In Washington, DC, Entercom had one of those "Fresh" stations on 94.7, but they recently flipped it to classic hits as "94.7 the Drive." Someone actually stated that Washington DC was the only market without a classic hits station. As we all know, that is not the case. There's a lot of classic hits that WROR does not play, so it really is not a proper "Classic Hits" station. It really does not appear that 103.3 Amp Radio has been doing very well lately, and I know that a lot of other major cities have given it up. I know we've asked about this for years, but do you think the fact that it happened in DC means that it could happen here in Boston?
-
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
Is it slightly possible that WODS could make a comeback???
- Thread starter ssetta
- Start date
That new DC station is, by all accounts, a rock-focused classic hits station like WODS. Acts like Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, America, Aretha Franklin, James Taylor, Michael Jackson and Gloria Estefan need not apply. There are at least two threads discussing this, and one of them goes in some depth as to why advertisers buy rock classic hits and don't buy pop/r&b/disco classic hits. It has to do with greater acceptance of older songs by the younger half of the 25-54 crowd.
WROR is considered by every industry and music source to be Classic Hits... BDS and MediaBase list is as such, and its playlist era map defines the mid-70's to 1990 range for around 95% of the music spins.
In each large market where research can still be done, we find very different lists. Some lean more to the pop side, others have more rock or alternative. Some big songs in one market don't make the cut in others. But they are all "classic hits" by definition. And there really is not room in Boston for another classic hits station, even with a different flavor.
Severe consensus problems there. Stations would pretty much have to choose sides -- rock, non-rhythmic pop, or rhythmic/hip-hop, because so few potential listeners would want to hear all three on the same station. Think about a Nirvana/Natasha Bedingfield/Tone-Loc/Hootie and the Blowfish stopset for a minute. Or less.
In a word ..... NO
WBOQ flipped for a reason.... the same reason WODS did over 6 years ago.
It is hard to sell 55 to dead .....
Even Beasley's Q105 in Tampa, which would be a pre 2012 WODS clone, is playing 80's and newer ....
Anything before new wave is dead to broadcast radio.
Pearl Jam and Nirvana could be considered oldies at this point... but are in reality classic rock
WBOQ flipped for a reason.... the same reason WODS did over 6 years ago.
It is hard to sell 55 to dead .....
Even Beasley's Q105 in Tampa, which would be a pre 2012 WODS clone, is playing 80's and newer ....
Anything before new wave is dead to broadcast radio.
Pearl Jam and Nirvana could be considered oldies at this point... but are in reality classic rock
I was thinking something along the lines that Mix used to play with perhaps a dance/rhythmic show on Saturday nights.
>>It is hard to sell 55 to dead .....
As much as some are drooling over the idea of oldies coming back to 1510... (I'm 56 myself)
I made a point in 2012 when we got word one day that WODS was changing to CHR the following day. On its last day of oldies, they played I Wanna Hold Your Hand. So there we were in 2012, and I said then,
"if you were 12 when that song came out in '64, you are 60 now"...Yes that was the bottom end of their playlist, the earliest stuff, but still...
(At the end I think they added "...and now the 80s!" to "greatest hits of the 60s and 70s"
There are niche stations for these oldies on broadcast (as well as 60s on 6 etc on XM; you do have the old WODS music on WODS HD2)
900 and 1250 in NH
1510 in Boston (soon)
"Big 105.3" and 1570 in Medford and Methuen respectively
Some tunes on WJIB and elsewhere
===
RadioDiscussions June 27 2012:
>>bostonradio tweet
103.3 changes to Top 40 format called AMP...Classic 60's,70's,80's moves to HD2 starting tomorrow(6/28)
>>from all access
"When looking at the habits of BOSTON radio listeners, it is clear the music most favored by the biggest group of people is contemporary hit music," said SVP/Market Mgr. MARK HANNON. "BOSTON's New 103.3 AMP RADIO will serve the audience with all of the hits from artists topping the charts, and create a number of ways for listeners to interact with the station -- from live events to special appearances and contests."
As much as some are drooling over the idea of oldies coming back to 1510... (I'm 56 myself)
I made a point in 2012 when we got word one day that WODS was changing to CHR the following day. On its last day of oldies, they played I Wanna Hold Your Hand. So there we were in 2012, and I said then,
"if you were 12 when that song came out in '64, you are 60 now"...Yes that was the bottom end of their playlist, the earliest stuff, but still...
(At the end I think they added "...and now the 80s!" to "greatest hits of the 60s and 70s"
There are niche stations for these oldies on broadcast (as well as 60s on 6 etc on XM; you do have the old WODS music on WODS HD2)
900 and 1250 in NH
1510 in Boston (soon)
"Big 105.3" and 1570 in Medford and Methuen respectively
Some tunes on WJIB and elsewhere
===
RadioDiscussions June 27 2012:
>>bostonradio tweet
103.3 changes to Top 40 format called AMP...Classic 60's,70's,80's moves to HD2 starting tomorrow(6/28)
>>from all access
"When looking at the habits of BOSTON radio listeners, it is clear the music most favored by the biggest group of people is contemporary hit music," said SVP/Market Mgr. MARK HANNON. "BOSTON's New 103.3 AMP RADIO will serve the audience with all of the hits from artists topping the charts, and create a number of ways for listeners to interact with the station -- from live events to special appearances and contests."
Last edited:
That is not true. 94.7 in DC is playing Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, Earth Wind & Fire, etc...
My bad, then. I was going by initial reports here on RadioDiscussions. Those artists would definitely make sense in Washington. So no Seger, Speedwagon, Skynyrd, Springsteen, or do they coexist with the more pop artists the way they did on radio pre-grunge, pre-rap?
In another thread, I said it might be possible that Entercom would flip WAAF to classic hits, given its the lowest rated station in the cluster. However, today it was announced that WAAF has hired a new PD, and his background is in active rock. So obviously their intent is to retain that format there.
https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/180588/waaf-boston-names-joe-calgaro-pd
https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/180588/waaf-boston-names-joe-calgaro-pd
Nice 80s music there.
Indeed. Looks like all the biggest hits -- at least the uptempo ones -- will get airplay. I'd expect the playlist to be pretty tight if the current sample is any indication.
I'm actually surprised at how much 70s music is there.
Aerosmith's "Dream On" really surprised me. That song will never die on Boston radio, but seeing it on a DC playlist in 2018 was unexpected.
Dream On and Sweet Emotion both are played in various markets here in California on classic hits and classic rock playlists in both their respected album or single versions. The 70’s are alive and well here.
As for the soft A/C topic, we have iHeartMedia’s “98.1 The Breeze” in San Francisco formally an ‘R&B 80’s through today’ as “Kiss 98.1”. The Breeze playlist encompasses stuff from Air Supply to U2, Matchbox Twenty to Alicia Keys. The format is doing well.
Here’s a sample of what’s playing there.
https://981thebreeze.iheart.com/music/recently-played/
As for the soft A/C topic, we have iHeartMedia’s “98.1 The Breeze” in San Francisco formally an ‘R&B 80’s through today’ as “Kiss 98.1”. The Breeze playlist encompasses stuff from Air Supply to U2, Matchbox Twenty to Alicia Keys. The format is doing well.
Here’s a sample of what’s playing there.
https://981thebreeze.iheart.com/music/recently-played/
- Status