Update 12/26: Joining Jim Harper in retirement in Detroit is the “Magic 105.1” name. With the end of Christmas Music at 12:00 this morning, WMGC relaunched its AC format as “Soft Rock 105.1“.
Chris Edmonds will move from afternoons to mornings on the newly revamped station, while Mitzi Miles slides from middays to afternoons.
Original Report 10/28: Greater Media AC “Magic 105.1” WMGC Detroit has dropped its format for Christmas music.
We’re placing this station at the very top of our post-Christmas format change watchlist. The station has gone the extra step of removing all “Magic” references. In August, we reported that the station had registered Sports1051.com should it had gained the rights to University of Michigan play-by-play. What we didn’t note was that Christmas1051.com was registered along side it.
Another reason to expect a flip, WMGC morning host Jim Harper announced earlier this month he would be retiring following his program on December 23. Harper has been a fixture in Detroit radio since the early 1970’s and has been hosting mornings at WMGC since 2001.
Joseph
Was Greater Media so worried that WMGC-105.1 would not remain successful without Jim Harper??
And rival WNIC-100.3 has launched a streaming 24/7 Christmas music service prominently displayed on their homepage.
Look for them to follow WMGC’s lead no later than Tuesday (November 1st).
WNIC can’t afford to wait until mid-November, if that’s what they were going to do.