Stations That Changed Formats While Beating...

[EvanJ]

Their Competitor

Milwaukee Active Rock station WLZR is stunting despite being 1.5 shares ahead of Alternative WLUM.

In Des Moines, Clear Channel changed their Smooth Jazz station to CHR-Rhythmic which killed sister CHR-Pop station KKDM. Then with CHR-Rhythmic KDRB ahead of KKDM, Clear Channel changed KDRB to "The Bus," a Jack-type format. As a result in the Spring 2005 rating KDRB went way down while KKDM almost doubled their rating.

[tico]

KFMB-FM in San Diego changed to Jack earlier this year, despite being the higher rated hot AC station. KMYI has benefitted as a result.

[Jeff]

On December 24, 2003, Clear Channel-owned WDBT (95.5 The Beat) switched to gospel (95.5 Hallelujah FM). Its call letters became WHLH on January 1, 2004.

I think WDBT generally had higher Arbitron ratings than WYOY (Y101).

[EvanJ]

WHTS Quad Cities will change formats despite having almost double the ratings of KBEA (both stations are CHR-Pop).

[tico]

WHTS' impending format change is a result of a change of ownership to Educational Media Foundation, which operates the K-Love Christian music satellite service. I also remember back in 1990, CHR WTYX here in Jackson switched to oldies, despite being the higher-rated CHR. That change was also as a result of a change of ownership.

[Slinky]

The same fate befell Rhythmic CHR Hot 107.9 in State College, PA. It was beating Hot AC Beaver 103 and CHR Revolution 101. Due to an ownership change, 107.9 was sold off, and 107.9 and 103.1 were combined into a mainstream CHR that's now called Hot 103. The Rhythmic format that was beating the others is dead there.

[tico]

A few weeks ago, WTKL New Orleans--which had recently moved from 95.7 to 105.3--was sacrificed for a simulcast of WWL-AM and is now known as WWL-FM. WTKL was ahead of the other oldies station in town, WTIX.

[TheJakes]

The biggest mess ever made where this occured was when WCBS-FM oldies was flipped to JACK in NYC.

The station went from a top ten ranking to scapping the bottom of the barrel.

The same thing happenned in Toronto when KISS, which had a 6-8 share as a CHR-Pop and a 5 share as a CHR-Rhytmic was flipped to JACK where it has struggled for a 3 share.

[EvanJ]

WCBS-FM was the only Oldies station in New York City so how does it apply to this topic?

[Marv]

KMYI's smartest move after KFMB-FM inexplicably switched to the 'Jack-FM' format was hiring Jef & Jer away to do mornings after KFMB flipped.

J&J have been waking up San Diego for over TWENTY years, including a VERY successful stint at CHR/Pop powerhouse Q106 (KKLQ), which was lauched and programmed by Garr Wall, the co-creator of the 'JACK-FM' format.

[tico]

KMYI also capitalized by changing their name from My to Star. I, too, think that KFMB-FM's switch to Jack was a dumb move. While I probably would've been a fan of Jack if I were in San Diego, I don't think there was a real need to change at that time. Maybe down the road, there would've been no choice but to change, but I think Star 100.7 was still a very viable station. I enjoyed listening to it and I can't imagine Jack is doing any better.

[Moonshadow]

Ignoring the last part of this topic (like I did), I remember 103.5 WKTU signing on after 15 hours of a beating heart sound on that frequency.

[Slinky]

slinky said:

The same fate befell Rhythmic CHR Hot 107.9 in State College, PA.  It was beating Hot AC Beaver 103 and CHR Revolution 101.  Due to an ownership change, 107.9 was sold off, and 107.9 and 103.1 were combined into a mainstream CHR that's now called Hot 103.  The Rhythmic format that was beating the others is dead there.

And now the same thing has happened again in State College:

CHR Hot 103 just flipped formats a couple weeks ago. Hot 103 was beating the pants off of competing CHR G101 (formerly Revolution) 6.2-1.6! Now G is the only CHR left in the market.

Same thing in Hagerstown, MD, where Pulse-FM was beating rival CHR Hot 103.7 2.8-0.9, but Pulse just flipped to Classic Country in the past couple days. Interestingly enough, both "losing" CHRs G101 and Hot 103.7 are owned by the same company.

[EvanJ]

It happened in Birmingham. See pulsemusic.proboards48.com/index.cgi?board=radio&action=display&thread=1165256915