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106.5 Jack Fm Kalamazoo

Mrbiglott

Mrbiglott

I’ve recently discovered 106.5 JACK FM WVFM in Kalamazoo has shifted more towards Alternative now it has me wondering if other Jack affiliates can shift away from Adult Hits while keeping the Jack branding intact…
 
I think Jack-FM has leaned a bit to Modern Rock/New Wave/Alternative through its history. It was influenced by the early video days of MTV, which also leaned that way, simply because those were the groups who often produced videos, while the more mainstream rock artists hadn't caught on yet. And it also was a good place for Jack-FM flagship KCBS-FM Los Angeles to be, considering LA's history with Alternative Rock and KROQ, coincidentally co-owned with KCBS-FM.

I'd say KCBS-FM is about 45% MTV video era alternative hits, 45% classic rock, about 5% songs from the 2000s and 5% out-in-left-field songs bordering on novelty tunes (Can't Touch This, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, She Blinded Me with Science, Baby Got Back). Is WVFM any more Alternative-leaning than KCBS-FM?
 
I have not gone into the details of Jack syndication since a long-time friend George Burns retired. My understanding was that all of the under-#50 markets took the syndicated version, while most of the larger market ones coordinated playlists, research and the like with the syndicator, Sparknet.

I'll bet that there are some participants here who are at a Jack station and can further define the way playlists are developed.
 
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WVFM in its current version is much more alternative than KCBS, and even dips into Triple A.

Recently played include AJR, Corinne-Bailey Rae, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, X-Ambassadors, Bob Moses and Jack Johnson. Along with some more recent pop and the standard 80s tracks.

Almost resembles some versions of Modern AC from back when that was a thing.
 
I agree; WVFM now has a pervasive modern AC lean.

The station used to play a substantial amount of classic rock (mostly 80s and 90s), but nearly all that material was dropped a month or two ago when Midwest Communications took control of WZUU.

WZUU itself was reformatted from classic rock to mainstream hard rock.

Midwest now owns or controls a big number of radio stations in the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek area. WVFM, WNWN, WFAT + an FM translator, WQXC, WZUU, WKZO + an FM translator, WZOX + an FM translator (which now rebroadcast 98.5 WNWN), and WTOU-FM (which was relocated recently from AM 1660 / 95.5). It also owns WTVB + an FM translator in nearby Coldwater, MI.

The most popular radio station in the region by far, though, is Townsquare-owned 103.3 WKFR.
 
Interesting, I moved to KZoo in June 2022 and absolutely loved ZUU. It wasn't your typical classic rock station and they would play some deep cuts and more regional artists. The past few months I have found listening unbearable and have switched over to RKR. Not that what ZUU has done is bad, it just isn't my thing. New owners explains a lot.
 
WRKR is fortunate in that its corporate overlords haven't forced the lame WGRD-based morning show down its throat. Townsquare runs that show in nearly every other market where it owns either a rock or classic rock station in the Midwest and Northeast. (There are a few exceptions.)

WRKR to this day still has a local morning show. Even WMMQ in Lansing can no longer say that.
 
MarkW said:
WRKR is fortunate in that its corporate overlords haven't forced the lame WGRD-based morning show down its throat. Townsquare runs that show in nearly every other market where it owns either a rock or classic rock station in the Midwest and Northeast. (There are a few exceptions.)

WRKR to this day still has a local morning show. Even WMMQ in Lansing can no longer say that.
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Local morning shows in smaller markets are bound to become increasingly rare. I doubt they are a differentiator in most cases.
 
davideduardo said:
I have not gone into the details of Jack syndication since a long-time friend George Burns retired. My understanding was that all of the under-#50 markets took the syndicated version, while most of the larger market ones coordinated playlists, research and the like with the syndicator, Sparknet.
Click to expand...

The story I had always heard was that Jack contracts were done at the group level rather than the station level. So, a company like Midwest might have a contract that would get it around using the national feed by virtue of its association with WCJK. What has me a tad puzzled is that SparkNet used to refuse to work with Class A signals, and I've been told WNFZ in Knoxville runs its own version of Jack FM, too.
 


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