Has WXGL Eagle 107.3 Moved Harder?

It seems 107.3 WXGL has moved harder in its Classic Rock playlist. When I was in Tampa a few years ago, it was a more pop-leaning Classic Rock station, calling itself "Classic Hits." You'd just as likely hear Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac, Heart and Elton John as you'd hear AC/DC or Guns 'n' Roses... maybe more likely.

Now when I look at a recent playlist, the Van Halen and Ozzy Osbourne seems to be 3/4ths of the playlist, with only an occasional Phil Collins or Eagles title. Is this in response to WPBB The Shark 98.7?

Or is Classic Rock just getting harder nationwide? Growing up, AOR stations played Hall & Oates, Huey Lewis, Carole King, Steely Dan and James Taylor, along with Led Zeppelin and The Who. You'd think as we got older, we'd be LESS inclined to want harder rock than we did in our 20s and 30s.

The PD for HOT 1015 is now also programming The Eagle, that probably explains it. BIG MISTAKE!

How do they compare to Q105?

rfrus said:

The PD for HOT 1015 is now also programming The Eagle, that probably explains it. BIG MISTAKE!

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The fact is that what is called "classic rock" appealed to those who are now in their 50s, 60s & 70s [or older] and are aging out of the demographics that advertisers covet [or so the ratings people tell them] as well as dying off, meaning less listeners. So of course the stations are going to add "newer groups" with younger listeners and very often those "newer groups" are a lot harder rocking then their predecessors. So to the station owners/programmers it's not a "mistake", they're trying to keep the cash coming in to make the shareholders/owners happy and very often that means they have to "move the goalposts" in order to meet that objective.....and older listeners are the ones that lose out.

Yabadabado1 said:

The fact is that what is called "classic rock" appealed to those who are now in their 50s, 60s & 70s [or older] and are aging out of the demographics that advertisers covet [or so the ratings people tell them] as well as dying off, meaning less listeners. So of course the stations are going to add "newer groups" with younger listeners and very often those "newer groups" are a lot harder rocking then their predecessors. So to the station owners/programmers it's not a "mistake", they're trying to keep the cash coming in to make the shareholders/owners happy and very often that means they have to "move the goalposts" in order to meet that objective.....and older listeners are the ones that lose out.

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I believe the thinking is that the fans of bands that were big in the '90s, which is where the classic rock format is heading, are more accepting of the harder-rocking acts of earlier times, not so much of the pretentious art-rock bands or softer artists who got AOR play back in the day. So it's Led Zeppelin yes, Elton John no, and Van Halen yes, Emerson Lake & Palmer no. The classic rockers up this way are all moving in a harder-rocking direction, too.

CTListener said:

The classic rockers up this way are all moving in a harder-rocking direction, too.

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Exactly, and the best example is Beasley's WMGK, which is #2 in Philly. This station has placed #1 in the younger 18-34 demo even though they often play Free Bird and other 70s songs. They rock pretty hard, with no Carole King or James Taylor. I'm sure Beasley would love to duplicate that with WRBQ in Tampa, but Cox beat them to it with the Eagle. The softer mushier stuff ends up on The Breeze.

Here's a look at WMGK's playlist:

https://wmgk.com/stream/WMGKFM/

TheBigA said:

Exactly, and the best example is Beasley's WMGK, which is #2 in Philly. This station has placed #1 in the younger 18-34 demo even though they often play Free Bird and other 70s songs. They rock pretty hard, with no Carole King or James Taylor. I'm sure Beasley would love to duplicate that with WRBQ in Tampa, but Cox beat them to it with the Eagle. The softer mushier stuff ends up on The Breeze.

Here's a look at WMGK's playlist:

https://wmgk.com/stream/WMGKFM/

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Surprised to see Rod Stewart's ultra-romantic "You're In My Heart" on the list. Otherwise, yeah, that playlist could be WAQY Springfield's very easily.

I'm looking at the last two hours of WMGK Philadelphia. I don't think it rocks too hard. I see Elton John, Meatloaf, Pat Benetar, Dire Straits, The Police, Stevie Nicks and the aforementioned "You're in My Heart" by Rod Stewart. Even some harder acts are represented by softer songs, such as Led Zeppelin's "All My Love" and The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes."

I suppose this is a Rolling Stones weekend, with several Stones Triple Plays on the list.


Recently Played on WMGKFM
Apr 14, 2019
06:36 PM Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me — Elton John
06:21 PM All My Love — Led Zeppelin
06:18 PM Street Fighting Man — Rolling Stones
06:14 PM Paint It Black — Rolling Stones
06:09 PM It'S Only Rock 'N' Roll (But I Like It) — Rolling Stones
06:04 PM You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth — Meatloaf
05:52 PM Edge Of Seventeen — Stevie Nicks
05:46 PM Sultans Of Swing — Dire Straits
05:42 PM Don't Stand So Close To Me — The Police
05:38 PM Behind Blue Eyes — The Who
05:25 PM You're In My Heart — Rod Stewart
05:22 PM Hit Me With Your Best Shot — Pat Benatar
05:17 PM 19Th Nervous Breakdown — Rolling Stones
05:14 PM Honky Tonk Women — Rolling Stones
05:10 PM She'S So Cold — Rolling Stones
05:05 PM Peaceful Easy Feeling — Eagles
04:53 PM Cult Of Personality — Living Colour
04:44 PM Free Bird — Lynyrd Skynyrd
04:39 PM Fat Bottomed Girls — Queen
04:34 PM Jeremy — Pearl Jam
04:21 PM Who's Crying Now — Journey
04:16 PM Let It Bleed — Rolling Stones
04:11 PM Start Me Up — Rolling Stones
04:08 PM Brown Sugar — Rolling Stones
04:03 PM Free Fallin' — Tom Petty

I'd say this list is a bit softer than WXGL, but not by much. This time I am seeing a few more pop titles played on WXGL than I did this morning.

6:26 pm Hit Me with Your Best Shot--Pat Benetar
6:18 pm Old Time Rock & Roll--Bob Seger
6:15 pm I Love Rock & Roll--Joan Jett
6:07 pm Money for Nothing--Dire Straits
6:02 pm Carry On Wayward Son--Kansas
5:57 pm Who's Crying Now?--Journey
5:48 pm Runnin' with The Devil--Van Halen
5:44 pm Your Love--The Outfield
5:40 pm Foolin'--Def Leppard
5:35 pm More Than A Feeling--Boston
5:30 pm Amanda--Boston
5:23 pm Foreplay/Long Time--Boston
5:15 pm Live & Let Die--Guns N' Roses
5:10 pm Go Your Own Way--Fleetwood Mac
5:06 pm You Give Love A Bad Name--Bon Jovi
5:02 pm Love in An Elevator--Aerosmith
4:58 pm White Wedding--Billy Idol
4:55 pm Don't Do Me Like That--Tom Petty
4:44 pm In The Air Tonight--Phil Collins
4:40 pm Life in The Fast Lane--The Eagles
4:35 pm Owner of A Lonely Heart--Yes
4:30 pm We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions--Queen
4:26 pm No One Like You--Scorpions
4:15 pm Brain Damage--Pink Floyd
4:11 pm Here I Go Again--White Snake
4:08 pm Do You Believe in Love?--Huey Lewis & The News
4:02 pm Who Are You?--The Who

So yes, we do see Huey Lewis, Phil Collins, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles and Pat Benetar. But for a station that once was more pop-leaning than most Classic Rock stations, this is now a bit harder than WMGK. Again, if there were no 98.7 The Shark, maybe WXGL would have a bit more balance between pop titles and harder titles.

Gregg. said:

I'm looking at the last two hours of WMGK Philadelphia. I don't think it rocks too hard. I see Elton John, Meatloaf, Pat Benetar, Dire Straits, The Police, Stevie Nicks and the aforementioned "You're in My Heart" by Rod Stewart.

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No Carole King or James Taylor. It's mainly guy songs, not so many girl songs. Benetar & Nicks are girls who rock. This is classic rock, not classic hits. These are rock acts who had some pop hits, but they're not being played on this station.

CTListener said:

I believe the thinking is that the fans of bands that were big in the '90s, which is where the classic rock format is heading, are more accepting of the harder-rocking acts of earlier times, not so much of the pretentious art-rock bands or softer artists who got AOR play back in the day. So it's Led Zeppelin yes, Elton John no, and Van Halen yes, Emerson Lake & Palmer no. The classic rockers up this way are all moving in a harder-rocking direction, too.

Click to expand...

Let's put it this way... I'm 47. I graduated high school in 1990.

The bands of my generation are Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Scorpions, Pearl Jam, Van Halen, Nirvana, and AC/DC. Call me the hair band generation if you must (but a lot of hair bands kinda sucked, lets be honest)

Elton John and Billy Joel aren't out of the question (I paid good money to see both a few years back and let's not talk about how much I just spent on Phil Collins tickets... but if you're talking about an album that was released in 1973, I was 2 years old then, so it has to be a killer track.

107.3 plays too much Journey for my taste. I listen to the Shark most of the time, followed by 98 Rock.