The True Oldies Channel

Last updated
The True Oldies Channel
True Oldies Logo.png
Type Radio network
Country
United States
Ownership
OwnerThe True Oldies Channel / Scott Shannon
(Distributed by United Stations Radio Networks)
Key people
 Scott Shannon, host
History
Launch dateApril 1, 2004
Coverage
AvailabilityNational, through small, mid-sized, large, and major media market affiliates.
Links
Website trueoldieschannel.com

Scott Shannon's True Oldies Channel (also known more recently as The True Oldies Channel: Greatest Hits) is a radio network begun in the spring of 2004. Originally distributed by ABC Radio Networks via satellite, the service plays a hybrid oldies/classic hits format comprising music mostly from 1964 to 1979 but also plays selected cuts from the 1955-1963 era and also from the 1980s. As of September 22, 2016, it is distributed via United Stations Radio Networks.

Contents

Prior to June 30, 2014; the service had over 100 affiliate stations across the United States. The service is available 24 hours a day online. Some stations ran the format full-time 24/7 while a few others ran it on overnights only. Many member stations, however, generally break away from the program feed at some points during the day to air some local programming, either a local morning show, a local afternoon show, or both; Cumulus also offered Imus in the Morning for The True Oldies Channel affiliates.

Scott Shannon was the founder, namesake and sole on-air personality (heard at all hours through voice-tracking) at the True Oldies Channel from its founding until he departed Cumulus Media (which had acquired Citadel Broadcasting in 2011, the company that in turn had bought ABC's radio assets in 2007) in February 2014. Weekend and guest hosts included Robby Bridges, Blake Hayes, Jay Michaels and Beaver Cleaver. In March 2014, Westwood One, the service's syndicator, announced it was canceling distribution of the channel at the end of June 2014, with no exact date announced, and planned to replace the service with "Good Time Oldies," a brand previously used by Jones Radio Networks as recently as the mid-2000s. [1] Shannon confirmed the news through the network's Facebook page, but said the network and format is still available for streaming online. Shannon also hinted the possibility of "The True Oldies Channel" returning to the radio airwaves soon. [2] [3] It was unknown at the time who the network's new distributor would be, although SkyView Networks (which is also taking over distribution of ABC's other radio programs in 2015) was a possible candidate, as was United Stations Radio Networks, which teamed with Shannon for a syndicated program slated to air in November 2014. [4]

On September 22, 2016, Scott Shannon and the United Stations Radio Networks struck a deal to relaunch radio syndication of the True Oldies Channel. A handful of radio affiliates, including WZTI in Milwaukee, Wisconsin were test-subjects for the new cloud based distribution created by Synchronicity before the nationwide reinstatement. [5]

Evolution

At the time of the station's launch (a time when "real oldies" was experiencing a certain degree of revival on the AM dial), the True Oldies Channel featured only music from 1955 to 1969 with less than ten percent from 1970 to 1973 (for example "Tears of a Clown" and "Burning Love"). The format was 60% 1964 to 1969 (the post-British Invasion era) and 40% 1955 to 1963 (the pre-British Invasion rock and roll/doo-wop era). It was the network's original mission to avoid the trends of other oldies outlets and remain committed to the music produced from the beginning of the rock-and-roll era to the disco era (1955 to 1979), purposefully drawing the line of what they would (originally) never air at 1980. By 2005, oldies from the early 1970s were added in moderation, while the pre-1964 material was cut back slightly. In 2006, more late 1970s music was added and the pre-1964 songs were cut down to 2 or 3 per hour. In March 2008, the pre-1964 music was cut down to one song per hour during the day and twice an hour on overnights; and the hits from the late-1960s and early- to mid-1970s was played in equal amounts. A few 1980s cuts were also added.

On July 7, 2008, The True Oldies Channel further modified its format, dropping all but a couple pre-1964 titles and added a large amount of music from the 1980s, playing a couple per hour. The format was then more of a Classic Hits format and was oldies in name only. This change was very short lived and by the end of July they backed off the 1980s music and by August most 1980s' music was gone. A moderate amount of pre-1964 material was also reinstated.

The network's original ban on 1980s music no longer is enforced; songs such as "Take Me Home Tonight" by Eddie Money from 1986 and "Into the Night" by Benny Mardones (1980) occasionally are played on the network. The network now focuses its branding on variety, admitting they too have followed trends toward newer music, but also making sure to retain some of the older music that most oldies stations have abandoned. The majority of the network's programming remains 1960s music, with 1970s music more prominent than it was in the beginning. 1950s and 1980s music are currently played sporadically, less than once an hour; as of the 2014 online revival, Shannon acknowledges the addition of “a few (songs) tossed in from the 80s.”

Growth

The True Oldies format had experienced significant growth in exposure following cost-cutting measures across Citadel's payroll since the company's acquisition of ABC Radio Networks (and some of its O&O stations) from Disney. Lower performing stations owned by Citadel Broadcasting, such as WYAY (now K-Love owned & operated WAKL) Atlanta, were switched over to True Oldies, sometimes with Imus in the Morning as the morning show. WLS-FM Chicago, however, only ran True Oldies Channel overnights and weekends with a similar local oldies format weekdays.

Affiliates

The following is a list of affiliates that previously aired The True Oldies Channel before Cumulus distribution cut-off on June 30, 2014.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WAKL (FM)</span> Radio station in Gainesville, Georgia

WAKL is a non-commercial FM Christian contemporary radio station licensed to Gainesville, Georgia. Owned by the Educational Media Foundation, WAKL serves the Atlanta metropolitan area as the local affiliate for the national K-Love network. Besides a standard analog transmission, WAKL broadcasts in the HD Radio hybrid format.

Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCBS-FM</span> Classic hits radio station in New York City

WCBS-FM is a radio station offering a classic hits format licensed to New York City and is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are in the combined Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood in lower Manhattan, and its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPLJ</span> K-Love radio station in New York City

WPLJ is a non-commercial Christian adult contemporary music radio station licensed to New York City. It is owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF) and broadcasts EMF's flagship programming service, K-Love. WPLJ's transmitter is located at the Empire State Building and broadcasts four HD Radio digital subchannels in addition to its analog transmission.

WMAL-FM – branded 105.9 FM WMAL – is a radio station licensed to Woodbridge, Virginia, serving the Washington, D.C. Metro area. WMAL-FM airs a talk radio format and is owned and operated by Cumulus Media. The station's studios are located at 4400 Jenifer Street NW in Washington, two blocks from the city's border with Maryland, and the transmitter site is in Falls Church, Virginia, off Lee Highway. WMAL-FM is co-owned with sports radio station WSBN at 630 kHz; the WMAL call sign and talk format originated on that station, and the two stations simulcast from 2011 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WOKI</span> Radio station in Oliver Springs, Tennessee

WOKI is a commercial radio station licensed to Oliver Springs, Tennessee, and serving the Knoxville metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media and it broadcasts a talk radio format. The studios and offices are on Old Kingston Pike in the Sequoyah Hills section of West Knoxville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WLS-FM</span> Classic Hits radio station in Chicago

WLS-FM is a commercial classic hits radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois. Owned by Cumulus Media, the station serves the Chicago metropolitan area, and is the radio home of Dave Fogel. The WLS-FM studios are located at the NBC Tower in the city's Streeterville neighborhood, while the transmitter resides atop the Willis Tower. Besides a standard analog transmission, WLS broadcasts over two HD Radio channels and is available online.

WCZX is a radio station licensed to Hyde Park, New York and serving the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York state. The station is owned by Townsquare Media and broadcasts at 300 watts ERP from the Illinois Mountain master tower in Marlborough, New York with studios on Pendell Road in the Town of Poughkeepsie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Shannon</span> American radio personality and record promoter (born 1947)

Michael Scott Shannon is an American radio disc jockey currently best known as the announcer of The Sean Hannity Show. He also hosted the morning show for WCBS-FM in New York City from 2014 to 2022 as well as Scott Shannon Presents America's Greatest Hits which is syndicated nationally with United Stations Radio Networks and Audacy. He previously worked for WHTZ, WPLJ, and The True Oldies Channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTRY-FM</span> Radio station in Rotterdam, New York

WTRY-FM, is a commercial radio station licensed to Rotterdam, New York. It airs a classic hits format. WTRY-FM serves the New York State Capital District in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy radio market. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, and broadcasts at 6,000 watts ERP from a tower in between Altamont and Duanesburg off U.S. Route 20. Studios and offices are on Troy-Schenectady Road in Latham.

WZAD is country music radio station licensed to Wurtsboro, New York that serves the Catskill Mountains region, Orange County, New York, and Pike County, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Townsquare Media and broadcasts with 620 watts ERP from a tower between Wurtsboro and Monticello. Its studios are in Poughkeepsie, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFGR</span> Radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan

WFGR is an American radio station serving Grand Rapids, Michigan. It transmits from their facility in Alpine Township. WFGR is owned by Townsquare Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WMTR (AM)</span> Oldies radio station in Morristown, New Jersey, United States

WMTR is an American radio station owned by Beasley Broadcast Group. It is licensed to Morristown, New Jersey and serves Morris County and surrounding areas. The station features "The Morning Team" featuring Alan David Stein, Ginny Otte for middays, and Rich DeSisto for afternoon drive. From July through December 2008, WMTR employed a satellite oldies format, playing music from mostly 1964 to 1979. The Classic Oldies format was reinstated after Christmas.

