11 years ago today ( 7/28/12) CBS blew up WODS. RIP

[nowradioguy]

What has me perplexed is that WGIR-FM and WHEB out of Portsmouth are sister stations, both broadcast the same morning show, and both have a rock format. WHEB sounds much better than WGIR-FM. That's why when I read that Big sounds bad, my comparison is WGIR-FM. Big sounds so much better, therefore I don't perceive it as having bad audio.

103.3 does not sound as good as it did under CBS ownership. It sounds like Mike did under Entercom's ownership. No sparkle and pizazz to the audio; flat, limp, muffled, and songs always terminated BEFORE they actually were through, just so they could squeeze in another.

I don't listen to WGIR-FM, so can't comment on them.

 

[raccoonradio]

A friend of mine was in the north hills of Pittsburgh and was hearing "WODS Oldies 103" around Ross Twp. Apparently according to their facebook, this pirate (no doubt?) has been on since about 2019 and is "a tribute to Oldies 103.3 Boston"--similar logo, going all Christmas yearly etc. I believe they have oldies103 dot com.
WODS (and WAAF) calls are actually in the Wilkes-Barre area, parked on AM stations relaying the WILK NewsRadio network.
If the pirate ("raise the jolly roger!"--Pittsburgh Pirates, when they win) is actually on 103.3, there could be interference to WOGH 103.5 Froggy 103, country from Burgettstown but so far the station has gotten away with it..? Will be in area next week and see if this undocumented broadcaster is on.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

A friend of mine was in the north hills of Pittsburgh and was hearing "WODS Oldies 103" around Ross Twp. Apparently according to their facebook, this pirate (no doubt?) has been on since about 2019 and is "a tribute to Oldies 103.3 Boston"--similar logo, going all Christmas yearly etc. I believe they have oldies103 dot com.

There is an online only tribute to “Oldies 103.3 Boston” run by a Mike Callahan here in the Boston area. As far as I know, Mike does not broadcast it over the air. It streams at Oldies 103 FM Boston

As far as I know, Mike is doing his web stream in compliance with all streaming regulations. If someone in PA is choosing to broadcast Mike’s web stream over a pirate signal, that’s obviously illegal, and I doubt it has anything to do with Mike himself.

 

[nowradioguy]

There is an online only tribute to “Oldies 103.3 Boston” run by a Mike Callahan here in the Boston area. As far as I know, Mike does not broadcast it over the air. It streams at Oldies 103 FM Boston

As far as I know, Mike is doing his web stream in compliance with all streaming regulations. If someone in PA is choosing to broadcast Mike’s web stream over a pirate signal, that’s obviously illegal, and I doubt it has anything to do with Mike himself.

Eli,

I can't thank you enough for posting about the Oldies 103 FM Boston stream! Listening right now. Beats similar fare from Sirius Pandora, iHeart, and just about EVERYTHING on the terrestrial FM dial in Boston these days.

 

[MBTMCallahan]

There is an online only tribute to “Oldies 103.3 Boston” run by a Mike Callahan here in the Boston area. As far as I know, Mike does not broadcast it over the air. It streams at Oldies 103 FM Boston

As far as I know, Mike is doing his web stream in compliance with all streaming regulations. If someone in PA is choosing to broadcast Mike’s web stream over a pirate signal, that’s obviously illegal, and I doubt it has anything to do with Mike himself.

The PA Oldies 103 is run by Tom Lawler and is different from my stream. The PA tribute has been on longer than mine as i started mine in May of 2020 while i was furloughed during covid. I run my tribute on Live365 to cover all royalty costs and is commercial free, and run the stream in compliance with the DMCA. My stream is online only and as of now I have no plans to broadcast on the air due to budget. I have over 2,600 songs in rotation from the 50’s 60’s & 70’s with original Drake jingles, JAM jingles from the late 90s when they rebranded as Oldies 103.3 and original voice overs from Steve Kelly, as well as The Hourly IDs from Charlie Van Dyke, who also voices the Doo Wop Diner on Sunday nights.

 

[raccoonradio]

Oldies 103.3 Pittsburgh does exist. Flea powered signal (they do streamcast though) reaches a mile or so around the borough of West View (off I-279, US 19).
Tribute to WODS run by a hobbyist (and again, it isn't the Mike Callahan tribute streamcast).
"Now somewhere in the North Hills of Pittsburgh there was a young boy, name o' Rocky Raccoon..."
Locals can briefly pick it up on the way to the John Tiggle (="Giant Eagle", Pittsburgh-ese)

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Supposedly, the end of oldies on WODS-103.3 almost took place a little more than seven years earlier.

