Today, it’s a guest blog from our client, Virgil Thompson, VP/GM of the legendary KISS in San Antonio. It’s a memo that Virgil wrote to his sales staff last week, and we thought you’d find it interesting. We couldn’t have said it better.
Last Week Emmis flipped their jazz station to “WRXP The New York Rock Experience.” It is a very broad mix and features a variety of genres. Some of these styles have been a part of KISS since we returned to Rock 16 years ago — listen to the audio of the flip and you’ll hear what I mean. Although much of the music is not part of KISS — that’s not the purpose for this note.
One reason I’m sending you this information is because it is another market (the biggest by population — LA leads in revenue) to have a major station switch TO rock. This further validates what we’ve experienced for years in San Antonio — the rock audience, while being the most fragmented, is much larger than first thought. The PPM indicates the CUME of rock stations (as well as AC and Country) is much, much larger when compared to the diary methodology.
Of course the diary has been pretty good to KISS over the years. The PPM will be as well. The second reason I’m sending you this info is that it validates, in yet another high profile market, how desirable the rock audience is — we’ve fought for this for decades and I hope the bias never completely goes away (it won’t), but it is important for us to know how “undeniable” this issue has become in our industry.
As markets get closer and closer to PPM rollouts, we will see more stations changing to various forms of rock. This is good news for “terrestrial” radio and may even bring back some folks to radio who may have become disenfranchised with the limited rock choices in some markets.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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