• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

94.7 is changing formats today

Are they going after Hot 97.1, Power 105.1, and WBLS 107.5???
And a half-dozen other stations, such as WHTZ, WKTU, WSKQ, WXNY, etc. Numerically, I'd say the largest group of potential listeners is Hispanic.
 
So there's no revenue in Country in NYC. Why do they think The Wolf in Buffalo will fare any better? Audacy must stand for "incompetence"...
“Buffalo”’s Wolf has a transmitter between Buffalo and Rochester and is further away from the Buffalo market than any other FM. So of course it’ll be a lousy-ish performer, but what would be a better option? A super-niche format like alternative rock or country?
 
I am of the opinion that virtually no one is listening to 660 WFAN. 101.9 IS the WFAN signal, and 660 is just excess baggage, at least during the day. Audacy owns 660, and it is bringing very little to the table as a simulcast. If 660 were to become WNSH, and if it were marketed right, I wonder if it could A) serve the need for Country in Market 1, B) bring in dollars Audacy is not getting now, C)with proper marketing, demonstrate that AM does have a purpose in the radio world in 2021.

It is my feeling that most AM listening today is via Apps and Alexa. The AM transmitter is just there for in-car listening, and providing an easy local address for casual sampling. If 660 WNSH.com were marketed correctly (namely NEVER mention those ugly letters "AM"), Country could live in NY, and perhaps even prosper. Sporting events could still be carried by WNSH, courtesy of their cuzzins at WFAN, and the Yankees will have that booming signal for those night games.

Another thought - if 660 WNSH were to come to be, they might even be able to strike up a deal with 650 WSM and the Opry, with its live music with current stars (and many veterans) could be heard in the the northeast. A win for both Gaylord and Audacy.
Ryman Hospitality (Gaylord’s name nowadays) runs WSM as a museum piece and as an aural component to the Circle diginet. They aren’t actually running WSM as a traditional broadcaster would.

And if WFAN’s audience really has moved over to FM, then Audacy will flip 660 to their BetQL sports gambling network like what happened to WEEI 850 earlier this week.
 
“Buffalo”’s Wolf has a transmitter between Buffalo and Rochester and is further away from the Buffalo market than any other FM. So of course it’ll be a lousy-ish performer, but what would be a better option? A super-niche format like alternative rock or country?
Agreed, Buffalo and NYC are vastly different. Still, Buffalo only had one Country station for 20 years. There's no demand for another. Country will do no better than Alternative there. WYRK has that audience, so the Wolf will be looking for scraps.

Entercom HAD a format that performed in the 3 to 4 share range on that inferior signal. It was Album Rock for 8 years. It even played some currents. The format was more like AAA. It is possible to do better. The last 10 years had a failed News Talk simulcast, Alternative, and now Country. It's been one debacle after another since they abandoned The Lake...
 
Last edited:
Agreed, Buffalo and NYC are vastly different. Still, Buffalo only had one Country station for 20 years. There's no demand for another. Country will do no better than Alternative there. WYRK has that audience, so the Wolf will be looking for scraps.

Entercom HAD a format that performed in the 3 to 4 share range on that inferior signal. It was Album Rock for 8 years. It even played some currents. It is possible to do better. The last 10 years had a failed News Talk simulcast, Alternative, and now Country. It's been one debacle after another since they abandoned The Lake...
“No demand for another” in the city proper, but in the suburbs/rural areas that WLKK actually serves with that 60dBu…
 
Im not surprised they won't play throwbacks from the 70s and 80s....
It will happen eventually when 94.7’s new “The Block” comes along, maybe it will throw a lot of 70’s and 80’s throwbacks which is a great idea. And speaking of the new format, there is an internet station that it will play a lot of classic R&B and hip-hop, there’s Radio 905 FM from Brooklyn, NY. It’s on TuneIn. They have lots of good songs that you remember from WBLS and WRKS formerly at 98.7 when it was “Kiss-FM” for years. Go check it out!

 
“No demand for another” in the city proper, but in the suburbs/rural areas that WLKK actually serves with that 60dBu…
The low population in those rural areas won't make a difference. That signal was Country over 25 years ago with little success. The population has declined since then in those areas where the signal is strongest...
 
So now the question is raised - With NYC without a country station, who'll fill that void, and how quickly will someone jump on it?
If you want a much better country station than 94.7, you should go up to the Hudson Valley and listen to WRWD at 107.3 which is a great radio station and it did survive after the loss of WNSH’s “New York’s Country 94.7”. The link is down below.


And in addition, there’s WCZX/WZAD’s “The Wolf” at 97.7 and 97.3 which used to be on 94.3. It has a lot better country songs than what it was on 94.7. If you are in Connecticut, it’s on 105.5 You should check it out.


And if you are in Albany, there’s WKBE’s “Big Country 107.1” where they play country throwbacks, along with the “Classic Country Hall of Fame” hosted by my favorite, Kevin Richards. You should check it out. If you are not in New York, the streaming is geo-blocked in all areas if you have VPN.


And I am listening to Kevin Richards with the “Classic Country Hall of Fame” featuring the music of Dolly Parton right now, and just to keep in mind that radio stations like WHN and WYNY, the two country radio stations in NYC played a lot of Dolly Parton songs, and I am listening to it right now.

