RadioInsight

12/21 – 103.9 WTDA Columbus, OH – “103.9 Talk-FM” flipped to Classic Hits “Classic Hits 103.9” at 12:00pm.

12/25 – Former CHR “Hot 100” 100.7 WFNR Christiansburg, VA flipped to Hot AC “Mix 100.7“.

12/26 – 100.1 WJRZ Manahawkin, NJ flipped from Classic Hits to Hot AC “Magic 100.1” at 12:00am.

12/26 – 98.1 WLND Chattanooga, TN has flipped from Classic Country “The Legend” to Hot AC as “98.1 LND“.

12/26 – Former “100.3 The Beat” 100.3 KATZ St. Louis, MO flipped to Modern AC “100.3 The Sound” at 12:00am under new WSDD calls.

12/26 – “Magic 107.1” WTLY Tallahassee, FL flipped from AC to Hot AC as “My 107.1“.

12/26 – Classic Hits “My 95.7” WRIT Milwaukee has returned to its former “Oldies 95.7” moniker.

12/26 – AC “EZ Rock 97.3” flipped to Classic Hits “Boom 97.3” at 9:00am.

12/28 – Smooth Jazz “107.3 The Wave” WNWV flipped to AAA “Boom! 107.3” at 12:00pm.

12/28 – Variety Hits “107.9 The Track” WNTR Indianapolis, IN relaunched as “My 107.9” at 12:28pm/

12/28 – Former 70′s based Classic Hits “Kool 106.1” KQQL Tulsa, OK flipped to 90′s based Classic Hits “Gen X Radio” at 12:00pm.

12/28 – 93.1 WEZW Wildwood Crest, NJ flipped to Soft AC “Easy 93.1“.

12/28 – AC “95.7 Star-FM” KKSR Walla Walla, WA flipped to Classic Hits “95.7 Fun-FM“.

12/29 – Active Rock “94.7 The Buzz” KHBZ segued to 80′s based Classic Rock “94.7 The Brew” at 10:00am.

12/31 – 104.3 WECB Appleton, WI “104.3 The Breeze” relaunched as Variety Hits “104.3 & 103.5 Chuck-FM” at 3:00pm on New Years Eve. 103.5 is a translator for the station in Green Bay, WI.

1/1 – 106.1 WRDU Raleigh, NC flipped to its previously announced News/Talk “Rush Radio 106.1” identity.

1/1 – 94.5 WGBT Greensboro, NC flipped to News/Talk “Rush Radio 94.5” with new WPTI calls.

1/1 – 99.9 KXLY & 96.9 KEZE Spokane, WA – “Coyote Country 96.9” and AAA “99.9 The River” swapped frequencies at midnight.

1/4 – Former “Z-Rock 94.5” WZJO Charleston, WV flipped to a simulcast of sister News/Talk “Supertalk 950” WVTS with matching WVTS-FM calls.

The new year has begun with a pair of morning show changes in Detroit with the possibility of more on the way. Jay Towers, co-host at CBS’ Sports “97.1 The Ticket” WXYT has left the station for an undisclosed Clear Channel station. Former WDFN Morning Host Mike “Stony” Stone is filling-in with incumbent Bill McAllister for the time being.

At Greater Media’s Classic Rock 94.7 WCSX, morning team Jeff Deminski and Bill Doyle have left the station after one year. The station is moving to a music-intensive position in mornings and have moved Afternoon host Ken Calvert into the morning slot, while the station’s Operations Manager Doug Podell takes over the afternoon slot. Michiguide.com has more on both of these stories

Northern Lights Broadcasting has relaunched Rhythmic CHR “B96” KTTB Minneapolis as Mainstream CHR “96.3 Now“. All members of the on-air staff with the exception of morning host Tone E. Fly were let go as the station attempts to broaden its audience in its battle against Clear Channel’s 101.3 KDWB.

CBS Radio has announced a number of personnel changes effecting its Washington, D.C. and Orlando clusters.

In the Capital, Michael Saunders comes aboard as Operations Manager of the entire cluster and Program Director of Rhythmic CHR 95.5 WPGC. Saunders joins the station from sister “102 Jamz” WJHM Orlando and previously has programmed WWPR New York and WJLB Detroit.

In Orlando, Rick Stacy joins the company as OM of Hot AC “Mix 105.1” WOMX and PD of Classic Hits “Sunny 105.9” WOCL. A number of on-air personalities were let go today as well including WOMX morning co-host Erica Lee, WOCL middayer Laura Francis, and WOCL afternoon host Bob Berry.

DCRTV.com reports that Victor Starr, morning show producer at WPGC will shift to WJHM as Program Director.

Update 1/7/10: John Lynch, owner of Broadcast Company of the Americas and Thoma Bravo LLC have paired up to acquire the Finest City Broadcasting assets under the name “Local Media of America”. The three Finest City stations will be operated together with BCA’s three stations in San Diego.

Lynch was responsible for the birth of 91X when he operated Noble Broadcasting. Full Press Release Available Here.

