WOGL Rebrands at Big 98.1

[Miguelito]

Yet nearly 90% of all adults listen to radio, still.

Yes, but are people listening for the same reason? (Does the reason matter to advertisers? Probably not. Can sales people make passive listening look like active listening? Probably. So should I continue making my point? I'm going to anyway.)

Sure, I still listen. If I'm on a short car ride and it's not worth it to plug my phone in to listen to my own playlists, I will take a (usually disappointing) "spin through the dial." If I'm in someone's office or a store and the radio happens to be on, I listen. There's a UPS driver who (for whatever reason) parks outside my apartment several times a week. BEN-FM is always blasting out of his truck. If I happen to be on my balcony, I listen.

But I used to be excited to turn on my favorite station to hear my favorite jock playing songs I wanted to hear. If they were in commercials, I would tune to my second favorite station to hear my second favorite jock playing songs I wanted to hear. Failing that, I would try Q102 to hear a jock I didn't know play music at the wrong speed. 🤣 Whether in my car or at home (I never turn on a radio anymore from home), I wanted that radio on. That doesn't happen anymore. It feels like radio abandoned me long before I abandoned it.

But sure, I listen.

 

[Miguelito]

Let me comment on that juxtaposition.

Yes, the vast majority of radio listeners are seeking a comfort level. That's why consensus playlists work. That's why, even when Howard Stern was "the" phenomenon of terrestrial radio, he was only getting one out of every 20 listeners.

And those on message boards are not typical listeners, and are therefore not among that vast majority of listeners. In light of that, comparing the "cookie cutter" formats that are what attract the majority is an exercise in self-indulgence. You feel good criticizing them but the industry knows better than you, and you achieve nothing other than feeling good about venting.

Anyone who posts on a message board expecting things to change as a result is delusional.

Very true!

 

[Miguelito]

I’ve not read one post in this entire thread that suggests anyone believes the industry is on the precipice of change due to the discussions here.

To be fair, I believe K.M. was speaking generally. It may not have happened in this thread but it happens on this site all the time. Folks (probably myself included) complain about a station or the general state of radio and then throw out their own theories about how to make things better. For better or worse, radio companies are reaching for objectives that are determined through mounds of expensive research. One or two people who don't want to hear so much Phil Collins can say so until they're blue in their faces, but they certainly shouldn't expect it to change anything.

 

[Miguelito]

Just heard “No Scrubs” by TLC on 98.1…. What’s next? Macarena?

"No Scrubs" was a major hit about 21 years ago and it still resonates today (exactly why it's fair game for a Classic Hits station in 2022). "Macarena" was a novelty record from a few years prior and I doubt very much that many people want to hear it on the radio today.

 

[Miguelito]

A better question might be what the difference is between Big 98.1 and Ben FM. They both center around '80s with a secondary focus on '90s, but include songs from the '70s and 2000s as well. And they both lean towards rock, but also play some dance-pop and R&B. Maybe Ben is still slightly edgier and less Top 40-oriented (you probably won't hear Linkin Park or The White Stripes on 98.1 anytime too soon), but overall the difference is minimal. I really wish 98.1 would distinguish itself more by going more rhythmic - which they were trying for a bit late last year. I liked their playlist then, but it also didn't really sound like "98.1 WOGL" to me, so I would think this rebranding would give them an opportunity to commit to that.

I was thinking about this yesterday. If any station in the market is going to be effected by Big 98.1, it's going to be BEN-FM. I don't think Audacy is going to suddenly switch tracks and head in a more rhythmic direction. But it might not be a bad idea for BEN to try it because I really think BEN's audience is going to like what Big is doing (if they ever discover it).

 

[Gotgizmo]

A popular song from the 90s that's been getting a lot of Classic Hits airplay. What's the issue with that?

No issue with it, just aged, like me.

 

[Gotgizmo]

"No Scrubs" was a major hit about 21 years ago and it still resonates today (exactly why it's fair game for a Classic Hits station in 2022). "Macarena" was a novelty record from a few years prior and I doubt very much that many people want to hear it on the radio today.

I was making a joke as when those songs were popular, I was in high school. It’s shows that time doesn’t stop.

 

[Radio Wreck]

"No Scrubs" was a major hit about 21 years ago and it still resonates today (exactly why it's fair game for a Classic Hits station in 2022). "Macarena" was a novelty record from a few years prior and I doubt very much that many people want to hear it on the radio today.

I may or may not stick around thru "No Scrubs" depending on the day. I might even listen to "Macarena" one time only because I haven't heard it in 20+ years. But if "Cotton Eyed Joe" comes on I'm reaching for the dial.

