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Nielsen Audio #'s for Grand Rapids - release date 6.27.2022

Discussion pertaining to Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Battle Creek, Big Rapids, and Michiana
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MWmetalhead
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Nielsen Audio #'s for Grand Rapids - release date 6.27.2022

Post by MWmetalhead » Sat Jul 16, 2022 8:24 am

Wow - what a turnaround for WFGR!!!

WLAV, WLHT and WTRV all saw nice boosts, too.

A very good book for the Townsquare stations when compared to the past several.

WCSG is nipping on B93's heels for first place honors.

A rather shitty book for Star 105.7 - probably one of the worst on record (ages 12+) in that station's long history. With WFGR, WTRV and WLHT all gaining, I guess it's not surprising that 105.7 took a hit. I think 105.7 plays too much bubble gum pop music for its own good. Clashes too much with the traditional AC material the station plays.

Thunder 107.3 remains an abject disaster and should consider adopting a playlist similar to that found at WSM-FM Nashville and KPLX Dallas. The station will never be competitive by running the Westwood One country morning show and trying to clone B93's playlist (on an inferior signal, no less).

https://ratings.radio-online.com/content/arb127



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Art Van Damme
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Re: Nielsen Audio #'s for Grand Rapids - release date 6.27.2022

Post by Art Van Damme » Sat Jul 16, 2022 8:32 am

It is far part time for 107.3 to flip to Urban AC.



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MWmetalhead
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Re: Nielsen Audio #'s for Grand Rapids - release date 6.27.2022

Post by MWmetalhead » Sat Jul 16, 2022 8:48 am

It's not that GR cannot support two Country stations - it most certainly can.

Country had a decent run on 94.5, generally speaking. It laid down some really crappy ratings on occasion, but those troughs were generally short lived. Right before the poorly executed frequency change to 107.3, country was posting good numbers at 94.5. Nash FM 94.5's final full book featured a 4.1 share in ages 12+.

I am not sure I would trust the local Cumulus crew to execute an Urban AC station properly, either.

I will say their AAA sounds decent, but that's largely because the folks in Ann Arbor are heavily involved.

Here's a thought - perhaps the folks behind the very successful W4 Country in Ann Arbor should have a hand in turning around the ailing WTNR?

iHeart is actually the company I would trust to run an Urban AC properly based on their highly successful Mix 92.3 in Detroit and V103 in Chicago. Was hoping 101.3 or 96.1 would go in that direction. I can only assume local iHM management is fearful such a format might harm the numbers of 104.5 and 105.7 a bit.

The flip of Magic 104.9 (Townsquare) from Urban AC to Hip-Hop definitely dragged down WSNX's numbers (iHM) for a period, but WSNX has since rebounded nicely.

WSNX recently has cranked up its Rhythmic lean, albeit avoiding most of the harsher sounding hip-hop played by 104.9. Since making that tweak, 104.5's ratings have responded favorably. It's been quite a long time since WSNX last featured such a pronounced rhythmic lean.



Greg Buben
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Re: Nielsen Audio #'s for Grand Rapids - release date 6.27.2022

Post by Greg Buben » Mon Jul 18, 2022 10:55 am

One of the post responses said that it was possible for Grand Rapids to have two country stations. That would be true
if a country station other than B-93 were to play classic country or perhaps some form of diversified country. When it comes to playing the exact same modern major label country hits that "Thunder Country" WTNR plays Grand Rapids can't
continue with that much longer. Classic Country would be good at 107.3 FM although it would leave the low powered sta-
tion "Jethro FM" with just weekend polkas because most would go to the 50,000 watt 107.3 if it were to flip to classic coun-
try. I have commented many times that nobody in GR can beat the big B-93 with modern major label country hits. As I
said before B-93 is the worlds most powerful FM station and it's truly run in a professional manner that is highly regarded
in both the radio and country music industries. It's not that I enjoy the content of B-93 it's just that they can't be beaten
by a station that the Grand Rapids area continues to reject. The only reason why they were able to get a 4.0% share when
they were at 94.5 was because they were close enough to B-93 on the dial where people could turn back and forth from
B-93 to 94.5 FM and back. The frequency change to 107.3 FM was a completely dumb move on the part of Cumulus. I have
said there are some ideas I would do if I could change 107.3 FM and classic country is among one of my recommended
choices for a format flip. The question is how long will Cumulus continue with their insanity and nonsense of thinking that
they're going to beat B-93 with modern major label country hits?



