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94.7 Updates

I think this "listener opinion" gimmick is perfect for drawing attention to the 94.7 frequency which is "new" to most people. It also helps build up suspense. My guess is that this will continue all week, and perhaps they debut the new format sometime on Friday, or maybe next Monday.
 
Perhaps what people are telling them will reiterate the decision Cumulus has already made. This signal is a NJ signal, and I'm pretty confident they bought it with that in mind. In the end it will be a format that is catered to NJ/and West Chester County to some extent. It would also make some sense that all the talk of it on WPLJ indicates the audience might be similar. My guess is still Country, with WPLJ becoming a bit more "modern" if you will. Rock lived at WPLJ for many years...why couldn't it live there today?
 
thataveragejoe said:
erwin33 said:
And it's strange for asking the listeners what format they will hear

I also agree with this. It's like saying hey, you like our product, what would it take to get you not to use it anymore? At the same time, it's there, people notice, might as well have fun with it I suppose.

I think it's a great ploy to raise some awareness. 94.7 has been off people's radar for 47 years! Making people feel like they have a say though is quite a good gimick. You can clearly see where the WPLJ listenership resides though by the formats they choose. I wonder if PLJ were a more 5 borough centric station what sort of responses they would get.
 
I agree with the others that have posted. This is better than stunting. It creates buzz and the possibility of media coverage (besides WPLJ). Whoever thought of this at the weekly staff meeting gets an A+. :)
 
thataveragejoe said:
erwin33 said:
And it's strange for asking the listeners what format they will hear

I also agree with this. It's like saying hey, you like our product, what would it take to get you not to use it anymore? At the same time, it's there, people notice, might as well have fun with it I suppose.

That's actually hilarious. "Hey, what format would you listen to on 94.7? Oh, country? Okay, then we'll be sure to put alternative rock on to make sure you don't stop listening to 'PLJ."
 
I'm sure Cumulus feels they can create somewhat of a package for advertisers with WPLJ/WRXP/WFAS and WABC to some extent. Country or Alternative could fill the hole between what they have planned for WFAS and WPLJ. It's all about the suburbs with this cluster. They aren't catering to NYC, with the exception of maybe Staten Island. Maybe they don't want to fight for the same crumbs that everyone else is fighting for. Greater Media does this to some extent in Philadelphia with it's Rock and Sports programming leaning towards males. Find what works and build on it...knowing nobody is really going to challenge you for it, and in the end they might actually tweak which benefits your cluster.
 
I love the latest post on their FB, looks like a true average person finally found the RDS on 94.7...
 
Put me down as saying that the cross-station stunting idea is brilliant. It's unlikely other formats would pull from PLJ's numbers, and now people are talking. Just throwing the new format on 94.7 would have been the equivalent of a tree falling in the forest.

They were even saying "you can hear us five seconds faster on 94.7..."
 
thataveragejoe said:
I love the latest post on their FB, looks like a true average person finally found the RDS on 94.7...

Haha yeah, it says "nice prank". And I kind of agree. If they were really going to put rock on this station I really doubt they would have made the true RDS visible already, given that they are playing up the new format as a big secret.
 
For those interested, a clip of the WPLJ / WRXP ID is now available at TopHour.com. Link below.
http://www.tophour.com/

Personally, I think 94.7 is going to go the Alternative route again - WRXP 2.0 was actually pulling respectable numbers before its abrupt demise - but nothing is what it seems in the world of radio. It could just as easily go Country, for all we know. I guess we'll have to be patient and employ the old "wait-and-see" approach.
 
ansky212 said:
thataveragejoe said:
I love the latest post on their FB, looks like a true average person finally found the RDS on 94.7...

Haha yeah, it says "nice prank". And I kind of agree. If they were really going to put rock on this station I really doubt they would have made the true RDS visible already, given that they are playing up the new format as a big secret.

Maybe maybe not. Don't lose sight of the entertainment value of playing it up as a secret. The business is run from the office not the receiving end of the morning show. Everything done right now is to generate buzz and nothing more.
 
I wonder however if Cumulus would really do country given it'd take away from PLJ's core audience. Alt. rock would not.

"Disenfranchised" country listeners are spread across the dial. Yes, a country station would retake some listeners back from WPLJ, but it would also take them back from WLTW, WCBS-FM, Q-104, and among younger listeners, Z-100 and even WKTU. (I was surprised that any country fans would listen to WKTU, but I have met a few. Absent a country station, people listen to their 2nd-favorite music.)

