What happened to 92.3 The Beat?
Steve Sobol
From 'cartoon cheese':
>And what is this new crap, "Extreme Radio"? Instead of Donna Summer I
>hear this headbanger shit. Or worse, rap. We'll see how long it lasts
>but my money's on Extreme Radio going the way of the XFL. Thanks for
>the warning, guys. I guess the switch came late last week?
I have several friends that work for religious broadcaster Salem
Broadcasting (owner of WHK-AM Cleveland, WHK-FM Canton, WKNR and one or two
other area stations). I moderate rec.radio.broadcasting, almost went into
broadcasting as a career, and like to think that I can keep track of all of
the changes in the local radio scene, and yet this format change took me
completely by surprise! :)
Friend who's playing poker with us: "So what do you think about the stuff
they're playing on 92.3?"
Me: "Ok, I think disco sucks, but I love Motown."
Friend: "Uhhhh... They changed formats on Friday."
So... here are some details.
92.3 is owned by CBS, Infinity, Viacom or whatever the hell they're calling
themselves this week.
The Jammin' Oldies format was created by AMFM Communications a few years
ago, and initially was broadcast exclusively on AMFM's stations.
Then AMFM merged with Clear Channel Communications. Clear Channel already
owned as many stations as the Department of Justice would let them own in
Cleveland (due to antitrust issues), so they spun off *all* of the AMFM
properties to other companies. 93.1 WZAK and the Station Formerly Known as
107.9 The End went to Radio One. Radio One flipped 107.9 to rap and changed
the station's name to Z107.9. WZAK is still running R&B and soul, with some
rap thrown in for good measure. Radio One got WERE-AM too.
92.3 The Beat, 98.5 WNCX, and Q104 went to Infinity. If I recall correctly,
WDOK 102.1 and WRMR 850 also did, and Infinity still has WDOK... WRMR went
to Salem. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong)
Apparently, the Jammin' Oldies format has not been doing well, from what my
friends at Salem tell me. Besides (and this is only my opinion), Infinity
may not have wanted to run a format that some other company made popular...
So... they flipped on Friday.
What is interesting is that they have competition that is playing a lot of
the same stuff. WMMS in Cleveland and WRQK (Rock 107) in Canton both play a
format called "active rock" that has a lot of the same stuff on the playlist
that Extreme Radio has. There's a lot of duplication, although it wouldn't
be the first time... WGCL and Power 108 both played Top-40 (at least for one
year... 1986... than WGCL flipped and became classic rock WNCX). Power 108
and Jammin' 92.3 played a lot of the same stuff for several years in the
early 90's. Hell, I can remember WGCL competing with what used to be B107 out
in Elyria (107.3... now they're a "Smooth Jazz" station, and they have been
for a number of years, but both stations used to play Top-40).
And, for a year or two, WMMS tried to compete head-on with 107.9 The End,
playing alt-rock.
But I just don't see how this new format is going to succeed, although I
have to admit that (unlike you, apparently) I like the playlist.
>Cleveland radio has always sucked, in my opinion.
Late 70's and early 80's were the Golden Age... WGCL, WMMS, and several
other stations really rocked... But now radio sucks pretty uniformly
everywhere, if you don't have very specific tastes. I still listen to radio
a lot, but the 21st-century business model has a lot of limitations.
Basically, you have a couple huge players (Clear Channel, the largest radio
owner in the country, and Infinity, CBS's radio division), a number of
smaller (but not tiny) players, and some independents, but it's the huge
players that set ad rates and dictate market direction.
I found out from a guy I talk to who works at 102 Zoo in Ashtabula that
Clear Channel bought them at the end of last year! OK. Cleveland's a top-25
market. I can even understand Sandusky - they own two or four stations
there. Tiny town, but it's a resort town, and there is lots of potential for
advertising bucks, especially during the summer. But Ashtabula? Or Findlay?!
Not that there's anything wrong with either of those small cities, but those
are not cities that I thought Clear Channel would be interested in.
(Actually, I think Mix 100.5 in Findlay is the station that the former owner
of 102 Zoo used to run. He owned stations out there too. But that's besides
the point...)
>Cleveland has way too many stations that play the same stuff--100.7,
>98.5, 106.5 and Akron's 97.5. No one plays the kind of music I listen
>to, alternative (80s to current stuff).
When 107.9 The End flipped, there was some discussion of this in
rec.radio.broadcasting. The station *never* had good numbers. It was said
that Clear Channel only held onto it because 98.5 was making the company
tons of money, and they could afford to hold 107.9.
