MoJoe Roberts is the Program Director of iHeartMedia’s 95.5 The Bull Las Vegas and was named one of Barrett Media’s Top 20 Country Radio Program Directors of 2024.
Las Vegas is a city that assaults your senses with its neon lights, digital billboards, artist residencies, and 24/7 action. This led to my first question. With everything going on, how do you make 95.5 The Bull cut through and stand out?
“I think at the end of the day, it all boils down to the same basic fundamentals that most of us are looking to put on our radio station. Make it a fun experience, something that keeps them coming back for more, make sure the content is on target with who you’re going after, and try to keep it entertaining and with flawless execution, said Roberts.
“You still have to do the fundamentals. I think an emphasis on the entertainment and excitement part probably more than most. In this market, you’re up against all the attention-getting casinos and all the various other venues, spheres, stadiums, and things that you have to compete against for attention here, but it’s still the fundamentals that matter most.”
In most markets, concert tickets are a great prize for listeners. Is that still an attractive ticket in a town with dozens of concerts and events daily?
“I’m sure a lot of markets are like this, but this one in particular, concert tickets are just so, so expensive nowadays. So, to give somebody an opportunity to win something that a lot of people might not be able to have the money to purchase, it certainly is a prize that is sexy to a lot of listeners.”
“If you’re asking about how you pick and choose which ones you support based on the quantity of offerings the city has, I think you just have to make sure you know your audience and which ones they’re going to gravitate to most and make sure you strategically give them away in a way that is going to increase your ratings, because that’s what we all get paid for, right?”
The Bull’s studios are located on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas, which allows the station to take advantage of the three stages under the canopy.
“We are on Fremont Street, and so when we have new artists come by, rather than bring them into our station and do a conference room performance, we have the luxury of having three amazing stages on Fremont Street in our backyard.”
But the station doesn’t limit its efforts to just downtown.
“We try to make sure we spread the love around and do things in locations that our listeners would be willing to show up to, but at the same time, we also have partnerships with Fremont Street and Jason Aldean’s Kitchen and Bar.”
“We still have to make an effort and bring some of that showbiz to those locations as well. We do things outside of the Strip, whether it be live broadcast events or concerts like we do at the water park in the summertime, we do Country in the Cove, and we’ve strategically placed our Santa Jam St. Jude concert that we do in December at the Palms because it’s a little bit off-strip, they have free parking, and it’s a little easier for locals to attend. We certainly keep that in mind when we’re building events, but it is nice to have that stage in our backyard to bring rising stars to.”
With Las Vegas driven by tourism, I asked Roberts if being at these events got them in front of local listeners or just out-of-town visitors.
“Great question. It’s certainly not predominantly P1s. It’s definitely a lot of tourism and a lot of out-of-towners. So, we try not to lean too heavily on that. By the way, it also exposes our brand to many people from outside the market, and with our free iHeartRadio app, they can listen when they go back home, too.”
So, we’ve established there is a lot of competition for attention. So, what makes The Bull special?
“The Bull has a deep relationship with this market, having been in town for 30-plus years. All of the talent on the station has either worked here for a period of time in the market or come here frequently. If you listen to the “Bobby Bones Show,” the city they speak most about on the show outside of Nashville is Las Vegas.”
“I think that one thing that makes us special is just the connection we have with this market. We went through a terrible tragedy in 2017. It was a few years before I arrived, but I got to see firsthand when I got here how much that galvanized our fan base and brought that connection to a level that I don’t know that I’ve ever seen.”
“This brand means a lot to the market, and I think that connection and identity are what make it stand out. It’s a station a lot of people grew up listening to, and we try to keep that connection going over the years as we continue to grow and evolve.”
The Bull has a showcase studio at Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Bar overlooking the Las Vegas strip.
“The location is so prime. I think it’s a really cool opportunity to show what we do. Radio is kind of invisible unless we’re visible, so to have a perch like that where people, and not just listeners and tourists, but also clients.”
“When they’re out trying to lure in new business, bringing them to Aldean’s, where we are doing our show live in that studio, it just looks bigger than life, which is kind of what Vegas is all about, right?
Switching gears to a programming question, I asked Roberts about his thoughts on Nielsen’s new 3-minute qualifier and how he plans to program to it.
“My immediate reaction is to wait and see how it affects what we do and then make adjustments down the line once we get some good data behind it. I think it is an exciting time, and a lot of listening was left on the table that wasn’t being credited for because it didn’t hit that five-minute threshold. I’m very anxious and curious to see how much growth we will gain. As we get the data collected from the first quarter or so, we’ll adjust accordingly.”
Roberts sees an advantage to bringing young people into radio but acknowledges that the industry has to look harder than in the past.
“If we want this to live beyond our time serving the industry, I think we need to make sure we’re handing it to the next group in line and getting younger people excited about radio. I don’t think radio is dead by any means. I think there is an opportunity to get the younger generation excited about it.”
“The passionate ones are still finding a way to recruit those people. I started on the street team, slinging stickers at remotes. We still have those teams in play.”
“I’ve found a couple of people in the last few years that have started to grow and hone their chops just from that experience. I think you start to find the ones that are passionate about it, and then you just foster and try to put as much knowledge into them as you can to hopefully grow them to the next level. I think it all starts with that, but you have to actually put the effort in.
“It’s a lot more difficult, and it requires a lot more work, but it’s still the same process. We just have to do it a little differently.”
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Jeff Lynn serves as Editor of Barrett Media’s Music Radio coverage. Prior to joining Barrett Media, Jeff spent time programming in Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland, Des Moines, and Madison for multiple radio groups, including iHeartMedia, Townsquare Media, NRG Media, and Entercom (now Audacy). He also worked as a Country Format Editor for All Access until the outlet shut down in August 2023.
To get in touch with Jeff by email, reach him at Jeff@BarrettMedia.com.
