106.5 JACK FM playlist tweaks?

[Michigan Media]

Last night I noticed that WTOU (AM 1660) was offline or at significantly reduced power. As of this afternoon, it is still not audible from my neighborhood in Kalamazoo. However, the 95.5 translator for WTOU is online with regular programming from The Touch. I did not notice any HD subchannels on Midwest's frequencies that could be used to originate programming for the 95.5 translator. Perhaps future changes involve The Touch?

Also of note, I noticed that WKZO's 106.9 translator recently implemented RDS. I find it interesting that they chose to implement RDS on a non-music format when several of their music formats are lacking RDS (92.5, 95.5 and 100.9).

[MWmetalhead]

Speaking of, how reliably can WKLQ be picked up in Kzoo? Haven’t been out that way in several years.

I last traveled through that area a few times a year a decade ago. Back then, 94.5 was OK in the car along I-94 in Kalamazoo County. A little fuzzy here & there. Surprisingly, the signal seemed quite poor in Van Buren County, especially near Hartford.

Along the freeway in the Battle Creek area, 94.5 does not deliver a very usable signal. Not much of a surprise as even B93 has minor reception issues on some radios. I'm guessing the B93 antenna or antennae are side mounted on the WWMT tower and are situated to maximize reception in the directions of Grand Rapids and the lakeshore.

[ChrisWL1980]

I have noticed AM 1660 on the air but with the audio so muted-sounding I have to turn the radio all the way up to hear anything.
92.5 WZUU used to have RDS under the previous owners but it's been off for a while (and it was never much of anything to begin with, just a constantly repeating station ID message and no song/artist info). All of their Lansing-area stations have RDS as well as 96.5, 98.5 and 106.5, so it's curious that they've never put it on 95.5.

[MWmetalhead]

106.5's playlist seems to have gotten wimpier over the past few days. Rock-leaning alternative tracks are seeing fewer spins; sappy Modern AC tracks comprise a wider portion of the playlist now.

As for WZUU, the song rotation seems to go newer song, older song, newer song, older song, and so on. Have never been a big fan of that approach, but overall the music certainly sounds better now than it has in many years. Will give them another listen this morning and will report back if I notice any changes.

[ChrisWL1980]

The current sound reminds me of 93.9 The River in Windsor/Detroit in its last couple of months before the change to Virgin Radio, when they played Pink, Bruno Mars and Shawn Mendes mixed in with AAA hits and classic alt.

[MWmetalhead]

Good comparison!

106.5 has more titles in its playlist for sure, but in terms of how a typical hour sounds, there definitely is a lot of similarity.

[thatonedude]

Yeah, I’m definitely getting River vibes from the playlist now. Would like to hear more AAA currents/recurrents, though.

Side note: they need to dump some of those sweepers that still have JACK-ish elements. Heard one that had snippets of Bon Jovi and Billy Joel — whoever’s in production at Midwest might want to get that fixed.


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[ChrisWL1980]

And the plot thickens... Midwest has applied to move the WTOU calls to 96.5 and shuffle WZOX off to 1660. That seems to suggest what's going to happen with 96.5 at least.

[MWmetalhead]

Definitely.

I'd be surprised if Shits 96.5 is relocated to 1660 / 95.5, though. I'm thinking a return of Sports to 1660 is in the cards (I assume 95.5 will continue to rebroadcast 1660). The WZOX calls would work decently for a Sports station branded as "The Zone," for instance.

Upgrading WTOU to 96.5 is certainly warranted. Right now, The Block enjoys vastly better FM coverage than The Touch. Relocating The Touch to 96.5 will help level the playing field.

I really like The Block. It is arguably the best sounding station from the Kalamazoo & Battle Creek area.

[Michigan Media]

I would welcome a return of sports to 1660. A dedicated sports format could pick up play-by-play broadcasts from several teams that don't have a radio affiliate in Kalamazoo. The Red Wings, Pistons, and Michigan State currently lack affiliates in Kalamazoo.

