KRTH (K-Earth 101) Los Angeles is one of the Classic Hits format’s most-admired radio stations. In the August PPMs, it led one of radio’s most-competitive markets with a 6.8 share, down only slightly from a 7.1. KRTH plays its power ’80s songs up to 34x a week, according to Mediabase. KRTH’s strategy goes back to the early ’90s on that station when power rotation meant “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and not “Take on Me.”
CHBM (Boom 97.3) Toronto is also one of the Classic Hits format’s most-admired and consistently successful stations. Boom’s top-spun song played 10x last week; this week, the top song played only 9x. Canada’s PPM numbers aren’t made public to the trades, so if you need American examples, the two highest-rated Classic Hits stations in PPM this month, each with an 11.1 share, are WGRR Cincinnati (powers 9x) and WOCL (105.9 Sunny FM) Orlando (11x).
For the week ending Sept. 14, there were six PPM-market stations on the KRTH template of about 15 songs playing more than 4x a day (29-34x). Four of the others are co-owned Audacy outlets. There were another 13 stations playing songs at least 2x a day (14-23x). Mega-rotations haven’t had the same impact for every station that has tried them. But sister KXSN (Sunny 98.1) San Diego also leads its market, going 8.3-7.8 in August. That station is currently comfortably ahead of an Adult Hits competitor, KXBG (Big 100.7), which emphasizes variety.
The mega-spins issue is ongoing among Classic Hits PDs. As we did several years ago for CHR, we decided to analyze 39 stations in PPM markets doing a mainstream Classic Hits format. The goal wasn’t to write a brief for either fast or slower spins, since both have their success stories, as much as to add insight to programmers’ decisions. Here’s how we chose our panel:
- We didn’t include those stations doing an older ‘60s/’70s-skewing version of the format.
- We didn’t include stations that were positioned to listeners as the industry as Classic Hits but are essentially Classic Rock—e.g., WSRV (The River) Atlanta.
- We didn’t include most Adult Hits stations, with their lower spin template, except in a few cases where those stations had effectively become the only Classic Hits station for their market: KKHH (The Spot) Houston, WCJK [Jack FM] Nashville, WSMW (Simon 98.7) Greensboro, WQSR (Jack FM) Baltimore.
- We did include a few stations that blurred the line between Classic Hits and gold-based AC, particularly WDUV Tampa and WKQC (K104.7) Charlotte, N.C. Those stations aren’t far on the format landscape from an acknowledged Classic Hits leader, KOLA Riverside, Calif.
As with the choices that go into coding music, we realize that readers’ decisions might have been different. It should also be noted that all ratings here are based on the available 6-plus numbers, raising the possibility that a station could be doing better in its target demo. As stations ponder their own rotations, here is what we found:
Most Classic Hits rotations have been static over the last two years. Looking at rotations from October 2022 vs. the week ending Sept. 14, 2024, most stations are still within 3-4 spins of where they were on power rotation two years ago. By that time, KRTH was already phenomenal and many stations had made their decision. Since that time:
- WLS-FM Chicago has become the only non-Audacy station to go with mega-powers, as one of a package of changes. The station is up 3.9-4.2 in our two-year window.
- Audacy’s KSPF (The Spot) Dallas, formerly KLUV (K-Love), went from 31x to a still hit-driven 23x. That station is tied for first in the market and at the same 4.8 share of the previous analysis.
- WOCL went from 19 spins two years ago to 11x on powers now and is actually up sharply, 5.1-11.1.
- Two other stations that reduced spins are currently looking for their footing in the market. KOSF San Francisco has just rebranded as “Classic Hits 103.7.” WMXJ (The Beach) Miami (34x-17x) is down 4.2-3.6 from when its spins were higher. That market has been disrupted by the phenomenon of bilingual gold-based Soft AC WMIA (Magic 93.9).
As a group, shares are higher for stations with lower spin-counts. While it should immediately be noted that the stations playing mega-powers are in larger, more competitive markets, these are average shares calculating August PPM numbers against the top spin number on the top power-rotation song:
- 29-34 spins, 5.0 share
- 20-23 spins, 5.4 share — there’s nobody between 23 and 29 this week
- 15-18 spins, 5.8 share
- 11-14 spins, 7.2 share
- 9-11 spins, 7.5 share
That correlation holds in reverse, when you start with the stations with the highest shares, and look at how many times they’re spinning their powers.
