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Hit 106 dies Thursday

  • Thread starter SilverTonicFree
  • Start date

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SilverTonicFree

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Other sites are reporting that Hit 106 will come to an end Thursday. Press recently purchased the domain Thunder106.com and the entire staff at Hit was let go. All signs are pointing to Thunder stretching to 106.3 and 106.5. No word on what becomes of 98.5.

Sad news for Matt Knight, who had been with Press first at B98.5, then G-Rock, then stayed on board for Hit 106. Matt, since I know you read the boards... you fought a good fight by trying to put a local sound on the station in an already saturated market. Best of luck to you, man.


SoulCrusher's "I told you so" post begins in 3....2.....1.....
 
TIME OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!   ;D

http://www.facebook.com/hit106

Hit does die, but Top 40 at the Jersey Shore doesn't!  A legendary Top 40 station that died in 2005 comes back!  It looks like Thunder and the NEW B98.5 will swap!

This is even more good news for the country fans that missed the old Y107, as Thunder will be on 106.3 & 106.5, filling the Country void for Monmouth & Central Jersey, and still competing with Cat Country.  Matt, will you still be running the new B or what?

Now the people who thought of Thunder being on 106 finally got their wish come true 8)
 
So let me get this straight...a station that most people agree [based on ratings]totally sucked gets to be reformed and Press tries to pass it off as the NEW B98.5, making like it is as good as it was before???? And then they think that country, which wasn't doing great shakes at 98.5 will do better as TWO stations?????

Something tells me that after this past week, Millenium and Press management have either been drinking the same kool-aid or are now one and the same :eek:.
 
Yeah. This definitely looks like a good move for Press.

I liked B98.5 in their final incarnation as "More Music Radio." Dunno how straight-ahead CHR their playlist will be, but this will be interesting.
 
Jersey Joe said:
So let me get this straight...a station that most people agree [based on ratings]totally sucked gets to be reformed and Press tries to pass it off as the NEW B98.5, making like it is as good as it was before???? And then they think that country, which wasn't doing great shakes at 98.5 will do better as TWO stations?????

Something tells me that after this past week, Millenium and Press management have either been drinking the same kool-aid or are now one and the same :eek:.
Click to expand...

Thunder had it's ups and downs on 98.5, but it was pretty consistantly pulling better numbers on 1 stick than Hit was with 2. Not a bad move to give it a shot on the big sticks.
 
d21ofnj said:
Matt, will you still be running the new B or what?
Click to expand...

d21/Tonic - I will not be a part of the new station as I've been relieved of my positions both on-air and in management.

I honestly and truly appreciate all the support that those have given to me over the past 10 years from the original B98.5 to GRock and then Hit 106. I've had my battles with some of you throughout the years, sure (coughSoulCrushercough) but in the end, to see some people who have supported me for so long...it really means alot to me.

The original B98.5 has a very special place in the hearts of those who listened and all of it's staff that made it what it was. Race, myself (well KID Knight lol) Mario, Candace, Silent Jay, Andy Chase, the B-Nut Hut, Teddy Louis and the dozens more that made it what it was from 1997-2005, we still speak so much about it and how we miss it. It was an entity, an emotion...more than a product. A part of the community. For that, I thank everyone again...and for those who followed me from station to station to station over the last decade, I do hope be back on the air sooner rather than later.

Cheers.

Matt (Kid) Knight
 
Matt: You guys should apply to get a stronger signal. You're sacrificing the signal! I'm very very upset with this. I missed B98.5 I liked it with its alternative lean.
 
Sorry to hear you're leaving.

If you get hooked up with a station that would be interested in subleasing their HD channels please send me an email.

[email protected]


We're located South West of your station - 98.5 FM Bridgeton & 97.9 FM Cape May.

A guy named Mario did some great imaging for us after he left B98.5 .
josh
 
Matt, your departure is definitely the worst thing about this format swap. Hopefully another station in NJ (or better yet NYC) will hire you. Maybe you could shake things up at WRXP!

Of course, the positive side of this is that Monmouth and Middlesex now have a country station. That'll definitely make some people happy.
 
Friends, radio geeks, countrymen...lend me your ears! I come not to bury Hit 106, but to praise it.

Seriously, from a hit music listener's perspective, what was wrong with Hit 106? Nothing at all. In fact, they were rapidly becoming a hit music station that I could tolerate if I had no other format option (and when I'm driving with wife and kids in the car, believe me, there's no other format option. I've tried.) Of course, that could've been a good indicator that the signal they were about to go toes-up - G-Rock was never better than the months just before they pulled the plug, so it appears my approval is the kiss of death.

(By the way, Shore Alternative is fun to listen to. Aheh.)

