• 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

SO IT'S OLDIES 93

They streamed the robotic stunt, and now they are streaming the new format. The Oldies 93 site has been updated; instead of "WMQX-FM?" it has the new "93.1 The Wolf" logo on it; click on that logo to access the streaming player. The Wolf was launched at noon today, although it was shortly after that before I noticed that country music had replaced the robot.
We'll have to see how this plays out; in Raleigh, when CC axed WTRG "Oldies 100.7" they briefly launched a country format called "100.7 The Bull" which did turn out to be a bunch of bull; that format only lasted a weekend before CC finally scrapped it in favor of today's "100.7 The River." The irony of the Raleigh teaser: That "format" was intended to go against CMG's 94.7 QDR; then, three months after WTRG's death, it was CMG who resurrected the oldies format on what is today "Y-102.9."
 
So, since we love to speculate on this board, who is the most likely candidate to pick up the oldies format? You know, one man's trash is another man's treasure! Just scan the ratings for stations with under 3 share is a candidate for change.

That would include people like WVBZ - wouldn't that be a kick? And Hits 94.1, ZTK ...

Let the speculation begin!
 
If Hitz94 was just a little more east, they could still get Charlotte and get Greensboro/metros also.
I highly doubt WZTK, because CMG already has Oldies Y102.9 in Raleigh...WVBZ seems like the best bet now.
 
If someone is thinking about picking it up - do it now! Take advantage of the buzz that will be around for a few days.

My assistant in the office is really upset! She knows nothing about radio and can't understand why anyone would dump oldies!
 
I feel cheated. I rearranged my whole schedule so I could be around tomorrow at 3.

Of course, if this is still just a stunt like 100.7 the Bull, I'll still be able to do it.

If this is real, it's dumb. We don't need any more country stations. Someone had better pick up oldies. I'd prefer it to be standards, but I don't think WIST will change.

I was going back and forth between The Wolf and WIST. The first two songs I heard on The Wolf were "real" country, and I thought maybe this was something different, although they did call it "Fresh".

A few minutes later, though, it became clear that Oldies 93 is "Gone" by Montgomery Gentry. I won't take the time to post the lyrics, but someone who knows them can.
 
XTalker said:
The biggest failure was 94.5 (long before Cat Country) when it was marketed as I-95! They used the Interstate highway symbol. Biggest problem was there was WQDR in Raleigh on 94.7 so anyone tuning to 95 would hit 94.7 before they got to 94.5.

Of course, no one got the I-95 connection! I mean, we all knew it was I-85 here. I-95 was in the eastern part of the state!

What a bust!
Click to expand...
Why did WQDR never use the name I-95? They're the most obvious choice!
 
eacalhoun1 said:
ghattaway said:
One might hear a dozen different "tease" formats before the real McCoy surfaces, in order to pump up the buzz...
Click to expand...

I guess this COULD be a tease--not the real format--but let's assume it's the real thing. How many other big signal Triad stations have tried but lost at taking on WTQR over the past, say 25 years? There was "102 Jamz" all-but-forgotten predecessor "Big 102"; 98.7; 100.3 "Whistle 100"; and didn't 94.1 try country before it was Southern Gospel WWGL? Does 101.1 WPCM count? Have I forgotten anyone?
Click to expand...
94.5 FM did it TWICE and failed.

Big 102 did a countdown back in 1987, but it was simply numbers and the promise something big was coming.

And I lived where I couldn't pick up the signal well enough to be certain of hearing the new format start.
 
It sounds good! I could listen to this for a while without scanning. I'm listening to the audio stream now.

If only WIST would've waited. They could be Oldies 98.3 right now, instead of trying to compete with The Wolf and WTQR. Entercom has a history of going all-out, so I expect more from this country effort than we've seen in the past and maybe a longer and stronger commitment. Of course the question is, can WVBZ or WTHZ do better in billing with Oldies? Ratings without $$$ is almost as bad as no ratings at all. $$$ is always first. The next oldies effort (if there is another) will likely involve a satellite dish and lots of college sports. :( We've been without oldies down here (Atlanta market) for a few years. We can listen to weak oldies outlets from the mountains though (100.1 and 102.9). I think there's another oldies formated outlet at 88.9 too. Charlotte and the Triad don't have this option.

Who has tried Country over the years:
92.3
93.1*
94.1
94.5
97.1
98.1*
98.3*
98.7
100.3
101.1
102.1
103.3*
104.1*
105.1
105.7

Almost everyone has tried it, but I can't remember if 99.5 has ever tried it? I guess that leaves 95.5 and 107.5 to try Country next. ;D It seems once it's tried and fails, it's not tried again. 94.5 is the only one to try more than once. They had Rod Davis in the morning too in the 94-5 Cat Country effort.
 
