J
Jul
Guest
WCAU-AM went down for the count for good after 68 years.
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I remember it well. I was about 15 years old at the time. My dad was a HUGE fan of WCAU-AM. We went away on vacation to Canada a few days before the switch. Coming back from Canada on the PA Turnpike NE Extension heading south around the Lehigh tunnel, he switched on 1210 AM to hear his favorite station that he missed while in Canada and heard "Oldies 1210." He laughed and explained it must be some interference from another station somewhere. Until we got closer and closer to Philadelphia and it got clearer and clearer, and we heard references to "Philadelphia." My dad then realized what happened and burst into tears. He immediately switched his favorite station to WWDB from there on out until WWDB went the way of WCAU in 2000.
WCAU Talkradio 1210
"This is Hyyyyyyyyyyyy Lit! Welcome to the new, Oldies 1210!"
I too was really upset to lose WCAU (and was listening at the time of the changeover). Admittedly though, I didn't cry. There certainly isn't anything **today** on terrestrial radio worth crying over losing-- that's for darn sure.
How did CBS have the "WOGL" calls ready to go (legally) within an hour of the switch? There were no "WCAU" TOH identifiers whatsoever after 1:05 PM that day.
"This is Hyyyyyyyyyyyy Lit! Welcome to the new, Oldies 1210!"
I too was really upset to lose WCAU (and was listening at the time of the changeover). Admittedly though, I didn't cry. There certainly isn't anything **today** on terrestrial radio worth crying over losing-- that's for darn sure.
How did CBS have the "WOGL" calls ready to go (legally) within an hour of the switch? There were no "WCAU" TOH identifiers whatsoever after 1:05 PM that day.
It was on the day of a Phillies game in which Terry Mulholland pitched a no-hitter:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI199008150.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI199008150.shtml
I remember it well-- it was a Wednesday night.
The game was at the Vet. That season, Steve Fredericks would do his "Sportsline" show live from the stadium after all weeknight home games. 1990 was a rather lackluster Phillies season; it would be Nick Leyva's final full one as an MLB skipper. Dale Murphy had just joined the team, but other than that there was little to get excited over. Perhaps it was Murphy's Law that the first of only two no-hitters in Veterans Stadium history happened on the first night there was no "Sportsline" after the game to talk about it. I'm pretty sure there really was **nowhere** to talk about the game, as there was no post-game call-in programming-- and WIP if I recall was still carrying Larry King via Mutual beginning at 10PM.
The new "Oldies 1210" would soon thereafter bring "Sportsline" back several weeks later, first with host Don Henderson. A few months later, Henderson was replaced with a young, relatively-unknown fellow from WAMS in Wilmington named Scott Graham.
The CBS Radio Division's timing, as usual, was wonderful. Saddam Hussein had just invaded Kuwait less than two weeks earlier, and it was becoming evident the U.S. would become the ultimate arbiter. A largely-unheard of syndicated host out of New York named Rush was beginning to clear decent-sized markets, and was on the verge of buying AM radio another 20 years of life. (WCAU had the rights to Limbaugh's show, but only used it for occasional weekend filler.) Talk radio as a whole was beginning to explode in popularity, thanks to the end of the so-called "Fairness Doctrine." The major-market, heritage 50kw signals were mostly able to capitalize on this wave. CBS chose to throw the opportunity away. It was one of a string of blunders (lasting about 25 years) New York would make with its Philadelphia property, arguably the founding station of the company.
Not everyone lost, of course, as the end of WCAU paved the way for another ten years of Talk at WWDB.
The game was at the Vet. That season, Steve Fredericks would do his "Sportsline" show live from the stadium after all weeknight home games. 1990 was a rather lackluster Phillies season; it would be Nick Leyva's final full one as an MLB skipper. Dale Murphy had just joined the team, but other than that there was little to get excited over. Perhaps it was Murphy's Law that the first of only two no-hitters in Veterans Stadium history happened on the first night there was no "Sportsline" after the game to talk about it. I'm pretty sure there really was **nowhere** to talk about the game, as there was no post-game call-in programming-- and WIP if I recall was still carrying Larry King via Mutual beginning at 10PM.
The new "Oldies 1210" would soon thereafter bring "Sportsline" back several weeks later, first with host Don Henderson. A few months later, Henderson was replaced with a young, relatively-unknown fellow from WAMS in Wilmington named Scott Graham.
