What's up with the sound quality on Hot 98.1? Starting a few weeks ago, it's gone through several different periods where it's very low quality. No depth, tinny, swimmy sounding with low volume. It seems to get taken care of then happens again a few days later. Coldplay and Bruno Mars sound like they're singing in paper cups.
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Hot 98.1 sound quality
- Thread starter 101tm
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I haven't noticed that, but can you pick up 94.1 from Spartanburg? See if it sounds the same way. I believe they are using that frequency, too.
Also, it could just be me, but one of the best sounding stations in the area is the 96.9 translator of WGTK's HD3 channel, "Light 96-9." I hate the woman's voice they use, plus it's over-processed, but the music sounds extremely dynamic; loud, vivid but not over-processed.
Also, it could just be me, but one of the best sounding stations in the area is the 96.9 translator of WGTK's HD3 channel, "Light 96-9." I hate the woman's voice they use, plus it's over-processed, but the music sounds extremely dynamic; loud, vivid but not over-processed.
The fact that you are hearing Coldplay on Hot 98.1 is strange in itself.
"Something Just Like This" is the first single in a while that has gotten Coldplay widespread heavy CHR airplay. The credit for the airplay almost entirely goes to The Chainsmokers and their popularity that exploded last year. Coldplay on Hot 981 is weird though - I remember being in high school and they were known as the hip hop party station that middle class suburban kids liked, if it wasn't a rap track they wouldn't play it and they were always out at clubs etc. Since Cox unloaded it the directions definitely changed. Theyre basically a more conservative B93.7 as far as adds go....B lost its adult lean it was known for in the 2000s while Hot went more mainstream and ditched Gucci Mane, TI, Lil Wayne etc.
94.1 sounds fine but it's fed from WJMZ HD4 so a different signal. Sound quality on 98.1 is still awful!
94.1 sounds fine but it's fed from WJMZ HD4 so a different signal. Sound quality on 98.1 is still awful!
I drove through GSP headed to Charlotte from Atlanta and listened to HOT. The "Party Station" vibe is definitely gone. I always wondered why the were called "The Carolinas New #1 Hit Music Station" when the playlist was once all Top 40 Hip Hop. I like the sound of new Urban station THE BLOCK. Definitely filled a huge void!
Well the Rhythmic CHR format has been on a decline for some time. Hot 98.1 was always a clone of 95.5 The Beat in Atlanta under Cox ownership. As the widespread popularity of dance influenced music and dance pop on CHR took hold, and the decline of mainstream hip hop furthered many Rhythmic CHR stations to transition to mainstream CHR or some went urban. Hot 98.1 is presented like a CHR, programmed like one although notoriously slow to add even some top 10 hits, and just transitioned quietly. They are still a little heavier on some urban artists like Drake, DJ Khalid, etc but still nothing like before. WFBC has gotten way heavier on artists like those lately as well. I don't really know when they changed, it must have been gradual. Tone Hollywood, who had done mornings and had a rather urban/hip hop presentation has gone down the hall to Jamz for middays. Seems like WFBC went more Rhythmic when the Hot PD took over there.
The Block has a lot of potential. They could easily knock Jamz out of the top 3 if they could get on a strong signal, maybe 93.3? The translator signals are bad....way worse than most of the others in the market but they're still doing well considering. Entercom has put a lot of effort in to it considering the limited signals.
I listened to the BLOCK on both signals driving on I-85. I never did like Steve Harvey on Hip Hop stations. I guess they did it to compete with Joyner at 107.3 JAMZ.
In addition to all of the other audio issues going on at 98.1, now I'm noticing audio cut ins from WJMZ. It cuts in and takes over for a few seconds then goes back to the 98.1 programming. This is happening on the 98.1 signal. I'm getting a solid signal well within the main contour but there are constant audio issues.
There is something wrong with the equipment for 98.1. I noticed for a few days last week they were back to that flat, mono-esque sound that I described in my initial post, seemingly gets fixed, then starts up again after about a week or so. This is not happening on 94.1 over in Spartanburg.
How broke is Summit? Apparently they can't fix whatever is wrong with 98.1 and they still have just the same 2 hosts on all day. I'm almost starting to wonder if the audio on 98.1 is coming from WJMZ HD4 going by those 107.3 cut ins? Something is just waaaaaay off. Also odd that Summit turned off the RDS on their stations except I believe Jamz which shows only the station name. All 4 had it under Cox ownership.
There is something wrong with the equipment for 98.1. I noticed for a few days last week they were back to that flat, mono-esque sound that I described in my initial post, seemingly gets fixed, then starts up again after about a week or so. This is not happening on 94.1 over in Spartanburg.
