I believe this is probably tongue-in-cheek, and in any event I believe any consideration of a succession of the WNSH format is theoretical at this point. I have read that several of the DJ's have moved on to other gigs. But for the sake of discussion, and bearing in mind that missing DJ's could be replaced, I think a valuable experiment could be conducted. Not with WFAS, which is too small and not even broadcasting in analog, but with 660 which has the reach and ownership that could do the test with little out of pocket expense.Then again, there's John Catsimatidis. Maybe he'll flip WABC to country.
WNSH got decent ratings in north Jersey, and even had something within NYC. It was not a failing format; it was failing in being viable on an FM signal. Moving an intact audience to AM could test what the viability is in 2021. I often hear that "it won't work" or "it has been tried already," to which I would respond when and where? Not in the last 20 years I would bet. The most recent stab at music on AM that I can think of was Z-Rock, which was a chancy idea from the outset. Raucous Rock-N-Roll was already available on FM, and when two similar formats are available FM will nearly always win. Same situation existed to a lesser degree with Radio Disney - similar music (though not the kid friendly presentation) was available on FM.
In the case of Country in New York, there is no viable radio competition, so it is a perfect lab to see what a unique format could do on AM. Audacy already owns the 660 facilities and (was) paying the DJ's. Daytime sports radio listening I suspect has long left 660, so there was no real sports audience being compromised. Evening games could be carried on 660, and nobody would be worse for the wear.
If 660 Country WNSH succeeded, or at least retained a decent saleable portion of the audience, then that could force broadcasters to reassess what could be done with some of their moribund AM properties. I don't think the future of AM radio is music. I don't even think AM has much of a future, as I think whatever is developed will eventually be needed to replace faltering music-only formats on FM. But I don't think anybody will want to experiment with FM signals as they are still (somehow) bringing in money.- in many cases lots of it.
If AM can be shown to be able to get listeners with a serious attempt at real programming - 660 WNSH would be run just like 94.7 was, maybe improved with more local focus and visibility, then the door might be open for REALLY "trying" something(s) on other underused AM's across the country. My suggestions would be for female friendly sports talk, non-political general talk, WCBS/WTOP/KYW based news radio that would have local news insertions where New York, Washington and Philadelphia weather and traffic would be. If there were a willingness to invest some significant money, maybe a resurrection of radio sitcoms could be a possibility. And this is from an amateur listener - I am sure real radio people could come up with ideas to try, if they had a ubiquitous place to try them. HD radio in theory would be the place to try things, but since nobody has HD, it is a lot like trying something on an internet station, which is not a realistic test of the local marketplace.
