I've been noticing the jocks not saying "Oldies 103.3" but rather "103.3 WODS". I don't suggest that a format change is in the works as the station is still doing quite well in the ratings and should continue to do so. But, the word "oldies" is being de-emphasized throughout the country. 'ODS still plays the "Oldies 103.3" jingles for now. But, like the word "oldies" is going out of style, I'm sure the jingles will change as well.
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WODS de-emphasizing "Oldies 103.3"
- Thread starter pqgeorge
- Start date
In which case they should be playing stuff from 80s and 90s, right? 
Still says oldies in upper left hand corner of website
Still says oldies in upper left hand corner of website
I love the station!!! I think that Zito and Karen Blake are a great start to the day. I'm not sure about the station doing "quite well" though, as Peter said. Seems like they had a pretty down book, which I was sorry to see. I think the de-emphasizing of the Oldies moniker makes sense. Folks use that Oldies term for 50s and 60s music. One might think that the term might move ahead over the years but for many it still means "50s and 60s".
B
beantownradio25
Guest
I don't listen to WODS often, most of their music is before my time , but I listened to the other day and noticed the same thing! I honestly think "Mix" sounds like much more of an outdaded monkier than oldies, but oh well lol.
, but I listened to the other day and noticed the same thing! I honestly think "Mix" sounds like much more of an outdaded monkier than oldies, but oh well lol.They'll have to repaint the van. I saw it at the Temptations show at the Hatch Shell last weekend, it still said "Oldies" on it.
Looks like there isn't even a "103.3 WODS" logo yet, at least not on the website. They'll probably have it ready for when the sign in front of the studios has logos for "98-5 The Sports Hub" and "Mix 104 (.1?)." I guess they're in the process of moving Mix over to the 38 building, so all the FMs will be under one roof. The biggest expense will be having the jingles resung... many of them were brand new just months ago.
encarta95 said:
So, that means we lose "Psychic Radio ('We Know You're Listening')" currently on 98.5 HD-3?
Eli Polonsky said:
Nope. They're headed to 104.1 HD-3 with Mix. According to the WBCN website, the breakdown is the following:
98.5 WBZ-FM HD-1: The Sports Hub
98.5 WBZ-FM HD-2: WBCN
98.5 WBZ-FM HD-3: \\WBZ 1030
100.7 WZLX HD-1: Classic rock
100.7 WZLX HD-2: Blues "Radio Mojo"
100.7 WZLX HD-3: "Free Form BCN" (currently 104.1 HD-2)
103.3 WODS HD-1: Classic hits
103.3 WODS HD-2: Love songs "The Cove"
103.3 WODS HD-3: Christian contemporary "MercyRock"
104.1 WBMX HD-1: Hot AC "Mix 104"
104.1 WBMX HD-2: All 80's
104.1 WBMX HD-3: "The Psychic Channel"
>>for many it still means "50s and 60s".
true but by rights it should be "pop hits from 15-20 yrs ago" maybe.
true but by rights it should be "pop hits from 15-20 yrs ago" maybe.
They might me just switching it up....I would hope that they keep the "Oldies" word around to brand themselves, since it seems to be working great so far. They do have wods.com, and they seem to be using "Oldies 103.3" only when talking about on air features - else its 103.3 WODS. But with PPM, I guess they think they can drop the Oldies brand and not worry about people writing the wrong thing down in the diary.
encarta95 said:
Which begs a question:
Why did CBS not decide to change WZLX's call letter's to WBCN, but keep the same classic rock format? The WBCN call letters are more recognizable and have more heritage than WZLX, which came about much more recently. That way, they could have kept both audiences, or some semblance of them? Maybe they have something like that up their sleeve?
If not, if someone were smart, they'd pick up of the 'BCN call letters, much like someone tookover WROR. Boston likes their heritage, Boston listeners don't take kindly to change, imo.
Garrett said:
Sometimes these conglomerates do things that truly amaze me. There was really no reason to dump the WBCN call-letters, a well known set of call-letters that have major recognition both to listeners and non-listeners alike in addition to the radio industry at large. There was no reason not to incorporate by the well known WBCN with "The Sports Hub" branding. After all, 'BCN has been running the Patriots games for years. The "WBZ-FM" branding on 98.5 will do very little to push the "Sports Hub" format. It will only confuse the listener. As for moving "Mix" to 104.1, why?
WBCN in it's 51 years of operation has gone through several formats and incarnations, classical, beautiful music and ROCK. Why change something that is probably the most visible set of FM call-letters next to WGBH, WBUR and WCRB?
Peter Q. George (K1XRB) said:
You guys are living in the past about this, and I'm saying this as someone who listened to WBCN since it's Day One as a rock format in March, 1968 when they went from classical to "I Feel Free" by Cream.
WBCN was identified as Boston's premier FM rock station starting in 1968, however, it's been known as a floundering also-ran "alternative" rock station for at least the past fifteen years. This is the image of WBCN that the CURRENT generation of Boston radio listeners know, and I can see why CBS wouldn't want it identified with their Classic Rock station WZLX, which has developed it's own heritage playing ONLY Classic Rock with the WZLX call letters, consistently and still CURRENTLY, for over twenty years. If it's not broken, why fix it?
