Project 9-6-1 becomes Power 96.1, a top 40 station
[UPDATE: August 31, 2012: Cumulus is shifting its 98.9 signal to a Project-like sound starting at noon on Saturday, Sept. 1. It has been 99X at 98.9, an alternative rock station. The signal is relatively weak but at least it can fulfill the desires of active rock fans inside the Perimeter.]
With pop music having a powerful year, Clear Channel Atlanta has dropped active rock station Project 9-6-1 for a top 40 format it’s dubbing Power 96.1.
The change happened just after 7 p.m. The final song that Mediabase 24/7 reported as a Project song was at 7:02 p.m.: Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.” That’s when the station began playing a bunch of top 40 hits before making an official announcement at 8:05 p.m. and launching with LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem.” It promised 9,600 songs in a row, which equals about four weeks of commercial-free music.
Dunwoody High School graduate and media mogul Ryan Seacrest made a surprise appearance at the Jennifer Lopez concert Wednesday night at Philips Arena to make the announcement, noting that his mom will be able to hear him regularly again in Atlanta. (He started his career at Star 94 and has been on that station in syndication in recent years.)
Clear Channel nationwide has some seriously powerful top 40 stations, including Kiss in Los Angeles, where Seacrest airs his morning show and syndicated show, and Z100 in New York, where Wild 105.7 syndicated morning host Elvis Duran is based.
Starting Sept. 4, Power is bringing Duran from its existing rhythmic top 40 station at 105.7/96.7 called Wild, followed by Seacrest in syndication mid-days.
Now we know why Clear Channel got rid of its Wild program director a couple weeks ago. Wild is likely going to go away or shift its format so not to directly compete with Power. I hear Mami Chula, the key local personality on Wild, is staying put for now.
Could they bring a modified version of Project 9-6-1 on another signal? (Clear Channel owns 105.3 and 105.7, too.)
Program director Chris Williams, in a text this morning, said no. It’s over. On Facebook, someone posted this:
96.1 has been Atlanta’s rock destination since 1974. The Project Family is so proud to have carved out our own chapter in the rich legacy of WKLS. The radio dial will sound much different after today. We can never thank you enough for all your support and passion for Project 9-6-1 over the past 6 years and for 96rock the years before us. We consider ourselves among the luckiest each and every day we were allowed to enter this studio and create a radio station that made us proud. Thank you for inviting The Project into your cars, jobs and homes. Thank you for Living Loud and Playing Hard, please don’t stop. Most of all, thank you for being Part of the Project!
Project had a good run. It came to be courtesy of Williams, who first launched Buzz 105.3,a younger-leaning rock station. In late 2006, long-standing classic rock station 96rock became Project, an odd name that suggested an ephemeral existence. But Williams brought the spirit of the Buzz over to Project, which lasted more than five years, becoming a formidable player among younger listeners who liked the mix of older and current harder-edged rock by acts such as Guns ‘N Roses, Metallica, Slipknot and Five Finger Death Punch. It regularly finished in the top 5 among 18 to 34 year olds.
Some local radio folks who know Williams think he is pulling a deliberate “New Coke” move here. There will be such an uprising by Project fans via social media that Clear Channel will be “forced” to bring Project back on a different signal. If that’s the case, Project fans, get the petitions out! Here’s one page already out there. As of Labor Day, there are 3,600 names. Another one has more than 5,000 names. And a petition also has more than 5,000 names.
In the evening, it had a cool Jelli “Remote Control Radio” concept, where viewers could vote for what song to play next. And Aly was a stalwart presence in mid days. Project had trouble finding a solid morning show in its early years, Kidd Chris was starting to make inroads among younger men listeners after debuting last year.
Lately, top 40 and similar formats have been on a roll locally and nationwide. Q100 and Star 94 are both experiencing strong ratings. So was Wild. And B98.5 has freshened its sound to be closer to the other stations. All four are doing well.