Regarding the status of 1660, I am still not able to tune into the station. I hope I am wrong, but I have a gut feeling that 1660 will go silent after The Touch moves to 96.5. If that happens, the 95.5 translator could rebroadcast 98.5 or 100.9/930.

If The Touch moves to 96.5, I hope that Midwest puts a little more effort into the format. The current imaging and production elements are very bland and I constantly hear glitches with the automation system. Also, the station needs a real morning show.

Edit: 1660 is back online as of 3/28/2025.

[MWmetalhead]

I cannot help but wonder if 106.5 will transition completely back to Adult Contemporary.

The playlist remains a work in progress. The alternative rock lean appears to be vanishing. The harder edged alt rock is almost completely gone. Wimpy modern AC songs from the 90s, 00s and 10s seem to be the backbone of the playlist now. I'm seeing a little more airplay for core AC artists suddenly, too.

It appears MWC wants 106.5's playlist to be female friendly now that 96.5 is gone, and that they want zero encroachment onto 92.5's turf.

Hearing WMU sports on a station with a female leaning playlist is jarring and is sure to make 106.5's a continued ratings laggard. Put all the WMU crap on one of the geezer stations (590 or 100.9/102.7).

Jury duty is more fun than listening to WMU basketball or football on the radio.

[Michigan Media]

I predicted a revival of Adult Contemporary on 106.5 in another thread. I suspect that Midwest will use the upcoming spring ratings period as a test bed for the Modern AC leaning playlist. If the Nielsen numbers meet their expectations, the Modern AC format may stay put. If not, they may continue the transition to a traditional AC format. At some point this year, I predict that the Jack FM brand will be discontinued for a more AC friendly identity.

WMU sports broadcasts could move to 92.5 or 590/106.9. Better yet, turn 1660/95.5 into a sports station and move the WMU broadcasts there. Midwest could sell the station's naming rights to WMU and call it "95.5 The Bronco."

Midwest is clearly taking a slow and measured approach with the format adjustments in Kalamazoo/Battle Creek. There is a need to reduce overlap with their brands, but making major changes in a short period of time can be a recipe for disaster.

[craigrussell100]

Would be wiling to bet those sports broadcasts will stay right where they are. For starters, WMU signs contracts with Midwest to be on 106.5. Doubt it says anywhere in the legalese "feel free to move our games to whatever frequency you feel like". Second, WMU PAYS to be on the radio. And more than likely good money. AND to be on the 33k blowtorch that 106.5 is. Looking at the contour map for 106.5, it probably reaches a population of 1.4 million people, conservatively.

When I was at WUPS we were the CMU Football and Basketball flagship, and everyone always asked "why do you have second rate CMU MAC sports on in prime time spots. We want to hear music." I always explained its because not only could we get sponsors for the games, but CMU paid big $$$ to be on. Like 60-80k a year. No station especially these days would turn down hat kind of coin.

[MWmetalhead]

If MWC is fine with WKFR wiping the floor clean with 106.5 and having 106.5 remain a second rate station, then keeping WMU sports on 106.5's airwaves is sensible.

Otherwise, they should try like hell to renegotiate the contract.

A hundred grand isn't worth injuring your blowtorch signal's brand, in my opinion. 106.5 should be given the same reverence as Win 98.5.

Niche programming should be reserved for the AM band or the small FM signals.

There are significantly more ad dollars available in K'zoo / BC than in Mt. Pleasant / Houghton Lake, I suspect. As such, I can more easily accept the notion of CMU Sports on WUPS than WMU Sports on WVFM.

[Michigan Media]

The most recent radio contract announcement that I could find for WMU was from 2021. It did not indicate that it was a multi-year agreement. One can assume WMU has a year-to-year contract with Midwest Communications:

https://wmubroncos.com/news/2021/7/15/g ... gship.aspx

If Midwest has grander plans for WVFM, the WMU contract will certainly be renegotiated during the offseason. WVFM could be swapped with a combination of Midwest's smaller FM and AM signals.