And finally, there’s WGNA in Albany where they are still playing country like it was on the former 94.7 in NYC. Go check it out.


All of the stations as linked below has streaming if you want to hear a good country station than what it was on the former 94.7 FM.
 
From what I'm hearing, the playlist is very similar to the ones heard on Yo! Montgomery and Da' Bomb Selma. It's not very tight per se. The mix covers many different years and performers, with more to come. I still look for this station to be highly successful. It's going to sell like hotcakes. If it doesn't become a top biller for the Big Apple and the ownership, that would surprise me.

Dan <><​
 
Last edited:
Playing not the throwbacks from the 80's sounding odd to me for a throwback station in the city where Rap/HipHop is born, 2 or 3 80's an hour should be great to make it NY special. Play Sugarhill Gang, LL Cool J but his older tracks, Melle Mel etc. Tracks from the soundtrack of the Netflix series The Get Down.
 
If you want a much better country station than 94.7, you should go up to the Hudson Valley and listen to WRWD at 107.3 which is a great radio station and it did survive after the loss of WNSH’s “New York’s Country 94.7”. The link is down below.


And in addition, there’s WCZX/WZAD’s “The Wolf” at 97.7 and 97.3 which used to be on 94.3. It has a lot better country songs than what it was on 94.7. If you are in Connecticut, it’s on 105.5 You should check it out.


And if you are in Albany, there’s WKBE’s “Big Country 107.1” where they play country throwbacks, along with the “Classic Country Hall of Fame” hosted by my favorite, Kevin Richards. You should check it out. If you are not in New York, the streaming is geo-blocked in all areas if you have VPN.


And I am listening to Kevin Richards with the “Classic Country Hall of Fame” featuring the music of Dolly Parton right now, and just to keep in mind that radio stations like WHN and WYNY, the two country radio stations in NYC played a lot of Dolly Parton songs, and I am listening to it right now.

And finally, there’s WGNA in Albany where they are still playing country like it was on the former 94.7 in NYC. Go check it out.


All of the stations as linked below has streaming if you want to hear a good country station than what it was on the former 94.7 FM.
None of those stations are going to show up in the NYC books lol
 
A couple general observations and questions:

It seems that the core NY Country airstaff will be sticking around in Audacy. The station's old site has been retro-fitted for the new HD2 format and the schedule still lists Katie & Company, Jesse Addy and Kelly Ford's weekend shows, as well as WYCD's Rob & Holly. Good for Audacy in keeping those guys around in some fashion.

Any possibility that some of the 90's "throwback" songs would be dropped from WCBS-FM and move to The Block? There definitely isn't much if any overlap between the two stations, but I imagine there could be a little counterprogramming. I feel like WCBS-FM started to add songs like TLC's Waterfalls in an effort to grab listeners from WBLS.

I'm curious to see how The Block will do. I think the presentation is good, but the signal will hamper it's success. There's also the question about how the Audacy NY sales team adapts to this format. The last station in that had anything close to an ethnic format was 92.3 Amp Radio with its Hispanic lean. Either way, I'm sure that in a few months the billing will be night and day compared to the country format.
 
The low population in those rural areas won't make a difference. That signal was Country over 25 years ago with little success. The population has declined since then in those areas where the signal is strongest...
What does this have to do with 94.7 changing formats? Last I checked, WNSH's signal didn't reach up to Erie County.
 
A couple general observations and questions:

It seems that the core NY Country airstaff will be sticking around in Audacy. The station's old site has been retro-fitted for the new HD2 format and the schedule still lists Katie & Company, Jesse Addy and Kelly Ford's weekend shows, as well as WYCD's Rob & Holly. Good for Audacy in keeping those guys around in some fashion.

Any possibility that some of the 90's "throwback" songs would be dropped from WCBS-FM and move to The Block? There definitely isn't much if any overlap between the two stations, but I imagine there could be a little counterprogramming. I feel like WCBS-FM started to add songs like TLC's Waterfalls in an effort to grab listeners from WBLS.

I'm curious to see how The Block will do. I think the presentation is good, but the signal will hamper it's success. There's also the question about how the Audacy NY sales team adapts to this format. The last station in that had anything close to an ethnic format was 92.3 Amp Radio with its Hispanic lean. Either way, I'm sure that in a few months the billing will be night and day compared to the country format.
They’re ”staying around” because they run on Audacy stations in other markets. It’s not because of the HD2.

I’m sure the sales team is delighted that they now have a more desirable format for advertisers. This decision was not made casually.
 
Somehow, a bit surprisingly to me, country holds its own in LA which is an extremely diverse market.

It doesn't matter. They're not selling ratings. They're selling an exclusive audience. When KZLA flipped to Movin,' Saul Levine flipped his classical station to country. The family wanted to get into a format that played currents music, had a small but passionate audience, and brought unique sales opportunities. It was a more active format than classical. The main thing is they saw value in selling an exclusive format. That's what they do. The owner's son is GM, and his daughter is GSM. This is all they sell. They're specialists in selling the fringe. Audacy's New York team is selling some of the most popular stations in town. When that team tells the GM "We can't sell country," he has no choice. Saul won't hear that in LA. In addition, they've cut costs to the bone, with minimal air staff.

And even with all of that said, in a couple weeks, they will temporarily flip the station to Christmas music because it gives them something special to sell.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom