94.7 Updates

[Giacomo Siffredi]

Very interesting that PLJ is playing allot of Alternative rock songs.

PLJ hasn't touched a song they don't normally do. Nothing to see there.

Completely agree. No change in the playlist at all. The only change at WPLJ has been the TOH ID. Both WPLJ and WFME are using the same TOH ID, which was updated by the 6PM hour to reflect Cumulus's new family member.

I have an idea this is going to go on through the weekend. It's more interesting they're still hanging on to the WFME calls at the TOH and not RXP despite the RDS saying so. You would think if the WRXP calls are a parked ruse (probably) they'd just run with it at this point.

The FCC presently lists the official call-sign as WFME. There is an outstanding request for the WRXP call-sign for this station.

It is my understanding that a station can request specifically when they intend to begin using the new call-sign. If the call-sign is available, the FCC approves the change which then officially occurs at the time and day the applicant has requested.

The RDS is not official. Most people don't listen to or even know much about HD Radio anyway :

Speculation on my part here: It is quite possible the WPLJ simulcast stunting will continue so the new format can be announced and promoted on both WPLJ and WFME. Unlike WFME, the WPLJ audience is substantially larger with a significantly younger demographic.

 

[MoldaMania182]

I like alternative but rarely hear it on WPLJ. Could be coincidence but to me it seems I am hearing more of them than usual for a bit but it seems to have dropped off now.
For example,
Lumineers - Ho Hey
Fun - Some Nights
Fun - We Are Young f/Janelle Monae
Alex Clare - Too Close
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Oddly they have also repeated Ed Sheerhan's, The A-Team twice in the last two hours. Except for Coldplay all of these are 2012 to current Alternative charts in the summer and fall. Could have been just your typical Hot-AC playing some cross overs.

All of those songs are barely alternative as it is except Alex Clare maybe, despite all doing well an Alt stations. Anyway again - absolutely nothing to see there. This should answer it for you.
http://charts.bdsradio.com/bdsradiocharts/charts.aspx?formatid=10

The FCC presently lists the official call-sign as WFME. There is an outstanding request for the WRXP call-sign for this station.

It is my understanding that a station can request specifically when they intend to begin using the new call-sign. If the call-sign is available, the FCC approves the change which then officially occurs at the time and day the applicant has requested.

The RDS is not official. Most people don't listen to or even know much about HD Radio anyway :

Speculation on my part here: It is quite possible the WPLJ simulcast stunting will continue so the new format can be announced and promoted on both WPLJ and WFME. Unlike WFME, the WPLJ audience is substantially larger with a significantly younger demographic.

Understoond and agree on the FCC part, I was more suggesting they already put it out there in public view so they aren't exactly keeping a secret, and it's very easy to change. RDS and HD Radio aren't one in the same. I have plenty of good ol AM/FM radios that are not HD but have full RDS, even 10 year old Camry's do. The second I heard the shadowcast I had the exact same conclusion...Scott and Todd on Monday?

Also WFME has put out a statement: http://www.wfme.net/news/

 

[xmusicmatt]

My guess is the audio sounds awful because they have to install or tweak the processing that was used by Family Radio... Also the fact its broadcasting in HD means they have done some upgrades to the transmission plant too. I am guessing the 'drop of carrier' is them making STL adjustments and taking Family Radio out of the loop. Also since they are airing WPLJ i am guessing it's a temp feed wired up to have "audio" on air..

 

[stationless listener]

94.7's audio is ahead of PLJ weird. Also on my phone I have an FM Radio and it's displaying WRXP as the RDS on 94.7 FM. Could 95.5 swap frequencies to 94.7 and 95.5 become RXP while 94.7 becomes 94.7 WPLJ?

I think you may not that far off. And, considering that airing 'PLJ on 94.7 would give those NJ residents time to sample the new frequency, Cumulus could conclude that they can move the format there permanently and have the more city-friendly format on 95.5.

