WDOD "96.5 the Mountain" Chattanooga flips to CHR!

[BRH]

Just letting everyone know that this morning (3.3.08 at 10AM) Bahakel pulled the plug on the AAA format at WDOD Chattanooga and flipped it to "Chattanooga's Hit Music Station, 96-5 the Mountain". They first did a couple of minutes of a fake country format as "Super Country 96", while taking calls and acting like rednecks. Then they launched a couple of minutes later with a montage that made fun of every station that had done CHR in Chattanooga in the past 25 years. (Taking shots at old stations like KZ 106, B103, Kicks FM, Star 98, and 98.1 Kiss FM). It was hilarious and true. They made fun of KZ leaning rock in the 80s, B103 being in a glass box in the mall, Kicks FM being on 3 signals where no one could find it, and Star and Kiss 98 as being on crappy staticy signals that no one could hear. Then they announced that Chattanooga for the first time ever, finally has a 100,000 watt hit music station that plays all the hits that everyone can hear. They then launched with Kanye West's "Stronger" as the first song.
They also chose to keep the station's name, "96-5 the Mountain" as the station moniker. This should be interesting and should really shake the Chattanooga market up a bit. And what they said is basically true; This is really the first 100 kw class C mainstream CHR that Chattanooga has ever had. (The old KZ 106 doesn't count because it was always a rock leaning CHR and not mainstream). So who knows how this will work. I think it is a great move and I think it will immediately become #3 in 12 plus behind WUSY and WDEF. It might even top sister station WDEF and be #2. Anyway, it's been a long time coming and I'm glad the Choo Choo city finally has a full signal CHR.
Anyone else listening and have any comments?

 

[BRH]

Someone over at the Chattanooga Radio Forum has already posted an MP3 of the format flip online if anyone wants to download it and listen. Here's the link, http://www2.evilshare.com/77df10fc-3a86-102b-a8ce-0007e90cfb90

 

[BRice16]

Dissapointing. The Mountain was probably my favorite station in any market.

 

[BRH]

They've also announced now that Kidd Kraddick's syndicated show will be on board for mornings.

 

[BRH]

Here's the rundown from AllAccess.com; From AllAccess.com:

Rumors (NET NEWS 2/29) became reality as BAHAKEL AAA WDOD (THE MOUNTAIN)/CHATANOOGA has dropped the format after 11 years, and has gone Top 40, keeping the old moniker, "THE MOUNTAIN," with KANYE WEST/Stronger as the first song, under Dir./Programming DANNY HOWARD. [EDIT]


[EDIT-post truncated because originating material is copyrighted.
Unauthorized use of copyrighted content is in violation of Radio-Info's TOS.]

 

[BRH]

oops! Sorry! I didn't know we couldn't post that here. I didn't think about copyrights. I figured it was ok as long as I gave them credit. My bad.

 

[Hairy Bumble]

Bring back my alternative rock! I really hate the new format. Isn't there enough Pop, R&B and Rap stations out there? 105.5 and KZ 106 are the only rock stations left out there now in this area. Its a very sad day. :-[

 

[radioatlantis]

I like that town but radio is pretty lackluster there.

The AAA format is a loyal one and they sounded better than most large markets in the format. CHR is fickle - leans very young - the music is unmemorable in this time and the appeal in the mainstream is narrow and I can not imagine that revenues are going to be stronger especially in a sleepy place like Chattanooga. I could be wrong.

HOTAC would have been a stronger format for Noogie.

Once again, the industry validates it's incapacity to serve the local market by putting on another lame piped in morning show. "Start your day from far away" So now, the only real local shows are on the Legend and 101, the CC country stations...unless you can stand funeral home announcements and Luther mumbling and James Howard stumbling to get to music.

Mechanically, Sunny is a good radio station but it sounds like a classic hits station now.

 

[marcus250]

i really hate to be a bother but i really want to hear this format flip but i can't since that download site wants me to retype letters from an image and my screen reader jaws cannot read the image! there is no audio link for real player to read the image either! could someone provide a link that doesn't require us to retype an image? or provide a real audio link so we can hear the image? thanks so much!

Someone over at the Chattanooga Radio Forum has already posted an MP3 of the format flip online if anyone wants to download it and listen. Here's the link, http://www2.evilshare.com/77df10fc-3a86-102b-a8ce-0007e90cfb90

 

[seatia]

uhm I was on my way to work and tuned in to 96.5 to hear Jason and the morning show and what I heard was Justin Timberlake??? HAHA... The Mountain was my secondary station, you know when all the other stations were playing crap... now they are playing crap... what's up with that? NOT acceptable Chattanooga! ???

 

[EBL]

This is really disappointing! I really miss Jason and Brad in the morning!!!! Why did they think this would be better? I have XM but always tuned in for the LOCAL morning stuff. I will not be anymore. I think they made a bad choice!

