Update 2/19: It won’t be the Breakfast Club nor syndication replacing Elvis Duran at WWPW.
Scotty Kay, most recently MD/Nights at sister “103.5 Kiss-FM” WKSC Chicago under the name ‘Special K’ will take the vacant morning slot at “Power 96.1“. Kay made the announcement this afternoon on his Instagram account.
Kay had spent his entire radio career at WKSC before being let go in a budget cut last summer, moving up from weekend to nights.
Original Report 2/11: As Clear Channel CHR “Power 96.1” WWPW Atlanta drops the syndicated Elvis Duran morning show, are more changes afoot?
As new Program Director Dan Hunt (recently hired from Beasley’s “Wired 96.5” WRDW-FM Philadelphia) sets out to make his mark on the station, signs are pointing towards a more Rhythmic shift for Power. Since its debut in August 2010, WWPW has battled Cumulus CHR “Q100” WWWQ and Lincoln Financial Media Hot AC “Star 94” WSTR with moderate success. In the Holiday 2013 PPM’s, Power 96.1 ranked thirteenth in the market with a 3.2 share. Those numbers had it trailing WWWQ’s 4.1, but ahead of WSTR’s 3.0 share. Rodney Ho of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution points out though that Duran trailed both as well as AC “B98.5” WSB-FM in morning drive in 25-54 and barely led WSTR in 18-34.
UrbanInsite reports that newly syndicated “The Breakfast Club”, based at Urban “Power 105.1” WWPR New York will be heading to an Atlanta station. While the show has picked up affiliates in Detroit, Houston, and Miami in recent months, all of its stations are Hip-Hop leaning stations as opposed to the Mainstream CHR WWPW.
A shift to a Rhythmic format at WWPW will bridge the gap between WWWQ and WSTR on one end and the Urban trio of “V103” WVEE, “Hot 107.9” WHTA, and “Streetz 94.5” W233BF/WSTR-HD3.