I'm sure that the reason for discontinuing the WBCN calls is to make a clean break from the rock station it was. Though 'BCN had the Pats, it was NOT a sports station. WBCN was a rock station for 41 years, and they might as well let the call letters die with that memory. If "The Sports Hub" was the new WBCN, listeners who recognize the calls may tune in expecting rock and be disappointed, and call letter recognition by "non-listeners" and "the radio industry at large" is nice, but ultimately it does not show up on the PPM's, and that's what it's all about. Calling "The Sports Hub" WBZ-FM will give that format a fresh start, and will allow them to cross-promote News/Talk on WBZ (AM) and Sports/Talk on WBZ-FM, both complementary non-musical formats.
As for WROR, very few people are CURRENTLY listening to them because they have the call letters that were on 98.5 in the '70s and '80s. The novelty of that "heritage" appearing on 105.7 wore off quickly in the '90s, and WROR had to try different formats (going from Oldies to Classic Rock then back to Classic Hits) to find their formatic niche in the Boston radio landscape of the 2000's. People are listening because they enjoy their current programming, not for the heritage call letters.
As well, people who remember the rock heritage ('60s, '70s, '80s) of WBCN (before their long slow "alternative" decline) are aging, and corporate radio generally doesn't look backward. They want to attract the younger demos that (they believe) sponsors want to advertise to. In just another few years, the people who recall WBCN's rock heyday will be the same age as the folks who clamored for 1510 to retake the WMEX call letters and become a 1950s/'60s oldies station a few years ago. Personally, I'd love it, I grew up on the original 1510 WMEX and worked at the 1150 WMEX. But, it wouldn't be viable, and I'm out of the money demo at 52 years old.
As for why move "Mix" to 104.1 and put "Sports Hub" on 98.5 instead of vice-versa, I'll go with the speculation that CBS wants "Mix" on the 104.1 Pru transmitter to penetrate the office buildings and intermodulation downtown to make it more competitive against "Magic" and "Kiss" in the downtown workplace, and they want "The Sports Hub" to have the better suburban and outlying coverage from the FM-128 98.5 transmitter.
Peter Q. George (K1XRB) said:
I think you should have included WBOS on this call letter list--even though the WBOS call sign hasn't done much good for whatever has been on 92.9 for the last 15 or so years.
As for the WBCN calls, CBS will surely park them somewhere, probably out of this market. They have enough signals in enough markets that they will surely find somewhere that won't draw too much attention. Heck, it could even be a TV station!
Eli Polonsky said:
With due respect, and unless you have some research to back it up, I think you are underestimating the attitudes and habits of older Boston listeners. Are the listeners who turn to WZLX not the same people who listened to WBCN a decade ago? Like I said, Boston is not like other cities, and I am failing to see your logic. What a great feeling it would be to turn to WBCN with that classic logo, and hear them playing Aerosmith, David Bowie, or The Cars? WBCN is not "just another rock station," they are known all over the country. I was in San Diego in the early 90s, and knew people who used to catch WBCN off the bird. WBCN is an entire institution. WBCN's failure is BECAUSE they were competing in a format where younger listeners already didn't care about them. Those people were already listening to 'AAF or 'FNX.
WZLX, on the other hand, is just some station playing classic rock...
WBCN will even be missed in Rhode Island and New Hampshire. What a great station. I don't understand why CBS continues to butcher it's stations. If they arn't switching to losing formats, they are busy shuffling call letters and frequencies like a deck of cards. They seem to intentionally run their stations into the ground. Ever since Howard Stern left, the whole company seems like they don't even know what the hell to do anymore. They just throw the most ridiculous concepts at a big wall and hope that something sticks.
Garrett said:
No. By ten years ago (1999), WBCN was playing Korn, Limp Biskit, Pearl Jam and Nirvana, not the Classic Rock of (mostly) the '60s, '70s and '80s that people listen to WZLX for. WBCN was flipped to "alternative" in 1995.
WZLX listeners who first heard the music WZLX plays on WBCN are now, at youngest, entering their forties, which means that in another few years they will be older than what is considered the prime advertising demo.
I don't believe that WZLX programs primarily to the generation that heard the music they play on WBCN when it was new. They certainly include them among their listeners, but I think they are programming mainly to younger adults who first heard the music they play when it was already Classic Rock, and perhaps didn't even hear it until on WZLX itself fifteen or twenty years ago.
Garrett said:
Call letters being known nationwide (for a station whose heyday was many years ago) would not translate into better PPM ratings in Boston now, which is still where all their advertisers are, regardless of whether people were listening via internet or satellite elsewhere.
Garrett said:
Right, and that's the prime age group that advertisers want to target. They remember WBCN as a floundering "alternative" station, often behind 'AAF in the ratings, and they know WZLX as the station on which they "discovered" Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Beatles, Stones, Aerosmith, Cars, Bowie, etc... when they were already Classic Rock artists, and WZLX has been playing them consistently for as long as they remember.
Garrett said:
And has been doing just that consistently for over twenty years, with those call letters, with no formatic "interruption" up to the present moment. That's a heritage that's still current, not like the WBCN heritage which was brilliant decades ago, but faded. All the "nostalgia" for the letters from their older listeners would not result in improved PPM ratings, especially in the younger desired demo, for 100.7 in the present.
B
beantownradio25
Guest
I grew up with BCN in the late 80's and early 90's, I have some old BCN bumper stickers in my basement lol, and even though I havent tuned in in years, it's still sad to see them go, but a format change was due from the business perspective.
I think moving the BCN calls to ZLX is a great idea! There may be some confusion though as BCN will continue to operate on HD-2 and online after the 13th.
I think moving the BCN calls to ZLX is a great idea! There may be some confusion though as BCN will continue to operate on HD-2 and online after the 13th.
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