I wouldn’t consider KQC soft AC. They’re a little softer than LKO, but KQC/LKO are basically the same format. Classic rock with some pop sprinkled in for variety.
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Should 96.1 Flip To Talk?
- Thread starter DToTheJ
- Start date
I completely disagree with that. There are several other operators who have tried and failed to compete with WBT, as others have stated.
I’m more center left, but there are some shows on WBT that aren’t that bad like Brett Jensen and Pete Kaliner. They cover a lot of the local politics, and you can’t get that with syndication.
Who has tried to compete with them using a 100 kW (or close to it) FM signal in the past 20 years?
WBT's nighttime signal at AM 1110 stinks in some areas, and their FM at 99.3 has mediocre reception in Charlotte proper.
I don't trust Urban One's ability to win a news/talk battle with iHM in a scenario where the iHM-owned contender is on a powerful FM stick. I predict iHM would devour them.
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KQC is straight up classic hits.
I do not see flipping 96.1 to talk even being considered. I would bet they would take the current ratings and demos over the very old and difficult news/talk demo, even though they can run more commercials. When was the last time iHeart launched a talk station on FM, or gave one of its AM talkers a full powered FM signal, anyway? Outside of St. Louis (which is doing terribly). I can’t recall many prominent examples.
iHeart just dropped John Boy & Billy and Paul Schadt in part because of the aging demographic. They're clearly not interested in moving in that direction.
I agree that if iHeart would win against Radio One in a head to head (local vs local) battle. However, if iHeart just puts a bunch of syndication on there vs a live and local 100 year old radio station, they'll get their butt whooped. The thing about news talk is it's very expensive to operate, and it takes time to build up an audience. I don't see iHeart spending the time or money to build something like that up, especially considering their recent moves in the opposite direction.
WBT also has one of the strongest AM signals on the east coast, so I don't know where you're getting the info about poor signal.
Look at the nighttime pattern on radio-locator.com. Very deep null to the west and northwest.
I guess I wasn’t clear. I think because K104.7 is NOT a soft ac station, flipping 96.1 to a soft ac (The Breeze) brand could suffice. Like Lite Fm in Chicago. Could do well and get numbers and demos. Or if iHM really wants to be ambitious, have 96.1 go full AC and directly compete with K, but I just see that very unlikely.
WLKO was soft AC "Lite 102.9" for many years. iHeart flipped it to adult hits in 2012 and the current format has been much more successful. I don't see iHeart flipping 96.1 to soft AC. It would be too similar to the LKO format canibalize some of that audience.
Personally, I'd like to see them flip 96.1 to urban. iHeart just put urban on a bigger signal in Atlanta, and it's doing well in a crowded market. iHEart is missing out on a lot of revenue by ignoring a quarter of the potential audience in the Charlotte market.
I don't remember when it was last soft AC, but before the switch the station was playing "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul (okay, WEZV is playing that one) and "Separate Ways" by Journey. And much worse stuff than that during a special lunch hour show. "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi is the only song I think of right now.
What’s wrong with Straight Up or Separate Ways? I like both songs.
WPTI is in the 2's in the Greensboro ratings. But it is in a three-way tie for #9.
Interesting to note that the two other stations WPTI is tied with are also News/Talk. Both are NPR affiliates: 88.5 WFDD, Wake Forest University's public radio station and 91.3 WUNC Chapel Hill, the state university's public station.
Another fact: WUNC is #1 in Raleigh, while WTKK, the iHeart FM talk station, is tied for #4 in Raleigh. OK, Raleigh is the state capital so some listeners are more into politics and government than in an average market. But having two News/Talk stations in the top 4 is something rarely seen in other markets. It's not true in Madison or Albany. Meanwhile, in Greensboro, all the news and talk stations are stuck in the 2's.
What is soft about either one? Especially the second one.
Maybe they were sampling for the format flip?
Regarding the WBT signal on 11.10AM. It is indeed a strong AM signal in the core Charlotte area counties, and can be heard up and down the East coast at night, from Canada to the Caribbean, as they used to say. However it is at night where the signal weakens to the west, and that is why 99.3 was added to fill the null from Gastonia to Shelby.
99.3 can be heard here in Spartanburg before interference from a Georgia signal WCON begins to kick in as you travel southwest into Greenville County. And 99.3 does not reach all of Mecklenburg County. Which is why there is speculation regarding a stronger FM signal for WBT, perhaps eventually on 107.9, if they ever abandon the Mix format. Ironically, 107.9 was the original WBT-FM, although not a simulcast of the AM signal. I believe it was an easy listening format originally.
And a stronger FM signal for WBT would be less subject to static, noise, and interference which can hider the AM signal. Here in Spartanburg, in the car, I listen to WBT on 107.9-HD2 or 99.3, depending upon location. If dropouts emerge into Greenville County, I switch to 11.10 on the AM signal during the day. For news and talk, I prefer WBT rather than WORD, although they have a superb signal on 98.9.
99.3 can be heard here in Spartanburg before interference from a Georgia signal WCON begins to kick in as you travel southwest into Greenville County. And 99.3 does not reach all of Mecklenburg County. Which is why there is speculation regarding a stronger FM signal for WBT, perhaps eventually on 107.9, if they ever abandon the Mix format. Ironically, 107.9 was the original WBT-FM, although not a simulcast of the AM signal. I believe it was an easy listening format originally.
And a stronger FM signal for WBT would be less subject to static, noise, and interference which can hider the AM signal. Here in Spartanburg, in the car, I listen to WBT on 107.9-HD2 or 99.3, depending upon location. If dropouts emerge into Greenville County, I switch to 11.10 on the AM signal during the day. For news and talk, I prefer WBT rather than WORD, although they have a superb signal on 98.9.
WKQC is not a “soft AC.” They’re classic hits. Those are classic hits staples in 2025.
Also known as beautiful music. It became WBCY "Charlotte's Best Rock" in 1978. I would describe it as sounding more like Top 40, maybe leaning toward rock, even though Broadcasting Yearbook called it AOR. WROQ was the only station that could truly have been called AOR, and it was listed as "adult rock". I think the terms should have been swapped.
Sometime in the early 80s WBCY was advertising to the AC audience who wanted softer music than the hard rock station. There were already two ACs. Then it became one of three Top 40s. It was in 1989 that it became WBT-FM again with an AC format that was a little softer than what Mix 104.7 was doing, but not as soft as EZ. Then it was Hot AC as Sunny and because of the 99.3 frequency becoming WBT-FM, it was WWSN. The station added more talk and became WLNK "The Link" but it has been some variety of Hot AC ever since.
Those songs were on Lite 102.9 when it was still called Lite.
And 107.9 was the original home of John Boy and Billy before they moved to 99.7-WRFX. Then Bob and Sheri, Matt and Ramona, and even comedienne Pam Stone were notable hosts.
I remember they even built an in home remote studio for Pam Stone, who lived near Landrum in Spartanburg County. Up near the horse country.
The overwhelming majority of listening on WBT occurs between 6am and 7pm during the week. Even if what you’re saying about the signal at night is true, why would Radio One care? They’re not flipping LNK any time soon.