Better than JACK for NYC

New York’s K-ROCK has ditched it’s Alternative/Active Rock approach in favor of a broader spectrum of Rock music and a new theme: “Great Rock. Period.”

On the surface, this is clearly inspired by the uber-Variety of the JACK format. But I’m guessing the resemblance stops there, and rightly so. I doubt, for example, there will be a permanent playlist of 1,000 songs on this station. But there’s not that much Rock traffic in NYC, so why play all those songs?

As Pollack Media’s Jim Kerr points out, this is a smart way to fulfill the audience’s demand for Variety. Especially in a market without a huge Rock consituency, let alone a NEW Rock constituency.

I’m going to guess that K-ROCK will settle into a fairly characteristic Mainstream Rock groove, and that has to be a smarter place to be than a format aimed strictly at the ever-diminishing number of 18-24 year-old men.

Congratulations on your evolution, K-ROCK.