How broke is Summit? Apparently they can't fix whatever is wrong with 98.1 and they still have just the same 2 hosts on all day. I'm almost starting to wonder if the audio on 98.1 is coming from WJMZ HD4 going by those 107.3 cut ins? Something is just waaaaaay off. Also odd that Summit turned off the RDS on their stations except I believe Jamz which shows only the station name. All 4 had it under Cox ownership.
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Summit does not have a lot of stations. Maybe they are ripe for a takeover? Or maybe selling off stations individually? (I'm not exactly sure of any one company that would be interested in their markets.) They're not exactly in big markets.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SummitMedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SummitMedia
What's odd about 98.1 having audio issues that aren't being fixed is that they've poured quite a bit of money into X over the past six months or so.
I mean they went from no jocks to an afternoon jock then to three (midday, afternoon and evening). Granted, two of those are not local, but it still costs some money.
Also have been doing a lot of promos with tons of concert giveaways and local "music sessions" with the likes of K.Flay and Judah & the Lion. Again, labels are paying for most of that but remotes still cost money.
All that worked to boost X's ratings but doubt the station can hold a candle even close to what Hot should be bringing in money wise.
Doesn't make a lot of sense to let 98.1 hang on the ropes.
I mean they went from no jocks to an afternoon jock then to three (midday, afternoon and evening). Granted, two of those are not local, but it still costs some money.
Also have been doing a lot of promos with tons of concert giveaways and local "music sessions" with the likes of K.Flay and Judah & the Lion. Again, labels are paying for most of that but remotes still cost money.
All that worked to boost X's ratings but doubt the station can hold a candle even close to what Hot should be bringing in money wise.
Doesn't make a lot of sense to let 98.1 hang on the ropes.
That doesn't make sense re: 98.5 and I've noticed it as well, not really my kinda station but I've noticed it on their website. They seem very committed to trying to make it work. 98.1 is a full power signal and just flounders.
Summit was made up of some Cox Media Group stockholders and Birmingham personnel that bought the clusters when the latter exited markets where they didn't have television stations as well. It'd be nice to see a company like Alpha or Beasley take the stations in Greenville. Beasley has a KILLER CHR, HD 98.3, in the small market of Augusta, GA.
BTW, awp69, you thought Coldplay on Hot 98.1 was odd, now they're playing Halsey in power rotation!
Summit was made up of some Cox Media Group stockholders and Birmingham personnel that bought the clusters when the latter exited markets where they didn't have television stations as well. It'd be nice to see a company like Alpha or Beasley take the stations in Greenville. Beasley has a KILLER CHR, HD 98.3, in the small market of Augusta, GA.
BTW, awp69, you thought Coldplay on Hot 98.1 was odd, now they're playing Halsey in power rotation!
Hate to sound like a broken record but this afternoon was awful. The sound quality was decent yesterday, bad again today, audio kept dropping out for around 30 seconds resulting in dead air, awkward blips in the music. This was before the bad storms started so not weather related. Is there an engineer in the building? Does Summit even use one? Is anyone there listening? Puzzling that they care more about their 250w signals than a C0.
Sounded decent over the weekend, but the quality was absolute $#!* today. Dialed up to their sister station at 98.5 and the sound quality was on point. Switching over to WFBC, you can tell how awful 98.1's signal sounds at times.
I'm just amazed that this keeps going on and nobody seems to care to fix it. Summit concentrates their efforts on 107.3 and 98.5 obviously just look at their websites and social media pages.
I'm just amazed that this keeps going on and nobody seems to care to fix it. Summit concentrates their efforts on 107.3 and 98.5 obviously just look at their websites and social media pages.
I tuned into Jamz for the first time in a while over the weekend. "Playing Today's R&B and Throwbacks." Really? Hmm. Let's see. Saturday at around noon, here was the music:
Whitney Houston (ok, fine, a "throwback.")
Ed Sheeran (um, R&B? Sure didn't sound like R&B to me.)
--commercial break--
John Legend's All of Me. --not a remix or anything, the slow radio mix of the song. Out of the stop set? I wanted to take a nap.)
Anita Baker (ok, another "throwback.)
For a station that "plays R&B" and calls itself "Jamz," I was really disappointed. Like HOT, their music is all over the place. You can tell they are operated by the same company.
Whitney Houston (ok, fine, a "throwback.")
Ed Sheeran (um, R&B? Sure didn't sound like R&B to me.)
--commercial break--
John Legend's All of Me. --not a remix or anything, the slow radio mix of the song. Out of the stop set? I wanted to take a nap.)
Anita Baker (ok, another "throwback.)