Look at this statistic: There are two very successful COMMERCIAL Alt-rock
stations in Ohio. One is WWCD (CD-101, Columbus) and the other is WOXY (97X,
Cincinnati).
Now look at the demographics.
Columbus has a college with 100,000 students enrolled there. And that's just
the major university.
The Cincinnati market has a number of smaller colleges: U of Cincinnati,
Xavier, Miami of Ohio. Plus, if you have a decent radio, you can get 97X in
Dayton, where there are two *more* schools.
See where I'm going with this? There is a huge audience for alt-rock
downstate. As much as I'd like to see The End come back to Cleveland,
though, we don't have the demographics to support it.
My opinion, worth exactly what you paid for it.
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jon
wmms...92 is actually playing soongs that even the end wouldn't touch..can
you say Beastie or Primus....give this station the whole summer and wmms
will be beggin for mercy.....i haven't switched my dial since last friday
and don't plan on it.....
Jonny Bravo
P.s. Sorry to all you folks who like the Motown thing But 92 XTREME was
needed
cartoon cheese
<boneh...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> This station was needed ..
...as is/was a station who played '70s top 40.
> and no they don't have anything in common with
> wmms..
never said they did.
> 92 is actually playing soongs that even the end wouldn't touch..can
> you say Beastie or Primus....
no thanks.
> give this station the whole summer and wmms
> will be beggin for mercy.....
woop de doo.
> i haven't switched my dial since last friday
> and don't plan on it.....
i'm happy for you.
> P.s. Sorry to all you folks who like the Motown thing But 92 XTREME was
> needed
first of all, KC and the Sunshine Band, Donna Summer, The Gap Band and
the like are hardly what anyone would call "Motown." more like '70s top
40. furthermore, "needed" is strictly a matter of opinion. i say 92.3
The Beat is needed, you say 92 Extreme is needed. there are plenty of
other styles of music not played on Cleveland airwaves. none are more
important than the other. it's all a matter of numbers, not what's
"needed".
the format change of this station further continues my resentment for
current mainstream music and the sad state of commercial radio. i will
continue to seek out music that suits my tastes and not the tastes of
some faceless program manager whose pockets are lined by the major
record labels, all of whom don't give a shit about what kind of music i
need but rather how much money they need (want).
yippee, they're now playing Primus. but in a few months i'm willing to
bet you'll be begging them to stop playing the same one or two songs by
them over and over again. we'll see what's "needed" then.
beth
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Steve Sobol
>> and no they don't have anything in common with
>> wmms..
>
>never said they did.
>> 92 is actually playing soongs that even the end wouldn't touch..can
>> you say Beastie or Primus....
*I* said they were like MMS. OK. So they play Primus. Most of the stuff on
the playlist is stuff that MMS plays.
>> P.s. Sorry to all you folks who like the Motown thing But 92 XTREME was
>> needed
>
>first of all, KC and the Sunshine Band, Donna Summer, The Gap Band and
>the like are hardly what anyone would call "Motown." more like '70s top
>40.
Yes, and there was classic R&B (like Otis Redding) and Motown (lotsa Stevie
Wonder and Temptations).
cartoon cheese
> This station was needed ..
...as is/was a station who played '70s top 40.
> and no they don't have anything in common with
> wmms..
never said they did.
> 92 is actually playing soongs that even the end wouldn't touch..can
> you say Beastie or Primus....
no thanks.
> give this station the whole summer and wmms
> will be beggin for mercy.....
woop de doo.
> i haven't switched my dial since last friday
> and don't plan on it.....
i'm happy for you.
> P.s. Sorry to all you folks who like the Motown thing But 92 XTREME was
> needed
first of all, KC and the Sunshine Band, Donna Summer, The Gap Band and
the like are hardly what anyone would call "Motown." more like '70s top
jon
to get your station back....I was just stating that i was happy i got a
better station to listen to .....Flame away ..but it sounds to me like you
got some issues a little more serious than bad radio !?@$%
Jonny Bravo
gru...@en.com
Steve Sobol wrote:
> Crossposted to rec.radio.broadcasting.
>
> [snip]
GregS
The Beat in Pittsburgh, yes I think the contest winner was before the Beat in
Cleveland, is playing songs all the way into the 90's, Jammin
Oldies. There is still a hole in the Pittsburgh rock situation, and
abolutely nothing in the morning except that dam classic rock.
greg