 

[CHRles]

Haddaway "What IS Love" ;D Heh, that station played some fun 90s titles here and tere yesterday. I heard Will Smith "Getting Jiggy With It", Black Crows "Hard To Handle", and even "Everybody" by the Backstreet Boys! LOL. I like the imaging and jingle, and I gotta say the launch itself was top notch, bigger then life just like B-94 Pittsburgh. Speaking of which, expect this station by the end of the next week or two to sound similar to B-94, or to Nashville's 107.5 The River. No points for guessing why it's called the Mountain - that's b/c of Lookout Mountain. A lot of people don't realize it but there's actually a whole little town/city up on Lookout Mountain. It's just minutes from downtown Chatanooga yet up there you can easily pick up all the Atlanta CHR (Q-100, Star 94, 95.5 The Beat), and even somewhat pick up Star 102.1 Knoxville.
As for 96.5 The Mountain's signal, it may be a 100,000 watts strong, but b/c of the terrain in the area the signal (like almost any other signal) doesnt come in too clear even 10 mins away from Chatanooga, like say in South Pittsburg. On the flipside, you can pick it up a good hour away in some places, and you're obviously going to be able to pick it up in all the places that count in metro Chatanooga. From Athens and Cleveland down to Dalton and even Rome Georgia, and over to Fort Payne in Alabama - all these places should be able to pick up 96.5 The Mountain. I think the only station from Chattanooga that has a bigger signal is Sunny 92.3.

Even though it was a good Triple A, the market definitely needed someone to fill in the CHR/Pop void. Expect to see some really good ratings within a couple of books

 

[BIGSTICK]

I can get the signal in the northern suburbs of ATL. From Marietta to Dunwoody.

This station has had a lot of flips in its history as well.

 

[Tibbs4]

The flip took about a year longer than I expected. I really thought the music was great up until about six months ago and it
was getting unfocused. Sad to see a station with that format, on such a great signal, disappear. They played Haddaway?
Wow. Good stuff. Don't hurt me, no more.

 

[BRH]

Haddaway "What IS Love" ;D Heh, that station played some fun 90s titles here and tere yesterday. I heard Will Smith "Getting Jiggy With It", Black Crows "Hard To Handle", and even "Everybody" by the Backstreet Boys! LOL. I like the imaging and jingle, and I gotta say the launch itself was top notch, bigger then life just like B-94 Pittsburgh. Speaking of which, expect this station by the end of the next week or two to sound similar to B-94, or to Nashville's 107.5 The River. No points for guessing why it's called the Mountain - that's b/c of Lookout Mountain. A lot of people don't realize it but there's actually a whole little town/city up on Lookout Mountain. It's just minutes from downtown Chatanooga yet up there you can easily pick up all the Atlanta CHR (Q-100, Star 94, 95.5 The Beat), and even somewhat pick up Star 102.1 Knoxville.
As for 96.5 The Mountain's signal, it may be a 100,000 watts strong, but b/c of the terrain in the area the signal (like almost any other signal) doesnt come in too clear even 10 mins away from Chatanooga, like say in South Pittsburg. On the flipside, you can pick it up a good hour away in some places, and you're obviously going to be able to pick it up in all the places that count in metro Chatanooga. From Athens and Cleveland down to Dalton and even Rome Georgia, and over to Fort Payne in Alabama - all these places should be able to pick up 96.5 The Mountain. I think the only station from Chattanooga that has a bigger signal is Sunny 92.3.

Even though it was a good Triple A, the market definitely needed someone to fill in the CHR/Pop void. Expect to see some really good ratings within a couple of books

Yeah, the terrain around Chattanooga is horrendous on radio reception. The city bascially sits in a basin surrounded by several mountains (Lookout Mountain, Signal Mountain, etc.) For that reason, the class C 100kw signals are the only ones that reach a lot of the outlying areas of the market, and even they can break up in places. However, I live north of Chattanooga on I-75 (in Sweetwater which is about 60 miles north of Chattanooga and 35 miles south of Knoxville), and I can listen to WDOD clearly around my area as well as all the way into west Knoxville on my way to work. So the signal travels a good 90 to 100 miles northeast of Chattanooga.

As far as the sound of the new station goes; I think it will take a little while to gel. Seems at the moment they are keeping some of the former AAA type music to carry over some listeners. Also, keeping the same station name and same voiceover guy is kind of surprising to me too. However, I think they will become more focused in the next few weeks as they feel things out a bit and settle into the format. (Oh, I also heard the Haddaway track the other day and did a double take as well. You know I love dance too so that was a cool surprise).

Anyway, should be interesting to see how the ratings go. This is the first 100kw CHR the market has ever really had, so who knows. However, the most recent CHR in town (WKXJ " 98.1 Kiss FM") always did pretty well with a very limited class A signal, so I'm thinking WDOD may possibly end up at #3 in the market (behind country US 101 and their sister AC station, Sunny 92.3).

