Nathan Graham out at WTDY... changes coming?

[atthestars]

Sad to see anyone lose their job in this industry, I hope he lands on his feet.
That being said, the last line of the RadioInsight article caught my eye.

Nathan Graham Departs Audacy RVP/Programming & WTDY-FM PD Roles - RadioInsight

Nathan Graham has left his roles as Regional Vice President of Programming and Brand Manager of Audacy CHR "96.5 TDY" WTDY-FM Philadelphia. Graham has been with Audacy/Entercom since 2014 previously serving as night host and then APD/MD/midday host of "103.7 Kiss-FM" WXSS Milwaukee and then...

radioinsight.com

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

They do own 96.5....and they do have the talk format in house...hmmm

Or maybe it could be a mix of standards and 50s/60s oldies as WPGZ, Philly's new Geezer 96.5, the rockin' chair in the cradle of liberty.

96.5, all polka all the time?

Songs no one wants to hear...the all new tumbleweed 96.5 WTWD.

WUTO, Us, too...Philly's new classic rock that really is the same as WMGK.

WAWA, all short tunes for gassing up your car.

WUDR, wudder ice 96.5, all Björk all the time.

​

 

[wprt949]

Or mabye EMF is getting a full market signal for k-love 🤔

Or 96.5 becomes classic hip hop as the block or 96.5 Jamz

 

[MarkW]

Songs no one wants to hear...the all new tumbleweed 96.5 WTWD.

Sounds a lot like the programming found on 96.5 for the bulk of the past 15 years!

WUTO preceded by a U2 marathon would be interesting.

It would be nice to see KYW receive a full market FM signal.

My personal pick would be a 90s to 00s oriented hard rock / alternative hybrid. Probably won't happen.

 

[Miguelito]

It would be nice to see KYW receive a full market FM signal.

I can't imagine what else they are going to do with 96.5, but I'm thinking KYW isn't it. It would be pretty confusing for them to re-name and re-brand Newsradio, especially considering they did so already...and fairly recently. KYW Newsradio 96.5 FM would make a ton more sense from a signal/reception standpoint, but they made the decision to put it on 103.9 FM, for whatever reason and I have to assume that ship has sailed.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

That ship definitely sailed. Not a chance they’re going to go down that path.

 

[MarkW]

Audacy seems to be chopping expenses at CHR. Todd Cavanaugh (apologies if I misspelled his last name) in Chicago was fired last week.

Would not surprise me if TDY stays as-is format wise.

 

[Miguelito]

Would not surprise me if TDY stays as-is format wise.

It wouldn't surprise me either because I simply can't bring to mind a format option that would be viable as a replacement. However, when trades mention format change speculation (versus online boards such as this one), it has typically meant that something is indeed in the works. Also, the position Audacy cut here is pretty much the position that was keeping the station competitive and relevant. If the plan is to turn it into a jukebox with no one at the wheel (how's that for a mixed metaphor?), they may as well just air a loop telling listeners, "We give up. Just listen to Q102."

 

[MarkW]

I wonder if they are moving toward an even more heavily nationalized programming model for CHR? Maybe a couple people will program all CHR stations and digital assets across the company?

 

[wibgradio99]

well at one point their HD2 was harder Alternative than 1045, just sayin'

 

[Larry]

I was really hoping a move for KYW. I hate to say this but would a sports betting station make sense to compliment WIP? That would also give them a place to air 76ers or Flyers games if they try and get their rights back.

 

[AceBiscuits]

It wouldn't surprise me either because I simply can't bring to mind a format option that would be viable as a replacement.

Me three, but if I’m looking through the lens of Audacy, I can actually think of three that they may experiment with:

1.) Country. They may want to use 96.5 to clear their country programming in Philly, as country performs well in the burbs.
2.) some sort of Rock. They have national programming/air staff for alt, classic and mainstream rock, could be pretty turn key, but I think it has little room to make headway against WMMR/WMGK, and alt seems unlikely.
3.) Classic hip hop. Same concept as above, market clear for Ed Lover.

