The "B" Is Dead, Long Live Oldies 97.1

[Mr. Jones]

As of 4:00 Tuesday, after your requisite countdown of the top 500 songs of all time.

CLEAR CHANNEL MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT HUNTINGTON
ANNOUNCES THE DEBUT OF OLDIES 97.1 WBVB FM

Huntington, W.Va. – February 13, 2012 – Clear Channel Media and Entertainment Huntington announced today the debut of Oldies 97.1 WBVB FM, beginning Tuesday, Feb. 14. The new station will play hit oldies from the 60s, and 70s. Oldies 97.1’s kick off broadcast began this morning at 6:00 a.m. and is counting down the top 500 oldies songs of all time. Oldies 97.1 programming will officially launch tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. as it finishes the countdown and plays the No. 1 song.

Oldies 97.1’s programming line-up will feature Mark “Woody” Wood weekdays from 5-10:00 a.m. Woody has been waking up listeners in the Tri-State area on WBVB for more than 10 years. Bobby Leach has been with WBVB since it launched in 2001 and will host weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Jason King has been with WBVB for the past five years and will host weekdays from 3-7:00 p.m. Mike Frazer will host weeknights from 7:00 p.m. to midnight and Don Jackson will host overnight weekdays from midnight to 5:00 a.m.

“Our listeners really missed their Oldies and Oldies 97.1 will deliver the ‘feel good’ music that helps our listeners get through the day,” said Judy Jennings, Regional Market Manager, Clear Channel Media and Entertainment. “With Oldies 97.1 on the radio and on iHeartRadio, listeners can listen anytime and anywhere. I’m sure they’ll be smiling when they hear it.”

Fans can listen to Oldies 97.1, on the station’s website, oldies971.com, as well as on iHeartRadio.com and the iHeartRadio mobile app, Clear Channel’s best-in-class customizable digital listening experience, offering more than 800 of the nation's most popular live broadcast and digital-only radio stations, plus user-created Custom Stations which provide listeners more songs, better music intelligence, more user control and deeper social media integration, all combined in one free, fully-integrated service.

About Clear Channel Media and Entertainment Huntington:
Clear Channel Huntington owns and operates WAMX-FM; WBVB-FM; WKEE-FM; WTCR-FM; WVHU-AM; WTCR-AM and is part of Clear Channel Media and Entertainment. With 238 million monthly listeners in the U.S., Clear Channel Media and Entertainment has the largest reach of any radio or television outlet in America. Clear Channel Media and Entertainment serves 150 cities through 850 owned radio stations. The company’s radio stations and content can be heard on AM/FM stations, HD digital radio channels, Sirius/XM satellite, on the Internet at iHeartRadio.com and on the company’s radio station websites, on the iHeartRadio mobile application on iPads and smartphones, and used via navigation systems from TomTom, Garmin and others. The company’s operations include radio broadcasting, online and mobile services and products, live concerts and events, syndication, music research services and independent media representation. Clear Channel Media and Entertainment is a division of CC Media Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: CCMO), a leading global media and entertainment company. More information on the company can be found at clearchannel.com, clearchanneloutdoor.com and ccmediaholdings.com.

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Contact:
Jim Davis
Clear Channel Media and Entertainment Huntington
304/525-7788
JimDavis@clearchannel.com

[Greg Goodfellow]

Fans can listen to Oldies 97.1, on the station’s website, oldies971.com, as well as on iHeartRadio.com and the iHeartRadio mobile app, Clear Channel’s best-in-class customizable digital listening experience, offering more than 800 of the nation's most popular live broadcast and digital-only radio stations, plus user-created Custom Stations which provide listeners more songs, better music intelligence, more user control and deeper social media integration, all combined in one free, fully-integrated service.

A sentence masquerading as a paragraph.

[TimeEnuf]

What the heck, I am showing my age, but I like the idea of a good oldies station in the area. Hopefully, they will not fall into the trap of playing the same 100(give or take 50) songs over and over......and over....and over...and over.....just because they "tested" good in the market.

[Jay Nunley]

just because they "tested" good in the market.

Would Clear Channel actually pay for an audience test? I'm not being a smartass. Having never worked for CC I don't know how the company works beyond the few things CC employees have told me from their perspective.

With or without research it's a sure bet the playlist will be tight.

I suspect you'll be hearing 200 of that top 500 they are counting down constantly and the other 300 slightly less frequently.

