International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT) has brought back veteran radio personality Tony Taylor to serve as the station's program director, general manager Doc Casey told the Taipei Times yesterday.
The station is in the first stage of overhauling its programming from talk-intensive shows to more music-oriented ones.
"We brought in Tony to help win the ratings war," Casey said.
ICRT is working to take the station to No. 3 in the market, according to Casey. ICRT, which held the No. 4 and No. 5 position for several years, has been slipping in the ratings recently.
Last year, ACNielsen Taiwan ranked ICRT the sixth most popular station among working-class adults. Among students the station took third place in greater Taipei.
Taylor has been a DJ and program director at the station before.
He told the Taipei Times the main reason for his return to ICRT is to help "re-position" the radio station's musical identity.
"Over the past few years, the format has slipped in and out of various permutations," Taylor said.
Going back to the station's roots is the key. "My main focus is to take ICRT back to it's original format, that being `adult contemporary.'"
The station for several years got lost on tangents few listeners supported: too much Chinese and too much talk.
"We let talk get out of control and let too much Chinese [language] on the radio," Casey said in a recent interview.
Taylor -- already acting as a consultant to the station -- says the station has already shifted gears.
"If you've listened to ICRT over the past few months, then you've no doubt heard songs on the radio that you haven't heard in quite a while. Our main thrust is to make the station more listenable whether at work or play," he said.
"Besides featuring the hits from years gone by we will also play the music of today that fits our format."
The new head of programming says he's ready to take on the challenge and win back listener loyalty.
"I'm excited at the prospect of helping ICRT return to it's rightful place in the ears and minds of our listeners. Tune in sometime -- we think you'll like it."
RSS