Rock on the other hand has been in a death spiral nationwide. Atlanta has managed to air five rock stations, which combined, were barely pulling in an audience bigger than R&B/hip hop V-103. But Dave FM last month announced it was going sports talk this fall.
The gallery image on Project's Facebook page
And now Project is gone, leaving Rock 100.5, 97.1/The River and 99X at 98.9.
Project’s departure could really benefit all three of those remaining stations, especially Rock 100.5, which has underperformed when the Regular Guys were not on. And even the Regular Guys’ numbers have dropped off the past two years. There is limited up side for 99X given its weak signal but Dave’s departure could help it. And the River will likely pick up listeners from both Project and Dave.
The last time the name Power was used in Atlanta was Power 99 in the late 1980s and early 1990s, also a top 40 station. It became alternative rock station 99X October 26, 1992.
So far, Power 96.1 sounds very much like Wild 105.7/96.7, which was edging more towards straight top 40 in recent months after focusing more on hip hop in its earlier days. (Earlier days being late 2010 and 2011.)
TV and billboard ads are scheduled to start next month promoting Power.
UPDATE Thursday, August 30, 8:26 a.m.: This morning, Wild is now playing more hip hop though it’s not quite Hot 107.9. No more Carly Rae Jepsen and Gotye. Will Clear Channel keep Wild? Hard to say.
A sampling of 10 songs new Power 96.1 from 9:30 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, August 29, 2012
David Guetta “Titanium”
Carly Rae Jepsen “Call Me Maybe”
Chris Brown “Don’t Wake Me Up”
Kesha “We R Who We R”
Katy Perry “Wide Awake”
LMFAO “Sexy and I Know It”
Pink “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)”
Bruno Mars “Grenade”
Rihanna “Where Have You Been”
Maroon 5 “Payphone”
The last ten songs on Wild 105.7 from that same time period.
Gotye “Somebody That I Used to Know”:
David Guetta “Titanium”
Ellie Goulding “Lights”
Havana Brown “We Run the Night”
Justin Bieber “As Long As You Love Me”
Calvin Harris “Let’s Go”
Katy Perry “Wide Awake”
Rihanna “Where Have You Been”
Usher “Scream”
Flo Rida “Whistle”
Q100 had a more pop feel with the songs it played during that time:
Train “Drive By”
Carly Rae Jepsen “Call me Maybe”
B.o.B. “Nothing On You”
Neon Trees “Everybody Talks”
Britney Spears “Til the World Ends”
Fun. “We are Young”
All-American Rejects “Gives You Hell”
Rihanna “Where Have You Been”
Mike Posner “Cooler Than Me”
Flo Rida “Wild Ones”
Join my Facebook fan page and Twitter.
By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk
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437 comments Add your comment
ddt
August 30th, 2012
3:30 pm
GGreat more freaking fairy music from the wonderful clear channel AtL needs the project not power fairies
SoCoEnvy
August 30th, 2012
3:33 pm
While Project 961 wasn’t always the best station (couldn’t stand the morning crew) and constantly played RHCP, I too am a fan of Aly, the OC, and Jordan. I can’t stand this top 40 crap, and that’s mostly because of the constant repetition and the fact that even if you change the station there’s a high probability the same song is playing on the other station.
Without these stations announcing when concerts are and hosting them I won’t know. I had a great time at this year’s Project Cinco Party. We need more rock stations; I can’t get a great signal from 99x here at the house like I could 96.1.
Christy
August 30th, 2012
3:56 pm
96.1 was the only decent radio station left after Athens lost 103.7. I will now listen to Sirius radio only. Just what Atl needed yet ANOTHER top 40 station to go along with the 15 or 20 it already has. Someone should be shot.
Christopher Rude
August 30th, 2012
4:00 pm
something smells???
Christopher Rude
August 30th, 2012
4:02 pm
something smells stunty
Angie Lafferty
August 30th, 2012
4:03 pm
really how much garbage can you pump out into one market… bring back the ROCK!!!
