danikayser84
Leading Participant
With the upcoming demise of 100.9 The Bridge, it's time to dust off some of the other biggest format flops in Albany...
1) 104.9 Love FM (2003-2005, Urban AC)
After a failure with their modern rock format, WZMR took on the dumped Smooth Jazz format from 103.1, which later became Urban AC as "Love FM". However, the tweak to Urban AC did little to boost ratings/revenue, and the station went Christmas in November 2004, only to emerge from Christmas mode as a simulcast of "Froggy Country 107.1" in Glens Falls.
2) 93.7/94.5 The Bone (2006-2007, Mainstream Rock)
Galaxy Communications, owned by Ed Levine, was having trouble making a splash in the Albany market with either 93.7 The Eagle or 94 Rock, so in a last-ditch effort, Galaxy relaunched the classic rock format as "93.7/94.5 The Bone" in an attempt to go after Regent's WQBK and Clear Channel's WPYX. The station ended up being last place in an already-crowded rock format market (also including WZMR, which went active rock in 2006), and by February 2007, Levine would sell off the stations to EMF who installed K-Love and Air One affiliations on the stations, which remain today.
3) 100.3/100.9 The Point (1999-2001, Modern AC)
Paul Bendat, former longtime owner of WABY and WKLI, exited the radio business in 1998, selling his stations to TeleMedia LLC, who flipped struggling Top 40 "K100" to The Point with a Modern AC format which was starting to become popular at the time. Unfortunately, WKLI/WKBE entered an already-saturated market (trying to compete with WFLY, WRVE, WNYQ/105.7 and later WKKF) and AFAIK did not manage any higher than a 2 share; WKKF flipping to Top 40 also hastened its demise. Pamal would acquire the stations in August 2001, and the simulcast split with WKBE retaining "Point" while WKLI would flip to soft AC/standards as "Magic 100.9"
4) Power Country 96.3 (1997-98, New Country)
WPTR (formerly WCDA) held a Country format since 1994, originally satellite-derived and later going live and local; Albany Broadcasting purchased the station in 1996 and launched a classic country format on the station with the WPTR-FM calls. In an attempt to knock points off WGNA's lead, Albany Broadcasting flipped floundering Classic Country station 96.3 WPTR-FM to Power Country with a New Country format. Unfortunately, ratings remained stagnant from the former format (despite sports rights, including the Yankees), and the station flipped to Contemporary Urban around Christmas 1998, later tweaking to Contemporary Rhythmic and more recently an urban-leaning Rhythmic.
Any other format failures of note in Albany? I'd definitely think these are the four biggest that I remember
1) 104.9 Love FM (2003-2005, Urban AC)
After a failure with their modern rock format, WZMR took on the dumped Smooth Jazz format from 103.1, which later became Urban AC as "Love FM". However, the tweak to Urban AC did little to boost ratings/revenue, and the station went Christmas in November 2004, only to emerge from Christmas mode as a simulcast of "Froggy Country 107.1" in Glens Falls.
2) 93.7/94.5 The Bone (2006-2007, Mainstream Rock)
Galaxy Communications, owned by Ed Levine, was having trouble making a splash in the Albany market with either 93.7 The Eagle or 94 Rock, so in a last-ditch effort, Galaxy relaunched the classic rock format as "93.7/94.5 The Bone" in an attempt to go after Regent's WQBK and Clear Channel's WPYX. The station ended up being last place in an already-crowded rock format market (also including WZMR, which went active rock in 2006), and by February 2007, Levine would sell off the stations to EMF who installed K-Love and Air One affiliations on the stations, which remain today.
3) 100.3/100.9 The Point (1999-2001, Modern AC)
Paul Bendat, former longtime owner of WABY and WKLI, exited the radio business in 1998, selling his stations to TeleMedia LLC, who flipped struggling Top 40 "K100" to The Point with a Modern AC format which was starting to become popular at the time. Unfortunately, WKLI/WKBE entered an already-saturated market (trying to compete with WFLY, WRVE, WNYQ/105.7 and later WKKF) and AFAIK did not manage any higher than a 2 share; WKKF flipping to Top 40 also hastened its demise. Pamal would acquire the stations in August 2001, and the simulcast split with WKBE retaining "Point" while WKLI would flip to soft AC/standards as "Magic 100.9"
4) Power Country 96.3 (1997-98, New Country)
WPTR (formerly WCDA) held a Country format since 1994, originally satellite-derived and later going live and local; Albany Broadcasting purchased the station in 1996 and launched a classic country format on the station with the WPTR-FM calls. In an attempt to knock points off WGNA's lead, Albany Broadcasting flipped floundering Classic Country station 96.3 WPTR-FM to Power Country with a New Country format. Unfortunately, ratings remained stagnant from the former format (despite sports rights, including the Yankees), and the station flipped to Contemporary Urban around Christmas 1998, later tweaking to Contemporary Rhythmic and more recently an urban-leaning Rhythmic.
Any other format failures of note in Albany? I'd definitely think these are the four biggest that I remember