SO, where will the Oldies 93 former listeners go? Will they just disperse....a few to WKRR, a few to WTQR, a few to WMAG, or will one station benefit significantly. After all, that was a sizeable audience and I don't think they're going to listen to this hybrid country music. Any thoughts?
 
Here in Atlanta, Lite 94.9 adjusted their format to include oldies with AC and it sounded great. If CC is thinking of a way to increase their #'s at 99.5, this could be it?
 
You know there are hardly any Oldies stations along I-85 anymore except for Richmond, Durham, Greenville, and Toccoa...Sad considering that just a few years ago we had Oldies greats such as WTRG, WMQX, WWMG, WFOX, etc!
 
Just a friendly reminder to any programmer in this market that may be reading this board.
I'm not from this market, but I believe that if there is a cluster of stations with one that is taking too much away from the other, oldies *may* now be the answer.

I sress the word may because I do not know this market enough to be aware of which station may in fact be the one taking too much attention away from a sister station...if at all.
 
So with the Greensboro paper article, is it official now that 93.1 will be "Wolf" country? I would think that the station would give the paper the correct story with the free publicity from the article. Thoughts? God I hope this is just a stunt... please no Howling....
 
The Journal article by Tim Clodfelter has much more detail, with actual quotes from GM Brent Millar: "They're (the announcers) still on our payroll, and we're giving them every opportunity to audition for the new radio station. We think the world of them, and we're going to give them every chance we can to be part of this new station." He also explains why the switch was made. The Journal always does a better job than the N&R, I think.
 
Wouldn't suprise me to see a lot of the same voices on the station. They have some good people and if you can do oldies, you can do country.
 
Hi everyone,

I just found your discussion over Oldies this evening. My father was visiting us in Charlotte and told me that Oldies had flipped to country.

As a former on-air employee of Oldies when it was Oldies 93.Fun and then as Oldies 93 and later one of the several "Lane Closures" doing traffic on the station, this change represents the end of an era. It has been nearly 10 years since I was last on the air in the Triad but I have some great memories from working there, especially working in the "snake pit" ("crack row", "bottom of the hell", "the swamp") off of Link Road. I even did an intership there when I was in high school (when it was 93 MIX!) I went with the station as we went from vinyl, reel-to-reel and carts to touch screen low-bitrate WAVs.

I'm glad to hear that lots of folks on this board have good memories of "Ol' MQX." When I heard the news about my friend Ed Snow I had a feeling that changes were afoot. It makes me sad that the station has flipped to country.

In my opinion the best station in the Triad is still WKRR. Yes, it has a predictable playlist. Yes, it's the same thing it was 15 years ago. But people still love it. My previous favorite station was 94.1; it was all my wife and I listened to when we were visiting the Triad. Now it seems that 94.1 is going the way of WKZL and every other generic CHR station in any random market.

These days it's sports talk, 95.7 "The Ride" and my iPod that keep me entertained in the car. I'm just too lazy to get satellite radio.

If you have read this far, thank you. "Oldies 93" was one of the best times of my life. I learned so much from the people there and will treasure all of them and all of the memories. Ed Snow, Cindy Taylor, Lee Michaels, Ed Kasovic, Dave Solomon, Max McGann, Kris Abrams, Matt Allen and Paul Johnson will all always be held in high regard. A special mention must go to Leon Henry. If you ever listened to 1340 AM (WMQX-AM) on Sunday mornings you didn't hear the 93.1 simulcast - that was Leon's time to shine. Thank you, Leon.

Working 8 years in radio (6 in the Triad an 2 in Washington, D.C.) taught me something: radio sucks. That's why I now develop web applications. It's a lot like being on the air - doing what you want as long as you stay within defined parameters and dealing with whiny-ass, psycho, weird, retarded, horny, drunk, obsessive, bucolic, argumentative, asinine and - once in a while - wonderful callers - er, clients. All without commerical interruption.

I can't think of a better way to close out here, so I'll do it with the last words I spoke on the station in 1997:

That's your Oldies 93 dependable traffic. I'm Lane Closure...
 
Not so fast.

Mr Winston-Salem said:
Here in Atlanta, Lite 94.9 adjusted their format to include oldies with AC and it sounded great. If CC is thinking of a way to increase their #'s at 99.5, this could be it?
Click to expand...

Have you looked at what WLTM's numbers have done since this move? Take a look. (No, they probably won't try it on WMAG.)
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom