evolved to Hot AC when WFLZ (The Power Pig) came along and left Q105 dithering between chasing the listeners who had left and alienating those who had stayed for a reason. Q105 was a big target and, even in 1989, one with unusual vulnerabilities. B103.9 is more typical of today’s CHR. In October, before holiday music kicked in, it had a 3.6-share 12-plus; in December, it had a 3.0.
I’m excited when broadcasters want to launch new CHRs in 2024, and I hope they help regrow the format’s shares. I’m also excited about Hot 93.7 bringing longtime KDWB Minneapolis PD Rob Morris back to CHR. I appreciate the new station’s new energy, but Venta’s question also prompted me to think about the following, not as a critique on any specific station, but as a query on behalf of all CHR stations and radio as a whole: Who is the enemy now?
Is it the incumbent CHR? The lessons of politics, established well before our current fraught times, are that there is no benefit to not going negative, and a weak incumbent is an even better target because, unlike Q105, people are already aware that they’re unhappy. But what happens when stealing half of an incumbent’s peak shares gets you a 1.8? Q105 was making contrarian music choices to play oldies in 1989. If B103.9 is playing “terrible music,” it’s because of what CHR has available now. Hot 93.7 has those same songs, too, although its current/recurrent/throwback proportions felt a little newer.
Is it streaming? Is it TikTok? I do sense vulnerabilities in both, as well as an opportunity for radio to establish itself again as a better curator and a better entertainment experience. I think those selling points could be made to resonate with the moms who grew up with B103.9 and create greater enthusiasm for them. But could you make an 18-year-old realize they’re unhappy, as WFLZ did? Right now, TikTok is the one thing that evokes teen passion and community in the way radio did for us. And how would a new broadcast station get the message out to them if they’re unlikely to hear it on our air?
Is it older music? After several years of a throwback boom, there’s no particular joy in hearing “Down” by Jay Sean anymore, but I don’t know that CHR’s increased reliance on the ’00s is a big-enough target, especially with Usher back on the charts and a new Justin Timberlake song dropping today. But a few months ago, I heard a CHR station playing “She Will Be Loved” at 7 p.m., and did wonder if I could perhaps do something with that. In a market where the No. 1 station, WAVV (Wave 101), is playing “Baby Come Back” and “Theme from ‘The Greatest American Hero,’” I also wonder if either Hot or B103.9 could make a statement about the amount of older music being played in the market overall.
When CHR recovered from its near-death experience in the mid-’90s, there was nobody to attack because there were few winning CHR incumbents. WKTU New York’s emphasis on “feel good” was certainly a counterpoint to the harsher music on alternative-leaning WHTZ (Z100) or Hip-Hop WQHT (Hot 97), but I remember that being mostly by inference. In general, the CHR comeback was driven by music that created its own publicity with the eventual help of TRL. First, we need the better music, then we need to figure out how to make that translate when radio is no longer the only destination.
I’ve written a lot about KMVQ (Now 99.7) San Francisco lately. That station does have a consistently lower spotload and better music curation than much of the format, but its positioning is mostly “all the hits,” selling its commercial-free sweeps, and always mentioning the morning show. A PPM market has the Yoda option — “no position, just do.” I wonder if that’s enough for our nation of 3.6-share diary-market CHRs. Or for a new launch. Those stations may need the outside marketing that isn’t an option for most people or some sort of off-air virality.
When Intriguing Stations of 2024 is written, I hope both Hot 93.7 and B103.9 are there, and that Fort Myers becomes the rare diary market with two viable CHRs. The station I like most will be the one that’s well- and consistently hosted and local-sounding (right now, Hot is in jockless stunt mode, while some of the hours I’ve heard on B93.7 have been jockless) and the one that best curates its music, particularly if CHR music isn’t in a better place in a year. For now, improving the format doesn’t have to be either-or.
