After two hours of stunting with the sound of jingling sleigh bells, Audacy Classic Hits 94.5 KOOL-FM Phoenix relaunched as “Big 94.5” at noon today.
The new brand launched with Peter Gabriel “Big Time”, Billy Joel “Big Shot”, Ozzy Osbourne “Crazy Train”, Prince “Kiss”, and Spin Doctors “Two Princes”. The imaging and logo completely match the relaunch Audacy did at 98.1 WOGL Philadelphia in April.
A new on-air lineup will debut on Monday, October 10. KRTH Los Angeles midday host Lara Scott will pull double duty in Phoenix. Current morning host Niko Petrou will move to afternoons, while JJ Kaden remains in nights. No plans for mornings have been announced. Morning co-host/midday host Dee Garcia and afternoon host Charlie Huero exit the lineup. Their status with the company as a whole is unconfirmed.
The final songs logged before the start of stunting were Boston “More Than A Feeling” and Foreigner “I Want To Know What Love Is”.
KOOL-FM currently ranks fifteenth in the Phoenix market with a 3.0 share. Once a dominant player in the market, the station has been chipped away at by the addition of multiple other gold based stations in the Phoenix area including Desert Valley Media Group’s Oldies “94.9/95.1 The Wow Factor” KOAI, iHeartMedia Variety Hits “95.5 The Mountain” KYOT, Sierra H Broadcasting’s duo of Classic Hip Hop “101.1 The Bounce” KZCE and Rhythmic Oldies “Mega 104.3” KAJM.
The change marks the end of the station using its KOOL-FM calls as its branding, as the station has for its entire history dating back to its sign-on in 1960. The station was one of the first stations to go Oldies in 1971 and evolved to Classic Hits with the majority of format in the late 2000s.
Audacy (NYSE: AUD) announced the launch of BIG 94.5 (KOOL-FM) in Phoenix. The classic hits station will continue to deliver favorites from Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Michael Jackson, Billy Idol, Depeche Mode and more. The station will also launch with a new weekday lineup beginning October 10.
“Since KOOL’s first broadcast over half a century ago, the station has provided “The Valley” with the very best the classic hits format has to offer and we’re thrilled to usher in this next chapter with BIG 94.5,” said Dave Pugh, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy Phoenix. “BIG 94.5 will exceed the expectations of our current audience by bringing a more up-tempo delivery, and playing the “Big Hits” from the 70s, 80s and the 90s.”
New lineup beginning October 10 is as follows.
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. PT: Lara Scott
2:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. PT: Niko
7:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. PT: Kaden