- 10+ shares, average of 10 spins a week on powers
- 8-9 shares, average of 14x
- 6-7 shares, average of 16x
- 4-5 shares, average of 16x
- 2-3 shares, average of 21x
Market situation matters. Most Classic Hits stations are up against both Classic Rock and Mainstream AC competition, where 2x a day or less on powers is more standard. Some are also in markets where there is an Adult Hits station. Both KRTH and co-owned KSPF have the advantage of having a Jack-FM in the building, meaning that the cluster can provide its own relief button if you’re not looking for a mega-hit at the moment. Conversely, stations like WOCL, CHBM, and WSMW have the advantage of covering both Adult and Classic Hits for their markets.
That said, WWSW (3WS) Pittsburgh has a 9 share, moderate spins (13x), and a Classic Hits rival. KQQL (Kool 108) Minneapolis has an 8.4 share, a similar competitive situation, and also tops out at 13x. (Adult hits KZJK (Jack FM) actually has comparable top spins.) There are also those successful Classic Hits stations with lower shares that don’t have an Adult Hits competitor because they outlasted them, such as WGRR or KCMO-FM Kansas City (10x). Classic vs. Adult Hits is a pending column unto itself, although one complicated now by how close the formats have gotten over 20 years.
On the national and local level, there are other factors at play. While rotations have stayed stable for most stations, other things have changed around Classic Hits in the last two years. Many stations have pushed further into the ‘90s and early ‘00s, sometimes seemingly helping the older-skewing Classic Rock. Country and even CHR have been able to create a little more excitement around current music.
Even among the stations with mega-spiclns, there are only two consensus mega-hits. Of the six stations doing mega-spins, there are only two songs that all agree on: the Police, “Every Breath You Take,” and Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer.” Even format signatures like “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” fail to achieve total consensus.
Mega-spins have considerable impact on the overall Classic Hits chart. While “Don’t Start Believin’” has only five of the six PPM stations we looked at, it also receives mega-spins in a diary market at Cox’s WZLR (The Eagle) Dayton, Ohio. Those six stations comprise 176 spins on a song that received 987 total spins this week. While all of the songs receiving mega-spins at the six stations we looked at are reliable testers, that airplay is likely having an impact on stations not able to do local research.
Your thoughts on Classic Hits mega-spins are welcome.
In a study like this the 6 plus number is a non factor as many classic hits stations skew older. KRTH is a dominant 25-54 adult station while others you mention with great 6 plus numbers would be thrilled to see the top 10 in adults.
spot on
A valid question. I was careful to acknowledge the 25-54 issue early on in this story, since 6-plus is what I have available to work with in my journalist capacity, however…
Of the stations I name as examples of high ratings with lower spins, all are, in fact, successful or dominant in 25-54. The lowest 25-54 ranker I’m aware of is #4. Those stations were:
* WOCL Orlando
* WGRR Cincinnati
* CHBM Toronto
* WSMW Greensboro
* WWWS Pittsburgh
* KQQL Minneapolis
* KCMO Kansas City (by almost five shares)
Those weren’t the only stations mentioned in the story, but they are the ones specifically cited for winning with that strategy.
When I did a similar analysis of CHR, I got the “but what about 18-34?” question almost immediately. In that case, I felt confident that 12+ would track with target demos. Plus, it’s hard for any demo breakout to make a 2.3-share CHR look good. (Any 2-share CHR having a 9-share 18-34 would only highlight how little 18-34 listening there was.)
For Classic Hits, I feel the info would be directionally similar, but perhaps with a less obvious spread. The 25-54 vs. 12+ issue often hinges on both era and rotations, and K-Earth has been a leader in both. Nothing that K-Earth does could credibly be questioned. The #1 thing this story is trying to establish is that there are other winning stations with a very different strategy (as in any format).
Many CHR’s are are doing well in the 25-54 demo and at times appear to have lower 6+ (PPM) number. It seems that more than ever the “plus” is driven by even older listners at times. (above 50 and up)
Back in my Oldies days the standard was a day and a day part for power categories. As I recall, the K-EARTH model was (and probably still is) a cume based model. Which makes sense in a city with the traffic like LA has.
I must be one of the contrary ones because I do not want to hear the same songs over and over again. I do not understand why, when there are so many great past hits to pick from, that oldies or classic hit stations have such small playlists and play some songs so frequently.
