Grant County Broadcasters flipped “Classic Country 105.9” WNKN Middletown OH to Classic Hits “105.9 The Oasis” on Tuesday.
Positioning as “Where The Music Went”, the station’s website is emphasizing that it has a larger library playing songs “that didn’t test well with the younger audiences stations were seeking”. The station is focusing on music from the 1960s through 80s with an emphasis on the 70s. Core artists are listed as including Chicago, Billy Joel, Beach Boys, The Beatles, Aretha Franklin, Earth Wind & Fire, Bee Gees, Doobie Brothers, Hall & Oates, Supremes, James Taylor, The Guess Who, Simon & Garfunkel, Stevie Wonder, Santana, and Fleetwood Mac.
Longtime Cincinnati personality Jeff ‘Maverick’ Bolen, who had been hosting mornings at sister Classic Country 106.7 WNKR Williamstown KY, moves to the same timeslot at WNKN. Ernie Brown will move in reverse, shifting from WNKN to mornings at WNKR.
WNKN covers both the Dayton and Cincinnati markets where in the latter it will create a challenger to Cumulus Media’s 103.5 WGRR. In the early months of Covid, WNKN surged in the Cincinnati ratings to a 6.1 share in the April and May 2020 Cincinnati monthlies. Since then it has fallen back to earth, generating a 1.7 share in the May 2022 ratings. WGRR currently is second in the market with an 11.1 share. In Dayton it will compete against Cox Media Group’s 1980s focused “95.3 The Eagle” WZLR.
