RadioInsight

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WKLT Adds New Simulcast Signal & Morning Show

Posted: 24 Feb 2020 01:35 PM PST
https://radioinsight.com/headlines/1...-morning-show/



Following their break-up as Northern Broadcasting completed the sales of
Rock 97.5 WKLT Kalkaska/Traverse City MI to Midwestern Broadcasting Company
and simulcast 98.9 WKLZ-FM Petoskey to Educational Media Foundation, WKLTs
new owners will give the station a new simulcast in Northern Michigan.

93.5 WBCM Boyne City/Petoskey will drop its longtime simulcast of Country
103.5 WTCM-FM Traverse City to begin simulcasting WKLT on Tuesday, February
24. The WTCM-FM/WBCM simulcast had been in place since the early 1990s.

The closing of the sale also brought a change in mornings to WKLT as Steve
Omelette Normandin returns to the station. Omelette Friends was previously
heard on WKLT from 2006-2016 and he later was heard in the market on
Classic Rock The Bear 98.1 WGFN/95.3 WCHY from 2017 until last September.
Derek Sasquatch Geisser will move from afternoons to join the new morning
show. They will replace the exiting Jason Racin Jacin Crum and Jim Smith,
who exited with the ownership change.

Midwestern Broadcasting Company purchased WKLT in December for $450,000 to
join a cluster of CHR Z93 92.9 WJZQ Cadillac, Country 103.5 WTCM-FM
Traverse City, Classic Hits 107.5 WCCW-FM Traverse City, News/Talk 580 WCCM
Traverse City, Oldies AM 13 1310 WCCW Traverse City, and WBCM.


The post WKLT Adds New Simulcast Signal Morning Show appeared first on
RadioInsight.


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WZPW Peoria Rebrands As Z92.3

Posted: 24 Feb 2020 06:26 AM PST
https://radioinsight.com/headlines/1...ands-as-z92-3/



Cumulus Medias 92.3 WZPW Peoria IL has a new name.

After five years as Peorias 92.3, WZPW rebranded this morning as Z92.3 and
new Peorias Hit Music positioning. The station retains its Rhythmic leaning
CHR format.

Cumulus Peoria Assistant Operations Manager Red Hot Brian Scott, who serves
as WZPW Program Director, has moved to mornings to take over The Morning
Grind that had been hosted by Ryan ORyan LaCosse until his departure last
November. Wes Jordan remains in afternoons.

The rebranding of WZPW as Z92.3 comes a couple months after Midwest
Communications launched the similarly branded Rhythmic Classic Hits “KZ
102.3� WKZF Morton in December.


The post WZPW Peoria Rebrands As Z92.3 appeared first on RadioInsight.


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Bloomberg: Xperi Gets $1.2 Billion Takeover Proposal From Former CEO

Posted: 24 Feb 2020 05:58 AM PST
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...alflow-organic




The post Bloomberg: Xperi Gets $1.2 Billion Takeover Proposal From Former
CEO appeared first on RadioInsight.


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Did WAAF Have One More Life To Live?

Posted: 24 Feb 2020 05:00 AM PST
https://radioinsight.com/headlines/1...-life-to-live/



In the final minutes before the end of its Rock format, 107.3 WAAF
Westborough/Boston Program Director Joe Calgaro dropped a bombshell. While
Entercom was negotiating the $10.75 million sale of the station, the local
management was preparing a major relaunch of the station to take place on
Monday, March 2.

The station was going to fill the morning slot that was vacated when
longtime WAAF morning host Greg Hill moved to Sports 93.7 WEEI-FM last July
with a new show led by station vet Mike Brangiforte. Calgaro was to join
Mike Hsu for a new afternoon show, while the syndicated Mens Room was to be
replaced by a new local night show hosted by weekend host Jim Ryan. Music
Director Mistress Carrie would have remained in middays.

Calgaro told listeners, We were taking the musical direction back to the
days of WAAF taking more chances and risks, breaking bands like Shinedown
and Godsmack and looking for the next new bands like Ice Nine Kills from
right here in Boston.

Carrie followed, We worked so hard to build the WAAF that everyone told us
they wanted us to be. The listeners we heard you. We got all your
criticisms and your suggestions and trust us when we tell you we built that
station for you and its in a computer right now. We were so close.

While WAAFs ratings were anemic over the past few months, with a 1.1 share
up from 0.8 in the January Nielsen Audio ratings, it wasnt that long ago
that WAAF was putting up viable numbers for its suburban signal. In March
2019 before the move of Hill to WEEI, the station was at a fairly healthy
2.0 share 6+. That also predated Beasley Medias flip of 92.9 WBOS from
Alternative to 80s/90s based Classic Rock Rock 92.9 in April. That station
currently has a 3.6 share of the Boston market.

The revelation about the potential relaunch of WAAF brings more questions
than answers. How long were EMF and Entercom negotiating a potential sale?
Did that create the long delay between the move of Hill to WEEI and the
planned March 2 relaunch? Was the relaunch a tactic by Entercom to force
EMF to meet their asking price for the station before walking away from the
deal? Most of those answers will never become public. Instead of the
relaunch of the brand, the station is left as a zombie jukebox on a pair of
HD subchannels and Radio.com, while the call letters are parked on what is
now 910 WBZU Scranton PA joining such historic call letter pairings such as
WBCN Charlotte NC, WHFS Seffner FL, and WLUP Cambridge MN.


The post Did WAAF Have One More Life To Live? appeared first on
RadioInsight.