I think that somebody (perhaps Craig?) once posted a tally of how many times various Portland stations had flipped formats. I am curious who has spun the wheel the most times since 2000. From my own recollection:

AM

620 - 4 spins [Talk KEWS -> Hot Talk "The Buzz" -> Talk KTLK -> Oldies -> Liberal Talk]

860 - 1 spin [Contemporary Christian -> News/Talk]

910 - 4 spins [Sports -> Hot Talk -> Oldies -> Talk]

970 - 5 spins [Classic Country -> Oldies -> Hot Talk -> Classic Country -> All Comedy -> Hot Talk]

1010 - 5 spins [Cowboy Country -> Guy Talk -> Talk -> Nostalgia -> Spanish Oldies -> Spanish Sports]

1040 - 1 spin [Contemporary Christian -> Regional Mexican]

1080 - 1 spin [Hot Talk -> Sports]

1150 - 1 spin [Talk -> Spanish AC]

1230 - ? [Regional Mexican -> Spanish Oldies -> ?]

1520 - 1 spin [Nostalgia -> Regional Mexican]

1550 - 1 spin [Talk -> Nostalgia]

1640 - 1 spin [Christian -> Radio Disney]


FM

93.1 - 1 spin [Talk -> Regional Mexican]

94.7 - 1 spin [Modern Rock -> "Neo Radio"]

97.1 - 1 spin [Oldies -> "Charlie FM"]

105.9 - 3 spins [Hot AC -> Classic Rock -> Smooth Jazz -> Oldies]

106.7 - 2 spins [Smooth Jazz -> AC -> Oldies]

107.5 - 2 spins [Hot AC -> 80s -> "Movin'"]

I don't mean for this to be an authoritative list, as there are probably some errors, and some might disagree on some of the flips and formatic descriptions. However, 970 and 1010 are spinning like tops!! 910, 620 and 105.9 are also up there.

970 has 6 spins. Forgot "The Beat"

Kskd: "The Beat" was in the 90's. Alfredo wants 2000 on....

Alfredo: Take out 1010's Cowboy Country. It was Guy Talk starting in 1999. That's the only correction I could find. You posted that info from your head? I'm impressed! I couldn't do that!

Whoops!

True enough. I just looked at the list and it popped in there.

Just had a thought this morning, after reading the NYT article. (It's linked here)

How much does a flip cost? Does this cost diminish once a given entity gets better at it?

Here's where I'm headed with that. If flipping is cheap, then it's highly likely the returns are low. Anything that's cookie cutter exhibits this property.

For those stations flipped pretty hard, expectations are all over the map right?

Aren't those ripe for some new ideas? I'll bet somebody could run the numbers and come up with some dollars to invest in new content forms, value adds, etc... instead of flipping, try some new stuff.

IMHO, it's still "new" right? Done well, it should still generate the moderate return, just like flipping does. Why not?

Station flips have unique hidden value to companies. Since Wall Street revenues are reported based "on continuing operations" so growth and revenue figures are computed as if the flipped station never existed. They become invisible losers, while the winners remain on the books.

Plus all of the costs of the flip and of paying off the previous format are treated as special tax-deductable loses.

On of the debatable downsides (some would consider it an upside) of group ownership is that markets with deep ownership (like PDX) start behaving like a TV network... the various stations are just slots in the overall schedule.
A few shows like K103 and KEX are like 60 Minutes and CSI. Franchise shows (or stations)form the bedrock, and new shows are churned out to match current trends and to flush out and complete those which make up the bedrock. Eventually a format will stick (like Liberal Talk) and the station will become one of the pampered few. Other time slots (signals) may go through a whole series of shows (formats) that fall in a scale from modestly successful to disaster.

And eventually the giants grow old, or simply run their course. Bonanza - Seinfeld - Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. A few newer gems will rise to talk their place. The bulk have a life expectancy of a hothouse tomato.

