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Radio ratings 1993-94

Discussion pertaining to Detroit, Ann Arbor, Port Huron, and SW Ontario
BKRPDM
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Re: Radio ratings 1993-94

Post by BKRPDM » Mon Aug 02, 2021 1:10 pm

With regards to Star 97, they sounded great IMO in September 1994 when they debuted. As Flagg notes, all of the Barry White, Chi Lites, Blue Magic, etc. music was gone by 1995. Stevie Wonder was one of the few Black artists left. So the playlist got really small and stale. Towards the end they pushed into the early 1980s with content.

The air talent was quite strong with vets like Jim Paolucci and Joey Ryan.



Mega Hertz
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Re: Radio ratings 1993-94

Post by Mega Hertz » Mon Aug 02, 2021 6:15 pm

Oop, I remember now. Chuck Santoni was on Wheels near the end, too. I thought KC was on WJR by then, too. I remember that playlist getting smaller and smaller, until I heard "December" by Collective Soul every fifth song 😂

And what's this about "a stable of live and local personalities and a real news department"? I had high hopes when 1270 became sports but now that it's just a computer in a closet...on signal I can barely hear anyway.

I definitely remember Chris Morgan on Star. My mom loved that station. They would poke late 60s or early 80s occasionally but the whole lack of black oriented music makes sense. Thanks for the help!


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Rich S
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Re: Radio ratings 1993-94

Post by Rich S » Mon Aug 02, 2021 8:49 pm

I loved this era of Detroit radio. The River sounded so good with Ann Delisi and Tom Khikot (sp?) The format on 96.3 was so unique. Star 97 was a big success at first too. I find most of Detroit radio to be unlistenable. It’s only a matter of time before one of the religious broadcasters takes over a decent FM signal like they did in Boston.



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Re: Radio ratings 1993-94

Post by Mega Hertz » Mon Aug 02, 2021 8:57 pm

Rich S wrote:
Mon Aug 02, 2021 8:49 pm
I loved this era of Detroit radio. The River sounded so good with Ann Delisi and Tom Khikot (sp?) The format on 96.3 was so unique. Star 97 was a big success at first too. I find most of Detroit radio to be unlistenable. It’s only a matter of time before one of the religious broadcasters takes over a decent FM signal like they did in Boston.
Would you count 102.7 since it's move to Oak Park?


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Mega Hertz
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Re: Radio ratings 1993-94

Post by Mega Hertz » Mon Aug 02, 2021 9:02 pm

https://youtu.be/LELW5JYOp-M

WLLZ "Top 1000" from March 1994. Just as they were 'bordering on irrelevance' (I'm guessing around a 2 share around here, too).

I guess we just didn't know how good we had it. Especially us rock fans. The following stations played SOME flavor of rock music, some lighter, some heavier, some newer, some older:

88.7
94.7
96.3
97.1
98.7
101.1
102.7
104.3

Where have all the good times gone, indeed!


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48125er
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Re: Radio ratings 1993-94

Post by 48125er » Tue Aug 03, 2021 12:50 am

MWmetalhead wrote:
Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:47 am
This a terrific find!

What prompted 93.1 to ditch "Lite FM" in favor of Rhythmic AC? At the time, their numbers looked perfectly respectable! When did the flip to Rhythmic AC occur - I want to say 1996?

Star 97 was just beginning to crap the bed. "96.3 FM" WHYT saw a big decline, too. year over year.

What an incredibly boring station (music wise) Q95 must've been at the time. I remember they sounded pretty bad in 1999. To have equally milquetoast WPLT right next door on the dial in the late 90s was a pretty painful 1-2 punch.

95.5 was on thin ice in the 90s, Purtan couldn’t keep 95.5 relevant anymore, but my favorite jingle is from this era I remember it when I was a little kid 🎵Q95.5 MOTOR CITY WEATHER🎵

Ironically, I’d rather listen to that station for 10 hours straight then the garbage on 95.5 today.

93.1 became rhythmic ac with DRQ the same time Dick went to WOMC in early 1996. And Danny bonaduce replaced him.



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48125er
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Re: Radio ratings 1993-94

Post by 48125er » Tue Aug 03, 2021 12:53 am

Also ironically how 1270 was on top them and they’re st the bottom barrel now where even Canadian fringe stations have more listeners.



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G G
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Re: Radio ratings 1993-94

Post by G G » Tue Aug 03, 2021 12:59 am

48125er wrote:
Tue Aug 03, 2021 12:53 am
Also ironically how 1270 was on top them and they’re st the bottom barrel now where even Canadian fringe stations have more listeners.
Hey son, go put your yellow shirt on and read about what happened to Chris-Chan.