For a station that "plays R&B" and calls itself "Jamz," I was really disappointed. Like HOT, their music is all over the place. You can tell they are operated by the same company.
I've heard Shape of You on Jamz, too, even Pillowtalk by ZAYN. Jamz has been a mess for years, since they were always the only urban oriented station in the market they tried to reach out to a huge segmented audience by trying to do old school, urban AC, hip hop, etc. doesn't work, but they've always done well because they had no competition. Heck, back when you could see the 12+ numbers from out of market stations, WPEG and WBAV always showed up quite decently.
When I had dealings with Cox years ago, it was extremely clear that Hot 98.1 was a flanker for Jamz to prevent another station from taking them on. That's why Hot was classified as a Rhythmic CHR but basically played hip hop, had a pretty urban presentation, etc. Commonly referred to as the "urban wall" in the 2000s. And Cox played their cards very well.
Enter The Block, which despite having such a bad signal in southern Greenville county (an important area) and a consistently spotty signal even in Mauldin/Woodruff Rd is getting a 2 share....not even counting the other areas like Anderson not being covered. I don't think Jamz is taking The Block seriously. BTW, The Block just hired Kelly Mac for middays who was on Jamz for years and was extremely popular. Entercom seems very serious about it. Block is NOT being run like a typical automated translator. The market manager used to be the MM for Cox Greenville.
Now both Jamz and Hot are all over the place and a flat out mess. Hot could be a viable competitor for WFBC and WMYI if staffed and programmed like a proper CHR. I don't know what they think they're gaining by throwing in those straight up urban rap tunes in with regular CHR hits. It's awful. Jamz needs to focus on being a contemporary Urban AC and let the old stuff go outside of special programming blocks perhaps. If The Block had a bigger signal, you'd better believe Summit would go in to a panic mode. I don't know why they won't just make Hot a mainstream CHR already.
When I had dealings with Cox years ago, it was extremely clear that Hot 98.1 was a flanker for Jamz to prevent another station from taking them on. That's why Hot was classified as a Rhythmic CHR but basically played hip hop, had a pretty urban presentation, etc. Commonly referred to as the "urban wall" in the 2000s. And Cox played their cards very well.
Enter The Block, which despite having such a bad signal in southern Greenville county (an important area) and a consistently spotty signal even in Mauldin/Woodruff Rd is getting a 2 share....not even counting the other areas like Anderson not being covered. I don't think Jamz is taking The Block seriously. BTW, The Block just hired Kelly Mac for middays who was on Jamz for years and was extremely popular. Entercom seems very serious about it. Block is NOT being run like a typical automated translator. The market manager used to be the MM for Cox Greenville.
Now both Jamz and Hot are all over the place and a flat out mess. Hot could be a viable competitor for WFBC and WMYI if staffed and programmed like a proper CHR. I don't know what they think they're gaining by throwing in those straight up urban rap tunes in with regular CHR hits. It's awful. Jamz needs to focus on being a contemporary Urban AC and let the old stuff go outside of special programming blocks perhaps. If The Block had a bigger signal, you'd better believe Summit would go in to a panic mode. I don't know why they won't just make Hot a mainstream CHR already.
The cluster-you-know-what at 98.1 continues. For fun, I copied an hour from last night and marked which songs are current, recurrent, or gold:
Chainsmokers - Paris [R]
Bieber & Co. - Despacito [C]
Machine Gun Kelly - Bad Things [R]
Calvin Harris/Pharrell/Katy Perry - Feels [C]
DJ Khaled/Drake - For Free [G]
Kendrick Lamar - Loyalty [C]
Kygo/Selena Gomez - It Ain't Me [R]
Halsey - Now or Never [C]
Bieber & Co. - I'm The One [C]
Chainsmokers/Coldplay - Something Just Like This [R]
Trey Songz - Touchin', Lovin' [G]
Charlie Puth - Attention [C]
Justin Bieber - Sorry [R]
Kendrick Lamar - HUMBLE. [C]
Aside from the repetition of artists, what the hell is this? The next hour continued with weird gold rap songs from a few years ago, current pop hits, a new Jay-Z song, rock infused pop....what is so confusing is that they aren't playing all of the current hits in the top 10 of the CHR chart, but definitely aren't programming off of the Rhythmic chart going by their powers and mid-level rotations. I'm all for CHR's having individuality, and have followed them for years, but this is a flat out mess.
