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Amp 103.3
- Thread starter DToTheJ
- Start date
Where you make sense, I think that as long as the old WODS classic hits/oldies format continues on HD-2, they will keep the name. Typical radio, hold those callsigns as long as they have some meaning.New York's "Alt 92.3" recently shed their WBMP callsign. I don't understand why they didn't simply shift them off to "Boston's Amp"?
Deleted User
Star Participant
Because in this PPM world, call signs mean nothing and are not worth the paperwork and expense to change them.
Ask anyone under 35 what W O D S is and they will shrug, say AMP 103 and they know exactly what it is.
Ask anyone under 35 what W O D S is and they will shrug, say AMP 103 and they know exactly what it is.
john garrett
Frequent Participant
Because in this PPM world, call signs mean nothing and are not worth the paperwork and expense to change them.
Ask anyone under 35 what W O D S is and they will shrug, say AMP 103 and they know exactly what it is.
I think that can also be said for many other stations. How many people know know that the The Sports Hub is WBZ FM. I have know idea what the call letters are for the 2 Country stations or the Hip Hop station at 96.9.
CTListener
Walk of Fame Participant
I think that can also be said for many other stations. How many people know know that the The Sports Hub is WBZ FM. I have know idea what the call letters are for the 2 Country stations or the Hip Hop station at 96.9.
The Sports Hub has minimized mention of its call letters from the day it signed on, just a whisper at the top of the hour to keep it legal. The Bull -- WBWL -- the same way. WKLB, though, has a long history and used to mention its call letters frequently, but times have changed.
Ask anyone under 35 what W O D S is and they will shrug, ....
I always thought the calls letters stood for "whoooedeeees"
BoredModerator
Leading Participant
96.9 went through the trouble to change from WTKK to WBQT.
Because in this PPM world, call signs mean nothing and are not worth the paperwork and expense to change them.
Ask anyone under 35 what W O D S is and they will shrug, say AMP 103 and they know exactly what it is.
So why has Entercom wasted the time changing call letters on numerous other stations since acquiring CBS Radio? Mix 104.1 included?
Deleted User
Star Participant
So why has Entercom wasted the time changing call letters on numerous other stations since acquiring CBS Radio? Mix 104.1 included?
One case was they wanted the "heritage calls" back on a particular station, and that was the reason for 104.1 getting replacement calls.
Heritage calls do have some value, especially if you are skewing older.
Ask 105.7 how that WROR call thing worked out for them, They still have the calls, the concept was dead on arrival.
It is not only the cost of the filing, it is re-printing every business card, new tee shirts, phone listings, reminding any advertising partners/ clients to change any promotional tie in stuff they may have, Tune In and other streaming services, RDS encoding, etc etc etc.
IMHO listeners will remember positioning statements and develop brand loyalty to that station by way of them ( 98.5 The Sports Hub, AMP, Kiss108, Jam'n 94.5) loooong before the legal call letters come into play.
Since PPM is done by encoding, and not by people filling in call signs into paper diaries ( wasn't there a controversy in Boston about how one station was not getting counted due to the positioning slogan and not the calls being used and no credit being given by Arbitron at the time?) calls signs are increasingly irrelevant...
Up here in Southern NH/ Merrimack Valley we have "Valley 98.9", the translator for WMVX, one of the Eagle Costa stations... do you think Joe Six Pack knows the legal calls for that translator? I had to look them up ( W255DA BTW)
Anyone know the legal calls for any translator off the top of their head? Probably not. But we either know their positioning slogan or the calls of the AM they are tied to.
CTListener
Walk of Fame Participant
Anyone know the legal calls for any translator off the top of their head? Probably not. But we either know their positioning slogan or the calls of the AM they are tied to.
Good point. In Connecticut, WMNR Monroe, a classical music noncomm at 88.1, has a bunch of translators, at least two of which -- W220CE Middlefield and W220CH Hartford -- never get a single top-of-the-hour mention, even at 1 p.m. when all the others do. I've been told that it's permissible to send them subaudibly, in code. Anyway, the listeners never know the calls. The originating station, though, still uses its call on-air frequently, along with its slogan of "Fine Arts Radio," so at least the listeners aren't in the dark about that.
nowradioguy
Star Participant
Ask 105.7 how that WROR call thing worked out for them, They still have the calls, the concept was dead on arrival.
Would you kindly explain the last six words in the above?
Deleted User
Star Participant
Would you kindly explain the last six words in the above?
Well if you don't mind I will quote Eli Polonski, who I think we can agree is a not only in the industry, but also someone with some knowledge of the industry.
In a thread on this board, about Ken Shelton he said, and I quote
"After WBCN, he was on WZLX and then WBOS for a while. His last area on-air gig that I know of was at WROR about six years ago when they briefly tried switching from classic hits to a classic AOR format. They hired Ken as a voice that would recall Boston AOR radio in the '70s and '80s. The experiment was unfortunately a ratings failure, and after two declining books they went back to the classic hits format, and let Ken go."
I don't know of anyone who was around at the time that thought it went well, do you?
