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A visit to Danville & C-U

A

amfmxm

Had to spend 5 days back in Big D and Chambana last week. At a glance...

WDNL sounds great. Excellent morning act and solid musically. I liked the local stuff I heard on WDAN, too, but too much network for my tastes (hard to do otherwise on a small town AM). But the current version of 102 is the best radio I've ever heard done in Danville--at least over the past 50 years or so. Kudos to Mike Hulvey and crew.

WITY sounds like they're on life support. I was impressed with Covington's Kiss Country. (Flew in and out of Indy--the "new" WIBC(FM) and "The Fan" got all my Hoosier State listening time. Very good radio).

WLRW is still the class of C-U radio. Excellent talent, excellent imaging. Perfect music mix for that market.

WDWS wasn't quite as sharp as I remember them from other recent visits, but then football hasn't started, either.

I wanted WILL(AM) to pick up the pace a little--they all sound half asleep. On the other hand, if they put the AM format on the blowtorch FM signal, they'd rule the Great Corn & Soybean Desert.
 
What of WIAI??? I know they closed shop and snuck out of town to Champaign..or somewhere part way in between,
but what are they doing?
 
BrigThomson said:
What of WIAI??? I know they closed shop and snuck out of town to Champaign..or somewhere part way in between,
but what are they doing?
Click to expand...

Well, their stick is where it's always been--near Oakwood, north of I-74. But, yeah, it got snagged by Saga's C-U cluster a few years back and flipped to a Classic Hits thing (not to be confused with Saga's Adult Hits thing on 92.5, The Chief). Maybe someone else on this board can 'splain the difference to me. Does one skew younger than the other? Or is it a male/female deal? I'll admit that I did indeed punch both of them up for a micro-sampling during my visit, but that particular format has never held much interest. My excuse has always been that I played all that sh*t on the radio over & over & over & over--and the last thing I want to hear now is those same, old, tired songs!!!!
 
I think that WIAI, which changed calls to WXTT, dropped classic hits about three years ago for '80s rock (Extra 99.1: "Everything That Rocks"). But I'm long gone from C-U; maybe someone local can confirm.
 
Eighties Rock--that could be it. Yes, the calls are WXTT (which always triggers "Exit" for me--like "Get me the hell out of here!"). Trouble is, when you punch the button and hear "Pour Some Sugar On Me" it can be one of about six formats...

So how is this significantly/materially different from WCFF, and how does it play out demographically? In New York, LA, and Chicago 10-year demos work--just slicing up the agency millions--but in market #222 (or whatever it is now)?
 
Extra mostly plays 80s rock, but also throws some 90s grunge, 70s classics, and currents into the mix.

I would classify it as AOR, but they're officially 'classic rock' according to their SIP listing in Arbitron.

They are now the only place to get new rock in C-U (besides WPGU, which is very alternative these days) since 93.5 The Rock went classic alternative a month or two ago.
 
I'm still befuddled by "Extra" & "Chief." Saga certainly has the resources to program both stations effectively to reach distinct slices of the demographic pie, but I'm truly curious whether it has worked out that way.

In one of our markets a competitor's cluster contains both a Classic Rock and an Active Rock, but the two share 40 percent of their respective audiences--huge overlap.

Our salespeople helpfully suggest to clients that they buy one of the two, but not both. We tell them to buy whichever one is cheaper, because they're going to reach nearly half of the other station's audience for free anyway. (And, yes, that is what they do).

How has it worked out, thus far, in Urbana-Champaign?
 
Rowdy says, "They are now the only place to get new rock in C-U (besides WPGU, which is very alternative these days) since 93.5 The Rock went classic alternative a month or two ago.

Don't forget Parkland's WPCD (88.7), which is college alternative too.
 
dhughes said:
Don't forget Parkland's WPCD (88.7), which is college alternative too.
Click to expand...

Its been awhile since I last heard WPCD. When did they flip to college alternative?

The last time I checked them out, they were playing mainly classic rock by day and urban at night.
 
What a nice little college town.. To me, the local radio scene seems that it is over served with some stuff, and waaaaay under served with other stuff..

WPGU!.. I have never really listened to it... but, I was walking by their studios at around 2-3am one night and the "jock" said on air "Hi, how ya doing? If you're trying to sleep you probably shouldn't be listening to the radio right now..."

Master of the obvious... I love that line, and I'll borrow it one day...
 
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