Audacy flipped Country “New York’s Country 94.7” WNSH Newark NJ/New York to Classic Hip Hop “94.7 The Block” at 1pm today.
Signing off with Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise”, the station teased its new format with New Kids On The Block’s “The Right Stuff” and Jennifer Lopez’s “Jenny From The Block” before launching just after 1:00 with Ed Lover introducing the new brand as “New York’s #1 For Throwbacks” into Jay Z’s “Empire State of Mind” followed by Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” and Notorious BIG “Hypnotize”.
The new brand will launch with 25,000 songs commercial free. New WXBK call letters are pending.
The flip took place after an extended farewell morning show until 12pm with the Country station’s staff as well as call-ins from many Country artists and fellow Audacy New York staffers such as Scott Shannon and Boomer Esiason. Morning host Kelly Ford, who was the first local jock when the station flipped to Country in 2013 signed off the locally programmed portion of the station with the first song the station played, Randy Houser’s “How Country Feels”, before an hour jockless music leading into the flip.
Country programming will now be heard on 94.7 HD2 as Audacy also moved CBS Sports Radio from 94.7 HD3 to 101.9 WFAN-HD2.
The Country format launched in January 2013 when Cumulus debuted “94.7 Nash-FM” on the former Christian WFME. Then-Entercom rebranded it as “New York’s Country 94.7” when they acquired it in March 2019. The launch of WNSH brought Country radio back to New York on a full-powered signal for the first time since 103.5 WYNY flipped in February 1996.
WNSH had a 1.9 share in the September 2021 Nielsen Audio ratings.
Listen to the sign-off of “Country 94.7” and the launch of “94.7 The Block” at FormatChange.com.
Audacy today announced the immediate launch of 94.7 The Block, New York’s new No. 1 for throwbacks. The station will feature a wide collection of classic hip-hop hits and throwbacks, including favorites from Jay-Z, Fugees, Rihanna, Snoop Dogg, Beyoncé, LL Cool J, The Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige and more.
“94.7 The Block will provide a compelling soundtrack for New York’s biggest music fans, offering songs and artists that are synonymous with New York’s iconic hip-hop culture and that still strongly resonate with listeners today across all generations,” said Chris Oliviero, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy New York. “This was an opportunity to add a quintessential New York sound to our audio portfolio that has been missing in the area, while at the same time continuing to engage with our New York country audience thru HD and digital platforms.”
94.7 The Block will launch with 25,000 throwback songs in a row, commercial-free. More programming details and local on-air talent will be announced in the coming months.
