MINNESOTA (UPDATED):
iHeartMedia has launched several new brands on Twin Cities HD Radio subchannels days ahead of a competitor's promoted change, potentially blocking them from using several names. The existing "K102 New" Modern Country format on the HD2 signal of KEEY/102.1 has changed its name to "The Wolf," while iHeart has launched another Country format called "The Bull" on the HD3 signal of KDWB/101.3. (K102's main channel is the market's heritage Country outlet.)
If you're in MSP and have an HD radio and like COUNTRY. Just Country, no pop crossover, check out THE BULL 101.3 HD3 Would love to geet feedback.
— Gregg Swedberg (@ThatsALottaGs) November 30, 2018
"The Bull," which was first reported by RadioInsight, replaces Minnesota State Fair Radio on KDWB-HD3. (Coincidentally, Cumulus' KQRS/92.5 uses yet another animal name, "The Bear," on its HD2 Classic Country channel.)
Meanwhile, a "Breeze" has blown into the Twin Cities on KEEY-HD3. iHeart has been launching the Soft Adult Contemporary format on HD subchannels in numerous markets as the format makes a comeback nationwide. It does not appear that there is an online presence for the Twin Cities Breeze format at this point. KEEY did not previously have an HD3 channel.
The three launches come as Entercom Country outlet "Buz'n @ 102.9" (KMNB) teases a possible change Monday morning at 7 a.m. "The Breeze" competes with KMNB's former "Lite FM" format, now carried on the HD2 signal of KZJK/104.1, and Cumulus is also poised to relaunch AC on the "Love 105" trimulcast after Christmas. (11/30/2018)
WISCONSIN:
In addition to the Twin Cities launch above, iHeartMedia has also launched the "Breeze" Soft Adult Contemporary format on the HD2 signal of WKKV/100.7 (Racine-Milwaukee). The ID reportedly also mentions the HD3 signal of iHeart's WXXM/92.1 (Sun Prairie-Madison). WKKV-HD2 had previously carried a simulcast of "The Big 920" (WOKY), which saw all of its local programming move over to the new "Game" format on WRNW/97.3 this week. (11/30/2018)
MINNESOTA:
The Minnesota Broadcasters Association has named Wendy Paulson, the former WCCO Radio Program Director/Director of Operations, as its new executive director. Paulson brings 27 years of broadcast experience to the position, including 12 years at WCCO. She most recently served as CenturyLink market manager for a 13-state region. Her hiring comes after the MBA spent a year reassessing its focus and future direction. (11/29/2018)
WISCONSIN:
All-Sports formats have long been relegated to smaller signals in Milwaukee, but no longer: Just weeks after Good Karma Brands launched "94.5 ESPN-FM," iHeartMedia has dropped Contemporary Hits on WRNW/97.3 and flipped it to Sports as "The Game." It marks the first time an Upper Midwest market has seen duelling Sports formats on two major FM signals.
"The Game" lineup includes local programming throughout the day: Drew Olson and Kevin Brandt from 6 to 10 a.m., Dan Needles and Ted Davis from 10 to 12, Dario Melendez and Bob Brainerd from 12 to 2, and Mike Heller's regionally-syndicated show from 2 to 6. The lineup also includes Badgers sports and FOX Sports Radio at night.
Most of the local hosts are moving over from iHeart's "Big 920" (WOKY), which continues to air the morning show from Madison-based Mike Lucas and FOX Sports the rest of the day. The two iHeart stations and "ESPN-FM" compete with Entercom's "The Fan" on WSSP/1250 and W289CB/105.7, which has 12 hours per day of Milwaukee-based programming and CBS Sports Radio at night. The Packers and Brewers air on Good Karma News/Talker WTMJ/620.
Nielsen Audio 6+ ratings say WRNW's previous "Radio Now" format had ranked second among the market's three Contemporary Hits outlet, though it was far behind Entercom's "103.7 Kiss FM" (WXSS) and last among the market's core 50kW commercial signals. (11/27/2018)
MINNESOTA:
What's up at Entercom's "Buz'n @ 102.9" (KMNB Minneapolis)? The Country station has posted ominous messages on its website and social media pages saying "the buzz is about to wear off" and telling listeners to tune in Monday, Dec. 3, at 7 a.m.
Stations remaining under the same ownership virtually never announce format changes in advance, though it's worth noting that 102.9 broke that rule seven years ago when it announced the end of the longtime WLTE Adult Contemporary format and pending launch of "Buz'n." With the AC format making a comeback nationwide and Cumulus Media poised to bring the format back to the Twin Cities on the "Love 105" trimulcast, KMNB's promotion is sure to generate a "buzz" in among competitors.
Entercom has kept WLTE's former "Lite FM" branding and format alive on KZJK-HD2, which notably has not flipped to all-Christmas this year like it did in years past. The WLTE callsign is now used on a Salem Communications station in South Carolina.
