WTZN: Change Coming Friday

[Snafu]

Yes, they had to eat Scott's contract. Every last syllable of it at a sizeable amount of $$. The non-compete is also out the window.

Don't know who else had big buyout deals and I know that Westwood One is already leaning hard on them to put Dennis Miller somewhere else in the market, although the CBS-Westwood divorce is going to get tangled up in that.

This thing was a disaster from the first second they signed on until this morning. That Keith and Ryan aren't bagging groceries over this proves that CBS just hasn't a clue or someone has pictures of someone with farm animals.

B-94 will be a complete flop. Just like the Pirates its time for a management change in Foster Plaza.

 

[Pratte4Life]

Could Dennis Miller move to KDKA?

I think it would be a great move. Marty Griffin has been under lots of criticism and the station would suddenly be a whole lot less stuffy.

 

[FCR]

Could Dennis Miller move to KDKA?

I think it would be a great move. Marty Griffin has been under lots of criticism and the station would suddenly be a whole lot less stuffy.

KDKA seems to be doing better these days. I wouldn't expect to see Miller pop up in their lineup.

 

[Parttimer]

Well they sure aren't going to put Miller on Star or Y108. I could see KD running him really late at night,maybe 11p-1a or something like that. The show would play better then anyway (some shows do.... ever hear a Jim Rome replay at night?)

They already ahve a new music format constructed and running in the building... it's Star's HD2 programming. But not having an HD radio (and not having checked whether it's available online) I don't know if it's 18-34 oriented or new music aimed at 25-54s.

Can't see Scott having anywhere else to go in the market. CC will no longer spend that money for a night show and no longer fears him as a competitor.

If the B does return as a CHR I'd be surprised to hear any jocks this year, or staffing drive times at most. There can't be any budget left after eating all those contracts.

 

[pghfmradiosucks]

The impending format change for WTZN made me think of what I would like a radio station to do in a perfect world. (Therefore, this will never happen). If they decide on a music format, I suggest a deep tracks station. Do not play "Michelle" from "Rubber Soul", play "If I Needed Someone". Do not play "Would'nt it be Nice" from "Pet Sounds", play "Caroline No". I could go on and on with examples of what I mean but I think you get the idea. "Zoso" is a great album full of great songs, but "Stairway to Heaven", "Black Dog" and "Rock and Roll" is all we have heard for years and years.
Secondly, if a music format is chosen, please do not play the same songs over and over. We have WKST (96.1) to do that. With the deep tracks format, there would be so many songs to play that there would be no need to emulate KISS and their rotation of 15 songs.
If it is a sports talk format, please hire Stan Savran. I know he has an old demographic (I am in my mid 40's) but us "Senior Citizens" in the 40 to 50 year old range are at the peak of our earning years and many of us have listened to Mr. Savran for years. You must couple this with the instant credibility hiring someone like Stan gives your station. It makes no sense to me that someone of his talent, knowledge and ability has been off the radio airwaves for more than a year.
This is what I would like to see in a perfect world. I know the world is far from perfect. So I am not counting on any of this. happening.

 

[Mark77]

For those of you that are interested, I've recorded about 6 minutes worth of audio of the Christmas music stunt. I got it directly from the live online stream. Listen to it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?ettdxghfmt1
Bonus: For all of you aircheck collectors out there, this clip features 3 or 4 fersions of the Pitts-urgh aircheck, including one that says that the station is no longer 93.7 The Zone. To keep in tune with what's being said in between the songs, this is my early Christmas present to you. However, you don't have to wait until October 5th at 5 PM to open it. The audio quality isn't the greatest, but it's the best that I could do. Enjoy!

 

[radiolives]

I thought maybe CBS Radio would flip it to Fresh. Nope as CBS doesn't have those websites. Anyways I think its good for CBS to bring back B 94 if that is what they are really doing. Who knows they could be fooling us. But if this station comes back whats the slogan going to be B 94 Hitz and Hip Hop just like 101.5 Jamz and B 96 Chicago.

 

[Stuart]

MERRY CHRISTMAS PITTSBURGH!

"Have yourself a Farkleberry Christma....ooops, wrong station

 

[JJSOLOMON]

(note to listen to the station live .. just click this link-----> http://cbsplayer.streamtheworld.com/index.php?CALLSIGN=WTZNFM

For those of you that are interested, I've recorded about 6 minutes worth of audio of the Christmas music stunt. I got it directly from the live online stream. Listen to it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?ettdxghfmt1
Bonus: For all of you aircheck collectors out there, this clip features 3 or 4 fersions of the Pitts-urgh aircheck, including one that says that the station is no longer 93.7 The Zone. To keep in tune with what's being said in between the songs, this is my early Christmas present to you. However, you don't have to wait until October 5th at 5 PM to open it. The audio quality isn't the greatest, but it's the best that I could do. Enjoy!

 

[only1moore]

I thought maybe CBS Radio would flip it to Fresh. Nope as CBS doesn't have those websites. Anyways I think its good for CBS to bring back B 94 if that is what they are really doing. Who knows they could be fooling us. But if this station comes back whats the slogan going to be B 94 Hitz and Hip Hop just like 101.5 Jamz/Phoenix and B 96 Chicago.

