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WPYA spins the format wheel again...

passtheword

passtheword

and lands this time on...CHR, now rebranded as "Today's Hits 97.3".
Rearranging deck chairs?

radioinsight.com

Mix 97.3 Birmingham Moves To CHR As Today’s Hits 97.3 - RadioInsight

While many other pop stations are zigging in a more gold based directions, SummitMedia has zagged at Hot AC "Mix 97.3" WPYA Gardendale/Birmingham AL has completed its move to a current-intensive CHR rebranding as "Today's Hits 97.3". The rebranding follows a June playlist adjustment where it...
radioinsight.com radioinsight.com
 
Hmm...Top 40, active Rock, oldies, 70s hits, country, sports talk, variety hits, soft AC, mainstream AC, hot AC, top 40....

For a station that's been on the air barely 25 years, that's a lot of formats that haven't worked, isn't it?
 
Charles1 said:
Hmm...Top 40, active Rock, oldies, 70s hits, country, sports talk, variety hits, soft AC, mainstream AC, hot AC, top 40....

For a station that's been on the air barely 25 years, that's a lot of formats that haven't worked, isn't it?
Click to expand...
I count eight formats for 97.3 (nine including today). The station hasn't ever programmed mainstream AC, just soft AC (in actuality, their "Easy" format would be better classified as "soft oldies" as there was no music played during that time on 97.3 that was post-2000). I just lumped the respective "Oldies 97.3" and 70's oldies stints as just one format (as "oldies").

As I've mentioned in the past, 97.3 with its weaker class C2 signal needs to be sold to a nonprofit group (EMF, etc) and operated noncommercially. The station is unable to effectively compete with the bigger class C's in Birmingham.

The average radio listener doesn't understand the difference between the hot AC and CHR formats anyway, so local listeners won't pay this change much attention. WQEN "103.7, The Q" is already well established and entrenched in the market. As a result, WPYA's move to CHR will only minimally affect WQEN's numbers, IMO.
 
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I've often wondered why they haven't moved WAGG from AM to FM. Sure, they have the FM translator at 100.1, and while it's probably not a high-billing station, the signal more effectively covers what would likely be their target audience than any other format that's been tried on the signal.
 
I’m not sure if summit is looking to sale. The gospel format which would draw bigger audiences for sure but nobody wants to pay to advertise. I mean maybe since they own kiss and 95.7 they could bundle it and maybe do gospel and be profitable but 97.3 is probably billing better now than gospel will
 
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