A Washington D.C. radio station is hoping a switch in their format and power source will resonate with green listeners and translate to its bottom line. In an effort to combat mediocre ratings, WARW (94.7 FM) is taking several steps to go green, steps that parent company CBS is touting to some of the chain’s 146 other stations nationwide.
WARW will pay a premium for electricity that Pepco guarantees is wind-generated, rather than produced by a coal-fired plant. The station plans to build a studio at its Silver Spring headquarters at least partly out of green materials. WARW’s gasoline-burning cars are being replaced by hybrid vehicles and it’s switching formats from “Classic Rock 94.7″ to “94.7 the Globe,” incorporating more contemporary artists into its play-list and Mother Earth into its name. The station’s listeners will also get less repetition, real dj’s, musical diversity and a more listener-friendly approach to the whole radio experience.
Most commercial radio is currently unlistenable; hopefully this move to green will be the start of a new era, on many levels. We’ll just have to see how their play-list shakes out.
94.7 the globe

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