UPDATE 12/24/09 10:10 AM: Cleveland Plain Dealer media writer Julie Washington has more on the pending format change, including confirmation that Ric Bennett is the new program director.
Both articles also note that the station will indeed be known on-air as "107.3 Boom!". (With the exclamation mark, we presume...)
UPDATE 12/23/09 11:57 AM: An alert OMW reader pointed us to this article on the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram's website today, confirming the WNWV format change. The paper is co-owned with the radio station.
We don't know if the article appeared in the C-T's print edition today...
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We're still on indefinite hiatus, but since this is a pending format change in the Cleveland market, we'll put a note up here about it.
As noted on our Twitter account, there are strong and loud rumblings around the market that Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting smooth jazz WNWV/107.3 Elyria "The Wave" is about to stop waving...in that format...after some 21 years.
OMW hears what everyone else in Northeast Ohio radio has apparently heard...that WNWV will end the smooth jazz/new adult contemporary format soon, and take on a new adult alternative rock format ("AAA"), with some classic rock mixed in.
In fact, we're told that you can already hear the coming WNWV format on its HD2 subchannel right now.
And you can also hear that HD2-soon-to-be-main format, we're told by more than one reader, at the site 1073cleveland.com.
We're told that the new format is expected to launch on January 4th. We don't know if it'll take the "Boom" moniker shown on the above linked site, or if the music mix will change when it comes to the "main stage" at 107.3.
The venerable smooth jazz format, like in other such moves, will end up on the WNWV HD2 channel, switching places with the new AAA/rock format.
As has been posted elsewhere, on message boards, in Tom Taylor's daily Taylor on Radio-Info newsletter and the like, we hear tbat "Rocco the Rock Dog" (aka Ric Bennett, ex-WMMS/100.7, WENZ/107.9 and WONE/97.5) is on board as program director for the new WNWV format.
Right now, the AAA format in Northeast Ohio is available on only one station, Akron Public Schools-owned non-comm WAPS/91.3 "The Summit", and we can tell you that the folks on Steiner Avenue are already aware of the coming commercial competition.
Now, we're still on hiatus. We'll add an administrivia post later explaining the near-term future of your Mighty Blog of Fun(tm)...
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
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11 comments:
When I hear a term such as "alternative rock" I have to ask: "Alternative" to what?
Its sad that WNWV FM will stop with its 'Smooth Jazz' format - enjoy the music. Hopefully a Greater Cleveland FM station will see an opportunity in dumping a failing format and programing jazz. As to WNWV FM, I think it is a great mistake its making in getting rid of what is a good market niche - don't expect they will profit as much in their coming format with the head banger music - too many stations in the market that put out that cr@p as it is.
- Andrew, MALL727net -
God bless you and your family, OMW. And the same to the commenters here.
Head Banger Music???? Have you even heard an AAA station before, Andrew? If you think that kind of music is "head banger", you must have really been ticked off when Dylan went electric.
Head banger music was their previous format when it was Z-Rock.
Listening to it now, it actually sounds more like blues than AAA. I don't know if it's some kind of Saturday night special programming, or other holiday season stunt, but I must say I like what I hear.
Agree, though, it's a shame to get rid of the Wave.
And Matt Patrick just left WKDD? Hmmm
Yeah, I am listening to it now. Its not really head banging music. I don't know, what do you call a horribly off key version of Janes Addiction playing Jane Says in that monontonous two chord riff?
Is that good music???
Good music? No, I'd call that Perry Farrell, Cap'n Mike. ;-)
I've been listening for the past few days. It seemed promising this past weekend, back before they hit the (analog) airwaves, but since then I've started to lose hope. Don't get me wrong, I love the format. WWCD in Columbus is one of my favorite stations in the whole country, and I was really hoping Boom! would be like it.
Instead, it's starting to sound more like the failed Jack FM experiment on WCBS-FM in New York: Prepackaged, no live DJ's, claiming to "play what we want" but instead playing the same tight playlist day in and day out. If that's where WNWV is headed, I suppose there's hope: WCBS-FM went back to Oldies in two years.
Comparing Boom! to Jack is like night and day (permanently all-automated WKRK "Radio 92.3" is the better comparison). Live personalities will be added Monday, including Ravenna Miceli, Ric "Rocco" Bennett, Tobin Northrup and Mike Kessler (a holdover from the Wave format).
Ah, good to hear, Nathan. I'm looking forward to it! I haven't taken 107.3 off the car's presets just yet.
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