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Favorite Time of Radio Station Format Changes
- Thread starter Joey1986
- Start date
Not sure if 5 pm is the favorite time or not, but my guess would be that people are getting in their cars to drive home and they'll be exposed to the new format then.Afternoon tends to be the favorite time, in general, I'd think--for a sudden change. Example: when WQSX 93.7Lawrence, MA changed to WMKK "Mike" (adult hits/shuffle mode), word spread on the Net that the change would happen in late afternoon but they sprang it early at about 2 pm.Sometimes a station will suddenly shift to automated on a Friday afternoon and there will be a weekend"stunt" with the new format following on Monday. Or something along the lines of "tune in tomorrow at noonfor a brand new radio station"Speaking of stunts: I mentioned WQSX, "Star 93.7"--which was Eagle 93.7, hits of the 70s and 80s before then.For several days, they played Prince's 1999 over and over and over and finally they announced when the change would come. After the part of the song which said "Daddy, why does everybody have a bomb?"there was a bomb sound effect, followed by an announcement of the new dance-music format--first song,Gap Band's "You Dropped the Bomb on Me". Talk about "blowing up" the previous format!
Wasn't the "traditional" fave time for a format flipThursday afternoon at 3?They'd run jockless through the weekend and thengo full bore with the new format (returning or newairstaff) Monday morning.
I have never known a favorite time for a flip or a sign on. Often, new stations go on when the format and equipment is ready. Flips will occur mostly in agfreement with sales, who does not want to lose the last revenue of the olde format and wants time to tell the client.IUn recent years, I have had flips that occured at about 5 PM after a staff meeting, any day of the week. I have had them happen at midnight of some day, so the kinks would work out by morning drive. I have had them happen at 11:40 AM because that was when we got everything into the digital storage and there was no need to wait any more. Since digital dials with seek and scan make stunting pretty useless today, we just do it as soon as we can. I had a hand in 13 flips since last September, and there is nothing in common with the flip times excpet that they happened when we were ready.
Format flips are interesting, especially for those who tune in one day and find their fave station is suddenly gone. (Usually disappointing for the listener, unless they don't mind the new format.) Jan 15, 1979 (IIRC), "beautifulmusic" WWEL-FM 107.9 (and AM 1430) in the Boston area became "Kiss 108" disco (later the AM side went toMusic of your Life and these days it's progressive talk). Probably a bit jarring for those listeners. (The format change from standards to prog.-talk at least had a buffer period--a weekend where a stunting loop was played:songs like "Rockin' in a Free World", "Revolution", etc., and bits from Al Franken books on tape, with an annoucement to "tune in Monday" for the new format. It wasn't a sudden change.)And of course who can forget the FICTIONAL format change of "WKRP in Cincinnatti". New PD Andy Travisgives the order to dump the elevator music and Johnny Caravella drags the needle across the record."All right Cincinnatti, it is time for this town to get DOWN! You've got Johnny--Dr. Johnny FEVER and I amburning up in here! We're all in critical condition, babies..." (etc.) Next thing you know, senior citizens arrive with protest signs, and the station's owner, Mrs. Carlson, confronts Travis: "Young man, this radio station is a business. It is not here for your personal listening pleasure."Travis replies, "Ma'am, I know it's a business and that's why I had no choice but to change the format..."Whenever someone who isn't part of the radio biz/hobby asks me why their fave station suddenly changed format, I quote "Mama Carlson": It's a business. (And that was one memorable, if fictional, format change!)
When WMEE, Ft. Wayne flipped its AM CHR to its FM, replacing a longtime Beautiful Music format at 4pm on a Wednesday, I envisioned serious injuries at dentist offices everywhere as they went from The Living Strings straight into Foreigner. It wasn't quite like that..they had a couple of minutes of talk into "FM" by Steely Dan. They had mentioned the change on the BM format and the new BM station up the dial. Meanwhile, the AM became "The Hawk 1380"..a country format.
