(Article From The Post and Courier)
The format at WALC-FM 100.5 changed at Christmas. Before, the station was hit rock and pop radio. Now, the station is known as "The Drive" and its slogan is, "It's all about the music." What's happening at WALC is a trend. Broadcast radio programmers, facing increasing competition from commercial-free subscription radio, have been tweaking formats to create new combinations of music combined with new styles of advertising.
" 'The Drive at 100.5' right now runs half as many commercial minutes as anybody it competes against," said Paul Smith, Clear Channel Charleston general manager.
But just running fewer commercials isn't enough to hold an audience. What's needed is a sound that's truly different, and the folks at WALC-FM are push-fer a listening alternative for the generation situated between teen angst and midlife crisis. It's not hit radio, it's not classic rock, but you might hear bits and pieces from those genres in the course of a programming day. And you don't hear endless radio personality chatter.
" 'The Drive' has done well. We'll have another ratings book out on the station in about three weeks. The trends that we see within the book have been very favorable. We think we're gong to see a very nice increase for that station, so we're enthusiastic about it, and people have really received that station well. It's very eclectic," Smith said.
A recent sampling of the songs played on "The Drive" included Matthew Sweet, Beck, The Police, Santana, Widespread Panic, The Clash and Del Amitri. It's the kind of lineup, depending on my mood, that I might spin on the home CD player. I think "The Drive at 100.5" recognizes that listeners don't necessarily fit neatly into formats.
Individual tastes can vary depending on mood. If a station casts a wide enough net of a certain-type musical mesh, it can haul in an audience that other stations might miss.
"The Drive at 100.5" premiered on Christmas night when WALC-FM abruptly stopped playing 24-hour Christmas music. At first, revenue declined, but station advertising has been growing at a healthy clip. The station offers an array of shorter 30-second and 15-second spots.
"It's a very solid plan to dramatically improve the product for the sake of the listener," Smith said.
WALC-FM has become a hybrid of two more established radio formats: adult alternative and modern adult contemporary. It's similar to what's happening at stations in other cities with the so-called "Jack" format, which is more broad-based and melds a wide array of formats such as rock, pop and rap.
"It's kind of a format that's three miles wide and an inch deep. It plays the hits but hits from a bunch of different genres," he said.
WALC-FM ranges across three decades in its playlist, from the '70s to the '90s.
It fills a hole in the radio landscape not being effectively filled by adult contemporary and alternative rock stations, he said.
"I think you're going to see a trend across many formats," Smith said.
The format at WALC-FM 100.5 changed at Christmas. Before, the station was hit rock and pop radio. Now, the station is known as "The Drive" and its slogan is, "It's all about the music." What's happening at WALC is a trend. Broadcast radio programmers, facing increasing competition from commercial-free subscription radio, have been tweaking formats to create new combinations of music combined with new styles of advertising.
" 'The Drive at 100.5' right now runs half as many commercial minutes as anybody it competes against," said Paul Smith, Clear Channel Charleston general manager.
But just running fewer commercials isn't enough to hold an audience. What's needed is a sound that's truly different, and the folks at WALC-FM are push-fer a listening alternative for the generation situated between teen angst and midlife crisis. It's not hit radio, it's not classic rock, but you might hear bits and pieces from those genres in the course of a programming day. And you don't hear endless radio personality chatter.
" 'The Drive' has done well. We'll have another ratings book out on the station in about three weeks. The trends that we see within the book have been very favorable. We think we're gong to see a very nice increase for that station, so we're enthusiastic about it, and people have really received that station well. It's very eclectic," Smith said.
A recent sampling of the songs played on "The Drive" included Matthew Sweet, Beck, The Police, Santana, Widespread Panic, The Clash and Del Amitri. It's the kind of lineup, depending on my mood, that I might spin on the home CD player. I think "The Drive at 100.5" recognizes that listeners don't necessarily fit neatly into formats.
Individual tastes can vary depending on mood. If a station casts a wide enough net of a certain-type musical mesh, it can haul in an audience that other stations might miss.
"The Drive at 100.5" premiered on Christmas night when WALC-FM abruptly stopped playing 24-hour Christmas music. At first, revenue declined, but station advertising has been growing at a healthy clip. The station offers an array of shorter 30-second and 15-second spots.
"It's a very solid plan to dramatically improve the product for the sake of the listener," Smith said.
WALC-FM has become a hybrid of two more established radio formats: adult alternative and modern adult contemporary. It's similar to what's happening at stations in other cities with the so-called "Jack" format, which is more broad-based and melds a wide array of formats such as rock, pop and rap.
"It's kind of a format that's three miles wide and an inch deep. It plays the hits but hits from a bunch of different genres," he said.
WALC-FM ranges across three decades in its playlist, from the '70s to the '90s.
It fills a hole in the radio landscape not being effectively filled by adult contemporary and alternative rock stations, he said.
"I think you're going to see a trend across many formats," Smith said.