Miguelito
Star Participant
It must be something going around. I had COMPLETELY forgotten the More FM imaging on the HD2!
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More FM is B101 again?!
- Thread starter richt1014
- Start date
It must be something going around. I had COMPLETELY forgotten the More FM imaging on the HD2!
radiophiler
Leading Participant
Today is the first day of the Nielsen ratings December book. It runs for four weeks starting today. (The following four weeks, aka the 13th month, Nielsen calls the Holiday Book.)
So, a guess ... while the change MAY have been sudden or a reaction to something they're expecting to happen with 106, there was a good reason for doing it at midnight this morning.
Just my personal opinion, but I never thought "More 101.1" rolled off the tongue either, and through anecdotal evidence, thought that a lot of people still called it "B101." It just got worse, too, when in reaction to Today's 96.5 when it was owned by CBS, the slogan became "Today's 101.1 More-FM." Ugh.
So, a guess ... while the change MAY have been sudden or a reaction to something they're expecting to happen with 106, there was a good reason for doing it at midnight this morning.
Just my personal opinion, but I never thought "More 101.1" rolled off the tongue either, and through anecdotal evidence, thought that a lot of people still called it "B101." It just got worse, too, when in reaction to Today's 96.5 when it was owned by CBS, the slogan became "Today's 101.1 More-FM." Ugh.
atthestars
Star Participant
Let's throw in every slogan and such that they battled back over the years:
"Today's B101.1 More FM, a Fresh Mix of a Younger Approach to Today's Soft Rock Music to Make You Feel Good While You Work!"
CurtisNEPA
Frequent Participant
Strange they didn't flip to Christmas music upon rebranding back to B101.....guess we all have to wait until tomorrow(Friday as of this posting).
When they do, expect to hear the "Happy Holidays...from B101! jingle again....
When they do, expect to hear the "Happy Holidays...from B101! jingle again....
Miguelito
Star Participant
I also used to think More FM was Hot AC but I now believe that what actually happened is we turned around for a second and Adult Contemporary just got younger. Judging by other AC's across the country, this is simply what the format is now. Way less gold, more sharing with Top 40, and more contemporary imaging.
If I were at B101, I'd currently be more worried about the cracks that have been appearing over the past few months regardless of what is or isn't happening on 106.1. I don't think More FM was doing anything wrong. In fact, I think they sound pretty great. But Entercom has interest in making WOGL do well also and the two are always going to be nipping at each other just by nature of the formats. And they're not doing WBEB any favors by keeping WTDY the way it is. They need to figure all if that out first and foremost.
I would be less concerned about 106.1 coming on and playing the songs I chose to abandon in order to hit a younger target. The last thing B101 should do is drop Lady Gaga to put Celine Dion back on! B101 can keep on keeping on and make plenty of money while a Soft AC lives in its own space further up the dial.
AbrahamJSimpson
Walk of Fame Participant
If you own an AC and a CHR, you’ll overlap...ditto classic hits and AC, at least in many cases depending on exactly where they net out. I don’t see TDY being of concern vis a vis the B. How it fits the cluster, the competition with Q, etc., sure. But they are quite distinct in tone and texture because of what they don’t share.
And heaven forbid anyone thinks of swapping in some Celine. There is equity in the B name, part of the change was because the music evolved away from the days of Celine, Faith Hill ballads and what have you....much as there was a time and place for moving away from the EZ brand. There is also risk. If they’ve done their risk/reward analysis, as I’m sure they have, more power to them. But going back to the past isn’t always sunshine and lollipops.
This will be interesting to see unfold. That much seems certain.
And heaven forbid anyone thinks of swapping in some Celine. There is equity in the B name, part of the change was because the music evolved away from the days of Celine, Faith Hill ballads and what have you....much as there was a time and place for moving away from the EZ brand. There is also risk. If they’ve done their risk/reward analysis, as I’m sure they have, more power to them. But going back to the past isn’t always sunshine and lollipops.
This will be interesting to see unfold. That much seems certain.
J
Jul
Guest
Here's their web address: https://b101philly.radio.com/
https://www.facebook.com/B101Philly
https://twitter.com/b101fmphilly
IDK, nationally, the format is kinda all over the place really. Some are very upbeat, some play more slower songs, some live in the 80s, some play hardly any 80s at all. I have always felt that Philly 101.1 and NYC 106.7 seemed to evolve in a very similar fashion. As of recently I think that WBEB was more aggressive than WLTW, lots less 80s songs. From what I've heard of WOGL and WBEB briefly and looking at music logs of today, I think they got this thing better aligned now and are creating better spaces for both to peacefully and profitably exist. That's less than a day of research at first glance, I could have it completely wrong.
Miguelito
Star Participant
My personal preference would be for B101 to drop the '80s and leave it to WOGL and but I also don't think anyone would miss the '80s tracks so I can't really come up with a pressing business reason to keep them either. They test well. Sure, well, lots of songs test well. But is the audience going to stop listening if they don't hear every song that tests well? Sure, I'm oversimplifying but I'm overly simple.
I agree though that WBEB and WOGL sound just about the best they have in years. I've always been OK with WOGL and B101 used to bug the shit outta me but nowadays when I'm in a situation where I listen to terrestrial (typically in a car), it's always WBEB, then WOGL, and (ironically) WISX. AC and Classic Hits have to fit the market and I think for the current situation here, 101.1's doing a great job with AC and WOGL--finally coming into the '80s and having phased out stuff like Motown and a lot of the disco (both genres of which I love, personally)--is just right. I don't think either of them should change a thing in reaction to a Soft AC entering the market.
