10.31.2006
Baby, If You've Ever Wondered...
Looks like it's Everything Terminated over at 97.3 in Cincinnati. An apparent result of CBS selling its Cincy cluster to Entercom. It appears a change is in the works. My gut feeling is they'll put on some Christmas cheer - hey, the news was handed down today that the sales of CBS clusters in Cincinnati, and also Austin, Memphis and Rochester, are done deals, so a change is possible as early as tomorrow.
But I just have one question - and rather than just post the facts outright, then get a guilty conscience for making it possible to allow vital information to be accessed, like the 101.9 thing awhile ago, instead I'm going to write in code. Meaning the information will be in a riddle, and people will have to do a little work to try and unlock the code.
As I was saying: Why would a very important person from the old powers that be, summon a country animal in mid-September?
But I just have one question - and rather than just post the facts outright, then get a guilty conscience for making it possible to allow vital information to be accessed, like the 101.9 thing awhile ago, instead I'm going to write in code. Meaning the information will be in a riddle, and people will have to do a little work to try and unlock the code.
As I was saying: Why would a very important person from the old powers that be, summon a country animal in mid-September?
Meanwhile, in Greenville, SC: Walk on Ice
The contemporary Christian/country mix on 106.3 WGVC "The Walk" stopped dead in its tracks this afternoon at 12 noon; final song was Martina McBride's "Happy Girl".
There is currently a countdown clock similar to the one Entercom instilled on the eventual stations in Seattle and Greensboro that became Wolf country outlets in their respective markets.
However, the eventual format will be... talk. Yep, FM talk. The new URL - registered by Entercom last Monday:
http://www.1063thevoice.com
Effective Thursday morning at 6 am - which is what time the countdown apparently counts down until.
WGVC's stream URL is mms://wmc1.liquidcompass.cc/WGVC - alas, you cannot hear the stunting online.
There is currently a countdown clock similar to the one Entercom instilled on the eventual stations in Seattle and Greensboro that became Wolf country outlets in their respective markets.
However, the eventual format will be... talk. Yep, FM talk. The new URL - registered by Entercom last Monday:
http://www.1063thevoice.com
Effective Thursday morning at 6 am - which is what time the countdown apparently counts down until.
WGVC's stream URL is mms://wmc1.liquidcompass.cc/WGVC - alas, you cannot hear the stunting online.
10.22.2006
Jane Dornacker: It Was 20 Years Ago Today
During one of the final years of WNBC's existence at AM 66, was the tragic helicopter crash that took the life of traffic reporter Jane Dornacker.
I hope that even twenty years after, her family is still able to get by, with the grace of God.
Hear audio of the incident as it happened on-air.
If you don't wish to hear it, Jane's Wikipedia entry has a transcript.
And Allan Sniffen's New York Radio Message Board currently has a thread marking the anniversary, including input from then-fellow WNBC personality Big Jay Sorensen.
I hope that even twenty years after, her family is still able to get by, with the grace of God.
Hear audio of the incident as it happened on-air.
If you don't wish to hear it, Jane's Wikipedia entry has a transcript.
And Allan Sniffen's New York Radio Message Board currently has a thread marking the anniversary, including input from then-fellow WNBC personality Big Jay Sorensen.
Format Flip Prediction: Pittsburgh
No, I don't know for a fact that there is an impending format change afoot - in other words, no new domains registered - but I can't help but wonder if Clear Channel is going to bring country competition to the Steel City.
Let's face it: This blue-collar town embraces mainstay Y-108 (4th place 12+ in the most recent Summer '06 book) whose ratings nearly double that of "Froggyland" (T-10th, 12+).
And we know that Clear Channel has a successful stable of country stations that is still growing. And not only do we know that Clear Channel loves to throw its ten-gallon hat in the ring with country monolopies from CBS Radio (read: Tampa and Detroit) but we learned earlier this month that they're not fearless to go up against two country stations, as they are doing in Raleigh-Durham with "The Rooster" formerly 106.1 WRDU, which faces a real cockfight (and yes, pun is intended) against established Curtis-owned WQDR (who, mind you, was country about as long as WRDU had been a rocker) and upstart Capitol-owned WCMC. In the most recent trend, WQDR has five times the ratings as WCMC! The next full Summer book is due Wednesday.
