Saga Communications has brought traditional Oldies back to Milwaukee, replacing a Rhythmic Contemporary Hits format.
The former “Energy 106.9” (WNRG-FM Brookfield-Milwaukee) became “Pure Oldies 106.9” with the new callsign WRXS on Thursday, April 1, after a few days of stunting. The playlist is the traditional 1960s-based mix that was common on Oldies stations, including WRIT/95.7 (Milwaukee), in the 1980s and `90s.
Saga runs the “Pure Oldies” format in numerous markets, including several in Iowa and South Dakota.
A similar “True Oldies” format had previously been heard on the Milwaukee Radio Alliance’s W262CJ/100.3 (Milwaukee) and WZTI/1290 (Greenfield) from 2015 to 2018. Those stations now run a Classic Hits format as “Fonz FM.”
At nine years old, “Energy” had been the longest-running format on 106.9. The frequency went through seven formats in its first 17 years on the air before settling on Contemporary Hits in 2012.
Nielsen Audio 6+ ratings show “Energy” had a 1.5 average quarter hour share in the February 2021 ratings period, compared with 4.2 for competing Audacy Contemporary Hits station “103.7 Kiss FM” (WXSS Wauwatosa-Milwaukee) and 3.2 for iHeartMedia Hip-Hop/R&B station “V100” (WKKV/100.7 Racine-Milwaukee).