Townsquare Media relaunched CHR “B101.7” WBEI Reform/Tuscaloosa AL as Hot AC “Star 101.7” on Friday.
Positioned as “90s, 2000s and Today” the station is promoting its wider playlist as the reasoning behind the change. With the rebranding, which follows last week’s exit of OM/Afternoon Host Greg Thomas for Cumulus Montgomery, the station has dropped the syndicated Kidd Kraddick morning show. Middayer Meg Summers and the syndicated Pop Crush Nights with Lisa Paige remain in place.
WBEI dropped from a 3.7 share in the Spring 2015 Nielsen Audio ratings to a 2.1 in Spring 2016. iHeartMedia’s CHR competitor 94.1 WZBQ dropped from a 4.2 to 3.1 over the same period.