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what would of became of wysp 15 years ago if....

O

oasisrulz

Guest
CBS did not have to spin MMR off to GM. In NYC this caused the heritage NEW-FM to bow down to K-Rock and flip to talk, but I think in Philly due to the strong heritage of MMR, YSP would of been the one to flip. Now I ask, what format would WYSP flip to, would they have went the way of NEW-FM and go talk 24/7, with O&A at the helm, or would they have competed with sister MMR. Then again, would they have just flipped to some other hole format. With MMR ready to move into the home of YSP on Market Street, anything was fair game but at the last minute MMR went to Bala and both stations were safe. I think YSP would of flipped to some non competitive, non Rock format not to ruin MMR, but this is all speculation and YSP was saved from a terrible fate or maybe, just maybe it would of been for the best.....
 
Interesting question, Oasis. Could you be thinking of the past because that's exactly where YSP seems to be stuck right now; playing a small sampling of old rock hits, Danny Partridge hosting the morning show, and holding 1970's contests like living in a car? Completely unsurprising that the latest ratings show YSP resting comfortably at the bottom of the barrel. Perhaps things would be better under one of your hypothetical scenarios.

BTW, how does YSP's Spike Eskin, a.k.a. Son of Orange Goblin, get away with working for two companies? I now hear him on the weekends at RFF, where he calls himself "Bob Sty." That can't be legal.
 
In theory, with the success of Howard Stern, WYSP would have remained untouched and WMMR would have been the one that was forced to change, if it remained with CBS.

Bob Stei joined Radio 104.5 from sister station, WZZO in Allentown. He also worked in Long Island.
 
oasisrulz said:
CBS did not have to spin MMR off to GM. In NYC this caused the heritage NEW-FM to bow down to K-Rock and flip to talk, but I think in Philly due to the strong heritage of MMR, YSP would of been the one to flip. Now I ask, what format would WYSP flip to, would they have went the way of NEW-FM and go talk 24/7, with O&A at the helm, or would they have competed with sister MMR. Then again, would they have just flipped to some other hole format. With MMR ready to move into the home of YSP on Market Street, anything was fair game but at the last minute MMR went to Bala and both stations were safe. I think YSP would of flipped to some non competitive, non Rock format not to ruin MMR, but this is all speculation and YSP was saved from a terrible fate or maybe, just maybe it would of been for the best.....
Click to expand...

WMMR was already at 5th and Market in the old KYW bldg. At the time, it was KYW-TV, KYW-AM, and WMMR. WYSP was in Bala. They switched studios. WYSP moved in the KYW bldg and WMMR moved out to Bala one floor above the other GM stations. I'd say WMMR would have gone bye - bye. At the time, Howard was #1 in mornings. Both CBS and GM let WMMR flounder for years. The post Morning Zoo years were not too good for the mighty 'MMR. WMMR didn't start to come back until Y-100 went away and they brought in P&S. Strong morning show again caused ratings to go up and people to listen again.
 
15 years ago was 1994. Is that when WMMR was spun off?

O&A weren't hired by CBS at NEW until 1998. NEW didn't flip to talk in other dayparts until September of 1999. Until then, K-Rock and WNEW both played some form of rock music. K-Rock was newer and NEW was Classic Rock, competing against Q-104.

The smart thing to do in NY in 1999 would have been to flip 92.3 to talk with Stern 6a-11a, Don & Mike 11a-3p, O&A 3p-7p and Ron & Fez 7p-11p, and syndicate that entire lineup down to Philadelphia, Baltimore and D.C. And keep WNEW playing music with a DJ (as opposed to a talk host) in mornings.

That would have been the smart thing to do in Philly too if MMR was still a CBS station, but it hadn't been for five years.
 
oasisrulz said:
CBS did not have to spin MMR off to GM.... I think YSP would of flipped to some non competitive, non Rock format not to ruin MMR, but this is all speculation and YSP was saved from a terrible fate or maybe, just maybe it would of been for the best.....
Click to expand...

In other words, a "wall of rock" - it's certainly not unheard of. Cox Radio is already hammering out such "walls" in their Houston and Tampa Bay clusters...

aindik said:
The smart thing to do in NY in 1999 would have been to flip 92.3 to talk with Stern 6a-11a, Don & Mike 11a-3p, O&A 3p-7p and Ron & Fez 7p-11p, and syndicate that entire lineup down to Philadelphia, Baltimore and D.C. And keep WNEW playing music with a DJ (as opposed to a talk host) in mornings.
Click to expand...

I'd opt for turning off the transmitter from 6-11 AM... some of the most brutal radio shows during that Stern stretch on WNEW... Sports Guys, WFAN on WNEW, and who can forget Mason & Kolinsky (which I actually kinda liked in a weird way - but it was obviously the punching bag of New York radio during its existence...)
 
If CBS could have kept ownership of both stations, maybe they would've moved Stern to MMR (to keep the heritage station alive), and flip YSP to something else that wouldn't compete with MMR. Could they have done this? Would Sterns' contract have aloud them to do this?
 
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