This level of ratings is something Rev 89 is very familiar with. Rev also was second in the ratings for the spring of 2009 according to the station manager of Rev 89, Mike Atencio.
Of course, Rev has also had it’s tough times as well because during the period between spring of 2009 and spring of 2010, Rev’s rating went down to fifth in the Pueblo market, meaning a change would be required.
One of the big modifications Rev made was changing the format from a hip-hop station, to playing more top 40.
“Top 40 is the hot format right now because of artists like Ke$ha, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga,” Atencio said. “We were hip hop for eight years, numbers kept going back and forth, and it wasn’t consistent enough.”
One of the reasons Rev had went down from second to fifth was that they had taken away some of their crossover such as a Black Eyed Peas and put in more traditional hip hop Atencio said.
When the ratings went down form this change, Atencio said Rev then brought back all the crossover music along with the change to the top 40 format, and was able to get back to second in the Pueblo market along with Magic FM, My 99, and KILO.
Atencio pointed out that getting back to number two was a huge step for Rev 89, but it will be a tall order for Rev to get up to number one in the Pueblo market.
Rev had a 6.2 rating in the spring meaning around 6,200 listeners tuned in every 15 minutes, Atencio said. KCCY who was the number one rated station in Pueblo had a rating of a 9.0.
He said that one of the few factors as to why it is difficult for Rev to be number one is the age of the target audience, which is ages 12 to 24 and a core audience with the ages 12 to 17.
Because of the age of Rev’s target audience, a contributing factor as to why it is difficult for Rev to achieve number one is the fact that a lot of people 12 to 17 have Ipod’s and MP3 players and can listen to whatever song they want, Atencio said.
One may be a difficult ranking for Rev to achieve, but he does expect Rev to be around two or three, Atencio said.
“It’s tough to be number one, number two is satisfying,” Atencio said. “I expect us to be two or three because of our low budget, and the DJs don’t have the professional experience.”
Another reason Atencio felt the jump in the ratings, is because of his staff he had in the spring.
During the spring time, Rev had a very experienced staff that had been around for awhile Atencio said. However, a few people would then go on to graduate which led the way for a new group of DJ’s to get on-air.
Although there was a lot of inexperience along with the new DJ’s, Atencio gave them credit for holding their own, as they also entertained listeners, and were dedicated to the station.
As Rev gets under way for the fall, another new wave of Rev DJ’s will come in and take over for a few that graduated over the summer.
For more information, visit the website www.rev89radio.com or contact Mike Atenico at 719-549-2821 or [email protected].