Big 98.1

[TheBigA]

I'm thinking, is WOGL making changes just for the sake of making changes? It doesn't seem logical.

That's not the reason. The reason is demographics. The audience was getting older, so they added music that they hope will chase off the upper end of the demo.

Why mess with that formula? Why re-invent the wheel?

Because after a while, the formula becomes stale. The goal is to freshen things up. Obviously the changes have caught some people's attention.

These new songs don't get played on B-101. It's a different audience.

 

[garfradio]

II have a hard time believing music tests six months ago said WOGL listeners want a rock-leaning classic hits format. Then a week ago, the tests told Audacy that listeners want a 1/3rd rhythmic playlist, including songs that only reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Why re-invent the wheel?

If this strategic move was driven by research (probably was), Audacy has adjusted the overall music model and the target for WOGL's music library testing.

Shifting the age range a few years up or down, shifting the gender balance 10 or 15%, or changing the screen-in music montage used in the recruit process, all of these can change what tests really well and what doesn't.

If the 2024 montage to screen in for a WOGL music test was We Didn't Start The Fire/Pour Some Sugar On Me/In The Air Tonight and the 2025 montage was (say) Motownphilly/I Don't Want To Miss A Thing/Into The Groove, it likely would bring in some people with slightly different tastes.

All of this assumes the changes are driven by research.

 

[Miguelito]

I'm thinking, is WOGL making changes just for the sake of making changes? It doesn't seem logical.

In April 2022, WOGL relaunched as a Classic Hits station with the moniker "Big 98.1." Audacy also renamed a few other classic hits stations as "Big." WOGL got more uptempo, more white and less 70s. Almost no ballads, almost no dance or rhythmic songs. People on this board remarked it sounds a lot like Ben-FM. The upgrade worked. The station went from around #10 to around #7.

So why the switch now to more rhythmic music and more 2000s? Since the 1980s, Classic Hits stations have concentrated on music that was 25 to 35 years old. If today you are 54 years old, the upper end of the 25-54 demo, your high school years are roughly 35 years earlier. So that's why they play music from 25 to 35 years ago, with a few big hits minus and plus five years.

Why mess with that formula? Especially if Audacy owns an AC station in Philadelphia that is also targeting a similar but slightly younger demo? WOGL is #8 and WBEB is #6.

I have a hard time believing music tests six months ago said WOGL listeners want a rock-leaning classic hits format. Then a week ago, the tests told Audacy that listeners want a 1/3rd rhythmic playlist, including songs that only reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Why re-invent the wheel?

Making changes for the sake of making changes is indeed not logical, which should answer the question. That's not what they're doing. They are making strategic business decisions.

A station going from #10 to #7 certainly looks good from the outside, but it's just ranking. Are they actually getting more listeners? If so, are they the listeners they need? Audacy isn't just interested in making Big 98.1 perform better. If they managed to take the station to #1, what good would that be if it's at the expense of one or more of their other stations? They are working on a strategy to enhance sales across their cluster.

As a male who is squarely in Big 98.1's target demo, what they're playing today is much, much more appealing to me than what they were doing two weeks ago.

 

[CTListener]

Making changes for the sake of making changes is indeed not logical, which should answer the question. That's not what they're doing. They are making strategic business decisions.

A station going from #10 to #7 certainly looks good from the outside, but it's just ranking. Are they actually getting more listeners? If so, are they the listeners they need? Audacy isn't just interested in making Big 98.1 perform better. If they managed to take the station to #1, what good would that be if it's at the expense of one or more of their other stations? They are working on a strategy to enhance sales across their cluster.

As a male who is squarely in Big 98.1's target demo, what they're playing today is much, much more appealing to me than what they were doing two weeks ago.

Exactly. The grumblings of people who loved the station 20 or 30 years ago are irrelevant today.

 

[garfradio]

Exactly. The grumblings of people who loved the station 20 or 30 years ago are irrelevant today

Irrelevant to a media focused on audiences under 54, sure.

