As first tipped back on our August 15 Domain Insight, Cox Media Group flipped CHR “Hot 101.5” WPOI St. Petersburg/Tampa FL to Adult R&B “101.5 The Vibe” WTBV at noon today.
The new brand is positioning as “Tampa Bay’s Only R&B” as it fills a niche not normally done in the market. iHeartMedia Hip Hop “95.7 The Beat” WBTP had previously dayparted some Adult R&B, while NIA Broadcasting’s 1150 WTMP and its translators emphasize R&B Oldies. The station debuted with Mark Morrison “Return of The Mack”, Patrice Rushen “Forget Me Nots” and Aaliyah “Rock The Boat” and is promoting $1000 giveaways starting Monday, September 11.
WTBV will feature Reach Media’s Rickey Smiley Morning Show as does Cox’s Adult R&B stations in Miami, Jacksonville, and Orlando.
The launch of “101.5 The Vibe” follows a 24 hour loop of Mary J Blige’s “Just Fine” preceded by “Hot 101.5” ending with N’Sync’s “Bye Bye Bye” and LMFAO “Party Rock Anthem”, the latter of which was its first song when it debuted its CHR identity in July 2011.
INSTANT INSIGHT: The flip brings to an end the twelve year run of the station that was arguably the most successful of the second CHR’s to launch in many markets in the late 2000s/early 2010s. On the backs of morning shows hosted by Jayde Donovan and later Miguel Fuller & Holly O’Connor, WPOI would regularly beat iHeartMedia’s entrenched 93.3 WFLZ. For the past two years though, WPOI was rudderless. Following the early 2022 departures of Miguel and Holly to iHeart’s “Hits 96.1” WHQC Charlotte and May 2022 departure of Program Director Will Calder, the company never moved to fill their positions with a few prominent programmers telling us Cox “ghosted them” after posting the position, but deciding in the fall of 2022 to not fill it while other talents were moved to sister stations or leaving the company.
With Cox launching “The Vibe” in Tampa and last week moving their Adult R&B “Hot” brand from a translator to full-powered signal in Jacksonville, the company is putting an increased emphasis on Adult R&B right now. Is there a greater reason behind these moves?
CMG Radio announced that today it launched Tampa’s only Urban Adult Contemporary (“UAC”) format. Hot 101.5 FM, formerly a Contemporary Hits Radio station, will now be “101.5 The Vibe – Tampa Bay’s Only R&B.” 101.5 The Vibe will play artists such as Usher, Alicia Keys and Mary J. Blige.
With this move, CMG Radio is investing in an Urban AC radio station that is custom-built to entertain, inspire, and inform the Tampa community.
“We’re excited to launch 101.5 The Vibe and satisfy a significant format need in Tampa’s rapidly growing market,” said Rob Babin, EVP of CMG Radio. “We program our radio stations with local research and audience feedback, so they are tailored to each market. Launching this exciting brand will create a new opportunity for advertisers to connect with highly engaged consumers.”
With a similar mindset of growing audiences and engaging the community, CMG Radio recently switched the frequency of Urban AC Hot 99.5 FM Jacksonville to 106.5 FM. This move extends the station’s signal, allowing it to reach and positively impact a larger audience in the Jacksonville market.
“This Tampa launch and Jacksonville frequency change demonstrate our commitment to the Urban AC format,” said Chris Eagan, VP of Audience & Operations for CMG Radio. “101.5 The Vibe is the latest addition to our portfolio of award-winning Urban AC stations in Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville, and Atlanta. I’m proud of the hard work our Tampa and Jacksonville teams put into these moves.”
Original Report 9/5: After becoming one of the biggest success stories of the last CHR boom period in the early 2010s, the end appears near for Cox Media Group’s “Hot 101.5” WPOI St. Petersburg FL.
As we first reported in our August 15 Domain Insight, Cox registered a number of domains for the station pointing towards a format change at the station. Today, the company applied to change the call letters of the station to WTBV to take effect on Monday, September 11.
Launching in July 2011 at the peak of the early 2010s CHR boom, “Hot 101.5” would enter a bitter format battle with iHeartMedia’s 93.3 WFLZ. Since WPOI has dropped in the ratings as it registered a 2.2 share in the July 2023 Nielsen Audio survey, behind WFLZ’s 3.3 share.
