HOUSTON – Listeners of pop music station 95.7 FM, branded as Hot 95-7 FM, may be surprised to find big changes on their first day back to work Tuesday.
Over the holidays station owners made big changes, re-launching the station as "The New 95.7 The Spot."
The station did not immediately answer listeners' Facebook questions about the status of morning drive time hosts Sarah Pepper and Ivan.
On Friday, the day before NYE, 95.7's webpage had a big red banner that read "WE'RE MAKING SOME CHANGES TO 95-7. TUNE IN AT 12:30 PM TO FIND OUT WHAT." On the air the station played a creepy robotic countdown for more than an hour.
During lunchtime, the radio station finally made the announcement. The station described its new format as “Houston’s newest adult hits radio station programmed for listeners who love a variety of hits from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s.”
"We worked exhaustively to understand what Houston listeners were missing in the market from their local radio stations,” said Sarah Frazier, SVP/Market Manager, CBS RADIO Houston. “Listeners told us they wanted their own spot to hear their favorite music hits, a spot to relax and energize at work and a spot to feel comfy and complete. This is your Spot, Houston.”
Other stations have done similar stunts to promote big staff changes or a format change.
95.7 FM was previously a country music station before switching to jazz. In 2008, it became a pop station.
"We want to provide what people want to hear and they are different formats but we are trying to provide people with connections to the local community," said Michael Pettiette, vice president and director of sales at CBS Radio.
CBS Radio would not say whether this was a cost-cutting measure since there won't be anymore DJs but they do say their research shows this is what the public wants--in a space more crowded than ever with ways to listen to music.
"People use their radio stations to connect to the community," Pettiette said.
We are here for you. We are Your Place. Your Music. Your Way. Listen now to #TheSpot > https://t.co/sHk4XSFIZM
— 95.7 The Spot (@957thespot) December 30, 2016