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Could "Magic" return to Philly?

A

atthestars

Note, this is a question, not even speculation that it might happen!

Seeing how successful iHeart's launch of Magic 93.9 in Miami was (and the subsequent launch of Magic 100.1 in Fort Myers), might we see them expand to other markets, either with new launches, or possibly taking a Rumba and shifting it to Magic?

I truly don't know the breakdown of the Spanish population in the Philly market and if something like Magic would appeal to them... or how well Rumba is billing/how it fits into iHeart's overall plan etc., so I'm more curious if Magic might be a possibility in Philly.
 
atthestars said:
Note, this is a question, not even speculation that it might happen!

Seeing how successful iHeart's launch of Magic 93.9 in Miami was (and the subsequent launch of Magic 100.1 in Fort Myers), might we see them expand to other markets, either with new launches, or possibly taking a Rumba and shifting it to Magic?

I truly don't know the breakdown of the Spanish population in the Philly market and if something like Magic would appeal to them... or how well Rumba is billing/how it fits into iHeart's overall plan etc., so I'm more curious if Magic might be a possibility in Philly.
Click to expand...
Rumba is a great success. It will not change for a format that appeals to a group that does not exist in significant numbers in Philadelphia.
 
DavidEduardo said:
Rumba is a great success. It will not change for a format that appeals to a group that does not exist in significant numbers in Philadelphia.
Click to expand...
I think that could be said for most large markets, or even most markets that don’t have a large Spanish speaking population. Can’t really see iHeart sacrificing a station anywhere that targets a Spanish dominant audience for a bilingual format unless there are a lot of other options in the market. Miami is an outlier.
 
Magic is on the HD2 of 102.1 in Dallas. Could they put it on the HD2 of other stations across the country?
 
I remember when WMGK (WPEN-FM) and WPEN 950 were co owned on the third floor around 29th and Chestnut, when WMGK was Magic playing soft rock and WPEN was oldies Bobby Dark, after playing the Spoonful Do you believe in Magic said I do they are right down the hall...I think it was either Larry Wexler or Al Horwitz that came up withe the slogan and playlist that hundreds of stations adapted.
 
MGK and PEN occupied the second and third floors of 2212 Walnut Street. The marble entranceway was still there the last time I was there - over a decade ago. When I worked there in the mid 70s, the first floor was a furniture rental place.
1978-08-0011.jpg
The "magic" format was developed by two main individuals - the late Dave Klahr and the late Julian Breen. Below is a picture of Dave Klahr in his old Walnut Street office on the third floor. This picture was taken on the day that we closed up shop in Philly and moved out to Bala Cynwyd.
1978-06-0006.jpg

And below is a picture of Julian Breen. He was the Greater Media corporate programmer who filled in at WMGK during times when we were without a PD. This picture was taken at a celebration of the new "70s Station" format.
1994-08-#1-0011.jpg

The initial "magic" format was syndicated to a few stations, including Greater Media's own WMGQ in New Brunswick, and WMJC in the Detroit market. Reel tapes of programming sets were made in Philly and sent to the other stations for an exact repeat, one week later.

Early on, in 1975 and 1976, Greater Media attempted to "service mark" the name "magic" but was unsuccessful in the courts in blocking non-syndication radio stations from using the term. You can see the small "SM" used in the logo of the day.

PostcardLogo.jpg

Larry Wexler was the general manager at the outset of "magic". I don't know an Al Horwitz.
 
Last edited:
When I first saw the subject line, my first thought was no... before I read it.
I was thinking the OP was talking about bringing back Magic as AC again.
I had forgotten about the new iHeart Magic....
 
JH_Radio said:
When I first saw the subject line, my first thought was no... before I read it.
I was thinking the OP was talking about bringing back Magic as AC again.
I had forgotten about the new iHeart Magic....
Click to expand...
The new iHeart format is Hispanic targeted AC with mostly English language music. It can be called by any name in any other market. It's a format and not a name.
 
HGN2001 said:
MGK and PEN occupied the second and third floors of 2212 Walnut Street. The marble entranceway was still there the last time I was there - over a decade ago. When I worked there in the mid 70s, the first floor was a furniture rental place.
View attachment 6459
The "magic" format was developed by two main individuals - the late Dave Klahr and the late Julian Breen. Below is a picture of Dave Klahr in his old Walnut Street office on the third floor. This picture was taken on the day that we closed up shop in Philly and moved out to Bala Cynwyd.
View attachment 6460

And below is a picture of Julian Breen. He was the Greater Media corporate programmer who filled in at WMGK during times when we were without a PD. This picture was taken at a celebration of the new "70s Station" format.
View attachment 6461

The initial "magic" format was syndicated to a few stations, including Greater Media's own WMGQ in New Brunswick, and WMJC in the Detroit market. Reel tapes of programming sets were made in Philly and sent to the other stations for an exact repeat, one week later.

Early on, in 1975 and 1976, Greater Media attempted to "service mark" the name "magic" but was unsuccessful in the courts in blocking non-syndication radio stations from using the term. You can see the small "SM" used in the logo of the day.

View attachment 6462

Larry Wexler was the general manager at the outset of "magic". I don't know an Al Horwitz.
Click to expand...
Magic 98.3 used to air the same log as Magic 102.9. People in central Jersey noticed the same songs in the same order on both stations. There was also Magic 106.7 in Boston.
 
lanceventa said:
I'll take it a step further...

It's a brand name chosen for use in Miami.
The only reason it's being called Magic elsewhere so far is because iHeart hasn't had to worry about duplication in markets where it is on a primary analog signal. IF THEY WERE to launch it in say San Diego they wouldn't be able to do so.
Click to expand...
And after you hit with the right, I'll slug with the left:

Names are just names. Not formats.

"Magic" is in use on over 50 US stations. Formats range from rhythmic, Urban and Urban gold to Classic Hits, AC and Oldies. The is even a Tejano and an Oldies station or two using that name.. And one CHR..

Another example:

"Mega" is used for only local rock in Argentina, mostly English Rock in Venezuela, CHR in Puerto Rico and R/B oldies to Classic Rock to Tropical in the USA.
 
I used to believe that broadcasters were ready to pounce on any potential conflict in station names - and then I watched as two "Alt" stations coexisted in Albany for several years, and realized sometimes we think about these things more intently than station owners do.

(Especially when it's an HD subchannel)
 
AbrahamJSimpson said:
In regard to what iHeart recently launched? No.
Click to expand...
It's a gold based AC. Is the Hispanic market in Philly big enough to support this? They didn't support the last Hispanic format on 104.5. The only way it would have a shot is if a bunch of us English people picked up Babbel and learned spanish.
 
The Breeze and the current iHeart Magic are fundamentally different. Further, comparing Rumba 104.5 back in the day to Rumba 106 is completely wrong. They are different formats, and what happened then is not relevant to today.
 
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