Update 12/6: WOBR has relaunched as “Pirate 95.3“. The station is broadening its Classic Rock playlist to include more current Rock tracks from the 80’s through today. The station’s tagline is now “Rock Without Rules”.
Original Report 12/5: VARTV.com reports via Twitter that East Carolina Radio’s Classic Rock “95.3 The Rock” WOBR Wanchese/Nags Head NC is stunting.
The station is currently running loops of lounge music with liners stating, “Don’t Fear Change” since 10:00 this morning.
In addition to WOBR, East Carolina Radio owns Urban “96.7 The Block“, News/Talk 98.1 WOBX-FM, Classic Hits “102.5 The Shark” WERX, Country “Dixie 105.7” WRSF, Classic Country 1240 WCNC/1260 WZBO, and Christian 1530 WOBX in the Northeastern corner of North Carolina.
They’ll probably go to a mix of classic and new rock. There hasn’t been a current rock station in the market since 98.1 flipped away from Active Rock. The only rock competition is AAA WVOD, which leans to the softer side.
It’s hard to gauge success in an unrated market, but, based on the stations heard around town, I’ve always gotten the impression that WOBR was one of the more successful stations in the market. It would be surprising to see them abandon Rock entirely.
If they do end up flipping away from Rock, it’ll be CHR. There is no CHR in the market, and market-leading Hot AC Beach 104 has a huge target on their back. Either way, it will be an opening for Classic Hits 104.9/92.3 to steal some listeners. 104.9/92.3 does rock-based classic hits, similar to what Philly’s 102.9 MGK did in the 90’s before the shift to Classic Rock. Contrast this with 102.5 The Shark, which is Classic Hits the way we think of it now, a la WCBS or WOGL.
Someone told me they spotted a van wrapped with “The Pirate.”