Individual radio stations are stocks in a big corporate radio portfolio. And the first rule of investing is "never fall in love with a stock." While it's working, you watch over it and nurture it. When it fails to perform, whether it's due to weak management or a product out of touch with consumers, you get rid of the company and put your money somewhere else.

And under this new business model, I fear that only those who have no real emotional attachment to radio of the past will have much chance of success in radio of the future. Oh Brave New World, that has such creatures in it.

Warner, should I bring up Aldous Huxley again? I like to mention him every 35 years or so, just to see if people are paying attention.

[attachment]to radio of the past...

Agreed.

Seems to me, if a loss can be put on the books for a flip, then a loss can also be put on for content innovation. It's just semantics, and some philosophy as to what is and what is not real content innovation.

You forgot about 1010 being Z-ROCK!

1010 was "Z-Rock" before 2000.

tdanner sez: "Plus all of the costs of the flip and of paying off the previous format are treated as special tax-deductable loses."

Maybe that's a loophole that needs closing. Because, after all, the airwaves belongs to everybody. If a station can't churn in immediate big bucks to please stockholders, there are plenty of other people that would gladly run the station and give any given format the nurturing needed to find an audience. Lets not make it too easy for stations to flip -- no tax writeoffs for failed flips.

Z-ROCK was one of my favorite stations/format of all time. It was good music and the dj's were a lot of fun to listen to. I loved the Z-Rock top 50 countdown on Sunday's! Anyone have any info on where the jocks are now??

Skep:

That's kind of like saying that retail space owners should be forced to keep money losing restaurants and unsuccessful shops around because waiters and the last few shoppers might be inconvenienced.

Businesses fail. Those who owned them, and those who worked for them move on. A new business emerges. It's called the business cycle. They pay taxes when they're profitable. They write down the losses when they're not.

If you're young enough to want to stick around in the radio biz, make sure you understand and accept the reality that it is a biz. Otherwise, you're just another old fart sitting around the coffee shop all day, griping about how much better things were in the old days.

Pdxcoug - Regrettably, I don't recall the name he told me he worked under at Z-Rock, but for over 10 years now Garry D has been the Creative Production Director at KNIX in the Clear Channel Phoenix cluster. He's a FUNNY, creative guy, has great skills, and one of my favorite people in the radio community here...

> You posted that info from your head? I'm impressed!
> I couldn't do that!

It is amazing what the insomniac mind can do! While having trouble falling asleep Saturday night, I started to contemplate which Portland station has flipped the most times.

I did slip up on the Cowboy Country: I remembered that it was only around for a short time. What I remember about that flip was that I discovered 1010 and "The Morning After Show" shortly after moving to Portland in 1998. When I first started listening, the station was 1010 The Voice, and talk programs were on before and after The Morning After Show. Then, the format flipped to Cowboy Country, and country music would start playing after The Morning After Show. Shortly thereafter, The Morning After Show was cancelled, opting to move on to a short-lived existence on the Internet, and "Constitutional Crusaders" with Marcelle Roy Benshadler replaced it on the schedule.

I used to love 1010 The Voice. I didn't like all the programs,just the old timey feel of it. I loved Dream Weaver,and the looseness of it. I can remember times when they would be an hour away from signoff,and they would (seemingly) spontaneously throw on an episode of an old time radio show or something....

As I recall, 107.5 had a third spin. The station played contemporary Christian music at one time. Bob Anthony was station owner/manager. He helped launch a station in Santa Rosa, California that became a flagship for the K-LOVE network.

107.5 played Christian music until 1996.

tdanner, I won't disagree with your argument regarding the business aspect because on a level playing field, you're exactly right, but somehow I still like to think that the companies broadcasting on the public airwaves have an obligation to serve the public as well as making a buck.

Spirit

Yep, that's the spirit! Hoping against all odds!

KDBX ran from 1990-96.

you forgot hot ac.