Does B98.5 stand a chance?

[JerseyShor]

I live less than 10 miles from B98.5's transmitter and I already get:

94.5 WPST loud and clear
95.1 WAYV loud and clear
99.3 WZBZ loud and clear
102.7 WWAC loud and clear
104.9 WSJO loud and clear

102.1 WIOQ very well
96.5 WRDW very well

93.7 WSTW fairly well

94.3 WJLK poorly (but clearly only about 10 miles north)

92.3 WXRK very, very weak

That is a lot of competition!!!

 

[d21ofnj]

Looks like their Hit page is getting heated! The G-Rock chants are coming back!!!

http://www.facebook.com/hit106?ref=search#!/hit106?v=wall&ref=search

 

[VeteranPD]

Point One: Not a chance.

Point Two: The return of G-Rock? Not a chance. Just on the principle of it.

 

[d21ofnj]

Hmmm....very rhythmic now. Kaci Battaglia's Body Shots, Blackout Allstars, the Mike Rizzo remix of Boys Like Girls......and just announced the hitmix will feature DJ Prime mon-fri and have a 4 hour mixshow on both friday and saturday nights. Funny how this happened after I spilled out the Party :-X

 

[hubcity]

Looks like their Hit page is getting heated! The G-Rock chants are coming back!!!

http://www.facebook.com/hit106?ref=search#!/hit106?v=wall&ref=search

Because the best thing that can happen to the Alternative format is to shame the people that wrote it off into programming it against their will. After all, how bad can it be?

 

[d21ofnj]

Looks like their Hit page is getting heated! The G-Rock chants are coming back!!!

http://www.facebook.com/hit106?ref=search#!/hit106?v=wall&ref=search

Because the best thing that can happen to the Alternative format is to shame the people that wrote it off into programming it against their will. After all, how bad can it be?

Well, there's something about G-Rock that the fans won't believe it's dead, same for the dance fans with Pulse 87.

 

[hubcity]

Y'know, that's the thing - I think those are the kinds of listeners you *want* to have. Not ones that go "meh, that station went country, I wonder what else is on?"

The first salesperson that successfully communicates that intensity to a potential advertiser wins.

 

[SoulCrusher]

Judging by what has been said on the Hit 106 Facebook page, I think we can safely arrive at the conclusion that the only thing that the station about to take the air which calls itself B98.5 and the B98.5 which ran from 1997-2005 have in common is a name.

None of the personalities that were a part of B98.5 during its eight year run are going to be involved with this station - not even Matt Knight, who was an employee of Press Communications until last week and would have lent it some much needed credibility.

Given the nature of the Top 40 format and how music that is even 5 years old is considered ancient, it's highly unlikely we're even going to hear any of the same songs that the former B98.5 played.

Finally, the old B98.5 broadcasted out of a studio not too far from where its transmitter is located in Manahawkin. If memory serves me correctly, that old studio was converted to a sales office when B98.5 died. This incarnation will be broadcasting from the same facility in Neptune that The Breeze and Thunder studios are located at. That alone should tell you that this B98.5 won't be as involved with the community that it served as its namesake.

Sure, we have yet to hear what the finished product actually sounds like. But from what we know, there's hardly anything that stands out about B98.5 - it's just your run-of-the-mill hit music station. If they don't take some chances and attempt to stand out musically (which I don't expect to happen, given the fact that Pork Roll & Eggs are now the grizzled veteran personalities of the station, having been on just shy of 20 months), count on it to have a shorter shelf life than Hit 106.

 

[SoulCrusher]

Looks like their Hit page is getting heated! The G-Rock chants are coming back!!!

http://www.facebook.com/hit106?ref=search#!/hit106?v=wall&ref=search

Because the best thing that can happen to the Alternative format is to shame the people that wrote it off into programming it against their will. After all, how bad can it be?

Well, there's something about G-Rock that the fans won't believe it's dead, same for the dance fans with Pulse 87.

I think these people care so much because G Rock (and FM 106.3) were such good examples of the format they represented.

Unlike those who read these forums and post here, many don't understand the nuts and bolts of the business. I'm sure they have an idea, but there are many parts of a broadcasting company that need to be functioning like a well-oiled machine in order for the stations they run to succeed. It's evident during the 8+ years that Press Communications ran WHTG as an "alternative" station (there's a good reason why I put it in quotes) that they didn't have the enthusiasm for the format that the audience had. There are far too many examples of this to count, and I think the sales and promotions teams had a far greater impact on G Rock's profitablility (or lack thereof) than its format and staff.

