Entercom launched Rock AC “Max 102” at 7:00 this morning.
Focusing on Rock Hits of the 80s and 90s, the station listed Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, Def Leppard, Journey, Pat Benatar, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Sheryl Crow as core artists. New WMQX call letters are incoming.
Original Report 4/7:Entercom has pulled the plug on “ 102.3 The Sports Hub” WHBS Pittston/Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA and is currently stunting with people counting upwards.
The new format will launch on Friday, April 10 at 7:00am. While we’re unsure exactly what the new format will be, we have been monitoring the anonymous domain registrations made in March for Max1023.com and Max102FM.com. That would probably suggest a Variety Hits to flank sister CHR 98.5 WKRZ or a Rock format.
WHBS launched its now former format in August 2013 as the third Sports station in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre market. It had since been joined by a fourth as Cumulus flipped 590 WARM to CBS Sports Network programming in December.
Charles Everett 
412Cook 
sharkey 
Eric Jon Magnuson 
The problem is compared to their sister stations WKRZ and WGGI, their signal is limited to the Wilkes-Barre and Scranton city limits because of being shortspaced with several other 102.3s like WSUS in Sussex, NJ and WAVR in the Binghamton area.
Plus unless you really care about the local minor league teams, many areas can get their local sports fix from the Philly and NYC sports stations
Scranton can’t get New York or Philadelphia radio. The distance from those cities makes it impossible.
And that 102.3 signal in NEPa blankets the Wyoming Valley, not just “the Wilkes-Barre and Scranton city limits.”
Exactly. They Can get WFAN-AM at night
AM radio on skywave is IRRELEVANT! Scranton couldn’t care less about New York and vice versa.
Are you even from this area? Locally there’s a huge following for both NYC and Philly sports.
WFAN-AM’s signal here isn’t just nightime skywave, it comes in very clear during the daytime too.
(1) I’ve been to Scranton so I know what I’m talking about.
(2) Sports in northeast Pennsylvania does NOT revolve around New York or Philadelphia. Read any northeast Pennsylvania news site.
(3) WFAN does NOT have a “very clear” signal in Scranton. Any statement to the contrary is a lie.
It never ceases to amaze me that these companies create “flanker” stations that actually damage their primary signals. Let’s not forget “the buzz” (an 80s based format) that took away at least 3 points from KRZ. A Variety Hits format would do the same.
It’s not encouraging that the new site’s URL apparently requires the “www.”