One thing to remember about WOGL is that was slow to modernize prior to Entercom/Audacy ownership.

It had an older lean than most peer stations during the CBS years.

 

[TheBigA]

It had an older lean than most peer stations during the CBS years.

And it was very popular and successful in doing so. Perhaps related to the behavior of the market.

 

[davideduardo]

If this strategic move was driven by research (probably was), Audacy has adjusted the overall music model and the target for WOGL's music library testing.

Every time a station tests, the target changes because everyone is a bit older... some have aged out and are no longer being wanted by the station.

Shifting the age range a few years up or down, shifting the gender balance 10 or 15%, or changing the screen-in music montage used in the recruit process, all of these can change what tests really well and what doesn't.

If the 2024 montage to screen in for a WOGL music test was We Didn't Start The Fire/Pour Some Sugar On Me/In The Air Tonight and the 2025 montage was (say) Motownphilly/I Don't Want To Miss A Thing/Into The Groove, it likely would bring in some people with slightly different tastes.

Montages are used to do research for format changes. That is where you have a format decided on but want to test music to see how to mix it. Or for a format search, where a dozen or more montages may be tested. One I did had 28 montages!

For a normal music test, a station wants a core of heavier P1 listeners who spend enough time to know the music. One might take P2 listeners who are heavier radio users if they spend enough time with you.

All of this assumes the changes are driven by research.

In a market as big as that, I can't see a change being based on anything else.. particularly with a high revenue station.

 

[davideduardo]

That's not the reason. The reason is demographics. The audience was getting older, so they added music that they hope will chase off the upper end of the demo.

Nobody wants to "chase off" any part of its audience. What they want to do by adding newer songs to the playlist is attract those who are just entering the target. If they can keep the older listeners that are now outside the target, they will welcome that, too.

Nobody "hopes to chase off the upper end of the demo".

Because after a while, the formula becomes stale. The goal is to freshen things up. Obviously the changes have caught some people's attention.

The goal of a music test is not "to freshen up" anything. The goal is to continue to play only songs with strong appeal in the target demo.

 

[TheBigA]

Nobody wants to "chase off" any part of its audience.

When you play music that people don't like, they won't stay. This new music is coming from different parts of the format than the old music. My take is they've factored in that there will be a loss at the upper end, and that will hurt the size of the mass. But what's left will be better balanced. They did the same thing when they rebranded the station a few years ago.

 

[davideduardo]

When you play music that people don't like, they won't stay. This new music is coming from different parts of the format than the old music. My take is they've factored in that there will be a loss at the upper end, and that will hurt the size of the mass. But what's left will be better balanced. They did the same thing when they rebranded the station a few years ago.

But you said "chase off". Stations know that the audience ages one year every year, and most want the target to stay the same. So they quit asking the out-of-target listeners what they like and dislike. They may, in fact, like some or all of the newer music the station adds after the research is done. But the station does not care.

But the older ones are welcome to stay. We don't chase them away.

In fact, most of us don't research the highest end of our target. If we go after 35-54, we likely don't even recruit the ones in their 50's but might even look at starting the recruit specs at age 33!

 

[Miguelito]

Almost immediately after this article was first published, WOGL Philadelphia took that a lot further, adding nearly 30 songs, many of them Hip-Hop throwbacks from J-Kwon’s “Tipsy” to Luniz’ “I Got Five On It.”

What Classic Hits Stations Added in 2025

Of the fourteen stations that helped us determine “What Classic Hits Stations Added in 2025,” the conservative ones are those finally moving into the early ‘90s now. iHeart’s WMJI (Majic 105.7) Cleveland has an Adult Hits sister station to protect, but that didn’t stop it from finally adapting...

radioinsight.com

 

[Gotgizmo]

This is what they played in the last two hours.

