Boise gets fourth country station
Don @ IdahoRadioNews | September 4, 2009At high-noon-04, KQLZ stopped playing the Thriller loop and launched “99.1 The Bronco.” The format, as rumored, gives Boise another country choice.
Billing itself as “Idaho’s Best Country” and teasing clips of Big & Rich, Carrie Underwood and Trace Adkins – the station ran a short sweeper, then segued into Randy Houser’s “Boots On.” Toby Keith’s “A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action” was song number two. A pair of personalities took the mic after song two – one male and another female. They did not identify themselves.
One sweeper says the station plays “105 in a row.” Another says “no frogs allowed.”
KQLZ joins KQFC/97.9 Idaho Country, KIZN/Kissin 92 and KAWO/WOW Country 104.3 in the country space.
Here’s the launch audio.
Go Darrel!
Country, wow what a shocker!
BORING! The country department is already very well represented in Both Boise and Twin Falls. I don’t know how Impact expects bigger numbers than oldies, by squeezing into this already saturated country market with an inferior signal. KMXM 100.7 tried that once already, back in the day. Remember?
I was really hoping for Polka!!
Thank You Impact Radio Group for the complete and EPIC failure of another format. Mark the date. It’s only going to last a year, 16 months TOPS!
At least Bryan got to keep his job.
Doc … would that be a complete and EPIC failure like #1 rated 18-34 KWYD and #1 rated 18-49 and 25-54 BOB-FM – and KPDA – the most listened to so Spanish language station in the state of Idaho?
Anthony Acampora
Consultant
Impact Radio Group
hate to say it…but that was anti-climatic. No big voice guy touting why this signal is gonna be different…blah blah blah…and all the other things that radio people write to be clever…humm.
At least the first song wasn’t “Gone Country” from Alan Jackson.
3:50 PM they Infected the Bronco with a Virus
Gotcha!
As of this writing Impact Radio has changed its stunting from 99-1 The Bronco to 99-1 The Virus. This after a week looping “Thriller” and promoting Bronco season. Cheating, tricking and lying is no way to serve the few faithful remaining listeners that a station has and the advertisers who spend their hard earned money to attract them in this overpopulated and underfunded radio market. Come on, Elliot. Larry Daniels taught us a MUCH higher quality and class of radio than THAT!
Format just switched again.
I’m still not surprised by this move, but felt the need to gripe again. How many stations need to be playing Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood in one region? At least to be different, they could have tried classic country. Bliss, Buhl and King Hill now have 7 country stations to spin though as both Twin Falls and Boise signals cover that area…..albeit sparsely populated. I guess experimental formats are just too risky these days like a pure alternative station, not just head banging crap like Theory of a Disturbed Clown Possee. I would suffer through a scratchy signal for a mainstream rock station……something not so “X-ish” but rock more than J105 or The Eagle.
Did they pull a fast one on you (and everyone else!)
I’m listening right now 4:47 pm, and they’re playing the Red Hot Chili Peppers…definately not country!
Is this a return to a college-type format, with multiple genres? They are running a station sounder now calling the station “the Virus.”
I think the few country songs at noon were a ruse…
Hey Doc you were way off. About three and a half hours. They got me!
Dear Robin Lee,
I’d love to see you. Let’s do lunch. By the way Larry did teach me alot about “engaging” the audience…..come on radio is supposed to be fun too……
Hope to see you soon,
With warm regards,
Elliott
The true longevity of this format will be directly porportional to the willingness of advertiers to support it….
I probably won’t listen to it…. the signal quality like most of these hybridized FM’s is so poor that its misereable to receive, and its not my “thing”…
But one thing I will say….THANK GOD ITS NOT ANOTHER COUNTRY STATION!!!!!
Time will tell…..just like with anything else.
Robin Lee. There were no more faithful listeners. Thats the point of the Thriller stunt. Flushing the current audience to attract a new one. Obviously there were no faithful advertisers or the format would not have been flushed. Well played. Not a cheat. I and several others bought it and apparently so did you. Let’s just see if the muscle they showed with BOB and Wild can make up for the signal.