Jeff
August 30th, 2012
4:07 pm
In a month’s time Atlanta has lost its only two rock stations that have an audible signal outside the perimeter. As if we needed another top 40 station and another sports talk station (soon to be 92.9FM). 100.5 is classic rock and 97.1 is even more classic so that leaves exactly zero rock stations with a signal. Finally time to get a price on SiriusXM.
Calling It Like It Is
August 30th, 2012
4:15 pm
Best case scenario, they are stunting…worse case, more repetition of the same 10 songs on what now, 5 stations?
the_undead_freak
August 30th, 2012
4:19 pm
this is bull,i lost all faith in the radio;( pop sucks
MikeHunt
August 30th, 2012
4:19 pm
I think Kidd Kriss’s laugh single handedly brought down the Project.
CC
August 30th, 2012
4:24 pm
This is an outrage! THIS IS PROFILING AND THAT’S JUST WRONG!!!!
EdvClearChannel
August 30th, 2012
4:36 pm
Just e-mailed a link to this article to Clear Channel’s PR department. Probably won’t help, but it felt good.
jaob west
August 30th, 2012
4:38 pm
what the hell man i want my rock back
projectfam
August 30th, 2012
4:39 pm
Keep Project 9-6-1Bring Project 96.1 BACK
JOIN the PROTEST, FOX 5 Atlanta has agreed to cover!!!
http://www.facebook.com/events/501027386592970/
Clear Channel’s Atlanta Office Protest – Keep Project 9-6-1
Saturday at 2:00pm at Clear Channel Media + Entertainment Creative Services Group
Join
gatlin
August 30th, 2012
4:42 pm
BRING BACK THE PROJECT WE DONT WANT ANOTHER CRAP HIPHOP/RAP STATION WE HAVE ENOUGH PROJECT 9-6-1 WAS OUR ONLY GOOD ROCK STATION LISTENING TO KIDDCHRIS IN THE MORNING WAS THE BEST NOTHING BETTER AND WE WANT THAT BACK WE HAVE LIKE 30 POP STATIONS ALREADY WHY HAVE ANOTHER SO THEY CAN JUST ALL PLAY THE SAME SONGS AND EVERYONE QUTS LISTENING TO THE RADIO OVERALL?BRING BACK THE PROJECT WE NEED DIFFRENT GENRES OF THE RADIO NOT JUST POP/HIP HOP/RAP!!!!!!!!!!
danny shaw
August 30th, 2012
4:43 pm
you bunch of dumb asses i’m 50 years old 96 rock was the only station left that played old rock and roll we need that station back put your sissy music on another station.
CASHMAN
August 30th, 2012
4:49 pm
Another overplayed pop station in atlanta. Makes the satellite radio subscription worth every penny. Atlanta radio is sucks.
Scoobie
August 30th, 2012
4:55 pm
Dropping the project was the dumbest thing ya’ll could have ever done…that was the only station i cared to listen to. It sucks that its gone and ya’ll suck for taking it away
corey painter
August 30th, 2012
4:58 pm
This is the absolute stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. How you going to try to fix something that ain’t broken. I could understand if the project never got any listeners or attention from bands at the project get togethers but dern. Power 96.1 can kiss it…
david
August 30th, 2012
4:59 pm
I was a high school freshman when 96 rock hit the air waves and it was the staple of rock radio for decades. I’m really glad my new truck came with xm radio, as a couple of stations remind me of 96 rock back in the day.
