The “Intriguing Stations” wrap-up always centers around two groups of stations — the outlets, new or revamped, that typify format trends, and those that defy them.
To lead off with the former is to lead off another year by talking about Soft AC stations. 2019 began with a slew of stations inspired by KISQ San Francisco and WFEZ Miami, including some, like WLIT (Lite FM) Chicago and WKJY (K-Joy 98.3) Long Island, N.Y., that returned to Soft AC after trying to follow AC radio’s modernization. The year’s most-read “First Listen” articles were for those stations that went beyond the Breeze — John Sebastian’s KOAI (The Wow Factor) Phoenix and Bobby Rich’s KDRI (The Drive) Tucson, Ariz.
The only format that experienced the same kind of building boom as Soft AC was the Adult Hits format of ‘80s-based Bob- and Jack-FMs (more about that next week). The only station that rivaled KDRI and KOAI for reads was Hot AC WPLJ New York, and that station wasn’t coming, but going. Like KSWD (The Sound) Los Angeles the year before, it was another example of a station experiencing PPM growth by going away. It was, for the most part, another year of older-skewing formats flourishing as younger listening declined, punctuated by a few prominent farewells.
And yet there were two gratifying format changes that took place this week. One was WOTH (Hot 107.9) Williamsport, Pa. In 2019, as CHR’s mother/daughter coalition further dispersed, only three CHRs launched in rated markets, according to RadioInsight’s Lance Venta. Two of those were on FM translators. Hot 107.9 switched from Adult Hits with a local airstaff from day 1.
Then there was KXNO-FM Des Moines, Iowa, the three-share sports AM whose listeners took to Twitter almost as soon as the national iHeart Radio consolidation and cutbacks began. Two days later, six staffers — who would otherwise likely have been able to write their own ticket elsewhere in the market — were rehired and KXNO was on FM. Otherwise, iHeart changed very few formats in 2019. Its most attention-getting launch was simulcasting the iHR platform’s all-podcast format on two AMs and an FM, a show of its increased commitment in that area that also included spotlighting iHR podcasts on its broadcast outlets. It’s hard now not to see a ramp-up to recent events.
In any year, “Intriguing” is a hard article for me to start, and a hard article to finish. It requires synthesizing an entire infinite dial, and finding a place for the reader between exhaustive and exhausting. There are heritage stations that I consider routinely good from year to year. Many of them will be making other appearances in the column in future weeks, along with more international contenders and more from beyond the AM/FM dial. Omissions are inevitable, but never intentional.
Earlier this week, I also asked Facebook friends to name the stations that they thought were doing great radio. As you’d expect, a lot of those answers tended to heritage outlets, particularly WCBS-FM New York and WTOP Washington, D.C, and especially the Urban and Urban AC outlets that are consistently good: WBLS New York; KPRS Kansas City; WVAZ (V103) Chicago; WDKX Rochester, N.Y.; WDAS Philadelphia; WJMH (102 Jamz) Greensboro, N.C.; WHQT (Hot 105) Miami. Look for a separate article on your picks next week as well. But one set of call letters came up repeatedly. Even as a long-running format outlet, Intriguing Stations had to include:
WXPN Philadelphia – I’ve known XPN would make the Intriguing list since August, when it re-created Woodstock in real time to celebrate the festival’s 50th anniversary. But for readers, it was the clear consensus answer, even ahead of perennial non-comm favorites such as KCRW and KCSN Los Angeles. I drove into its signal range a few days ago and within 20 minutes, I had heard a new song I wanted to own, an old song I had forgotten, and at least one song it surprised me to hear the station playing. WXPN is also one of the stations that has done a lot to make neo-soul not just a presence at Triple-A over the years, but increasingly a core sound.
