AL
Down on the Gulf of America, iHeart flips W258AY Mobile AL from Sports to CHR as “99.5 Kiss FM.” WRKH HD-2 96.1 Mobile feeds the translator, which is actually owned by Radio By Grace but leased by iHeart.
CA
K266CG 101.1 Bakersfield CA ha flipped from Sports to Rhythmic Throwbacks as “101.1 The Bounce.” The translator is fed by KISV-HD2 94.1 Bakersfield.
Spanish Rhythmic KLLI 93.9 Los Angeles has switched to Bilingual AC. “Exitos Para Nosotros” (EE: Hits for Us) is the new positioning statement. The station features music from the 1980’s through the 20-teens.
There’s a new sound in California’s Inland Empire. KCAL 96.7 Redlands has flipped from Active Rock to Classic Rock. Promoted by owner Anaheim Broadcasting as a sound that is built around the songs that defined classic rock, the station will run jockless. Sounds like a money saver to me.
The “MeTV FM” brand is back in the Coachella Valley of CA. KMEE 92.1 Thermal CA is picking it up after another area station dropped it last December.
FL
Florida welcomes new LPFM WSPE-LP 96.5 Brandon to the airwaves. It’s another affiliate of Bethel Radio, the Spanish religious network.
Meanwhile, WKJH-LP 94.5 Homestead FL is newly on the air with religious programming, adding yet another signal to the overly crowded Miami dial.
GA
“Atlanta’s Upbeat Variety” is what listeners in the Georgia capital are hearing these days on “Star 94” WSTR 94.1 Smyrna. What it all means is that the station is dropping much of its Rhythmic music in favor of a more traditional AC mix.
On solid ground in Lafayette GA is new to the air LPFM WBJL-LP 92.9. Positioning itself as “Solidly Gospel,” the format is a blend of southern, bluegrass and country Gospel music.
IN
Classic Rock is out at WCJZ 105.7 Cannelton IN (Owensboro KY market). It’s been replaced by Christian AC with the slogan “105.7 The Bridge.” It’ll face lots of format-related competition in that market. Betcha we see a change in format again in the next year or so.
IA
In the Cyclone state, KDAO 92.9 Eldora IA is no longer Soft Rock, switching to a 90’s-based Adult Hits format as “Rewind 93.”
KY
In the Bluegrass State, Rock WWKU 1450 Plum Springs and translators W274CD 102.7 Plum Springs, W251BT 98.1 Glasgow and W252CV 98.3 Bowling Green have all flipped to Rhythmic Throwbacks as “98 Jams.” The stations position themselves as “Straight Throwbacks.”
ME
W282CS 104.3 Sanford ME stays Oldies but rebrands from “Seacoast Oldies” to “104.3 The Goat.” The change also moves the station from being 70’s-centric to include hits on up to the early 2000’s. The translator is fed by WWSF 1220 Sanford.
MA
On the air and DX ready is WJZV-LP 105.5 Oak Bluffs MA. And no, the programming isn’t religious, it’s jazz.
Lee MA has a new LPFM on the air with a Variety format. It’s WGSL-LP 107.3.
MI
WJLQ-LP 99.7 Muskegon is now on with a format I would describe as All Over the Road. Listen and see what you think at WJLQ.com.
MO
On the northwest side of St. Louis, we find KQDZ Elsberry MO switching from Classic Rock to Classic Hits as “Q-101.” The station is centered on music from the 80’s and 90’s.
NE
I find tribal radio stations fascinating. The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska has a new station on the air, KBVW 88.9 Winnebago NE. It features news and information for the tribe’s members in that part of the Cornhusker state.
NY
On the NY/VT border WJKS 104.3 Keeseville NY goes from Country to Classic Country as “Backroads 104.3.” Positioning as “Country Throwbacks,” the new format is centered on country hits from the 80’s and 90’s.
OH
In southeast Ohio WATH 970 and translator W247DR 97.3, both Athens, go from Sports to Oldies using the “Gold” network Oldies format from Seaboard Networks. They’ll still do a ton of sports, with the broadcasts of the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals, Athens High School and The Ohio State University. What, no Ohio University Bobcats games in the hometown of the Bobcats? OoooK. The Gold network is one of four 24/7/365 formats offered by the North Carolina-based Seaboard.
Also in southeast OH, Country WSEO 107.7 Nelsonville loses its “Wild Country 107.7” branding as it now simulcasts WLOH 1320 Lancaster OH. WLOH is Country as “The Wolf.”
ON
WOW! Actually, “Wow-FM.” That’s the new branding for CHMY Arnprior, CJWV Peterborough, CIYM Brighton and CKNC Simcoe. All are owned by My Broadcasting. Their new positioning statement is “Just Great Songs” as they continue with their Oldies format.
OR
The central coast of Oregon sees a change this month, as Classic Rock “K-Surf” KCRF 96.7 Lincoln City switches to Country as “K-Surf Country.”
SC
WHHD 98,3 Clearwater SC (Augusta GA market) has rebranded from “HD 98.3” to “Party 98.” The format is still CHR. To bridge the gap between brands the station went with an all Taylor Swift format. Betcha the Swifties there wish it had remained that way.
TX
KAMV Benbrook is venturing out on its own. Owner Univision has switched it from a simulcast of Spanish Rhymthmic KDXX 107.9 Benbrook to its own format, Spanish AC, as “Amor 107.1.” The Metroplex is a hotbed of changes lately.
The Magic is gone in the Metroplex. Adult R&B “Magic 94.5” KZMJ Gainesville TX is now Spanish Christian “Fuzion Radio” KFZN. It’s refreshing to hear a Spanish Christian format that is music-intensive, rather than a blend of music and preaching programs.
WA
“Z Country 94.7” KAZL Manson WA has switched from Country to Classic Country as “94.7 The Bull.” The station positioning statement is “True country from the 90’s and More.”
Gotta admit, KNHC 89.5 Seattle is a pretty bold little high school station. The station is still Dance oriented, rebranding from “C 89.5” to “Dance 89.5.” With that comes a new positioning statement that it’s “Seattle’s Party Station.” They run in HD with New Wave on the HD-2 and Public Radio on HD-3.
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Busy month, eh? And a busy summer for Es. Here in central Oklahoma, I’ve logged nearly 200 new stations and moved the overall total stations logged past the 3,600 mark. Two new states were added here this summer, ME and CT, 2 provinces in NB and NS, and one estado, Chiapas. But not a single new LPFM! Let’s hope we get a few good Es openings in August. See ya next month!
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Sources: Indianaradio.net, Northpine, RadioInsight, Hisair.net, LPFM Database, IRCA’s DX Monitor, InsideRadio, RadioInk, and radio biz connections