First Listen: Houston's Hot 95.7 vs. KRBE
Written Mar. 14, 2008 by Sean Ross in Terrestrial Radio with 17 Comments
I've always been a little conflicted about the current Cumulus version of KRBE Houston. It's a well-produced, well-executed, well-presented radio station, as evidenced by its ratings success in a PPM market. It's just going back to Clay Gish's late '70s version of the station, I've always liked KRBE best when it was musically aggressive -- and this KRBE is its most conservative Top 40 incarnation ever.
There hasn't been a lot of new CHR building in recent years, but it always seemed that somebody would try to challenge KRBE, which indeed happened yesterday with the launch of CBS' "Hot Hits" KHJZ (Hot 95.7) under PD Jeff Garrison. The new station is more rhythmic and more current than KRBE with rotations of 45-minutes on at least a few titles. And as the first WNOU (Radio Now) Indianapolis did at its launch, it's also offering "the hottest hit of the hour" with the added wrinkle of sending listeners to vote for it on the station Website.
The new station had an instant purchase on the affections of radio junkies. (It was, for a while, hard to get an available stream yesterday afternoon, probably because of the number of industry people listening!) There have been surprisingly few attempts to invoke the spirit of Mike Joseph's game-changing early '80s "Hot Hits" CHRs in recent years. WNOU was one. WWWQ (Q100) Atlanta used the positioner at its launch, but resembled it in no other way. So positioning yourself as "Hot Hits" is a good way to get the industry's attention.
The 2008 version of "Hot Hits" doesn't have jingles between every song or jocks offering short, carefully structured breaks that always feature a local place reference. So far, it doesn't have any jocks. What it does share with the early Hot Hits station is fast rotations on a tight handful of titles. The station is billing itself as "the new generation of Houston radio" and promising "no more boring radio."
Rotations, as mentioned, have been as tight as 45 minutes on "Take You There" and ":Love Song" (although not every play on either song has been as tightly spaced). And depending on how you count, Mediabase shows the station as having played about 33 current titles and 28 gold or or older recurrent titles. (Most are relatively recent, but "Mo Money, Mo Problems" made it in there.) Musically, KHJZ is more rhythmic than KRBE, but it's also playing both Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers. And in a market where dance was once an important food group, it's playing both Cascada and Enur.
I listened to an hour of Hot 95.7 this morning, then punched over to KRBE which, again, was a good sounding radio station. It just happened to be playing three ballad recurrent/gold titles next to each other. Which means that the outcome of this battle will hinge on the following question: How much of an advantage does the younger, more rhythmic station automatically have these days? In the late '90s, a younger, more rhythmic CHR could at least create a war of attrition for the incumbent that most owners were unwilling to participate in. Of course, in the late '90s/early '00s, rhythmic product was also thought to be the only music that mattered. These days, the rhythmic hits are less dominant and more likely to be Chris Brown and Fergie than the DMX and Eminem records that challenged so many adult-leaning CHRs.
We'll check in on this battle every now and then. We'll also write more soon about the concept of 45-minute rotations. For now, here's Hot 95.7 at 9 a.m. this morning:
50 Cent, "In Da Club"
Sara Bareilles, "Love Song"
Miley Cyrus, "See You Again"
Sean Kingston, "Take You There"
Cascada, "What Hurts The Most"
Finger Eleven, "Paralyzer"
Alicia Keys, "No One"
Rihanna, "Don't Stop The Music"
Buckcherry, "Sorry"
Timbaland f/Nelly & Justin, "Give It To Me"
Pitbull, "The Anthem" (the hour's "hottest hit")
Chris Brown, "With You"
Leona Lewis, "Bleeding Love"
Natasha Bedingfield, "Love Like This"
Enur f/Natasja, "Calabria 2008"
Fergie, "Clumsy"
And here's KRBE from the following hour, 10 a.m.
Colbie Caillat, "Bubbly"
Chris Brown, "With You"
No Doubt, "It's My Life"
Sean Kingston, "Take You There"
Nickelback, "If Everyone Cared"
Avril Lavigne, "I'm With You"
Akon, "Don't Matter"
Ferras, "Hollywood's Not America"
Black Eyed Peas, "Hey Mama"
Buckcherry, "Sorry"
Santana & Rob Thomas, "Smooth"
Rihanna, "Don't Stop The Music"
Reader Comments
Your 2¢, in chronological order — add your comment below.