The question is, of course, which station Clear Channel will flip in Pittsburgh to take on Y-108 and the Frog. It's a toss-up between Oldies/Classic Hits WWSW and Alternative WXDX. Clear Channel is no stranger to flipping from either of those formats.
It'll be a wait and see approach from here on out. But if there is a format flip in Pittsburgh in the near future, despite CBS' underperforming WRKZ, it'll likely be Clear Channel making the move, and it will most likely be country.
Let's face it: This blue-collar town embraces mainstay Y-108 (4th place 12+ in the most recent Summer '06 book) whose ratings nearly double that of "Froggyland" (T-10th, 12+).
And we know that Clear Channel has a successful stable of country stations that is still growing. And not only do we know that Clear Channel loves to throw its ten-gallon hat in the ring with country monolopies from CBS Radio (read: Tampa and Detroit) but we learned earlier this month that they're not fearless to go up against two country stations, as they are doing in Raleigh-Durham with "The Rooster" formerly 106.1 WRDU, which faces a real cockfight (and yes, pun is intended) against established Curtis-owned WQDR (who, mind you, was country about as long as WRDU had been a rocker) and upstart Capitol-owned WCMC. In the most recent trend, WQDR has five times the ratings as WCMC! The next full Summer book is due Wednesday.
The question is, of course, which station Clear Channel will flip in Pittsburgh to take on Y-108 and the Frog. It's a toss-up between Oldies/Classic Hits WWSW and Alternative WXDX. Clear Channel is no stranger to flipping from either of those formats.
It'll be a wait and see approach from here on out. But if there is a format flip in Pittsburgh in the near future, despite CBS' underperforming WRKZ, it'll likely be Clear Channel making the move, and it will most likely be country.
Memo To Domain Squatter Guy: Thanks For Ruining The Fun.
If you've noticed a high rate of domains recently registered with the word "movin" in them, no, they're not hot tips for future format flips, but in fact the handiwork of a bulk domain register person, also known as a "cybersquatter". Perhaps someone who's aware of this blog and probably looking for some recognition on his behalf.
Well, here it is: Thanks for nothing.
Well, here it is: Thanks for nothing.
10.08.2006
Blog Reflections
With respect to Allan Sniffen... and truly, I do, I mean, I don't know why he gets a bad rap, he's just trying to keep things civil over on his board...
Anyway, what a wild and wooly week it has been in terms of format flips - as well as prospective ones.
First and foremost, I'd like to set the record straight about a prior post regarding movin1019.com. Know that it was never my intent to intentionally disseminate any of Mr. Lawrence's personal information. At all. I didn't copy and paste that information over here, nor did I post a direct link to the whois information for that domain. I was only reporting this discovery as fact, and that the trust of this blog's readers wouldn't lead them to do their own search and confirm what I've already reported.
That said, the fact that the registrant info has been changed to private definitely raised my eyebrows. And it doesn't have anything to do with whether WQCD does change formats down the road: I'm actually wondering if there was any harm done. And if there happens to be, I sincerely apologize. Of course, the domain's registration was over a week old, so anybody could have broke the same news. Yes, it can be fun to scoop Clear Channel whenever they register a new domain - but they use a business address. This was something completely different. Yet interesting to those who follow radio. At any rate, I never mean to do any harm, and if such was done, I'm sorry.
Movin' on... I'd like to take full responsibility for WMQX/Greensboro's premature flip to country as 93.1 The Wolf, scheduled for Thursday at 3 PM, as the computerized countdown voice was scheduled to count to - was actually established on Wednesday after 12 noon. 27 hours early. Could it be related to my report the day they dropped oldies, that 931wolfcountry.com was recently registered? Hmmm...
And ya know, sometimes, you can't scoop 'em all. Thursday, word leaked - not by me - that WRDU/Raleigh would be dropping its heritage rock format for country. Of course, any genius could assume such after sister 100.7 The River stockpiled its playlist with classic rock. Of course, this had gnomes doing what gnomes do - try to figure out what the new domain is. Sure enough, moments before 5 PM on Friday, someone actually scooped me - that roostercountry1061.com was actually registered on Thursday, the day before the flip. Maybe they're thinking twice about preregistering domains so far ahead of the actual format flips, I dunno... but that's the magic of radio, and trying to pull back the curtain... but not too far.
