[BC] Early formats on FM

[Rich Wood <richwood@pobox.com>]

------ At 02:36 AM 10/23/2005, Robert Orban wrote: -------

>My recollection is that Beautiful Music was the format that actually 
>drove FM expansion in  the late '60s. Beautiful was either the #1 FM 
>or close to it in most markets back then. It was also cheap to do; 
>no expensive personalities :-). It was also easily automated.

In most markets there were multiple stations doing the format. In 
Boston WBZ was #1 in morning drive and WJIB took over from 10am-7pm. 
In New York there was WPAT, WRFM,  WTFM and a few others. WJIB led 
the market for most the 10 years I was there.

Classical was the predominant FM format before Easy Listening. At the 
time many FMs were donated to schools and non-comms. WFMT, Chicago, 
was owned by Tribune. They saw no future in it and donated it to WTTW.-TV.

WCRB-FM, Boston, is held by a trust that mandates it remain classical.

Rich