WZUU and WQXC have been sold!

[Michigan Media]

It was only a matter of time. I prefer these stations in the hands of Midwest over Townsquare.

[TheGadgetGuy]

If Midwest wants to eliminate the overlap between Jack FM and 92.5, perhaps they'll move The Touch to 92.5?

[SpartanAM]

I think 100.9 would be a good candidate to flip to Duke FM.

96.5 is a mess. Time for yet another reset. The DJ I heard just now has no idea how to relate to the Adult CHR audience. Good voice; wrong format.

I would expect that if any station switches to Duke, it would be 96.5. After all, you do have "Jethro" in Allegan county already. Then, take the format on WFAT in Battle Creek and duplicate it on 100.9.

[Michigan Media]

Here are my predictions for the Midwest stations in Kalamazoo and Battle Creek:

92.5: This is difficult for me to predict because Forum's stations have not subscribed to Nielsen/Arbitron in several years. I suspect that WRKR still crushes WZUU in the 12+ and male demographics. If that is true, I think Midwest will tweak WZUU's playlist in a more Mainstream Rock direction. This will help differentiate WZUU from WRKR without completely alienating WZUU's current audience.

96.5: The Hits 96.5 brand will be scrapped. I was surprised that this format survived the last two Nielsen surveys. I suspect that negotiations between Midwest and Forum put the brakes on any format changes for 96.5. I predict that the WQXC call sign and “Cool” branding will move from 100.9 to 96.5. The Oldies format will be abandoned for a more traditional Classic Hits format.

98.5: No changes.

100.9: After a brief simulcasting period with 96.5, 100.9 will adopt the Duke FM Classic Country format.

106.5: Jack FM will be discontinued and Adult Contemporary will make its return to 106.5. This is needed because Jack FM would have significant overlap with the Classic Hits format on 96.5. Also, Midwest would need a female-friendly format after the demise of Hits 96.5.

590/106.9: No changes.

930/102.7: No changes.

1660/95.5: No changes.

[Michigan Media]

A Rock format on 106.5 is very intriguing. What about a hybrid Classic Hits/Rock format like Cruisin' 92.9 (WLMI) in Lansing? WLMI beat Townsquare’s WMMQ in the most recent 12+ ratings. Bob and Tom might not work on 106.5 due to overlap with Q106 in Calhoun County.

I still think Midwest needs a female-oriented brand in Kalamazoo (other than The Touch). I don't see them ceding that demographic to WKFR/Townsquare.

[craigrussell100]

Heres a radical take:



"They" leave everything the same and just continue trudging along. Name me a time when 4 or 5 stations in THE SAME MARKET all made H*** programing changes all at the same time. Go ahead...I'll wait.

Exactly.

[craigrussell100]

"Waterloo Media is making multiple programming changes in Austin."

To be fair, that group has made numerous changes in that market since they entered it a few years ago. Like they changed a CHR 2 or 3 times in less than 6 months, IIRC. Plus if you actually read that article in Austin, they really only made 2 changes. Lots of mention of the last time that format was heard in the market, and on translators, etc. If you skim it, it looks like 4 or 5 changes, but really its only 2.

Again we will see what Midwest has up its sleeve. They seem to stay on formats for quite a bit before dumping them. It would be nice to see some moves in the Kalamazoo area...seems like it's been awhile since much has happened....

[SpartanAM]

I will amend my earlier prediction as I could see WVFM changing formats after all. Midwest has not been shy about putting Duke FM on some pretty big sticks. As MW mentioned earlier, it is their "signature" format. Look at Dulth, Green Bay, and even Lansing-Jackson. Duke does very well on these big sticks, even when there is significant signal overlap from neighboring Duke stations (Hibbing and Sturgeon Bay, respectively).

Therefore, I think Duke will end up on 106.5. It is proven to be a successful format and will serve a much large audience than if it was limited to just WQXC. Also in this scenario, 92.5 would remain classic rock but absorb some of Jack's playlist. Finally, 100.9 will go in the classic hits direction and will either simulcast WFAT or launch a very similar format of its own.

Ditch "sHits" and CHR altogether and open up 96.5 to either be a WNWN simulcast or allow the Touch to move up to a better FM and then bring sports talk back to the market on 1600.