Here’s Hot 93.7 at 11:30 on Jan. 24:
- Doja Cat, “Agoura Hills”
- Nicki Youre, “Sunroof”
- Tyla, “Water”
- SZA, “Kill Bill”
- Doja Cat, “Paint the Town Red”
- Jack Harlow, “First Class”
- Dua Lipa, “Houdini”
- Chris Brown, “Go Crazy”
- Tate McRae, “Greedy”
- The Weeknd, “Die for You”
- Travis Scott, “I Know?”
- Jessie J f/Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj, “Bang Bang”
- Taylor Swift, “Cruel Summer”
- Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow, “Industry Baby”
- Kenya Grace, “Strangers”
- Post Malone, “Better Now”
And here’s B103.9 starting at 11:25 a.m.:
- Onerepublic, “I Ain’t Worried”
- Doja Cat, “Paint the Town Red”
- Tate McRae, “Exes”
- Harry Styles, “Adore You”
- 24kGoldn, “Mood”
- Taylor Swift, “Cruel Summer”
- Doja Cat, “Vegas”
- Miley Cyrus, “Flowers”
- Ed Sheeran, “Shivers”
- SZA, “Kill Bill”
- Jack Harlow, “Lovin’ on Me”
- Kenya Grace, “Strangers”
- Lil Nas X, “That’s What I Want”
- Glass Animals, “Heat Waves”
- Morgan Wallen, “Thinkin’ Bout Me”
- Post Malone, “Circles”
- Flo Rida, “Low”
I hadn’t thought about many of these points before but you’re right….the world has changed and so has how you go about launching a new station. Like you Sean, I applaud anyone launching a CHR in a market that has one. I don’t believe the attack on competition is still valid but I do believe providing programming that is fun, involved, entertaining and live is a key. I think you DO point out the differences between yourself and social media and music platforms. I think you do the stuff that makes people talk…. and not just in AM Drive.
The excitement and inclusion radio used to create has all but disappeared. Be live, talk and relate to your listeners across all platforms in real time. Let them like the music…..but LOVE everything in between.
When radio was the social media platform, I cautioned any radio station NOT to attack another similar format station unless their cume was considerably higher than yours and you had the superior product – including audio processing and signal – and will be able to back up your claims over the long run. Otherwise, don’t get into a battle you will not win.
In today’s world where radio listening is scant, an on air format battle is futile. Where’s the prize?
Years ago, I promoted that “songs sound better on the radio” noting our $10K audio processing (Okay, it was a CRL stack with stereo enhancer) as we competed with mix tapes on Walkmans. I think the ” it just sounds better on the radio” argument is more valid now than ever. We also focused on local, local, local… and that doen’t mean PSA garbage.
93.7 has tried everything when it had long been the home for lite music in SWFL. The Trump-country format was the lamest of all. Believe it or not, smooth jazz was still viable in this market as many musicians in that format still draw here. You wonder why they did not go in that direction as many still miss the old WAVV 101 (which only has smooth jazz on its second channel.)
The playlist on B1039 doesn’t look “bad”. Less “now” than Hot 93.7. I haven’t listened to either. Hot is attacking the “heritage” of the station. Snarky imaging about B1039’s age and music seems a pretty weak attack
to me. The Power Pig template is 35 years old now!
I love when people make statements over 35 years about the Q105/WFLZ Battle without having knowledge of what they are talking about. But hey, why ruin a good story 🤣
(1) NOTHING I am suggesting takes away from what WFLZ did, let get that out first and foremost
(2) WFLZ wasn’t CHR. It was a Dance Station. Or you might call it what became known as a RCHR. In it first book it was 55% Male. Think about that real hard. Real hard. If you don’t understand the significance, ask someone.
(3) The focus groups in late October 1989 showed the Audience wasn’t there for the music . It was something new and different. The music was immaterial. It was an event. Again, hats off to them. Think of Pirate Radio attack on KIIS amped up 10x.
