Oshawa tried it on 94.9 when Power Broadcasting owned it, had decent numbers, Corus sold the station

Fitz wrote:

good article and unfortunate that Toronto the home of free form CHUM FM and CFNY never had a Triple A format.  CBC music does not quite cut it but I guess is the closest thing. 

The HD 2 feed of Indie BTW was not playing active rock any more when I listened last.. They should try triple A where they mix the Allman Bros and Steely Dan with Dr Dog and Wilco and live DJ's:





 

Indie itself is halfway to being a modern AAA, wider and deeper than most alts, and still goes back into the 80s sometimes. And I think it's the best descriptor for CBC's drive-time programming. Any modern attempt at AAA isn't going to include the Allman Brothers or Steely Dan.

XRT's great, and like many AAA's, their ratings have gone up during COVID as high TSL stations shine.

AAA is like any format; it got defined at a certain time and those definitions haven't evolved. I discovered the format on KFOG in the late 90s...about 23 years ago(!). For AAA to endure, it needs to ditch the Classic Rock.

KFOG is unfortunately no more. The station switched to a christian format maybe two years ago. I still have an air check or two from them.

In terms of classic rock on triple A. Generally those who play it don't play all of the artists and same songs that plague the format. A good Triple A concentrates on deeper tracks. I have many air checks of WXRT's Saturday flashback series and the shows featuring 1971-75 really sound like what you heard on FM during that era. Even some comedy bits, R&B, blues. Not as wide genre wide as what you heard in the 70's but a fairly good approximation.

The Flashback show is still on and it features one year per show but I have not listened for a few years. The air checks I have are from when Wendy Rice hosted the show. She was married to Norm Winer who was the station PD for years and his roots go back to WBCN FM in the 70's.

Fitz wrote:

In terms of classic rock on triple A. Generally those who play it don't play all of the artists and same songs that plague the format. A good Triple A concentrates on deeper tracks.

But that's a definition of the format that was created in the 90s...that's a long time ago now. Now if you're using deep classic rock as one of your main music groups, your listeners will be in their 60s and older. Nothing wrong with that, but you know...

I think you can take this quote from KCMP's PD about the origin of the format and update it.

AAA seemed to be carrying on the traditions of the progressive FMs of the late ‘60s, building an audience of (mostly) baby boomers, who wanted more musically than they could find anywhere else on the dial – classic rock was too predictable (though they loved that music), alternative too inconsistent, top 40 too repetitive, and AC too sleepy. They wanted rock, but they also wanted stories, artists, and a mix of familiar artists and new discoveries. 

If you're going to do AAA now and get a 45 year old interested in it, you can pretty much take the highlighted part of that quote and replace "classic rock" with "90s grunge." A 2021 AAA has a base of 90s Alt gold (and yes, deep cuts), a few 80s tracks as "oldies" and a mix of currents from the poppier side of Alt and the edgier side of CHR. 

The formula in the 90s was the rock you grew up with and easier to digest stuff since then that's compatible, and I think you can re-create that today.


 

Last edited by RadioAaron (February 19, 2021 7:55 pm)