 

[ty_kleinle]

Ironic, I was headed home tonight (not even knowing about the switch) and put on 94.7 wondering if the had changed yet. What I heard sounded sort of alternative, so I thought they had flipped to that format. Before the song even ended, I switched to PLJ on 95.5 and heard the same thing a few seconds later. This is a good idea for the time being. People who usually heard "hail jesus" on that frequency and immediately changed the station can now can hear something a lot more tolerable to the average listener. WFME used to operate a translator on 97.3 in my area (East Stroudsburg, PA) but for some reason it's been off ever since the sale.

 

[mikerock]

All of those songs are barely alternative as it is except Alex Clare maybe, despite all doing well an Alt stations. Anyway again - absolutely nothing to see there. This should answer it for you.
http://charts.bdsradio.com/bdsradiocharts/charts.aspx?formatid=10

So it looks like they are just making their way over to HOT-AC charts. There are some songs I expect to make their way to HOT-AC but was kind of surprised to see these ones.

Except for the Coldplay song which is quite old, I found them all high on the Alternative charts last spring summer which is how I find and download new music. They were also heard regularly on WRXP and WRFF. Ho Hey which has been out for a very long time now but is currently ranked #4 on the Alternative chart.

So I would not say they are barely alternative. It is just they seem to making their way to the Hot-AC charts after being around for 6+ months.

 

[Giacomo Siffredi]

And, considering that airing 'PLJ on 94.7 would give those NJ residents time to sample the new frequency, Cumulus could conclude that they can move the format there permanently and have the more city-friendly format on 95.5.

Very doubtful. For two reasons:

1. WFME does not extend significantly farther west beyond WPLJ's primary coverage contour. The population is also less dense in western New Jersey, thus a smaller audience.
2. WPLJ is highly profitable as it is. Making such a drastic change could be a mistake.

The simulcast stunting could have to do with some eventual cross-promotion for the new format, but the main reason why WPLJ is now being heard over Cumulus's newly acquired WFME is because WPLJ is a Cumulus property, and it is one of their most successful properties at that.

 

[pjc1961]

The 94.7 audio is about 18-20 seconds ahead of 95.5's. It's likely that 94.7 is running "totally live" without profanity (variable time) and HD processing (automatic 8 second) delays.

As far as coverage goes: without looking at a map, I'd think it's fair to say that 95.5 can be heard in virtually all areas that 94.7 can be heard, whereas 94.7 can't be heard in all the areas that 95.5 can.

Thus, it makes no sense to alienate an already built-in audience at 95.5 by moving its format to 94.7 and then running an "unproven" format on 95.5, possibly ruining two signals for Cumulus.
Just put the new format on 94.7 and see what happens while leaving the money-making 95.5 alone.

 

[ka2xuk]

Just put the new format on 94.7 and see what happens while leaving the money-making 95.5 alone.

And that is very probably what Cumulus will do. Since they just closed on the sale of WFME, they had to put something on the air, as there was no provision in the sale agreement for Family Stations to LMA 94.7 back from Cumulus until Cumulus is ready with its "real" format...unlike the situation with WKDN and Merlin in Philly.

If 94.7 does go country, it will be full circle. The first station to use 94.7 in the New York area was WAAT-FM in Jersey City. It simulcast WAAT/970, which was a longtime country station. Other callsigns and formats occupying 94.7 include:

WNTA-FM (Newark, "beautiful music") WNTA-FM was the first stereo station in New Jersey.
WFME (Newark), an MOR simulcast of then co-owned WJRZ/970.
In 1966, Family Stations bought WFME and switched it to religious programming.

 

[Barry]

With all the talk about 94.7 going country, doesn't the frequency's upcoming WRXP callsign strongly indicate that alternative or modern rock will be the likely format?
I get it that this choice of call may be a "decoy." But what would be the point? No competing station has had a country format for many years. Would Cumulus be concerned that all of a sudden one may suddenly flip to country first if it was known that the format is planned for 94.7? So they use a temporary call to fool competitors into thinking they are going alternative? That seems like a stretch.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Did anyone notice that besides the RDS data displaying the station name as WRXP FM, it displays the title as ROCK? Not that it proves anything.

http://i49.tinypic.com/2holk3l.jpg

 

[ty_kleinle]

Did anyone notice that besides the RDS data displaying the station name as WRXP FM, it displays the title as ROCK? Not that it proves anything.

http://i49.tinypic.com/2holk3l.jpg

Seems pretty likely that they'll be switching to alternative rock. I highly doubt the radio engineers set up the RDS just to troll us radio geeks. The question is, when will the flip happen?

