• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Here comes the next HBG/York/Lancaster format change...

Terrible idea..

How can anyone take a gamble on a format like that with nobody else doing it first? How will we know if it'll work?

I think if you had a country station that played stuff like Kenny Chesney, Brooks and Dunn, Carrie Underwood and Sugarland.. You'd have a license to print money. I bet if you threw in that occasional Trace Adkins and Rascal Flatts...Well... Call the cops. It'll be so good that it'll HAVE to be against the law..

Don't doubt me!
 
Posted by Pastywhitethighs : I think if you had a country station that played stuff like Kenny Chesney, Brooks and Dunn, Carrie Underwood and Sugarland.. You'd have a license to print money.


HAHAHAHA!!!! a license to print money! don't let this get out to others because we'll have a hundreds of country stations ....beacause every station is looking to save every penny because of the way this recession has treated radio.
 
Then they may do nothing. They probably want to give Bobby D a shot to move the station forward. Certainly would be a more conservative move right now. It costs some $$ to do a station launch and in this economy, most would not have the stomach for it.
 
Of course, in a few weeks, when WARM 103 hasn't flipped to Country, Modern Rock, Soft AC, CHR, Polkas or Carnival Music, every one of them will be laughing at every one of us.

If they are not already!
 
Been mulling this since yesterday. "If they were my stations"---and they aren't----I do not kill off WARM 103. It is far too powerful a brand in this market. Sorry, but SOX gets the ax on this one. Oldies 96.1 was a very strong brand too---but "96.1 WSOX" isn't. Why? It doesn't tell you a thing about the station. Too generic. For 30+ years, WARM/WSBA-FM has been the office station. You don't give up such a strong position in the consumer's mind without a helluva fight. What I would do is take WARM back to what it was, a gold-based A/C like WLIF or B101---maybe a bit more modern, but look, those stations pull numbers for reason!!!! You've got Kelly West, so the morning franchise is still there. Let WYCR have the classic hits audience and take 96.1 country. I agree, get Brad Flick on AM drive and also hire WGTY alum Dave Cannon and let the games begin! I'd also go to the York Fair and offer them the keys to the station and the top 20 feet of the tower if they'd make me the exclusive country station for the fair.

The money's not in Adams County or Hanover. When you used to run a York county ranker, it wasn't unusual for Z107 to beat GTY and if you dropped the Hanover zip code, they really slipped.
 
Sorry bl
Got to disagree with you there. You don't destroy at station that is #2 in a market.
WSOX posted great numbers 7.7. in Lancaster. Definitely not the station to
reinvent....Lancaster is a strong revenue base for WSOX...and there share in York
not that bad. WARMs audience has decreased substantially in Lancaster and that
market is very important to them. Talk to some people who have sold for that company
they will tell you that a good portion of their revenue is from LANCASTER.
Although I am in agreement with you that COUNTRY should be the format of choice
if a change is made.
 
Maybe I am a little partial here, but WXCY also needs to be added to the list of country stations in the area, as does WAYZ. WXCY has a big signal over a lot of Lancaster County/Southern York County and WAYZ over most of Adams County...so add two more to the list of country stations in the area.

As far as the WARM flipping to country topic, I agree completely with Ray and Bruce on this one! Take WARM back to what it was before, and if Cumulus needs to do country to try and shave some shares away from WGTY, put that on the 96.1 frequency. The reasons all speak for themselves and were articulated extremely well in each of their posts.

And Bruce, did you hear??? WXCY finally beat WSTW 12+ in Wilmington! Did you ever think that so many years ago??? And I might add, double digits females 25-54 7-mid!
 
A few years ago in Pittsburgh, NewsTalk 104.7 was born. Local talk (Quinn & Rose), Glenn Beck, Rush, Sean Hannity, local sports talk (Ellis Cannon), Michael Savage, then overnight talk. The idea of talk on Pittsburgh FM was scoffed at. Check out the latest ratings and you'll see it flourishes and gets excellent ratings, in spite of the fact its now the flagship station for the Pirates after the Pirates defected from KDKA.

Maybe NewsTalk could work here in Central PA. The AM static here in Lancaster keeps me from WSBA and WHP and i put on iheartradio to hear talk radio with clear reception.

I really feel there is a saturation point with country stations around here. Its just another idea I'd like to float around.
 