[EZ103.3FM]

Heard a liner yesterday evening say something like 'You're listening to the 500 greatest oldies of all time on B97.1'.....not Oldies97.1.

[Scott Reppert]

Would Clear Channel actually pay for an audience test?

Of course not! They would just use the results of somebody else's audience test, which is exactly why those 450-600 SAME SONGS keep getting played over and over again!

Absolute truth: I tuned in a certain Classic Rock station twice in the last week. Same song was playing both times. For God's sake, you're playing CLASSIC ROCK! There's no need to repeat ANY song in a week!!!!

Me and Hoosier's music posts on here are more entertaining than almost ANYTHING on radio. And don't tell me to go satellite because that isn't radio...

[Big Media]

I wonder if they are going to bring back NASCAR. Nothing goes better with Oldies than NASCAR.

And Blizzard Hockey

[Shanen Wright]

With 101.5 now Big Buck Country and the B back to Oldies, Huntington now has no classic hits station. If LM could ever get 99.7 on the air, B's defection back to oldies opens up a nice hole for a 100.9/99.7 The Mix simulcast. I think Nunley once said on this board that was LM's plan. I wonder, will 99.7 ever make it on the air?

[Jay Nunley]

With 101.5 now Big Buck Country and the B back to Oldies, Huntington now has no classic hits station. If LM could ever get 99.7 on the air, B's defection back to oldies opens up a nice hole for a 100.9/99.7 The Mix simulcast. I think Nunley once said on this board that was LM's plan. I wonder, will 99.7 ever make it on the air?

That was the plan at one time, but so was constructing a tower and physical plant. I have no idea what the plan, if there is one, is now.

[Mike]

This means NO ONE playing 80's music at all in the Tri-State. Seems to be an unserved niche to me.

I know my parents hated B97 when they shifted to 70's music. They actually tolerated 80's more than 70's because they associated that with their kids...

Back to 60's/70's probably won't do much, since 60's kids hate the 70's and vice versa. Sort of like playing 90's with 80's, it clashes too much in style.

[Mike]

With 101.5 now Big Buck Country and the B back to Oldies, Huntington now has no classic hits station. If LM could ever get 99.7 on the air, B's defection back to oldies opens up a nice hole for a 100.9/99.7 The Mix simulcast. I think Nunley once said on this board that was LM's plan. I wonder, will 99.7 ever make it on the air?

That was the plan at one time, but so was constructing a tower and physical plant. I have no idea what the plan, if there is one, is now.

Last I checked the FCC didn't even have any record for 99.7 Westwood, Ky after the last CP expired.

Interestingly, there IS an unfinished tower you can see on US 60 west of Ashland near the Boyd County fairgrounds. It's a rusty tower in EXACTLY the location of the original 99.7 CP from the 90's.

No antennas on it, just a structure and guy wires. Next time I'm by there I'll snap a picture.

[the voice]

A WWQB ran a renewal ad in Ashland paper last week. Info at Central ave library.

[AmpedNow]

My personal playlists has stuff from the 70s to today's new music... Of course, I wouldn't expect a station to encompass five decades in this day and age.

I grew up a CHR fan and I'll always be one. Granted, as I'm getting older there's more stuff that doesn't appeal to me. But I think it's interesting to hear certain styles come and go through the years. I also find vapid and meaningless lyrics amusing. But in fairness, the 70s and 80s had their fair share of these songs.

As for satellite, I've had it since 2003 and it is radio as much as anything else. My biggest complaint with them is they starve some good channels of precious bandwidth, so they don't sound as good as they could.

[CZA]

Mike,

Are you talking about the unlit, unpainted tower near the fairgrounds? The one up from the old Colton Jamberee? It's last use was WPAY as a microwave link to carry the Jamberee live on 104.1. It one time had WPAY calls on the tower. If that's the one we're talking about, odd it is the same location on the CP....hmmm....

[Hoosier Daddy]

Well, after five hours of listening to Huntington's 97.1 last week, the jury has passed judgment:

The new 97.1 is just like the old 97.1, they just call it "Oldies" now.
Same canned collection of 70s classics.
Nothing but "safe" songs.
Dry, bland imaging
Not one "oh wow!" in the playlist after listening from noon to about 5 pm.

Nothing to see ... uhh, HEAR here folks. Move along.
Back to Sirius XM and my MP3s ...