WOXY, out of Oxford, Oh., the last great independently owned station for alternative rock listeners sold today according to Cincinnati Enquirer. OXFORD - WOXY-FM (97.7) has been sold to a Texas radio investment group for $5.6 million, but will continue broadcasting online. The Oxford station, bought by Doug and Linda Balogh in 1981 for $375,000, was sold to First Broadcasting Investment Partners LLC of Dallas, Texas. WOXY-FM gained national recognition over the years for its eclectic alternative rock format and a commitment to corporate independence. Fred Stern, a publicist for First Broadcasting, confirmed the sale this morning. He also said the group had bought two other radio stations in the Cincinnati area, though declined to say more. A broadcast merchant bank, First Broadcasting primarily buys, invests and resells stations. The company owns roughly a dozen U.S. radio stations. According to Stern, the Oxford station plans to continue its format online, while First Broadcasting puts other programming on the frequency.
That makes me feel like I've been punched in the gut. That station got me through three-plus years in Oxford, and was one of the few radio stations left that I can still listen to. At least it will still be online.
Well, I've never listened to this station, but I have to assume that you just lost another creative radio station. The new one is bound to be like what's called "alternative" programming here in Washington, DC, which is to say, your station will now be sending out the prepackaged, preprogrammed, market survey-driven crap we're offered here in the nation's capital. I mourn the loss.
You got it. They had a library of over 11,000 CDs, and you could hear anything from anyone of them on any day. They've been going through 23 years of playlists in alphabetical order the past few days, and it's been fantastic. Here's a sample of what they played in the last 15 minutes. NOW BUILT TO SPILL - SIDEWALK Album: Keep It Like A Secret 05:44:35 TRAVIS - SIDE Album: The Invisible Band 05:41:09 MATTHEW SWEET - SICK OF MYSELF Album: 100% Fun 05:36:59 THE PRIMITIVES - SICK OF IT Album: Pure 05:34:13 THE DAMBUILDERS - SHRINE Album: Encendedor
Shockingly, the Cincinnati Enquirer has some good coverage: http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/05/10/tem_tem1a.html http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/05/10/tem_tem1aread.html
They had a very nice full page spread in the paper yesterday about it. Not that anyone here cares, mind you.
"97X, Bam! The Future of Rock and Roll." "97X, Bam! The Future of Rock and Roll." "97X, Bam! The Future of Rock and Roll."
Did anybody else listen to the last broadcast last night? God, how depressing. They ended with Sunday Bloody Sunday, the first song they ever played, then "Goodbye to the Future of Rock 'n Roll," and then, dead air. Although, I did find the dead air to be a lot more preferable than the crap that's playing now. On to KEXP's audio stream for me, I guess.
That's so typical of these "new" music stations. Or, maybe there's hope - was it the B52's Love Shack or X's? Neither of which is new, but one would elevate the station's stature in my eyes.
B52s. Actually, the new format (X97.7; New Music First) doesn't kinc in for two weeks. For now they're mostly just playing a lot of Soundgardeny type stuff.