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BIG 101.3 FM — Fun Hits You Know

Discussion pertaining to Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Battle Creek, Big Rapids, and Michiana
statmanmi
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BIG 101.3 FM — Fun Hits You Know

Post by statmanmi » Sat Oct 24, 2020 3:41 pm

Hi All,

While listening to 101.3 streaming the Spartans season opener as I tackled leaves in the yard, almost every station ID teased something BIG is happening. A few others noted all would be revealed after today’s football coverage.

The iHeartRadio app in iOS shows the new logo with the tag line I’ve included in this post’s title.

Tune in now if you want to know more.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Update: First four artists were:

Elvis
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Lee Michaels
Kingsmen ("Louie, Louie")

I'm not good with song titles, so I figured I best focus on who versus what was being played, to immortalize here on the buzzboard. After all, a format change had been predicted for years(?).

Sounders are enunciating as, "BIG one-oh-one-point-three...Fun Hits You Know", per my recollection. I didn't listen longer, as dinner was served around home.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Cheers! ~~ Statmanmi



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MWmetalhead
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Re: BIG 101.3 FM — Fun Hits You Know

Post by MWmetalhead » Sat Oct 24, 2020 8:12 pm

Wow - an actual OLDIES station on a 50,000 watt commercial FM stick! A true rarity! For once, iHM is doing something that isn't "cookie cutter." I'll give credit where credit is due.

I'm glad that 101.3 The Brew is kaput. That station has been a flaming pile of shit for quite a while, with the past two years being truly awful.

I would've much preferred to have seen Variety Hits a la Jack FM. A pure Urban AC or Urban AC hybrid also would've been great.

The new name & branding certainly lends itself to an evolution of the playlist with time. I'd be quite surprised if the playlist maintains a heavy 60's emphasis over time. Wouldn't totally surprise me if it changes as soon as Monday morning. I think this is a play to squeeze WFGR.

Heck, 60's & 70's Oldies was earning mediocre ratings on the FM dial in Grand Rapids two decades ago.

What's funny is the new station is using the same imaging voice that 101.3 The Brew used. :lol

https://www.iheart.com/live/big-1013-1161/

The next station that needs to flip formats - or at least adjust formats - is Blunder 107.3. What a fucking awful sounding station. Last time I was in town, I kept hearing 1 or 2 imaging cuts talking about "107 minutes of country in a row" only to hear 3 commercial breaks (two of which were lengthy) within a <30 minute time span.

Here's what 107.3 needs to do: (a) go LOCAL in morning drive and (b) adjust 107.3 to a mostly classic country playlist focused on the late 80's thru the 00's.

100.5 The River is another station to keep an eye on. Their ratings in ages 12+ have been every bit as poor as 107.3 & 101.3 lately, and in A25-54, I suspect 100.5 has been the worst performer of the three.

I am anxious to see what impact this has on AM 1480. I suspect 1480's audience is very loyal and likes the authentic and full-service sound of the station.



BayCityJohn2337
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Re: BIG 101.3 FM — Fun Hits You Know

Post by BayCityJohn2337 » Sat Oct 24, 2020 9:07 pm

Maybe they could carry cousin Brucie from the all new WABC New York?



radioandtventhusiast
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Re: BIG 101.3 FM — Fun Hits You Know

Post by radioandtventhusiast » Sat Oct 24, 2020 10:10 pm

Interesting change for sure. I wonder how much impact this will have on 'FGR?

MW, how long were the commercial breaks on Thunder?



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MWmetalhead
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Re: BIG 101.3 FM — Fun Hits You Know

Post by MWmetalhead » Sat Oct 24, 2020 10:23 pm

The style of music heard on 101.3 tonight definitely is similar to what Cousin Brucie played years ago at 101 WCBS, and more recently, at Sirius XM. I could be mistaken, but to the best of my knowledge, his 770 WABC show is a local show not designed for syndication.

One of the commercial breaks I heard on 107.3 was easily six minutes in length. (No, I didn't listen continuously during that entire stretch.)

Two or three songs later, they were back to commercials. Tuned out and returned four minutes later, only to hear more commercials. I quickly tuned back to Q106 at that point and never returned. :)

Is it any wonder FM radio is dying? Is it any wonder 107.3 cannot even grab a 2% share of total radio listening?



radioandtventhusiast
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Re: BIG 101.3 FM — Fun Hits You Know

Post by radioandtventhusiast » Sat Oct 24, 2020 10:38 pm

Cousin Brucie's show is indeed just on WABC and not in syndication.

Seems like 107.3 plays more commercials and less music.



format this
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Re: BIG 101.3 FM — Fun Hits You Know

Post by format this » Sun Oct 25, 2020 12:55 am

I like it. 60’s/70’s... haven’t heard a song newer than 1975 yet in my limited listening. The station is missing one thing...

Jingles.


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Note to WGN... bring back Steve Cochran ASAP.

EDIT: Steve Cochran IS BACK AT WGN!!!

thatonedude
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Re: BIG 101.3 FM — Fun Hits You Know

Post by thatonedude » Sun Oct 25, 2020 2:16 am

According to ze Wiki, the last song as the Flu -- I mean, the Brew -- was Seven Mary Three's Cumbersome, then they began stunting with a loop of fight songs until the MSU broadcast. (Fight songs? How fucking lame...)

I'm honestly thinking this is gonna morph into a Jack-style variety hits station soon (look no further than Entercom's Big 103 in Boston for what I'm thinking 101.3 is gonna become). As much as I like the playlist (streamed it for a bit tonight), the imaging and -- as format this pointed out -- the lack of jingles kinda makes me wonder if this is nothing more than a giant ruse. Oldies on a full-power commercial stick in 2020? Kinda odd. But I'm diggin it. :)


take this job and shove it

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Reese K Rickards
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Re: BIG 101.3 FM — Fun Hits You Know

Post by Reese K Rickards » Sun Oct 25, 2020 6:20 am

A bold move to be sure.

