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WYAY

C

carolinaradio

I know 106.7 WYAY's music is a frequent topic of discussion on this board, and I thought I'd weigh in - I listened for a couple of hours this afternoon and thought they sounded pretty good, better than when I streamed them a month or so ago. Have they tweaked the music again? It sounded more focused.

I think it was smart of them to start branding as 106.7 WYAY, then Atlanta's Greatest Hits....not quite as bland.
 
Since they switched things around they are sounding better than when they first switched.

They still have that signal issue though....static....which seems worse in the winter.
 
Classic Hits is one of Cumulus's stronger formats, IMO. That's why I was surprised at their odd musical choices/tweaks in September and October. Honestly, even though the ratings very good, I don't see 106.7 in the near future flipping, as speculated here, at least until they have time to work with the station. They were up a little in Nov.

I don't have all of the musical stats that some users have, but it seems much more focused. The 80s tunes make more sense now. Who does afternoons? I can't stream at that time - I just see a traffic reporter listed.
 
I agree, as I do with many of your posts.

When they had the 80's they got up to a 3.0 PPM rating. I don't think this older skew
will ever get them that high. I think many left when the 80's left. Now they are being
slowly replaced by deeper oldies lovers, but WYAY is still in negative territory.
 
The older skew may be a problem for them. It seems as if they're trying to keep the audience that likes "classic hits", but they're trying to get the "oldies"/former TOC audience as well. I don't think you can have it both ways.
I really, really feel like I'm gonna step on some toes here, but tracks like "Lightnin' Strikes", "What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted", "Hit The Road Jack", and "Rhythm Of The Rain" really need to go. The music gets in to a nice flow and when they crank a song like one of those up, it kinda...ruins it. Not that they're bad songs, they just don't belong.
Their 70s/80s mix is pretty good, and most of the 60s stuff is good as well, but those really stick out when you're mixing in 80s material like The Outfield and Loverboy (which they should be doing, as a classic hits station in almost 2012). Still believe they sound better than a month ago.

Cumulus has the potential to program a very good classic hits station, like WGRR in Cincinnati and KCMO in Kansas City. Both top performers in their respective markets. That is the type of sound (especially WGRR's, they're on yes.com) that I would like to see WYAY ultimately move towards. Cut back on the 60s that don't fit, fully embrace the 70s, and continue to warm up to the 80s. That's the way the format's gotta be in this decade.
 
I do agree that WYAY needs to cut back on the 60s, especially the really period-sounding cuts (I'm looking at you, O Golden Oldies triumvirate of Motown, Beatles, and Beach Boys). It just sounds awkward to go back that far when you're deep in the 80s (or even the disco/New Wave 70s).

Time marches on and both 30s/40s nostalgia and 50s doo-wop (and pre-Brit Invasion 60s) got shown the door when their audiences got too old (sorry boomers--it is what it is). Didn't we have a nostalgia+50s format about 10 years ago on 1160 before Weber got ahold of it? My Silent Generation mom liked that station before it flipped.

I did notice that reception on the west side (Marietta/Woodstock) was so-so, compared to the past. The antenna would explain that.

The processing, though, continues to get better.
 
jabba17 said:
I do agree that WYAY needs to cut back on the 60s, especially the really period-sounding cuts (I'm looking at you, O Golden Oldies triumvirate of Motown, Beatles, and Beach Boys). It just sounds awkward to go back that far when you're deep in the 80s (or even the disco/New Wave 70s).
Click to expand...
It almost seems as if WYAY has abandoned the "no pre-1964" rule that classic hits and even oldies stations always abide by. Recently played was The Tokens' "Lion Sleeps Tonight" and Ben King's "Stand By Me", back to back - both from the early 60s. Right after that in to Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time." It don't work that way!

It's not that they're playing bad songs...it's just that some of them don't fit (ALL pre-64 material and the 'period'-type stuff like you mention [although I do believe that an occasional Beatles or Temptations song is acceptable]).
 
They sound to me like they found some oldies tapes that were used by a Top 40ish station in 1999.

Many of their songs were once popular (around 1999) but times and tastes have changed and what
may have been popular back then has faded or become less enjoyable as time went by.
 
gregg75 said:
They sound to me like they found some oldies tapes that were used by a Top 40ish station in 1999.

Many of their songs were once popular (around 1999) but times and tastes have changed and what
may have been popular back then has faded or become less enjoyable as time went by.
Click to expand...
I don't know if it's that they're not as popular with the listeners anymore, as much as it is that a lot of the 60s "oldies" aren't with the coveted 25-54/35-54 demographic that classic hits stations strive for. The listeners that remember songs like "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and "Rhythm Of The Rain" (mentioned on a R-I article today) have aged out of the demographic. I would imagine that the listeners that grew up with some of these oldies are in their late 50s and 60s now.
 
So people in their 50s and 60s don't buy anything any more? Just because your market is aging doesn't mean you can write them off.
 
Some markets "skew" young (Atlanta has in the past), Some "skew" older (Pittsburgh in the past). The key is the demographic the agencies have been told to buy by their clients. When I was just starting "MOR" (BM and or what is now AC) still got a lion's share of the money. Someday the +45 demos will be in favor again. These things run in "cycles".
 
bnaivar said:
So people in their 50s and 60s don't buy anything any more? Just because your market is aging doesn't mean you can write them off.
Click to expand...

I agree! I was streaming WLS-FM the other day a True Oldies outlet, (oldies) they have Shannon on just Sat. 6am to 10am and they sound terrific. Nice mix of 60's and 70's and I heard 1 Brian Adams song while I was listening. Some of the great jocks of the day are on, but besides that the music is just plain good. If WYAY would follow suit they would sound so much better.
 
bnaivar said:
So people in their 50s and 60s don't buy anything any more? Just because your market is aging doesn't mean you can write them off.
Click to expand...
I don't hold that opinion, but that's the feelings of the advertising industry. It's been discussed to death on these boards. IMO, individuals in their 50s are the ones with the money!

The issue with 106.7 is that they are trying to cover a 30 year timespan, musically. Not all of the music flows well, especially when you start going back regularly for pre-64 oldies that a lot of stations quit playing years ago. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and "If I Could Turn Back Time" just don't go well together.

My understanding is that 106.7 had their best ratings after they ditched the TOC and moved more in to the 80s - if they'd tighten up the 60s stuff, I think it would help them some. Cumulus should copy their classic hits station in Cincinnati, WGRR, on WYAY in Atlanta. JMO.
 
I wonder if it would be too much of a hard sell to rotate the decades by AM/PM or Weekday/Weekend changes in the format? I know it would drive the PPM people crazy. I worked a country station where we played Oldies on the weekends. It was small market, but the demographic ate it up.
 
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