Looks like our source had it pretty close on 1/11: “I’m having a gut feeling those call letters [WRXP] are being parked somewhere and this becomes WNSH for Nashville. I think the reason is this, it’s a female based format, it compliments PLJ best, and gives a combo sales effort to compete with Z100/ WLTW.”
And indeed, that’s what happened on 1/21, except the station keeps the WRXP call letters.
Radio License Holding X, LLC, the company Cumulus used to buy WFME-FM 94.7 in NYC from Family Stations, had applied for the WRXP calls. Speculation was that Alternative WRXP would be brought back on the full signal, or Country would return to the Big Apple on a full market signal after many years.
Country is high profile, big artists who will bend over backwards to support the station, and I think it’s easier to run and will give them quicker numbers and a bigger share to help their network. And it also is a format that has no full-market competitor.
The switch was made at 9:45 AM as “94.7 NASH-FM America’s Country Station.”
The website is www.nashfm947.com.
RBR-TVBR observation: Country has been on the airwaves in NYC. 1050 WHN-AM played Country from the early 70s until 1987 or so. NBC’s WYNY-FM (now Emmis’ Hot 97) started playing Country in July 1987. In September 1988, 103.5 WQHT and 97.1 WYNY switched frequencies. WYNY continued to play country music at the new frequency until February 1996. Then it became CHR/Dance WKTU after the Clear Channel purchase.
Certainly, there is a market in NYC for Country. We assume the station will eventually grab the available call letters for WNSH-FM, but that’s not important for now. Look at how well Clear Channel’s WMZQ-FM has done in DC with Country. It can be done in big markets that aren’t typically known for their Country fans.
Cumulus owns the WNSH call sign and it will be transferred to 94.7 Newark. It is currently on Cumulus owned Minneapolis rim-shot 105.3 WNSH Cambridge, Minnesota.
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