(4) Marc Chase did a Music Test for WFLZ in early 1990 and could only find 66 songs that tested. He expressed his frustration to me at that point knowing he has painted himself into a corner.
(5) As for those initial Males which were there for the attitude, Rocker WXTB signed on in January of 1990 with many of the exact same liners against WYNF which quickly took a large number of those Males back from WFLZ over the next 2 books.
(5) WRBQ had a plan in place to return to #1 18-49, 25-49 and 25-54 in the Winter 1990 Book, while #2 in teens and #3 18-34. However, Edens did not subscribe to Arbitrends so they were unaware of the monthlies. Garry Wall met with the Owners/GMs of all of Edens Stations, convincing them Q105 had to be #1 12+, forget the other demos. He was given the go ahead to blow up Q105 the last week of March 1990, weeks before the Winter Book was released.
Randy Michaels called me in Dallas the very next morning asking if I had any insight as to why they would do something so stupid. He kept repeating, “If they want Power Pig, I’ll trade them it for Q105 right now”
(5) While Q105 did play Oldies in regular rotation going back 17 or so years (circa 1972), Remember that over the past 15+, years you have been able to hear Puff Daddy from the 90’s and some Michael Jackson from the 80’s (40 years ago now) on some major CHR stations. This would have been the equivalent of Q105 playing songs from 1949.
(6) Finally in 1992, Jaycor paid then Clear Channel $250,000 for the intellectual property of CHR Q105 and it switched formats to Country. The first Country month, Country Q105 beat WFLZ 18-34 in the Arbitrends. Some very livid phone calls happened within Jaycor asking why they paid $250,000 only to be beaten for the first time 18-34 by the station they paid to change to the format that beat them.
(7) POWER PIG NEVER TURNED A PROFIT over its 3 years. It was so blue and vulgar (remember the early men) that there were advertiser boycotts with no buy dictates from the major advertisers. Finally in late Summer 1992, Tom Owens had the conversation with all concerned that if something didn’t change quickly, WFLZ was going to change format. BJ Harris deserves the credit for realizing Power Pig had to be flushed and become a mainstream CHR. The station became 933 FLZ, dropping all references to Power Pig and expanding their music to become a Mainstream CHR. BJ pulled it off to perfection, flushing the negatives and securing WFLZ’s future.
Bottom line, if you don’t care about making a profit, sure you can do a kamikaze attack and win, but you better dig 2 graves. Perhaps not the smartest business decision ever made.
That said, re-read #1
Notable mentions to some of the previous attempts that the 93.7 frequency has had as the #2 CHR in the SWFL area (actually for years a Naples-targeted signal on 93.5 before expanding market coverage and moving slightly to the right of the FM dial).
I remember them going up against the “B” previously in the mid-90s as WPRW “Power 93-5”…Seem to remember them back then as having a Dance slant…Nothing happened……I don’t even remember them having a jock outside of AM drive.
But the station’s heritage in a CHR battle goes back decades IIRC, to the 70s (?) and 80s as WRGI “G-93”, later in the mid-80s as “Lazer-93” (WLAZ), as they battled it out for the Naples end of listeners in the area, mostly with the market’s other Top 40 of the time, WINK-FM, and even WSRX, a non-comm that went at the format for a handful of years and produced much talent for the SWFL radio market at the time.
But probably the one stab they took in the SWFL CHR battles, though, that I remember fondly and became a big fan of lasted only for about a year—did it even last that long?…In 1990, under Bill Shane, WLAZ ditched the “Lazer” moniker, and became “Z-93”…..Mitch Craig was the station’s voice, and they made use of WHTZ’s “Serving the Universe” jingle package (sounded larger than life to me in a town the size of Naples)…….Their ‘defining/different’ element I remember from them at the time in the CHR battle was one that would become the staple of many CHRs in the “near death” period of the early 90s: a heavy serving of 80s gold with the currents….There was, in 1990, something very refreshing about hearing songs that have nowadays become “Classic Hits” staples (maybe even too much so?). In ’90, mixing the period’s latest MC Hammer or NKOTB tracks with Benatar’s “Love Is A Battlefield”, the Go-Go’s “Vacation, or Duran Duran’s “The Reflex” made “Z-93” the “best sounding CHR south of Tampa” to my ears. The “Z” was gone by late ’90, and WINK-FM would follow suit, leaving non com WSRX as the lone player for a handful of months before the “Killer B” made its’ debut—31+ years ago.
