Re: 25-54's bill more than most 12-24/12-34's

[Mike Thomas <nostatic@earthlink.net>]

Tim Davisson wrote:

> Come on Mike....all of us in the business know nobody uses 12+ ratings as
> any serious indication of an individual radio station's strength and
> profitability.

I used the 12+ ratings since they are readily available and to make a point.
12-34's make up a high listenership percentage of the total population. Also,
you'll notice that four out of the top five billers in the market are in the
top six 12+, so it does have some accuracy in regards to strength and
profitability.

> And, right or wrong, 25-54 is the single most popular advertising demo in
> the US. If anything else, 35-54/35-64 is the up and coming demo.The facts are
> that if a station can achieve top 3 or top 4 in adults 25-54, they'll make a
> lot more money than 2 or 3 stations that are co-owned and target 12-24/12-34.
> Sure, 2-24/12-34 targeted stations can be successful.....but in MOST cases,
> the 25-54's bill much higher dollars.

25-54 has been a popular demographic largely due to the fact that the baby
boomers, a large percentage of the current population, are in that demo.  This
may not be the case in a few years.  As you mentioned, advertisers may be
looking at 35-64 to stay with the boomers, but if that's the case, why are
stations like WRKO, WEEI, WODS and even WMJX making adjustments to skew younger
than they have been?  New sign-on WQSX is targeting 25 to 44 's with their new
format.  Where are all the 35 to 64 formats?  Outside of WPLM, WXKS-AM and WBZ,
I don't see too many.

The dollar discrepancy between older and younger skewing stations is becoming
less and less with each passing year.  WBCN is the number two biller in Boston,
just a whisker behind WBZ.  KIIS-FM, a CHR, is the number one biller in LA, and
WXRK-New York, an Alternative station, is the number 3 biller in the COUNTRY,
behind WFAN and WGN Chicago.  Unlike a few years ago, like it or not, the
number of persons in the 12-34 demo is rising, and other media such as TV and
the internet, are going after this group with a vengence.  Radio will be
seriously left behind if they underestimate the buying power of younger
listeners.

> The fact that people 12-24/12-34 seem to like about 4 or 5 different genres
> of music (and they all hate eachother's music).....so, listener fragmentation
> is a
> problem too.

You're kidding, right?  As I mentioned previously, 4 stations in this market
divide up the 18 to 34 audience, six if you count WWAF and WFNX.  Kiss and Mix
play very similar music, WJMN is the rhythmic/urban outlet and BCN is the
modern rocker.   Contrast this to 25-54, where listeners get to choose from
WBZ, WEEI, WRKO, WBOS, WQSX, WSJZ, WKLB, WZLX, WCRB, WODS, WROR and WMJX--and
that's just the full signal coverage stations in the market.  Looks to me like
the fragmentation problem is not with 12-34.

> Aw...for the days when the local CHR/Top 40 played a wide variety of music
> and pulled heavy numbers. I miss those days....but...unfortuntely times
> have changed!

No they haven't.  As I mentioned earlier, WJMZ and WXKS combined pulled in over
35 million dollars last year.  The money is there to be made, and if radio
doesn't go after this demo more aggressively, it will lose out to other media
while being tagged an "older" medium.  I don't think anyone would like to see
this happen

Mike Thomas
WXLO & Mediabase 24/7

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