Why doesn't Philly want Hot AC?

[atlantaboy]

I've always wondered why Philadelphia is the only major U. S. city not to be able to sustain a Hot AC station - it's been tried seems like 4-5 times over the past 10 years and each time it's failed

Atlanta doesn't have a Hot AC but that's b/c it has two CHRs (Star 94 and Q100) that both lean Hot AC

Philadelphia's CHR (Q102) leans rhythmic (and alternative lately) - can't figure out what's different about the demographics of Philadelphia that it can't support a permanent Hot AC station -

[Slinky]

Being a Philly native, I used to wonder this myself, but I think I have it mostly figured out.

1) Philly suburbs have their own stations. In most places, the suburbs make Hot AC work. Philadelphia, however, has a bunch of smaller markets right next to it. Bucks County Hot AC listeners listen to WPST, which is a very adult-leaning CHR right now. Chester County listens to WSTW, which has been an adult CHR forever. The South Jersey suburbs have their own Hot AC in Sojo 104.9.

2) Philly never had a Hot AC tradition. There have been tons of attempts at Hot AC over the years. Every time Philly gets a successful Hot AC, something happens to screw it up. Lets go back to 1992, when the Hot AC format was first getting started:

- CHR Eagle 106 was the first to give it a shot with their "No Rap, No Hard Stuff" position. The station had a great morning show and was getting decent ratings but the owners thought it was too expensive and pulled the plug. It was a top 10 station at the end of its run.

- After Eagle's demise, an AC station in town switched to Hot AC as "Z100". New York's Z100 wasn't happy about this and sued. Rather than face the lawsuit, this station became Y100. Y100 did OK ratings-wise, and ended up just outside of the top 10 stations, but this was when Alternative was becoming big, so Y100 jumped on that bandwagon and the Hot AC format was dead again.

- The next attempt was from perennial loser Star 104.5. Star had bounced around from one format to the next, trying Bright AC (their most successful format), Rhythmic AC, CHR, before finally settling on a Hot AC format in 1996. Problem was no one knew what to expect from "Star" anymore. It was a brand name that meant nothing to Philadelphians. The Hot AC format lasted a few years and eventually flipped to Rock AC (not Modern AC) as "Alice 104.5". "Alice" then evolved back to Hot AC for a short time in 2001-02, but again, Philadelphia just didn't take to it. Probably had a lot to do with the station's lack of consistency. No one knew what to expect out of it. If Star had just evolved from Bright AC to Hot AC around 1995 or so, I think it would have been a very successful station even to this day.

- Then there was 95.7, another perennial loser frequency in Philadelphia. They started Modern AC as Max 95.7 in 1997, but faced low ratings because they were squeezed by Hot AC Star 104.5 and female-leaning Alternative Y100. Their ratings were starting to pick up in 1999, though still very close to the bottom, when the owners pulled the plug to try Jammin' Oldies. 95.7 did Modern AC again in 2001, as Mix 95.7 this time, again facing a lot of competition from Hot AC Alice 104.5 and 80's station 96.5 The Point. Again they were unable to get ratings and they flipped to a Rhythmic-heavy Hot AC (a la KBIG) and then back to Hot AC again after 96.5 flipped Rhythmic. Eventually they became Ben-FM, which is the closest thing Philly has to a Hot AC right now.

- 96.5 The Point started out as an 80's station, but evolved to Hot AC towards the end of its run. Much like 95.7 and 104.5, it was a station that was inconsistent and not given any time to work out before moving on to the next thing.

The point of this long, long story is that every attempt to do Hot AC was ruined either by inconsistency, incompetence, too much competition, or just not giving the format time to succeed. The interesting thing is that Philly had two Hot ACs in the late 90's (Star and Max) and also in the early 2000s (Mix and Alice, then Mix and the Point). All of the stations had lousy ratings though, and as I pointed out before, the strong suburban stations didn't make it any easier.

3) The mid-Atlantic region in general is a bad place for Hot AC. It's not like the South or Midwest where there's still a backlash against rap. Even successful stations like PLJ and Mix 106.5 don't set the ratings world on fire. They bring in money because they're heritage stations and they hit the right suburban demographics. As I just pointed out in 1) and 2), Philly has a tough time with those factors.

As long as Ben-FM is doing well, I don't think Philly will see a new Hot AC anytime soon. If you look at their top 10 on yes.com, it is basically substituting for a Hot AC in the market, although it is extremely conservative on new music. It is able to get ratings because it also fills the Adult Hits void and the void for a second AC station. Philly listeners are content listening to 95.7 or tuning to the suburban stations.

[derek]

This is right up my ally! :o

I do live in South Jersey and we get a TON of stations that are not located in Philly...PST is VERY adult leaning during the mornings and afternoons and WSTW plays ALOT of stuff, but RARELY plays rap. Plus we have SoJo, which I'm pretty sure is Hot AC or VERY close to it. Um....yeah...so even though they aren't located in Philly per-say, the "Philly area" sorta does have Hot AC stations.

[tico]

Piggy-backing on Slinky's comments, if you look at the signal coverage of WSTW and WPST, both stations seem to cover the Philly market fairly well, so it may not be necessary for Philly to have a hot AC station (though I would think most Philly-area residents would prefer their own station than relying on Trenton and Wilmington).

As far as Atlanta is concerned, it's fair to say that Star 94 is the de facto hot AC station there, though the industry refers to them as CHR. Given their heritage, it would be somewhat difficult for a new hot AC to gain any footing in the market.

[Chase]

What exactly are the differences among Bright AC, Hot AC, Rock AC, Modern AC, etc.?

[Slinky]

Bright AC is a term that isn't used that much anymore. Basically it just means an AC station that tries to be a little more upbeat with fewer Oldies and ballads. A good example of this kind of station is the new Fresh 102.7 in New York.

Hot AC is the blanket term for any station that is too upbeat for the AC panel but not rhythmic enough for the CHR panel.

Rock AC is another term that isn't used much anymore, because so few Rock AC stations exist. A Rock AC is a station that mixes a few current Hot AC tracks with Classic Rock, but leaves out anything rhythmic. The best example of this would be Harrisburg's 97.3 The River (WRVV).

Modern AC was a format that started in the mid-90's when singer-songwriters like Sarah Mclachlan and Jewel were making it big. Back then, Hot ACs were still playing Rod Stewart and Janet Jackson. Now, the term just means a Hot AC that's aggressive on rock and doesn't play rhythmic. There aren't too many of them left.

[Chase]

slinky said:

Bright AC is a term that isn't used that much anymore. Basically it just means an AC station that tries to be a little more upbeat with fewer Oldies and ballads. A good example of this kind of station is the new Fresh 102.7 in New York.

Hot AC is the blanket term for any station that is too upbeat for the AC panel but not rhythmic enough for the CHR panel.

Rock AC is another term that isn't used much anymore, because so few Rock AC stations exist. A Rock AC is a station that mixes a few current Hot AC tracks with Classic Rock, but leaves out anything rhythmic. The best example of this would be Harrisburg's 97.3 The River (WRVV).

Modern AC was a format that started in the mid-90's when singer-songwriters like Sarah Mclachlan and Jewel were making it big. Back then, Hot ACs were still playing Rod Stewart and Janet Jackson. Now, the term just means a Hot AC that's aggressive on rock and doesn't play rhythmic. There aren't too many of them left.

As a resident of Harrisburg and as someone who has driven through the New York market, I know exactly what you're talking about. Thank you!

[Haley]

Miami doesn't have Hot AC either..(a city an hour above us does though, but the reception is horrible most of the time)