98x changes to sports

Last week KTLT 98.1 made the switch from alternative to sports. If you're like me, you're glad to have ESPN back but ANGRY to lose what I (and many others) thought was the best non-country radio station in Abilene.



The station is owned by Cumulus, which also operates Power 103, 102 The Bear and KBCY. Why did they chose to make the change? Your guess is as good as mine. KTAB/KRBC attempted to contact the station but got no return phone calls. Corporate probably decided there was more of a market for sports talk than alternative rock music. I don't have access to the ratings, but if I had to guess, 98x probably had the lowest ratings of the stations I listed above.



Here's the sad part...the station probably had a much larger following than the ratings showed. In my job, I am always driving all over town. I would constantly come across other cars tuned to 98x. Sometimes I'd overhear it at a gas station. Other times, the driver in the lane next to me would be blasting it loud enough for me to hear in my car. (and I knew what station it was because it was almost always tuned in on my radio). I also heard the station playing in local businesses like the barber shop and some clothing stores.



Why weren't the ratings better? One possibility is 98x's listeners just didn't participate in the ratings process. Arbitron, the ratings company, sends out diaries to random people. Those people log the time they spend listening to the radio. It's kind of a pain. So lots of people never send the diary back. There are many other ways the ratings system is flawed. The bottom line is, it isn't perfect but it's the only system available, and like I said, I think it underestimated 98x's audience. Let me also say this. Since I don't have access to the ratings, I don't know for sure that 98x was in the hole. As I said before, even if 98x had good ratings, ESPN radio will probably draw a larger audience (in the eyes of the radio executive). That's just what research shows across the nation.



So why not listen to Rock 108? I guess we have no choice now. It's not a bad station. In fact, it's much better than rock stations in other cities. The thing I don't like about it is it's too hard. What I liked about 98x is that it was the lighter side of rock music. It also had no DJs...just music. Now that it's gone I really notice how much hard rock is played on 108. I guess that's why their slogan is "Real Rock Radio". Don't expect them to pick up any of the lighter music 98x played. That doesn't fit the "real rock radio" format, and it could drive away the people that like Rock 108. That station has been successful for years, and "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".



The bottom line it this...nothing is forever in the media business, so enjoy what you have while it's there because someday it will change.