WOSN Drifts to AC

On the Treasure Coast, WOSN-97.1/Indian River Shores, "Ocean FM," is identified as a standards or nostalgia station on Wikipedia and Radio-Locator.com, but it hasn't really had that format for a while now. Although its website and Facebook pages give no indication of a change, the station has been identifying itself as a place for "light and refreshing favorites" for a couple of months now. Two vestiges of its standards days now appear to be gone from its Sunday evening schedule: Herb Oscar Anderson and Dick Robinson's "Standards By the Sea" (HOA passed away recently, but his nostalgia show was not replaced).

The playlist is AC, but mostly "light favorites" from the 60's and 70's, with many songs that might also be heard on an oldies station.

There has been a trend away from standards/nostalgia stations at least in some markets I follow. Besides WOSN, in New York, it seems that WHLI/Hempstead and WROW/Albany play little or nothing from that traditional format anymore (Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Buble, etc.).

In any case, WOSN should no longer be considered a standards station.

There appears to be no listen live on their website and some of the links for their air talent don't work.

Browsed the WHLI playlist. For a 50+ demo, it seems like the natural evolution.

eriedj said:

There appears to be no listen live on their website and some of the links for their air talent don't work.

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Also not on any apps, and don't have a playlist posted -- so you don't know what they're playing unless you're listening to the broadcast signal here in Florida.

WOSN in Vero Beach does not play any 60's music anymore. I have stopped listening to them and I was a faithful listener for many years, but there is little music from the 80's that I like. Do not understand why they changed.

Arinthia said:

WOSN in Vero Beach does not play any 60's music anymore. Do not understand why they changed.

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I may be able to answer that for you.

Anytime a station drops older music in favor of adding newer songs, it is to lower the median listener age in the target demo for sales purposes. As listeners age outside of the core 25 to 54 age demo, they become less attractive to most advertisers, especially those represented by an ad agency. In order for a station such as WOSN to get those advertisers back (who often times spend big $$$) the station will tweak the music playlist to attract a younger demo.