Standards on 1290, bring it back
I too would like that Standards format brought back to AM1290, but CC Delaware must be making more money getting a very small audience of young men who obviously are the target audience. CC makes money having those FOX Sports Radio shows clear the Wilmington/Philly radio markets [as you noted 1290 has a great daytime signal into Philly so they get a two for one, market 78 - Wilmington and more importantly market 8 - Philly.
As usual, follow the money. IF CC Delaware made more money playing Standards, they'd be airing Standards. Market driven economics is how radio works, just as in other industries. It's all about making the most money for the shareholders.
Advertisers don't want the "older" listener like me [I'm 62]. Remember the audience is the product that the radio station is selling to the advertiser, not their programming. They don't even view us older folks as a bonus when we listen. They want those prized demos of 6-49.
It's a real paradox for radio broadcasters, because the folks the advertisers want to reach [6-49] aren't really in to listening to the radio, yet the Babyboomers who grew up with a radio in their bedrooms, then the first transistor portable radio's they carried around with them, and later the radio's they listened to while crusin' around in their cars, who still love radio and still listen to the radio be it in their car, online, at work, at home, etc, those advertisers don't care if they even turn the radio on.
The reason is, we're more settled in what products we buy. Sadly, we have disposable money to buy stuff, and no one in radio has figured out a way to market products other than medications, funeral homes/burial packages, to our generation. They act like we don't go food shopping, buy clothes, shoes, eat out, travel, buy cars, got to shows, etc.
So their biggest audience essentially gets ignored, and as there's more and more options online that do cater to us Boomers. I have a computer, a cell phone, and an iPod that I can listen to the music and programing I desire, and watch what I want when I want, etc, so as a result listen to Over The Air [OTA] Radio and watch OTA TV far less than I used to, because neither offers much of what I want to listen to [especially music wise for radio] or program wise for TV]. Talk, Sports, News, and NPR are the things that keep me listening to the radio, mainly in my car.
So both radio and TV are losing their biggest audience as we [Babyboomers] take our disposable income and go elsewhere for our entertainment. This isn't the 1950's and 60's, we've got plenty of media choices we didn't have when we listened to 1380 WAMS on our transistors to hear our songs. My feeling is, too bad so sad for them. They chased us away.
So what I'd recommend is use your computer, get an iPod, or a Smart phone, etc, and you'll find plenty to listen to that you'll enjoy for free, because AM1290 is not going to go back to the Standards Format anytime soon. I still love and listen to the radio, for Spoken Word programming. The only music station I really listen to with any regularity is 90.1 / [107.7 Wilmington Repeater] WRTI for Classical and Jazz.
It is what it is.