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WGCO issues

C

carolinaradio

Passed through Savannah twice this week and got 98.3 all the way from just below Walterboro to Jacksonville on I-95. What a signal.

Anyway....am I alone in thinking that the on-air sound is poor? The music is OK but sometimes they call it "Big 98", then "Big 98.3." What's the name? Some imaging says 98.3, some 98, just confusing. They sounded better 2 years ago. I know the music needed to be updated, which I'm fine with, but the presentation lacks. Jingles aren't that bad.

As a side note - I'd simulcast on 103.1 in a heartbeat. The signal starts breaking up about 10 miles into SC on 95.
 
They've definitely changed something. I used to play 98.3 for friends to show them what a good FM stereo signal was supposed to be. Now ... not hardly. As to the programming and promotion, I'm wondering whether the station image concept was ever fully put in place. Seems spotty, even haphazard, at times. I get the feeling something's missing. Mostly myself, because I rarely listen anymore.
 
Witchlover, I agree... I also noticed the ID at the top of the hour was something along the lines of "Oldies 98.3 is WGCO...Midway-Savannah...the new BIG 98." Sounded like they took the old ID and dropped a "Big 98" reading in. Or is it "BIG 98.3?" It's so inconsistent you can't remember.
 
I agree - WGCO's identity crisis is silly and has been ever since they dropped the Oldies 98.3 moniker. Either call yourself BIG 98 or BIG 98.3; whichever one you choose, use that in your logo as well.

It's fairly simple, really.
 
To make this even sillier, the website says "Welcome to the BIG 98 Website" then below it is "BIG 98.3 Suggestions." Why is this so difficult?
The most disturbing thing was that pieced together legal ID that says Oldies 98.3. Sounds to me like the old one with "BIG 98 (or 98.3?) added to the end. Oldies 98.3 has been gone for well over a year.

Chuck Cannon is gone from the site. Guess he's out.
 
Personally, I miss 98.3 JACK FM (and I've talked to many others that do as well). Then again, if you don't program a JACK station like the ones in the even slightly larger markets are or promote the hell out of it, it won't fly.
 
JACK FM came and left while I was elsewhere: The transition to BIG 98(.3) was happening just as I returned to Georgia. That is right at three years ago, and I still have no clue what the station's format is meant to be. I should think, though, that if any station is going to adopt a format, the format should be adopted as a whole. A la carte programming just cannot be a success, IMO.
 
It is Classic Hits, such as WCBS/NYC, KLUV/Dallas, WRBQ/Tampa. 1964-1985 (maybe to 1989) pop, motown, soul, rock (not hard rock from the late 70s or 80s). Great format....just isn't programmed well on 98.3. The music is decent compared to the presentation.

98.3 sounded great in '07 when they first came back as Oldies 98.3.....but the music needed to evolve. They could have evolved MUCH better. The "Big" idea isn't bad....they just need to execute it better. Hopefully they get someone in there that knows what they're doing.

As for Jack.....they should have never fooled with 98.3 to begin with. I would have put it on 107.9 instead.
 
Just one person's opinion here. I think 107.9 should go standards. 98.3 should be oldies. Don't forget, too, they're playing a lot of the same music on 103.1 The Drive - pretty much three stations overlapping. 103.1 should go AAA.
 
segaradiofan said:
Just one person's opinion here. I think 107.9 should go standards. 98.3 should be oldies. Don't forget, too, they're playing a lot of the same music on 103.1 The Drive - pretty much three stations overlapping. 103.1 should go AAA.
Click to expand...

I concur. Bring back their former AAA station, Wave, and place it on 103.1. Of course, AAA requires even more marketing than the other formats so they'd have to really promote it, not just throw up a billboard or two or air a commercial or three.
 
None of the stations are promoting their formats. They flip, but they don't promote the change. Listeners find the new formats by chance, if at all. Then the books come out showing stagnation in the ratings, and the stations abandon their newest best format ever for another best format ever.

I would put in a format with the intention of sticking with it for at least two years. Fine tuning may be necessary, sure, but these changes do not seem to be getting the time necessary for them to take root and develop a following.

Programmers seem to be an impatient breed these days, or so it seems to me.
 
WGCO has an incredible signal, as most summer days, and even during the spring, it comes in all throughout the Charleston area, even north of Charleston on Highway 17 toward Georgetown.

It also comes in sometimes well into FL on 95, as I've picked it up in Daytona Beach during the summer daytime.

They were a great station, one of the best oldies stations in GA/SC/NC, with great local personalities (Debbie Bolton, Bob Neumann, Boom Boom Cannon), and a wide music mix, but inexplicably, they changed to Jack, and their great base of listeners was lost.
 
Spekaing of 98.3, I noticed that about 4/5 the way up their McIntosh Co. stick, there is what appears to be a 4 bay xmtr. Now the tower was built for 98.3 & they still have their FM bays on top. Any clue who may be running off the 4 bays below?

G
 
Doing an FCC FM Query on everything within 2 km of heir tower, they are the only FM station that shows up.
It might be their standby antenna, or an older one from years past.
 
kenglish said:
Doing an FCC FM Query on everything within 2 km of heir tower, they are the only FM station that shows up.
It might be their standby antenna, or an older one from years past.
Click to expand...

Ok, that makes sense.

On a somewhat related question, anyone know who owns the tall microwave tower about 7 miles east of WGCO's stick in Shellman Bluff? The microwave relys atop the tower appear to point straight out into the Atlantic, overshooting any aim at Sapelo Island. Is this some government tower?

G
 
So who's handling mornings now on 98.3?

I noticed signal troubles about 10 miles after crossing the state line in to SC but it kept coming in for a good while. For now I still say slap a simulcast on 103.1 (just to solidify the signal even) so they won't cannabalize and Big will get better ratings in HHI. Cheap but decent move.
 
carolinaradio said:
So who's handling mornings now on 98.3?

I noticed signal troubles about 10 miles after crossing the state line in to SC but it kept coming in for a good while. For now I still say slap a simulcast on 103.1 (just to solidify the signal even) so they won't cannabalize and Big will get better ratings in HHI. Cheap but decent move.
Click to expand...

When Oldies 98.3 went away, their audience did as well, not returning for or liking what Big 98 or Big 98.3 has to offer, i.e. 1960s-1979 w/some '80s playlist; Is Chuck Cannon (nice guy) no longer at the station?

So are we going to see any changes re: WGCO, WGZO, WLOW? Something's got to give there but I think it'll all stay the same, even though they're cannibalizing the hell out of each other and have been for quite some time.
 
FilmCritic3K said:
When Oldies 98.3 went away, their audience did as well, not returning for or liking what Big 98 or Big 98.3 has to offer, i.e. 1960s-1979 w/some '80s playlist; Is Chuck Cannon (nice guy) no longer at the station?

So are we going to see any changes re: WGCO, WGZO, WLOW? Something's got to give there but I think it'll all stay the same, even though they're cannibalizing the hell out of each other and have been for quite some time.
Click to expand...

Yes, Chuck is gone. Wasn't he the one that "protested" to bring Oldies back a few years ago (it was a stunt anyway)?

IMO, Oldies 98.3 sounded good when they came back. The music was too old (not necessarily for the listenership, but revenue), but it had a very good sound. This "BIG" crap is just too confusing and all over the road. Many one-time 'oldies' stations have added more 1970s and some 1980s but carry it off well; Triad has not. It should have been more gradual. It was like....Oldies goes away, comes back, then Big comes just months later. It's confusing to the average listner. And they don't even know if it's 98 or 98.3. Had 98.3 stayed oldies instead of that short break for Jack, maybe things would be going better.
 
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