KDRI (The Drive) Tucson, Ariz.; WECK Buffalo, N.Y. – Over the past 15 months, there are really two different soft AC formats that have emerged. One is ‘80s-based, softer-and-older than rivals who play Pink and Zedd, but not too old and soft to compete with them. The other delves further into the ‘60s and ‘70s and follows its listeners beyond the 25-54 window. Like WRME (MeTV FM) Chicago, Buffalo’s WECK had already been playing older gold, but surprised the market with its success this year. Bobby Rich’s KDRI was a favorite of ROR readers. Both were, significantly, stations with a staff of local market veterans, giving listeners not just music they remember, but the type of radio they remember as well.
CJNW (Play 107.1) Edmonton, Alberta – The most successful large-market venture into ‘90s pop so far. When it debuted this summer as “Power 107,” the owners of rival CKNG sued over the “Power” name that they hadn’t used for nearly 20 years, prompting CJNW to solicit new names from listeners. Under any name, it’s another indicator that the ‘90s are headed for the airwaves again. Also check out co-owned CFEX (X92.9) Calgary, Alberta, which has steadfastly refused to participate in any travails affecting the Alternative format elsewhere, similar to KTCL Denver.
KILT (The Bull) Houston – PD Chris Huff held the line on AC Country. He made George Strait his secret weapon. He was an early supporter of Texas Country artist Parker McCollum, whose “Pretty Heart” is currently on three chart reporting stations, but a real hit on all three of them. And currently, the Bull is leading 93Q (KKBQ), a station often featured in this column as well. And if you’re going to check it out, the best time is always during the lead-up to rodeo time.
WFSH (The Fish) Atlanta – Another “power of local” story. The longtime Christian AC ruled the market for the first half of the year. When the non-commercial K-Love network, one of national radio’s exemplars, came to town, WFSH’s numbers were diminished, but hardly demolished. In the holiday book, WFSH was up 4.8-6.7, despite a new Christmas competitor in WSTR (Star 94), which went 2.4-4.3. WAKL, the local K-Love outlet, was off 1.2 – 1.0.
WKHX (New Country 101-Five) Atlanta — When Kicks 101.5 rebranded as New Country 101.5 this fall, taking on a formidable competitor in WUBL (The Bull), it was incorporating many of the lessons that revitalized sister KPLX (The Wolf) 20 years ago, trying to make to “Georgia Country” the new “Texas Country.” But it was also trying to establish the connection with local music that Atlanta’s Hip-Hop stations have been making for a decade, particularly WHTA (Hot 107.9) and WSTR-HD-3 (Streetz 94.5.)
Spotify/Today’s Top Hits; Sirius XM Pandora Now – I tried to avoid repeating 2019 entrants, but Today’s Top Hits continued to make its presence felt in Mainstream Top 40, particularly in terms of timing and broadcast radio’s increased willingness to play two songs at a time from a given artist, but also in the move to shorter songs. Pandora Now emerged shortly after the Sirius XM/Pandora merger — a reminder that some of the left-field titles associated with on-demand radio were making their presence felt at radio’s original disrupter as well.
KENZ (Power 94.9) Salt Lake City; WPXY Rochester, N.Y. – One of the ironies of the last 15 years is that music enterprise has largely become the domain of larger-market stations such as KYLD (Wild 94.9) and KMVQ San Francisco and KHKS (Kiss 106.1) Dallas. But WPXY and Power 94.9 have several interesting titles going at any moment. And in December, Power saw a ratings boost after adding a second signal that covered more of the sprawling Salt Lake City market.
WFLC (Hits 97.3) Miami; WPOW (Power 96) Miami – One of the nice parts of my holiday break was feeling that South Florida radio sounded like South Florida again. Power 96 was again delving into Latin and reggae crossovers to find its own hits. WFLC was one of several Cox CHRs that become more aggressive on new music in recent years, including WPOI (Hot 101.5) Tampa, Fla; it’s the one represented here because I had more opportunity to hear it locally over the course of the year.
