When The River - a k a WDRV-FM (96.1) - dropped its 14-month-old modern hits format in favor of a more '80s-'90s base, it left some listeners high and dry. A lot of people who didn't fit into the mold of most formats really liked The River. But evidently, not enough.
The format was a victim of this area's shortage of younger residents. Contemporary hits WBZZ-FM (93.7) and modern rock WXDX-FM (105.9) get the lion's share of those younger listeners, and management felt it couldn't get a big enough slice of that not-so-big pie. So it's going after a slightly older female listener.
When SFX Broadcasting took over the station, it launched the modern hits format without much in the way of marketing. When Chancellor Media purchased it, the company researched the market and found that The River was narrowly focused on the 18- to 34-year-old group, with most of the listeners being a bit older, and female.
"Modern adult contemporary is really a niche format. Around the country we're seeing that format start to wane," WDRV program director Michael Hayes says.
Now billed as "Pittsburgh's New Mix 96.1," it's a more mainstream mix of '80s and '90s hits, with heavier emphasis on '80s artists like Journey, John Mellencamp, Pat Benatar and Bryan Adams, although the more popular '90s artists like Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow and Shania Twain remain.
Station research indicated that there was a "huge appetite for '80s music in this market," according to Hayes. "The stuff that really tested through the roof was the '80s pop rock stuff."
The basic goal is to make it "WDVE for women," Hayes says. Sister station WDVE-FM (102.5) "has a 30-year heritage in the market. WDVE has influenced the overall musical taste of the Pittsburgh audience very heavily."
The change has made the station closer to its previous incarnation as the former WVTY's Variety 96, a '70s, '80s and '90s mix.
The new 96.1 hopes to set itself apart from adult contemporary stations like WSHH-FM (99.7) and WLTJ-FM (92.9), which also target female listeners, and with which the former Variety 96/WVTY had to compete.
Look for a change in call letters soon.
ON SALE: WEAE-AM (1250) continues on its rounds of new corporate owners. ABC Radio Network is buying the all-sports station from Jacor Communications. Jacor announced Monday that it had reached an agreement to sell WEAE to ABC for $5 million. The deal is pending FCC and regulatory approval.
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