Original Post 1/4/10: The winds of change have gusted into San Diego to start the new year with a forced sale of three stations and two major morning show changes.

Clear Channel has let go of two high profile morning shows as they attempt to lower operating costs. Mikey Esparza was let go from the “Mikey Show” at “Rock 105.3” KIOZ at the end of 2009 after being unable to come to terms on a new contract. Esparza has reportedly come to terms with a crosstown station and will debut in a few weeks. The remainder of the show remain in place.

Today, Classic Rock “101.5 KGB” let go of the Dave, Shelly, and Chainsaw show after almost 20 years in the market. Clear Channel released the following statement on KGB’s website today: “After extensive negotiations, and offering the DSC team a very lucrative, multi-year offer, we were unfortunately not able to reach an agreement to keep the show with KGB.”

Finest City Broadcasting, which operates three Mexican stations targeted towards American listeners, defaulted on a loan payment and will have its assets put up for auction on Thursday. The stations, Rhythmic CHR “Z90.3” XHITZ, Modern Rock “91X” XETRA-FM, and Rhythmic Oldies “Magic 92.5” XHRM will continue to be run under the existing marketing arrangements that allows a U.S. based operator to manage the stations.

Just five months after dropping its longtime “Edge” moniker for a more generic “FM103.9 The Alternative“, KEDJ Phoenix has rebranded again as “X103.9“.

Our NetGnomes point out that the station’s new website X1039Phoenix.com is registered to Sun City Communications, owner of Spanglish CHR “95.1 Latino Vibe” KVIB, and not bankrupt current owner Riviera Broadcasting. Riviera also owns Rhythmic CHR “Power 98.3” KKFR and two stations in Las Vegas.

The long-awaited frequency swap between AC 104.3 KAFE Bellingham, WA and AAA “Shore 104” CHHR Vancouver, BC will occur on Thursday, January 14 at 7:30am with a symbolic transfer at the international border. KAFE will slide down to 104.1 to keep its coverage area of Washington from the fringes of the Seattle market northward, while CHHR retains full market coverage of Vancouver.

The biggest beneficiary of this move will be First Broadcasting’s 104.5 KMCQ Covington, WA will be able to finish its move into the Seattle market by moving its transmitter to Cougar Mountain. KMCQ will also increase its signal from 25kw at 318′ to a directional 7.1kw at 1273 feet above average terrain.

Entravision Communications’ Rhythmic CHR “103.5 The Bomb” KBMB Sacramento is in the process of shifting to a more Mainstream presentation. Syndicated morning host Big Boy will be dropped in favor of a “More Music Morning” show. Entravision registered Hot1035Radio.com last week, currently pointing to a splash page for KBMB being “Under Construction”.

A shift to Mainstream will place KBMB in more direct competition with Entercom’s “107.9 The End” KDND as opposed to CBS’ Rhythmic 102.5 KSFM.

Update 1/19: CBS has confirmed that WBZW will become Sports “93.7 The Fan” KDKA-FM on Monday, February 15 at 5:30am.

Sister Hot AC “Star 100.7” WZPT will segue to Adult CHR. B94 morning host Bubba will join Star’s J.R. and Shelley in mornings, while his former co-host Melanie Taylor will host middays at Star.

Original Entry 1/14: CBS Radio appears to be adding another city to its network of All-Sports stations. A number of domains have been registered in recent weeks by CBS’ registrar pointing us in that direction. 937TheFan.com, TheFan937.com, and TheFanOfPittsburgh.com were registered on 12/28, followed by 937TheFanPGH.com, TheFanPGH.com, and TheFanOfPGH.com on 1/5. The current occupant of the 93.7 frequency, CHR “B94” WBZW was the first of CBS’ boom in new CHR’s when it launched in October 2007 after an ill-fated run as FM Talk “93.7 The Zone”.

Clear Channel has the Play-By-Play rights to the University of Pittsburgh, NHL Penguins and MLB Pirates locked up, however we are unable to confirm the status of the NFL’s Steelers contract anywhere online since the expiration of their previous deal in 2005. Grabbing the Steelers would be a tremendous coup for CBS Pittsburgh.

We’ve heard that some aspects of B94 will be merged into sister Hot AC “Star 100.7” WZPT, but we’ve been unable to confirm that yet.

Update 1/15: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette chimes in with a list of potential hosts for the Fan.

Millcreek Broadcasting flipped Active Rock “97.5 The Blaze” KZZQ Salt Lake City to Rock AC while keeping the “Blaze” moniker. The new format features Rock Hits of the 1980′s through the present. The first hour consisted of:

Seether – Truth
Def Leppard – Pour Some Sugar On Me
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – I Love Rock And Roll
Van Halen – Why Can’t This Be Love
Candlebox – Far Behind
Seether – Truth
Poison – Talk Dirty To Me
Nickelback – Rockstar
Whitesnake – Here I Go Again
No Doubt – Spiderwebs