I'm kind of in the middle. While I really thought the Press take on the format (during the last few years, at least) was terrific, I know that if they were to bring G Rock back, they would find a way to repeat the same mistakes they made in the past, and the station would meet a sudden demise much like it did in January '09. At the same time, the market in its current form isn't conducive to the startup of an alternative format from one of the competitors of Press. If they were to attempt it, we would unfortunately get a bland, repetitive, hit-intensive take on the format much like Greater Media's "alternative" (there's the quotes again) station in Boston. Unless we get some new blood in the Monmouth/Ocean market, it's a no-win situation.

 

[hubcity]

This is me, playing the lottery...

 

[d21ofnj]

Y'know, that's the thing - I think those are the kinds of listeners you *want* to have.

But that would make sense But in all fairness, even if they did resurrect G-Rock, would you want it from the same people that shot and killed the format in the back of the head like B? It's like accepting Pulse back on 87.7. I'd say look into adapting a translator to simulcast those HD rock alterantive stations to fill the void. And yes, I am filling out the powerball & mega millions card right now 8)

 

[nd2023]

I love the passion the G-Rock fans had for their station. Similar to the passion the Pulse 87 fans had. Perhaps Matt Knight could launch G-Rock online for the fans, similar to how Joel Salkowitz launched Pulse87NY.com and someone from WJSE launched jserocks.net. From my experience after the loss of Pulse on FM, finding other dance stations online just didn't feel the same as Pulse. But when the former Pulse PD relaunched it online, it had the exact same sound as the former FM station did.

As Tony Santiago kept saying, if a new dance station were to appear, the former Pulse fans should embrace it, not reject it. There are a couple alternatives to G-Rock on regular FM and HD, the best way to show support for alternative rock is to support 90.5 The Night, Altrok HD2, and Shore Alternative, and not keep living in fantasyland wishing for G-Rock to return to 106.3/106.5. At least alternative rock fans have many choices if they buy an HD Radio, us dance fans have only one pure dance HD station, WRDW-HD2.

 

[d21ofnj]

I love the passion the G-Rock fans had for their station. Similar to the passion the Pulse 87 fans had. Perhaps Matt Knight could launch G-Rock online for the fans, similar to how Joel Salkowitz launched Pulse87NY.com and someone from WJSE launched jserocks.net. From my experience after the loss of Pulse on FM, finding other dance stations online just didn't feel the same as Pulse. But when the former Pulse PD relaunched it online, it had the exact same sound as the former FM station did.

As Tony Santiago kept saying, if a new dance station were to appear, the former Pulse fans should embrace it, not reject it. There are a couple alternatives to G-Rock on regular FM and HD, the best way to show support for alternative rock is to support 90.5 The Night, Altrok HD2, and Shore Alternative, and not keep living in fantasyland wishing for G-Rock to return to 106.3/106.5. At least alternative rock fans have many choices if they buy an HD Radio, us dance fans have only one pure dance HD station, WRDW-HD2.

*cough cough* http://www.967party.com right from Monmouth County *cough cough*

 

[SoulCrusher]

HD doesn't help us here in southern Ocean County, as both stations are inaudible beyond the limited range that they cover in Monmouth. Online is the only way to go if you're an alternative rock fan down here, which means we're out of luck if we're not on a computer.

As for the new B98.5 ... let's just say that if you liked the station from the "More Music Radio" era, you probably won't be able to stand this version of the station. I thought Hit 106 was heavy on the synthetic bubblegum pap, but this is ridiculous.

 

[d21ofnj]

Hmmmm...notice they are more Dance lean.......wow, I guess I gave them ideas by issuing them my stream.

 

[kellerap564]

Wow...my morning commute now just blows chunks. 2 questions for anyone and everyone...
1. Do you know of any other stations that have a half as good morning show as pork roll and eggs that I can get up in northern monmouth county and up into union county? (old bridge to cranford).
2. Are there any apps for phones (android phones) that anyone knows of that you can listen to 98.5? I have one app, Tuneinradio, that actually already has 106.3 Thunder listed.

My last comment...Since when was Country big in NJ?

 

[myke25]

Usually when most stations flip, so does their website... Did Press forget something besides common sense?

 

[kellerap564]

Usually when most stations flip, so does their website... Did Press forget something besides common sense?

I read something somewhere that PC had just bought the rights to something like www.hit985.com (or some variety of that) just recently. And they probably havent gotten that up and running yet. Might as well let everyone who goes to hit106.com to continue going there and eventually when the new site is up have it forward you to the new site.

 

[myke25]

and of all videos that appears on that hit985 website... cee lo green's f**k you! haha, love it!!

 

[kellerap564]

wow...greatest video ever.