Well, that was a waste of calls...

[KyleSmith1988]

In the case of the former WXRK in NYC, the change to WNOW was a no-brain very low-cost natural thing to do once the call letters became available. The WNOW fits the nickname and branding perfectly in a way that most other non-word call letters do not. And it was worth doing even to enhance the station's letterhead. The station had been branding itself as 92.3-Now for over three years. In the old day, when call letters mattered so much more, CBS would likely have made the owners of WNOW in tiny Gaffney, South Carolina a financial offer for the call letters that they would have been silly to refuse. But now, getting listeners to remember the address and the nickname are what matters most, and CBS just waited until the NOW call letters were up for grabs.

Radio One bought the station here in Gaffney (not really tiny - it's now covering Charlotte anyway)...
They could've kept it as WNOW (heck even Old School 105.3's website still says it's WNOW and not WOSF yet).

105.3 changed calls to WNOW (from WAGI) back in 2007 when the station went LMA to Davidson Media
(who still owns WNOW-AM in Charlotte)...

Who knows exactly what happened to get those calls from Radio One to CBS...
The same day WNOW was dropped from 105.3, in 92.3 NYC got them,
but IMO locally "105.7 NOW" in Greensboro could've grabbed the WNOW calls from the nearby Charlotte market.

I just don't see R1 having given them away to CBS unless there was a big offer...more info??
105.3 had them for over 5 years under the Spanish format, and just over 2 months with the Old School format.

 

[satech]

In New York, don't forget about 101.1 CBS-FM and 107.5 WBLS.

Also pretty much all of the non-comms: WFME, WNYC-FM, WQXR-FM (which still has the -FM suffix even though there is no WQXR on AM anymore), etc. "Jazz 88" is one of the few non-comms with a moniker, although they also frequently go by WBGO on the air as well.

 

[TonySantiago]

Wow, how long did it take to come up with THAT one. Impressive.

I'm a closet Catholic

 

[TonySantiago]

WBLS: With Better Looking Sound

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

Actually, it's "World's Best Looking Sound".

Outside of New York...back in the 80's - WSHE in Fort Lauderdale...."She's Only Rock And Roll"

 

[badjef]

WBLS: With Better Looking Sound

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

Actually, it's "World's Best Looking Sound".

Outside of New York...back in the 80's - WSHE in Fort Lauderdale...."She's Only Rock And Roll"

I never heard of the "World's Best", "With Better" fit in a sentence, though.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[pjc1961]

WBLS 1978 TV Commercial "World's Best Looking Sound": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXby_a-h82Q

The station also used the phrase "The Total Black Experience In Sound".

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

Keep in mind as well that the *ratings* people list the stations by their calls -- their unique FCC fingerprint. That certainly is not an insignificance. Most all of the 'good' calls have been taken (WFUN, WPOP, WXYZ et al), so situating things in order that letters somehow coincide with the imaging have gotten more difficult.

(For some reason, though, calls that slip off the tongue easily are not taken. WHXH, KXHX, WXSX and WSHT are available

 

[badjef]

WBLS 1978 TV Commercial "World's Best Looking Sound": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXby_a-h82Q

The station also used the phrase "The Total Black Experience In Sound".

It is possible, they used both. "With Better" goes back a few more years. I remember them using it as a slogan around 1974 or 75, and then around 1979. Wiki mentions your "World's Best", along with other meanings. So, it may be difficult to nail this one down as to the determining factor for the calls.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!