As first reported in our 3/18 Domain Insight report, Connoisseur Media flipped Classic Hits “103.1 Max-FM” WBZO Bay Shore NY to Country “103.1 The Wolf” at 10:31am this morning.
With new WWWF-FM call letters pending, the change returns Country to most of Long Island. JVC Media’s “My Country 96.1” WJVC-FM Center Moriches covers the eastern side of the island, while WBZO is more centrally located in Western Suffolk County, an area that hasn’t been served by Country radio since the demise of Audacy’s “New York’s Country 94.7” WNSH in October 2021.
The station is launching jockless and without a Program Director in place. Interested candidates can find out more information here.
The flip took place with the former format signing-off with a few farewell songs including Europe’s “Final Countdown”, Billy Joel’s “Movin Out”, and Eagles “New Kid In Town” before debuting the new brand with Randy Houser’s “How Country Feels”, Morgan Wallen “Last Night”, Hardy “Truck Bed”, and Kenny Chesney “Save It For A Rainy Day”.
Connoisseur confirmed the change in a letter to advertisers on Tuesday stating, “After doing our research, we saw an opportunity to meet a growing demand for country music. Nationally, it’s the hottest format, with an incredible number of artists recording new country music and cross-over titles for fans of all genres. So, we created Long Island’s Country, The NEW 103.1 The Wolf.” The company states they will be aggressively promoting the new brand in a multimedia campaign stating, “Over the next few months, we’ll aggressively promote The Wolf in a multimedia campaign. We’ll run a blended video campaign using CTV and pre-roll, display advertising, paid social advertising, guerilla marketing, and more. We’ll be at every significant country concert on Long Island, hosting amazing tailgate parties and handing out goodies.”
The current 80s Rock focused formathas been trending upward in the Nielsen Audio ratings rising 1.7 – 2.1 – 2.4 in the February 2024 monthly.