Format Changes from Hartford
93.7 WZMX flipped from Disco (Dancin' Oldies, which was Infinity's rip-off of Jammin' Oldies) to Hip-Hop at 5PM Friday March 15, 2001. The last song was Donna Summer's Last Dance. Just prior to 5PM the song ended and they did their regular Legal ID which featured cheerleaders "93-7, 93-7, 93-7 4, 3, 2,1. This is 93-7 WZMX Hartford. *singers* Dancin' Oldies Z-93.7". Then there was dead air for like 30 seconds and then liners about Hartford is now HOTford. And then they did liners about Hot 93.7 and Blazing 18 Jams in a Row, and playing clips of hip-hop songs. This went on for about 8 minutes then they went back to the studio the DJ said a couple words and there was cheers and applause. The station went automated interspersed by commercials and liners. Monday morning they brought back the morning team of JD and Nancy. One woman who called in on Monday said she had brought her car to the garage at 730 Friday Morning. She was listening to Z-93.7. She picked up her car at 6PM and hearing hip-hop music on 93.7 she went back to the garage and said "What the he** did you do to my radio?"My friends and I figured the tag line Blazing 18 Jams in a row was poking fun at the two AM Urban Stations in the market. One was Slow Jam heavy JAMZ 910 and the other was Blaze 990, which though had a Carribean Slant to it, it played mostly hip-hop. When WXCT 990 flipped formats from news/talk 990 The X to Spanish SuperMax 990 they flipped at 6AM on a Monday Morning. I don't know what happed when SuperMax 990 changed to POWER 990. (A different Spanish Format). All I know is one Friday night last July I heard SuperMax 990 on then when I flipped on my radio the next morning after 9AM I heard them calling the station POWER 990. They were also using an illegal top of the hour ID. The proper legal ID for the station is WXCT Southington-Hartford, but they were using the id of WXCT New Britain-Hartford.When they flipped from Spanish Power 990 to talk (originally as X-Radio 990 - Talk Radio for the X Chromosome, now as Talk Radio 990 - Central CT's Talk Radio For Women) they were supposed to flip as 6AM Monday morning, but they flipped at 12AM instead. WMRQ 104.1 in Hartford flipped from Modern Rock to Hip-Hop on September 15, 2003. I missed the launch, but they either flipped at 4PM or 5PM because I heard them playing Modern Rock music at 3PM. Their regular 3PM DJ was on. The only reason I found out about the flip was because I read the posting on the Radio-Info Board. I would've found out about the flip sooner or later anyway cuz sometimes when there's nothing good playing on 93.7 I start tuning around trying to find a song I like.WNEZ 910 in Hartford flipped without warning at 11:11PM on Friday May 11th, 2001. They were Urban Contemporary formatted JAMZ 910. From what I read their regular Friday night DJ(s) were on and a song ended. Another one was about to begin when all of a sudden they began simulcasting sister station Spanish formatted Mega 1230. One Friday morning in January 1997, I flipped on WPOP 1410 AM - Hartford to find out whether or not there was school that day and instead of hearing talk programming I heard music. I thought weird. Why is WPOP playing music? They played a wide variety of music all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Then Monday morning at 6AM they launched "SportsRadio 1410". The primairly ran 1on1 Sports Network 24/7. A year later they switched to "ESPN Radio 1410". They did this flip without anystunting. And one from Boston. I remember reading in Northeast Radio Watch that when WROR 1150 AM flipped to the now-defunct Kids Star Radio Network (Remember them? They were pre-Radio AAHS and pre-Radio Disney) they flipped at 1150 AM. - Clever, eh? Flipping 1150AM at 11:50AM. This was in the mid 1990s.
