Concurrent with the dual flips at “89X” and “93.9 The River” in Windsor, Entercom dropped Christmas Music on Soft AC “98.7 The Breeze” and launched Alternative “Alt 98.7“.
The flip took place just after 12pm today with Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”, White Stripes “Seven Nation Army” and Foster The People “Sit Next To Me” kicking off the new brand. The new format succeeds Bell’s now defunct Alternative/Active Rock “89X” and AAA “93.9 The River” in the format. The “Alt” brand was previously utilized in the Detroit market by iHeartMedia’s 106.7 WDTW-FM until its flip to Classic Rock in March 2019.
Entercom today announced the immediate launch of ALT 98.7 (WDZH-FM), Detroit’s new alternative. The station, previously known as 98.7 The Breeze, will boast a vast music library featuring artists like Blink-182, Cage the Elephant, My Chemical Romance, The Lumineers and Twenty One Pilots, among others.
“This is a huge opportunity to add alternative to our portfolio, and we’re thrilled to further expand our content offering for Detroiters,” said Debbie Kenyon, Senior Vice and Market Manager, Entercom Detroit. “ALT 98.7 will serve as a home for some of today’s top hits from premier artists in the industry, while capturing the distinctive style and flair of the Motor City.”
ALT 98.7 will launch with 10,000 songs commercial free. On-air programming details will be announced in the coming weeks.
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I know I’m commenting kind of late on this one but it still counts. Why would you switch an adult contemporary station to a new format in the middle of the Christmas season. Does that make any sense at all. I remember when 94.9 Atlanta did that in 2006 and when 106.5 which is now 106.7 in Salt Lake City did that in 2012. if you’re an adult contemporary station and you’re playing Christmas music and you decide to switch I would rather switch your station right after Christmas or right before the new year. No sense in dropping a Christmas music format in the middle of November.