EZ 103 FORMAT FLIP???

[MACK184]

Now the question becomes...who will pick up Hannity????

 

[Northernman]

Here's the official e-mail from Entercom: [WILK loyal listeners got their e-mail yesterday]

Dear (my name here),

Thank you for being a loyal listener to EZ 103. We've appreciated your time, your interest and your ears!

We wanted to let you know that as of Friday morning, we'll be changing what you hear on EZ as we begin simulcasting our sister news station, WILK, on 103.1FM ( www.wilknewsradio.com ) .


We hope you like the change. We also invite you to listen to the classic rock and low-key music of The Mountain at 102.3 ( www.102themountain.com ), the country music of Froggy 101 at 101.3 ( www.froggy101.com ) and the hit music of WKRZ at 98.5 ( www.985krz.com )

Whatever you choose to do, we want to thank you for having spent some time with us at EZ 103.


Jim Rising
Director of Broadcast Operations
Entercom Pocono Northeast

 

[ozium]

Where is the morning host Eric now?

 

[emo474]

I was told he was transitioning over to Froggy somewhere.. Eric is a really nice guy.. I wish him well..

By the way, I was headed to work at 6am and wanted to hear the transition (this was my old station when I was in the business).. 6am.. station flips right in the middle of a commercial on WILK.. no announcement no fanfare.. someone just flipped a switch and bang WILK-FM... Nice touch guys, unlistenable clutter before and ba sloppy and unceremonious transition! This format will last less than a year before something else is tried.

 

[Northernman]

Eric, Cathy Donnelly, Mike Kirchen were all doing double and triple-duty. I hope Eric stays, he's got a good style.

 

[masterg]

Prediction: Corbett will do very well, probably be the station star.

 

[RK]

EZ 103 is obviously doing a format change . . . lots of "construction" noise playing over & over again . . .
any thoughts about what the new format will be?

I was never a fan of the EZ format. The talent of that station is VERY good. After working with the people of that station, I can honestly say they put out the best product they could with that format.

On other note: I'll be glad if they cut Steve Corbett from the Mountain. I don't know how he is on talk radio but he is awful on the Mountain. First, he talks to much, which I thought was impossible on the Mountain. And he talks about nonsense. His delivery style just does not go well on the Mountain.
[EDIT-]

Steve's a great individual. He always was kind and made me feel comfortable the short time I knew him. I think his Saturday show on WILK sounds great.

As for everyone who mentioned that he talks too much on The Mountain, well...The Mountain should have hired me. I wanted that job for a long, long time, but it wasn'tmeant to be.
I hope it all works out for the guys at Entercom. They've got some really good people down there.

 

[dmer]

Both Mike Kirchen and Cathy Donnelly are on the Mountain, so I don't think anyone's job will be lost in this case. No more Delilah though, wait, I feel a tear coming on, wait.....oh well, I'll try again later :'(

I don't object to Steve Corbett overall, just on the Mountain. It sounds like he wants to do talk radio when he is on the Mountain and they are as far from talk as you can get and still have dj's. Just not a good combination. I just hope, since I'll have to listen to them more often now that EZ is gone that they shift Dave Stewart back to mornings and just let Corbett do his talk program.

 

[Nokmo True]

Prediction: Corbett will do very well, probably be the station star.

I don't know. His ultra-left, power-to-the-people routine has been shown, time and again, to be a pill the majority of talk listeners will not swallow...and that's in a best case scenario. Even if he had a decent style and delivery, which he decidedly does not, it'd be an uphill battle. The only difference between Corbett and Kevin Lynn is one of them has more Izod shirts than the other. Lynn has his listeners, Corbett will too, but the star? He'll put his "wish hippies would make a comeback" foot in his mouth before long and cause himself to be fired. And even if he doesn't, anyone he might attract will be short-term. Ever listen to him? It never fails to get back to one of three things. "I lived in California, I had Mexican friends, I knew Michael Jackson." It's grating.

 

[masterg]

I don't know. His ultra-left, power-to-the-people routine has been shown, time and again, to be a pill the majority of talk listeners will not swallow

That was, what, 15 or so years ago? It's a different world, a different environment, a different political landscape. Time will tell. My belief is that one whole hell of a lot of people are tired of ultra-conservatism. And the reason is elemental; it doesn't work. I have no inclination to turn this into a political discussion, but things ain't great.

