Anyone have predictions for 2026 for NYC Radio? I can see 98.7 and 94.7 being sold to Connesaur Media.
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2026 Radio Predictions
- Thread starter XCountry285
- Start date
I can see Connoisseur Media being misspelled at least ten other ways before the end of the year. But that's only if they make the big plunge into the No. 1 radio market, which, even at today's depressed prices, I see as very unlikely.
KTU: Hollywood Hamilton will take off more days off than he Works again this year. Management will then decide to give The Morning Drive Show to Astra who doesn’t take time off at all
Astra is one of the stars of that station
The corporate consolidators will promote more management while laying off even more creative talent.
Prediction: 94.7 FM will be sold to EMF, which will use it to simulcast 96.7 PortChester, and reach the rest of NY city and North Jersey.
I could sadly see this. Totally a waste of a good signal.
Yes She is part of the KTU morning crew. She has done morning drive many many times when he was off & he takes a lot of time off
Idk I feel like Craig Carton won’t last long this time around on WFAN. I can see a lot of public backlash taking place once his show hits the air
Yes. "Disco Duck" will make a comeback When other stations hear that someone is getting decent ratings, they'll panic and put into heavy rotation, no matter what their format is and play it at least once every two hours. Rick Dees, looking a little older than he used to, will be cold calling stations:
Connoisseur already owns WALK 97.5 94.3 WWSK Smithtown. If they get 94.7, maybe they could get an interference waiver and bring 94.7 onto ESB at 4.5 or possibly 5 KW (not the full 6KW) to protect WMAS 94.7 Enfield CT/Springfield, MA.
Connoisseur's existing markets are nothing like New York City demographically. Long Island, Fairfield County, San Antonio, Salt Lake City, Portland (OR), San Jose, Erie, Billings, Louisville. Acquiring Alpha got Connoisseur into Lubbock, Mankato, Mason City. This is a smart company that knows where it wants to be and where it doesn't want to be. And New York City is the last place it wants to be.
That is my 2027 prediction. I give 94.7 another year as The Block before Audacy considers selling it.
I predict that WNYC AM 820 will sign off before the end of the year. With the amount of AM stations that either went silent or completely shut down this past year, it is bound to happen in New York City sooner or later.
Come to think of it, the test of all-digital, or MA-3 mode on 820 for one day back in 2024 they had sought permission for, never happened.
Experimental Authority Request for 12-8-24
I would bet not. WNYC has existed for a century or so, and they either simulcast with WNYC-FM (which ain't going anywhere) or time-shift programs that also air(ed) on the FM. The additional staff to run the AM is nearly non-existent, maybe an AM transmitter engineer or two. Everyone else is shared, most of the non-transmitter-chain equipment is shared, the staff, the promotion, the scheduling, the fundraising. So it's a little different equipment, a little different staff and the power and/or maintenance cost. Of all the AM candidates for a trip to oblivion, why would they shut down this one?
They should still go through with the all digital MA3 test as we no longer have any AM HD stations in NY once WINS, WCBS and WFAS turned off their hybrid signals.
Doesn’t WABC play music with Cousin Brucie? That, in my opinion, would be a great test for AM HD, to see how the sound quality compares to an FM station. Of course, with this show happening at night time, WABC’s signal would be hammered as their signal is not as good at night time as it is during the day. You can hear other stations on the same frequency bleeding in the background.
Doesn’t WABC play music with Cousin Brucie? That, in my opinion, would be a great test for AM HD, to see how the sound quality compares to an FM station. Of course, with this show happening at night time, WABC’s signal would be hammered as their signal is not as good at night time as it is during the day. You can hear other stations on the same frequency bleeding in the background.
As long as Audacy remains in NYC, The Block adds to the cluster sales.
Hey, I'm one of the Cousin Brucie listeners out in flyover country and when I am able to tune in [meaning, not busy doing something else away from the radio] I enjoy listening to the music he plays once the sun goes down. I don't know why, maybe it just goes back to the days of listening to any AM station back in the 60s when I was younger and body parts didn't continually malfunction. Could I listen to him online? Sure, but it just doesn't seem the same.
Brucie is 90 and isn't likely to be doing his show much longer. Not worth the investment in AM HD just for that one personality and his 60+-year-old music. If Cats were to go all-oldies at night all week, with a roster of out-to-pasture Top 40 jocks at the mic, maybe, but they'd probably have to pay their own way.