When Clear Channel acquired Classic Hits “K-Hits 106.7” KLTH Portland from CBS last month it opened up a question of what it would do with its own “Kool 105.9” KQOL. The answer seems to be coming from Milwaukee as 1059TheBrew.com is currently pointing to KQOL’s website. The “Brew” branding is currently used on 80’s heavy Classic Rockers in Milwaukee, Columbus, and Omaha.
Brewer Media Group has flipped “95.3 Jack-FM” WHJK Chattanooga, TN to News/Talk as “Pulse News” as WPLZ, merging the station’s branding with the weekly newspaper it runs in the city. Additionally, sister CHR WALV “Alive 105” will flip to Sports as “ESPN Chattanooga” when it moves from 104.9 to 105.1 and moves its transmitter into Chattanooga proper in mid-June.
Chattarati.com features an interview with Owner Jim Brewer about the new stations.
Update 5/2/09: KABQ wasn’t the only station that flipped in Albuquerque. While 104.7 became “Classic Country 104.7” at midnight, Urban AC “Hot 95.1” KSYU flipped to Rhythmic AC as “The New 95.1″. A new domain registration 951ABQ.com hints at the KABQ calls eventually moving from 104.7 to 95.1. The music log on 95.1 is identical to that of sisters WMIA-FM Miami and WZJZ Fort Myers, FL. Expect to see more of this nationwide as part of Clear Channel’s “Premium Choice” initiative.
Update 5/1/09 11:00pm EDT: Another sign a flip is imminent: SmoothJazz1047.com now features a logo for the new “Classic Country 104.7″, yet the Smooth Jazz format continues for now.
Original Entry 1:00am: The following logo appeared on the Clear Channel server this evening. From the looks of it, “Smooth Jazz 104.7” KABQ Albuquerque will be flipping to Classic Country sooner rather than later. KABQ’s website is already featuring some country content.
As we wait to see when Clear Channel drops the format in Albuquerque, Smooth Jazz disappears from the dial in Dayton, Ohio. At 5:00pm, 106.5 WDSJ became Country “106.5 The Bull“. The Smooth Jazz programming shifts to the HD2 stream of sister 99.1 WLQT as well as a four hour Sunday morning block on WLQT.
Clear Channel continues its slew of programming shifts in the aftermath of its massive layoffs last week as 100.3 WVBZ Greensboro/Winston-Salem has shifted from Classic Rock “100.3 The Buzzard” to Active Rock “100.3 The Buzz“. The station is running jockless for now.
Sheridan Broadcasting has announced it has sold Urban 106.7 WAMO-FM , Urban AC 860 WAMO, and Gospel 1510 WPGR in Pittsburgh, PA to St. Joseph’s Missions, who will flip the stations to Christian programming. All 35 employees have been told they will be out of a job when the deal closes. The trio are the primary minority targeted stations in the Pittsburgh market.
Is Radio-One about to flip Urban AC “Q92.7” WQNC Charlotte, NC to Hot AC? Fresh927.com and Fresh927FM.com were registered to Radio-One last week. The renowned Urban radio operator, which has sold off the majority of its non-black targeted stations, could simply be looking to fill a more profitable format hole in the market, which hasn’t had a Hot AC since 107.9 WLNK shifted completely to Talk.
With the financial turmoil of the newspaper industry taking its toll on The New York Times Company, rumors have been spreading for a few months about the future of Classical 96.3 WQXR New York. The New York Daily News in January and the New York Post in April both reported on the possibility of their competitor having to sell-off one of its non-core assets.
We have a new wrinkle to add. ESPN Inc. registered 963espn.com, 963espnradio.com, and espn963radio.com earlier this week. By no means does this mean a deal is in place yet, but something is definitely brewing. ESPN parent Disney already has a relationship with The New York Times company as it acquired then-WQXR sister 1560 WQEW in December 1998 under a long-term lease with an option to purchase that was exercised in late 2006 to bring Radio Disney to New York.
