CHR
“Mix 104.1” KUMX flips from CHR to Classic Hits KFXN “The Fox”
With a rimshotting signal coming from southwest of town, KUMX had a slight competitive disadvantage compared to most of the other stations in New Orleans. Going head to head with WEZB “B97” for the CHR audience in the market, “Mix 104.1” was never fully able to establish its niche. B97 had a more Rhythmic lean and its sister Modern AC “105.3 The Zone” had begun cutting into Mix’s numbers from the other side. Signing off at 9:00am on June 29. 2001, the final song on Mix 104.1 was aptly “When Its Over” by Sugar Ray. Following a daylong stunt, “104.1 The Fox” debuted with an all Beatles weekend.
Hot 100 KRBV Relaunches As Wild 100
Previous Format: CHR “Hot 100” New Format: Rhythmic CHR “Wild 100” Date & Time Of Change: May 28, 2001 at 11:00am More Info: Wikipedia
104.7 Kiss-FM Debuts
Previous Format: CHR “104-7 ZZP” New Format: Rhythmic CHR “104.7 Kiss-FM” Date & Time Of Change: April 23, 2001 at 12:00pm More Info: Wikipedia Related Changes: 104-7 ZZP Ends September 4, 1998 can be looked back upon as the beginning of the end of the second incarnation of KZZP. The irony here is that nothing was changed at KZZP on that Friday-before-Labor-Day-Weekend. Rather, the new owners of KZZP and crosstown KGLQ 96.9 (later KMXP), Jacor, decided to flip KGLQ from Classic Hits “Eagle 96.9” to a Rock-oriented Hot AC format as “Mix 96.9”. (See above for details and audio from that debut.) Why was this bad for KZZP? It’s because the new Mix 96.9 became one of (Modern AC-formatted) KZZP’s strongest competitors. It is no coi...
104-7 ZZP Ends
Previous Format: CHR “104-7 ZZP” New Format: Rhythmic CHR “104.7 Kiss-FM” Date & Time Of Change: April 20, 2001 at 6:00pm More Info: Wikipedia Related Changes: 104.7 Kiss-FM Debuts September 4, 1998 can be looked back upon as the beginning of the end of the second incarnation of KZZP. The irony here is that nothing was changed at KZZP on that Friday-before-Labor-Day-Weekend. Rather, the new owners of KZZP and crosstown KGLQ 96.9 (later KMXP), Jacor, decided to flip KGLQ from Classic Hits “Eagle 96.9” to a Rock-oriented Hot AC format as “Mix 96.9”. (See above for details and audio from that debut.) Why was this bad for KZZP? It’s because the new Mix 96.9 became one of (Modern AC-formatted) KZZP’s strongest competitors. It is n...
CHR “Hot 99.5” WIHT Signs-On
After the merger of AMFM Inc. and Clear Channel Communications, the Jammin Oldies format, which AMFM had been debuting in many markets began to falter. With little corporate support and a high burnout factor in the music, it was not surprising that the format didn’t last longterm. In the meantime, Clear Channel began debuting its “brand” of CHR’s in many markets. Washington, already home to Bonneville’s weaker powererd Z104, was next in line. With the “Kiss” name unavailable, Hot 99.5 was to be born. Getting there was where things got interesting. Bucking the trends, WJMO management gave the station a farewell weekend for the staff and listeners to say goodbye. On April 2, 2001 at 7:00am, Survivor Radio was born. Just like the TV show, 5 people wer...
“Jammin 99.5 ” WJMO drops Jammin Oldies
After the merger of AMFM Inc. and Clear Channel Communications, the Jammin Oldies format, which AMFM had been debuting in many markets began to falter. With little corporate support and a high burnout factor in the music, it was not surprising that the format didn’t last longterm. In the meantime, Clear Channel began debuting its “brand” of CHR’s in many markets. Washington, already home to Bonneville’s weaker powererd Z104, was next in line. With the “Kiss” name unavailable, Hot 99.5 was to be born. Getting there was where things got interesting. Bucking the trends, WJMO management gave the station a farewell weekend for the staff and listeners to say goodbye. On April 2, 2001 at 7:00am, Survivor Radio was born. Just like the TV show, 5 people wer...
92.7 WKIE/WKIF + 92.5 WDEK “92 Kiss-FM” becomes “Energy 92-7 & 5”
The Chicago division of Big City Radio offered some of the more interesting programming on the Windy City’s radio dial. However, three times, a format they debuted on one of their sets of suburban frequencies (92.7/92.5 or 103.1) ended up being copied and presented in a different form on a full signal in the market. When “92.7 Kiss-FM” (later 92 Kiss-FM) debuted in November 1998, it represented the first serious attempt at a CHR/Pop outlet in the Chicago area since the early 90’s. The suburban trio of 92.7 WKIE/Arlington Heights, 92.7 WKIF/Kankakee, and eventually 92.5 WDEK/DeKalb combined to produce ratings near or at a 2 share 12+. (In comparison, those three signals consistently combined for a “no-show” in the 12+ ratings before Big City took control ...
“103.5 The Beat” flips from Rhythmic Oldies to CHR “Kiss-FM”
Upon completion of the Clear Channel/AMFM merger, many expected Clear Channel to launch a CHR/Pop outlet right away. After all, Chicago was one of the few markets remaining that lacked a full-signaled Top 40 outlet. Plus, in the early 90’s, Clear Channel C.E.O. Randy Michaels was involved with WYTZ 94.7 FM (“Z-95”, later “Hell 94-7”, and after that, “Hot 94-7”) — a station which was designed to dethrone CBS-owned CHR/Rhythmic outlet WBBM 96.3 FM “B-96”. But Michaels’ first attempt was a failure, and so it seemed logical to believe that he was ready to compete with B-96 again. As months began to pass, with no format changes, rumors began heating up and they centered around either AC WLIT 93.9 FM or Rhythmic Oldies WUBT 103.5 ...
106.3: Country WHCY becomes CHR “Max 106.3”
A shadow market of New York City, Sussex County, NJ is a growing suburb for those trying to leave the hustle and bustle of the urban life. Nassau Broadcasting, owners of most of the local stations in had complete dominance of the top 3 ratings spots in the market. Sitting at numbers 4 and 5 were New York City’s WHTZ and WPLJ. Attempting to gain further control of the market, Country WHCY flipped to CHR as “Max 106.3” on August 25, 2000 with a sound similar to sister station WPST in Trenton.
