I guess it's possible that a lot of folks there might be the same folks who though that Rumba 104.5 was a decent gamble as well. LOL. I also am still leaning toward this being a ruse because it just doesn't make sense to flip a station that might have long-term legs in favor of something that's failed repeatedly in the market. Though it doesn't seem to happen often in Philadelphia, market conditions do change so, like you said, maybe they know something we don't.
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WISX to Flip Again?
- Thread starter atthestars
- Start date
I guess it's possible that a lot of folks there might be the same folks who though that Rumba 104.5 was a decent gamble as well. LOL. I also am still leaning toward this being a ruse because it just doesn't make sense to flip a station that might have long-term legs in favor of something that's failed repeatedly in the market. Though it doesn't seem to happen often in Philadelphia, market conditions do change so, like you said, maybe they know something we don't.
iHeart launched "The Breeze" in San Francisco about a year back as a super-soft AC, and have seen ratings soar. (Don't know about $$ though... since it targets the upper demos). Taking that blueprint and placing it in Philly seems possible to attempt to swipe from the demos of WBEB and WOGL. And with WTDY moving out of the AC spectrum (which forced Mix to flip to Real in the first place), there might be room for it.
But yeah, it could all be a total smokescreen too. But it's something to gossip about in a fairly stable radio town!
I dunno if Throwbacks really has long-term legs. VERY few of the launched Throwback stations across the country (whether Boom from Urban One, or the Vibe from Cumulus) still retain that format. I thought Real 106.1 had a better shot than most though. Their playlist seemed more split of a Classic Power 99/Q102 combo tailored more towards Philly. And the ratings haven't been HORRIBLE.
I feel the same way. It seems like they actually put some work into this station (which maybe makes it more expensive than corporate likes and I suppose that could place it on the chopping block, ugggggggh) as opposed to when they put Philly's 106.1 on which, I'm not even playin, sounded like someone was running it from their parents' basement. If they keep working on the playlist and moving it forward in time as the years pass, I think it has a good shot here. And it fits well with their existing cluster.
We know that Sunny 104.5 was an older-skewing station (though I was in my 20's and 30's and I listened every day) but I've often wondered whether it would be making them more money today than they're able to squeeze out of Radio 104.5. If not, and there's nothing else to put on (and really, is there?), why not put Soft AC back on? Swap out funeral home and life insurance commercials for the Cash for Gold ads.
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That's a fantastic idea, lets blow up the only Alternative format in this large, lucrative market and within a 80 miles radius, which always rates high for over 11 years, oh yeh a hard sell yadda yadda yadda. While your at it, why not eliminate MMR and MGK and put some urban or ethnic format on them. Who wants any sort of rock product on the air in this town anyhoo, we all know you have a rock axe to grind....
Spin Radio 107.1 (WWYY) is located south of Stroudsburg, PA and is approximately 65 miles from the WRFF tower. Also, WTDY-HD2 is also an Alternative station in this large, lucrative market.
The rest of your post doesn't warrant a reply, serious or joking.
Billing matters. Talk to us about WRFF’s billing vs. WMMR & WMGK, and then we’ll see just how valid a comparison that is.
You really have no idea how this business works. It's not about your feelings; it's about dollar signs. Radio 104.5 is a hard sell, whether you like to admit it or not. Facts are facts. And no one here but YOU thinks I have a "rock axe" to grind, whatever that is. The Rock stations that are making money are fine and I never mention them. Radio 104.5 isn't fine and should be looking for ways to make more money, whether you like it or not.
Oh, and you're a racist. Over and over again with this "urban or ethnic" garbage. I'm talking about SOFT FRIGGIN ADULT CONTEMPORARY, fool. This garbage is why you got banned from the other site. I really hope that you get banned from this one as well so we thinking people can not be interrupted by your racist agenda.
And what’s “whiter” than soft A/C? 
And what’s “whiter” than soft A/C?
Thank you! I am fed up with this guy's agenda. It's not even thinly veiled. It's just flat-out blind racism.
FYI saying something is white or black isn't racist. Saying it's BAD because it's white or black is racist.
Or reverse-engineering it. And then saying it over and over again.
BTW, folks, this guy attacked me but I'm fully expecting to be the one who gets banned so it was nice having the chance to chat with you all over the years.
At this point, nobody is going to be banned. Just avoid insulting each other.
Couple of things:
In another thread I mused that the Hot AC format was "open" in Philly after TDY morphed from Hot AC to CHR, leaving that as the format opening.
All Access reports Philly station rankings for the 25-54, 18-49 and 18-34 demos. More 101 has been No. 1 18-34 for a while now, including the most recent monthly. More appears to have successfully taken up the AC and Hot AC space in Philly.
So, the more I think about it, the opening really isn't hotter than 101, it's softer, which is the rumor for 106.1, a softer AC. iHeart would get a chance to take some listeners from More, some listeners from WOGL.
Just out of curiosity, I went to the iHeart soft AC in SF (WISQ) website to see what its most recently played looked like. This isn't the old Sunny 104.5. It's a softer AC for today, not the 70s-based format Sunny was last time around. They do carry Delilah.
Second bit of trivia since it was mentioned earlier in this thread: Spin 107.1 near Stroudsburg also appears to be on an HD side channel of The Hawk 99.9 in Easton, which in turn feeds a translator in Allentown that, according to radio-locator, covers both Allentown and Bethlehem nicely. Spin promotes the Allentown frequency in its logo on its webpage.
In another thread I mused that the Hot AC format was "open" in Philly after TDY morphed from Hot AC to CHR, leaving that as the format opening.
All Access reports Philly station rankings for the 25-54, 18-49 and 18-34 demos. More 101 has been No. 1 18-34 for a while now, including the most recent monthly. More appears to have successfully taken up the AC and Hot AC space in Philly.
So, the more I think about it, the opening really isn't hotter than 101, it's softer, which is the rumor for 106.1, a softer AC. iHeart would get a chance to take some listeners from More, some listeners from WOGL.
Just out of curiosity, I went to the iHeart soft AC in SF (WISQ) website to see what its most recently played looked like. This isn't the old Sunny 104.5. It's a softer AC for today, not the 70s-based format Sunny was last time around. They do carry Delilah.
Second bit of trivia since it was mentioned earlier in this thread: Spin 107.1 near Stroudsburg also appears to be on an HD side channel of The Hawk 99.9 in Easton, which in turn feeds a translator in Allentown that, according to radio-locator, covers both Allentown and Bethlehem nicely. Spin promotes the Allentown frequency in its logo on its webpage.
This is exactly what I was thinking. To try Hot AC here would be suicidal right now. The hole is softer for sure. (That sounded super-weird but you all know what I meant.) Soft...but not like Barry Manilow and Barbra Streisand soft. Stuff like "I'm the Only One" by Melissa Etheridge and "Something To Talk About" by Bonnie Raitt.
And regardless, I still can't understand why any company would replace a new-ish station that bills instead of a decade-old one that doesn't.
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Perhaps because they feel they have more leeway with WRFF than WISX? Likely any WISX advertising/promotions could easily be shifted to WIOQ or WUSL, whereas 'RFF is a lone/unique sales opportunity.
At the end of the day (season?), I see any changes made at 106.1 being a holiday stunt. I can see them flipping to Christmas music to take a piece of the pie that B now has to themselves, but is Philly really aching for a soft AC? I say no.
And with how well the west coast Breeze is apparently doing, I could be totally wrong.
also the "you hate rawk music what u want more urban hatespeech?!1?" thread devolutions are officially as tired and worn out and hack as all the "WPHT- thoughts?" thread devolutions.
I listened to San Francisco’s Breeze shortly after launch, and it was interesting. Haven’t done so since, but curiosity had me go look at the playlist. It could be what Sunny could have evolved into in some alternate dimension. Setting aside a deep-in-the-weeds debate over localization, if that represents the broad direction we’re talking about....well, it depends on what they can monetize. Are there that many More FM and WOGL listeners they can peel off with a softer mix,long term? I’d love to know what the research says.
I mean, at the upper end of the demo, this seems most appealing. But...what’s the marketing? Set it and forget it isn’t going to do much. Some strategic focused digital marketing might get some awareness going, and curiosity. But inertia remains a powerful force. You need to be more than “not More”—or you’ll just end up being, well, less.
I mean, at the upper end of the demo, this seems most appealing. But...what’s the marketing? Set it and forget it isn’t going to do much. Some strategic focused digital marketing might get some awareness going, and curiosity. But inertia remains a powerful force. You need to be more than “not More”—or you’ll just end up being, well, less.
Interesting thoughts. But here's the thing: The lone/unique sales opportunities that iHeart gets from WRFF are apparently super-dismal. I agree that the market's not clamoring for Soft AC...but if the cluster can make iHeart more money by replacing their poorest-selling format (which has been given 10 or 11 years to prove itself) with one that will do better (even nominally), I would think they'd want to go for it.
Remember, too: No one's saying that people aren't listening to Radio 104.5. Personally, I think it's a pretty darn good library (if at times a bit repetitive for my taste). The thing is: If it were #1 or #2 across-the-board in all demos but advertisers still didn't want to buy it, there'd simply be no point in keeping it on. I mean, let's face it: Radio is a business. It's about the bottom line. Radio companies don't care about making Alt fans sad by killing Radio 104.5 anymore than they cared about making Soft AC fans sad when they killed Sunny 2.0 or when they made Smooth Jazz fans sad by killing 106.1 WJJZ. It's all about the Benjamins.
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