When I first started paying attention to it again it was a business format. The people behind that format have since jumped to another signal. Next it was a guy talk kind of format so CBS could please Howard Stern (that didn't work out). Next it became a CNN retransmission. TV news on the radio, how can that be a format winner? But I guess people still listen.
Now the station seems to be changing again...sort of. Now at 4pm Monday through Friday longtime Houston radio personality Ronnie Renfrow and crew will take over the microphone for Classic Cool:
The new year brings a new format to Houston radio. Beginning Monday, January 5, 2009, “Classic Cool” will reunite Houston listeners with the Rat Pack, Harry Connick Jr., Diana Krall, Michael Buble, and Norah Jones. Hosts Ronnie Renfrow and Tom Richards will join listeners for the drive home beginning at 4pm, Monday through Friday.
Longtime Houston radio personality Ronnie Renfrow and his Classic Cool team have created a format that is unique not only to Houston, but to the national radio scene as well.
“This is by far the biggest programming void in radio. The artists of Classic Cool are selling millions of CD’s annually, but listeners have had nowhere to go on the dial – until now,” Renfrow said.
“This is definitely not a nostalgia format,” Renfrow stressed. “Classic Cool is far removed from that approach in that we will feature new music from contemporary artists who are all over the Billboard charts.”
Classic Cool will present a blend of singers, classic jazz, Latin, and blues. Stars of the show include Frank Sinatra, Michael Buble, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Connick Jr., Gloria Estefan, Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, and B.B. King, to name just a few.
The format’s web site – classiccool.com - is the first of its kind, exploring music both new and vintage. Visitors to the site can register to win rare and valuable prizes, including musical collectibles. Listeners will also be able to participate in online exchanges with the hosts, who are experts on the artists and the music. Additionally, the web site will be a resource for information on live music performances in Houston. READ MORE
My guess is that the Classic Cool team is buying airtime on the station from CBS and selling the ad time. I believe Renfrow and crew already had Swinging 650 on the weekends for a while which is a similar theme.
Good luck to this new format, sounds inventive to say the least.
More blog coverage
- Cool Out on Your Commute
- Houston Radio Gets Classic Cool