And country fans in the 94.7 coverage area, particularly Bergen County and the areas not served by any other country station, proved they exist with the FCC petitions they signed regarding interference from the 106.3 translator a couple years ago. (For every person who signed or filed through the website, there must be some number who are fans, but didn't file.)
 
NJMark said:
I wonder however if Cumulus would really do country given it'd take away from PLJ's core audience. Alt. rock would not.

"Disenfranchised" country listeners are spread across the dial. Yes, a country station would retake some listeners back from WPLJ, but it would also take them back from WLTW, WCBS-FM, Q-104, and among younger listeners, Z-100 and even WKTU. (I was surprised that any country fans would listen to WKTU, but I have met a few. Absent a country station, people listen to their 2nd-favorite music.)

Not that I'm disagreeing with you at all, but out of all the stations currently PLJ would most likely stand to lose the most by a country station, and the feedback so far kind of proves that. All the rumors and knowns, coverage areas and demos aside; Cumulus needs to flank PLJ, not divide it. While it bills well, it's ratings haven't exactly trended stellar of recent times; not so sure Cumulus wants to risk that and mess with it any further. Maybe they do, maybe they just see it as keeping it in the family...we shall see.

As I've said before, both potential audiences deserve a station by now.
 
The 94.7 signal somewhat close to 105.5 WDHA and may have trouble succeeding as a rock station especially in North Jersey.
 
Danfm said:
The 94.7 signal somewhat close to 105.5 WDHA and may have trouble succeeding as a rock station especially in North Jersey.

This has been discussed ad nauseum in this thread by now.
 
Mark77 said:
For those interested, a clip of the WPLJ / WRXP ID is now available at TopHour.com. Link below.
http://www.tophour.com/

Personally, I think 94.7 is going to go the Alternative route again - WRXP 2.0 was actually pulling respectable numbers before its abrupt demise - but nothing is what it seems in the world of radio. It could just as easily go Country, for all we know. I guess we'll have to be patient and employ the old "wait-and-see" approach.

It all depends on timing. When did those "respectable numbers" get released? Remember, Cumulus bought this station in October and likely already had a format in mind well before then.
 
I kind of apologize for polluting this thread with my thoughts, but it really does amaze me we are this far in to this over the last few months, and have no real leaks or credible info from anywhere on the future. Some intern, some graphic artist, some label guy, some marketing guy, some potential dj, someone at this point usually says something (stupid) via social media or a friend. Kudos to Cumulus for keep this so well under wraps by now.
 
Has anyone noticed WPLJ is playing the same songs over and over? More so than usual. Maybe I am reading too much into it, but something is odd about that. How many times does one need to hear "A-Team" by Ed Sheeran? Just one example of course.
 
ansky212 said:
... I just heard Scott & Todd say they are taking people's opinions about the new format and that we will still have the opportunity to do so tomorrow.

Is "Mojo Radio" an option? :D
 
ansky212 said:
Mark77 said:
For those interested, a clip of the WPLJ / WRXP ID is now available at TopHour.com. Link below.
http://www.tophour.com/

Personally, I think 94.7 is going to go the Alternative route again - WRXP 2.0 was actually pulling respectable numbers before its abrupt demise - but nothing is what it seems in the world of radio. It could just as easily go Country, for all we know. I guess we'll have to be patient and employ the old "wait-and-see" approach.

It all depends on timing. When did those "respectable numbers" get released? Remember, Cumulus bought this station in October and likely already had a format in mind well before then.

He's talking about RXP 101.9 and their last book before they went sports. They pulled in a 2.0 or slightly higher if I remember correctly.
Much better than they did the first time around after the demize of smooth jazz. Their execution the second time around was much better and it showed in their numbers.
Country wouldn't get above a 1.5-2.0 in my opinion which I guess I've said several times so I'll stop polluting the board with it! Cumulus may try it though and then it will fail like the others...unfortunately for me though neither country or alt. rock excite me so while I'm happy NYC is getting a new format it won't do anything for me personally unless of course they do something that no one saw coming and go dance/EDM or r&b.
Stranger things have happened though. Remember Kiss disappearing overnight? That was surreal.
 
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