RadioInsight

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KMEZ Quickly Rebrands After 102.9 Move

Posted: 09 Dec 2018 01:30 PM PST
https://radioinsight.com/headlines/1...home-to-102-9/



Cumulus Media hit a little hiccup with its move and rebranding of KMEZ New
Orleans.

The station relocated on Thursday from 106.7 back to its original 102.9
frequency that the station called home from 1992 until 2008. The move came
with a rebranding from Old School 106.7 to Z102.9. By Friday, the Z moniker
was gone with the stations logo adjusted to KMEZ 102.9 as seen below with
most imaging identifying the station simply by its new frequency.

Why the quick shift? Perhaps because the Z brand is already utilized in the
New Orleans market by M.A.C. Broadcastings rimshot 1980s hits Z104.5
KWMZ-FM Empire LA? Cumulus did file to register the Z102.9 brand with the
State of Louisiana in November (concurrently with a filing for 106.7 The
Krewe for 106.7 which will debut its new format in January)

Original Report 12/5: Cumulus Urban AC Old School 106.7 KMEZ Port
Sulpher/New Orleans LA will relocate back to its original frequency on
Thursday, December 6 as Z102.9.

That will mean the end of the Urban Power 102.9 format of KKND Belle Chase
as the two frequencies will simulcast for 30 days prior to debuting a new
format on 106.7 on Monday, January 7. KMEZ had been on 102.9 from its
sign-on in 1992 until its move to 106.7 in 2008.

The current lineup of middayer Papa Smurf, evening host Downtown Lesli
Brown, and syndicated afternoon show DL Hughley will move with KMEZ back to
102.9. The station did not mention who would host mornings, which is
currently held by the syndicated Tom Joyner on 106.7 and Rickey Smiley on
KKND.

CUMULUS MEDIA announces that KMEZ, its Urban Adult Contemporary-formatted
radio station in New Orleans, will move from its current 106.7 frequency
back to its original home at 102.9 FM on Thursday, December 6, 2018. The
station replaces Power 102.9, and will be known as “Z 102.9�. Z 102.9 will
retain its Urban AC format, with great national and local personalities
including: Papa Smurf, D.L. Hughley, and Downtown Lesli Brown.

Pat Galloway, Regional Vice President and Market Manager, Cumulus New
Orleans, said: “102.9 FM is where KMEZ had its most successful ratings and
we are looking forward to making KMEZ bigger and better than ever. At Z
102.9, we will be all about New Orleans and continuing to provide New
Orleanians with incredible music and entertainment, and timely local News,
Sports, Weather and Traffic that they can rely on. KMEZ is a very strong
brand in the New Orleans market and our goal is to simply make it better!�

J’Michael Francois, Program Director, KMEZ, said: “During the first 30
days, Z 102.9 will be heard both on Z 102.9 and on 106.7 FM so that all our
current listeners will know that KMEZ will now be heard on 102.9 FM. The
goal at Cumulus New Orleans is to provide our listeners with great products
and make our stations as strong as possible for both our listeners and our
advertisers. The combination of our four radio stations and our digital
platforms leads to great success for both our listeners and our sponsors.�


The post KMEZ Quickly Rebrands After 102.9 Move appeared first on
RadioInsight.


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FCC Report 12/9: Norfolk Franken-FM Noted For Unauthorized Operation

Posted: 09 Dec 2018 10:48 AM PST
https://radioinsight.com/headlines/1...zed-operation/



A low power television station masquerading as a radio station has been hit
with a Notice of Violation after a complaint about a possible unauthorized
broadcast “pirate� operation.

Syncom Media Groups WMTO-LP Norfolk VA has been operated by Steve Hegwood’s
Core Communicators as Urban Streetz 87.7 since moving to the tower utilized
by WGNT-TV and iHeartMedia’s 105.3 WNOH last December. An FCC agent
recorded WMTO-LP operating in April with a four-bay, circularly polarized
FM antenna as opposed to the horizontal polarization it is licensed for. Of
higher issue was the fact that the station was operating well beyond its
authorized power output. WMTO-LP was calculated to be operating with a
12.4kW ERP of its aural carrier instead of the licensed 660 watts.
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The post FCC Report 12/9: Norfolk Franken-FM Noted For Unauthorized
Operation appeared first on RadioInsight.