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The Call letters on 101.1 FM, should they be changed

J

Jul

Guest
I would like to know do you think that the current WCBS-FM call letters on 101.1 FM should be changed, if so, why? I think that CBS radio needs to drop the WCBS-FM calls because it doesn't make any sense to keep those calls over a year after they dropped the long time 33 year old oldies format.
 
101.1 FM

They should have changed them when they changed the format
 
As much as that makes sense, there's no way it's going to happen. Generally speaking the network O&O's in New York and LA have the network name in the callsign. WABC didn't change their callsign in 1982 and they use the calls more than just the once an hour legal ID. Not gonna happen no matter what music/format gets put on 101.1.
 
The reason I bring this up because the WCBS-FM calls was so very important on the station that it was metioned a lot via the jingles and the jocks during the rock and oldies formats. Since the call letters are no longer a important part of the station's branding expect the top of the ID, I ask this question in this thread, should they be changed.
 
The Call Sign will remain. Think of the "name brand recognition" it brings to the table in the event the station is put up for sale. The call letters are "the house" it dosen't matter who lives in it now, the house still has value.
 
If WABC stayed WABC after going ALL TALK, I don't see why WCBS-FM should have changed call letters for dropping oldies.

If there was ever a set of calls associated with music, it WAS WABC-AM. Now, the calls are synonymous with talk. You make your own legend! :)
 
In about 1970 or 1971, ABC really wanted the O & O FMs to have their own identity, so WABC-FM became WPLJ. KABC-FM became KLOS, WLS-FM became WDAI, WXYZ-FM became WRIF. I forget what KGO and KQV-FM became.

I would have changed call letters at WCBS-FM. I also would have changed WNEW-FM to something else. It still seems weird to have those call letters associated with a non rock format.
 
cawasinnj said:
As much as that makes sense, there's no way it's going to happen. Generally speaking the network O&O's in New York and LA have the network name in the callsign. WABC didn't change their callsign in 1982 and they use the calls more than just the once an hour legal ID. Not gonna happen no matter what music/format gets put on 101.1.
Click to expand...

Interestingly, the KCBS call letters were used in San Francisco exclusively into the early '80s when KNXT in Los Angeles became KCBS-TV. Roughly a decade later, L.A.'s onetime KNX-FM became KCBS-FM. (The new calls were not enough to help the station's flagging oldies ratings, however). The AM stations--KCBS 740, S.F. and KNX 1070, L.A.--did not change their call signs.
 
The Listener said:
cawasinnj said:
As much as that makes sense, there's no way it's going to happen. Generally speaking the network O&O's in New York and LA have the network name in the callsign. WABC didn't change their callsign in 1982 and they use the calls more than just the once an hour legal ID. Not gonna happen no matter what music/format gets put on 101.1.
Click to expand...

Interestingly, the KCBS call letters were used in San Francisco exclusively into the early '80s when KNXT in Los Angeles became KCBS-TV. Roughly a decade later, L.A.'s onetime KNX-FM became KCBS-FM. (The new calls were not enough to help the station's flagging oldies ratings, however). The AM stations--KCBS 740, S.F. and KNX 1070, L.A.--did not change their call signs.
Click to expand...

The old KCBS-FM in SF became KRQR (now Alice) in the early 80's and when the FCC relaxed rules those calls were moved to LA for TV and KNX-FM which was KKHR for a brief time as well. In answer to an earlier post, KGO-FM became KSFX when ABC made all of the FM change the calls to be different from the AM's. KSFX had a few formats as well, doing the old Rock N' Stereo format and "The Beat Of The Bay" format, a rythmic leaning Top 40. When they tried Talk and went back to KGO-FM it was sort of the last gasp for ABC at that frequency. It was then sold to Brown Broadcasting and eventually went to a Smooth Jazz format...
 
>> I forget what KGO and KQV-FM became.<<

The call-letters for KGO-FM became KSFX/103.7 ("The San Francisco eXperience"), before it was reverted back to KGO-FM as a simulcast of KGO/810 just before ABC dumped the FM. KQV-FM/102.5 ("Fun Lovin' K-Q-V", with Al...... Julius doing the news) became WDVE before it was jettisoned by ABC.
 
WCBS-FM should be removed from 101.1 FM in NYC

If CBS radio can retire the WNEW call letters from NYC radio and move them somewhere, they should do the same for WCBS-FM by dropping the calls now and get new call letters for 101.1 FM. The station's calls doesn't mean much anymore like it did when they was rock and then oldies.
 
I'm sure CBS radio will do whatever they feel like doing, as long as they don't violate FCC regulations. Why is it so important to you, Julius?
 
The call letters for CBSFM are alive and well on line (www.wcbsfm.com) and on HD2.
The old jingles and sweepers are used in between each song and after the commercial breaks on HD2.
HD2 has a long way to go, but the station is there minus the Jocks.
Thats why the calls were never changed.
When you give a name to a station like JACK, BEN, ALICE, whatever, call letters do not mean anything. With the flip of MIX 102.7 to Fresh 102.7,
do you really think the MIX listeners knew the call letters? If you check arbitron you would be suprised at how many did not. With Fresh the average listener they will not know the new call letters, they will recall Fresh 102.7 (hopefully). The same with New York's JACK.
CBS-FM 101.1 used the call letters with every break. JACK uses the calls at the top of the hour.
Should CBS drop the call letters? No, because it does not matter to JACK.
They have a good product online and on HD2.
JACK is a huge mistake made by CBS. Will the CBS suits admit their mistakes?
You know how that works.
 
...also still on WCBS-FM (HD2) is Ziggy's voice work!

Why should 101.1 change their calls? How would WJCK (already taken but used for example) help? The legal ID is once an hour on the analog main channel and HD1...but 'CBS-FM's oldies (programmed by Jeff Mazie) is still rocking on HD2 (and *frankly* sounds better musically then it did back in 2005).

93.1 in Boss Angeles is still KCBS-FM and they are airing the JACK format. Face it, CBS is the corporate parent...the call letters reflecting that will stay no matter what the board weenies want.

CJ
 
Julius,
>>>If CBS radio can retire the WNEW call letters from NYC radio and move them somewhere, they should do the same for WCBS-FM by dropping the calls now and get new call letters for 101.1 FM. The station's calls doesn't mean much anymore like it did when they was rock and then oldies.<<<

Actually the WNEW call signs aren't officially retired because they have resurfaced at a station in Palm Beach, Florida.

WPLJ, WKTU and WNSR are call letters that were dropped from the New York airwaves. But were brought back sometime later for each station.




Thanks,
Kevin L. Sealy
 
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