On Thursday, New Country 101-5 pulled its morning show off air and has gone jockless, teasing to some sort of change happening Monday.
“101-5 is saying goodbye,” according to a video on its website that was also posted on social media Thursday. “Tune in Monday to see what’s next.”
UPDATE: As expected, it was simply a big promotion to “say goodbye to high gas prices” by giving away free gas cards. Nothing to see here.
While it’s possible Atlanta-based Cumulus Media is positioning the station for a format change, that makes little sense. The 100,000-watt signal has been a country station since 1968 and has just one major signal competitor in 94.9/The Bull, owned by iHeartMedia.
Lance Venta, who runs radio trade publication Radio Insight, said in an interview that it’s more likely a promotional stunt of some sort that might involve a contest. The announcement is set to happen at 7:35 a.m. on Monday. (I’ve heard from multiple sources it’s a gas card giveaway, as in “say goodbye to high gas prices.”)
That is the time of day when radio stations generate big audiences and is not a time companies typically “flip” station formats, Venta noted.
The station might change its name again and/or shift its country music emphasis. New Country was Kicks for many decades until 2019 when the name was changed to try to appeal to younger listeners. It’s very possible Cumulus will resurrect the Kicks branding.
New Country has lagged in Nielsen ratings behind the Bull for the past few years but edged ahead toward the end of 2021.
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