WHLL – branded as Nueva 98.1 – is a commercial radio station broadcasting a Spanish-language latin pop format licensed to Springfield, Massachusetts. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves the Springfield metropolitan area; and the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. The WHLL studios are located at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, alongside sister stations WMAS-FM and WWEI, while the station transmitter, shared with WMAS-FM, resides in Springfield's Brightwood neighborhood. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WHLL simulcasts over low-power analog Springfield translator W251CT (98.1 FM) and on the second HD Radio channel of WMAS-FM, and streams online via Audacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KUTX</span> Radio station in Austin, Texas

KUTX is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Leander, Texas and serving the greater Austin, Texas area with an adult album alternative format. The station is owned by University of Texas at Austin with headquarters at the Belo Center for New Media (A0704) on the University of Texas at Austin campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KKAT (AM)</span> Radio station in Salt Lake City, Utah

KKAT is an AM radio station broadcasting a talk format. KKAT is licensed to Salt Lake City, Utah and is owned by Cumulus Media. The station's studios are located in South Salt Lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KJMO</span> Radio station in Linn, Missouri

KJMO is a radio station serving Central Missouri with a classic hits music format. This station broadcasts in HD and is under ownership of Cumulus Broadcasting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WAXB</span> Radio station in Ridgefield, Connecticut

WAXB, is a radio station licensed to Ridgefield, Connecticut, United States, one of three area stations owned by The Berkshire Broadcasting Corporation. The others are News/Talk 800 AM WLAD and Hot Adult Contemporary 98Q/98.3 FM WDAQ. WAXB airs a Spanish adult hits radio format for the Greater Danbury region of Connecticut. The station uses the identification "Juan 850". Because 850 AM is a clear channel frequency reserved for KOA in Denver, Colorado and KICY in Nome, Alaska, WAXB must sign-off at night to avoid interference with those stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Time Oldies</span>

Good Time Oldies is a 24-hour music format offered to local radio stations across the country that was originally produced by Jones Radio Networks. After the sales of Jones Radio Networks to Dial Global in 2008, the format was absorbed into D.G.`s "Kool Oldies" format. However, due to radio stations demand, the Good Time Oldies format was brought to Dial Global. The format was programmed by program director Jon Holiday from 1994 through 2003.

WTOC is a radio station licensed to Newton, New Jersey. Owned by Centro Biblico of NJ, Inc. with a Spanish-language Christian format. Until August 17, 2011, they aired an oldies music format with songs from the 1960s and 1970s along with a small number of oldies from 1955 to 1964 and a small number of hits from the 1980s, a full-time affiliate of Scott Shannon's True Oldies Channel from ABC Radio. The station was owned by Clear Channel Communications from 2001 until 2011. From the station's 1953 sign-on until July 1, 2008, the radio station was known as WNNJ.

References

  1. ↑ "Syndicated Radio Network Drops Scott Shannon's 'True Oldies'". Archived from the original on 2014-06-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ↑ "True Oldies Channel Signs-Off - RadioInsight". 2014-06-30. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  3. ↑ "TOC CH-CH-CHANGES: Sad to say the company that distributed the TRUE OLDIES CHANNEL decided to drop us from their lineup. The good news is that the TRUE OLDIES CHANNEL is available ONLINE and it streams 24/7/365 commercial free! Just go to www.TrueOldiesChannel.com and click on the "LISTEN LIVE" button in the upper right corner to hear all your favorite hits from the 60's and 70's, plus a few tossed in from the 80's. In addition, I am still on the radio! I host a morning show Monday thru Friday 6am-10am (Eastern Time) on one of the top rated radio stations in New York City, WCBS-FM 101.1--- playing the greatest classic hits. For those of you who are not in the area, I hope you'll listen to the "Shannon in the Morning" show online @ www.WCBSFM.com Thank you SO much for listening, and don't be surprised if the TOC pops up again on your radio sometime soon! Scott Shannon Dee-Jay" . Facebook . Archived from the original on 2023-07-09.
  4. ↑ "United Stations - Home".
  5. ↑ "True Oldies Channel Returns To Syndication - RadioInsight". 2016-09-22. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.