93.7 WZMX flipped from Disco (Dancin' Oldies, which was Infinity's rip-off of Jammin' Oldies) to Hip-Hop at 5PM Friday March 15, 2001. The last song was Donna Summer's Last Dance. Just prior to 5PM the song ended and they did their regular Legal ID which featured cheerleaders "93-7, 93-7, 93-7 4, 3, 2,1. This is 93-7 WZMX Hartford. *singers* Dancin' Oldies Z-93.7". Then there was dead air for like 30 seconds and then liners about Hartford is now HOTford. And then they did liners about Hot 93.7 and Blazing 18 Jams in a Row, and playing clips of hip-hop songs. This went on for about 8 minutes then they went back to the studio the DJ said a couple words and there was cheers and applause. The station went automated interspersed by commercials and liners. Monday morning they brought back the morning team of JD and Nancy. One woman who called in on Monday said she had brought her car to the garage at 730 Friday Morning. She was listening to Z-93.7. She picked up her car at 6PM and hearing hip-hop music on 93.7 she went back to the garage and said "What the he** did you do to my radio?"My friends and I figured the tag line Blazing 18 Jams in a row was poking fun at the two AM Urban Stations in the market. One was Slow Jam heavy JAMZ 910 and the other was Blaze 990, which though had a Carribean Slant to it, it played mostly hip-hop. When WXCT 990 flipped formats from news/talk 990 The X to Spanish SuperMax 990 they flipped at 6AM on a Monday Morning. I don't know what happed when SuperMax 990 changed to POWER 990. (A different Spanish Format). All I know is one Friday night last July I heard SuperMax 990 on then when I flipped on my radio the next morning after 9AM I heard them calling the station POWER 990. They were also using an illegal top of the hour ID. The proper legal ID for the station is WXCT Southington-Hartford, but they were using the id of WXCT New Britain-Hartford.When they flipped from Spanish Power 990 to talk (originally as X-Radio 990 - Talk Radio for the X Chromosome, now as Talk Radio 990 - Central CT's Talk Radio For Women) they were supposed to flip as 6AM Monday morning, but they flipped at 12AM instead. WMRQ 104.1 in Hartford flipped from Modern Rock to Hip-Hop on September 15, 2003. I missed the launch, but they either flipped at 4PM or 5PM because I heard them playing Modern Rock music at 3PM. Their regular 3PM DJ was on. The only reason I found out about the flip was because I read the posting on the Radio-Info Board. I would've found out about the flip sooner or later anyway cuz sometimes when there's nothing good playing on 93.7 I start tuning around trying to find a song I like.WNEZ 910 in Hartford flipped without warning at 11:11PM on Friday May 11th, 2001. They were Urban Contemporary formatted JAMZ 910. From what I read their regular Friday night DJ(s) were on and a song ended. Another one was about to begin when all of a sudden they began simulcasting sister station Spanish formatted Mega 1230. One Friday morning in January 1997, I flipped on WPOP 1410 AM - Hartford to find out whether or not there was school that day and instead of hearing talk programming I heard music. I thought weird. Why is WPOP playing music? They played a wide variety of music all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Then Monday morning at 6AM they launched "SportsRadio 1410". The primairly ran 1on1 Sports Network 24/7. A year later they switched to "ESPN Radio 1410". They did this flip without anystunting. And one from Boston. I remember reading in Northeast Radio Watch that when WROR 1150 AM flipped to the now-defunct Kids Star Radio Network (Remember them? They were pre-Radio AAHS and pre-Radio Disney) they flipped at 1150 AM. - Clever, eh? Flipping 1150AM at 11:50AM. This was in the mid 1990s.
Active Rock WTFX moved from 100.5 to 93.1 and had its former frequency invaded by Variety Hits 100.5 Louie FM at high noon; there was two hours of stunting with a loop of "Louie, Louie". I think the Jazz station that The Fox ultimately replaced may have been in on the "Louie, Louie" stunting as well.
WQYT Binghamton flipped from a beautiful music format to country in the middle of the night in Early 1984. Here's a link to an aircheck of the flip for those who enjoy listening to them: http://www.binghamtonradio.com/audi...84_Signoff_followed_by_WHWK_Signon.mp3&base=0
B
Bear the other white meat
Guest
Jon... thanks for the link. That was fun.I've worked for two stations that instead of making a big deal of the format flip, just eased into it. Station #1 went from CHR to Hot A/C. Station #2 went from Lite Hits to Hot A/C. In both cases, the jocks fielded more hate calls than I care to mention. I think it's better to tell the public what change is going to be made, promote the hell out of it, then do it.And if you're worried about your competition flipping before you do, you don't have enough confidence in your product. Maybe you should rethink the flip.
3pm is also a popular time for a format change somehow.However, sometimes, the best time to change format is the time that matches the station's frequency.This usually starts with a 3 o'clock teaser though, and it runs all week end, until Monday morning, I believe. (I could be wrong...) Vancouver launched their all (drive time) traffic station at 7:30 AM (AM 730 was a sports station prior to the change.) The announcement, and stunting ran all week-end. (music that related to cars and traffic aired with the "it's coming" message.)For the FM, sometimes the change is at exactly 1 o'clock in the afternoon if the station was 99nine, but is now FM100 (example only, no rumour intended. ;D)
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