Rather than a format change this time, the new promotion could also foretell a tweak or slogan change. Nielsen Audio 6+ ratings show that KMNB has remained one to two points behind iHeartMedia Country outlet "K102" (KEEY St. Paul) for the past half-year and fell to last place among the market's commerical 100kW FM's in the October book. (11/25/2018)
ALL-CHRISTMAS UPDATE:
After numerous expected flips to all-Christmas music on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, at least 79 Upper Midwest stations and two Winnipeg stations are now all-Christmas. A few dozen more stations are expected to be added to the list if they follow the same schedule as last year. While most stations followed the same schedule this year as in years past, there were a few changes:
All of the flips are being tracked on the 2018 All-Christmas Stations page. (11/25/2018)
IOWA:
Coloff Media has launched new translator K293CH/106.5 (Waterloo) carrying an all-Christmas format, presumably originating on the HD2 signal of Coloff's KCVM/93.5 (Cedar Falls). KCVM, known as "The Mix," had carried the seasonal format every year since at least 2004. The construction permit for the new 250-Watt translator was originally obtained by Starboard Media in 2016 after a 13-year wait for the FCC to approve the application, and was sold to Coloff Media shortly after its grant for $20,000. (11/23/2018)
MINNESOTA:
The Linder family's KXAC/100.5 (St. James-Mankato) has dropped its "Oldies 100.5" slogan and Classic Hits format in favor of Christmas music as "The Christmas Igloo." Sister station KTOE reports the change happened at 10 a.m. on the day before Thanksgiving. Seasonal changes that include dropping a brand name often foreshadow a format change or tweak, and the move comes weeks after Alpha Media reverted "River 105.5" (KRBI-FM St. Peter-Mankato) to Classic Hits. "River" also launched Christmas music on Black Friday, which it had done annually since at least 2011 under its previous Adult Contemporary format. (11/23/2018)
NEBRASKA:
Walnut Radio's "Boomer" Oldies format has gotten a second Omaha FM signal: K233CO/94.5 has switched to the "Boomer" format originating on KOMJ/1490, joining K281CJ/104.1. The change comes after 104.1 moved its transmitter to the downtown area, with 94.5 continuing to serve western Omaha. K233CO had previously relayed KOTK/1420, which continues to carry Conservative Talk as "The Answer." (11/20/2018)
NEW FM TRANSLATORS ON THE AIR:
RF CHANNEL CHANGES: (UPDATED)
ALL-CHRISTMAS UPDATE:
Entercom has moved its annual all-Christmas format in the Madison market to a smaller signal. Hot Adult Contemporary-formatted "Mix 105.1" (WMHX Waunakee-Madison) flipped to all-Christmas on Thursday, Nov. 15. Entercom Classic Hits outlet WOLX/94.9 (Baraboo-Madison) had carried all-Christmas formats annually since 2002.
In Milwaukee, iHeartMedia's "95.7 Big FM" (WRIT) made the switch to all-Christmas on Thursday to match the start of the Milwaukee Downtown Holiday Lights Festival, two days after the Milwaukee Radio Alliance's "B93.3" (WLDB) begin all-Christmas music.
And in Winnipeg, Rogers' "KiSS 102.3" (CKY-FM) announced that it will go all-Christmas at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16, in time for the Winnipeg Santa Claus Parade. The announcement came a day after a report that Corus would flip "Peggy @ 99.1" (CFPG-FM) to all-Christmas on the 23rd.
Track Santa's landing market-by-market on the 2018 All-Christmas Stations page. (11/15/2018)
IOWA:
Two companies that own radio stations in Iowa are splitting up and dividing the stations they currently own. Fieldview Broadcasting LLC currently owns 40 percent of Riverfront Broadcasting of Iowa and is withdrawing from the company. In exchange, Fieldview will get KWBG/1590 (Boone), KZWC/1570 (Webster City), KQWC-FM/95.7 (Webster City), and KZWC translator K225BZ/92.9 (Webster City). Riverfront will retain KHBT/97.7 (Humboldt), KLGZ/1600 (Algona), KLGA-FM/92.7 (Algona), and KLGZ translator K253BJ/98.5 (Algona). Fieldview is owned by Danette and Kirk Graeve of Dallas Center, while Riverfront is owned by Carolyn and Doyle Becker of Yankton, SD. Sister Riverfront companies also own four stations in Minnesota and six in South Dakota. (11/11/2018)
MINNESOTA/SOUTH DAKOTA:
The FCC recently granted the following construction permits for new FM translators after competing applications were resolved:
NORTH DAKOTA/WISCONSIN:
Several more DTV channels have been added on stations that already carry a large mix of programming:
MINNESOTA:
Cumulus Media as dropped the Classic Hip-Hop "105 The Vibe" format in the Twin Cities and reverted to "Love 105" with Christmas music. The mix of Christmas favorites from the Nostalgia and Adult Contemporary genres began Thursday morning. It will presumably compete with the Christmas format on iHeartMedia's "Kool 108" that has launched on the Friday before Thanksgiving for the past several years.
The simulcast of WGVX/105.1 (Lakeville), WLUP/105.3 (Cambridge), and WWWM-FM/105.7 (Eden Prairie-Minneapolis) has had eight identities and 16 callsigns over the past few decades, with the longest-running slogan being "Love" from 2007 to 2013. The "Love" format originally launched as a broad Soft Oldies format that evolved towards mainstream Oldies after Kool 108's segue to Classic Hits, and then to Adult Contemporary after the end of "102.9 Lite FM."
