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October 2008
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News Archive: September 2008

September 2, 2008
NRC Broadcasting flipped AAA 102.3 KCUV/Denver to a simulcast of 105.5 Jack FM (KJAC) on Sunday, August 31, according to allaccess.com. The move gives Jack FM its first city-grade signal in Denver; since its debut in April 2004, Jack FM has broadcast as a rimshot from the north, as KJAC is licensed to Timnath, CO.

NRC Broadcasting acquired KCUV in November 2005 and, until now, had programmed a community-oriented AAA format on the station. But, with a relatively weak Class A license and a signal that broadcasts from just 781' with 1,000 watts of power, the station was not able to garner the traction it needed in the market.

To see how the two signals will cover Denver, you can check out the radio-locator.com maps for KCUV and KJAC to compare/contrast.

It's worth noting that Jack FM's early success in Denver, despite the poor signal, helped the Variety Hits format to gain the attention of programmers nationwide in the United States. Ultimately, that success (in part) lead to the rapid pickup of the format in 2005 in dozens of markets across the country.

September 3, 2008
Niagara, Ontario's 91.7 Giant FM (CIXL) has shifted from Variety Hits to classic rock, effective as of late August 2008. The station covers much of the same territory that is already served by 92.9 Jack FM (WBUF) in Buffalo. Giant FM came along first (January 2005), but it had little time alone with the format as WBUF became Jack FM in May 2005.


September 12, 2008
With Hurricane Ike bearing down on Houston, multiple radio stations will be simulcasting television coverage of the storm event. That includes Cumulus-owned 103.7 Jack FM (KHJK), which will be simulcasting CBS affiliate KHOU-TV 11 News beginning at 3 p.m. CT today.

103.7 Jack FM is a rimshot with a tower located to the east of Houston, which should allow coverage of Hurricane Ike to be heard in cities as far east as Beaumont, TX and Port Arthur, TX.


September 15, 2008
It's Bob FM out and Jack FM in on Powell Broadcasting's 102.3 KZSR in Sioux City, IA. After the Bob & Sheri syndicated show ended yesterday at 9 a.m. CT, the station went into three hours of stunting with "Pop Goes The Weasel" before relaunching at noon CT as 102.3 Jack FM.

To my knowledge, this is the first time anywhere in the world that a station has switched from Bob FM to Jack FM.

According to the Sioux City Journal, station general manager Dennis Bullock made the announcement about the switch when the stunting ended at noon. That was followed by "Jumpin' Jack Flash" by the Rolling Stones, which was the first song to be played on the station under its new Jack FM identity.

Humorously, a report on radio-info.com reveals that Bullock claimed that Jack obtained the station from Bob in a poker game, which is not the first time that Jack supposedly won a radio station via a poker game.

Bob FM originally came to the Sioux City market while owned by NRG Media; Powell Broadcasting obtained control of the staton in January 2007.


September 16, 2008
Chuck Bortnick has been named Executive Vice-President of Sparknet Communications' Jack FM radio brand, according to a report in All Access. Bortnick has more than 30 years of experience in the radio business. According to the article, Bortnick will be responsible for expanding Jack FM into new markets while also working with Jack FM's radio partner Dial Global and with current Jack FM stations across the United States.


September 22, 2008
Congrats to radio programming vet Kevin Weatherly, who has been promoted by CBS Radio in Los Angeles from programming highly successful 93.1 Jack FM (KCBS-FM) and legendary rock station KROQ to VP/Programming for CBS Radio's entire L.A. cluster.


September 23, 2008
The AM simulcast of 95.3 Bob FM (WBPE) on 1410 WSHY in Lafayette, IN is about to end. The Lafayette Journal and Courier reports that in a few days, 1410 WSHY will begin carrying Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and other top-flight talk programming. The change is in part because of a sale of WSHY by Artistic Media Partners to a group headed by Jeff Holmes. This tip came via the always valuable information resource AllAccess.com.

The long-anticipated station move with 96.1 Chuck FM (WAVF) moving from Charleston, SC to Myrtle Beach, SC and 101.7 WKZQ-FM moving from Myrtle Beach to Charleston has taken place. The Charleston Post and Courier has details of the move here. According to 100000watts.com, that the stations will soon be swapping call letters, though for now 101.7 Chuck FM is technically WKZQ-FM.


September 24, 2008
Variety Hits is on in the UP (upper peninsula) of Michigan. According to 100000watts.com, Radioactive, LLC's new 107.3 WUPF has signed on as 107.3 Jack FM, effective 9/21/2008, in the Escanaba, MI market.

September 29, 2008
The AM simulcast of 95.3 Bob FM (WBPE) on 1410 WSHY in Lafayette, IN has now ended, with WSHY becoming "News/Talk 1410".


September 30, 2008
Gone for more than two years, the Variety Hits format is back on the air in Ft. Wayne, IN. Rhythmic AC "106.3 The Vibe" (WVBB) flipped to Variety Hits as 106.3 Joe FM effective 9/27/2008 according to 100000watts.com. The 106.3 signal in the Ft. Wayne market is one that has seen a slew of formats, though with new owner Russ Oasis (who purchased the station from Artistic Media Partners in November 2007), perhaps some stability has finally arrived for the station.

WVBB is a Class A signal that has what those in the business sometimes refer to as a "small stick" (6,000 watts from a relatively short tower). But it covers the Ft. Wayne metro area with a city-grade signal, something that the last Variety Hits station in the market (102.9 Mike FM) was unable to do with its even weaker signal, which did *not* provide the same city-grade coverage to Ft. Wayne that the new 106.3 Joe FM will offer.

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