CHR wars may get all the attention, but at the moment, a lot of the excitement in New York radio is the jockeying for position between the market’s Mainstream and Hot ACs. In fact, in many ways, the relationship between those three stations recalls an ’80s CHR battle.

In recent months:

CBS Radio’s WWFS (Fresh 102.7) has taken up the rapidly proliferating “’90s, 2K and Today” positioning, shifting away from their enhanced ’80s focus of the last year.

Citadel’s WPLJ, which had positioned around “Today’s Best Music,” filtered in more of the ’80s that had traditionally been the station’s calling card during its ramp-up to new owners Cumulus.

Clear Channel’s WLTW (Lite FM) has also been heard emphasizing its variety and ’80s content. Its top-of-the-hour ID promises the “’80s Thru 2K and Today.” Lite FM hasn’t steered away from the ’70s altogether, but it is possible to hear an hour that doesn’t contain them.

Those changes are taking place on a landscape that also includes both Clear Channel CHR WHTZ (Z100) and Rhythmic Hot AC WKTU, both of which have cut into the shares for traditional AC and Hot AC, as well as Oldies/Greatest Hits WCBS-FM. The latter has since its return four years ago been occupying much of the ’70s territory once covered by stations like Lite FM.

All of which just goes to show how fluid the turf between AC and Hot AC is these days, particularly since Fresh signed on three years ago with an era mix that recalled Hot AC with the texture of a Mainstream AC. You can hear an older Billy Joel title on WPLJ and “Only Girl (In The World)” on WLTW. It seemed like a good time to take a Fresh Listen—literally—to the three rivals in afternoon drive—a time when all three stations had some degree of personality and lifestyle content.

WLTW (Lite FM)

For the last dozen years or so, WLTW prided itself on being the “I can’t believe it’s a Mainstream AC” station, always working with the current (and gold) titles that pushed the format’s boundaries under former PD Jim Ryan, now overseeing Fresh, and then under current PD Chris Conley. The station now uses the liner, “After all these years, still New York’s No. 1 choice at work”—significant for a station that was briefly goaded to drop the “Lite FM” name several years ago.

Other imaging: “The ’80s music that makes you feel young, and the stuff from now that makes you feel hip” and “time for more feel-good variety.” Here’s WLTW at 2:50 p.m. on Sept. 22:

Cyndi Lauper, “All Through The Night”
Lady Gaga, “The Edge Of Glory”
Luther Vandross, “Here And Now”
Peter Gabriel, “In Your Eyes”
Usher, “DJ Got Us Falling In Love” (set up by afternoon host Rich Kaminski as “we like to give you all kinds of different songs”)
Duran Duran, “Hungry Like The Wolf” (last song of the set)
Dixie Chicks, “Landslide”
Bruno Mars, “The Lazy Song” (preceded by a stager about “Lite FM artist Bruno Mars”; the song’s line about having “really nice sex” is obscured)
Richard Marx, “Right Here Waiting”
Vanessa Carlton, “A Thousand Miles”
A-Ha, “Take On Me”
Rihanna, “Only Girl (In The World)”
Phil Collins, “Take Me Home”
George Michael, “Faith”

WWFS (Fresh 102.7)

When Fresh launched, it was more conservative on new music than WPLJ and Lite, which was then an unusually active Mainstream AC station. Through the various shifts in the station and the market, it seems to have emerged as the station where you will hear new pop/rock music from the Hot AC charts, such as the brand new Nickelback song heard this hour.

Fresh’s top-of-the-hour music image promo included the newly timely “Losing My Religion” by R.E.M. The station is also giving away $500 in its “Fresh Workday Cash” promotion. Here’s Fresh 102.7 the same afternoon at 4:00 p.m. with p.m. driver Dylan.

Adele, “Rolling In The Deep”
Maroon 5, “She Will Be Loved”
10,000 Maniacs, “Because The Night”
Plain White T’s, “Hey There Delilah”
Gwen Stefani, “The Great Escape”
Everything But The Girl, “Missing” (the acoustic original)
Lifehouse, “Halfway Gone”
Nickelback, “When We Stand Together”
Kelly Clarkson, “Miss Independent”
Gavin DeGraw, “Not Over You”
Daughtry, “September”
Sister Hazel, “All For You”

WPLJ

We covered “The New WPLJ Music Mix” in June, but with the station’s sale to Cumulus less than a week old, we wanted to check back in. WPLJ has always been its most interesting when the station starts spiking “oh wow” titles. As it did in the mid-’00s, in response to the Jack-FM boom, the expanded library includes both songs that would test for any station and some of the station’s signature titles—e.g., John Waite’s “Change.” The “license to spike” has accounted for a lot of the excitement on the station and one hopes it will continue.

WPLJ’s :00 ID promises “smash hits you grew up with, with the smash hits of today—Stevie Nicks to Cee-Lo Green… Talking Heads to Taio Cruz.” Here’s WPLJ at 5:55 p.m. with p.m. driver Race Taylor.

Beyonce, “Sweet Dreams”
Script, “Breakeven”
Gin Blossoms, “Found Out About You”
Lady Gaga, “The Edge Of Glory”
Bon Jovi, “Have A Nice Day”
Michael Jackson, “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)”
Adele, “Rolling In The Deep”
Smash Mouth, “Can’t Get Enough Of You Baby”
The Band Perry, “If I Die Young”
Bruce Springsteen, “Glory Days”
Maroon 5 f/Christina Aguilera, “Moves Like Jagger”
Daughtry, “Crawling Back To You”