I had heard that CBS was within 24 hours of flipping WODS from oldies/classic hits to the "Jack FM" format in the spring of 2005 that at the time was sweeping the country, but Entercom (now Audacy Communications) flipped the then WQSX-93.7 to a similar format to that of Jack (branded as "93.7 Mike FM"), and CBS made a last-minute decision to maintain the status quo at WODS.

 

[raccoonradio]

Fybush's column yesterday noted WODS 1300 in Scranton area has filed to change its call letters. Does Audacy have any plans for them?

 

[raccoonradio]

RadioInsight says the 1300 in Hazleton PA that had the WODS calls has flipped to La Mega along with an FM classic rock station; WLMZ calls requested (as in LaMega), but who knows if Audacy is parking them somewhere else (or moving to Boston?) or if anyone can grab them. The format change inspired the choice of calls but maybe we thought they were being moved...here...

 

[lanceventa]

RadioInsight says the 1300 in Hazleton PA that had the WODS calls has flipped to La Mega along with an FM classic rock station; WLMZ calls requested (as in LaMega), but who knows if Audacy is parking them somewhere else (or moving to Boston?) or if anyone can grab them. The format change inspired the choice of calls but maybe we thought they were being moved...here...

If Audacy was transferring them it would've been done at the same time as the application to change the AM. They will be clear for anyone to apply for.

 

[fybush]

No, Bob, nobody thought they were moving back to Boston.

Once a station brand has been gone from the market as long as WODS has been from Boston, it's of no value. The average listener (i.e. NOT YOU) forgets a brand once it's been gone a few months, never mind 15 years.

I don't know why Entercom even bothered parking them in Hazelton after changing Boston's calls, but there was never any intent to bring them back to Boston, nor any business case to do so.

The only real reason to park a callsign after it's been changed is if there's a competitor otherwise ready to pick it up right away.

 

[raccoonradio]

Right about competitors wanting to grab it right away; it is true that some legendary call letters were thought valuable to "bring back" like WROR and WMEX.
The Matt Siegel rumors made me think,hmm, Audacy hires him and shifts
103.3 to classic hits a la ROR but, naah. far fetched, but "stranger things have happened. Rarely, though.

 

[fybush]

WROR happened at a different time. 30 years ago, radio brands were much stronger and the audience less splintered, so you could have some hope that after a five year gap, "WROR" would still mean enough that you could use it as the starting point for a new brand. It's worked for Greater/Beasley, and by now "WROR" has lived longer on 105.7 than it ever did on 98.5. The same is true for the reincarnation of WKTU in New York.

But 2023 isn't 1996. Memories are much shorter and brands fade from attention faster. Callsigns and station brands have about the lifespan of a gallon of milk once it's out of the fridge. If they don't get reused immediately, they're useless in a year in most larger markets.

WMEX? Hard to call it a "success" in any kind of hard financial terms. I would have recycled those calls, too, because they're as good as anything else you'd put as a brand there. But it's basically someone's expensive hobby, not a viable business.

 

[raccoonradio]

Yes--and in the case of WMEX it was Daly XL who leased then bought the station and made it talk with Howie Carr (for 5 months), Michele McPhee, etc and even some Wolfman Jack reruns and oldies shows --before Ed Perry came in to buy it.
The Daly XL guys were the ones who revived the calls.Definitely a hobby, and then Justice & LaGreca bought it.

 

[CassChopper96]

Big 103 plays some of the same music WODS used to play

 

[nowradioguy]

Big 103 plays some of the same music WODS used to play

I remember how great WODS was, between its OLDIES and its on-air PERSONALITIES.

Big 103 can't hold a candle to what was Oldies 103.3.

 

[Least]

No, Bob, nobody thought they were moving back to Boston.

Once a station brand has been gone from the market as long as WODS has been from Boston, it's of no value. The average listener (i.e. NOT YOU) forgets a brand once it's been gone a few months, never mind 15 years.

I don't know why Entercom even bothered parking them in Hazelton after changing Boston's calls, but there was never any intent to bring them back to Boston, nor any business case to do so.

The only real reason to park a callsign after it's been changed is if there's a competitor otherwise ready to pick it up right away.

Didn't they park them because they used the brand on HD2 and the Christmas brand on HD3?

 

[MassMusicMan]

I remember how great WODS was, between its OLDIES and its on-air PERSONALITIES.

Big 103 can't hold a candle to what was Oldies 103.3.

Yes, I also remember when benefits for employees weren't prohibitively expensive, and when stations spent their money on making their station better instead of on buying another station with money that they didn't have.