After stunting since New Years Eve as “103.9 The Party“, SummitMedia flipped 103.9 WRKA Louisville to Rhythmic AC “103.9 The Groove“.
Focusing on pop leaning R&B, the station is listing core artists as including Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Whitney Houston, Earth Wind and Fire, Maroon 5, and Beyoncé positioned as “throwback favorites and songs that you love now”. The station is being overseen by SummitMedia Louisville Operations Manager Lee Cagle.
INSTANT INSIGHT: Upon listening for an hour, it appears the station is trying to bridge the divide between Urban AC and the booming Soft AC format. 90% of the songs heard would definitely be heard on one or both of those formats such as TLC “Waterfalls”, Michael Jackson “Rock With U”, Whitney Houston “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”, and Chi-Lites “Just My Imagination”. The only one stretch for Urban AC would be Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect”.
At 9am this morning, SummitMedia Louisville’s True Country Station 103.9 The Hawk (WRKA) officially made it’s flip to 103.9 The Groove (WRKA). After stunting for the past week with 103.9 The Party, a station centered around upbeat party music, the station has found its permanent home with 103.9 The Groove.
Louisville’s newest radio station is playing a mix of throwback favorites and songs you love now. Listeners will hear artists like Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Whitney Houston, Earth Wind and Fire, Maroon 5, Beyoncé & so many more.
“The Groove is a unique station, playing a lot of songs not heard on any other radio station in Louisville. A lot of our listeners will hear songs they grew up listening to, as well as songs from the past few years that they Groove to now”, said Cagle, SummitMedia Louisville’s Operations Manager. “You can Groove in the car, at home and at work! 2019 is the year of the Groove!”
SummitMedia Louisville’s General Manager Todd Pitt said, “Louisville is ready for a station that is as smooth as our Classic Bourbon and “The Groove” is THAT Station!”
Original Report 12/31: New Years Eve has brought the end of Classic Country “103.9 The Hawk” on WRKA Louisville.
The station is currently calling itself “103.9 The Party” with a broad Variety Hits playlist positioning it as “Where Its New Years Eve Everyday”. Among the songs heard include Lil Jon “Get Low”, Gin Blossoms “Follow You Down”, Justin Timberlake “Can’t Stop This Feeling”, Billy Ocean “Caribbean Queen”, Destiny’s Child “Independent Women, Pt. 1” and Kansas “Carry On Wayward Son”. If it feels like a stunt it usually is a stunt.
Serving as a flanker to sister Country “Q103.1” WQNU, the Classic Country format registered a 2.0 share in the Summer 2018 Nielsen Audio ratings.
chrisbubb
Louisville has had the “neo-traditional” take on Soft AC before with Easy Rock 105.1. It’ll be interesting to see if this new rhythmic take on the format lasts any longer. From the description it seems like the sound is a lot like Detroit’s 98.7 The Breeze which is also leaning very urban AC.
FWIW, “Just My Imagination” is by the Temptations, not the Chi-Lites. The Chi-Lites’ huge hits included “Oh Girl” and “Have You Seen Her.”