 

[BarryATL]

It sounds like the Cumulus engineers are just getting access to the transmitter. All of this may not be stunting. As others have alluded to, it is probably just the engineers doing their thing. If they did drop in an HD transmitter, that will require the analog to go on and off several times. Also, they could be working on the transmitter itself. Since the station has no format yet, the boss probably turned the engineers loose to work on the transmitter plant during daytime hours instead of waiting to do it in the middle of the night.

As for the PLJ simulcast? I agree that it is not stunting... probably just a test signal. Basically, the engineers can tune back and forth between PLJ and FME to see how close they are to getting the Cumulus sound in the audio chain. Also, to test the feed from the Cumulus studios which was just probably set up today.

 

[pjc1961]

IIRC, there have been comments made on this board in the past regarding the condition of the WFME transmitter and facilities - that maybe they weren't quite up to snuff. Is this true? It would explain the current machinations going on with maintenance we can hear over-the-air.

The only other station that I've definitely heard worse about its facilities would be 99.5 WBAI.

 

[Jeffrey]

this is proving to be very interesting and exciting. At the end of the day New York is gaining a new frequency no matter what the format. WFME was about as useful and popular as broadcasting dead air would have been. 47 years with 2 people listening.

My guess is 94.7 will go Alt rock, a format which would pull in more numbers than country and undoubtedly make more money but that's only speculation on my part.
I do wonder why they would use the WRXP calls though. Seems odd to resurrect calls that don't mean much to New Yorker's although they may be trying to build on the momentum of WXRP's last stint albeit short. RXP did better then than before the Merlin fm news disaster and they did use the RXP calls as their moniker....

Who knows? Stay tuned........

 

[pjc1961]

WPLJ/WFME playlist for Friday 1/11/2013 for the first two hours+ of the simulcast/shadowcast - read up from bottom:
(via Tune Genie: http://wplj.tunegenie.com/)

Too Close - Alex Clare 5:58pm
Behind These Hazel Eyes - Kelly Clarkson 5:55pm
Without You - Usher 5:51pm
Commercial break -
I Don't Want to Be - Gavin DeGraw 5:42pm
Part of Me - Katy Perry 5:38pm
It Will Rain - Bruno Mars 5:34pm
Ho Hey - The Lumineers 5:32pm
Just a Girl - No Doubt 5:28pm
Mermaid - Train 5:25pm
Irreplaceable - Beyoncé 5:22pm
Commercial break -
Feels Like Tonight - Daughtry 5:10pm
Lights - Ellie Goulding 5:06pm
The A Team - Ed Sheeran 5:02pm
Rumour Has It - ADELE 4:58pm
Diamonds - Rihanna 4:54pm
One More Night - Maroon 5 4:50pm
Commercial break -
Wide Awake - Katy Perry 4:39pm
Save Tonight - Eagle-Eye Cherry 4:36pm
Feel Again - One Republic 4:33pm
Mercy - Duffy 4:29pm
Locked Out of Heaven - Bruno Mars 4:26pm
Beautiful - Christina Aguilera 4:22pm
Everybody Talks - Neon Trees 4:19pm
Commercial break -
Please Don't Leave Me - P!nk 4:08pm
Home - PHILIP PHILIPS 4:05pm
TITANIUM - #DAVID GUETTA featuring SIA (See-Uh) 4:01pm
Move Along - The All-American Rejects 3:57pm
Catch My Breath - Kelly Clarkson 3:53pm
Not Over You - Gavin DeGraw 3:50pm (94.7 + 95.5 linked up at approximately 3:51-3:52pm ET)
Commercial break -

WFME 94.7 Family Radio signed off at 3:39pm ET (after a five and a half minute announcement - see post above this one with audio) - static followed on 94.7 from 3:39pm to 3:51-3:52pm ET

Pre-simulcast/shadowcast (on 95.5 only):
Girl On Fire - Alicia Keys 3:39pm

Of course this isn't the same as a full format change; a new list (or lists) will be posted upon the switch to the new format {or stunt(s), if it's like Greater Media's recent multi-day stunt on 96.9 in Boston - not likely}.