Shauna
August 30th, 2012
5:07 pm
Please help Atlanta save our ONLY rock station!!
https://www.facebook.com/events/501027386592970/permalink/501049396590769/?comment_id=501052393257136&ref=notif¬if_t=like
daemonova
August 30th, 2012
5:15 pm
no offense, yall, but it was better as the buzz
Digger42
August 30th, 2012
5:16 pm
Enter your comments here
Ronald McVodka
August 30th, 2012
5:17 pm
WTF!!! I have listened to 96.1 for 20 years… Project has taken it to the level that it it needs to be at. Where in ATL,shawty( LMAO) can you hear Korn, Slipknot, Metallica, Seether, Stained…etc. Come on….Too many teeny bobber, wanna be rap, pop kiddie stations on the radio already. Clear channel… Ya’ll sent me to Vegas back in the day (96 Rock..remember)…… I appreciated it.. But i don’t appreciate this. Enjoy your fan base. You had other stations that you could have created. instead of taking the BEST rock in Atlanta. Hope this comes back on you….RIP PROJECT 96.1!!!!!!!
Digger42
August 30th, 2012
5:17 pm
get the hell out of atlanta. We want our Project back!!!!! Project family will be heard…Loud and Hard
Colleen
August 30th, 2012
5:21 pm
I’ve been a member of the project family for two years. I’m so bummed and mad that I turned my radio on this morning and heard the same songs that are on 5 other stations!!!!!! Are you kidding me? What a crock! Where do I tune in to hear Shinedown, Five Finger, Guns-N-Roses,Volbeat, Sick Puppies, Stone Sour… and oh so many more? Oh another station with a weak signal?…. thanks. I don’t have a smart phone, so I can’t get the I Heart Radio app. Project was the only place I could hear the best music. Seriously disappointed and let down.
Joe Iglinski
August 30th, 2012
5:26 pm
You changed from Rock to Top 40…… Let’s Disco….WTF???? You SUCK!
Amy
August 30th, 2012
5:28 pm
I’m totally disgusted. We have enough pop stations. I like them but there are days when I need my fix of some Alternative Rock music. Now I can’t find any Alternative station with a good signal to listen to. This just sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bring back the Project !!!!!!!!!!
OTP
August 30th, 2012
5:29 pm
I still listen to my CD’s in the car. Long live 96ROCK.
Amy
August 30th, 2012
5:34 pm
Ok everyone. You need to sign the petition to bring back the Project. Don’t know if it will help, but sure couldn’t hurt. Make your voices heard!!!
Clear Chanel SUCKS
August 30th, 2012
5:35 pm
Clear channel SUCKS!! I hope there stock crashes and they all lose their jobs…
Sheila Harris
August 30th, 2012
5:48 pm
I’ll always think of out as 96 rock and I have been a faithful listener since the beginning. I’m going to miss it even though I wasn’t thrilled with kidd chris the music was great! They will never be another station like it, its went through 3 generations of my family. R.I.P 96.1 …if there is anther station like it coming out in atlanta please let us know.
V. H. Enigma
August 30th, 2012
5:51 pm
Riddle me THIS, Batman: Why did these DILLHOLES have to cancel OUR station when they could have just as easily cancelled one of their other crappy stations to make way for more crap? After all, why kill ONE pop station AND a ROCK station for another CRAPPY POP STATION? Where’s the logic in that, mongos?
Curtis Heydon
August 30th, 2012
6:04 pm
I am Beyond Pissed. Clear Channel .. you Suck! Your ownership of 96 rock has been a disaster from the get-go. AS a lifelong Atlanta rock fan , I have had to listen to the slow death spiral of the once ass- kicking 96 ROCK of old. 96.1 used to own all rockers attention and had the absolute best promotions and band info. Since your ownership we had to witness your letting go of Chris Rude, the censorship of The original Reg. Guys and then your progressive take on playing “new rock” in a constant 20 song rotation with no true DJ influence. Still, I was willing to keep tuning to 96.1, just to keep hearing the best, bang your head ROCK. Atlanta now only has weak choices for the rock genre and we as rock fans can only hope someone with brains can hear our cries. Your station number has been erased from my car, my once proud license plate will be retired and I’ll end my sadness with a WHO reference; In 1974 , Babba ORiely (teenage wasteland) cracked the airways as your first song, I can only hope the anthem of ” Long Live Rock” sees your top 40 format and your jobs are like Kansas’s “Dust in the Wind” and quickly go away like Ryan Seacrest fame. SAD ,SAD day for rock and roll in Atlanta.
