JRMC # 4220

Case Study (Radio Programming)

You are program director of an FM station with an oldies format in a medium market in the Southwest.

The station adopted the format 15 years ago and has faced no format competition.

The total audience numbers have remained fairly consistent. Regularly, you place among the top ten stations in the 20-station market among persons aged 12+.

However, your audience has been aging. And that is having a negative impact on your appeal to ad agencies, whose primary demo is persons aged 25 to 54.

That demo dropped from 71 percent of your audience in 1998 to 68 per- cent in 2001. Today, it is down to just 60 percent and will continue to fall. Simultaneously, your aged 55+ audience is increasing. It has gone from 21 percent in 1998 to 32 percent and will keep on growing.

General manager Dan Smith has called you to a meeting. General sales manager Mary Reece also will attend. Dan is reacting to an inquiry from your groups regional manager, who is concerned about the decline in agency buys on the station. Mary has a similar concern. The goal of the meeting is to develop a plan of action.

Dan has concluded that there are three options: (1) change the format to appeal to a younger demo already targeted by one or more stations in the market; (2) adjust the current format to try to retain current listeners and attract new listeners from a younger demo; (3) try to sell your older demos to agencies.

EXERCISES

1. What are the pros and cons of each of Dans options?
2. Are there additional options? If so, what are they?
3. How realistic is Dans third option? Explain.

JRMC # 4220 Case Study (Radio Programming) You are program director of an FM station with an oldies format in a medium market in the Southwest The station adopted the format 15 years ago and has faced no format competition. The total audience numbers have remained fairly consistent. Regularly, you place among the top ten stations in the 20-station market among persons aged 12+. However, your audience has been aging. And that is having a negative impact on your appeal to ad agencies, whose primary demo is persons aged 25 to 54. That demo dropped from 71 percent of your audience in 1998 to 68 per- cent in 2001. Today, it is down to just 60 percent and will continue to fall. Simultaneously, your aged 55+ audience is increasing. It has gone from 21 percent in 1998 to 32 percent and will keep on growing General manager Dan Smith has called you to a meeting. General sales manager Mary Reece also will attend. Dan is reacting to an inquiry from your group's regional manager, who is concerned about the decline in agency buys on the station. Mary has a similar concern. The goal of the meeting is to develop a plan of action. Dan has concluded that there are three options: (1) change the format to appeal to a younger demo already targeted by one or more stations in the market; (2) adjust the current format to try to retain current listeners and attract new listeners from a younger demo; (3) try to sell your older demos to agencies. EXERCISES 1. What are the pros and cons of each of Dan's options? 2. Are there additional options? If so, what are they? 3. How realistic is Dan's third option? Explain