WQBU (Que Buena 92.7) New York – In recent years, with the resurgence of reggaeton, Spanish-language AC has become less like WLTW (Lite FM) New York and more like Rhythmic-leaning Hot AC WKTU, as even mainstream pop artists seek out “Urbano” collaborators. WQBU launched this summer on a rimshot signal. It plays a few rhythmic titles, but it also has a large helping of the ballads that once defined the format. Meanwhile, Latin Hip-Hop saw its own mini-building-boom this year, with the launch of KLLI (Cali 93.9) Los Angeles and KHHM (Fuego 103.5) Sacramento, Calif.
WMMR Philadelphia; WIYY (98 Rock) Baltimore; WDHA Morristown, N.J.; WNNX (Rock 100.5) Atlanta – In 2019, Active Rock became a more interesting and varied format, more like the “Heritage Rock” stations of the early-‘90s than the extreme rockers of 5-10 years ago. That’s in part due to actual heritage rockers like WMMR and 98 Rock that continued to expand their musical parameters, but also WDHA, a local that I began spending more time with this year that never abandoned the Heritage Rock approach, and Rock 100.5, which kept its brand but replaced its much of its harder Classic Rock with ‘90s Alternative.
WAKY Louisville, Ky.; KONO-FM San Antonio, Texas – WAKY was a perennial in this column for years. It returned to my radar this year because its ratings were being published again. Suddenly a station that covered the market on three frequencies, was hosted by market veterans, and whose music mix was a decade or so older than most Classic Hits outlets was No. 2 in the market and the No. 1 music station. KONO-FM has moved its music a little newer recently, but it’s still a unique mix for a unique market—more rhythmic than many of its counterpart—and a market leader.
There’s a lot more to talk about in upcoming weeks. What are your most Intriguing Stations? If you haven’t already joined the Facebook discussion, let me know here .
My pick is very much a dark horse, and is largely based on how ambitious it’s been (and how much buzz I’ve picked up from others about it): the “Aire Libre” format on what’s now XHINFO in Mexico City, which launched in late 2018 but flew under the radar for me.
It’s a commercial station (albeit with perhaps some regulatory constraints on the ads), but with very much a community/public vibe. It also has had a good amount of Talk programming, but might be more focused (especially now) on music–with a lot of in-studio performances. And yes, the station really shows off those studios; it even has an Airstream mobile studio that’s used, at the very least, for the weekly “Radio Barrio” show. (That’s appropriate since the station’s owner is best-known for operating auto dealerships.)
An English-language story about its launch specifically referenced KEXP and even the online-only The Lot Radio–although I wouldn’t assume that those are the best comparisons. What might be more telling is that some of the folks who are involved with the format also were involved with the “Radioactivo”-era XHDL–one of the most-successful commercial Rock stations ever in Mexico.
Even though it’s in Spanish, here’s a news story from a few months ago (around the time of the station’s first anniversary) about how it was faring in the ratings…
https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/empresas/Aire-Libre-105.3-FM-se-cuela-en-el-top-10-de-los-mas-escuchados-de-la-CDMX–20191111-0030.html
Thanks, Eric. Definitely a station I’m glad to know about.
Great list Sean! Here are my stations:
WXPN is definitely an intriguing station for me as well. I started listening in August when they did the Woodstock celebration and have not stopped listening. I enjoy listening in every day part during the week and love the music I hear from old to new. They have helped me enjoy some new music including Brittany Howard.
St. Louis Classic Rock (stlouisclassicrock.com) is a station with 21,000 songs and counting in their playlist. You hear a lot of songs that radio has forgotten, especially in the classic rock format, and also listeners post songs to be heard so the playlist constantly grows!
oWow Radio – Like WXPN I have heard a lot of new music on this station and love how they constantly change the playlist so you don’t hear the same songs over and over. You can tell they care about what they play. I love listening during the day from 9-5 and they have some good specials shows on the weekend including Blues Time! Like XPN I have heard a lot of new music that I have grown to like thanks to their playlist
AccuRadio – I really enjoy all the options that AccuRadio has. You can listen to a station for a few hours and not hear a repeat. You can find all kinds of great stations to listen to from so many genres and it never gets boring listening to them.