 

[Aramondo]

Well there's Air America's folded tent to point to, at least it's first failed incarnation. I think they're taking another run at it but this time with no recognizable names. I'll start the timer.

 

[archerlistener]

I'm just giddy for the format change. Good for WILK! It's amazing to me that talk radio is getting the FM treatment...especially in this area. I hope it lasts a long while.

And dropping Hannity & O'Reilly, well, words can't describe my elation! Now if they would add a Randi Rhodes, or a Stephanie Miller rebroadcasts to the mix later at night. I say rebroadcast, since I know they wouldn't play either woman's show live...since it would interfere with Corbett. (He'll be a great addition for the "ride home" block.)

Congrats again to WILK!

 

[waunderlust]

I still don't get it...EZ was doin' fine Arbs wise...oh yeah the sales department probably couldn't sell it to someone even though it was on in the background in the client's business (that's not a knock at sales...ok maybe) ....However, now that WILK is on the all important FM band I hope someone realizes the often heard cluster bomb (pc version) near the top of the hour where WILK starts a commercial, clips it starts another, clips it and then hits the news. Or any variation there of. I liked the construction sfx better.

 

[MACK184]

I doubt that the Entercom sales staff worked any too hard on selling E-Z, or The Mountain or WILK. They sell Froggy & KRZ for big dollars and then for the most part bonus the other 3. Dropping Hannity & O'Reilly is most likely a matter of money. Since you pay cash as well as barter for those shows, they probably saved money by dropping those 2 in trade for a local guy. What this all amounts to is Entercom is out of ideas and out of gas, and is just giving up. The other poster was right, they should have stuck with the construction sounds.

 

[NigelWick]

EZ 103 was designed to be a nuisance to Magic 93. I haven't studied all the numbers, but I don't think it really worked. Every format in this market is already being done. It made sense to try something different like talk.

 

[dmer]

EZ 103 was designed to be a nuisance to Magic 93. I haven't studied all the numbers, but I don't think it really worked. Every format in this market is already being done. It made sense to try something different like talk.

Why simulcast WILK on an fm, especially one that does not have a large coverage area and already is simulcast on 3 am's. Their area is already covered on the AM stations. EZ 103 was starting to make some strides and was in the top 10, which is a major achievement for a station with a small geographical area and little or no support by Entercom. Why is it so important to have a talk station on fm. AM's are largely the home for talk, news and sports these days. It just makes no sense to me. No additional coverage area for WILK, a loss of a music station on FM. I just don't see them pulling any better numbers on 103.1 with yet another simulcast of a station with 3 already.

Incidentally, Entercom moved 103.1 out of Freeland so that they could add another format. They take away 103.1, try soft AC for a few years and then make it a simulcast again.

Also, wonder who will do all Christmas for Entercom this year. Maybe they will blow up the Mountain next so they can add another worthless simulcast. :

 

[waunderlust]

Christmas on the Mountain. I LIKE IT! It has a nice yuletide ring to it. ;D

 

[marker102]

There's a reason half these shows are on AM. They sound horrible in FM. (including local ones)

As for Jack-FM, just listen to the confused River (who won't admit they're Jack)
and Smooth Jazz, get a HD Radio. It's coming soon, last I heard.

Bring us a new format, or something.

 

[emo474]

I'm still trying to undersatnd how 103.1 was removed from Freeland.. that station was licensed to serve the Freeland-Hazleton area.. Entercom took over that station and moved the transmitter & tower, so the singnal improved into the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton areas... what happened to "service the community" it was lisenced to? Secondly, they already simulcat WILK on the AM that runs out of West Hazleton (the former WXPX 1300 AM). Now we have an AM & FM station simulcasting the same program which is basically serving the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton market in the Freeland/Hazleton area.. talk about a kick in the butt! When I was on WQEQ, we were local, served the community, and very personal... the idiot owners who sold this station to Entercom to make a buck for themselves should be ashamed of the diservice they've done to the community we once proudly served.

 

[waunderlust]

"I'm still trying to undersatnd how 103.1 was removed from Freeland.. that station was licensed to serve the Freeland-Hazleton area.. Entercom took over that station and moved the transmitter & tower, so the singnal improved into the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton areas... what happened to "service the community" it was lisenced to? "

They changed the city of license of WKRZ to accomodate the move