Control what you can control: The imaging and vibe and embrace TikTok. Hopefully the music product will eventually come around.
VIBE:
Authenticity > Aesthetic
Music is the setting, not exclusively why they come to you. Cue Office Space’s “people can get a cheeseburger anywhere…” Move away from the upbeat female millennial “vocal fry” voice talent and lessen the focus on celebrity happenings. Gen Z isn’t Daria but they also aren’t Kim Kardashian. A little snark and poignant cynicism in the talent will feel right. Mine TikTok for more interesting and niche things. If you have jocks, congrats they’re influencers on this station. If they hate that, they’re not the right fit.
IMAGING:
Talk about the audience, not the station. Gen Z won’t relate to you mocking some station down the street, but the generation that invented “Ok boomer” will enjoy the ribbing of older people or older sentiments in general. Sidenote: They’ve moved on from that phrase but the attitude is still there.
That said, they’ll smell inauthenticity a mile away. “Cringe”, “mid”, “no cap”, etc should never be uttered by your voice talent or jocks. Unless it’s an actual teen or 20 something authentically using those words, don’t use them.
If you’re not using sounds from TikTok (Like the swipe or outro tone) in your imaging, what are you doing? The swipe is the new static sound transition. This doesn’t mean you have to be minimalist or simple in your imaging. It just means you need to sound like their world.
I wouldn’t try to sound like an alternative station in 1996-1997, but a little humor can go a long way. Pulling some bites from new and old shows that mock older people is a fun way to validate their youth.
TIKTOK:
Get some high school or college interns / temps and simply observe them on TikTok for a couple weeks on their personal accounts. It’s worth it to just learn from them before you draw brand posting or jock topic boundaries. Finally, TikTok allows music. Use that.
As a radio fanbase account administrator I can attest to the sense that people feel “radio is corrupt.” Though I try to remind them it is not they see certain artists gain immediate radio exposure while their favs do not.
If radio wants to stay relevant in the tiktok streaming era, CHR radio should be following streaming popularity and turning over songs on playlists much quicker to make room for the next hot song. JB’s Stay has stayed on radio far too long. JB hasn’t dropped new music for 3 years and young listeners know that. But when he does drop these same listeners know he will gain immediate radio exposure and they tune out unless they are his fan. This leaves CHR radio with a credibility dilemma with non JB fans. The same gets repeated with every artist.
Certainly most stations can’t survive appeasing a certain group of fans who may mature into a different artist or radio genre. But distinguishing between what is actually hot versus who was hot 3 years ago may help in rebuilding trust that when you say top 40, it is the current top 40 and not the top 40 from 2020. A new station or rebranding of a station that distinguishes itself from others by doing this could grow popularity with new listeners.
While music is the most important ingredient, there are other elements of radio that have gone by the wayside. Slamming the incumbent sounds so familiar to anyone following politics(!) -and it just feels bad. Give the listener the good points of the station. Make them feel part of the station. Find the flaws in the competition and make sure you don’t have them. Use outside media to promote. Traditional (format) battles have seen stations share with each other-and the better product wins the TSL battle. A lot of the launches we see today have absolutely no research behind them-and companies are too anxious to give the efforts enough time. Create a good product, know your target and super-serve them as you promote the product inside and outside the halls. It’s not rocket surgery or brain science. It’s just common sense.