WGER flips to 106.3 The Core

[Colonel Flagg]

Alpha Media has been promoting the station on their other brands. I've heard promos air on The Moose, for example.

It's FREE promotion, sure, but I can't see P1 listeners of "Bro Country" being interested in a new Modern Rock station. But again, it's FREE.

[Realist]

Never saw any billboards up for the Core….

[Realist]

I thought I saw one on I-75 southbound in or near Saginaw last October. It even had "Now Playing" song & artist info on it, if I remember correctly.

If they did, it’s more advanced than their RDS which just consistently says THE CORE

[matt1]

That station (106.3 The Core) which debuted on September 20, 2022 became the first rock station since W106 FM "Album Rock" (106.1 FM OR 106.3 FM) said goodbye & left back on Tuesday, August 28, 1979 between 12 midnight & 6:00 that morning (which became WIOG "ROCK 106 FM") as a "Top 40" hit station.

[Realist]

That station (106.3 The Core) which debuted on September 20, 2022 became the first rock station since W106 FM "Album Rock" (106.1 FM OR 106.3 FM) said goodbye & left back on Tuesday, August 28, 1979 between 12 midnight & 6:00 that morning (which became WIOG "ROCK 106 FM") as a "Top 40" hit station.

It was always at 106.3 back then, as Q106 in Jackson has always been at 106.1

[bmw]

Looks like they've really softened their playlist. Just a sampling of some softer and/or older songs they're playing...

Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah
Tears for Fears - Shout
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Of Monsters and Men - Mountain Sound
Kate Bush - Running up that Hill
The Cure - Friday I'm in Love
Spin Doctors - Two Princes
Amy Winehouse - Rehab
Florence and the Machine - Dog Days are over
Nine Days - Story of a Girl
Bob Marley - Three Little Birds
The Cranberries - Linger
Hoobastank - The Reason

Almost completely gone is any of the harder-edged stuff they played a few years ago.

[Realist]

Looks like they've really softened their playlist. Just a sampling of some softer and/or older songs they're playing...

Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah
Tears for Fears - Shout
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Of Monsters and Men - Mountain Sound
Kate Bush - Running up that Hill
The Cure - Friday I'm in Love
Spin Doctors - Two Princes
Amy Winehouse - Rehab
Florence and the Machine - Dog Days are over
Nine Days - Story of a Girl
Bob Marley - Three Little Birds
The Cranberries - Linger
Hoobastank - The Reason

Almost completely gone is any of the harder-edged stuff they played a few years ago.

They’re further playing more “classic alternative” that they’ve never played before, like The Kinks, Depeche Mode, the Smiths, etc.

Face it - with that limited signal that they have, an audience that targets college kids and young to mid 20 somethings with little to no money, along a poor presentation and 2 out of the 3 shows being piped in from out of town, they never made a H*** dent ratings wise against this areas rock powerhouse Z93.

I still expect this format to fizzle out within a year or 2. If Alpha Media (or whoever just bought them) were smart, they’d flip them to classic country and pair them as an advertising package with the Moose

[MWmetalhead]

Thanks for the reports!

This must've just happened, because when I listened a month ago, the station was playing exactly the same type of music as at launch - i.e. mostly 90s and early 00s grunge & nu metal with some milder music (post grunge) sprinkled in.

They are straight up Alternative now. I do see a few currents in the playlist, but it is very gold heavy. It is not a replica of 95.9 The River in Aurora but there are definitely similarities. Not a bad playlist overall. It is actually quite decent. We shall see how this fares in a market that has never had a true alternative rock station ever, even in the format's heyday.

The Core's ratings have been slipping the past year, and Z93 defeated them by a massive margin in the spring book, so I'm not surprised by this move.

I like the classic country idea, by the way. Alpha (soon to be Connoisseur) is earning very poor ratings with that format in Dayton, though, so there may be hesitancy to flip another signal within the company to such a format. Not to mention, 103.1 in Gladwin can be heard fairly well in the northern half of the area.

I thought the ball was dropped when 106.3 didn't go Classic Hits the instant WHNN dropped the format.

103.9 The Fox hired Burke and has enjoyed outstanding ratings ever since (the station already was pulling good ratings, but he has taken things to the next level). Alpha should've hired him for 106.3, in my opinion.

[Realist]

This just happened right before the holiday weekend. With the music that they dropped, they were essentially competing with Z93 who plays the same music

While 103.1 might have a decent signal, I don’t think most people outside of the Gladwin, Clare and Midland Co area know they exist. Outside of the actual cities in the Tri Cities, it’s mainly farm country so classic country would work.

[ChrisWL1980]

Looks almost like a Triple-A or even Modern AC from that sample hour.
The closest thing to a terrestrial alt station in the area, although with fringe reception, has been CMU's 91.5 The Mountain. The new sound of Core, however, looks much more mainstream/pop. Dave and Chuck the Freak is going to stand out like a sore thumb with that playlist.
Classic country might be a good thing to try. 103.1 doesn't get into Saginaw itself well and WQUS probably interferes in some areas to the south and east. There's WMMI (which sounds quite good IMO), but it's AM only for Saginaw listeners as The Bay's translator prevents reception of WMMI's translator.

[MWmetalhead]

This just happened right before the holiday weekend. With the music that they dropped, they were essentially competing with Z93 who plays the same music

While 103.1 might have a decent signal, I don’t think most people outside of the Gladwin, Clare and Midland Co area know they exist. Outside of the actual cities in the Tri Cities, it’s mainly farm country so classic country would work.

When Nielsen used to report non-subscribing stations, 103 Country generally earned between a 1 and 2 share in the Tri Cities, usually at the lower end of the range. I suspect a lot diary recorded listening came from Midland County.

I don't think the Dave & Chuck show is necessarily incompatible with pure play Alternative. They have earned strong ratings among male & female listeners alike in Metro Detroit. 89X was a mix of alternative & active rock when they debuted there so many years ago.

[bmw]

Looks almost like a Triple-A or even Modern AC from that sample hour.

To clarify, that wasn't a straight-up playlist for an hour, I pulled that as a sampling from half a day or so. The remainder of their playlist is similar to what they were playing before, minus most of the active rock. Lots of Nirvana, Sum 41, Third Eye Blind, RHCP, Incubus, Smahing Pumpkins, Green Day, Tonic, Pearl Jam, Bush, the Beastie Boys, etc, so it's still well within the realm of alternative. Noticeably absent is anything from Metallica which they used to play a lot of.

[MWmetalhead]

Exactly. The station is squarely in the alternative lane, and it is favoring proven gold tracks over new music.

I like the playlist. It is actually one of the better straight alt playlists I've seen. Whoever worked on the music did a terrific job. Time will tell if this gains any traction in the Tri Cities.

I'd trade WDZH's playlist for that of WGER in a heartbeat.

I do hope new ownership ditches Alpha's terrible commercial load practices. Seven minute (or longer) stop sets numerous times daily ought to be unacceptable. Two breaks an hour that are no longer than five minutes each should be the goal.