• 
  Lucky Star
  Madonna
  6:16 pm
• 
  We Will Rock You We Are The Champions
  Queen
  6:11 pm
• 
  Don't You (Forget About Me)
  Simple Minds
  6:06 pm
• 
  Regulate
  Warren G / Nate Dogg
  6:03 pm
• 
  Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
  Michael Jackson
  5:52 pm
• 
  Ho Hey
  The Lumineers
  5:49 pm
• 
  My Prerogative
  Bobby Brown
  5:45 pm
• 
  I Love Rock 'N Roll
  Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
  5:42 pm
• 
  Rocket Man
  Elton John
  5:38 pm
• 
  What's Love Got To Do With It
  Tina Turner
  5:34 pm
• 
  This Is How We Do It
  Montell Jordan
  5:31 pm
• 
  Open Arms
  Journey
  5:20 pm
• 
  No Scrubs
  Tlc
  5:16 pm
• 
  Take Me Home Tonight
  Eddie Money
  5:13 pm
• 
  Tom's Diner
  Dna & Suzanne Vega
  5:09 pm
• 
  Jessie's Girl
  Rick Springfield
  5:06 pm
• 
  Motownphilly
  Boyz Ii Men
  5:03 pm
• 
  Material Girl
  Madonna
  4:52 pm
• 
  More Than A Feeling
  Boston
  4:47 pm
• 
  P.y.t. (Pretty Young Thing)
  Michael Jackson
  4:44 pm
• 
  Ironic
  Alanis Morissette
  4:40 pm
• 
  Heaven
  Bryan Adams
  4:36 pm
• 
  Lose Yourself
  Eminem
  4:32 pm
• 
  Push It
  Salt-N-Pepa
  4:19 pm
• 
  Unbelievable
  Emf
  4:16 pm
• 
  Time After Time
  Cyndi Lauper
  4:12 pm
• 
  Rich Girl
  Daryl Hall & John Oates
  4:09 pm
• 
  Livin' On A Prayer
  Bon Jovi
  4:05 pm
• 
  Doo Wop (That Thing)
  Lauryn Hill
  4:02 pm
• 
  It's Tricky
  Run-D.m.c.
  3:52 pm
• 
  Rolling In The Deep
  Adele
  3:48 pm
• 
  Your Love
  Outfield
  3:45 pm
• 
  No Diggity
  Blackstreet
  3:41 pm
• 
  I Wanna Dance With Somebody
  Whitney Houston
  3:36 pm
• 
  Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
  Michael Jackson
  3:32 pm
• 
  Forever Young
  Alphaville
  3:21 pm
• 
  Umbrella (Radio)
  Rihanna / Jay-Z
  3:17 pm
• 
  Like A Prayer
  Madonna
  3:12 pm
• 
  When I Come Around
  Green Day
  3:09 pm

 

[Jstnpspck]

The Lumineers!

 

[TheBigA]

The Lumineers!

That isn't the most recent song they've played.

I see they played Get Lucky by Daft Punk, which appears to be the newest song they played.

Some have described it as having a throwback sound from the 70s. As we've said, not all airplay is based on calendar year.

 

[Jstnpspck]

The Lumineers!

That isn't the most recent song they've played.

I see they played Get Lucky by Daft Punk, which appears to be the newest song they played.

Some have described it as having a throwback sound from the 70s. As we've said, not all airplay is based on calendar year.

I can see “Get Lucky” with that “throwback” feel, but “Ho Hey” feels distinctly… 2012. But if it tests well, they’ve got every right to go for it. It’s just a trip to hear! And interesting to see how the WOGL/WBEB/WTDY relationship develops

 

[TheBigA]

I can see “Get Lucky” with that “throwback” feel, but “Ho Hey” feels distinctly… 2012. But if it tests well, they’ve got every right to go for it.

They have a lot of songs they play once, and that may be one of them. It fits the "oh wow" category. It's not like Queen that gets 30 spins a week.

 

[chief2177]

With the huge success of Shaboozey's "A Bar Song" it makes sense to dust off the song that inspired it and it was interpolated from.

