Wave Changes

OMW hears that Cleveland market smooth jazz outlet WNWV/107.3 is making some lineup changes.

We're told that "107-3 The Wave" is saying goodbye to long-time afternoon driver Richard Greer. Midday host Mark Ribbins will take the vacated afternoon drive chair, with newly-minted WNWV program director Angie Handa going on the air middays.

No, we don't know why Greer is no longer at the Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting-owned station.

But at least, as far as we know, the station isn't budging from its perch as Northeast Ohio's smooth jazz station...as the seas are definitely turbulent for the format nationwide.

Smooth jazz lost another outlet just this past week, as the reincarnation of Philadelphia's WJJZ was bumped into a soft AC station ("Now 97.5") by owner Greater Media...who took the time and trouble to move a long-time rock station out of Burlington NJ closer to Philly to reestablish a format abandoned by Clear Channel's 106.1 in the market.

Greater Media only ran the newly-returned format for a while, apparently deciding that trying to chip a few shares off of locally-owned Philadelphia market AC powerhouse WBEB/101.1 "B101" would grab them a better chance of success.

The situation's a bit different in this region, which may help ensure the format's survival in Cleveland.

As the only Cleveland-market FM owned by Elyria-based Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting, WNWV has been able to carve out a rather successful niche with a format that wouldn't likely to be pursued by the big corporate owners in the market - with a rimshot, though a very good rimshot, signal owned by a local company.

Elyria-Lorain has other stations, of course..."The Wave"'s AM sister news/talk outlet, WEOL/930 Elyria, and stations in small Northern Ohio cities like Huron (WKFM/96.1) and Norwalk (WLKR/95.3 and AM 1510).

But since the company isn't trying to pay down large company debt, is making money off the format as far as we know, and is still running WNWV out of less-expensive Elyria.

That's a combination that's likely to keep smooth jazz flowing out of radios tuned to 107.3 - for much longer the format is likely to last in other large markets...