I started going through my old “Intriguing Stations of the Year” articles last night. I began writing those columns in 2003, but I was primarily looking for stations launched in the last 15 years that had endured. I was thinking about writing something like “Top 10 Stations of the PPM Era.” I threw it open to Facebook friends for their nominations.
I wasn’t expecting to have a ton of candidates. Many of today’s winners are still 40+-year-old brands. Radio’s PPM ratings measurement era coincided with the arrival of Pandora in the iPhone and the beginning of radio’s digital diminishment, as well as the accompanying worsening of radio’s financial issues. Plus, hadn’t PPM spurred broadcasters to create anodyne radio at the worst possible time?
I’ve moved on from the top-10-stations concept. Not because I can’t find 10 stations, but because I can’t narrow them down. The Facebook posting generated about a hundred suggestions. As for my own candidates, I’m staring at a letter pad’s worth of scrawl. Those are only PPM-era launches (or, in a few cases, stations that kept their brand but significantly changed their format). It does include stations in both PPM and diary markets.
The last 15 years brought us CKNO (102.3 Now) Edmonton, Alberta, the station that defied PPM logic by popularizing the “Join the Conversation” format across Canada. That station was launched with one of radio’s last great marketing efforts, making the traction that other stations found that much more significant.
The PPM era brought us WBQT (Hot 96.9) Boston, the station that finally propelled “throwback Hip-Hop” into a format boom. WBQT’s steady numbers made it seem like an outlier amidst others that crashed quickly, but the recent success of a relaunched WJHM (102 Jamz) Orlando and WPOW (Power 96) Miami attests to the throwback format’s continued strength.
The last 15 years gave us Soft AC as a successful, (mostly) sustained format with WFEZ (Easy 93) Miami, WRME (Me TV FM) Chicago, KISQ (The Breeze) San Francisco, Australia’s Smooth FMs. It’s not exactly a new brand, but the success of KISQ prompted the return of WLIT (Lite FM) Chicago.
Me TV FM was followed by stations specializing in older Oldies as well: KOAI (The Wow Factor) Phoenix, KDRI (The Drive) Tucson, Ariz., the UK’s Boom Radio, and a station that I haven’t written about as much, but which showed up several times in my Facebook comments, WMCE Erie, Pa. WAKY Louisville arrived slightly ahead of my time frame, but continues to defy programming law by winning with an older, broader mix.
Many of the stations associated with Classic Hits’ successes of the PPM era were retooled heritage outlets, but some were launched around that time or since: KXSN (Sunny 98.1) San Diego, CHBM (Boom 97.3) Toronto, KKHH (95.7 The Spot) Houston, WOCL (Sunny 105.9) Orlando, CFXL (XL103) Calgary. That market is also home to one of the most enduring ’90s/’00s Classic Hits outlet, CHUP (C97.7).
KUTX Austin, Texas, was one of several non-comm Triple-As that surprised the industry by posting non-niche numbers. KCMP (The Current) Minneapolis was already several years old by PPM. So was KEXP Seattle, but its surprise PPM success was a recent phenomenon. Readers also named Denver’s KJAC (The Colorado Sound) and KVOQ (Indie 102.3).
WBZ-FM (The Sports Hub) Boston, named by Radioinsight’s Lance Venta and numerous other readers, roughly parallels PPM. So do WXYT (The Ticket) Detroit on FM and KDKA-FM (The Fan) Pittsburgh.
WNNX (99X) Atlanta and KITS (Live 105.3) San Francisco are pre-PPM brands but were surprisingly successful recent relaunches. (In recent weeks, they’ve also prompted two new gold-based Alternative outlets in Canada that were not revived brands.) KDKB (Alt AZ 93) Phoenix has shown that not all new Alt brands need to be gold-driven.
Eleven months ago, WMIA (Magic 93.9) Miami became one of the most recent success stories by combining a softer, gold-based AC with Spanish-language jocks. Last month, Magic posted its best numbers in 15 years. So far, the only surprise is that more imitators haven’t emerged, although some stations have already moved to block any such competitor. UPDATE: Mere hours after I wrote this, Cox made a similar move with WOEX (Hits 96.5) Orlando, Fla.
You’re not seeing a lot of current-based music formats here. If anything, the second and third Top 40 stations in many markets that sprouted as a result of PPM and the format boom of the late ’00s/early ’10s probably exacerbated its demise by making CHR narrower and more extreme.
KMVQ (99.7 Now) San Francisco, one of the few late ’00s CHR challengers to emerge as the market’s format leader, has been a favorite of this column for some decidedly retro touches — manageable spotloads and music enterprise.
There are stations featured in “Intriguing” articles of years past that didn’t spur format trends. Some are highly rated (KTWV [The Wave] Los Angeles in its [mostly] R&B Oldies era). Others have found a niche without them — St. Louis-based Christian Rhythmic CHR network KXBS (Boost Radio); iHeart’s Black Information Network; KGAY Palm Springs; the Asian pop format on KUCD (Pop 99.1) Honolulu. A few were filling traditional format holes; e.g., Adult R&B WTBV (The Vibe) Tampa.
The implication here is not, by the way, that PPM drove format innovation as much as that format innovation took place anyway. Some of the boldest moves of the last 15 years, particularly with spotload (Entercom/Audacy’s Two-Minute Promise) or sponsorships (KZPS Dallas), have faded. That said, many broadcasters are hopeful that upcoming Nielsen measurement changes will reopen those discussions. And iHeart’s BIN has found a place in part due to sponsorships and non-traditional revenue.
Being able to successfully launch against the fragmentation and financial tumult of the last 15 years was a flex for broadcast radio. Besides, as I went back to those early “Intriguing” articles, I found myself using the phrase “despite radio’s current tumult” a lot and well before Pandora and PPM.
There are streams and stations that intrigue beyond the broadcast dial: SiriusXM’s TikTok Radio and Yacht Rock Radio, Spotify’s Today’s Top Hits, TuneIn’s the Big 615, Apple Music’s channels, the just-launched K-Love Pop, the more viable digital tiers in the UK and Australia. KRTY San Jose isn’t a new station, but the home it found as an online-only outfit was a surprise development of recent years. Overall, I’m surprised how many of my “Intriguing” outlets of the last 15 years have been AM/FM radio in the U.S. and Canada.
As is always the case here, sins of omission aren’t intentional. The examples given are intended to be directional, not definitive. The Facebook thread contains numerous others. But I’m gratified by what I’ve seen in my “Intriguing” stories — I remember them for the quirky-but-ultimately-not-viable stations or deeper oldies outlets. As we get ready for “Intriguing Stations of 2024” in early January, it’s nice to see stations that are built to win as well.
This story first appeared on radioinsight.com