99 X Is Back

[redlight0]

RATM’s “Killing in the Name” did play in the 5pm hour earlier today on 99x. They’re playing the Offspring’s “Gone Away” as I type this which is a little heavier than the vast majority of tracks I’ve heard so far today

 

[redlight0]

Looks like this version of 99x plays songs post 2010. Muse’s 2012 song “Madness” is playing

 

[Least]

The playlist will be larger until air talent get on the station. Without those few minutes ro full-on talk based morning show start, they have much more time to fill. I'd start looking at the exact playlist on January 3rd.

 

[ATLD]

The playlist does loosen up a bit after 7p…it was cool to hear The Sundays, Love and Rockets as well as other cuts from established artists. Not something I expected to hear. Overall, pretty well balanced and has the potential to reel in a lot of different listeners. They do need to fix that “99X weather” liner that plays into every rejoin sweep on the second stop set in the hour though.

If you weren’t aware, last played songs can now be viewed here: Rock 100.5 On Air Playlist

 

[MarkW]

I have no idea if the rejuvenated version of 99X will succeed, but I do like this blend of music a whole heck of a lot better than what Rock 100.5 was playing.

I heard that awkwardly placed "99X Weather" liner, too, ATLD.

Also, they should also ditch the traffic reports in the morning if they are only going to spend 15 seconds talking about actual traffic incidents then 30 seconds reading the sponsor plug. At one point, the one & only tie-up discussed during the traffic report was an incident in LaGrange of all places.

 

[upstate29651]

The elephant in the room: Keith Eubanks.

Been dead for 20 years or so. Will they keep parsing his old v/o's together to keep the same imaging? That can't be sustainable.

 

[formerlyinATLradio]

Ugh. So tired of this format popping up every few years.

The poor horse is DEAD... put it out of its misery, for God's sake.

 

[Rusty Muck]

The playlist will be larger until air talent get on the station. Without those few minutes ro full-on talk based morning show start, they have much more time to fill. I'd start looking at the exact playlist on January 3rd.

Even with this open playlist, it feels remarkably accessible and keeps my interest, with hit after hit after hit, be it in rock, modern rock, AC or modern AC charts, along with an “oh wow” song placed in the right parts. It feels focused, tight and extremely well thought out. I plugged in my phone to stream the station driving to work here in Cleveland (which took nearly 30 minutes) and had no reason to switch it off.

When adult hits “106.5 The Lake” in Cleveland launched in 2011 (after a week-long stunt of literally “playing everything”) the playlist was perfect. Hit after hit after hit, with snarky imaging that didn’t feel like a Howard Cogan derivative, and it paid off big-time in the ratings right away. To me, that’s the gold standard for a format flip, and WNNX is giving me those same vibes.

 

[Amigo981]

I am missing the previous format. Will get twiddling around the iheart app to see what I can find. Can the Cumulus elves get us Artist Experience on 100.5 HD?

 

[BIGSTICK]

RAMP reports:

"The Cumulus Format Elves were busy over the weekend in Atlanta preparing for an early Christmas gift to local Alternative fans – the return of the legendary 99X is set to become official at 6am ET today. That familiar brand, which will focus on Classic Alternative hits originally made famous by the original 99X, has been rebuilt on the foundation of Classic Rock WNNX (Rock 100.5), which went dark late Friday night, but had been streaming The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" in a loop since then. The new format will also stream on 98.9 (WWWQ-HD2)."

More at RAMP - Radio and Music Pros

O brother, who cares/////

 

[ATLD]

The elephant in the room: Keith Eubanks.

Been dead for 20 years or so. Will they keep parsing his old v/o's together to keep the same imaging? That can't be sustainable.

They also have BC on, the 99X VO guy that took over after Keith’s passing. My guess is they’ll use some of Keith’s until the station gets more established then they’ll slowly take it over with BC.

 

[Rusty Muck]

It was also used by New York's WXLO (now WEPN-FM) during the 1970s, when it played top 40 music.

Sean Demery later admitted they appropriated WXLO’s “99X” nickname outright when launching the format in 1992.

99X… The Beginning , Middle and End

Last night I was packing away a couple boxes of notes and scribbles associated with 99X and I thought it was time to reread the notes and do some sharing. (thanks for the e-mails on this subject)My…

seandemery.wordpress.com

The imaging for the 99X was based on feeling and vision and less on any particular message. As a matter of fact, 99X’s first slogan was no slogan at all… “No Labels.” It meant that our station wasn’t trying to sell you on any concept or marketing slogan. You only needed to listen to see if it met your music and cultural needs. No catchphrase was needed for that experience.

Even the name 99X was a borrowed icon from a Top40 1970s/80s radio station in New York City. We just thought the name sounded like the alternative music culture in 1992. It was also a time that a powerful movie about Malcolm X was coming out in theaters; also it didn’t hurt that the letter X meant something just a little unseemly, like an X rated movie, which we liked.

 

[RadioDoogie]

I have no idea if the rejuvenated version of 99X will succeed, but I do like this blend of music a whole heck of a lot better than what Rock 100.5 was playing.

I heard that awkwardly placed "99X Weather" liner, too, ATLD.

Also, they should also ditch the traffic reports in the morning if they are only going to spend 15 seconds talking about actual traffic incidents then 30 seconds reading the sponsor plug. At one point, the one & only tie-up discussed during the traffic report was an incident in LaGrange of all places.

The Southside Steve ads that played were awkward too.

 

[ATLD]

The Southside Steve ads that played were awkward too.

Awkward, but they likely let him keep his endorsements. I’d say that’s fair so he can be compensated for the remainder of the campaign even after his departure.

 

[JeremyAndrews]

I have no idea if the rejuvenated version of 99X will succeed, but I do like this blend of music a whole heck of a lot better than what Rock 100.5 was playing.

I heard that awkwardly placed "99X Weather" liner, too, ATLD.

Also, they should also ditch the traffic reports in the morning if they are only going to spend 15 seconds talking about actual traffic incidents then 30 seconds reading the sponsor plug. At one point, the one & only tie-up discussed during the traffic report was an incident in LaGrange of all places.

The weather part is intentional. They just need to get the forecasts back in the system. Usually a cluster will schedule a weather bed along with a dry forecast that is probably used across the cluster.

The traffic report is typical. More traffic and weather these days is more commercial, less actual content.

 

[RadioDoogie]

I am missing the previous format. Will get twiddling around the iheart app to see what I can find. Can the Cumulus elves get us Artist Experience on 100.5 HD?

The HD feed also still shows the station name as Rock 100.5. Would like the artist experience too but it appears that only the CMG, Audacy and iHeart stations display this on HD in Atlanta.

 

[jabba17]

Awkward, but they likely let him keep his endorsements. I’d say that’s fair so he can be compensated for the remainder of the campaign even after his departure.

Is Cumulus planning on putting SSS anywhere else, maybe on Kicks, I mean Country 1015?

If not, they may keep his spots unless and until he shows up elsewhere in the ATL market.

 

[jabba17]

The HD feed also still shows the station name as Rock 100.5.

This seems very typical. Stations usually are really slow updating these.

 

[MarkW]

I would've assumed Cincinnati's 97X was the inspiration for the "99X" brand in Atlanta when it debuted in 1992.

I'm surprised it was WXLO in New York.

 

[adambaer2879]

How far north and west does the 100.5 signal
Reach?