Same with Gotye. Doechii's "Anxiety" heavily interpolates "Somebody that I used to know" so why not cash in on it being popular again?

The songs by Gotye and Doechii actually originated from a 1967 song from a Brazilian guitarist by the name of Luis Bonfa. The song is titled "Seville." Take a listen to all three and you will hear the similarities in the tune. And it's certainly not the first time artists have sampled songs from other eras and incorporated it into their own. Take a listen to Vanilla Ice "Ice Ice Baby" and you'll hear it's similar to David Bowie's "Under Pressure."

I was thinking the same thing. They're playing those songs now because they were inspirations for current hits. It feels odd to some of us old skool radio nerds because that's not what "Oldies" stations do. It still takes me a minute to remember that Oldies morphed into Classic Hits for a reason. Very different set of rules.

 

[Seltzer]

I'm thinking, is WOGL making changes just for the sake of making changes? It doesn't seem logical.

In April 2022, WOGL relaunched as a Classic Hits station with the moniker "Big 98.1." Audacy also renamed a few other classic hits stations as "Big." WOGL got more uptempo, more white and less 70s. Almost no ballads, almost no dance or rhythmic songs. People on this board remarked it sounds a lot like Ben-FM. The upgrade worked. The station went from around #10 to around #7.

So why the switch now to more rhythmic music and more 2000s? Since the 1980s, Classic Hits stations have concentrated on music that was 25 to 35 years old. If today you are 54 years old, the upper end of the 25-54 demo, your high school years are roughly 35 years earlier. So that's why they play music from 25 to 35 years ago, with a few big hits minus and plus five years.

Why mess with that formula? Especially if Audacy owns an AC station in Philadelphia that is also targeting a similar but slightly younger demo? WOGL is #8 and WBEB is #6.

I have a hard time believing music tests six months ago said WOGL listeners want a rock-leaning classic hits format. Then a week ago, the tests told Audacy that listeners want a 1/3rd rhythmic playlist, including songs that only reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Why re-invent the wheel?

The rule was a song had to be at least 25 years old before it was considered. That puts us at 2000 and below. Playing Adele, Gotye, Coldplay makes no sense. Is Beyonce next? Classic Hits is supposed to break 50 50 Male to female. And since you already have B 101 and TDY in your cluster...both super targeted to women...the last thing you should be doing is making 98.1 more female friendly. THis rhythmic music doesn't help you with men and may even drive some to MGK.

 

[Miguelito]

Ya gotta let go of these "rules." There are no rules anymore. If playing Adele, Gotye, and Coldplay made "no sense," they wouldn't be playing them.

"Is Beyonce next?" To that, I would say, "Is Beyonce next?" It's only a matter of time before you hear Destiny's Child on Big 98.1, and classic Beyonce probably won't be far behind.

They are working on a cluster-wide strategy. Having AC, Hot AC, and Classic Hits under the same owner adds many layers to that strategy, and it's not likely something we, as listeners, can understand. But it's not about rules, I can guarantee that.

 

[TheBigA]

The rule was a song had to be at least 25 years old before it was considered. That puts us at 2000 and below. Playing Adele, Gotye, Coldplay makes no sense. Is Beyonce next? Classic Hits is supposed to break 50 50 Male to female. And since you already have B 101 and TDY in your cluster...both super targeted to women...the last thing you should be doing is making 98.1 more female friendly. THis rhythmic music doesn't help you with men and may even drive some to MGK.

You keep focusing on one song played one time, and think that's enough to get the casual listener to switch to MGK. It's not. You're also only looking at WOGL and not looking at B101. They played Faithfully by Journey. Do you think they worried about taking away listeners from OGL??? Really? Do you think the BEB listener complained about a 40 year old song? No.

You have to look at THE BIG PICTURE. 98.1 mainly plays songs from the 80s. If they throw in one song from the 2000s, it will not cause a listener to pull out their encyclopedia to check when the song was originally released!!! They don't care. The bulk of the music is old, and that's good enough.