WSTO (FM)
Encyclopedia
WSTO is a heritage radio station
that serves the Evansville, Indiana
, Henderson, Kentucky
, and Owensboro, Kentucky
markets. It is licensed in Owensboro and broadcasts from a 1000-foot tower strategically located midway between these cities in the Kentucky town of Hebbardsville. WSTO's studio is located inside South Central Communications
' headquarters on Mount Auburn Road in Evansville, Indiana
, nearby the studios for WFIE
.
, WSTO was among the first FM stations in the region to transform from easy listening
music to pop music
, making the switch in 1982. The station reaches 33 counties in the Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky Tri-State Area
. Callers from as far away as St. Louis, Missouri
and Louisville, Kentucky
were known to call the studio request lines.
By 1987, with Program Director Barry Witherspoon, Music Director/Midday Personality Scott Murray, Morning Personality Brian Jackson, Afternoon Personality Jamie Richards, Evening Personality Charlie Foxx, and Overnight Personality Rusty Sharp, the station had a commanding 31.5 share among persons 12 and older.
Even to this day Richards is still the highest rated drive-time personality in the history of the Evansville market.
In 1996, WSTO and its sister AM station were acquired by the former Brill Media Corporation of Evansville, Indiana
which also acquired WOMI and WBKR also of Owensboro. After the Brill takeover, the numbers began to decline for a variety of reasons including the firing of 15-year morning man Brian Jackson, growing commercial inventory, alienation of the younger listeners, and overbearing corporate management who believed they were programmers.
WSTO's ratings plummeted. In the late 90s, the heritage WSTO calls were all-but-eliminated, in favor of the moniker "Mix 96STO" and the slogan "the Best Mix of the 90s, 80s, and Today". The format was an adult leaning CHR/Top 40 formats, playing music from the 80s alongside Eminem and Will Smith.
Ratings under this marketing plan actually increased slightly. There was already competition in the market, though, as around that same time Evansville had WDKS
, doing a variant of Hot AC.
The conservative Hot AC format on WDKS
didn't get very far. WDKS was never a serious threat to WSTO until Clear Channel took the station over and put its Kiss FM brand on it in the fall of 2000. It appeared that might be the end of a long reign for WSTO. After Clear Channel took control, WDKS soared into the Evansville market's number 2 position, essentially flip-flopping positions with WSTO.
The WSTO numbers fell to the 6 share range, something that had never happened prior. To make matters worse, Brill Media fell into financial ruin and went bankrupt, forcing the sale of all four stations.
WSTO FM was acquired by South Central Communications
Corporation of Evansville, Indiana, and co-located the station with WIKY 104.1 and WABX 107.5. Rumors immediately began to abound that South Central would dump CHR/Pop altogether to go Hot AC as a complimentary sales package with WIKY, but thorough research suggested otherwise.
In 2004, WSTO launched a new moniker, "Hot 96 Today's Hit Music," and refocused on its CHR/Top 40 roots, eliminating the gold product.
While the ratings for "Hot 96" remain in the single digits, generally falling between 7 and 9, the station has re-emerged as a market leader, finding itself on top of WDKS almost immediately after the relaunch. The number 1 station in the market (usually WIKY) regularly has a 15 share, a far cry from WSTO's shares of days gone by. For all technical purposes, WSTO is now the only Pop station in the market, as rival WDKS shifted in a Rhythmic direction.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
that serves the Evansville, Indiana
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
, Henderson, Kentucky
Henderson, Kentucky
Henderson is a city in Henderson County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River in the western part of the state. The population was 27,952 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Evansville Metropolitan Area often referred to as "Kentuckiana", although "Tri-State Area" or "Tri-State" are more...
, and Owensboro, Kentucky
Owensboro, Kentucky
Owensboro is the fourth largest city by population in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the county seat of Daviess County. It is located on U.S. Route 60 about southeast of Evansville, Indiana, and is the principal city of the Owensboro, Kentucky, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's...
markets. It is licensed in Owensboro and broadcasts from a 1000-foot tower strategically located midway between these cities in the Kentucky town of Hebbardsville. WSTO's studio is located inside South Central Communications
South Central Communications
South Central Communications is a privately owned media company based in Evansville, Indiana, and owned and operated by the Engelbrecht family: John D. Engelbrecht , JP Engelbrecht , and Bettie G...