I've been listening to Hot 95.7 frequently to sense the real evolution of this station. The first thing to cross my ears was the dance music- something I've especially missed on 104.1 KRBE when 104.1 used to play this kind of music regularly, including in their former "The Beat" Saturday night broadcast. The inclusion of Cascada and Enur shows some promise that dance music can be relevant once again on Houston radio. Can they make it relevant enough to give electronica stars like Amber, Lucas Prata, Mynt, Kim Sozzi, Paul Oakenfold, Paul van Dyk, and others in the realm of electronica (including dance remixes) to still provide great radio for their demographic? They tend to combine a variety of styles ranging from hip-hop, R&B, pop, some alternative rock/pop, and dance. So they are very diverse.
I still honor them for their dance music. If they add more dance music, electronica will once again have a prescence on the radio after pop and alternative rock have ruled the airwaves with the aforementioned 104.1 KRBE.
One of the things I found missing from CHR radio today was a "Hot Hits 2.0", of sorts...Glad to see someone is doing something about it, but, why not try a full-tilt approach with the jingles, reverb, and fast paced jocks?? WCAU-FM essentially took the 60s approach and updated it for the 80s..Why not take *that* approach and update it for today. Might actually get younger listeners interested in radio--again.
I doubt this version of KRBE is more conservative than the station was in the late 90s. I worked there from 96 to 98, and we were consistently one of the last CHRs (if not THE last) in the country to add records. It certainly worked at the time (this was when KRBE first went back to its CHR roots after being pop/alternative). That was such a different era though. We were also playing tons of 80s records then - long before the 80s stations were hitting the air.
Come to think of it, I believe I had the first set of business cards with the then-new green and blue/purple wings logo (whatever color that is!). I can't believe they still use it. I'm glad they do - it makes me smile in a nostalgic way. Good times... good times...
I haven't even been in the market for years, but I'm a big fan of the current KRBE and am so glad Freddy and Roula are there. I hope KRBE doesn't overreact to Hot 95.7. Is there room in Houston for two CHRs and two rhy/CHRs? Time will tell!
P.S. hanks for the post, by the way. It was a fun read.
Houston radio has become a pathetic shell of its former glory days of the 80's KKBQ/KRBE battle. During a drive over to Houston this weekend, I continued to be stunned by what I consider to be one of my own "grown up children",("Mix") sounding so emasculated and personality-less, position-less, production-less, and life-less in presentation. Maybe it's easy for a people meter to know which station it's listening to, but were it not for the almost invisible ID once per quarter hour, I would never have recognized a piece of my own history. Ratings or not, it sure wasn't any FUN to listen to. I wish Jeff Garrison all the best on this launch. He's a great guy and I hope he can set the town on its ear again! Houston has always been more fun with two CHRs battling it out and who knows? This new sword may actually help sharpen an old knife at the same time. Now if it will only translate to fun and compelling radio on-air...and not just another FM I-POD.
Jeff:
....every time I think of KHMX I can't help but think of one of the most fun stunts in radio history..The month-long pre-grunge era Alternative format/smokescreen that served as a buffer between the old Energy 96.5 and Mix. I have a couple of airchecks and love to pull them out every now and then.
Re: KKBQ, also remember their fake "Houston's Rock Hits" Rock 40 format leading up to their switch to Country..Have tape of that too which is enjoyable now and then.
Houston has definitely had its' share of fun radio in the past--even for stations that weren't meant to last for more than a month!!
Tony:
I'll tell you a little story about "Alternative 96.5."
It was always our feeling ("our" being: Guy Zapoleon, myself, Michael Newman, Gino Pearson, Kurt Gilchrist) that in 1990, Houston was on the brink of being able to support an ALtenative station a'la K-Rock in L.A. The euro-pop alternative sounds of Depeche Mode, The Cure, and others of that nature were so hot in Houston at that time...and we could sense it coming on. Unfortunately, as you pointed out, this was prior to the explosion of "Grunge" and there was just not quite enough product exposed in Houston to support a whole format then...our research for MIX had uncovered the potential for viability of alternative...but Nationwide wan't ready to take a $30 million dollar chance and the hole for a new kind of Hot AC was larger at that time.
During this time we were putting together the final touches on KHMX, and we thought we'd just have some fun and test our theories for future use. Guy and I discussed blowing up the failed "Energy 96.5" format during the morning show one day...but it was all pretty loosely thought out since we were focused on creating MIX.
So when that day came, I was on the air hosting the morning show with Chris Dyer, a.k.a. Chris Allen from 93Q, Jammin Johnny O, Jordan Mix, Big John from 93Q Country, etc. We just started talking about how we hated playing all the dumb hispanic dance tunes and New Kids On The Block, etc. We went on to "spontaneously" blow up the format...grabbing carts and playing snippets of outgoing tunes, commenting on them and tossing them aside.
