Capitol Broadcasting Company has again made history. 95.7 FM That Station has been named the Large Market Station of the Year by the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters, the first time in broadcast history a translator/app based station has received such an honor, as far as That Station’s research has uncovered.
“Everyday, ‘jukebox translators’ pop up in markets,” said CBC Vice President of Radio Brian Maloney. “‘Innovationless radio’ is what I call it. A mindless jukebox that floods a market (including ours) with over 2000 cheap spots every week….brilliant radio right?”
In May of 2018, CBC choose a more innovative use of their translator. Challenged by Corp President & COO Jimmy Goodmon to “do something different, innovate – just don’t do the same thing” the staff of WCLY did just that.
The station was launched on a 250-watt translator tied to a static ridden AM channel – 1550AM. From the beginning, the station was up front with the audience about the limited signal coverage and encouraged the audience to download the app. Apparently people were listening. That Station had 6,000 app downloads in six months.
The team at 95.7 That Station accepts the Large Market Station of the Year from the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters on Thursday, June 13, 2019.
The station launched on May 1, 2018, without a name, holding a contest to award $1,000 to the favorite local charity of the person submitting the winning name. “That Station” stuck. Over 600 entries were submitted in the first month for a station that had never been heard. A vast majority wanted the name
“That Station” to stick. So Maloney and his crew kept the name.
The Station (WCLY-FM) has been embraced by the community and escalated quickly, programming AAA/Americana with local bands and plenty of local voices. There are no disc jockeys but instead music curators who are given freedom to select music.
That Station also breaks the mold when it comes to advertising.
Maloney explains:
Commercials? Well not really. The only traditional “spots” That Station plays are for concerts as they are considered content. Everything else…the local business owner comes to the radio station for an on-air discussion about music, arts, culture and how they started their local business. The interviews are then edited down into shorter vignettes. Staying true to their mission, the station has turned down many traditional advertisers with traditional spots. The stories from our local partners resonate with our listeners they deliver results.
That Station received the award at the NCAB Annual Awards Lunch on Thursday, June 13, 2019, at the Barn at Fearrington Village in Pittsboro, NC.
“We are thrilled that our peers in the industry and the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters have recognized innovation and a station that took a chance,” said Maloney.
Hear More About That Station
Thanks to WRAL-FM’s Kristen Kokkelenberg for this capcom photo.
