Washington radio Goliath WTOP now has its own David to compete against.
The region’s second all-news radio station, WNEW, debuted this weekend promising constant, reliable and suburbs-focused news coverage.
It faces tough competition in WTOP, the most lucrative radio station in the nation and the established favorite with information-hungry, traffic-trapped Washington commuters. WTOP, which usually tops the local ratings brought in nearly $60 million in ad revenue in 2010, more than any other station in the country.
But WNEW, a CBS-owned station airing on 99.1 FM, promises slightly different fare than WTOP.
“I think we refer to it kind of like Pepco — you turn on the light switch and you get lights. Anytime you tune in you’ll never be more than one minute away from news or information,” said Steve Swenson, senior vice president and marketing manager for CBS radio stations in the Washington area.
WNEW will skip long-format interviews like WTOP’s “Ask the Governor” program in favor of half-hour newscasts, weather updates every four minutes and traffic every 10. It also will run ABC and CNN national newscasts, not CBS, since WTOP’s contract of affiliation with CBS extends for another 18 months and is likely to be renewed.
WNEW debuts with eight reporters, nine full-time anchors and a staff of 46, Swenson said.
That’s small compared with WTOP’s average 12 to 15 reporters a day and newsroom staff of 112.
But the new station is already drawing a slew of advertisers — including some who also air ads on WTOP.
It’s a time of transition for WTOP, with a new owner and many former staffers working at WNEW. The station was sold to Hubbard Broadcasting in a $550 million deal last spring.
WTOP vice president of news and programming Jim Farley says the arrival of a new radio station won’t change anything.
“They have a long way to go to get in the same league,” Farley said. “In their goal not to sound too much like us, they have indeed succeeded, and you can read into that what you like … Our people have a little more personality.”
WNEW takes over the 99.1 frequency from Spanish-language station WLZL, which moved to 107.9 FM. The newcomer will share a website, cbsdc.com, with its sister sports station, 106.7 The Fan.