The CBS Radio Division's timing, as usual, was wonderful. Saddam Hussein had just invaded Kuwait less than two weeks earlier, and it was becoming evident the U.S. would become the ultimate arbiter. A largely-unheard of syndicated host out of New York named Rush was beginning to clear decent-sized markets, and was on the verge of buying AM radio another 20 years of life. (WCAU had the rights to Limbaugh's show, but only used it for occasional weekend filler.) Talk radio as a whole was beginning to explode in popularity, thanks to the end of the so-called "Fairness Doctrine." The major-market, heritage 50kw signals were mostly able to capitalize on this wave. CBS chose to throw the opportunity away. It was one of a string of blunders (lasting about 25 years) New York would make with its Philadelphia property, arguably the founding station of the company.
Not everyone lost, of course, as the end of WCAU paved the way for another ten years of Talk at WWDB.
Re: WCAU Talkradio 1210
Hy Lit, already on staff at CBS FM's 98.1 WOGL FM receive a call at 11am that morning by the GM and was told to be at the station for an emergency meeting at 12:45. He was told do not talk to anyone and go directly to the AM studios and wait for instructions. Once he arrived he was given an envelope which explicitly gave detailed instructions. He was to speak to no one prior to or after reading his marching orders. He was to take to the AM on-air studio at 1:00pm. At 1:05pm precisely, right after CBS TOH news he hit the ground running, WCAU was now OLDIES 1210. A call letter change assignment was filed for 1210 AM Philadelphia to WOGL AM.
72 staffers were let go, including one of the largest, decades old full service news organizations next to KYW in Philadelphia. CBS had been loosing on the order of 7 million dollars a year with Talk/1210 WCAU for longer than anyone can remember, and entrenched or otherwise mired with anemic ratings at best. When the FM began to finally show profitability and ratings growth as OLDIES 98, WCAU AM's fate was sealed. No doubt when CBS New York saw they were going to finally make a profit with the FM it was decided that they would not pour it into the bottomless pit that was WCAU AM.
CBS AM/FM Radio in Philadelphia had never been profitable in practically the entire history of operation going back decades from when CBS bought the AM/FM/TV from the Philadelphia Bulletin. CBS felt at one time, the TV was all the profit they needed. Over time however, that no longer became the popular consensus.
Incidentally, I have that air check as well as practicall every air check from the the entire 15+ years that Hy was at WOGL. And that's a salada tea.
George Brusstar said:
Hy Lit, already on staff at CBS FM's 98.1 WOGL FM receive a call at 11am that morning by the GM and was told to be at the station for an emergency meeting at 12:45. He was told do not talk to anyone and go directly to the AM studios and wait for instructions. Once he arrived he was given an envelope which explicitly gave detailed instructions. He was to speak to no one prior to or after reading his marching orders. He was to take to the AM on-air studio at 1:00pm. At 1:05pm precisely, right after CBS TOH news he hit the ground running, WCAU was now OLDIES 1210. A call letter change assignment was filed for 1210 AM Philadelphia to WOGL AM.
72 staffers were let go, including one of the largest, decades old full service news organizations next to KYW in Philadelphia. CBS had been loosing on the order of 7 million dollars a year with Talk/1210 WCAU for longer than anyone can remember, and entrenched or otherwise mired with anemic ratings at best. When the FM began to finally show profitability and ratings growth as OLDIES 98, WCAU AM's fate was sealed. No doubt when CBS New York saw they were going to finally make a profit with the FM it was decided that they would not pour it into the bottomless pit that was WCAU AM.
CBS AM/FM Radio in Philadelphia had never been profitable in practically the entire history of operation going back decades from when CBS bought the AM/FM/TV from the Philadelphia Bulletin. CBS felt at one time, the TV was all the profit they needed. Over time however, that no longer became the popular consensus.
Incidentally, I have that air check as well as practicall every air check from the the entire 15+ years that Hy was at WOGL. And that's a salada tea.
Interesting history there. But one thing I never quite understood: I realize WCAU AM was losing money left and right and they had to dump the format quickly and suddenly, but why oldies? What was the point of putting the same format that was already on the FM sister station on AM? Did anyone listen to "Oldies 1210" except us geeks? Why didn't they just fire all of the staffers and put syndicated talk on 1210?
1) Economies of scale.
2) Advertiser combo buy.
2) Advertiser combo buy.
