Philly Radio: WOGL Hits Reset..Rebrands As Big 98.1, Tweaks Playlist

Audacy today announced the immediate launch of BIG 98.1 (WOGL-FM) in Philadelphia. The station, previously known as 98.1 WOGL, will continue to feature a wide collection of classic hits, including favorites from Bon Jovi, The Police, Queen, Prince and more.

“We’re pleased to invigorate this local favorite with the launch of BIG 98.1, while continuing to give listeners a destination for classic hits throughout their day,” said David Yadgaroff, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy Philadelphia. “Over the years, the station has evolved frequently so it plays classic hits for the largest possible audience. The station remains one of the most listened to in the region and we’re looking forward to making further investments in its growth to continue serving our consumers.”

BIG 98.1 will launch with “The Coop Show” featuring Sean “Coop” Tabler in morning drive.

Audacy Philadelphia Market President David Yadgaroff told The Philly Business Journal the station plans to announce new hosts in the coming weeks to fill the remaining slots.

David Yadgaroff

“We're going to take the other hosts off the station for a short period of time — a couple of weeks to a month or so,” Yadgaroff said. “And the station will be anchored by Coop in the morning. And then as we move through the spring and into the summer, we will add some additional hosts for mid-day, afternoon and evening.”

In a host reshuffling late last yearr, WOGL began airing New York-based midday host Race Taylor and Orlando-based afternoon drive host Domino — who work for Audacy stations in their respective markets but curate programming for different markets. WOGL still does not have a nighttime host, as it airs pre-recorded station identification in between music with no jock working live.

WOGL has long been one of the top Philadelphia radio stations when measured by Cume, the Nielsen definition of total number of unique listeners every week, but Audacy had found that people were not listening for long enough periods of time to translate into the ratings the company thinks WOGL deserves — even though it is always among the five or 10 most listened to stations in the region.

Last year, Audacy hired a consulting firm to conduct a research study, speaking to WOGL listeners and its competitors’ listeners in hopes of figuring out the best strategy moving forward.

“It showed that listeners want to be informed,” Yadgaroff said. “They don't want to feel old. They don't want to feel out of touch. They want to feel the age they are in their hearts, and they want their radio station to reflect that.”

The first part of the study focused on brand awareness and perception as well as an assessment of the competitive marketplace. The second part involved garnering listener feedback about what music WOGL should play — something the station does every few years for its target demographic of adults 25 to 54. Yadgaroff said to continue reaching that audience, a station must change the music it plays.

Coop, Mornings on Big 98.1

WOGL has operated under the “classic hits” format for almost 20 years. The station had been known as Oldies 98 in the 1980s and 1990s but in the 2000s tried to market itself away from that moniker.

The definition of “classic hits” has also changed over time. When the station started the oldies format in 1987, it focused on playing rock and soul music from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. But by the 2010s, classic hits were considered music from the 1980s, so in recent years, WOGL has scrapped Sunday specialty shows such as “Elvis and Friends” and “Brunch with the Beatles” to cater to a different demographic.

A casualty of the most recent change is moving “Bob Pantano’s Saturday Night Dance Party,” which has aired on the station for 45 years, off the regular station and onto its HD radio platform.

“The analogy I like to give is you used to watch 'Happy Days,' then you watched 'The Wonder Years,' then you watched 'That '70s Show,'” Yadgaroff said. “Now you watch 'The Goldbergs.' All those genres evolve so we can stay true to that 25-to-54 focus.”

Yadgaroff said a lot of the core '80s artists will continue to be part of WOGL — Michael Jackson, Prince, Hall & Oates, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Phil Collins, Guns N’ Roses, Tom Petty and Madonna — but as that 25-to-54 demographic ages, the station now needs to incorporate artists from the 1990s like Four Non Blonds, Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day, Alanis Morissette, Matchbox 20 and the Gin Blossoms.

Yadgaroff said listeners who might miss hearing songs from their favorite artists from the '50s, '60s and '70s can now find them on the Audacy app.

“We have about 2,000 different radio stations,” Yadgaroff said. “So if you really love Elvis, there's a place for you on the app to get Elvis. But Elvis doesn't deserve to be on a mass appeal radio station anymore. He's more of a niche, and on that app are a ton of exclusive radio stations.”

Another issue has been competition. Beasley Broadcast Group operates classic rock station 102.9 (WMGK-FM) and pop station 95.7 (WBEN-FM). In 2018, Audacy bought the then-top rated B101 (WBEB-FM) from Jerry Lee Radio. Since that time, ratings for both B101 and WOGL have declined somewhat.

B101’s adult contemporary format, which plays pop hits from the 1990s to today, is similar to the one employed by WOGL, which focuses on pop hits in the '70s, '80s and '90s. So the question would be whether Audacy is cannibalizing ratings of the two stations. Yadgaroff acknowledges there is some overlap but does not think that they are eating into each other’s listenership.

“There's dozens of radio stations in the marketplace here,” Yadgaroff said. “We're all trying to find a lane to find a unique value proposition to attract the most listeners that can listen for the longest time.”

Yadgaroff said part of the issue with ratings for both WOGL and B101 is that they are popular stations for businesses that play music in the office. With fewer people in offices over the past two years because of the pandemic, it has hurt listenership.

“When they were in the office, B101 or WOGL was the safe and mutually agreed upon choice,” Yadgaroff said. “Now a lot of people are working remotely. They're making their own choice with the smart speakers at home. So I think as we continue to return to more of a hybrid office work environment, I expect B101 to pick back up again.”