Amidst the possibility of the station rebranding as “Amp Radio“, CBS CHR “92.3 Now” WNOW-FM New York has brought in a new Program Director from the market where the Amp brand is based.
Rick Thomas, who has been serving as PD of sister Urban AC “94.7 The Wave” KTWV and Classic Hits “K-Earth 101” KRTH Los Angeles will be transferring to New York to take the reins of 92.3 Now immediately. Thomas has a long history at CHR programming KYLD San Francisco, KSFM Sacramento, and XHTZ San Diego. His Los Angeles position will be filled at a later date.
Thomas replaces Rick Gilette who exited the station in December 2013 and has since joined Cumulus’ WRQX Washington DC.
Rick Thomas has been named program director for 92.3 NOW (WNOW-FM), CBS RADIO’s popular Top 40 hit music station in New York. The announcement was made by Scott Herman, Executive Vice President, Operations, CBS RADIO and New York Market Manager. Thomas will assume his new role effective immediately.
Thomas most recently has served as Program Director at CBS RADIO stations in Los Angeles. He joined the Company in June 2013 overseeing programming at KTWV-FM and KRTH-FM. His replacement will be named at a later date.
“Rick is a truly talented program director who brings a unique perspective to 92.3 NOW,” said Herman. “He has a multitude of great ideas and the boundless energy needed to compete at this level. We are thrilled to have him at the helm of the station as it continues to break new artists and drive the music and pop culture conversation.”
Thomas, who was born and raised in New York, has extensive experience as a programmer, consultant and on-air personality. Past successes include turnarounds and top rankings at KYLD/San Francisco, KSFM/Sacramento and XHTZ/San Diego. Thomas is also credited with developing rhythmic oldies and rhythmic AC formats in various markets which led to unprecedented ratings at XHRM/San Diego and at KUMU/Honolulu.
92.3 NOW, which plays the hottest songs from artists including Katy Perry, Beyonce, Rihanna, Maroon 5, Pharrell and Lady Gaga, is heard on-air, streaming online at www.923now.com and through the Radio.com app for mobile devices. The station and its personalities have served New York area listeners with hit music since 2009 through interviews with artists, live and local events, music discovery, concerts and contests. Stay in touch with 92.3 NOW on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
BC 
Jeffrey
since I read all of your articles like the recent WFLC Miami article, one thing I’ve noticed is a lot of rhetoric tied to the CHR format. Since Rhythmic Ac is a topic of both, here’s my 2 cents. when I listen to kiss fm san diego, hot 103.7 seattle, and Hot 96.9 Boston, the thing that differentiates them from each other is a specific lean. Boston is hip hop, san diego is pop, and seattle is somewhere in between both of them. Unique perspectives are great, but how unique can your perspective be when you’re in an overcrowded market with KTU, z100, lite fm, a WBLI cross section, and a very similar sister, Fresh Fm. The only way for them to succeed in a differentiated role is to play newer music first, because all of the above target a more adult audience. They tried the rhythmic lean in the past in its initial beginnings and still failed, and z100 has tenured personalities who already understand the New York market, so I’m just waiting to hear an actually good counter argument to my viewpoint of too many CHRs. cvs is good at CHR, Cumulus is good at country, but Chicago speaks for itself with their relaunch of alternative. oops, forgot PLJ speaking of which. Pushing an agenda simply based on headquarters as opposed to market specifics isn’t enough to convince me as a client or listener to pay attention, and I’m not dogging CBS, they’re one of the better large scale companies in the country.
WNOW 92.3 fm I still CHR-Rhythmic.