CISL vs KBSG

[Neumann Sennheiser]

Tuned opined in a seperate thread here recently that CISL's Gerry O'Day's music choices were pretty bad and implied that it was a reason why the station is pretty much unlistenable. I'll agree on that point but there are certainly a number of other key factors as to why this oldies station is so terrible.
Primarily, it's AM so that's a big handicap right there. There's also a lack of personality (a shortage of live, warm bodies'll do that), a lack of any real identity, no promo budget, no local connection with the audience, no listener interaction. I could go on.
For years, having this as my soul source and example of oldies radio I had developed a sense that I didn't care for the genre. Now that I've moved to the Seattle area I find myself going more and more to KBSG and am surprised at how much I'm enjoying it; and this is from a guy who normally listens exclusively to jazz.
If you want a clear picture of what CISL is doing wrong, listen to what KBSG is doing right. It actually sounds very much what KJR or CFUN sounded like in their best days. Strong, talented personalities are a big factor but the music choices are a very key part of it too.
I know that CISL is hampered with cancon requirements that U.S. stations do not suffer but that doesn't excuse or explain away everything.
To wrap this up, I'll ask if anyone knows exactly what is the problem with getting an oldies station on FM in Canada. Is there some CRTC reg that prevents this? Higher can con requirements for FM too discouraging?

[tuned]

JUst got back from Seattle. It isn't the Emerald City any more but Yellow Town. The whole downtown smells like a toilet. I don't accept the AM excuse. ALL oldies were originally played and made popular on AM radio. I agree with you that the packaging on KBSG is much slicker but the music is still the same played to death 500 tunes. Kids will listen to "oldies" but it has to be an interesting mix with announcers that talk about the tunes instead of reading the same old liners. Oldies radio is catering to a dying audience. Done right it could be attracting new listeners to radio. The problem with CISL is that it's ALL Gerry. Gerry does the morning show, Gerry is the PD, Gerry picks the music, Gerry does personal appearances, Gerry takes out the trash, Gerry runs the automation. Standard has cut the overhead to almost zilch and pimps out the evenings and weekends with infomercials for guys that can't get it up. I feel bad for the guy actually but Standard are just another example of greedy owners who don't give a flying f*ck about listeners.

[johnsykes]

I only wished Gerry O'Dea would listen to Don West. Don has worked with the best of them in the U.S. and here....including Toronto and Vancouver....Denver, etc. My view would be to continue to pound out the hits from the 50's, 60' and maybe the 70's. There is so much music that could be played, but won't for some reason or other. Surely someone could play one hit wonders each day at a certain time. Maybe two-hit wonders. I rarely hear real and true oldies. I could program hits that could make the station a star.....even including cancon.....these guys are too young....they have no clue what oldies r & r means....they weren't born when this great music came to pass. Leave it to us oldies to program it.

My idea would be to play the music and the jingles as people remembered, with personalities to match. AM Radio could rebound. But why not set an FM format as such and beat the elevator music, like QM-FM....(repeat every day but at different times).

[Dan Sys]

I'll ask if anyone knows exactly what is the problem with getting an oldies station on FM in Canada. Is there some CRTC reg that prevents this?

As it currently stands, yes there are regulations that prevent a full blown Oldies station from broadcasting on FM in Canada (Quebec being exempt, with their BOOM FM stations). However this past Spring the CRTC was supposedly going to rewrite those regulations, but nothing has come down yet. I did notice in the recent rash of applications for the Prairies that Radio CJVR has applied for Oldies stations (on FM) in both Regina & Saskatoon.....so we'll see what goes down there.

[skyvalleyradio]

I'll ask if anyone knows exactly what is the problem with getting an oldies station on FM in Canada. Is there some CRTC reg that prevents this?

As it currently stands, yes there are regulations that prevent a full blown Oldies station from broadcasting on FM in Canada (Quebec being exempt, with their BOOM FM stations). However this past Spring the CRTC was supposedly going to rewrite those regulations, but nothing has come down yet. I did notice in the recent rash of applications for the Prairies that Radio CJVR has applied for Oldies stations (on FM) in both Regina & Saskatoon.....so we'll see what goes down there.

What an archaic reg! You'd think at this point with all the AM-to-FM conversions that the CRTC would have deleted this a long time ago. Many Canadians are missing out on the oldies format because of it

[radiofan]

CISL's fate will be the same as Clagary's 66-CFR. Both at one time had a ton of P-E-R-S-O-N-A-L-I-T-Y on the air as well as promotional budgets. And they had listeners. To save a few bucks, Rogers in Calgary and Standard in Vancouver one day decided these stations could be run much cheaper if the whole station was housed on a hard drive. I recall hearing about someone at CISL who had to line up prizing for their show if they wanted to give stuff away. ["Geez Martha...isn't that ----- from CISL begging for a few boxes of Timbits for prizes on his show?"]

Entercom in Seattle continues to spend money to pay on-air personalities and get this ... they spend money promoting the station with billboards, TV ads and real live promotions.

Listeners aren't as stupid as some companies would like to think.

I'll take KBSG over CISL anyday ..even with static, it's better!

[cart_machine]

Entercom in Seattle continues to spend money to pay on-air personalities

People want personality on radio. They can get the music anywhere.

cArtie.

[Glen Livingstone]

CISL ain't gonna be fixed because the powers-that-be over there don't know that it's broken, or, if they do, they don't care 'cause it costs about a buck a week to keep on the air.

To remake CISL into an oldies-formatted station that people would flock to would require a complete overhaul, starting with the music.

I don't know how many songs are in their rotation now, but if I was running that joint I don't think I'd retain five percent of them, probably less.

Dealing with the CanCon issues wouldn't be much more than a minor annoyance, but I can assure you, we'd be able to legally operate without the contributions of Gordon Lightfoot and Anne Murray.

The announcers would have to bring their personalities to work with them each and every day, and have a genuine love and knowledge of the music they are presenting because enthusiasm is contagious.

Liner cards would be put through the shredder.

The station promos would be creative and provocative, as would the commercials, which would have to harmonize with the overall sound and feel of the station or they would not air.

Sorry annoying IKEA guy, go find another outlet to hawk your crappy wares.

Contests would be fabulous, over-the-top affairs that would have the whole city buzzing.

Screw your hundred dollar cash-call bullshit, we're talking listener-involved fun, fun, fun!

We'd have a proper newsroom which would operate with the exact same zeitgeist and flair as the control room except that your news guys would be spinning words instead of records. (Think CKLW blood & guts 20/20 news circa 1968 and you'd be in the ballpark.)

The station would be live 24/7, and if you tuned in at three in the morning, the energy level would be exactly the same as if it were three in the afternoon.

Just to keep things interesting, the all-night jock would be a guy in his mid-twenties with a slight drinking problem already on his third marriage.

Finally, the whole shebang would operate under the eagle eye of a tyrannical program director with a heart of gold.

Follow this outline to the letter.

My prediction: From dead last to number one in the market in six months.

Oh, and bring a couple of dump trucks with you to haul all the cash to the bank.