 

[Giacomo Siffredi]

WFME was about as useful and popular as broadcasting dead air would have been. 47 years with 2 people listening.

Speaking of dead air, two of the non-denominational ministries Family Radio airs daily are hosted by now deceased evangelists: Dr. Robert A. Cook and Dr. Dwayne Spencer. Family Bible Reading Fellowship is narrated by Hendrick Van Dyke, who has also passed.

It is kind of awkward to put on a radio station where the chances a living individual will be speaking is slightly less than that of someone deceased ??? :-\

In all fairness, WFME as a religious station had a steady audience that at its apex was estimated at around 200,000 listeners. Once in a while, it even garnered enough audience that it would make the bottom of Arbitron's charts.

But Family Radio is a ministry that strayed from its original mission once its president and general manager elected to interpret and add to the bible as opposed to preaching God's word. These last deviations, the 2011 rapture/end of the world prognostications, were the fatal blows. And it has forced the sales of some of their most valuable stations, including the one that begins this day in a very different way than it has for nearly fifty years.

Family Radio may wind up on 106.3FM and/or an AM station. But it will face an even greater herculean task than it has over the past year. The charitable donations trickled to an unsustainable level forcing the divesting of the station they owned free-and-clear for nearly half a century. If the AM station they close on cannot provide reliable service to a substantial percentage of WFME's coverage contour, those anemic donations are guaranteed to decline.

Indeed, dead air just may be in Family Radio's future.

My guess is 94.7 will go Alt rock, a format which would pull in more numbers than country and undoubtedly make more money but that's only speculation on my part.
I do wonder why they would use the WRXP calls though. Seems odd to resurrect calls that don't mean much to New Yorker's although they may be trying to build on the momentum of WXRP's last stint albeit short. RXP did better then than before the Merlin fm news disaster and they did use the RXP calls as their moniker....

A lot of Alternative Rock fans were justifiably angered at the callous way Merlin Media abruptly pulled the plug on WRXP "New Rock 101.9FM" and just as quickly pulled the plug on the social media outlets the station used. They felt they got played and used. As good as that station was during its all-too-brief time on the air, I am wondering if any damage was done to the format because of Merlin's mishandling of the situation at the end. The saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice..."

Again, that wasn't a failure of the format. It was a failure of management.

Back to the current topic: The WPLJ simulcast continues. And as of midnight, it is now a true simulcast.

 

[Element9]

Interesting that rather than loading up a hard drive with 600 songs (of any format and variety) and a slew of bumpers, driven by AudioVault (or any other automation program) and delivering the feed from the PD's office or transmitter, Cumulus chooses to simulcast WPLJ on 94.7.

 

[badjef]

Interesting that rather than loading up a hard drive with 600 songs (of any format and variety) and a slew of bumpers, driven by AudioVault (or any other automation program) and delivering the feed from the PD's office or transmitter, Cumulus chooses to simulcast WPLJ on 94.7.

Probably trying to capture those elusive Belmar listeners...

;D

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[ansky212]

My guess is 94.7 will go Alt rock, a format which would pull in more numbers than country and undoubtedly make more money but that's only speculation on my part.

Don't forget, the 94.7 coverage area has a lot of overlap with that of WDHA 105.5, and WDHA is already a well established rock station. While you could argue that DHA is "active rock" and RXP would be "alternative rock" (honestly, I don't know what the difference is), you'd still be pulling from the same small pool of rock listeners. So I don't know that the ratings of RXP would be as high as you might think.