WNSH To Stay Country

So says the Entercom country format captain Tim Roberts. He told Country Aircheck: "That was immediately communicated to me we were definitely staying with the format." Roberts went on to say that plans are being made for the station to move into the Entercom broadcast facility at some point. Would the station keep the "Nash" branding? Roberts said: "We have to look at the research, the brand strength, and ascertain what's going on."

Having said that, there are several other levels of management at Entercom. But for now, Roberts is counting WNSH on his list of responsibilities.

So they change formats soon... Always they say they don't, they do in the end ;-).

TheBigA said:

So says the Entercom country format captain Tim Roberts. He told Country Aircheck: "...We have to look at the research, the brand strength, and ascertain what's going on."

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"...before I hand the station off to someone else and we change the format from Country."

JBraddock said:

"...before I hand the station off to someone else and we change the format from Country."

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I think the comment about the Nash branding is lukewarm at best. But the fact is the station got a 2.4 last month. The all-time high for the station is a 2.7. That's not something to throw away. All this before moving the antenna. They just launched a live & local morning show after 7 years of syndication. There's a lot in flux. No reason to rush to judgement.

TheBigA said:

I think the comment about the Nash branding is lukewarm at best. But the fact is the station got a 2.4 last month. The all-time high for the station is a 2.7. That's not something to throw away. All this before moving the antenna. They just launched a live & local morning show after 7 years of syndication. There's a lot in flux. No reason to rush to judgement.

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There's also only a very limited number of formats that will make money in NYC, and there are no real format holes left. (Cue whining about oldies, AAA, standards ...)

TheBigA said:

They just launched a live & local morning show after 7 years of syndication. There's a lot in flux. No reason to rush to judgement.

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Cumulus changed the morning show, probably to uncouple the station from Nash-branded programming prior to the swap. That leaves Entercom the option of changing formats as soon as they identify a hole - perhaps Soft AC to flank WNEW-FM and mess with "Lite's" ratings supremacy; or just cleanly rebranding the country format for now.

Does anyone recall when three, rimshot FM Class A co-channels (I believe) encircled the metro area with simulcast Country music?

Kemosabe said:

Does anyone recall when three, rimshot FM Class A co-channels (I believe) encircled the metro area with simulcast Country music?

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First three, then four stations, actually.

JBraddock said:

perhaps Soft AC to flank WNEW-FM and mess with "Lite's" ratings supremacy; or just cleanly rebranding the country format for now.

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Looking at Philly, WOGL was consistently #1 or #2 station in the market. Then iHeart launched the Breeze, and WOGL came back after Christmas down to #5. I suspect a chunk of their listeners are sampling the Breeze. Does Entercom want that in NY?

TheBigA said:

I think the comment about the Nash branding is lukewarm at best. But the fact is the station got a 2.4 last month. The all-time high for the station is a 2.7. That's not something to throw away. All this before moving the antenna. They just launched a live & local morning show after 7 years of syndication. There's a lot in flux. No reason to rush to judgement.

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WNSH usually hovers around 2.0-2-5 but cumes under 1 million. Nonetheless that is a lot for New York where country is more of a niche format.
I would say that if it hadn't been part of national branding it may have already been pulled however. Stations have been pulled for a lot less, ie. AMP 92.3.
I don't know if WNSH made money for Cumulus and who knows if it'll make money for Entercom as a stand alone station which is of course the bottom line.

Jeffrey said:

I don't know if WNSH made money for Cumulus and who knows if it'll make money for Entercom as a stand alone station which is of course the bottom line.

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Keep in mind that Entercom owns 20 country stations, including highly rated stations in Chicago & Detroit. So they know how to program the format to an urban audience, and they know how to merchandise that audience in ways beyond spots & dots. Not sure what you mean by it being a stand alone station. It's part of a big cluster.

JBraddock said:

Cumulus changed the morning show, probably to uncouple the station from Nash-branded programming prior to the swap. That leaves Entercom the option of changing formats as soon as they identify a hole - perhaps Soft AC to flank WNEW-FM and mess with "Lite's" ratings supremacy; or just cleanly rebranding the country format for now.

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Soft A/C isn't happening for two reasons. First, the demos skew too old. Entercom already has three older skewing stations in WINS, WCBS and WCBS-FM. They don't need another. Second, soft A/C would probably hurt CBS-FM more than Lite due to the overlapping demographics.

If you want soft A/C, it's already available on WKTU-HD3 or via streaming.

Jeffrey said:

WNSH usually hovers around 2.0-2-5 but cumes under 1 million. Nonetheless that is a lot for New York where country is more of a niche format.
I would say that if it hadn't been part of national branding it may have already been pulled however. Stations have been pulled for a lot less, ie. AMP 92.3.
I don't know if WNSH made money for Cumulus and who knows if it'll make money for Entercom as a stand alone station which is of course the bottom line.

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That NASH branding certainly does not help in NYC. Perhaps as a standalone station without the NASH branding it may do better.

luperm said:

Soft A/C isn't happening for two reasons. First, the demos skew too old. Entercom already has three older skewing stations in WINS, WCBS and WCBS-FM. They don't need another. Second, soft A/C would probably hurt CBS-FM more than Lite due to the overlapping demographics.

If you want soft A/C, it's already available on WKTU-HD3 or via streaming.

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Apparently the Soft AC demos aren't skewing too old. David's mentioned elsewhere that The Breeze in Philly maintained good 25-54 numbers after its debut and that's been reported in other markets adopting Soft ACs over the past few years as well.

The problem with Soft AC cannibalizing the Classic Hits audience would be a reason that Entercom wouldn't consider it in NYC.

Since we're discussing over-the-air reception, streaming's not a real factor and HD listening is still minimal since the vast majority don't have the radios.

mikerock said:

That NASH branding certainly does not help in NYC. Perhaps as a standalone station without the NASH branding it may do better.

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What difference does it make? If someone likes country music they will listen to the station. "Nash" is no better or worse than "The Wolf", "Froggy" or any other gimmicky name you can come up with.

A few months ago, Entercom started a Soft AC station in Detroit, 98.7 The Breeze WDZH. And it owns the long-time Classic Hits station WOMC. So Entercom thinks the two formats can co-exist.

On the other hand, WOMC's numbers are down in the January ratings. It's #9, while in the past it had been top five. WDZH is #14. Of course, the holidays shake things up so maybe WOMC and WDZH will see a rise in the next month.

JBraddock said:

The problem with Soft AC cannibalizing the Classic Hits audience would be a reason that Entercom wouldn't consider it in NYC.

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Firstly, in NY, Entercom has nothing to worry about when it comes to Soft AC vs. Classic Hits - BOTH can exist in this market - Entercom has got CBSFM formatted SO TIGHTLY so as to distinguish itself from ANY Soft AC (and YOU KNOW what I'm speaking of); now to go back on topic.....

WNSH is a branding now, just like WHN was back in my day....and aside from the fact that it's not MY kinda country ("I was country...when country wasn't cool...") - I say that as long as Entercom is keeping the country on 94.7, I quite frankly don't even give a HOOT what it's callled!!

Nash 94.7 is now on the Radio.com app. Only thing is the logo is Nash 94.1 so Cumulus must have gave Entercom the wrong logo. As Nash 94.1 is in Cincinnati. I'm sure it will only be short as Entercom will eventually change the name. US 94.7 Kickin' 94-7 can't see them using 94.7 The Wolf in NYC.

What will happen to NASH Nights Live on NASH FM 94.7? Will it continue to air under Entercom ownership?