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102.9 DRC to rebrand as "The Whale"?

MarcB

MarcB

The other site speculates that 102.9 DRC is going to rebrand as "The Whale."

http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/netgnomes/91545/whale-watching-in-hartford/

Yeah because I'm so sure a new name is going increase the ratings of the station. Their playlist is very limited and the liners the station run are a joke. Chaz & AJ are very annoying.

There's no hope for the station. I doubt even if they put the station back to the way it was prior to July it would do well. I don't even know if a totally new format could help this station. If they were to change formats all together my vote would be for Country. WWYZ needs a competitor. Or they should cut their losses and sell it to Cumulus and they can flip it to NASH ICON. I've listened to Worcester's 98.9 NASH ICON online. Good music mix.
 
That site also says classic rock for HD2 but who knows. They need to just bring back DRC-FM Big D 103.

As for selling it to Cumulus and turning it into a Nash that is one thing you don't want. Maybe Alpha Media would buy it, this company purchased Buckley's California stations.
 
MarcB said:
The other site speculates that 102.9 DRC is going to rebrand as "The Whale."

I've listened to Worcester's 98.9 NASH ICON online. Good music mix.[/i]
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I agree about Worcester's 98.9 Nash Icon. I'm enjoying the music mix and it is great that they have a live and local air staff (held over from their greatest hits days).
 
Apparently management believes there's a hole in the market after WCCC-FM went to K-Love Christian AC. But don't they remember that WCCC-FM's ratings were pretty bad? People in Hartford who want Classic Rock apparently were satisfied with WAQY Springfield or with WHCN's Classic Hits/Classic Rock mix.

It's funny. Part of the reason WDRC-FM switched to Rock-leaning Classic Hits was because they thought the Oldies/Classic Hits format skews too old. I bet now that they're Classic Rock, they'll be playing plenty of Stones, Who, Beatles, Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, etc. that's 40 years or more old!

We don't get to see ratings demographic info. But as far as the 6+ ratings are concerned, the station had better numbers when it was Oldies/Classic Hits. And WCBS-FM in NYC doesn't seem to have any problem getting great 25-54 ratings, often #1 in that demo.
 
I listened to it for a day and while I am a fan of classic rock, I do think this format sucks. Seems like there is no thought behind it and its just classic hits played with no thought to its presentation.

I have not listened to much Connecticut radio lately, since Ron Sedaille came online with his new FunTowerRadio I haven't had the need to turn on the radio for more then news or traffic updates.
 
They just removed the softer stuff (America, Billy Joel, Elton John/Kiki Dee, etc.) from the playlist and added a few classic rock staples. But the playlist seems to be even more tightly focused on well-known classic rock tunes that were either big hits on the Billboard Hot 100 ('70s) or were in heavy rotation on MTV ('80s, early '90s). Not a heck of a lot different from what WAQY is doing these days. I think WPLR might be playing more songs, mainly because they go deeper into the '90s. Maybe the "research" told Warshaw and company to skew WDRC-FM a trifle older.

Has anyone heard the ad in which a sponsor (I think it's a jeweler) says how great it is to be associated with the station, but there's an odd pause both times he says "102.9"? That's because the original spot has him saying "102.9 DRC." I'd imagine they'll try to get him in to record "The Whale" or redo the spot. The program director also does a spot for a gym or a weight loss program, and you can clearly hear "The Whale" has been spliced in; his voice and the background noise level are slightly different from the rest of the spot.
 
So how long will this format be around? And who will fill the void? Possible one of the CBS stations put classic hits on the HD2 or even I Heart Media.
 
What is the new fixation with Classic Rock. Is Active Rock dead or could the format survive here? You can't tell me there are not younger people that like newer rock in Connecticut.

The reincarnated online CCC seems to be doing well. I don't know what the numbers are but I assume there is a demand for it somewhere.
 
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Don CT said:
What is the new fixation with Classic Rock. Is Active Rock dead or could the format survive here? You can't tell me there are not younger people that like newer rock in Connecticut.
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Rap is nearly as popular with the 12-34 crowd in the suburbs as it is in the city these days. New rock is so fragmented that it's hard to build a playlist out of it that won't alienate a good chunk of the potential audience. Also, if you want to reach females in that age range, pop and lighter hip-hop are the way to go, not rock.
 