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Mike
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Re: Radio ratings 1993-94

Post by Mike » Wed Aug 04, 2021 5:37 pm

ChrisWL1980 wrote:
Sat Jul 31, 2021 6:40 pm
WHYT interestingly still continued to report as a CHR/Pop to R&R until late '95 or early '96 when they finally moved to the Alternative panel.
Actually, no. They moved in mid-April: https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-R ... df#page=66



Mike
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Re: Radio ratings 1993-94

Post by Mike » Wed Aug 04, 2021 6:28 pm

As to this:
WOHO wrote:
Sun Aug 01, 2021 10:51 pm
Can't believe Detroit was still a Top 10 market that stage of the game either, thought they were down to #9 already by 94?
Turns out, they remained firmly planted at #6 all through the 90s, not dropping down even to #7 until the first directory of the 2000s.


For those who feel like taking a day (or more) and diving down the rabbit hole - enjoy! :D

https://worldradiohistory.com/Ratings-Directories.htm



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MWmetalhead
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Re: Radio ratings 1993-94

Post by MWmetalhead » Wed Aug 04, 2021 7:33 pm

I'll have to check out that link. :)
95.5 was on thin ice in the 90s, Purtan couldn’t keep 95.5 relevant anymore, but my favorite jingle is from this era I remember it when I was a little kid 🎵Q95.5 MOTOR CITY WEATHER🎵
Time to lay on some geekiness: 104.5 Sunny FM in Muskegon/Grand Rapids and 100.5 The Fox in Saginaw used the same jingle package in the early/mid 90's.

It did sound best on WKQI, I must say.

I have mixed feelings regarding how 104.5 Sunny FM used what was designed to be the TOH music bed. They used it to segue from commercials back to music, usually at around :50 past the hour. Instead of the live DJ announcing what music was coming up or what prize giveaway was being featured, listeners were instead treated to a liner and legal ID read by Brian James.

When WSNX modernized its sound and switched to a jingle package originally designed for 101.3 KDWB around 1996, they began using the new TOH music bed in the right spot. :hat



ChrisWL1980
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Re: Radio ratings 1993-94

Post by ChrisWL1980 » Sat Aug 07, 2021 6:09 pm

Re: 93.1's switch from WLTI to WDRQ - 1996 was the year Rhythmic AC was making headlines in the industry thanks to the success of the reborn WKTU in New York. Magic 103.7 in Milwaukee and Star 104.5 in Philly were two other Rhythmic AC's that popped up around the same time. DRQ also had had a few successful years as an Urban station in the early '80s (although its all-Disco format in '79 had failed), so the calls had some heritage to trade on as a Rhythmic AC.

I can also imagine that WLTI still had an "easy listening" image despite the fact that they weren't the Carpenters/Manilow/Streisand Lite anymore, and felt that the best way to shake that image was to change rather than tweak the format. I do recall that "The New DRQ" initially imaged itself as a "station for women" rather than specifically a "dance" station, though, and still played some "Lite FM" songs that didn't fit a "dance" format such as Jann Arden's "Insensitive" and Celine Dion's "The Power of Love." It was a couple of months before they were "Detroit's dance music station" and purely Rhythmic AC.



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MWmetalhead
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Re: Radio ratings 1993-94

Post by MWmetalhead » Sat Aug 07, 2021 8:48 pm

Would you count 102.7 since it's move to Oak Park?
I certainly would! Even from the Mt. Clemens site, 102.7 had a much more serviceable Metro Detroit signal than the old 107.3 WAAF did relative to Greater Boston.



Mega Hertz
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Re: Radio ratings 1993-94

Post by Mega Hertz » Sun Aug 08, 2021 8:33 am

https://youtu.be/eGfuHWRY5vg

Air check from 1996, not terribly long after the flip to WDRQ.


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helios987
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Re: Radio ratings 1993-94

Post by helios987 » Sun Aug 08, 2021 12:54 pm

Mega Hertz wrote:
Sun Aug 01, 2021 10:28 am


WLLZ may have been bordering on irrelevance otherwise but not in my house 😉 Plus, Podell took over PD reigns in mid '94 and Drew and Mike were getting hot. Other than Sheri Donovan, who was at WLLZ then? Who was their morning show? I listened to just as much Riff as I did LLZ but can't remember much from the last 3 years of LLZ's life. I can remember Calvert interviewing Mellencamp in late 1992 😎
If I recall, around that time, Calvert/Ed Kelly/Albom were on WLLZ but left in that time period. I can't recall the replacement dj's I don't think anyone noteworthy. WLLZ then started changing to Alt-rock. I remember them playing Alanis morrisette, you otta know, which was a big song. NIN-Closer, Bush-glycerine, Oasis, some for those songs ring a bell. I remember this because the job I was at, my co-worker only wanted to listen to wllz and like what is a habit off all stations, you hear the same songs over and over.
Then one day, in middle of the morning it became "smooth jazz"
I had my own headset listening to Drew and Mike and then I converted everyone.



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