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96.5 AMP WZMP flips to AC As "Today's 96.5"

So now between this and Mix adding in the 80s, we've got THREE stations that lean AC.
MORE will still come out fine like they always do.
 
They couldn't compete against the market's Top 40 station so they think it'll work better to compete basically with the middling Hot AC and the ever-dominant Mainstream AC? Interesting.

{Just. Put. KYW. On. FM. Already.}

That having been said (LOL), I'm listening now and the variety is pretty amazing so far. Maybe they actually have figured something out here! (Is anyone else playing "All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow and "Family Affair" by Mary J. Blige?) More FM will be fine but this could be the death knell for Mix 106. Sounds like this format could also cause some heartburn for BEN-FM.

I wonder if there's any significance to January 5. I mean, why not flip at midnight on New Year's Day? Or why not stunt with Christmas music during December? (Those are just the contents of my head.)
 
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Bill_W said:
I agree. KYW newsradio 96.5. Will 96.5 pull listeners from WOGL?
Click to expand...

If this flops, I can't imagine they'll try attacking someone else instead of just finally putting KYW on the FM band. BTW: The new format seems to have some overlap with WOGL. They played "Don't You (Forget About Me)" [1985] by Simple Minds, which I assume WOGL has played as well. But this is not a format for fans of Classic Hits. When Mary J. Blige comes on, they'd likely scurry back to 98.1. LOL.

It will be interesting to see if CBS makes 96.5 mostly '90s-to-now and WOGL strictly '70s-1989.
 
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I noticed the HD2 and 3 stayed the same, Pulse and Talk Philly. Usually when a station flips they move the replaced format to one of their sides.
 
CBS just flipped KKHH Houston in the past week to adult hits, some of these changes may be a re-evaluation of all their formats in all markets.
 
We welcome Delaware Valley radio listeners to 96.5, this is TODAY'S 96.5, as for tomorrow's 96.5? Well your guess is as as good as ours, we'll find out in about 18 months!
 
Not sure if it will be the death knell for Mix--people have to learn about this first, and if Mix was already their second/third (etc.) choice, will they just make this their third/fourth (etc.)? Ben is interesting, but just as with CBS and iHeart, I look at the cluster strategy in addition to the individual station. (And Ben soldiered on through their own sister station doing something fairly similar with Now 97.5. Times change, of course, but it was an interesting few months when they co-existed.) This could be a reasonable gamble for CBS where the upside has more potential than the status quo. It'll be interesting to see how it unfolds.
 
Today's 96.5, similar to Today's 101.9 in Baltimore.
Perhaps they'll get back the listeners of 96.5 The Point that they abandoned in 2003
 
nkd said:
Today's 96.5, similar to Today's 101.9 in Baltimore.
Perhaps they'll get back the listeners of 96.5 The Point that they abandoned in 2003
Click to expand...
Actually, Beasley abandoned The Point, not CBS. How about if CBS brought back WYSP on 96.5? CBS abandoned them.
 
WYSP on 96.5 wouldn't be bad, however, since YSP has been absent from the air for years now. In that time of absence, WMMR has solidified itself as the only AOR station in the area. They really are, too! So I don't know how many would feel like giving YSP a chance. Unless WYSP pulls an updated format to play harder stuff than MMR does, but anything harder than MMR wouldn't sell that well, because you're moving in to a more niche audience.

What would be cool is if YSP or whatever would come back and do a more psychedelic rock format. Say-1965-today. There is a quickly growing psychedelic rock revival going on and it really is selling well, in terms of records and downloads. If formatted just right, it would like, and I know it. A lot of my friends love that type of rock, 18-24, and the older generation who are still hip enough would dig it too.

The Doors- Soul Kitchen
Blues Pills- High Class Woman
Morgen- Love
Jimi Hendrix- The Wind Cries Mary
AD BREAK
Mama's & Papa's- Creeque Alley
Blood Ceremony- Goodbye Gemini
The Orange Alabaster Mushroom- Tree Pie
Procol Harum- Whiter Shade of Pale
Purson- The Window Cleaner
The Beatles- Fixing a Hole
AD BREAK
UFO- Crystal Light
Black Sabbath- The Wizard
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats- Melody Lane
Band of Gypsies- Machine Gun
Tom Petty- Don't Come Around Here No More


I know it'll never happen. I just wish more of this type of music could be incorporated into a classic rock format. These songs are hugely popular and a lot of new bands today are revamping psychedelic sounds again. If you had some very intelligent people format a psychedelic/ classic rock format and play a lot of the new bands today- why wouldn't it make some waves?

I say this because- gimme a f***** break. Another AC station playing the same creative BS any other schmuck could program! It's a waste of electricity in my humble opinion. If CBS cared whatsoever about breaking some boundaries and actually making a well-worth it profit- they'd consider something even just a bit different than Mary J Blidge. No one likes her anymore, or even remembers the last time they heard her boring name and even more boring songs.

I know I'll be lambasted for suggesting such an unheard of format as psychedelic rock, but hey. Pipe dreams don't hurt do they?
 
I listen to WYSP on WIP's HD3 and they sound so much better then when they were on the main signal. Plenty of hair and hard metal and rock, if they sounded this good years back I don't think MMR would of clobbered them.
 
radiodx10 said:
WYSP on 96.5 wouldn't be bad, (...) Unless WYSP pulls an updated format to play harder stuff than MMR does, but anything harder than MMR wouldn't sell that well, because you're moving in to a more niche audience.
Click to expand...

Considering how much difficulty WRFF has monetizing a station that receives solid ratings (often top 3 in demos), I doubt we'll see CBS throw their hat in the rock radio ring anytime soon.
 
You are right, BigA. Having done the sandbox radio concept and invested (and spent) quite a lot of $ to make very little (if any) with a similar rock format - trust me - it is not fun for ANYBODY. I took over a 100kw station back in the mid-90's with a similar format to what radiodx10 suggested in his post. Don't get me wrong - that music was great, the format was classic rock with a psychedelic lean and it was on the beach. On paper, it was a perfect combination that should have been well received. It was programmed out from the Midwest somewhere near Chicago, but I don't recall who it was. The station did not do well in the ratings. Remotes were disasters, but everybody you talked to LOVED the station. They just did not listen or respond. Revenues were minimal. Less than $10k a month. We started taking requests and promised to play anything and everything one weekend. As expected, 95% of the requests were for all the well known songs we all talk about being played into the ground. The other 5% did not fit the format. It was a brutal test. We kept our word. Within a week, I started going more mainstream. Fairly quickly, the revenues went through the roof, we had no turnover on staff and even the live air team became inspired because they became local stars that people came to see and events went well. We were #2 in "the" ratings and I considered it a great success until a hurricane came through. My point is this - it is not as much fun to play those "cool" off-the-beaten path songs to two listeners and wonder if, man, you're gonna get a paycheck that clears, dude. Everyone on that team was awesome and pretty dang happy. We did play a few wild songs still. We made sure we fully explained them and why they were different. I had jocks telling me we needed to play LESS and LESS of those songs. It was not a surprise to know that, but it was inspiring to see people who did not want to be "that" station that played all the same ole stuff see both sides of the coin and all of them became strong leaders and managers over the years. Even today, in a similar radio situation, you can pretty much ONLY take the hits to the bank. Now, it is about playing the songs that local advertisers prefer to buy ads around. They see the success every day, too.

Not blastin' ya at all radiodx. I wouldn't be where I am today if it were not for all those great psychedelic songs teaching us all a thing or too. Happy New Year to you. I am stilled mixed about sand.
 
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