Satellite Radio

[videokilledtheradiostar]

Didn't The River 105.9 try to go after Lite 100.5 but failed. And lets go back in the day. Magic 104.1 flipped as they couldn't compete.

Even Mix 93.7 could not make it. Perhaps the secret success of Lite 100.5 is with Gary Berkowitz?

 

[kms575]

One more thing about The River. Why does radio and records in the ratings show 105.9 as Classic Hits? Isn't the format more like a Jack type station so maybe Adult Hits.

Surprised they have not changed that yet? R & R behind the times.

I'd call it more classic hits.

 

[GlennO]

Didn't The River 105.9 try to go after Lite 100.5 but failed. And lets go back in the day. Magic 104.1 flipped as they couldn't compete.

Even Mix 93.7 could not make it. Perhaps the secret success of Lite 100.5 is with Gary Berkowitz?

The River is successful at what they do, which is different from anything else in this market.

There's no secret to the success of WRCH, which has been a powerhouse for years. Magic had grown complacent when WRCH came along in 1989 with a better signal in the Hartford metro, a more interactive morning show, love songs at night and freshly tested music. Magic 104 became Hot AC Star 104.1 and freed up the soft AC field for WRCH to have a tremendous run at the top of the heap.

WZMX aggressively promoted when they started as a bright AC with Mix 93.7. Mix made impressive inroads before Star 104.1 came along became a spoiler for them.

104.1 has had the role of spoiler going to back to their competition with WWYZ in the early 80s, WZMX in the early 90s, WZMX (this time with hip-hop) in this decade and probably has affected WCCC's fortunes with modern vs. active rock in two stretches as alternative.

Back to WRCH - not to take anything away from today's consultants/programmers, but their success shouldn't be considered any secret.

 

[Radio14fun]

The reason WRCH is so successful in it's demo is simple.
They are listened to in more offices and businesses because they are not controversial...not offensive and play a variety of lite hits..
And have been doing the same thing since they flipped off the automation when it was in Radio Park in Farmington.
When you are consistent and actually serve the community you are in...the community will respond. If WHCN left well enough alone
they too would have their demographic locked in. As far as 104.1 goes they should have never abandoned the loyal country
audience they had when they were W104 (I read about 5000 letters in the file from irate listeners when they changed formats) I worked at Magic 104 for 6 years and my contention had always been (and the late Lou Terri and I had many discussions about this) Is they should have gone oldies and took the call letters WPOP and went head to head with WDRC-FM... DRC lost their edge when they dropped the oldies moniker and eliminated the core oldies 55-62. Jerry Kristaffer had it down to a science the first go round (Late 80s -early 90s)...music and personality..it worked because like the country audience the second most loyal audience are oldies listeners. I also worked for Jerry back then and it was the most fun
I ever had on the air...I would love to work there again if the BIG D were ever reincarnated. If you want to hear what a great oldies format sounds like check out Sirius 6. And as far as Howard Stern Leaving in 2 years...I siriusly doubt it.

 

[SallysPizza]

Are you the Johnny Gardner that once did nights at WWCO?

 

[GlennO]

If WHCN left well enough alone they too would have their demographic locked in. As far as 104.1 goes they should have never abandoned the loyal country
audience they had when they were W104 (I read about 5000 letters in the file from irate listeners when they changed formats) I worked at Magic 104 for 6 years and my contention had always been (and the late Lou Terri and I had many discussions about this) Is they should have gone oldies and took the call letters WPOP and went head to head with WDRC-FM... DRC lost their edge when they dropped the oldies moniker and eliminated the core oldies 55-62.

WHCN looks like a ratings winner. While most of us don't see the 25-54 breakdowns, it would appear to be a younger listenership than WRCH or WDRC-FM.

It's hard to know how country would have done if 104 stayed with it after their signal upgrade in 1978. At least it was a format they owned. They took a chance going up against WWYZ 30 years ago as a soft AC spoiler for Natural 92. WWYZ blinked, with lots of format tweaks and staff changes, but WIOF Magic 104 neither aggressively promoted nor took its presentation to the next level. I don't think they understood the value of their AC franchise, and sales seemed to like its news niche sister WPOP as an easier foreground sell. They had some decent years of ratings in the 80s, but were very vulnerable by the time WRCH dumped the beautiful music for Lite.

Would oldies have made it? They should have had a very marketable product with great time spent listening as an AC then, so why be one of two oldies outlets as WPOP-FM, especially if WDRC-FM flipped to it first? The Big D has heritage like nobody else.

 

[Radio14fun]

Are you the Johnny Gardner that once did nights at WWCO?

Yes that was me....I was just a kid then...

 

[SallysPizza]

I won an album (or two) from you back then. You took over after Franco and Stef. I ended up working for Stef.

 

[Radio14fun]

Actually I took over the 7-mid slot after Danny Lyons left (1977)...Stef and The Hatter did Friday & Saturday Nights And Frank-O was on Midnight to 6. Frank-O took over for me when I left (1978) to do overnights at WCCC-FM (when Howard Stern was first hired to do mornings) I was back for a while in 1981 and a bunch of times during the 80s and 90s until 1992 when the station and I parted ways...I did the last airshift from Straits Turnpike (the round building in Middlebury)(Saturday Night) and the first from Lakewood Road (Sunday Morning) and the last shift from Lakewood Road (again Saturday Night) and the first from downtown (South Main St) Not to mention tons of live cruise night broadcasts with Wally Mann from Roy Rogers on Wolcott Street...I was doing Saturday Mornings at DRC-FM doing the cruise nights Saturday Nights and Doing Sunday Mornings at CO! Then I did the last Saturday night from downtown and the first from the Red Bull Inn (eeeewwww!)