2004 - A CAT ARRIVES, A BIRD FLIES
What
initially looked to be one of the biggest debuts in DFW radio history instead
turned out to be one of its quickest disappearing acts. Eighteen days
before the start of 2004, a new regional Mexican format was launched on the
104.9 frequency. Instead of focusing on the music of northern Mexico like
the market's other regional Mexican outlets (KESS and KLNO), KZMP "El Gato"
("The Cat") concentrated more on the music of central Mexico. The impact
was immediate - in its very first ratings period, El Gato debuted in the top 10
and became the market's most listened-to Spanish language radio station, despite
the less-than-adequate market coverage of the 50kw signal. However, what
was more amazing than El Gato's debut was what happened next. While it's
quite common for a station with a new format to see ratings settle in the months
following its initial debut, KZMP saw a calamitous plummet. It's
impressive 3.8 share debut was followed by a 1.7, and those numbers continued to
fall through the remainder of the year's surveys.
To
find the biggest stories of 2004, one has to look outside the market's top ten.
The first major shakeup came in May. After 23 years of inhabiting the 97.1
frequency in various fashions of top 40 and rock formats, "The Eagle" was
eliminated and a gold-based adult contemporary format was
installed in its place. Ironically, the morning man on "Sunny 97.1" was
market veteran "Fast" Eddie Coyle, who had held down afternoon drive during The
Eagle's top 40 years.
Six
weeks after Sunny 97.1's debut, DFW was introduced to "Jack", which replaced
"Wild 100", the market's struggling second-place top 40. With the promise
to "play what we want", the new KJKK featured a jock-less presentation and a
playlist designed to mimic genre-crossing playlist of someone's personal music
collection. Born in Canada two years prior, the rock/pop/dance/alternative
"adult hits" format quickly sprouted clones throughout the US. Despite not
cracking the top 10, Jack's ratings were a significant improvement over those of
its predecessor.
| 12+ Ratings for Winter 2004 | ||||
| Call Letters | Frequency | Format | Fa 2003 | Wi 2004 |
| KKDA-FM | 104.5 | Urban | 6.3 | 6.0 |
| WBAP | 820 | News/Talk | 4.5 | 5.0 |
| KBFB | 97.9 | Urban | 4.4 | 4.2 |
| KVIL | 103.7 | Adult Contemporary | 3.6 | 3.9 |
| KPLX | 99.5 | Country | 5.5 | 3.8 |
| KZMP-A/F | 1540/104.9 | Regional Mexican | 1.1 | 3.8 |
| KLUV | 98.7 | Oldies | 4.0 | 3.7 |
| KSCS | 96.3 | Country | 4.1 | 3.7 |
| KESS-FM | 107.9 | Regional Mexican | 3.8 | 3.4 |
| KLTY | 94.9 | Christian AC | 4.8 | 3.4 |
| 12+ Ratings for Spring 2004 | ||||
| Call Letters | Frequency | Format | Wi 2004 | Sp 2004 |
| KKDA-FM | 104.5 | Urban | 6.0 | 5.8 |
| KBFB | 97.9 | Urban | 4.2 | 4.9 |
| KPLX | 99.5 | Country | 3.8 | 4.7 |
| WBAP | 820 | News/Talk | 5.0 | 4.5 |
| KLUV | 98.7 | Oldies | 3.7 | 4.1 |
| KSCS | 96.3 | Country | 3.7 | 4.0 |
| KESS-FM | 107.9 | Regional Mexican | 3.4 | 3.5 |
| KHKS | 106.1 | CHR | 3.2 | 3.5 |
| KLTY | 94.9 | Christian AC | 3.4 | 3.1 |
| KLLI | 105.3 | Talk | 3.3 | 3.0 |
| 12+ Ratings for Summer 2004 | ||||
| Call Letters | Frequency | Format | Sp 2004 | Su 2004 |
| KKDA-FM | 104.5 | Urban | 5.8 | 6.2 |
| KBFB | 97.9 | Urban | 4.9 | 5.1 |
| WBAP | 820 | News/Talk | 4.5 | 5.0 |
| KPLX | 99.5 | Country | 4.7 | 3.9 |
| KLNO | 94.1 | Regional Mexican | 2.9 | 3.6 |
| KESS-FM | 107.9 | Regional Mexican | 3.5 | 3.4 |
| KHKS | 106.1 | CHR | 3.5 | 3.4 |
| KSCS | 96.3 | Country | 4.0 | 3.3 |
| KOAI | 107.5 | Smooth Jazz | 2.6 | 3.2 |
| KLTY | 94.9 | Christian AC | 3.1 | 3.2 |
| 12+ Ratings for Fall 2004 | ||||
| Call Letters | Frequency | Format | Su 2004 | Fa 2004 |
| KKDA-FM | 104.5 | Urban | 6.2 | 6.1 |
| WBAP | 820 | News/Talk | 5.0 | 5.2 |
| KSCS | 96.3 | Country | 3.3 | 4.2 |
| KESS-FM | 107.9 | Regional Mexican | 3.4 | 4.1 |
| KBFB | 97.9 | Urban | 5.1 | 4.1 |
| KPLX | 99.5 | Country | 3.9 | 4.0 |
| KHKS | 106.1 | CHR | 3.4 | 4.0 |
| KLUV | 98.7 | Oldies | 3.1 | 3.9 |
| KLNO | 94.1 | Regional Mexican | 3.6 | 3.6 |
| KVIL | 103.7 | Adult Contemporary | 3.0 | 3.2 |
©2004 Arbitron Inc.