I agree. And they did hint that Pittsburgh was missing something on the radio besides the "B," since there isn't a pure Rhythmic Top 40 anywhere on the dial (sorry, WKST and WAMO don't count). And given CBS' track record with WBBM-FM, KSFM/Sacramento, KLUC/Las Vegas, WZMX/Hartford, WLLD/Tampa and WMBX/West Palm Beach, chances are that they could try to duplicate something similar in Pittsburgh if they do go with this direction. Plus Keith Clark is a veteran of Rhythmic radio, having programmed WHJX/Jacksonville and WJMO (WZJM)/Cleveland.

 

[Parttimer]

Kiss and WAMO don't count? You do remember that this is a market with only a little over 10% minority population, right? Tampa, Vegas, Chicago and West Palm are significantly different markets demographically.

The hole is for a pop-CHR that plays Nickelback and Linkin Park as much as they play Kanye and 50.

(And as far as WHJX in Jax is concerned, that station is an Urban AC that plays a lot of old-school R&B... not anything close to a rhythmic top-40).

 

[only1moore]

(And as far as WHJX in Jax is concerned, that station is an Urban AC that plays a lot of old-school R&B... not anything close to a rhythmic top-40).

Not "that WHJX" (at 105.7). The original one at 101.5 from the late '80s-early '90s, before Clear Channel bought it and changed its format to what is now WSOL.

 

[kenhawk1160]

Would it be feasible to get the WBZZ calls back? I know they are taken in another station in New York, but do you think they could bring them back?

I don't think the actual calls matter. You could go with WBZY (reminiscent of the New Castle station now known as WJST) or something like it, but the moniker was much more prominent than the calls.

 

[Parttimer]

I meant 101.5.... and to my knowledge it was an urban AC (I was down there from 1992-2005...). 92.7 WJBT was the straight-up urban outlet.

 

[kenhawk1160]

For at least the 1,360th time, WPTT does exactly what it's supposed to do.

Actually, the 910th time, once they build that new array for WAVL in Washington Township and then swap channels.

 

[brian12]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07274/822052-67.stm?cmpid=MOSTEMAILEDBOX

they should have left k-rock alone

 

[kenhawk1160]

I thought maybe CBS Radio would flip it to Fresh. Nope as CBS doesn't have those websites. Anyways I think its good for CBS to bring back B 94 if that is what they are really doing. Who knows they could be fooling us. But if this station comes back whats the slogan going to be B 94 Hitz and Hip Hop just like 101.5 Jamz/Phoenix and B 96 Chicago.

I agree. And they did hint that Pittsburgh was missing something on the radio besides the "B," since there isn't a pure Rhythmic Top 40 anywhere on the dial (sorry, WKST and WAMO don't count). And given CBS' track record with WBBM-FM, KSFM/Sacramento, KLUC/Las Vegas, WZMX/Hartford, WLLD/Tampa and WMBX/West Palm Beach, chances are that they could try to duplicate something similar in Pittsburgh if they do go with this direction. Plus Keith Clark is a veteran of Rhythmic radio, having programmed WHJX/Jacksonville and WJMO (WZJM)/Cleveland.

At this juncture, I don't think it really matters what they play or program. I still feel strongly that a well-presented Adult CHR with a deep music library without the hip-hop and grunge, re-branded as B-94, complete with the sung jingles, could work in Pittsburgh. The audience is still there, though much of it is driving minivans nowadays.

However...

Nothing kills a music-formatted station's ratings more than a tight playlist with an extremely limited number of songs. For those of you who follow ratings, our WLER (AllHitz 97.7) scored the highest ratings we've ever had by scoring just a point below 93.7. That might not sound like a lot, but we do NOT market ourselves as a Pittsburgh station (though we do have a Pittsburgh request line), and we're only 4,000 watts. For a suburban station operating as such, to do that well is a landmark moment for us. We don't sell according to ratings, but it's a feather in our cap as far as picking up some agency bucks.

We also have a very deep library, and everything is programmed on-site. We don't have an off-site consultant telling us what to play and when. Our programming decisions are based more on actual gut instinct and pure sound rather than ego. We need programmers who know their music, are impartial, and are truly given a free hand to run their stations in a responsible manner. The trust factor has to be restored here.

 

[brian12]

Radio station 93.7 dumps talk format after six months
Monday, October 01, 2007
By Adrian McCoy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
WTZN-FM (93.7) listeners woke up to Christmas music instead of talk today.

The Zone, marketed as "The Man Station," a short-lived talk format aimed at male listeners, is being dumped for a new format, which is set to launch this Friday at 5 p.m.

[EDIT]


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More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
First published on October 1, 2007 at 12:55 pm



[EDIT-post truncated because originating material is copyrighted. Unauthorized use of copyrighted content is in violation of Radio-Info's TOS.]

 

[only1moore]

I meant 101.5.... and to my knowledge it was an urban AC (I was down there from 1992-2005...). 92.7 WJBT was the straight-up urban outlet.

WJBT went Urban in 1992 when WHJX was still Rhythmic (according to Big City TV and Radio's website, it was listed as CHR "HOT 101.5" from 1989 to 1995) . WHJX and WJBT became sister stations in 1995, resulting in WHJX flipping to Urban AC. I should know this because I was visiting Jacksonville in 1994 when WHJX experimented with that hybrid Rap/Rock experiment that then-PD Clark would later try on WZJM in Cleveland.

 

[djkst35]

The hole is for a pop-CHR that plays Nickelback and Linkin Park as much as they play Kanye and 50.

I agree completely. This is what I'd like most on the new station. What they also needs is fresh and young talent. Maybe they can hire some of the weekend or part time staff from Kiss.