Having spent 30 years in broadcasting…a profession that, at one time, was honorable and professional…I am astounded at the lack of integrity of folks in ‘management positions’ (sarcasm here) that tend to roll the dice and play games with peoples’ livelihood. I’m very thankful I’m no longer in that profession that I once loved…and I feel sorry for the folks who’re still in the business. Is there no shame?? What happened to watching out for the folks who work for you? Why do pros like Armstrong….and others… have to suffer because of some whim of people in ‘management’ (again, sarcasm…) positions? Is radio a business? Yes. But how about putting integrity and respect back into the equation! Silly-ass games don’t hack it.
For the record, I didn’t bite. I’m with Robin on this one… This was a small-market “gotcha” that no one knew about outside of the oldies listeners and the readers on this blog. No press. No media teasers. No REAL build up. No nothing. Nobody knows what you’re doing… It will be interpreted as “business as usual” for Impact by the community; format du jour. When you knew that Jack wasn’t going along for the ride, this would’ve been a great opportunity to throw him a big fat retirement party. Make a big deal with a huge promotion and say,”Without Jack we just can’t go on playing oldies…” You get the idea. You had the key to a franchise in Big jack and you blew it. (not the first time we’ve seen Impact do that) Impact did a great job with the “Bob” launch and it has paid off. Again, this was tired and mediocre just might backfire.
I’ve got to say that this afternoon had really upset me when they flipped to The Bronco. Not often do I get excited with radio, until a big format change is announced with a countdown like 99.1’s THRILLER. I gave the new country station a total of four minutes of my time, switching the channels on the radio til about 12:30PM. After walking the Green Belt for four hours, I thought I’d check 99.1 one more time….thank God it was a joke.
I just remembered reading an article on here about something about us listeners are in for a laugh come Friday. I’m very happy with the new alternative format, though my opinion on the branding is they really shouldn’t call themselves “alternative”. They are definitely a mainstream rock station, playing genres of rock ranging from new modern rock, classic alternative, and top 40 pop rock. And, I hope they change their name from The Virus to just KQLZ 99.1…it sounds a little more dignified and less like a joke moniker.
Stick with this one, IMPACT RADIO. This is the only format that will keep listeners on a station with mediocre signal quality in Boise.
Anthony… While I appreciate and complement you on the success of Wild 101, I can only say this radio stunt “dropped the ball” completely… How many times do you pull you’re audience in the wrong direction before they give up on you? After doing this, the credibility of a format flip is shot. It’s a “STUNT” that has been done a hundred times before. It’s lame at best.
Secondly, BOB has a shelf life and it’s coming up very soon, don’t pat yourself on the back too much for that one.
Also, I’ve said it before…and I’ll say it again…No Spanish-Based product will garner any REAL or constant ratings with the current diary system. In turn, Impact will not be able to make any REAL money off of any Spanish language programming. All you are doing with KPDA is watching the needles move. It doesn’t matter if people are listening, It only matters if the people listening have money to spend on the product.
If “The Virus” is fully staffed with LIVE and Local on-air personalities during most day parts that have something to talk about besides hanging out at the Spearmint Rhino, then you might gave something. Then again, you have to give this format at least 2 years before pulling the plug prematurely like you have all the rest of the formats that have occupied this frequency. Do this and then I will start having faith in how you operate this effort…
From what I’ve heard, it’s a 90’s and 2000’s Pop/Alternative Rock radio format mixed in with Today’s currents and Re-currents. It’s all the “Right” music. Now, staff the radio station with real radio personalities who interact with the audience like what the air staff does at Wild and in a year, you’ll have something. Get a Morning Show that talks about what your listeners want to hear. Get an Midday guy who is cool, hip and connected to the audience that will actually take phone calls and requests. Get an Afternoon show that talks, informs, entertains and plays music.
Otherwise, it’s just another drop in the bucket…Another failed effort on a radio station that’s had it’s format flipped 3 times in the last 4 years…
A little less boring now… This stunt lasted a little longer than the Wild 101 stunt last year. After about three hours, I was sure we were stuck with yet another country station. Good one, Impact.