 

[JH_Radio]

First off, the mega stop sets. Nothing puts off people under 40 more about radio than the 6 minute barrage of ads.

6 minutes? I've heard at least 10 or more.
John

 

[JH_Radio]

"Radio gets in your blood. Once it's there, you can't get rid of it."

WORD!

 

[JH_Radio]

We saw the exact same thing happen to AM radio. I constantly see people say that if the programming on AM was better, that they'd listen. But the fact is that there was a time when the programming on AM *WAS* better, and listeners defected to FM because they could hear the same music in stereo, sometimes with fewer commercials. That shift of the audience destroyed hundreds of heritage radio stations that a lot of people today still remember. But it didn't happen because of corporate radio. It happened because the listeners went somewhere else. Then the money followed them. The same thing is happening now to FM.

AM was getting noisy then. Now? at least in my area, if I don't put an outdoor antenna up, it's not happening!

I can go outside with a portable and still no dice on AM.

the car works, so I gotta get above the electric lines.

So the question then becomes: what happens to FM over time?
AM goes away and it all moves to FM, and FM Seases to exist as music radio?

 

[JH_Radio]

I have no idea how to fix the quoted thing.

 

[101tm]

I was thinking about this yesterday. If any station in the market is going to be effected by Big 98.1, it's going to be BEN-FM. I don't think Audacy is going to suddenly switch tracks and head in a more rhythmic direction. But it might not be a bad idea for BEN to try it because I really think BEN's audience is going to like what Big is doing (if they ever discover it).

But has Big done anything to give loyal Ben FM listeners a reason to switch?

 

[Miguelito]

I may or may not stick around thru "No Scrubs" depending on the day. I might even listen to "Macarena" one time only because I haven't heard it in 20+ years. But if "Cotton Eyed Joe" comes on I'm reaching for the dial.

Hahaha. I will never turn off "Cotton Eye Joe"!!!!!

 

[Miguelito]

But has Big done anything to give loyal Ben FM listeners a reason to switch?

Nothing yet. In fact, I doubt at this point that BEN listeners even know that WOGL gave itself a name. I still haven't seen any advertising but I can't imagine Audacy thinks a name (that no one knows about) and a spruced up library (that's being listened to by the same people who were listening last week) is gonna turn the trick. Thus far, the rebrand is something of a tree falling in the forest. (Except for all of us dedicating 12 pages to it. LOL)

 

[CTListener]

Hahaha. I will never turn off "Cotton Eye Joe"!!!!!

Anyone who can't stand that song, "Macarena," "Mambo No. 5" or "YMCA" is advised never to attend a minor league baseball game.

 

[AceBiscuits]

Thus far, the rebrand is something of a tree falling in the forest. (Except for all of us dedicating 12 pages to it. LOL)

That's the irony of it all, isn't it? The change to Big is really not big at all to most people.

This forum encompasses the majority of the discourse of the change, and a number are people that are either thinking pessimistically or vying for the days of Oldies 98... or some combination of both.

 

[101tm]

Nothing yet. In fact, I doubt at this point that BEN listeners even know that WOGL gave itself a name. I still haven't seen any advertising but I can't imagine Audacy thinks a name (that no one knows about) and a spruced up library (that's being listened to by the same people who were listening last week) is gonna turn the trick. Thus far, the rebrand is something of a tree falling in the forest. (Except for all of us dedicating 12 pages to it. LOL)

And the same listeners that Big 98.1 has now are the same listeners they had as WOGL. And they’re probably still calling it WOGL 😂

 

[TheBigA]

And the same listeners that Big 98.1 has now are the same listeners they had as WOGL. And they’re probably still calling it WOGL 😂

And they still call 1210 WCAU

 

[Miguelito]

And the same listeners that Big 98.1 has now are the same listeners they had as WOGL. And they’re probably still calling it WOGL 😂

It is interesting for Audacy to say "This station has been called 'WOGL' for twenty years but some people still call it 'Oldies 98.' We'll fix that by giving it a name!" Because, while there probably are a good number of oldsters still sticking it out who think of the station as "Oldies 98," the younger listeners who have discovered the station during the past 15 years or so are likely going to get caught in the same scenario: Once the oldsters are gone (RIP, oldsters), Big 98.1 is going to be stuck with a bunch of listeners who think of the station as "98.1 WOGL," regardless of how many times the station says the word big, their boss says the word big, their spouse says the word big (happens to me a lot), etc.