We really didn't have a name for the smokescreen station, so I just decided to call it what it was..."Alternative 96.5"...there was absolutely no planning in the name...or the positioning statement which I actually made up on spot. "No kids(meaning n.k.o.t.b.), no rap, no crap. Houston's new music alternative, Alternative 96.5!" Seemed catchy enough...
That morning we just started playing pop-alternative leaning stuff we had on hand in the studio, and calls and faxes started pouring in. That was kinda ominous since "Energy" had never gotten that kind of response!
We had so much fun with "Alternative 96.5" behind the scenes that we started a Selector database, started producing actual logs and even some sweepers and promos!! Unfortunately, we probably went a little too far because it started to grow and it only took Nationwide a couple of weeks to remind us of our true mission--to focus on launching the upcoming MIX 96.5
I know we always felt kind of bad after killing "Alternative 96.5" because as successful as the KHMX launch was, we knew we were abandoning a growing audience. Of course, this was prior to the days of even "duopoly" so there was no other thought of putting it on another signal.
I'm pretty sure that Pat Fant at KLOL had kept the thought of "Alternative 96.5" in the back of his mind, and soon enough duopoly came, "The Buzz" was born, and the hole--broader deeper by this time, was filled again.
What a fun time...to be able to "PLAY" for a whole month, with a 100,000 watt Class C FM in a Top 10 market. I doubt it will ever happen again; but I am happy it happened to me!
I'd love to have a copy of the tapes...I saved nothing from the station, unfortunately. Thanks again for bringing up the great memories. It's been an incredibly fast 18 years!
I agree: Alternative 96.5 was the greatest station that never was. (Honorary mention to the CKLW-on-FM format that aired for only four hours a day as "The Fox" in 1984.) Through that month, I was glued to the listen line. While there were Modern Rock stations being programmed by Top 40 people already (particularly KITS) it was the poppiest Alternative station up to that time, and the stepping stone between KROQ/KITS and 99X/Atlanta.
I don't care for much of the new station, seems all the same to me. However, the other station lost a great DJ Dave Morales. I'm just glad he's back! I attended the club where he always dj'd at.........I couldn't believe my ears....they killed it. I haven't looked back since. When I heard him on the 95.7 .....it's a relief. Welcome Back Dave.
I really love this new station because yall dont talk alot in the mornings when im on my way to work i need something to get my day started and u guys r my station and plus yall play old songs from way back then and they bring happy memorys to me thanx alot !!!!!!
The song choices are great. I love KRBE and i love this station. The only BIG problem with this station is that y'all repeat alot of songs. I start work at 5am and i have heard "Get Low" probably 8 times and that is way to much. I came to work loving that song now i am over it. Please start playing different songs and throw in some old songs. Like keith sweat, r kelly, boyz II men. Thats the kind of station we need here in houston.
Ever since i started listening to this new station i've been really into it. The only problem is that u guys wear out songs to the point where the listeners don't want to hear them. On the positive side y'all dont commercial alot which is something that i really love... keep up the great work and stop the repeats.
I love the new station. It starts my day on the right note, actually ready and awake to complete the day, and on Fridays we JAM to it, and reminds us that the day is almost over, and then to the club!!! I love the mix of music, especially on the morning drive, stuck in traffic on the grand pumba of 290.
The station plays the same stuff over and over. I listened the other day form norning to night just to give them another chance. I don't mean to be mean but the guy in the morning is reaaly boring i just wanted to fall asleep. the guy in the afternoon kept talking over the songs. i liked the girl at night and i usually hate women on the air. she sounded like she was having a lot of fun with people
janesha
I gave up on KRBE because I thought that they weren't playing songs that were popular at the moment. I felt as if they were always a month behind in the trends.
Hot 97.5 reminds me of New York's Z100- they repeat songs over and over, but I don't mind it because they do it with the songs that are hot RIGHT NOW. It may seem annoying to a lot of people, but for me, it works. I think they're going in the right direction- keep it up.
I like 95.7 a lot better than 104.1 because it has music from the top hits on the charts for 2008. 104.1 offers nothing but those old songs from 2007 that we got tired of a long time ago. Plus, 95.7 doesn't play the same songs over and over again. I hate that.
Got off the plane from my trip to NY yesterday, and my fiance' told me there's new station in town. Listened on the way to the park-n-ride and was glad the format was far from the gum flapping of Sam Malone. :)