BOB FM - Do they really play anything?

[reveal]

So I've noticed BOB FM's sprouting up across the country. Supposedly "[they] play anything." But is that really true? I've been listening to it and it seems to be just another EZ-Listening/Light Rock station with a couple of "kinks" thrown in every now and then. For example, I thought to myself they don't play rap and, lo and behold, they just did. But it was Ice Ice Baby.

Anyone who's listened to BOB FM in your neck of the woods, what do y'all think? Maybe I'm nuts. Here's their playlist (Omaha KCTY 106.9) from the last 40 minutes.

11:57 AM STEPPENWOLF Magic Carpet Ride
11:53 AM VANILLA ICE Ice Ice Baby
11:50 AM FLEETWOOD MAC Don't Stop
11:42 AM PATRICK HERNANDEZ Born To Be Alive
11:39 AM FINGER ELEVEN One Thing
11:35 AM BERLIN No More Words
11:31 AM PAUL MCCARTNEY & WINGS Jet
11:27 AM NO DOUBT Spiderwebs
11:23 AM THE ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION So Into You
11:17 AM LOVERBOY Turn Me Loose

 

[Shemeska]

Sounds like a station near me. They had been a bit on the pop side of rock for a while, then abruptly and without warning they changed formats to this 'we play anything'. Which means that they suck because I'm not willing to listen to the other junk for one song that's decent. 98.7 'The Simon' here in Greensboro NC.

They were the 3rd or 4th station in my list of ones I'd listen to, and they've removed themselves from being a pre-set button in my car. I don't understand how they can survive without a single demographic being catered to specifically.

 

[reveal]

Do a Google search for BOB FM. There are a bunch of station using this format now.

 

[BOZ]

we just got one like that here in Chicago. 104.3 was an oldies station for like... 20 or 25 years, but in the last few weeks it switched to one of these "the DJs play whatever they want" deals.

 

[shaylon]

BOB-FM is called TED-FM in my neighborhood. Not a bad station, but not a great one either.

They consistently fun commercials about how they are not Clear Channel or a big Radio provider but then you google them and there a huge conglomerate of stations across the US.

LIARS!
-Shay

 

[Banshee16]

That's funny...we have a Bob FM in my city too. They used to be called "Kool", and played all your standard pop stuff for years.....but about 2 years ago, another station, "Hot" started up that was playing mostly dance music, hip hop, etc. and apparently started kicking their butts.

Then, with no advertising, Kool turned into Bob, like overnight.

There was a bit of an advertising war, with Hot 89.9 posting commercials about calling the police if a creepy guy named Bob approaches you, etc. etc.

Bob seems to have settled into a lite-rock/80's type format. Hot 89.9 is just annoying because you get the same 5 songs over and over and over again. They run some pretty "out there" contests, like one that's basically a scavenger hunt, where there's one guy wandering around the city, known as the fugitive. Every day they give out a new clue, so people are all trying to find him. It's caused major problems like the day that the clue indicated he was at the airport, and hundreds of people swarmed it, bogging down traffic, obstructing access to legitimate users, etc. I mean, it's kind of funny, but at the same time pretty irresponsible.

Banshee

 

[JimAde]

I just recently read an article about this. Wish I could remember the details, but the upshot of it is an effort to gain listeners by playing more music and more different kinds of music. Seems to fly in the face of the greater specialization you see in cable TV channels and satellite radio, but what do I know?



Just to save you the effort of typing it: Not much.

 

[BOZ]

the one here i think is called JACK-FM

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Is this an online radio station? If it is, can someone link me please?

 

[reveal]

Is this an online radio station? If it is, can someone link me please?

It's a whole bunch of radio stations throughout the US that have taken to the "BOB FM" format. Some of them may stream but I'm not sure.