Nick Kittle
August 30th, 2012
6:29 pm
Make sure you spell my name right seacrest. You are so typical of the bland social media that surrounds the genre of pop. Spoiled. Ignorant. Self absorbed. Did i mention ignorant? Clear Channel and seacrest’s mom have a rude awakening coming. Saturday all hell will break loose in downtown.
Time to move.
August 30th, 2012
6:37 pm
just another reason to leave atlanta….the music scene is dead, crime is rampant,high unemployment,there are no rock radio stations anymore….the list goes on and on.
josh
August 30th, 2012
6:39 pm
you can tell where this nation is going…we have what two rock stations left 971 and 99x? this is a crock of crap. project 961 was the best radio station out there and they had to swap it out for justin beiber wannbe’s.
HAAHAA!
August 30th, 2012
6:39 pm
I think it’s freakin’ hilarious that the project is gone. If you all call that a family then stay under the circus tent with the other jugalos!
jonathan
August 30th, 2012
6:57 pm
you can;t just take away a station like that the project was the only thing i wanted to get up in the morning and go to work with now i can’t and life sucks again .
bring back the project
Kerry
August 30th, 2012
7:01 pm
I feel bad for my husband. He is 35 and loves rock, only rock. How many more pop and rap stations does Atlanta really need? Guess I’ll be purchasing xm radio for him. Rip 96 rock.
peaches
August 30th, 2012
7:02 pm
Guess the monkeys of atlanta will have their music. Jeegros be taken over everything and the white man can’t even have a rock station.
James W
August 30th, 2012
7:02 pm
Leave to the idiots at Clear Channel to,again, change one of the most popular Radio stations in Atlanta to a format in a Genre of music that already has enough stations to more than cover the Atlanta area in which Atlanta needs like it needs more Traffic!!!!!
Oh my ears!
August 30th, 2012
7:08 pm
I wanna stick ice picks into my ears! WTF is that annoying sound…..Sad day for ATL. I will not support Clear Channel or any of its sponsors until I can listen to new rock.
RIP “The Project”, you will left a huge hole in Atlanta airwaves
pissed dude
August 30th, 2012
7:10 pm
Well that calls it. The Usa has had some bad times but this does it. All the rock has died. Sorry ac-dc it “did die”. Will it come back know one will know.
James W
August 30th, 2012
7:10 pm
Project 9-6-1 was the “only” station that played the more current Rock music which in my opinion has been on an upswing for a better quality of music. Seriously, how can you get better than the likes of Disturbed, Mudvayne, Nonpoint, Hellyeah, Five Finger Death Punch, Theory of Deadman, Tool, Bush Seether, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, Avenge Sevenfold, Shinedown, and let’s not forget Rage; just to name a few.
pissed dude
August 30th, 2012
7:11 pm
Try to save it
http://www.change.org/petitions/atlanta-radio-station-bring-back-96-1-bring-back-project-961
peaches
August 30th, 2012
7:24 pm
Typical, the white man can’t have anything in Atlanta.
BaniBoo
August 30th, 2012
7:31 pm
WTH? I’m so pissed. Project was one of the ONLY radio stations I enjoyed & now it’s been replaced with this crap. How many pop stations do we need for kids? Can’t we keep one adult station going? I mean DANG!!!!!
rock chick
August 30th, 2012
7:32 pm
This is complete BS! I love that station, the others are alternative and with dave going to it’s a shame. This is the day the music died. Power and the big wigs at radio can shove it. Guess I’m going to my play list. I’ll die before I listen to another top 40 station.
99plummer
August 30th, 2012
7:41 pm
ATL is truly one of the Crappest city’s in the world now… Screw Clear Channel.. I will never support any thing they are involved with..