DToTheJ said:
The catalogue playlists were practically identical. CBS mediocrity.
Bill_W said:
5:30-10am
J
Jul
Guest
Re: WCAU Talkradio 1210
Would it be possible that you could post audio here of the last hours of WCAU programming that you have so that people can hear what happened?Sam Lit said:
I actually liked Oldies 1210. Their playlist was a bit different from WOGL-FM in the beginning. More 1950's and early '60s songs. 98.1 was leaning more towards Motown and soul. Oldies 1210 was really not that bad. I used to tune in at night when the Phillies were off and liked what I heard. I remember Rod Carson used to do nights, and Bob Pantano did middays every Monday. The one thing that hurt WOGL-AM was that it did the same thing that destroyed WPEN and is ruining WHAT-the format disappeared on weekends. At first, they simulcasted the weekend programming from the FM side. In 1993 they began carrying a syndicated sports talk package. That, combined with the Phillies games and Temple sports, and you basically had two different stations. Little did we know this was the beginning of 1210's inexorable shift towards 1210 WGMP, the GAME in PHILADELPHIA.
J
Jul
Guest
I really miss WCAU-AM, i do.
Julius May said:
Julius, just think when you get 7 million dollars a year to pour down the drain you can attempt to recreate that albatross.
J
Jul
Guest
LOL!!! I and the rest of the folks here would like to hear the audio of the final hours of WCAU-AM programming from that day and the format change to WOGL-AM. Is there a possibility that you might could post links to the audio here?Sam Lit said:
Re: WCAU Talkradio 1210
That left 55 minutes from the time of the format flip until the new calls had to air for the first time. Was that call change transaction truly consummated within that window, Sam, perhaps by fax machine?
Slightly off topic, one or two people have mourned the blowing up of WCAU-AM, but that has nothing on what happened with Washington's 1050 am (COL Silver Spring, MD) during a mid-June vacation of mine in Georgia. Coming back through Prince George's County, MD on US 301, my party of three hit a backup in Mitchellville (between Upper Marlboro and Bowie heading north). I (who was in the front passenger seat) put on 1050 awaiting traffic on the 8's and found that 1050 had flipped to Spanish music (due to a leasing out of 1050 by Bonneville to United Media per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WBQH ). I could have put on 103.5 (and indeed did for a second or two but WTOP was in commercials) but I live where I can get 1050 but not 103.5 (habit in other words).
So we rode out the backup for two crawling miles (it was caused by an accident with an arrow board up and a cop watching traffic until the tow truck arrived).
What Bonneville did to 1500 and then 1050 was as ugly as sin, but that’s a topic for the Wash/Balt board.
ixnay
Sam Lit said:
That left 55 minutes from the time of the format flip until the new calls had to air for the first time. Was that call change transaction truly consummated within that window, Sam, perhaps by fax machine?
Slightly off topic, one or two people have mourned the blowing up of WCAU-AM, but that has nothing on what happened with Washington's 1050 am (COL Silver Spring, MD) during a mid-June vacation of mine in Georgia. Coming back through Prince George's County, MD on US 301, my party of three hit a backup in Mitchellville (between Upper Marlboro and Bowie heading north). I (who was in the front passenger seat) put on 1050 awaiting traffic on the 8's and found that 1050 had flipped to Spanish music (due to a leasing out of 1050 by Bonneville to United Media per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WBQH ). I could have put on 103.5 (and indeed did for a second or two but WTOP was in commercials) but I live where I can get 1050 but not 103.5 (habit in other words).
So we rode out the backup for two crawling miles (it was caused by an accident with an arrow board up and a cop watching traffic until the tow truck arrived).
What Bonneville did to 1500 and then 1050 was as ugly as sin, but that’s a topic for the Wash/Balt board.
ixnay
Re: WCAU Talkradio 1210
Julius, It's on cassette tape. And believe it or not I don't have a cassette machine here. in fact there are no moving parts here at HyLitRadio. I'll see if I can get it transferred.
TOH remained WCAU/Philadelphia until the call letter change became official. The station identity handle became Oldies 1210.
Julius May said:
Julius, It's on cassette tape. And believe it or not I don't have a cassette machine here. in fact there are no moving parts here at HyLitRadio. I'll see if I can get it transferred.
ixnay said:
TOH remained WCAU/Philadelphia until the call letter change became official. The station identity handle became Oldies 1210.
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