in 1999, john boy and billy were being heard on 65 rock stations in 18 states, but the show was expected to dramatically increase its potential audience when the producers added the option of country music. whsl in greensboro, north carolina, which was owned by capstar broadcasting (same as wrfx and the john boy and billy network), was one of the first country stations in the network. prophet systems innovations, also owned by capstar, developed the technology to easily allow different musical programs between talk segments. about three rock songs were played per hour, though country songs tended to be shorter and there might be more of them. macon moye, vice president and general manager of the john boy and billy network, said the addition of country music would allow the show to be heard in northern states where the show would not fit a rock format. sean ross, editor of airplay monitor, cautioned that the show might be "too edgy and too male" for some country stations, but tom taylor, editor of the m street daily fax of nashville, tennessee, believed the show had great potential to expand.