Posted by Irish on September 10, 2015 at 10:09:55:
In Reply to: Oldies 95.7 switches to 95.7 BIG FM posted by oldieslover on September 10, 2015 at 00:15:09:
I highly doubt MRA and their new oldies outlet pushed the top-rated station in the market to change their branding. IHM has been rebranding quite a few of their "oldies" stations for awhile (San Francisco comes to mind) and were waiting for the right time to do it to WRIT. They obviously remember when they attempted it a decade ago (about a decade too soon, as it turns out), and how ratings shot up when they added "Oldies" back to the name. Now, with most of the playlist heavy on 70s and 80s, its former rival The Lake switching to country, and their status as the #1 station in the market, it seemed like the right time for a more appropriate identity. They did it right, as they announced the name change in advance and reassured listeners that everything else would remain the same.
As for WZTI, judging from listener reactions on WRIT's Facebook page, most of the people complaining about the lack of actual "oldies" have no idea 100.3 exists, which is probably what killed The Party.