Why Did WYAY Fail

[acheron82]

I wanted to open up this topic to discuss and learn from others.  Classic Hits (70's soft pop) is not my genre of music and while I realize I'm biased in this department, I still want to learn WHY most on this board feel that 70's soft pop will do well in the city of Atlanta after it failed on WYAY.  I understand that I'm missing something here but I want you all to school me and discuss it on the board on where WYAY went wrong.  They adjusted their playlist several times and each time several classic hits (pop) fanatics grumbled regardless of which direction they went.  Where id they go wrong?  What could have they done better? 

My theory is that a slue of the classic hits (pop) fanatics on this board will debate among themselves on what makes a classic hits station and what destroys it.  I believe some on here will argue that variety is best (60's 70's 80's) while others would argue that 80's Phil Collins would clash with 60's motown.  Let the games begin....

[BarryATL]

Did it really fail?  Could it be that Cumulus wanted their biggest signal for the news operation and that left a format without a signal?  I do find it curious that they did not move AGH over to an HD signal.  They have plenty.

[BRENT]

It did not fail, they had over 600k listeners daily.  Problems I had was the sound, it was flat very little treble, too compressed.  The jocks were not good, no jingles/pams packages.  The station started to become boring and redundant, like all stations in this hip-hop market....

[acheron82]

So are you saying that ratings reflect nothing in terms of a stations failure or success?  Are you saying that ratings for WYAY did signal failure but it was not the format but the sound quality that forced those low ratings?

[BarryATL]

The ratings were okay and actually the last couple of months trended up.  Had news not been in the works, AGH probably would stay with some more effort put into the format.  It appears that Cumulus has the news format in the works for about a year so the put AGH on auto pilot.

[carolinaradio]

WYAY played very little "70s soft pop."  I consider that to be Streisand, Manilow, Carpenters, etc.  They might have flirted with it with some softer Elton John, Eagles, Rod Stewart, and Little River Band, Player, etc. but that's about it.  The 70s soft pop songs they played were in line with what most other classic hits stations across the nation play that do well with listeners in their 40s and 50s.

WYAY was getting around a 3 share when Citadel was still running it last summer.  Had they retained ownership and stayed on the path they were on, I think it could have gone higher.  Cumulus took over and ruined it musically.  They played more late 80s than early 80s, and added more 60s (even some early 60s, I think) - it was a musical train wreck.  I think Cumulus already knew what they wanted to do with 106.7 so it became an afterthought until they were ready to launch all-news.  They can program decent classic hits stations.  I can't help but wonder if they wanted the numbers to decline so they could give a good excuse for blowing it up.

[acheron82]

Ok-  I'm starting to see where you are all coming from but I can't find a station that does not do what you say WYAY started to do which is my main point. So many reflect back to WCBS in New York as a good classic hits station to mirror and while they do play Barry Manilow, they also play several late 80's hits from Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston while still playing The Four Tops and The Supremes. I also note that 50's are GONE. 

[acheron82]

I also don't see very much "soft pop" on WCBS playlist with the exception of maybe 1 or 2 every four or five hours. 

[atlantaboy]

The ratings were okay and actually the last couple of months trended up. 

I think it's funny how WYAY and Dave can have ratings that are so close together, yet WYAY's ratings are considered "okay" while Dave's ratings are abominable

WYAY failed because there aren't a lot advertisers that want to target people that like 70s pop

[BRENT]

The ratings were okay and actually the last couple of months trended up. 

I think it's funny how WYAY and Dave can have ratings that are so close together, yet WYAY's ratings are considered "okay" while Dave's ratings are abominable

WYAY failed because there aren't a lot advertisers that want to target people that like 70s pop

I don't agree.  I am not bragging, but I am worth about 100 million, from inheritance.  I am 58 years old. Many of my friends constantly complain that their is nothing on the radio worth listening to.  You must be a spy or work for Dave FM.  Where do you hear that advertisers don't want that demo?  The little twinks that listen to teenage hip hop are supported by their parent's in their 40's, 50's, they pay the bills. Many 30's and 40's children are living with parents or Grandparents' again they pay the bills.  These stations ought to be bowing down to people in the 50's 60's 70's and older.