After a weekend of stunting with Christmas music, iHeartMedia flipped 106.1 WISX Philadelphia to Soft AC “106.1 The Breeze” at noon today.

Positioned as “Philly’s Relaxing Favorites”, the new format will feature core artists including Chicago, Whitney Houston, Air Supply and Adele. The format positions the station in between Entercom Classic Hits 98.1 WOGL and just rebranded AC “B101.1” WBEB. 101.1 was second in the Philadelphia market with a 7.0 share in the October Nielsen Audio ratings, with WOGL just behind it in a third place tie with a 6.8. WISX was thirteenth with its now former Classic Hip-Hop format at a 3.0 share.

The first hour of the new “106.1 The Breeze” consisted of:

Billy Paul – Me & Mrs. Jones
Jim Croce – I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song
Hall & Oates – She’s Gone
Boyz II Men – I’ll Make Love To You
Anita Baker – Sweet Love
Atlantic Starr – Secret Lovers
Bruce Springsteen – Hungry Heart
Luther Vandross – Always and Forever
Enrique Iglesias – Hero
John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John – You’re The One That I Want
TLC – Waterfalls
Chicago – Hard To Say I’m Sorry
America – Horse With No Name
Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
Rupert Holmes – Escape (Piña Colada Song)

iHeartMedia Philadelphia announced today the launch of 106.1 The Breeze, Philly’s Relaxing Favorites, effective immediately.

106.1 The Breeze will launch at 12 p.m. today by playing 10,000 commercial-free songs in a row. The new station will broadcast a soothing blend of music from artists such as Chicago, Whitney Houston, Air Supply and Adele. The full talent line-up for 106.1 The Breeze will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

“This is a sound that was long abandoned by other stations, said Nick Gnau, President of iHeartMedia Philadelphia Region. “Listeners can now hear relaxing Adult Contemporary genre music that hasn’t been played on the radio in years from their favorite artists.”

“There is a huge appetite in Philly for a softer, relaxed sound, especially during the workday, said Brian Check, Vice President of Programming for 106.1 The Breeze. “I’m happy to say we’re bringing “The Breeze” to Philadelphia.”

As part of this move, programming on Real 106.1 changed on Friday November 9th to a Holiday music format and will now transition to 106.1 The Breeze.

Original Report 11/9: The winds of change are blowing into iHeartMedia Classic Hip-Hop “Real 106.1” WISX Philadelphia.

The station dropped its format at noon and has begun stunting with Christmas music. While positioning as “Philadelphia’s REAL Christmas”, the on-air branding is simply “106.1 FM“. While we’ve been reporting on an expected flip to Soft AC, the move today does beat Entercom’s just rebranded “B101.1” WBEB to the Christmas music position in the market. Will it be enough to chip away at their usual dominant position in the market though?

With the change in format WISX is currently running jockless as the entire airstaff of morning hosts Chio Acosta and Shila Nathan, midday host/digital director Nicole Michalik, and afternoon host Johnny V exit.