I would assume that by spinning this off separately and giving the frequency its own name, that means 99.7 will be getting a different format after Christmas. This isn't a bad move at all, as I can hear 107.1 pretty well down in Southern Ocean County, and Fun's lackluster ratings don't really warrant another station carrying it. So what will 99.7 The Island become? I'm getting an old-timey vibe from the logo on the website, so maybe they'll do Adult Standards or Oldies (more pre-British invasion songs). Seems like that would be covered fairly well to me with Press' own Great Gold 1410 AM in Monmouth, and WBNJ doing a fine job with its vast music library and mix of the two formats in Ocean. So what does that leave? I personally think the best choice would be a Gen-X format: '80s & '90s titles, maybe dipping just a little bit into the early 2000s. I would like to see an Alternative station in the spirit of G Rock, but if Press were going in that direction, they would likely just revive that name instead of using the "Island" moniker. A dark horse would be a talk format with a combination of local and syndicated programming, since that is something else that's missing in the area. There's a handful of stations south of here running that kind of format, and somehow they're doing well enough that they must be operating at a profit. Whatever the presumably new format will be at this station, I'll be happy with anything so long as it isn't yet another place to hear the same tired Taylor Swift, Katy Perry & Maroon 5 songs.
