Posted Friday, December 1, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Old School 87.7 on Monday will rename itself Mix 87.7 and begin playing more contemporary R&B mixed in with oldies from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.
Steve Hegwood, the maverick owner of the station, said Old School wasn't attracting enough listeners in the demographic still sought after by ad agencies: 25 to 54 year olds. In fact, in the 35-44 demo, he said, his hip-hop station Streetz 94.5 was doing better.
So he felt it was time to make the music younger and focus on 35-to-54 year olds.
Hegwood said the syndicated show Russ Parr is gone. He is negotiating a new morning show but doesn't have one yet. (He doesn't think he'd be able to get Tom Joyner, who is retiring soon anyway.) Although the station will run jockless next week, current afternoon host Porsha Foxx will remain on staff.
As for the music, current songs by SZA, Bruno Mars and Jhene Aiko will be added.
The 1970s? Sorry, Barry White and Al Green, your music is officially too old for the station. But acts from the 1980s and 1990s like Prince, Bobby Brown, Cameo and Mary J. Blige will remain.
Its music mix will compete much closer to that of Kiss 104.1 and Majic 107.5/97.5. Kiss, too, this week made its music younger skewing.
The FM signal for 87.7 is fairly strong, covering Decatur to Marietta. You can also listen online to 87.7 here.
And for those wondering, the FM dial between 88.1 and 91.9 is reserved for non-commercial/educational stations. But 87.7 can be used for commercial stations.