The Twin Cities have been without a mainstream AC station since "Love" switched to Sports as "The Ticket" five years ago. That format was replaced with "The Vibe" two years later. The launch of Classic Hip-Hop came as the format swept the nation, and the format competed at that time with iHeartMedia's "Hot 102.5" on K273BH/102.5 and KTCZ-HD3; "Hot" has since changed to a contemporary Hip-Hop/R&B format. (11/8/2018)
MICHIGAN:
The eastern Upper Peninsula's WMJT/96.7 (McMillan-Newberry) has switched from Classic Hits to Hot Adult Contemporary as "Flash FM" following a change in management. The change, first noted by RadioInsight, happened Oct. 31 and comes after Travis Sumbera's Two Hearted Media LLC reached a deal to buy WMJT from David L. Smith for $100,000. Sumbera has worked at the station for a decade and took over management through a local marketing agreement on Sept. 1. Classic Hits remain available on Newberry's other commercial FM license, Sovereign Communications' WNBY-FM/93.9, which primarily targets Sault Ste. Marie. (11/7/2018)
WISCONSIN:
Wisconsin Public Radio has named Kate Archer Kent as the new morning host on its Ideas Network. Archer Kent is a familiar voice on the network after several years as a fill-in host, including a previous eight-month span on "The Morning Show" prior to Carrie Kaufman's start in June. Kaufman left the network in September due to her mother's health and John Munson has been filling in since then. Archer Kent will take over the show on Dec. 3. "The Morning Show" is an interview and call-in program that airs on WPR's Ideas Network from 6 to 9, opposite "Morning Edition" on the network's NPR News & Classical Music service. (11/5/2018)
NEW FM TRANSLATORS ON THE AIR:
The following new FM translators have applied for and/or received their licenses to cover:
MINNESOTA:
A planned new AM radio station in the Brainerd Lakes area will go unbuilt. De La Hunt Broadcasting had received a construction permit for the new station on 1210 in Pine River in April 2015. This past spring, the FCC granted a six-month extension of the CP after De La Hunt said that the elimination of the main studio rule had caused the company to reconsider plans to let the permit expire. However, the company's attorney sent a letter in September asking for cancellation of the permit, which was due to expire on Oct. 23. The new station would have used 5.5kW nondirectional daytime and 250 Watts directional nighttime. It had also applied for a translator on 105.1. (11/4/2018)
SOUTH DAKOTA:
"Hits 102.7" (KXMZ Box Elder-Rapid City) is operating at reduced power while it seeks a new transmitter site. Haugo Broadcasting bought the station last year and tells the FCC, in a request for special temporary authority, that the lease for its licensed facility at a tower owned by Rapid Broadcasting expired Oct. 31 and negotiations for an extension were unsuccessful. KXMZ is licensed for 50kW at 137m (class C2) and is temporarily using 1kW at 105m from a Haugo tower while it works on finding a permanent site. (11/4/2018, updated temporary HAAT based on new STA filing 11/13)
WISCONSIN/ALL-CHRISTMAS:
WPCK/104.9 (Denmark-Green Bay) has dropped its usual Country format in favor of Christmas music. The change may only be seasonal, or it could be a sign of things to come since Cumulus placed WPCK in a divestiture trust earlier this year and split off its longtime simulcast with WPKR/99.5 (Omro-Oshkosh), which continues with the "Nash FM" Country format. WPCK has retained the "Nash FM" branding with a Christmas music mix that includes some Country artists but is heavy on traditional favorites. Green Bay does not have a commercial station that traditionally goes Christmas, but all-Christmas formats have led to format changes in the market three times in the past decade. (11/1/2018)
Elsewhere, iHeartMedia's "Leo 1360" (KMJM Cedar Rapids) has also gone All-Christmas as of Nov. 1. You can track this year's flips on the 2018 All-Christmas Stations page. (11/1/2018)
MINNESOTA (UPDATED AGAIN):
Alpha Media has tweaked formats at two stations in the Mankato market, moving Adult Contemporary to a larger signal, dropping Contemporary Hits, and adding Classic Hits.
KEEZ/99.1 (Mankato) dropped its decades-old "Z99" branding, most recently used with a Contemporary Hits format, and relaunched as AC outlet "Mix 99-1." The Nov. 1 debut came after a day of stunting as "Thriller 99-1," looping Michael Jackson's legendary Halloween song. The previous "Z99" Contemporary Hits format had competed primarily with the Linder family's "Hot 96-7" (KDOG North Mankato), though the station had also run Hot AC in past years under the "Z99" slogan.
Meanwhile, "River 105" (KRBI-FM St. Peter-Mankato) reverted from AC to its previous Classic Hits format. "River 105" competes with a fulltime Classic Hits format on the Linder family's KXAC/100.5 (St. James-Mankato) and a mix of News and Classic Hits on the Linders' KTOE/1420 and K274AL/102.7. (10/31/2018, updated 11/1)
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