I have no idea if the ongoing "Bring Back G-Rock" boycotts had any effect on Hit 106's billing, but it was just one of the non-programming-related factors that hobbled Hit106's jump out of the gate. There is overlap between hit music and alternative listenership, believe it or not (I've just given an example) and it's entirely possible that, with so many other choices, alt fans who had to tolerate their hit-music-listening family's preferences made sure they did so while listening to any station other than Hit106. It's bad enough to have to start a new format from scratch, but the format change Press executed (apt word) ensured that all of the people listening to G-Rock would *never* allow Hit106 to show up on *any* radio they owned...and with so many other options for hit music in the market, hit radio fans never needed to push very hard.

Will there be a "Bring Back Hit106" movement? I doubt it - too many other stations for the hit flock to flock to. 92.3 Now, in particular, should get a nice present in the next Monmouth/Ocean book; they'll be the go-to station for all the wannabe Snookis and Situations in the area next summer.

So, what about Alternative? It's simple: active rockers went to The Rat, G-Rock fans have Shore Alternative at 92.3 HD2, and my lil' ol' signal at Altrok 90.5 HD2 is here for those who miss the station that came from the unassuming house in the woods, FM106.3.

(Of course, there's also the unheralded juggernaut at 90.5 The Night. Ask people who know, they'll tell ya.)

As for Matt Knight, Press is once again showing their complete failure to grasp how radio works (all I have to do is fade my voice out like this and cue the announcer) by not keeping him involved in B98.5. Personally, I'd like to see him up at 94.3 The Point and contributing to Shore Alt. I'd have him by 90.5, but I think he's not in my budget...
 
hubcity said:
So, what about Alternative? It's simple: active rockers went to The Rat, G-Rock fans have Shore Alternative at 92.3 HD2, and my lil' ol' signal at Altrok 90.5 HD2 is here for those who miss the station that came from the unassuming house in the woods, FM106.3.
Click to expand...

Isn't K-Rock on 92.3 HD2 ;D
 
d21ofnj said:
hubcity said:
So, what about Alternative? It's simple: active rockers went to The Rat, G-Rock fans have Shore Alternative at 92.3 HD2, and my lil' ol' signal at Altrok 90.5 HD2 is here for those who miss the station that came from the unassuming house in the woods, FM106.3.
Click to expand...

Isn't K-Rock on 92.3 HD2 ;D
Click to expand...

Boy, if there's a station whose schizophrenia makes RXP look well-adjusted, it's K-Rock HD2. You might hear Joy Division's "Transmission", you might hear Metallica. But, hey, another preset.

BTW, Insignia refurbs are $25 at Overstock.com...
 
hubcity said:
As for Matt Knight, Press is once again showing their complete failure to grasp how radio works (all I have to do is fade my voice out like this and cue the announcer) by not keeping him involved in B98.5. Personally, I'd like to see him up at 94.3 The Point and contributing to Shore Alt. I'd have him by 90.5, but I think he's not in my budget...
Click to expand...

I agree with ya - Press showed that if lard were brains, they couldn't grease a pan when it comes to this. They kill B98.5 in 2005, then five years later fire one of the guys who was at the original B. Genius.

What makes them think that repackaging the mediocre programming of Hit as B will be any more successful? Are they banking on peoples fond memories of B from years gone by? CBS-FM managed to come back...but it is one of the best radio stations out there, period. The only thing on Hit that DIDN'T suck, aside from Matt Knight, was the imaging. They are now putting on a Ocean County signal...further handicapping it. Are they just trying to flank WJRZ & WJLK long enough to see what happens with the 99.3/7..and if it falls thru, put the Breeze on 98.5 and just run whatever on 99.7?

I am happy that Thunder has full market reach - Chris Van Zant & Captain Jack have done a tremendous job with Thunder, and CVZ is one very talented jock who got the short end of the stick at JRZ. Thats one thing Press got right.
 
I just wish 98.5 had a larger signal. They're missing the signal that Hit had. I hope they have better ratings for it and give it an Alternative Lean like the original B. The B i like was from 2002-2004.
 
What a shock...NEXT! Alternative-CHR-Country within a two year time period. Not exactly a formula for success. I can't wait to see them try and increase that $25 a spot rate they charged at 98.5 for Country. I just bet clients will line up to pay more just because they moved the station to a better signal(s) - a signal that has had 3 formats in two years. Good luck with that. Oh wait...this is Press we're talking about. They will just bonus Breeze clients for free on Thunder like they always do...oops my bad.
 
Alright Ocean County country music fans - get ready to hear all about the Yankees, traffic jams on Rt.1 and delays at Newark Airport...
 
My guess is that WBBO calls will return to 98.5 as well......I can see 106.5 taking the WKOE calls back as those calls were with the old Country 106.3 in Ocean City and most recently with Shore Country 106.7 in North Cape May.
 
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