Telegraphing A New Format In Ashtabula

It's not like Clear Channel's Ashtabula cluster wants to hide its intentions with new signon WYBL/98.3.

More than once here in OMW, we've pointed to market rumors and other signs that the new station, which hit the air running automated oldies with no production other than a brief legal ID, would go country as "The Bull"...a name even suggested by the "WYBL" calls.

A listener in the region now tells OMW that WYBL has "now added some country into its oldies mix, and they are now running teasers that say 'More country, better country, coming soon'". Our tipster also notifies us that they're throwing in sounds of a "bull whip cracking".

You think they're gonna change formats, soon?

As noted earlier here in OMW, there's already a country station serving the Ashtabula region: Geneva's WKKY/104.7, otherwise known as "One Reason Classical WCLV/104.9 Lorain Can't Move East". WKKY has a local morning show and a local afternoon drive show, and otherwise, last we heard it, was running ABC's satellite-delivered "Country Coast to Coast" format, usually positioned as "America's Best Country" or "The Best Country Around". (NOTE: We've edited this to indicate WKKY's broader local programming.) It's the same format Wooster's WQKT/104.5 ran until switching to Westwood One's similar full-time satellite country format.

WKKY makes a pretty concerted effort at serving areas to their west along the I-90 corridor, such as much of Lake County (Mentor, Painesville, etc.). 104.7's stick is actually west of Geneva, on the eastern edge of Lake County. There could very well be enough room for WKKY to focus there, and WYBL to focus on Ashtabula and its nearby areas. One thing's for sure...the Bull is about to be unleashed.