' headquarters on Mount Auburn Road in Evansville, Indiana
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
, nearby the studios for WFIE
WFIE
WFIE is the NBC-afifliated television station for the Tri-State area of Southwestern Indiana, Northwestern Kentucky and Southeastern Illinois that's licensed to Evansville, Indiana. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 46 from a transmitter in the Wolf Hills section of...
.
History
Founded by V. J. Steele, the owner of WVJSWVJS (AM)
WVJS is a radio station in Owensboro, Kentucky. The station airs the "Timeless" format from Citadel Media.-Ownership:WVJS was originally the sister station to WSTO 96.1 FM, which was also owned by the Steele family of Owensboro. The station takes its callsign from the initials of its founder and...
, WSTO was among the first FM stations in the region to transform from easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
music to pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, making the switch in 1982. The station reaches 33 counties in the Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky Tri-State Area
Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky Tri-State Area
The Illinois–Indiana–Kentucky Tri-State Area is a tri-state area where the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky intersect. The area is defined mainly by the television viewing area and consists of ten Illinois counties, eleven Indiana counties, and nine Kentucky counties...
. Callers from as far away as St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
and Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
were known to call the studio request lines.
By 1987, with Program Director Barry Witherspoon, Music Director/Midday Personality Scott Murray, Morning Personality Brian Jackson, Afternoon Personality Jamie Richards, Evening Personality Charlie Foxx, and Overnight Personality Rusty Sharp, the station had a commanding 31.5 share among persons 12 and older.
Even to this day Richards is still the highest rated drive-time personality in the history of the Evansville market.
In 1996, WSTO and its sister AM station were acquired by the former Brill Media Corporation of Evansville, Indiana
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
which also acquired WOMI and WBKR also of Owensboro. After the Brill takeover, the numbers began to decline for a variety of reasons including the firing of 15-year morning man Brian Jackson, growing commercial inventory, alienation of the younger listeners, and overbearing corporate management who believed they were programmers.
WSTO's ratings plummeted. In the late 90s, the heritage WSTO calls were all-but-eliminated, in favor of the moniker "Mix 96STO" and the slogan "the Best Mix of the 90s, 80s, and Today". The format was an adult leaning CHR/Top 40 formats, playing music from the 80s alongside Eminem and Will Smith.
Ratings under this marketing plan actually increased slightly. There was already competition in the market, though, as around that same time Evansville had WDKS
WDKS
WDKS is a Class A radio station at 106.1 FM licensed to Newburgh, Indiana and serving Evansville, Indiana. They are owned by Townsquare Media, which acquired the station from Clear Channel Communications in 2003.- History :...
, doing a variant of Hot AC.
The conservative Hot AC format on WDKS
WDKS
WDKS is a Class A radio station at 106.1 FM licensed to Newburgh, Indiana and serving Evansville, Indiana. They are owned by Townsquare Media, which acquired the station from Clear Channel Communications in 2003.- History :...
didn't get very far. WDKS was never a serious threat to WSTO until Clear Channel took the station over and put its Kiss FM brand on it in the fall of 2000. It appeared that might be the end of a long reign for WSTO. After Clear Channel took control, WDKS soared into the Evansville market's number 2 position, essentially flip-flopping positions with WSTO.
The WSTO numbers fell to the 6 share range, something that had never happened prior. To make matters worse, Brill Media fell into financial ruin and went bankrupt, forcing the sale of all four stations.
WSTO FM was acquired by South Central Communications
South Central Communications
South Central Communications is a privately owned media company based in Evansville, Indiana, and owned and operated by the Engelbrecht family: John D. Engelbrecht , JP Engelbrecht , and Bettie G...
Corporation of Evansville, Indiana, and co-located the station with WIKY 104.1 and WABX 107.5. Rumors immediately began to abound that South Central would dump CHR/Pop altogether to go Hot AC as a complimentary sales package with WIKY, but thorough research suggested otherwise.
In 2004, WSTO launched a new moniker, "Hot 96 Today's Hit Music," and refocused on its CHR/Top 40 roots, eliminating the gold product.
While the ratings for "Hot 96" remain in the single digits, generally falling between 7 and 9, the station has re-emerged as a market leader, finding itself on top of WDKS almost immediately after the relaunch. The number 1 station in the market (usually WIKY) regularly has a 15 share, a far cry from WSTO's shares of days gone by. For all technical purposes, WSTO is now the only Pop station in the market, as rival WDKS shifted in a Rhythmic direction.