When CHR had a resurgence in 2008-2009 with the debut of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, etc. which followed with a huge takeoff in dance pop, EDM, etc. in the format, a lot of Rhythmic stations either transitioned to CHR or went to a straight hip hop/Urban format as hip hop sort of fell out of mainstream on CHR compared to the 90s and 00s, and still has taken a back seat. Rhythmic has become a mess of a chart because you still have borderline CHR stations like Hot still reporting to it then many "hip hop and R&B" stations that are basically Urban still on the chart. It's like Summit is still trying to follow a formula that worked 10 years ago but has long fell out of fashion, there are very few pure Rhythmic stations still existing (think "party station", "hits and hip hop", etc) because today's music and radio landscape makes it next to impossible to program. The music flow on Hot is one of the worst I have ever heard. There are many national examples, but WHQC in Charlotte is a perfect example of a station that started out when rhythmic was at its peak and transitioned to a mainstream CHR format when trends started changing around 2010-2011.
Chainsmokers - Paris [R]
Bieber & Co. - Despacito [C]
Machine Gun Kelly - Bad Things [R]
Calvin Harris/Pharrell/Katy Perry - Feels [C]
DJ Khaled/Drake - For Free [G]
Kendrick Lamar - Loyalty [C]
Kygo/Selena Gomez - It Ain't Me [R]
Halsey - Now or Never [C]
Bieber & Co. - I'm The One [C]
Chainsmokers/Coldplay - Something Just Like This [R]
Trey Songz - Touchin', Lovin' [G]
Charlie Puth - Attention [C]
Justin Bieber - Sorry [R]
Kendrick Lamar - HUMBLE. [C]
Aside from the repetition of artists, what the hell is this? The next hour continued with weird gold rap songs from a few years ago, current pop hits, a new Jay-Z song, rock infused pop....what is so confusing is that they aren't playing all of the current hits in the top 10 of the CHR chart, but definitely aren't programming off of the Rhythmic chart going by their powers and mid-level rotations. I'm all for CHR's having individuality, and have followed them for years, but this is a flat out mess.
When CHR had a resurgence in 2008-2009 with the debut of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, etc. which followed with a huge takeoff in dance pop, EDM, etc. in the format, a lot of Rhythmic stations either transitioned to CHR or went to a straight hip hop/Urban format as hip hop sort of fell out of mainstream on CHR compared to the 90s and 00s, and still has taken a back seat. Rhythmic has become a mess of a chart because you still have borderline CHR stations like Hot still reporting to it then many "hip hop and R&B" stations that are basically Urban still on the chart. It's like Summit is still trying to follow a formula that worked 10 years ago but has long fell out of fashion, there are very few pure Rhythmic stations still existing (think "party station", "hits and hip hop", etc) because today's music and radio landscape makes it next to impossible to program. The music flow on Hot is one of the worst I have ever heard. There are many national examples, but WHQC in Charlotte is a perfect example of a station that started out when rhythmic was at its peak and transitioned to a mainstream CHR format when trends started changing around 2010-2011.
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Both Channel 96.1 and Kiss 95.1 are good hit music stations. Despite some localized interference in certain areas, they still come in good in the car around Greenville County. And reception is very good with rabbit ears on my home radio receiver, and the HD from 95.1 now locks in more reliably.
I don't really listen to 98.1 as I prefer B-93.7 for the local hit music station.
I don't really listen to 98.1 as I prefer B-93.7 for the local hit music station.
WFBC isn't a bad CHR station, musically, but it's so low energy as far as the jocks go. Hawk, Tom, Heidi, Kato whatever ran their course a decade and a half ago and are no longer relevant to the music. They belong on a Hot AC IMO. The midday jock is painfully low energy, and shouldn't Ryan Seacrest be on My 102.5 (considering how he's always pushing iheartradio) or at least in the midday slot? I've never heard of a CHR running On Air in PM drive, especially in a top 100 market.
Re: WHZT, I bet Mediabase is going to move them off the rhythmic panel soon. Some of their new adds haven't been sent to Rhythmic yet or aren't even charting on there.
Re: WHZT, I bet Mediabase is going to move them off the rhythmic panel soon. Some of their new adds haven't been sent to Rhythmic yet or aren't even charting on there.
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Earth sounds extremely good. I bet it needed some engineering TLC from Salem considering the mess it was between Entercom's sale and Salem's purchase. I highly doubt Davidson or whoever was running it with all of those brokered programs put any effort in to it. 103.9 sounds horrible. Do you know if there are any plans to give the imaging at Earth any more punch? It's been the same basic liners since it started back at 105.7/910. It'd be nice to hear some well produced, creative imaging. Other than that, the music is amazing. Got off to a pretty rocky start....kinda all over the place musically, but over the past year with the 70s soft AC ballads gone, the 60s music largely dropped and the safe venture in to the 90s I can literally find no complaints for my tastes, especially with Magic moving away from the 70s and even a lot of 80s tunes as the AC format evolves.
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