1. Do you think 'DRC will change call letters?

2. I heard 'CCC's ID: "WCCC-FM Hartford-Springfield". I may not be current on my FCC rules for ID's, but is it legal to ID a station in 2 cities, when the COL is in 1, specifically when they're 35 mi. apart? It's not like WRCH/New Britain-Hartford - at least they're close to each other.
 
amfmradio1 said:
1. Do you think 'DRC will change call letters?

2. I heard 'CCC's ID: "WCCC-FM Hartford-Springfield". I may not be current on my FCC rules for ID's, but is it legal to ID a station in 2 cities, when the COL is in 1, specifically when they're 35 mi. apart? It's not like WRCH/New Britain-Hartford - at least they're close to each other.
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As long as you have the true city/community of license first, then you can add any other cities you want afterwards.

KTNQ-Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland is legal, even if that station covers neither of the last two cities.

The one that amused me decades ago was WGTZ, licensed to Eaton, OH but serving the much larger Dayton metro.

"WGTZ, eatin' Dayton alive". Totally legal.
 
Three stations in this market have dual city IDs:

WWYZ-FM 92.5 Waterbury/Hartford
WKSS-FM 95.7 Hartford/Meriden
WMRQ-FM 104.1 Waterbury/Hartford

WMRQ-FM often ads "New Haven/Springfield" to their ID. Again, that's likely done to make the station sound much bigger than it is. As for the Dayton, OH area ID, didn't WDRC-FM use to say something like "WDRC-FM...Hartford's BIG D!"?
 
KML-224 said:
Three stations in this market have dual city IDs:

WWYZ-FM 92.5 Waterbury/Hartford
WKSS-FM 95.7 Hartford/Meriden
WMRQ-FM 104.1 Waterbury/Hartford

WMRQ-FM often ads "New Haven/Springfield" to their ID. Again, that's likely done to make the station sound much bigger than it is. As for the Dayton, OH area ID, didn't WDRC-FM use to say something like "WDRC-FM...Hartford's BIG D!"?
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On the noncommercial front, you have WFCR (88.5) Amherst-Springfield-Hartford.
 
Only one of those stations has an ACTUAL dual community of license, a pretty rare thing. WKSS is ACTUALLY licensed to Hartford-Meriden. WWYZ and WMRQ are licensed to Waterbury. WFCR is just licensed to Amherst.

As long as you say the actual community of license first, you can add as many other communities on the end, whatever you want to do.
 
reelyreal said:
Only one of those stations has an ACTUAL dual community of license, a pretty rare thing. WKSS is ACTUALLY licensed to Hartford-Meriden. WWYZ and WMRQ are licensed to Waterbury. WFCR is just licensed to Amherst.

As long as you say the actual community of license first, you can add as many other communities on the end, whatever you want to do.
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The FCC got tired of granting waivers and just decided to let it go.
 
reelyreal said:
Only one of those stations has an ACTUAL dual community of license, a pretty rare thing. WKSS is ACTUALLY licensed to Hartford-Meriden. WWYZ and WMRQ are licensed to Waterbury. WFCR is just licensed to Amherst.

As long as you say the actual community of license first, you can add as many other communities on the end, whatever you want to do.
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Some years back, while driving through the Capital District, I heard a station identify with "Voorheesville! Albany! Schenectady! Troy!" What a mouthful!

And I guess the FCC is letting HD info come between the call letters and the COL. "WDRC-FM, WDRC-FM HD1 Hartford." And DRC isn't the only station doing this, so I'm thinking that this is a nit the FCC just isn't bothering to pick anymore.
 
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CTListener said:
Some years back, while driving through the Capital District, I heard a station identify with "Voorheesville! Albany! Schenectady! Troy!" What a mouthful!

And I guess the FCC is letting HD info come between the call letters and the COL. "WDRC-FM, WDRC-FM HD1 Hartford." And DRC isn't the only station doing this, so I'm thinking that this is a nit the FCC just isn't bothering to pick anymore.
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I was told the station's have to ID that they're in HD. So why wouldn't it be legal?

What used to bug me is that when WSDK 1550 in Bloomfield used to be Radio Disney WDZK and they broadcast in HD they used to ID as WDZK and WDZK HD-1 Bloomfield/Hartford. There is no such thing as HD-1 on AM. On AM you're either HD or you're not.
 
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