Longtime beautiful music turned lounge/standards/jazz/soft AC/easy listening/BM hybrid WAVV Ft Myers, FL has jumped on the "Relaxing Favorites" bandwagon, reverting to soft AC after 25 years. (For most of the first decade after signing on in 1987, WAVV was a soft AC station) This comes a year after owner Norm Alpert passed away and his heirs took over ownership, and before that, being de-listed from the Nielsen 2017 ratings book for violating its Media Affiliation rules. A few months before this change, they resumed streaming and revamped their website.
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WAVV 101 now Soft AC
- Thread starter MarquisP4
- Start date
Even though it was 50% vocals by the end, WAVV was still the last commercial Easy Listening station in a Top 100 market. (Austin still has non-commercial 91.3 KNCT-FM.)
WAVV had a long string of #1 finishes for much of its history during those years it was automatically listed by Arbitron. But when the ratings service (Arbitron and Nielsen) began only listing subscribers about 10 years ago, WAVV was no longer listed, so we don't know how it was doing lately.
Another highly rated station in the Fort Myers market, 106.3 WJPT, is also considered a Soft AC station, although some might say it's really a gold-based AC that doesn't play anything too uptempo. In the latest ratings, WJPT is the #2 station in the market, and tops among music stations. (#1 is talk station WFSX.) Once WJPT is finished with its all-Christmas music format on Dec. 26th, it will be interesting to see how the two stations differ.
WAVV had a long string of #1 finishes for much of its history during those years it was automatically listed by Arbitron. But when the ratings service (Arbitron and Nielsen) began only listing subscribers about 10 years ago, WAVV was no longer listed, so we don't know how it was doing lately.
Another highly rated station in the Fort Myers market, 106.3 WJPT, is also considered a Soft AC station, although some might say it's really a gold-based AC that doesn't play anything too uptempo. In the latest ratings, WJPT is the #2 station in the market, and tops among music stations. (#1 is talk station WFSX.) Once WJPT is finished with its all-Christmas music format on Dec. 26th, it will be interesting to see how the two stations differ.
Old format is now on HD-2 and streaming.
I just hope it's not a temporary measure i.e. one of those situations such as WMUU-FM did years ago, where the station went strictly online following the FM's move to talk but then the stream was pulled within a year's time. I didn't mention that possible scenario to those on the WAVV facebook page; the HD2 stream could be done merely to keep the former "Wave 101.1" listeners happy for a while since the FM changed to a soft AC format. Sometimes ignorance is bliss...
I think WMUU lasted longer than that.
Where is this WAVV Facebook page, because I don't find anything where people are commenting on the change?
Their hd2 is not streaming. Hardly anyone cares about hd, but streaming is listened to by most people. No stream, no station. Expect a religious group to buy the station in a year or two.
Streaming where?????
I phoned the station. There are no plans to stream HD2.
As I said below, the station has no plans to stream HD2. Without streaming, the station is through.
I got an email also confirming no streaming.
There doesn't seem to be any reference to the HD2 signal on the stations website
They're pulling a WFEZ on this one where there's an HD2 but its not referenced anywhere on the website.
That isn't their main website.
Too even find it, you would have to type in the word traditional, and who would even think of that?
I was looking for something else and found this.
Several weeks ago I learned the easy listening HD-2 channel is now streaming.
Several weeks ago I learned the easy listening HD-2 channel is now streaming.
Wonder how big an audience the 107.9 translator is getting compared to the WAVV mother ship. Looks like they don't subscribe to Nielsen.
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