Anyway, what a wild and wooly week it has been in terms of format flips - as well as prospective ones.
First and foremost, I'd like to set the record straight about a prior post regarding movin1019.com. Know that it was never my intent to intentionally disseminate any of Mr. Lawrence's personal information. At all. I didn't copy and paste that information over here, nor did I post a direct link to the whois information for that domain. I was only reporting this discovery as fact, and that the trust of this blog's readers wouldn't lead them to do their own search and confirm what I've already reported.
That said, the fact that the registrant info has been changed to private definitely raised my eyebrows. And it doesn't have anything to do with whether WQCD does change formats down the road: I'm actually wondering if there was any harm done. And if there happens to be, I sincerely apologize. Of course, the domain's registration was over a week old, so anybody could have broke the same news. Yes, it can be fun to scoop Clear Channel whenever they register a new domain - but they use a business address. This was something completely different. Yet interesting to those who follow radio. At any rate, I never mean to do any harm, and if such was done, I'm sorry.
Movin' on... I'd like to take full responsibility for WMQX/Greensboro's premature flip to country as 93.1 The Wolf, scheduled for Thursday at 3 PM, as the computerized countdown voice was scheduled to count to - was actually established on Wednesday after 12 noon. 27 hours early. Could it be related to my report the day they dropped oldies, that 931wolfcountry.com was recently registered? Hmmm...
And ya know, sometimes, you can't scoop 'em all. Thursday, word leaked - not by me - that WRDU/Raleigh would be dropping its heritage rock format for country. Of course, any genius could assume such after sister 100.7 The River stockpiled its playlist with classic rock. Of course, this had gnomes doing what gnomes do - try to figure out what the new domain is. Sure enough, moments before 5 PM on Friday, someone actually scooped me - that roostercountry1061.com was actually registered on Thursday, the day before the flip. Maybe they're thinking twice about preregistering domains so far ahead of the actual format flips, I dunno... but that's the magic of radio, and trying to pull back the curtain... but not too far.
10.03.2006
T-1 Day, Etc. Until... Wolf Country
So Oldies 93 in Greensboro flipped to a Stephen Hawking-esque countdown yesterday morning - with some snarky comments thrown in for good measure... leading to the new format on Thursday at 3 PM...
You can hear it online.
But why wait until Thursday to find out what the new format is - I've got the new format right here!
Just registered on September 26:
Entercom Communications
ATTN: 931WOLFCOUNTRY.COM
c/o Network Solutions
I notice a lot of "Wolf" country stations springing up all over the place... Entercome actually flipped hot talker KQBZ in Seattle to KKWF over a year ago, with instant results. And of course, Nashville's own Wolf in Music City (WSM-FM) has got some good ratings. And earlier this week, Denver's "Willie" morphed into "Wolf". I guess that's the new buzzword for country music on the radio...
Anyway, their competitor will mainly be WTQR. This of course on the heels of the passing of former WTQR PD (and actor) George Lee. Wonder if he's spinning in his grave over this development? Anyway, godspeed...
... and good country, to all...
Once again, 93.1 Wolf Country launches in "T-minus one day, blah blah blah..."
Thank you, thank you very much.
You can hear it online.
But why wait until Thursday to find out what the new format is - I've got the new format right here!
Just registered on September 26:
Entercom Communications
ATTN: 931WOLFCOUNTRY.COM
c/o Network Solutions
I notice a lot of "Wolf" country stations springing up all over the place... Entercome actually flipped hot talker KQBZ in Seattle to KKWF over a year ago, with instant results. And of course, Nashville's own Wolf in Music City (WSM-FM) has got some good ratings. And earlier this week, Denver's "Willie" morphed into "Wolf". I guess that's the new buzzword for country music on the radio...
Anyway, their competitor will mainly be WTQR. This of course on the heels of the passing of former WTQR PD (and actor) George Lee. Wonder if he's spinning in his grave over this development? Anyway, godspeed...
... and good country, to all...
Once again, 93.1 Wolf Country launches in "T-minus one day, blah blah blah..."
Thank you, thank you very much.
