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News Archive: October 2007
October 1, 2007
Correction: 95.3 KZSP/South Padre Island, TX dropped its simulcast with then-Rhythmic Oldies "Groovin' 104.9" KJAV/Alamo, TX in April; it didn't happen concurrent with the station's switch to Jack.
Speaking of Jack, the format debuts in the UK later this month. The launch date is 10/18/2007 for Jack FM in Oxfordshire; the station will air on 106.8 at 500 watts and on a repeater at 106.4 at 250 watts. Yes, for you North America readers not in the know, some stations in Europe (and elsewhere) use even-numbered endings for their dial positions.
What's more, the new Jack FM will feature a morning show (or, at the Brits call it, a breakfast show) with Trevor Marshall, Sue Carter, and Greg Burke that will make its debut when the station officially goes on the air.
October 2, 2007
Clear Channel has officially sold its only JACK-FM affiliate. The sale of 98.7 Jack FM (KPRF/Amarillo, TX) to Gap Broadcasting was part of a large sale of stations in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana by Clear Channel that closed today. Clear Channel has been shedding stations in smaller markets in preparation to be taken private in a stock buyout.
October 3, 2007
Max FM in Cincinnati has gone from a trimulcast to a simulcast. That's because First Broadcasting sold off 97.7 WAXZ (licensed to Georgetown, OH) to Gateway Radio last month; the station has gone dark temporarily as it moves to a new city of license of Salt Lick, KY, shifting south to cover the underserved market of Morehead, KY.
Meanwhile, Max FM simulcast 97.7 WOXY is prepping for a move to new COL Mason, OH, which will give better coverage for the station in north Cincinnati and in the area between Cincy and Dayton, OH.
October 4, 2007
According to All Access, Baldwin Broadcasting has finally managed to sell 106.5 The Pirate (WAVH) in the Mobile, AL market. It is being purchased by Bigler Broadcasting for $3.6 million.
October 8, 2007
Cumulus has hired Dave Dillon as the Program Director for new Houston rimshot 103.7 Jack FM (KHJK), which flipped from rock to Variety Hits at the end of August 2007.
October 15, 2007
Change has come to Charlottesville, VA, as Monticello Media's newly acquired WCJZ (formerly a Clear Channel property) has flipped from Hot AC as FM 107.5 to Variety Hits as Tom @ 107.5. You can listen to the station as of this writing on the station's new website, 1075tom.com.
According to vartv.com, the station has applied for new call letters WWTJ.
October 22, 2007
History was made on Thursday, October 18, 2007, when the first UK Jack FM (in Oxfordshire) launched at 1:06 p.m. GMT.
106 Jack FM (which is streaming online at jackfm.co.uk) is similar to its North American counterparts in that it's a mix of Classic Hits and Hot AC, though the songs are obviously those that were (or are) hits in the UK as opposed to the United States or Canada.
The station is streaming online, which as of today I've still been able to access here in the United States, though this may not work for you depending on your ISP (since UK stations aren't supposed to stream outside of the UK due to licensing rules.) One great feature of the website is that it not only tells you the name and artist of the song playing, it also tells you the info on the song that just played *and* the song that is coming up.
Some of the songs go a little older than the common cut-off on North American stations, with early 70s in the mix more than what you might here across the pond, but in general it's the same approach but with a British twist to it. It sounds great to me.
The well-respected Sean Ross wrote this review of 106 Jack FM, which I think provides a great take on the station from a United States point of view. It includes a sample hour of programming from 106 Jack FM, which seems to match what I've heard in my online sampling of the station. Ross reports that the voiceover talent for the station is Paul Darrow, which is a departure from Howard Cogan, the VO talent used on North American Jack FM stations.
October 30, 2007
Tom @ 107.5 in Charlottesville, VA has changed called letters from WCJZ to WWTJ, effective 10/16/2007.
October 31, 2007
With the impending format flip of Hot Talk WCKG in Chicago, CBS Radio is moving longtime market personality Steve Dahl to WJMK, 104.3 Jack FM, effective Monday, November 5, 2007. His show will air weekdays in morning drive from 5:30-10:00 a.m. Central Time. This is a departure from the norm for Jack FM stations in the United States, though there are some exceptions, such as KFMB-FM in San Diego.
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