98 Star/WKIK's ad rates were always so much higher than WMDM's. I never understood why, since the Robertsons were able to spread their facilities costs over two stations. Plus with two formats and a more powerful signal, they could reach more listeners.
My two cents about the current state of Southern Maryland radio:
WKIK is making a mistake by playing exclusively new country. As far as I can tell, the station has never heard of Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Ray Price or Jim Reeves. Many of the newer country stars, even ones whose music leans closer to pop, claim to be disciples of Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn. It's a shame that WKIK can't play old and new country together.
The distinction between WMDM and 98 Star is not clear enough. Both play music from the late 1960s and early 1970s. I believe I've heard the same Stones hits on both stations.
WMDM is the best of the three stations, because it sometimes plays lesser-known oldies that the radio industry hasn't beaten to death. 98 Star is the worst, because I couldn't stand a lot of those '80s songs the first time.
Also, T-Bone and Heather can be very annoying at times. Occassionally they have an insight. But most of the time they come across as not only ignorant, but arrogant about their ignorance.
I've considered signing up for satellite radio. I used to listen to NetRadio on the Internet, because I loved the huge playlists and lack of chatter. If you want to know why most commercial radio is so bad, check out Salon.com's articles about the radio industry. Radio lost something special when stations turned to research firms to determine playlists.