Also from Eli, same topic
"And also around that time, "Timeless Rock & Roll Classics". It was WROR's classic Boston AOR recreation experiment attempt of 2001. I and a few other aficionados of the late '60s/'70s AOR deep cuts that they were sprinkling in thought it was pretty cool, but it flopped badly in the ratings. After two nosediving books, it was back to classic hits, and their ratings came back up."
Eli Polonsky
Walk of Fame Participant
Yes, except for that brief ill-fated "classic AOR" recreation experiment around 2001, WROR has otherwise been quite successful with Classic Hits since 1996, especially since 2012 when 103.3 flipped from its more pop-skewing version of Classic Hits to CHR as "Amp", giving WROR the local Classic Hits format by default. WROR has been in the top five, occasionally at number one, in the all-ages since then.
Back to the subject, the "heritage" call letters WROR have little to do with its current success. Recognition of the original 98.5 WROR calls may have helped a bit in launching them on 105.7 back 22 years ago, but not since then. Give the audience the hits they want to hear, the ratings go up. Give them too much "deep" stuff (even if a small "cult following" including myself appreciates it), the ratings go down, regardless of the call letters.
Heritage calls can have some value only if you're a non-corporate specialty station skewing toward a much older local cult audience than corporate stations want, such as Nostalgia/Easy Listening on Bob Bittner's WJIB, and Ed Perry has WMEX, said to relaunch it as an Oldies station.
Back to the subject, the "heritage" call letters WROR have little to do with its current success. Recognition of the original 98.5 WROR calls may have helped a bit in launching them on 105.7 back 22 years ago, but not since then. Give the audience the hits they want to hear, the ratings go up. Give them too much "deep" stuff (even if a small "cult following" including myself appreciates it), the ratings go down, regardless of the call letters.
Heritage calls can have some value only if you're a non-corporate specialty station skewing toward a much older local cult audience than corporate stations want, such as Nostalgia/Easy Listening on Bob Bittner's WJIB, and Ed Perry has WMEX, said to relaunch it as an Oldies station.
Last edited:
nowradioguy
Star Participant
Well if you don't mind I will quote Eli Polonski, who I think we can agree is a not only in the industry, but also someone with some knowledge of the industry.
In a thread on this board, about Ken Shelton he said, and I quote
"After WBCN, he was on WZLX and then WBOS for a while. His last area on-air gig that I know of was at WROR about six years ago when they briefly tried switching from classic hits to a classic AOR format. They hired Ken as a voice that would recall Boston AOR radio in the '70s and '80s. The experiment was unfortunately a ratings failure, and after two declining books they went back to the classic hits format, and let Ken go."
I don't know of anyone who was around at the time that thought it went well, do you?
Also from Eli, same topic
"And also around that time, "Timeless Rock & Roll Classics". It was WROR's classic Boston AOR recreation experiment attempt of 2001. I and a few other aficionados of the late '60s/'70s AOR deep cuts that they were sprinkling in thought it was pretty cool, but it flopped badly in the ratings. After two nosediving books, it was back to classic hits, and their ratings came back up."
WHAT "concept was dead on arrival"?
You cite instances of WROR - I assume you mean 105.7 WROR - and its attempted forays into AOR, but I am not able to connect the dots about a DOA "concept".
I was a regular listener to 105.7 WROR in the mid-aughts, when they played "THE 60s, 70s, and 80s ALL IN ONE PLACE".
As for 98.5 WROR - they had problems finding their way with the automated fare from Drake-Chenault, but were making some headway when they dropped the automation and went live for a few years before becoming Mix 98.5 WBMX.
Eli Polonsky
Walk of Fame Participant
WHAT "concept was dead on arrival"?
You cite instances of WROR - I assume you mean 105.7 WROR - and its attempted forays into AOR, but I am not able to connect the dots about a DOA "concept".
I believe what he meant about “DOA” was the concept of whether the “heritage” callsign from the old 98.5 WROR benefits today’s 105.7 WROR.
My answer was maybe a little to help 105.7 launch as WROR 22 years ago in 1996, but since then, their performance has been due to the programming presented, not the call letters.
nowradioguy
Star Participant
I believe what he meant about “DOA” was the concept of whether the “heritage” callsign from the old 98.5 WROR benefits today’s 105.7 WROR.
My answer was maybe a little to help 105.7 launch as WROR 22 years ago in 1996, but since then, their performance has been due to the programming presented, not the call letters.
Eli,
Thanks for taking the time to make this clearer for me (and maybe even a few others!).
Fenway1912
Leading Participant
I believe what he meant about “DOA” was the concept of whether the “heritage” callsign from the old 98.5 WROR benefits today’s 105.7 WROR.
My answer was maybe a little to help 105.7 launch as WROR 22 years ago in 1996, but since then, their performance has been due to the programming presented, not the call letters.
Certainly, WROR 98.5 was a player in the 80's fueled by Joe and Andy but were the calls that important? 105.7 should have explored getting back the WVBF callsign
Eli Polonsky
Walk of Fame Participant
Certainly, WROR 98.5 was a player in the 80's fueled by Joe and Andy but were the calls that important? 105.7 should have explored getting back the WVBF callsign
WVBF has been in use on 1530 AM, a local talk station in Middleborough, MA, since the mid-'90s.
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