for Entercom to pry the WIFE-FM call letters out of Rushville would have to be a big deal for rogers like the Connersville station sold to radio one and Cincy
\those call letters mean NOTHING in Rushville, especially on a low wattage automated AM station, but it DOES mean something in Indianapolis especially for the format "Classic Hits"... and i think ALL it means to the owners in Rushville, is for somebody to pay them for the letters, i would if i wanted to re-brand or start a classic hits station in Indy.
WIFE is an AM in Connersville WIFE FM is an FM in Rushville. Since they combo sell them it would be mass confusion.
WAKY did this with re sings of the old jingles etc and it sounded really nice. WAKy existed as a music station until I was in my 20's though. Louisville didn't decide AM radio was worthless until more recently.
But I'm nearly 50 and if you are going for 25-54 what do those calls mean to anyone who doesn't remember calls that haven't been in the market since 1970 something? And more importantly I was 16 or less when anything that sounded like 13 WIFE died. Smokin Greg, Ann Craig (did she start Craigslist), and so on may not be available for a reunion. They kept the calls after they killed the format for a time. If they nuked them in 1976 it will be 33 years since they mean't anything.
The 25-50 section of the 25-54 age group will say "WIFE?" "What does that mean?" Jay Reynolds used to think this was a neat possibility in 1994 but that was 15 years ago. At that time the 25-54 audience would have had the 35-54 portion of the 25-54 market that would have remembered the calls. That's not quite two thirds.
People in Connersville might really think it's cool that they can hear their AM station on FM when they go to Indy.
What about WFBM? Then NO ONE in the 25-54 would have a clue what they meant. Carolyn Churchman RIP. Great lady.
Keep it up and WNTR could find renewed interest in the WTPI calls as there still might be a few people who remembered them. The station hasn't had an identity since it switched calls enough for people to remember the new calls?
The problem with radio is that there are NO NEW IDEAS just old ideas someone steals. WIFE was great in 1970 and anyone who liked it at 20 in 1970 is now (math scholars) 59 and worthless to ad agencies. AND out of the 25-54 demo. So how is this a good idea? It isn't a NEW idea?
We have enough new fragments of music, delivery, demos, etc. Too bad we couldn't do what big companies are doing with reverse stock splits. A reverse format split. Standards. Remember when WIRE and WFBM played the same music and it included Doris Day and Dean Martin? Those days are gone and we are just old dinosaurs wading into the future.
Wouln't it be great if one of the television stations went back to black and white and called it WLWI? I sure would love to watch reruns of Ruth Lyons, Bob Braun, and so on......Chuck Marlowe still around?
