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Local Gravy: Chattanooga’s 96.5 The Mountain Goes Top 40
By Jebbica | March 3, 2008
96.5 The Mountain, arguably the most popular radio station in Chattanooga and known for playing 90s rock hits like they were today’s, has officially sold out and gone Top 40. This has been coming for awhile, after firing some of the edgier DJs and telling them they were going to be taking the station into a “new direction.”
The station’s last song was Linkin Park’s “In The End”, and the station’s personalities teased a country station before launching it’s Top-40 format. It’s first song–Kanye West’s “Stronger”.
The format change comes after weeks of speculation that something was going to happen to a Chattanooga radio station.
Afternoon personality Dylan is out, and in is the nationally-syndicated “Kidd Kraddick” morning show. Morning hosts Jason Walker and Brad Steiner move to different timeslots, but according to radio industry site All Access, everything else remains the same.
The change is a departure for the station, which in recent years had prided itself on being “Live and Local”. It also marks a return of a Top-40 station to the Chattanooga area since “98.1 Kiss FM” became classic country “98.1 The Legend”.
This news comes as another Top-40 station, 104.9 WALV out of the Dayton/Cleveland area, and known as “Alive 105″, is slated to make a move into Hamilton County, though at significantly decreased power.
The station, also known by it’s WDOD-FM call letters, is one of only four commercial 100,000-watt FM stations in the area (the others being WUSY “US101″, WDEF “Sunny 92.3″, and WSKZ “KZ-106″). That high of a power brings with it a signal that reaches from the outskirts of Nashville, Atlanta, Asheville, and Knoxville.
While ratings for “The Mountain” as a rock station weren’t low, the ratings were the lowest among the 4 high-power stations.
Rock music launched on the WDOD-FM frequency in 1997. The station will continue to be known as “The Mountain”.
Prior to that, the station was country and known as “96.5 River Country”.
As many commercials as they play on FM radio these days, it’s not like it really matters what they play, does it? Chattanooga is just really lacking in an audience for any kind of art scene. Sure, you have your one college radio station and an occasional indie film being played at the Bijou, but it’s a long way from having anything close to Atlanta has and doesn’t show any signs of growing.
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March 4th, 2008 at 9:39 am
I hate this new format. I’ve listened to 96.5 since day one. This sell out sucks. I’ll never listen to them again.
March 4th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Huge Disappointment!! The new format is horrible!! What is an adult supposed to listen to now?? I’m going to miss Tony San Antonio, Jason and Brad. It will never be the same.. Why would they make a change like that? I hate it!!!
March 4th, 2008 at 11:42 am
I too hate the new format… Top 40 is tolerable but not having Jason, Brad, Tony etc…. just sucks!
The morning show with whoever the hell it is… really blows… they are not funny and not entertaining… and why they have their own morning show is beyond me… Huge Disappointment!!!
96.5 The NEW Crap Mountain!
March 4th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Unbelievable. It’s been headed down hill since Parker left, but this is treason. I’m not listening to that trash & I’ll not be listening to The Mountian any more.
March 5th, 2008 at 4:46 am
The only time I had a chance to listen was on my way to work in the mornings, which was about a one hour drive. Yeah, the music was fine but Jason and Brad were the best personalities in the area. This new morning show reeks! Nothing local about it! Not even funny!
March 5th, 2008 at 5:34 am
Yeah, it sucks. Plus, from a business point of view, it seems completely retarded and short-sighted. Just before I removed the new Mountain from my presets (forever), the station was airing a syndicated morning show, hosted by ultra-happy, family-friendly, pedophile-likely talent who spent their time gushing over the Jonas Brothers (Hanna Montana’s opening act).
So, who’s listening to this during school hours? Preschoolers? Home-schoolers? My 4- and 6-year-old nieces love Ha-Mo and the J-Bros. But as cute as they (my nieces) are, they’re not the audience I’d depend on to create a lasting listener-base or to deliver a sustainable ROI for advertisers.
But what do I know.
–SJ
March 5th, 2008 at 7:42 am
This new format sucks. I’ve been listening to the Mountain for over 5 years. From 6 am til 4:30 pm Monday thru Friday. Who are these people? I now hate getting up in the morning cause I don’t have anything to look forward to. Where is everyone now? I was told that Victoria was on in the afternoon and Jason was on at 4. You had a great crew and I will miss them. No chance of going back? Lauren
March 5th, 2008 at 8:51 am
The morning syndicated show is terrible and doesn’t make me laugh or want to listen to it, as the previous DJ’s did. Time for me to find a new station, which I guess will be country. Yeehaw!
March 5th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
very dis-heartening!!! i have listened to the mountain forever mon-fri. the new morning show…….not funny. it sucks! dumbest crap i’ve ever listened to. i guess from here on out it will be 95.3 jack fm
March 6th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
WHAT A CROCK!!!
Terrible choice to make, will never listen to this
station again, what a sellout, top 40’s what a joke, will miss Jason and Brad! This is an incredible disappointment!
March 6th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
I agree…the new format is terrible. I thought my radio was messed up when I flipped to the station once and heard the crappy morning show with what sounds like a bunch of nuts all trying to talk over eachother…96.5 used to ROCK…now I am going to take it off of my auto buttons. It all started going downhill when they got rid of Parker…
March 10th, 2008 at 10:35 am
I hate this new format i have also listened since day one and it was funny i was a freshmen in high school. My parents didn’t agree with the music but they listened to the mountians sister station 92.3. I will listen from time to time but they have lsot me as a regular listener.
March 11th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Where is Parker when you need him! I think that Parker was the best on morning radio.
April 3rd, 2008 at 6:36 pm
this new format really stinks NO REALLY
September 25th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Parker Smith should have never been let go if that is indeed what happened. That was the rumor back then. He was by far the most entertaining radio personality. Him and Jason together were the perfect combination. I never cared for Brad, but he would still be better than the crap they play now in the mornings. Since Parker left, I have not listened to it at all because I didn’t like Brad, but I recently stopped on it in the car and heard the new format and was shocked. Too many radio stations are selling out. Is it more important to save money by cutting out actual local disc jockeys or losing listeners altogether because of those choices?