Interesting WCBS-FM observation

[nd2023]

I was on a bus tonight, and CBS-FM was playing on the radio. I heard a liner mention the "o-word", oldies, and another liner saying "For 25 years, New York's oldies station, CBS FM." I was really surprised, and I first thought that PLJ flipped to True Oldies and CBS-FM was reacting to it. I happened to be carrying my portable radio, so I tuned to 95.5 and heard its usual format. Then I tuned to 101.1 and heard a completely different song. I thought my radio was broken, so I checked other stations...usual formats. When I got off the bus, I asked the bus driver if he was playing a tape of CBS-FM, and he said that it's more than 10 years old! This is the first time I ever heard a non-radio person playing an aircheck! Maybe True Oldies 95.5 would work.

 

[Garrett]

Wow,
You did ask him for a copy of the tape, right?
(I know a few people who'd LOVE to have that!)

 

[nd2023]

*Slaps self on head*
I should have asked for a copy of the aircheck.

 

[cawasinnj]

I didn't catch it at first either, but the dead giveaway was the 25 years. CBS-FM was almost 33 years old when it was Hi Jack!-ed in 2005. The 25th anniversary would have been in 1997.

 

[neo11]

Um....because they were calling it oldies in 1997, that means that we should put on a "true oldies" station on the air in 2008? This is almost as good as bringing back country on the NYC radio dial because someone saw a couple of cars with Y-107 bumper stickers. Come on, you guys are really reaching.

 

[Lando Griffin]

I like the sound of "95.5 - JACK-FM"

How successful would oldies be in NYC? Maybe a flailing AM station could make use of the "true oldies" format. Why hasn't this been done in NYC?

 

[its time w (your name)]

Um....because they were calling it oldies in 1997, that means that we should put on a "true oldies" station on the air in 2008? This is almost as good as bringing back country on the NYC radio dial because someone saw a couple of cars with Y-107 bumper stickers. Come on, you guys are really reaching.

Um... (I never got the condescending "um." Is it supposed to sound intellectual, adolescent, or just effeminant?)(effeminant--hahaha, Im being nice today) Um, after much re-thought, the powers that be finally are making a good decision and bringing back a format for folks who have neither died, nor have abdicated their considerable bank accounts, um.

Um, and Country would certainly pry dollars from a vastly underestimated demo, as it does across the nation, and not just in "flyover country." New York is, afterall, a bastion of diversity. Where's the tolerance?

Go WCBS! And go Rockin Ron Parker!

 

[adma]

Um....because they were calling it oldies in 1997, that means that we should put on a "true oldies" station on the air in 2008? This is almost as good as bringing back country on the NYC radio dial because someone saw a couple of cars with Y-107 bumper stickers. Come on, you guys are really reaching.

Um... (I never got the condescending "um." Is it supposed to sound intellectual, adolescent, or just effeminant?)(effeminant--hahaha, Im being nice today) Um, after much re-thought, the powers that be finally are making a good decision and bringing back a format for folks who have neither died, nor have abdicated their considerable bank accounts, um.

Um, and Country would certainly pry dollars from a vastly underestimated demo, as it does across the nation, and not just in "flyover country." New York is, afterall, a bastion of diversity. Where's the tolerance?

Go WCBS! And go Rockin Ron Parker!

Um...that's "effeminate", not "effeminant". All in all, it doesn't make you an appetizing spokesperson for either country or WCBS...

 

[PSA_Man]

*Slaps self on head*
I should have asked for a copy of the aircheck.

what bus line was it??? I"ll ride it everyday till I find him and ask him for a copy.

 

[BACKnUSSR]

Um....because they were calling it oldies in 1997, that means that we should put on a "true oldies" station on the air in 2008? This is almost as good as bringing back country on the NYC radio dial because someone saw a couple of cars with Y-107 bumper stickers. Come on, you guys are really reaching.

Um... (I never got the condescending "um." Is it supposed to sound intellectual, adolescent, or just effeminant?)(effeminant--hahaha, Im being nice today) Um, after much re-thought, the powers that be finally are making a good decision and bringing back a format for folks who have neither died, nor have abdicated their considerable bank accounts, um.

Um, and Country would certainly pry dollars from a vastly underestimated demo, as it does across the nation, and not just in "flyover country." New York is, afterall, a bastion of diversity. Where's the tolerance?

Go WCBS! And go Rockin Ron Parker!

How about Um 95.5? By the way "UM" would be a great name for a country station....because it would be the perfect answer for the execs to answer the questions "Where are the ratings?" and "Where is the billing?"

Tolerance is certainly there, but history is against it. In the markets "across the country" as you put it, most have had
country radio stations perform well both ratings and revenue-wise over the past 30 years. That has not been true in NYC.

If a Hip-Hop station never worked in a particular market (say, in Oklahoma), would you insist upon trying the format simply because it has been successful in NY and LA? If not, then why suggest that a country format would work because it had
success somewhere else?

 

[adma]

The trouble with statements like "New York is, afterall, a bastion of diversity. Where's the tolerance?" is that, when used in cases like this, it reminds me a little too much of spokespersons for "white rights" or "European heritage" or "men's liberation". Archie Bunker went into eclipse for a reason, y'know...