Yikes, we don't need any more country in this area! At what point does it become overkill (I thought we already reached it...). Bring in a real modern rock format that crushes the x.
 
No kidding? Glad to hear the house that Bruce built is kicking a$$! That still stands as the most fun I've had in radio---built WXCY from a pile of lumber and no equipment to on the air in 3 weeks. That's why I came to WHYL in 2004---I can't resist a start-up! I came back to finish what I began before I was so rudely interrupted..... :p

Hey I know--move the WSBA calls to 96.1 and move the news/talk there and take AM 910 country! ::) One thing that is interesting is that with Susquehanna gone, WSBA and WARM are no longer sacred cows. They had been the birthplace of Susquehanna and were always treated with special care by the powers that be. Now they're just two more Cumulus stations. And again, no rap against the good people there who work in the trenches, Bobby D's no fool and there are still a lot of good people there. But WGTY simply can't be allowed to sit with a 12 share from 25 miles outside York. Question is maybe not so much "if", but "who" is going to pull the trigger 1st? Citadel or Cumulus? Who knows---maybe Radio Hanover will decide to have a go at them with YCR? Always did think that could stand for York's Country Radio..... :eek:
 
WYCR's Classic Hits brand is doing fine. A bit of a drop this spring but they'll be fine. They're not going anywhere.
Country on AM is not going to be able to compete with a 50 thousand watt blowtorch.

My guess is nothing happens...at least not now.
 
Guess I didn't make the smiley with the rolling eyes big enough---that was an attempt at humor. The only way WSBA is going country is if Tim Michaels buys it. 'Cause I'd do gold based full service AM.
 
If WARM Changes, Remember what happened in Indy

Susquehanna used to have a little AC powerhouse in WGRD (The Bear) at 93.9 Since Cumulus took over,
93.9 has been through several formats including Contemporary Christian (which did OK), talk (a disaster),
and "Warm 93.9" (even worse). Now, it's I-94 Rock. Cumulus also used to have WGLD on 104.5, until they
moved them to 1440 in York. Hmmmm, maybe a call move to 103.3?
 
! would imagine the folks at Cumulus/York are having a good laugh at all of this. Heck...they could have started this thread to make things interesting. It has been the most fun we've had in awhile on this board. A lot of ideas have been kicked around. Some of the thoughts on AC were interesting. I think their may be a branding problem with area AC's. WARM and THE ROSE were great brands when they initially started their formats. This morning I heard "SO WHAT" by PINK on the Rose. I thought that was a Hot AC and CHR hit. Warm is a lot more upbeat then they've been in the past. Maybe new branding is the answer. FRESH 103.3. or 101.3? The Rose sounds like it is going hotter AC without really pulling the trigger. WINK doesn't seem to be a factor in York or Lancaster....so maybe a HOT AC might be a possibility.
 
CBS now owns the "Fresh" branding. So either Rose or WARM would have to pay a licensing fee to use it. Think of what these stations are called........"Rose" and "Warm." Neither really says "upbeat". But both are trying to be. Sure, look at the mainstream A/C chart.....most of the songs have some tempo to them. And the artists who were once considered staples.....Elton John, Billy Joel, etc only show up occasionally with new songs. When was the last time a song by one of those artists ended up in the Top 5?
Check the playlists of the two biggest A/C stations in the country...WLTW and WBEB. Pretty upbeat.
Hot & Cold by Katy Perry? In 2009, I guess so.
 
WARM & WSOX very likely share a shitload of listeners, so shifting one or the other out of the way is really not a bad idea since the survivor should get a nice ratings boost by default.

As one of the two best sticks in the Harrisburg-York-Lancaster region (along with WROZ), WARM has the rare capability of winning in all three markets in whatever format they choose. Cumulus may see the whole range of AC competitors, direct & indirect, as an easy place to get lost in the crowd, but Country as easier pickings.

And with all respect to those who would love to see another/better rocker, it's a format that's getting tougher and tougher to sell. Old white guys are terrible shoppers--and young white guys ain't listening to FM, no matter what songs you're playing.
 
As long as were having fun with the speculation, Cumulus has just taken a Nashville property Contemporary Christian. Before we all laugh....this is York and Lancaster. Look at WDAC's numbers over the years. JTL is somewhat strong with that format...but they are non-commercial. Could be some ad dollars in this considering the area. Can you say PRAISE 103.3. It could happen.....but more likely 103.3 THE WOLF is at the door.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom