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WPLJ In NY calls it quits

Started by roadman65, May 08, 2019, 10:35:57 PM

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roadman65

Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe


jp the roadgeek

This is exactly what happened to WCCC here in Hartford about 5 years ago.  Even Mr. Stern himself made an appearance for the final day.  Will be interesting to see what the final song played is.
Interstates I've clinched: 97, 290 (MA), 291 (CT), 291 (MA), 293, 295 (DE-NJ-PA), 295 (RI-MA), 384, 391, 395 (CT-MA), 395 (MD), 495 (DE), 610 (LA), 684, 691, 695 (MD), 695 (NY), 795 (MD)

kevinb1994

I can't say I'm surprised, as the broadcast radio industry faces an uncertain future.

SP Cook

The station is not "calling it quits" as broadcast licenses are a government granted monopsony to print money.  Rather this is just one of the millions of moves big companies, including big media, have figured out to cut their taxes.  The big three radio corportations (iHeartMedia, Entracom, and in this case Cumulus) will "donate" stations to the non-profit religious group Educational Media Foundation, which turns them into no employees needed repeater of their K LOVE or AIR ONE formats.  And then take a big tax deduction for the book value of the station, which is often far more than the market value.  EMF has over 520 stations broadcasting its "Christian contemporary" K LOVE and 215 its "Christian worship" AIR 1.  It has so many stations that it is starting a third robo format, K LOVE Classics, featuring "Classic Christian" music from long ago times like the 1980s.


roadman65

WPLJ died for me when they gave up their classic rock format in June 1983. Plus I live 1200 miles away I don't here the station mentioned anyway.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

TheHighwayMan3561

Quote from: roadman65 on May 09, 2019, 07:37:04 PM
WPLJ died for me when they gave up their classic rock format in June 1983. Plus I live 1200 miles away I don't here the station mentioned anyway.

But you started the thread on it...?
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

bandit957

This is another example of why radio is pretty much dead.
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

roadman65

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on May 09, 2019, 09:46:57 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on May 09, 2019, 07:37:04 PM
WPLJ died for me when they gave up their classic rock format in June 1983. Plus I live 1200 miles away I don’t here the station mentioned anyway.

But you started the thread on it...?
Well there are many on here from the northeast who still hear of this station.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

US71

Quote from: bandit957 on May 09, 2019, 10:37:32 PM
This is another example of why radio is pretty much dead.

You mean "traditional" radio? Sirius XM shows no sign of slowing down.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

bandit957

Quote from: US71 on May 10, 2019, 08:47:54 AM
You mean "traditional" radio? Sirius XM shows no sign of slowing down.

Why should people pay for what they used to get for free?
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

US71

Quote from: bandit957 on May 10, 2019, 09:42:06 AM
Quote from: US71 on May 10, 2019, 08:47:54 AM
You mean "traditional" radio? Sirius XM shows no sign of slowing down.

Why should people pay for what they used to get for free?

"Capitalism" ?
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Hot Rod Hootenanny

Quote from: bandit957 on May 10, 2019, 09:42:06 AM
Quote from: US71 on May 10, 2019, 08:47:54 AM
You mean "traditional" radio? Sirius XM shows no sign of slowing down.

Why should people pay for what they used to get for free?

Thus, why radio is dead.
Please, don't sue Alex & Andy over what I wrote above

SectorZ

Quote from: bandit957 on May 10, 2019, 09:42:06 AM
Quote from: US71 on May 10, 2019, 08:47:54 AM
You mean "traditional" radio? Sirius XM shows no sign of slowing down.

Why should people pay for what they used to get for free?

Over 150 choices as opposed to 5-20 at any one time. Can hear hundreds to dozens more songs and genres than terrestrial radio. Can say whatever they want without censorship (though Stern having to push the limits made him better). That's worth $25/month for my wife and I.

hotdogPi

How do they force you to pay? If you know what frequency you want, you can set something up to receive that frequency.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

jon daly

Quote from: bandit957 on May 09, 2019, 10:37:32 PM
This is another example of why radio is pretty much dead.

I still listen in my car. The CD player has a Steely Dan CD stuck in it. I like them but don't have the urge to constantly listen to "Hey Nineteen." I miss audiobooks but I do have a local college station that plays jazz on my morning ride and I mix in some classical and rock stations.

I once had satellite radio vin my car, but that was eons ago. Yeah it's better than most terrestrial radio but I am cheap.

bandit957

Quote from: SectorZ on May 11, 2019, 07:17:37 AM
Over 150 choices as opposed to 5-20 at any one time. Can hear hundreds to dozens more songs and genres than terrestrial radio.

It's actually media clutter. I like to hear different kinds of music all on the same station. Regular radio stations 30 years ago had a lot more variety.
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

bandit957

Of course, there is no question whatsoever that regular radio is worse now than it was in the 1980s. This is unambiguous. There is absolutely no defense of the current state of radio.

This is true of music and talk programming alike.
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

jon daly

Quote from: bandit957 on May 11, 2019, 09:30:53 AM
Quote from: SectorZ on May 11, 2019, 07:17:37 AM
Over 150 choices as opposed to 5-20 at any one time. Can hear hundreds to dozens more songs and genres than terrestrial radio.

It's actually media clutter. I like to hear different kinds of music all on the same station. Regular radio stations 30 years ago had a lot more variety.

I think that was when AOR or album oriented rock became Classic Rock. Prior to that in my high school days I recall hearing some New Wave mixed in with "Aqualung" and "Long Train Running." My fellow Nutmeggers might recall WHCN and similar stations with a looser rotation back then.

With regards to talk radio, I don't listen to it much, but it seems like political discussion is more prevalent than it used to be and there's less talk about medicine of personal finance or investing. These were typical topics that I recall hearing on WTIC and WPOP. And sports has been ghettoized often to its own stations. That's a subject for its own thread.

bandit957

Quote from: jon daly on May 11, 2019, 03:40:05 PM
I think that was when AOR or album oriented rock became Classic Rock. Prior to that in my high school days I recall hearing some New Wave mixed in with "Aqualung" and "Long Train Running." My fellow Nutmeggers might recall WHCN and similar stations with a looser rotation back then.

It was also when pop stations were taken over by New Kids On The Block. It used to be a mass appeal radio format, but it became a niche format after that. Cincinnati had a tiny AM station called WCLU that I think did really good with a mass appeal pop format. It changed call letters and format right before all this happened.

I'd love to hear mid-'80s WCLU over probably any station today.

QuoteWith regards to talk radio, I don't listen to it much, but it seems like political discussion is more prevalent than it used to be and there's less talk about medicine of personal finance or investing. These were typical topics that I recall hearing on WTIC and WPOP. And sports has been ghettoized often to its own stations. That's a subject for its own thread.

Instead of opinionated loudmouths, talk radio used to have more mainstream guests. But I remember one day they had a local psychiatrist as a guest on talk radio to talk about ADHD. My parents idolized this guy and actually taped this show. I don't think they idolize him anymore, and I always thought he was a quack, but apparently he still practices.
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

jon daly

My a la carte approach to political positions won't win me many friends in an online environment where it seems that it helps if you join one of the cliques along the left-right spectrum or one of the other spectra. (For example stathead vs old school baseball fan.)

That said, I find it to be a breath of fresh air when I find someone on the radio who is discussing current events and I can't pigeonhole them. There's a guy in Providence, RI like that.

roadman65

In Connecticut School of Broadcasting they told us SiriusXM was not taking off like it was projected due to the internet.

Also PLJ, though dead to me, was still an icon and surprised to see it go.

Thought most of the talent from NY radio is on SiriusXM. I would listen in rental cars if I was on a road trip.   Going from Texarkana to Houston via Dallas it was great as I did not have to search for new local stations after I was out of range including rural areas of I-45.  I had Deep Cuts on the whole time an enjoyed hearing Pat St. John again as I grew up with him on PLJ as well as WNEW later on.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

jon daly

The CSB! Classes that start in March will have you on the air by June.

I had a friend who went there in the 90s and later became the program director for WPOP. He now deals poker at Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun.

SP Cook

Traditional radio, which is to say free ad-supported broadcasting on AM and FM, will be around long after all of us are dead.  The death of radio, particularly AM radio, has been predicted for decades, and has yet to happen, because it remains a highly profitable industry, and nearly unique in that the government limits competition.  It is true that radio is becoming more standardized, particularly on the music side, as technology means that one DJ can be heard all over, rather than needing one in each town.  But, while national talk is a thing, so is local talk and local talk requires local talkers, which works in the politics, sports, and female/feelings genres.  Religious broadcasting also remains highly profitable. 

As to SXM, it is a niche product.  But it works for that niche.  First are people into a certain type of music, which is not available over the air.  But more importantly are people who drive a lot.  Truckers, salesmen, repairmen, etc.  Keeping track of what channel has what you want where is way too complicated, and in many area, the pickings can be very slim.  SXM serves these niches.


bandit957

Quote from: SP Cook on May 13, 2019, 09:39:04 AM
Traditional radio, which is to say free ad-supported broadcasting on AM and FM, will be around long after all of us are dead.  The death of radio, particularly AM radio, has been predicted for decades, and has yet to happen, because it remains a highly profitable industry, and nearly unique in that the government limits competition.  It is true that radio is becoming more standardized, particularly on the music side, as technology means that one DJ can be heard all over, rather than needing one in each town.  But, while national talk is a thing, so is local talk and local talk requires local talkers, which works in the politics, sports, and female/feelings genres.  Religious broadcasting also remains highly profitable.

The only AM stations that still have many listeners are the really powerful ones like WLW.

And many religious stations are actually checkbook clergy operations. For many of these stations, the only listeners are a handful of people who open up their wallets whenever they hear a phone number being announced.
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

jeffandnicole

SiriusXM never did as well as first projected.  The internet, as mentioned, hurt them.  The thinking that people would pay for radio the way they did for cable tv never panned out.  Early on, Sirius and XM were separate companies that eventually merged. 

Even some of their selling points, such as non-stop traffic reports for cities on individual channels were consolidated into most channels having 2 or 3 cities, making it less handy for up-to-the-minute changes.  And as I found out, the people broadcasting the traffic reports often weren't from the city, so they would mis-pronounce commonly known names or use different landmarks or references.  That may be fine if you're from outside the area, but not convenient for the locals.

In order to stay somewhat relevant, they need to force their ways onto our car radios, in which they give 3 month trials to everyone in hoping they'll sign up, and once they sign up hoping they won't notice the reoccurring charges. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't even exist today.



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