First Listen: Now 92.3
Written Mar. 11, 2009 by Sean Ross in Content + Terrestrial Radio with 3 Comments
When KLSX (97.1 Amp Radio) launched a few weeks ago, one of our observations was that it was surprisingly close to KIIS musically, (and in the casual intensity of its production). Its CBS sister station WXRK New York, which flipped to Top 40 at 5 p.m. today as 92.3 Now FM, isn't taking any chances in setting itself apart. Musically, it's somewhat more rhythmic than Z100 -- no Taylor Swift, no Fray, no Kelly Clarkson (but plenty of Pink and Britney) in its first few hours. Presentationally, it launched with a promo trying to reimage Z100 and morning man Elvis Duran as stuck in the station's (first) early '80s heyday -- the station and morning man of "Mickey" and "Eye of the Tiger." (Never mind that Duran wouldn't join the station for many years.) Soon thereafter, there was a similarly themed "Mac vs. PC" promo attacking Z100. Later, there was a stager suggesting that the Z100 team was listening helplessly as Now 92.3 played its 10,000 songs in a row, adding, "Damn, that's gotta blow."
I've tended not to like this kind of namecalling in the past. Setting aside the irony of Z100 being attacked with the playbook it used against WPLJ 26 years ago, there was also that early '90s era where "Power Pig" WFLZ Tampa's swagger was widely imitated in less capable hands with ultimately disastrous results for Top 40 radio. But it has made things interesting tonight., and some energy and enthusiasm has clearly gone into the writing. And if it resonates with anybody, it might be the older half of the Z100 mother/daughter coalition. They're the ones who actually remember the hot-rockin' flamethrowin' Scott Shannon Z100. And they're the ones who are counting on Z100 to at least keep them on speaking terms with their teenagers. In any event, as more Top 40 wars pop up, we can count on more of this.
So how vulnerable is Z100?
* They do play commercials. Not an unbearable amount of them. But not 10,000 songs in a row this month.
* They can play some very adult gold in middays, although for every "Iris," there's a "Let Me Clear My Throat" that Now would play also. And there's still enough T.I. that you'd never confuse Z100 for a Hot AC.
* Tom Poleman and Sharon Dastur have done a good job of keeping the presentational austerity of other Clear Channel stations from taking hold. But the kind of person who pays attention to such things will routinely notice a cold segue into a recurrent as the second song of the hour.
* They have sought to be new platform friendly, even before it became a chain-wide dictate. Interesting to note that one of Now's attack promos goes after Z100's iPhone app where, it points out, you'll still hear commercials instead of 10,000 songs in a row.
* They do play some mainstream pop music. Taylor Swift and the Fray aren't necessarily the vulnerable choices -- self-respecting 14-year-olds like them just fine and care enough to actually buy their records. But guess who won the button punch at 5:25 or so when Now was playing DMX's "Party Up" and Z100 was playing "Fall for You" by Secondhand Serenade?
And finally, no matter how well programmed a station is, it's hard for an attack like this to take place without leaving some scorched earth. If your new competitor plays three Britney Spears songs in its first 75 minutes, you will probably spend a little less time with the other station that plays Britney Spears.
A few other notes:
* Nicest touch: Promos counting down individual listeners' top three songs. (As that feature develops, it shouldn't necessarily be songs that are actually on the radio yet.)
* The 6:00 ID -- the first one in a regular programming hour -- was sponsored by McDonalds.
* When Now 92.3 played Britney Spears' (edited) "If You See(k) Amy" for the first time around 6:55, the signal suddenly went out.
Here was Now 92.3 at 9 p.m. tonight:
Britney Spears, "Circus"
Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, "Kiss Me Through The Phone"
Kevin Rudolph, "Let It Rock"
All-American Rejects, "Gives You Hell"
Ne-Yo, "Mad"
Pink, "So What"
Ludacris, "Stand Up"
Lady Gaga, "Just Dance"
Eminem, "Crack A Bottle"
Kanye West, "Love Lockdown"
T.I. & Justin Timberlake, "Dead and Gone"
Pink, "Sober"
Akon, "Right Now (Na Na Na)"
Britney Spears, "If You Seek Amy"
Reader Comments
Your 2¢, in chronological order — add your comment below.
Now 92.3, like Z100 combatant before it WPLJ, also speeds up its music (both played "Womanizer" at the same time last night, making it easy to tell). For me a positive, but what about for most iPod-sensitive listeners these days?
-r
One thing Now 92.3 could do to instantly be a winner against Z-100 is to play more music in drive time. I have a 15 year old daughter and we live in the Washington, DC area. Our local CHR station Hot 99.5 has a morning drive personality named Kane - my daughter can't stand him. Every time I'm with her in the morning listening to his show she yells at the radio "shut up and play some music." Honestly, I don't think teens and young people today appreciate music DJs. They just want to hear the Top 40 played every hour - heavy rotation. I say can the stupid morning zoo antics and play more tunes. Just my two cents.
I live in LA where AMP vs. KIIS sounds very similar to Now vs. Z100. Like Z100, KIIS is a heritage CHR with lots of personality jocks. Ryan Seacrest talks all the time in a.m. drive and he attracts a lot of adults 25-54. The music is very young but the personalities give KIIS an adult feel. My 13 year old son used to love KIIS but not in the mornings. Now, he is all AMP'ed up, so to speak. AMP is all music and virtually no talk. AMP is going after the lower end of the demo, for now, and getting them. That should give them a nice 6+ splash in the ratings but they'll have to adjust if they want to take more of KIIS' adult listeners. I suspect the same will be true of Now if they want some of Z100's adults.