WOLZ Fort Myers Is On The Beach - RadioInsight
radioinsight.com
According to the release the tag line is 80's and more for WOLZ The Beach.
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
WOLZ Fort Myers Is On The Beach
- Thread starter Y2kTheNewOldies
- Start date
According to the release the tag line is 80's and more for WOLZ The Beach.
Thank you, as always, for posting latest developments.WOLZ Fort Myers Is On The Beach - RadioInsight
radioinsight.com
According to the release the tag line is 80's and more for WOLZ The Beach.
WOLZ has been playing nostalgia music for quite sometime. As the calls would suggest, they were once a traditional oldies format way back when. That's how I remember the station in my past visits to Southwest Florida.
When I discussed ratings in Florida on the Florida board a while back, I talked about how it appeared WOLZ was under performing. Just an adjacent market "up the road," Sarasota-Bradenton's almost always #1 station in the market is iHeart's Classic Hits is WSRZ - The Suncoast's Greatest Hits.
It showed the challenges that exist for syndicated programing such as iHeartMedia's Premium Choice. Perhaps this was taken into consideration when WOLZ was rebranded as 95.3 The Beach.
A while back, I noticed that my local Classic Hits station on The Treasure Coast, WQOL, Southwest Florida's WOLZ, and The Suncoast WSRZ were all playing the same music at the same time. Obviously, this was syndicated programming and yes there were many other iHeart stations doing the same in the classic hits format.
But what has changed is WOLZ has separate programing. Today, WQOL and WSRZ are playing the identical music. I'm not sure if this a sign of things to come, i.e, separate programing for certain stations or just a temporary situation corresponding with the rebranding. WOLZ is virtually all 80s. Other iHeart Classic Hits stations utilizing Premium Choice are not.
As far as Premium Choice programing goes, I believe iHeart has made some good strides. Early on, the jocks associated with Premium Choice were just okay and a lot of the music was tired and dated. Today, there's a really good mix of music. I had the occasion to listen to my local classic hits station, WQOL, for several hours a couple weeks ago at an outdoor birthday party event. Solid songs featuring a number of genres, good imaging, personality, the whole package.
What I have learned about smaller markets is that the playlists are not edgy or particularly innovative, but they are like a comfortable pair of shoes. Lots of experimentation goes on in the larger PPM markets. In looking at all the songs featured on the stations I described, you could say this is variety-based classic hits in the bigger markets from maybe 5 years ago. There's nothing wrong with that. For the smaller markets, there is a reluctance to take a chance on the unknown quantity.
So, it's slow methodical steps. An artist such as Bon Jovi has been a fixture on rock-oriented classic hits stations for quite some time now. I think it's only the past year or so that Bon Jovi has a place on Premium Choice Classic Hits stations. Things do change. There was a time I considered "Living on a Prayer" a hard rock song. Today, the song is considered pop by many. It has been played so often on a number of formats that its popularity is pretty universal. Smaller markets have joined the bandwagon.
Anyway, I'm happy iHeart is giving WOLZ another lease on life. It's up to the listeners now.
Last edited:
Part of WSRZ's success, I think, is owed to its monster signal in a market that does not have a lot of FM stations of its own. People would rather hear a local Suncoast station than something from Tampa (several Tampa-area stations, including Q-105, have solid reception in most of Sarasota).
at least one other that i can think of without thinking.. WSBH in Melbourne... and their sister on 104.3 in tallahassee or panama used to be the beach too i think
And, of course, there is 102.7 The Beach in Miami.
On the other hand, WFUS is on equal footing with WCTQ in Sarasota, if not surpassing them in the ratings. No idea how WIKX does, as they do not subscribe either to the Sarasota books or the Fort Myers/Naples books.
Also, WFLZ and WPOI are beating WSDV.
Well, WSDV is primarily on AM, targeting a demographic that would never listen to AM radio. In addition, the FM translator's signal is weak in many areas of Sarasota County, especially South Sarasota.
Does WULB, Longboat Key count?
Tallahassee is not on the beach. The main beach destination for folks there is Panama City.
Q105 does not have “solid reception” in the market. It’s decent in Bradenton and weak in Sarasota. When I lived in Venice, it was unlistenable as the signal mixed with the 104.7 from Naples.
WFUS has an overall stronger signal in the market than the other two country stations. Similarly WFLZ and WPOI are stronger than the WSDV translators.
If Sarasota country fans are finding WFUS stronger than WCTQ... wouldn't it be redundant for iHeart to have WCTQ as country given that sister station WIKX has a clear signal over Venice and North Port, if coverage maps are anything to go by?
I’ve never had an issue, at least on my car radio, with Q-105 in Sarasota. But it’s been awhile since I’ve tried.
Yes, it is redundant, as far as signal coverage. But WCTQ exists for the Sarasota market ad dollars.
I have not had a reason to listen to Q105 when I was up that way since they beached Paula Street.
WOLZ is OK, but not great.... I think I moved it to second tier memory in my tuner
WOLZ is OK, but not great.... I think I moved it to second tier memory in my tuner
KIX Country, WIKX in Fort Myers also has a good signal throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties,
AND they often play the same songs in the same order but with different announcers and breaks.
"I like that song, let's go to the other station and hear it again"!
Isn't WIKX out of Port Charlotte/Charlotte Harbor? Or did they swap frequencies with someone?
Yes but they are a Fort Myers market station Here
right, but thats what they called the station at one point i think
- Status