AM Oldies Stations
> Why listen to oldies on AM when an FM playing virtually the
> same music is on FM? The average listener wouldn't do that.
> They've been in a 20 or 30-year habit of FM oldies
> listening. But...take away that format on FM....and put it
> on AM...if people know the station exists...they'll listen,
> I'll bet.
You posted a theory I was about to post here myself, actually.
With big-market FM stations owned by major broadcast groups (Infinity, especially) basically running away from the oldies format - the lifespan of Infinity oldies WGRR in Cincinnati, for example, is probably measured in days - could AM stations grab that gold?
I'm not talking about the older-skewing 50s/60s "real oldies" stations like WRLL. I'm talking about stations that don't play doo wop, have very little 50's music and concentrate on, say, the mid-60's to mid-70's, and have presentations similar to the FM stations no longer doing oldies.
Here are a few scenarios:
In markets like NYC and Chicago, given the success and high profile of the now-former oldies stations at 101.1 and 104.3, we may see another major operator pick up the slack on FM. In NYC, WQCD (Emmis) and Scott Shannon-programmed WPLJ (ABC) are most mentioned. I'm not sure who'd pick it up in Chicago, but operators like Bonneville and ABC are also in that market. In NYC, especially, the format would likely still do well with the former WCBS-FM personalities.
Would it last another 33 years? Probably not...as the format skews older with every passing year. Could ABC, Emmis or someone squeeze another 5 years or so of ratings and revenue out of it by resurrecting the popular station? They sure could.
If ABC and Scott Shannon grabbed the NYC oldies ring, not only are most of the now-gone WCBS-FM personalities former WABC(AM) mainstays, but Shannon could program oldies in his sleep. He literally runs and is the only voice on the nascent ABC-syndicated "True Oldies Channel", which just added WWOW/1360 in Conneaut, OH to its affiliate list. Of course, the new station would have to skew younger away from the kind of audience he's trying to get on that satellite format.
One variable here: I don't know if their contracts with CBS/Viacom/Infinity would prevent the former CBS-FM personalities from jumping ship, even without a station to call home right now.
Anyway, an AM station might not have a chance at the format in NYC or Chicago, but maybe in many of those other markets that Infinity, especially, has abandoned oldies. One monkey wrench in this: the rise of liberal talk on AM has taken many of these frequencies that could be used for oldies. For example, in Cincinnati, if WCKY/1530 hadn't flipped to libtalk, it would likely spruce up its former "real oldies" format with the impending departure of WGRR from oldies.
-OA
> Why listen to oldies on AM when an FM playing virtually the
> same music is on FM? The average listener wouldn't do that.
> They've been in a 20 or 30-year habit of FM oldies
> listening. But...take away that format on FM....and put it
> on AM...if people know the station exists...they'll listen,
> I'll bet.
You posted a theory I was about to post here myself, actually.
With big-market FM stations owned by major broadcast groups (Infinity, especially) basically running away from the oldies format - the lifespan of Infinity oldies WGRR in Cincinnati, for example, is probably measured in days - could AM stations grab that gold?
I'm not talking about the older-skewing 50s/60s "real oldies" stations like WRLL. I'm talking about stations that don't play doo wop, have very little 50's music and concentrate on, say, the mid-60's to mid-70's, and have presentations similar to the FM stations no longer doing oldies.
Here are a few scenarios:
In markets like NYC and Chicago, given the success and high profile of the now-former oldies stations at 101.1 and 104.3, we may see another major operator pick up the slack on FM. In NYC, WQCD (Emmis) and Scott Shannon-programmed WPLJ (ABC) are most mentioned. I'm not sure who'd pick it up in Chicago, but operators like Bonneville and ABC are also in that market. In NYC, especially, the format would likely still do well with the former WCBS-FM personalities.
Would it last another 33 years? Probably not...as the format skews older with every passing year. Could ABC, Emmis or someone squeeze another 5 years or so of ratings and revenue out of it by resurrecting the popular station? They sure could.
If ABC and Scott Shannon grabbed the NYC oldies ring, not only are most of the now-gone WCBS-FM personalities former WABC(AM) mainstays, but Shannon could program oldies in his sleep. He literally runs and is the only voice on the nascent ABC-syndicated "True Oldies Channel", which just added WWOW/1360 in Conneaut, OH to its affiliate list. Of course, the new station would have to skew younger away from the kind of audience he's trying to get on that satellite format.
One variable here: I don't know if their contracts with CBS/Viacom/Infinity would prevent the former CBS-FM personalities from jumping ship, even without a station to call home right now.
Anyway, an AM station might not have a chance at the format in NYC or Chicago, but maybe in many of those other markets that Infinity, especially, has abandoned oldies. One monkey wrench in this: the rise of liberal talk on AM has taken many of these frequencies that could be used for oldies. For example, in Cincinnati, if WCKY/1530 hadn't flipped to libtalk, it would likely spruce up its former "real oldies" format with the impending departure of WGRR from oldies.
-OA