Oldies not a Goody, George, Merle are Back

Cumulus Broadcasting Inc. “oldies” radio station KAMO-FM, 94.3, changed formats on April 8 to “classic country.” The station now goes by the nickname of “U.S. 94” and features former longtime Fayetteville disc jockey “Big” Dan Hentshel, who has returned to the market from Texarkana.

Dennis Jones, market manager for Cumulus’ 11-station operation in Fayetteville and Fort Smith, said “oldies” stations nationally have seen declining Arbitron ratings for five years.

KAMO’s ratings dropped 15.7 percent from a 7 share in spring 2000 to a 5.9 share in spring 2001. Jones said that trend continued slightly at KAMO in the fall ratings book. The ratings reflect the percent of all listeners between the ages of 25 and 54 tuned into a specific station at a specific time.

“The decline has been gradual, but it’s been there,” Jones said. “And country music has finally gotten fragmented to the point where you can have ‘hot new country’ and ‘classic country’ formats.”

“Hot new country” is the pop version of the genre and features artists such as Neal McCoy, Toby Keith and Garth Brooks. The classic variety includes legends such as Charley Pride, George Jones, Merle Haggard and Hank Williams Sr. and Jr.

“There actually has been a real positive reaction,” Jones said of the change. “But to quantify it already is a little difficult.”

KBVA-FM, 106.5, in Gravette is now the closest substitute for “oldies” in Benton and Washington counties. The station, owned by Hendren Communications Inc., plays big band music. Its ratings were down 50 percent from a 3.2 share in spring 2000 to a 1.6 in spring 2001.

The next-closest oldies station is Cumulus-owned KBBQ-FM, 100.7, in Fort Smith.