ChrisWL1980
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Re: Nielsen Audio #'s for Grand Rapids - release date 6.27.2022

Post by ChrisWL1980 » Wed Jul 20, 2022 7:11 pm

MWmetalhead wrote:
Sat Jul 16, 2022 8:24 am
A rather shitty book for Star 105.7 - probably one of the worst on record (ages 12+) in that station's long history. With WFGR, WTRV and WLHT all gaining, I guess it's not surprising that 105.7 took a hit. I think 105.7 plays too much bubble gum pop music for its own good. Clashes too much with the traditional AC material the station plays.
Is 105.7 still speeding up its music? If so, that certainly doesn't help.
Their sister station in Detroit is considerably worse as far as playing bubblegum pop alongside soft AC standards. You'll hear segues like "Tiny Dancer" into "ABCDEFU" on WNIC. At least 105.7 doesn't play Chris Brown...



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MWmetalhead
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Re: Nielsen Audio #'s for Grand Rapids - release date 6.27.2022

Post by MWmetalhead » Thu Jul 21, 2022 7:10 am

It's either sped up or pitched up; not sure which.

Their processing has never bothered me, though.



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48125er
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Re: Nielsen Audio #'s for Grand Rapids - release date 6.27.2022

Post by 48125er » Sat Jul 23, 2022 10:48 pm

ChrisWL1980 wrote:
Wed Jul 20, 2022 7:11 pm
MWmetalhead wrote:
Sat Jul 16, 2022 8:24 am
A rather shitty book for Star 105.7 - probably one of the worst on record (ages 12+) in that station's long history. With WFGR, WTRV and WLHT all gaining, I guess it's not surprising that 105.7 took a hit. I think 105.7 plays too much bubble gum pop music for its own good. Clashes too much with the traditional AC material the station plays.
Is 105.7 still speeding up its music? If so, that certainly doesn't help.
Their sister station in Detroit is considerably worse as far as playing bubblegum pop alongside soft AC standards. You'll hear segues like "Tiny Dancer" into "ABCDEFU" on WNIC. At least 105.7 doesn't play Chris Brown...
IMO 105.7 has a very limited playlist of 200 songs that middle aged Karens in crossovers make tiktok videos to. 100.5 is far superior in terms of playlist, ive heard songs recently on there that only 90s on 9 or 80s or 8 play that others havent in years



ChrisWL1980
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Re: Nielsen Audio #'s for Grand Rapids - release date 6.27.2022

Post by ChrisWL1980 » Sun Jul 24, 2022 3:37 pm

48125er wrote:
Sat Jul 23, 2022 10:48 pm
ChrisWL1980 wrote:
Wed Jul 20, 2022 7:11 pm
MWmetalhead wrote:
Sat Jul 16, 2022 8:24 am
A rather shitty book for Star 105.7 - probably one of the worst on record (ages 12+) in that station's long history. With WFGR, WTRV and WLHT all gaining, I guess it's not surprising that 105.7 took a hit. I think 105.7 plays too much bubble gum pop music for its own good. Clashes too much with the traditional AC material the station plays.
Is 105.7 still speeding up its music? If so, that certainly doesn't help.
Their sister station in Detroit is considerably worse as far as playing bubblegum pop alongside soft AC standards. You'll hear segues like "Tiny Dancer" into "ABCDEFU" on WNIC. At least 105.7 doesn't play Chris Brown...
IMO 105.7 has a very limited playlist of 200 songs that middle aged Karens in crossovers make tiktok videos to. 100.5 is far superior in terms of playlist, ive heard songs recently on there that only 90s on 9 or 80s or 8 play that others havent in years
You pretty much described the modern state of the AC format in your first sentence. Sounds pretty damn accurate to me. :rollin

I definitely prefer 100.5 as well, even though their music is also now a corporate playlist (96.1 in Buffalo has the exact same music log) and there are much fewer "oh wow" songs played now than when Tom Cook was there.

It's very telling when 265,000-watt WSRW is neck and neck with 3,000-watt WTRV.



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