Oldies But Goodies Return

CBS seems to have seen the error of its ways. The rumor is, sometime next week oldies will ring out again from 101.1 FM in New York.

I’ve been in TV over 25 years, yet my heart is still in radio. I loved being a jock. It was what I wanted to be when I grew up!

Back then, I thought I was pretty good… though I cringe today when hearing some airchecks. I got as far as doing mornings in Philadelphia. That’s not so awful.

A few years ago, CBS decided to change the format of WCBS-FM. For decades it had been a New York City fixture as ‘the’ oldies station. Though not the top station in the city, it had a very salable audience.

It was, alas, expensive to run. I would guess WCBS-FM had the most expensive jock staff in New York City, some of whom still needed board ops.

One day CBS just pulled the plug. Oldies gave way to ‘Jack,’ an automated format with a wide mix of music. Lots of people were upset.

As it turns out, New York City voted with its feet! Ratings slid and revenues dropped (much more than costs dropped).

Now CBS seems to have seen the error of its ways. The rumor is, sometime next week oldies will ring out again from 101.1 FM in New York.

I’m happy about the change. I’m happy the bean counters were wrong. I’m happy live jocks will return. I’m happy fun entertainment on the radio is valued.

“You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone” – Joni Mitchell.

Hey, CBS-FM. If you’re looking for a fill-in weekend jock, I have a set of headphones ready to go.

6 thoughts on “Oldies But Goodies Return”

  1. Indeed this is something that NO ONE ever thought would come – I’m looking forward to the actual switch myself…

    andrea in new york city

  2. honestly , i love jack , the radio in ct is quite terrible and whenever i cross into shelton and points west i pick up jack , the mix is different and quite enjoyable. if this is true i will miss jack

  3. I am thrilled that CBS FM 101 will return. I hated Jack and deleted 101 from my radio. I hope CBS will be smart enough to bring back it’s DJ. They made the shows I missed them terribly. They were a very important part of our culture. There are more baby boomers spending cold hard cash than any other generation alive today. Is it any wonder when we protested people took notice.

  4. Just listened to your airchecks – I remember listening “live”. Thanks for the memories……

    About CBS – glad they saw the error of their ways and brought back the oldies.

  5. Wow, what a stunning development. Dare I say, hopeful?

    I stopped listening to commercial radio 20 years ago, and I haven’t looked back. There are enough non-commercial stations around here to keep things interesting (most notably WPKN and WNHU in the New Haven area, and WFUV and WFMU down by NYC). And when there’s nothing on the radio, that’s why I never leave home without my iPod.

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