All-News 99.1 is No Longer All-News

WNEW-FM is adding the syndicated Dave Ramsey family finances show to weeknights, 8 - 11pm. 99.1 WNEW-FM is CBS's attempt to pick up some of WTOP's All-News audience... and its very high revenues. But the station has been stuck in the one-point-somethings, despite a good sound and staff doing the All-News format CBS is noted for.

I'm sure evenings don't get great ratings on All-News stations. But All-News is like a utility. Apple juice is nice. But when I turn on the cold water tap in my kitchen between 8 and 11pm, I don't expect to get apple juice, I expect cold water at all times. You gotta do All-News 24/7 for it to work.

Well, CBS actually has two part time All-News stations, KRLD Dallas and WBZ Boston. But listeners in those markets have long been accustomed to getting Talk at nights on those stations, knowing the All-News format will be heard from early morning to early evening. How will night time talk go over in a market where WTOP is already well-established as the All-News 24/7 leader? Is this really just the first step to dismantling WNEW-FM's News format entirely?

I also wonder, will CBS put infomercials on 99.1 on weekends? CBS never runs infomercials on any of its seven 24/7 All-News stations. But they do run infomercials on KRLD and WBZ.

It's been over three years since WNEW switched to all news and could never compete with WTOP. The only market that can support two all news stations is New York. Both WCBS and WINS have been in the format since the sixties and both do well. WYAY in Atlanta did all news for about two years and then gradually added talk shows. The only "all news" daypart now is PM Drive. KROI in Houston dropped it after three years.

Talk stations lend themselves to infomercials on the weekend.m That is the reason I never listen to any talk stations on Saturday or Sunday unless I know a specific show will be on at a certain time. Infomercials and brokered programs bring in the $$, but garner very few listeners.

I just checked the website and the station is no longer called "All-News 99.1." Now it's "99.1 FM WNEW." However, the tab at the top of the page still calls it "All News 99.1 WNEW." I guess they forgot to change that.

http://washington.cbslocal.com/station/wnew-99-1-fm/

If CBS ends All-News on WNEW-FM, it would mean every launch of an All-News station in recent years, the Merlin stations in NYC and Chicago, the Cumulus stations in San Francisco and Atlanta, the Radio One station in Houston, and now the CBS station in Washington, all turned out to be unsuccessful.


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Gregg. said:

CBS never runs infomercials on any of its seven 24/7 All-News stations.

Click to expand...

WCBS, WINS, KYW, WBBM, KNX, KCBS... what's the seventh (unless you count 'NEW which, as you say, is adding Dave Ramsey and thus will no longer be 24/7 news)? Jog my memory.

ixnay

I have to give CBS and WNEW a lot of credit. They went all news and stuck with the format for 3 years. (Unlike Cumulus did in Atlanta with WYAY.) They tweaked things more to Baltimore and the burbs as time went on, but they stuck with it. All news doesn't build in a few months.

Then, they did what any company would do. They modified the station, adding talk programming in non-peak hours. Financially, I'm sure they had to do it.

And last, but not least, when there was a backlash, they brought back news in the hours that were most important to people. They actually LISTENED to their listeners.

Bravo CBS! Bravo.

There's only 1 format that frequency/signal will gain any traction with. WNEW will soon become a mishmash of whatever CBS has in throwaway,flea market revenue.

KDKA Pittsburgh is the 7th. Add non-CBS owned WTOP in DC and KOMO in Seattle and you have 9 all-news stations in the US

All News Stations 24/7...
WCBS & WINS NYC
KNX Los Angeles
WBBM (WCFS-FM simulcast) Chicago
KCBS (KFRC-FM simulcast) San Francisco
WTOP (FM) Washington
KYW Philadelphia
WWJ Detroit

Part time All-News stations...
KRLD Dallas
WNEW-FM Washington
WBZ Boston
KOMO-AM-FM Seattle
KQV Pittsburgh

All-News in AM and PM Drive...
KGO San Francisco
WYAY (FM) Atlanta
KSL-AM-FM Salt Lake City

Not sure if KLIV San Jose still qualifies.

Gregg. said:

All News Stations 24/7...
WCBS & WINS NYC
KNX Los Angeles
WBBM (WCFS-FM simulcast) Chicago
KCBS (KFRC-FM simulcast) San Francisco
WTOP (FM) Washington
KYW Philadelphia
WWJ Detroit

Part time All-News stations...
KRLD Dallas
WNEW-FM Washington
WBZ Boston
KOMO-AM-FM Seattle
KQV Pittsburgh

All-News in AM and PM Drive...
KGO San Francisco
WYAY (FM) Atlanta
KSL-AM-FM Salt Lake City

Not sure if KLIV San Jose still qualifies.

Click to expand...

Aren't morning and afternoon drive news-blocks standard operating procedure for a market's leading News/Talk outlet?

Add KOGO in San Diego to he list of stations that air news in both drive times. Seems like a short list.

Stations that do a real news block in AM and PM drive are increasingly rare. These days, even a Talk Radio morning show that bills itself as "Springfield's Morning News" is usually a host doing interviews with local news makers and reporters but not like a real newscast. A newscaster is usually his co-host, doing news updates at the top and bottom of the hour.

Few Talk Radio stations have a news block in the afternoon. If they're not carrying Hannity or Savage, they often have their own opinionated host doing the PM drive show.

KGO, WYAY and KSL are the only stations I know of that do real news blocks in both AM and PM drive. And as mentioned above, KOGO San Diego also does AM and PM news blocks, as well as an hour at noon. So I should add 600 KOGO to this small list.

Ah yes, Dave Ramsey. Jeezus not only saves, he invests too...

KFI in Los Angeles has a large staff of reporters---and even uses drones now!---and airs a newscast every hour on the hour, 24 hours a day. All programming on KFI is local except for the nightly Coast To Coast AM show which appeals to all the schmucks who are positive that UFOs and little green men are real and the government is covering up the "truth."