To be clear: I don’t think any of these are great options (I think there is too much competition for each) but if Audacy is looking for a change, this is all I could think of unless they pull a rabbit out of their hat.

 

[atthestars]

Me three, but if I’m looking through the lens of Audacy, I can actually think of three that they may experiment with:

1.) Country. They may want to use 96.5 to clear their country programming in Philly, as country performs well in the burbs.
2.) some sort of Rock. They have national programming/air staff for alt, classic and mainstream rock, could be pretty turn key, but I think it has little room to make headway against WMMR/WMGK, and alt seems unlikely.
3.) Classic hip hop. Same concept as above, market clear for Ed Lover.

To be clear: I don’t think any of these are great options (I think there is too much competition for each) but if Audacy is looking for a change, this is all I could think of unless they pull a rabbit out of their hat.

Personally, I would love to see a Classic Alt station in Philly. It is somewhat the format of the day, and could potentially pull male listeners from the WMMR/WMGK block (hopefully for them, without pulling male numbers from WIP). It could also yank some listeners from Ben-FM and help WOGL stay ahead there too.

 

[andygradel]

Country feels like an interesting option for them. Audacy has some big market country stations. The same could be said for their rock and alt portfolio, but a pop-leaning country station could be a sweet spot in Philly.

 

[Gotgizmo]

I could see them changing it to ‘FM 96.5 Philadelphia’s New Alternative’. They did play an alternative station on their HD 2 channel ‘Alt 96.5 HD2’. Any changes at this station will ripple across the market. Question is, do they go after IHeart with a new Alternative station, or do they try to take market share from Beasley and do a Rock or Country station? They could also hit Greater Media and do a Classic Rock station. My bet is simulcast FM brand Alt station at 96.5.

Only time will tell! After their changes at 98.1 and 101.1, the only logical thing would be is above.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

What they did on the HD2 way back isn’t relevant now. If they do or don’t go that way, it’s not because of something no one listened to. 😉

 

[Gotgizmo]

What they did on the HD2 way back isn’t relevant now. If they do or don’t go that way, it’s not because of something no one listened to. 😉

Oh I know. They dumped the ALT brand when 104.5 rebranded to Alt 104.5. I’m an outlier for the HD stations, I listen to them. I have 102.1 HD3 programmed in my car for the dance music from Pride Radio on IHeartRadio. I might be their only listener. 😂

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

Hey, one is infinitely more than some get. 🤣

The appeal of a classic alternative of some sort seems on the surface to be understandable, but is splintering off some very small slivers enough to make the business case vs what they have now? Eh, guess their P&L would tell that story.

Admittedly, it seems any direction is likely to be fighting for table scraps, or at best fighting an uphill battle.

 

[Jstnpspck]

Signal issues aside, I feel like KYW is stuck at 103.9 for a while. It’s kind of a “made their bed and lay in it” situation- in bringing the historically AM KYW to FM, they had to prepare to get listeners to associate the format with a brand new signal. They could have easily blown up TDY for KYW, or shifted TDY to 103.9. They chose not to. I feel like there’s too much importance and reverence with KYW to go shuffling it’s location again.

 

[Gotgizmo]

Hey, one is infinitely more than some get. 🤣

The appeal of a classic alternative of some sort seems on the surface to be understandable, but is splintering off some very small slivers enough to make the business case vs what they have now? Eh, guess their P&L would tell that story.

Admittedly, it seems any direction is likely to be fighting for table scraps, or at best fighting an uphill battle.

You know, we really don’t have a classic rock // classic alternative station mix, I could see a 70’s - 80’s - 90’s station that plays classic rock and classic alternative. That would take some listeners from MGK & Alt 104.5, as long as they do it right. Might as well steal the table scraps from multiple stations. 😂