See I told ya so. ALL OF YOU.
The instant Entercom announced its deal to acquire this radio station, I said there was a real chance of the B101 brand being resurrected. The fact David Field himself referred to it as "B101" in the press release announcing the acquisition was a dead giveaway!!!
I do have to say, though, the new logo is UGLY.
Wouldn't surprise me if part of the reason behind the reversion to the B101 identity (technically, "B101.1") is because Field is too cheap to pay for the licensing of the More FM brand name.
The instant Entercom announced its deal to acquire this radio station, I said there was a real chance of the B101 brand being resurrected. The fact David Field himself referred to it as "B101" in the press release announcing the acquisition was a dead giveaway!!!
I do have to say, though, the new logo is UGLY.
Wouldn't surprise me if part of the reason behind the reversion to the B101 identity (technically, "B101.1") is because Field is too cheap to pay for the licensing of the More FM brand name.
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CurtisNEPA
Frequent Participant
The most interesting fact is that WLTW plays older songs, some of them dates back to the '70s that includes artists like Stevie Wonder, Chicago, Rod Stewart, Billy Joel, and disco artists like The Manhattans, Earth, Wind and Fire, Gloria Gaynor, Bee Gees, and others I could think of, which none of them played on WBEB. Over the summer, when I went down to Philly to visit the Liberty Bell monument at Independence Hall, I happened to tune to 106.7 while being stuck on the Schuylkill, and I heard Stevie Wonder's 1976 hit single "Isn't She Lovely! played on that station. WLTW came in almost like a local at the time thanks to tropo enhancement(I don't know if anyone can get it now that adjacent K-Love 106.9 has HD). WBEB, on the other hand, focuses on CHR artists while playing older stuff from the 80's and 90's and ZERO 70's. Both stations are #1 in respective markets.
Checking WBEB's playlist, it seems that it added more older 80's songs, probably to distance themselves from its sister 96.5. But they also overlap with WOGL, which claimed to be an '80s station even though they started to add more '70s music than the last time I was in Philly over a month ago.
Things would get interesting regardless what would happen when the rumored Breeze launches on 106.1 in the not so distant future...
Miguelito
Star Participant
Every market is different of course but in NYC, the dominant AC and Classic Hits outlets are competitors. Here, they're sisters.
Out of 450 songs played in the last 7 days, only 7 were pre-1978. And, out of about 2,300 total spins, the pre-'78 songs accounted for 22 total spins... compared to the top 10 most played songs, which accounted for 260 total spins and an average of 25 spins per song each week. Most of those pre-1978 song spins were in 7 PM to 6 AM, too.
CTListener
Walk of Fame Participant
I just checked today's playlist all the way back to 6 a.m. and found only two pre-1978s before 7 p.m.: "Hotel California" and "She's Got a Way." One is a transgenerational iconic song, the other is by an artist with a huge, passionate following all over the Tri-State area. One could argue that both songs are no-brainer decisions to retain despite their age, and playing them amid all the '80s through today hits that make up the rest of the playlist isn't going to be a magnet for advertiser-despised codgers.
Miguelito
Star Participant
Only you folks can appreciate this story. I have two iPods, one with Christmas, which I switch to every year on my birthday (so this morning) and another with about 1200 songs that shuffle randomly throughout the year. (And of course, being a radio geek, I go through the arduous task of refreshing both annually.) Last night, as I was about to turn off the non-Christmas iPod for the last time this year, of all 1200 songs that could have shuffled up, it played "So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday" by Boyz II Men.
kevtronics
Star Participant
So far today (as of 10 AM) WLTW also played Stevie Wonder - "Isn't She Lovely", John Lennon - "Imagine", and Billy Joel - "Piano Man":
http://www.mediabase.com/whatsong/whatsong.asp?var_s=087076084087045070077
Surprisingly there is no Elton John in their playlist, despite him being a long-time cornerstone of the AC format.
I know...they rarely play artists like him...and they keep sounding more like a Hot AC. I always go to CBS-FM these days. Oh, and Lite FM may flip to Christmas at 5PM, according to their 'hints' on their Facebook and Instagram pages.
CTListener
Walk of Fame Participant
Wonder came up yesterday, too, with his 1984 hit "I Just Called to Say I Love You." I'd imagine "Isn't She Lovely" is the earliest song by him WLTW will play. His sound changed pretty dramatically in the '70s as he broke free of the Motown assembly-line production formula and began producing material featuring lush, complex background instrumentation, heavy on synthesized keyboards. Compare "I Just Called to Say I Love You" with "Ma Cherie Amour," for example -- both great love songs, both unmistakably Stevie, but worlds apart in production.
I don't even know why they change the name in the first place.....the B101 brand was a landmark in Philly. No matter how old the station gets the name will always be relevant to any generation and any format. It would be great hearing the station go back to the B101 brand......It will bring back memories of my days living and doing radio in Philly.
AbrahamJSimpson
Walk of Fame Participant
I don't think Jerry Lee and company were necessarily wrong (and lord knows he did nothing without data) in the initial move, if the brand was being seen as attached to something it wasn't anymore. If that was the perception, based on copious amounts of data, I get the move. And in the end, it gave them some breathing room to bring it back, as they have. It might have shaken off some of the rust, and they build some goodwill with nostalgia (if nostalgia is even possible after just five years).
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