I am also pissed that Canadian radio ratings are no longer made public. I have followed them for years. However, I can tell you that Boom 97.3 in Toronto was #1 in the 25-54 category in the spring 2024 with a 13.5 share and in the summer 2024 with a 12.4 share
I think market considerations and competition (where it exists) play a big role in spin frequency.
Unfortunately for the contrary ones, we’re never likely to go past the threshold of 125 to 150 Powers in Classic Hits, because the “consensus favorites” are what they are, and — like it or not — those are the songs the listeners expect whenever they tune in.
But, if you have a competitor in the format that does wholeheartedly subscribe to the “let’s play the Powers to death” and you can determine from research that there are another 250 to 300 titles that test at least neutral/non-offensive with your market, you can often at least become a strong P2 by alternating the Powers with those secondaries. The latter will turn over much more slowly … maybe even skipping a day here and there, and your Powers will still get at least ten spins per week, which may well satisfy listeners who want the consensus favorites with some still-familiar lesser titles in the mix.
Thank you for calling out The River in ATL. Despite “Classic Hits” branding, they are definitely Classic Rock. River does have a thing for Billy Joel and Elton John, two artists that were banished from AOR in the middle of their career peaks. Cox manages River very well and curates the playlist thoroughly and often.
Oddly, ATL doesn’t have any true Classic Hits stations, except for a couple of rimshots that don’t cover the entire market (one to the northeast–also owned by Cox–and one to the south), some HD subchannels without translators, and one class A college station (also northeast of town) that plays Classic Hits whenever there is no scheduled programming.
There’s been a lot of discussion as to why that might be. Is Atlanta is too young of a market? Too urban? Would Cox crush any challenger with River’s market-leading position? Is the middle-aged population all taken up by River and a resurgent “Classic Alternative” 99X?
Supposedly, Audacy was looking at putting Classic Hits on 94.1, but went with Rhythmic AC instead. Audacy also killed a Classic Hits HD subchannel.
In 2013 Rick Thomas came to me and said “we’ve got to establish Super Powers”. It was the beginning of K-Earth’s evolution to a (then) 70s-80s station with (at the time) 60s thrown in. The era spread today is much different (it’s been 10 years now) but Chris Ebbott has stayed with the Super Powers concept to a great degree. In our first 9 months we soared to #1 playing 11 hot songs from the 70s, and 11 hot songs from the 80s. Drives saw them showing every 2.75 hours, in middays 3.75. It worked well then, works much better for them today and their competition is fierce. KOST, KCBS (Jack FM) and KLOS share titles with K-Earth. Once we had a music test I’d go through hours scheduled, and make sure we had a decent “like” score average for each song. This was based on an average TSL for the target demo -of 10 minutes. High power rotation is a great cume builder…but the songs in between have to be great as well. It’s just more than classic hits powers that make a great radio station, but it’s a pretty good strategy to make sure when people turn on your station they hear one of their favorite songs. On average. Thanks for bringing it up, Sean.
I remember mega-spins from the first time in the Mike Phillips early ’90s era of K-Earth when the Oldies format was so hot that many markets suddenly had two–often flipping to the format within minutes of each other. Rival KODJ (Oldies 93) was trying to get attention playing more pre-Beatles, similar to the launch of WGRR Cincinnati. The LA battle ended when KODJ became Arrow 93. The battles in many other markets ended with the Garth-era Country boom, and that seemed to be the end of it for a while.
It’s very clear that the Mike Phillips tactic was very instrumental in what we started in 2013. At first the idea scared me to death; critics were quick to slam the station for the repetition of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Hotel California”, and it’s a good thing I was only the APD. As the numbers were ascending, that fear subsided quickly. Management and even our consultant were throwing red flags but history has justified the move. Twice. As stations continue to strive for “variety”, playing the hits more often seems to (still) get more listeners. A testament to Mike Phillips’ genius.
Nitpick here, Sean, but KODJ became CBS-FM in July 1991, which is when the 50s/60s songs were culled out. Arrow 93, which was more of a hit-oriented Classic Rock, was two years later, in September 1993.
I recently wrapped up consulting a Classic Hits brand in West Texas, where we had set powers at between 12-16x per week.
Over the last 4 books 25-54 numbers trended from a 1.9 (13th) in Fall of 22 to a 5.0 (6th) in Spring of 24. We had also adjusted the music to add 2-2k titles per hour, in the absence of a true AC brand in the market…which contributed to lower demo and female gains.