But may I make a few observations. Playing fight songs.... cute idea. B-93 did it in 1991. The decision has Tim Feagan's fingerprints all over it.

The music seems to cover the 60's, and early 70's. Rumors was featured when I checked out the web page this morning. That suggests a target demo of 65 plus. Not especially lucrative.

So far the air staff is listed as Big Drew and Phil Tower. That translates to another voiced tracked station, and let Tower program it... he's got time on his hands..

Cousin Brucie? Do you really want an 85 year old guy on the air staff?

No jingles. That's one of two things. To cheap to buy them, or a rush job to get the format on the air?

The same big voice guy? That suggests a rush job more than money. Or just a business model that needs a lot more attention.

A bold move to be sure, but not enough to set a button, and certainly not enough to cancel Sirius. IMHO.


If I Heart GR really wanted to save money, it would sublet two of it's three floors at 77 Monroe Center.

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MWmetalhead
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Re: BIG 101.3 FM — Fun Hits You Know

Post by MWmetalhead » Sun Oct 25, 2020 7:27 am

Good observations.

Other than the rock solid Phil Tower, no music radio announcer in that building has any business setting foot behind the 101.3 mic.

Big Drew on an Oldies station??? Fucking barf x 1000.

He is OK on the Sports station. He sounds too rednecky for just about any music based station other than country.

Bring over Andy Rent from 100.5 or bring back a couple folks who worked at 105.7 years ago. Know how else would sound great on this station? Kim Carson.

Those DJ suggestions, of course, assume the station remains 60s / 70s oldies.

It's obvious iHM is afraid of doing any Urban format in fear of harming WSNX or even Star (if we're talking Urban AC).

A hip-hop station on 101.3 anchored by The Breakfast Club (from Power 105 New York) would destroy Magic 104.9.



zzand
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Re: BIG 101.3 FM — Fun Hits You Know

Post by zzand » Sun Oct 25, 2020 9:17 am

A couple of things, Jingles are not cheap and for a station that will be the cluster bonus baby unless the format morphs, an expense not needed. They could also be coming down the pipeline soon. The voice guy thing is most likely a contract issue where he still still under for x amount of time so makes no sense to pay him and not use him.



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MWmetalhead
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Re: BIG 101.3 FM — Fun Hits You Know

Post by MWmetalhead » Sun Oct 25, 2020 11:41 am

107.3 used the same V/O guy for nearly 15 years under two different formats.

Was used for about the final three years of KLQ and then was used during the entire run of WBBL-FM!

iHM already has the over 65 crowd locked up with WOOD AM & FM, so I'm not sure why they'd want a second brand that overindexes among boomers (and even the parents of boomers). That's why I'm thinking the current mix of music may prove to be temporary. However, I will say the playlist is well structured! Reminds me a lot of how 98.7 WFGR sounded 15 years ago and of how 100.9 WQXC in Kalamazoo sounds today.

As a sidenote - I didn't realize 101.3 discontinued its partnership with the WMU Broncos. That's probably a good thing for local listeners. Listening to WMU athletics on the radio is about as much fun as watching paint dry. The same statement applies to just about any MAC Conference school.



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Reese K Rickards
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Re: BIG 101.3 FM — Fun Hits You Know

Post by Reese K Rickards » Sun Oct 25, 2020 12:31 pm

Fingerprints of Tim Feagan. He will drop WMU in a heartbeat. But his beloved Spartans? Never not never. Football doesn't belong on that station.
IMHO


If I Heart GR really wanted to save money, it would sublet two of it's three floors at 77 Monroe Center.

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MWmetalhead
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Re: BIG 101.3 FM — Fun Hits You Know

Post by MWmetalhead » Sun Oct 25, 2020 1:02 pm

The Citadel / Cumulus stations in town carried MSU for years. WJR 760 in Detroit (Cumulus) remains the flagship.

Many, many, many years ago, AM 1230 WCUZ was the G.R. affiliate for MSU athletics. Then, sometime in the early 90s, 98.7 WFGR (when it was still a Classical Music station!) began carrying the contests as well.

Sometime in the late 90s, 107.3 WODJ took over as the FM affiliate for MSU athletics. The contests then moved to the old Thunder 94.5 for a number of years after 107.3 went Rock.

So, in a way, they've gone full circle. This will be the second time the Spartans have been carried by an FM Oldies station in Grand Rapids.

Given the fact MSU basketball broadcasts sound like they're geared to old geezers, in a way, the fit isn't bad. I have never been a fan of Will Tieman's basketball play-by-play work. I will say George Blaha does an absolutely terrific job with the football broadcasts.

There are plenty of people with bad taste who are MSU fans in the Greater Grand Rapids area. Allegiance between MSU vs. U-M is about evenly split. My guess is WMU was paying iHM for the air time on 101.3.



bugzapper
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Re: BIG 101.3 FM — Fun Hits You Know

Post by bugzapper » Sun Oct 25, 2020 1:27 pm

MWmetalhead wrote:
Sat Oct 24, 2020 8:12 pm

I am anxious to see what impact this has on AM 1480. I suspect 1480's audience is very loyal and likes the authentic and full-service sound of the station.
We are a loyal bunch...and we put our money where our mouths are. :)
Last edited by bugzapper on Mon Oct 26, 2020 8:34 am, edited 1 time in total.



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