96X Norfolk moves towards an AAA Playlist

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

The move comes with a shift to a broader, gold based playlist with songs as old as the 1970s and positioning as “More Variety, Less Repetition”.

“96X” as heard on the 1pm hour today featured:

Sublime – Wrong Way
Cold War Kids – First
U2 – With Or Without You
Fuel – Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
The Record Company – Make It Happen
The Rolling Stones – Paint It Black
Foo Fighters – These Days
The Black Crowes – Hard To Handle
The White Stripes – Icky Thump
Of Monsters And Men – Alligator
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – The Impression That I Get
The Clash – London Calling
Cage The Elephant – Mess Around
Eagle Eye Cherry – Save Tonight
Peter Bjorn and John – Young Folks
The Revivalists – All My Friends

https://radioinsight.com/headlines/178176/96x-norfolk-moves-towards-aaa/

96.1 WROX-FM has been an alternative station but they are moving in the direction of AAA.

 

[Gregg.]

Yeah, that definitely looks like a AAA playlist. Paint It Black is 53 years old. Great song, but a sign that WROX is not going for young listeners.

David has told us that it's very hard to start a new AAA station. The listeners are older, making it harder to sell. Established AAA stations like KBCO Denver and KINK Portland have a built in audience. But I can't think of too many new AAA stations, other than ones that are listener supported, such as KUTX Austin or KTSN, also in Austin.

 

[TheBigA]

And as one who has spent time in Norfolk, let me say that it has little in common with places like Austin, Portland, and even Denver.

 

[Cordelia Chase]

It seems unlikely that Sinclair would steer alt-rocker 96X toward AAA and risk cannibalizing listeners from 93.7 Bob FM, which it also owns. It's more probable that a battle between 96X and The Fox might be in store. If you'll recall, a little over a year ago The Fox began adding classic 90s groups such as Green Day and Stone Temple Pilots as well as grunge acts like Pearl Jam and Nirvana. These were 96X's core artists in the mid-90s when the late Chris "Blade" Corley was PD. On the other hand, there are quite a few staples from that era like The Replacements, The Lemonheads, Bauhaus and Liz Phair that would not be suitable for The Fox. This could be the perfect opportunity for 96X to position itself as a classic alternative rocker where all the groups I mentioned would fit in.

(PS, I love The Stones, but that track seems out of place as opposed to The Clash which had the second-oldest song on the list. "London Calling" is a perfect example of the classic new wave/ modern rock tunes I'm talking about.)

 

[davideduardo]

And as one who has spent time in Norfolk, let me say that it has little in common with places like Austin, Portland, and even Denver.

That qualifies as the understatement of the year... in so many ways.

 

[Cordelia Chase]

I just realized both of Saga's stations could be impacted by 96X's move. Classic rocker The Fox and active rocker FM-99 both play a number of classic alternative artists such as REM, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters and Alice In Chains. Could 96X be the new home for people who want to hear classic alternative groups like the aforementioned minus The Who and Eagles or Avenged Sevenfold and Godsmack? This could get interesting!

 

[CTListener]

(PS, I love The Stones, but that track seems out of place as opposed to The Clash which had the second-oldest song on the list. "London Calling" is a perfect example of the classic new wave/ modern rock tunes I'm talking about.)

In the past hour, the playlist was nearly identical -- mostly '90s, a few '80s, no '70s at all ... and the Beatles' "Helter Skelter," from 1968! About three hours ago, another Beatles song, "Come Together," but no '60s tracks at all all day Monday. The Lumineers' "Gloria" is one of several songs that are being played almost a half-dozen times a day. The overall playlist seems ultra-tight and ultra-focused, which adds to the mystery of why those three relics of 50 years ago were played at all.

 

[seattlesarchiebunker]

I should point out this is not Sinclair (Telecable)’s first foray into the AAA format in Norfolk. They ran WKOC 93.7 as a pretty broad-based AAA for over a decade. Just like 96X it was an alternative station that eventually transitioned to AAA, ditching Howard Stern in the process.

It was described to me as the GM’s “personal jukebox” which makes it a bit hard to sell I’m sure. They ditched it for Bob FM when the Adult Hits craze started around 03-04.

Good luck. Considering The Tide attempted to make a go of it with a sketchier signal, it’ll be interesting to see how 96X pulls this off.