But no matter what happens, it sure is great to have another CHR back on a strong signal. This move now means that all 3 radio markets in the East Tennessee area (Knoxville, Chattanooga, and the Tri-Cities), have seen CHR's return from small class A signals back onto full coverage class C, 100kw sticks in the past few years. (WDOD "96-5 the Mountain" Chattanooga, WWST "Star 102.1" Knoxville, and WAEZ "Electric 94.9" Tri-Cities). Although, WAEZ's transmitter is located about 40 miles south of the Tri-Cities, so it has some signal issues on the northern end of the market in Southwest Virginia. Anyway, on my drive to work, there is an area around west Knoxville where it is possible to listen to all 3 stations on a decent car radio. I never thought I'd see that again after CHR was basically nonexistent in all 3 markets in the 90's.

 

[CHRles]

I thought Knoxville always had a CHR in town. After I-100 (sadly) bailed on CHR, there was Z-93, then 94.3 joined the battle with a Modern/CHR sound (before going full-blown Modern Rock), then Z-93 became Star 93.1, and a few years ago it moved to the better 102.1 signal.
Electric 94.9 Tri-Cities used to be on 99.3 if I remember correctly.

 

[BRH]

Yeah, Knoxville always had CHR, but Star was a very adult leaning, almost Hot AC station for most of the late 90s. And yeah, Electric 94.9 originally started out on 99.3 before moving to the 100 kw stick at 94.9 a few years back.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

Its been close to 10 yrs since Star moved to 102.1 and they are not 100KW, not nearly as powerful as I-100 WOKI-The Flame Thrower or Blowtorch, whatever they used to call it. I dont remember no Z-93, but I remember Star 93. I dont remember 94.3 ever being CHR either, but I remember them as Active rock (EXTREME RADIO)..... Not saying I dont believe you, its just that I wasnt in the area at the time. I used to live right between Knoxville tn and Asheville NC. Asheville used to have a good CHR too, it was WKSF KISS FM 99.9, they bailed out on chr and went country exactly one year after I-100 flipped to Country on Jan. 1993. I think nearly every CHR at that time either flipped to country or went the Adult top 40 route.... Hit Music with no rap and no hard rock...Remember those sweepers that alot of adult leaning CHRs used at that time. 95 SX in Charleston used to say that when they briefly went Adult CHR from 93-96 or 97... I think if im not mistaken Miami's Y-100 went with the Hits with no Hard Rock or Rap format too for awhile in the 90s.

 

[CHRles]

Damn, as I was reading your post I was gonna mention Charleston's 95 SX as well ;D
You're right about Y-100 Clubber - back in 1990 the station went from sounding like a true CHR/Pop to a very Adult CHR. In 91 though Y revised its sound adding back a lot of Dance titles, and going more Adult leaning CHR/Pop. They stayed that way till around 1997. By the summer of 97 they played Rap titles again, starting with Will Smith's "Men In Black", and Puff Daddy's "I'll Be Missing You". Still, what people remember most from Y-100 in the 90s were all those Euro-Dance records it would play.
I remember Asheville's 99.9 Kiss FM being CHR, I distinctly remember them playing one of my favorite songs back then - "Nothing Else Matters" from Metallica.
I gotta say, it's a real shame that stationsa like I-100 and Power 99 Atlanta abandoned CHR simply b/c they sounded so damn good on the air.

 

[Kent]

Its been close to 10 yrs since Star moved to 102.1 and they are not 100KW, not nearly as powerful as I-100 WOKI-The Flame Thrower or Blowtorch, whatever they used to call it.

Star moved to 102.1 in 2001. I believe it was in March. As for their signal strength, they're technically 15,000 watts, but they're 100,000 watts the way the FCC calculates power for class C1 stations. Remember, all 100,000 watt stations are not equal. 100.3 has an incredible range.

I dont remember no Z-93, but I remember Star 93. I dont remember 94.3 ever being CHR either, but I remember them as Active rock (EXTREME RADIO)..... Not saying I dont believe you, its just that I wasnt in the area at the time.

I know there was a Z-93, but I can't remember when it was around. 93.1 had the calls WWZZ for a few years. I believe those were the calls it took after it dumped country as WCKS in the 1989 or '90. As for 94.3, it was indeed a CHR for a brief time. That's where it got the WNFZ calls as it called itself "Z-94." I believe it flipped from classic country WKNF.

I used to live right between Knoxville tn and Asheville NC. Asheville used to have a good CHR too, it was WKSF KISS FM 99.9, they bailed out on chr and went country exactly one year after I-100 flipped to Country on Jan. 1993. I think nearly every CHR at that time either flipped to country or went the Adult top 40 route.... Hit Music with no rap and no hard rock...Remember those sweepers that alot of adult leaning CHRs used at that time. 95 SX in Charleston used to say that when they briefly went Adult CHR from 93-96 or 97... I think if im not mistaken Miami's Y-100 went with the Hits with no Hard Rock or Rap format too for awhile in the 90s.

I remember hearing about Kiss flipping to country, and everyone was shocked that such a legendary CHR would do that, especially when they already had a successful country station on AM. Kiss, along with several other CHR's, was caught up in being a CHR when no one wanted to be a CHR. The early 90's were a really bad few years for the format.