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2001 Frequency Switch: 12 Years Later

C

CleveFan

Today (July 3, 2013) is actually the 12th anniversary of the big frequency flip that took place on this day in '01. In case you were living in a rock ( :)), here's a rundown:

WCLV (Classical) switched from 95.5 FM to 104.9 FM
WAKS (Mainstream CHR) switched from 104.9 FM to 96.5 FM
WKDD (Hot AC) switched from 96.5 FM to 98.1 FM
WHK-FM (Christian Talk, simulcast of WHK-AM) switched from 98.1 FM to 95.5 FM and would soon flip to WFHM (Christian AC)
WHK-AM (Christian Talk) switched from 1420 AM to 1220 AM
WKNR (Sports) switched from 1220 AM to 850 AM
WRMR (Adult Standards) switched from 850 AM to 1420 AM and would become WCLV-AM before reverting back to WRMR a while later

Only WCLV, WAKS, WKDD, WFHM and WKNR are still in their same formats to this day. WCLV-AM/WRMR is now WHK-AM with a Talk format at 1420, 1220 is with the same format since '01 but as WHKW (1440 became WHKZ). WCLV, WKNR and 1420 each changed ownership, and WKDD now has a stronger signal then went they first went to 98.1.

Am I missing anything? Anyone have thoughts and memories of the major switch?
 
Yes I remember it well. I stayed up til midnight to catch the swap. 95.5 (the future "FISH") had some problems getting their audio on the air at midnight. Evidently the studio link was not tested in advance and nothing but noise came over the air for some time.
 
Anyone have thoughts and memories of the major switch?


Yeah, it was awful. Until we moved to a new tower the following September. Then again in 2012.
 
I can imagine how stressful it was for all the companies involved. Having to get the technical aspects right, and reminding listeners where to find the new locations. Didn't look like it was easy.

Keith, I will add that WKDD sounds a lot stronger in the Cleveland area nowadays. Kudos to getting back to the Cuyahoga Falls tower.
 
kkennedy said:
Anyone have thoughts and memories of the major switch?


Yeah, it was awful. Until we moved to a new tower the following September. Then again in 2012.
Click to expand...

WKDD is much clearer since the move back to the Cuyahoga Falls tower!! It scans in as one of the stronger signals and isn't overcome at my home by the nearby 97.5 tower like it used to be. It seems like the coverage replicates what 96.5 used to be.
 
Hey Keith, why did WKDD drop WHLO on HD2? I just bought an HD radio in order to get WHLO over WKDD HD2. You used to have an HD 3 for Air-1, why the change?

I guess it doesn't matter anymore since they dumped "The War Room", which was my major reason for listening to WHLO. I've been listening to WHLO ever since the days when WTAM dumped Glenn Beck for Jerry Springer. That's when I got hooked on Quinn & Rose.
 
I have never heard of such a "swap" involving so many stations. How many operators were involved? If more than one owner, did money change hands?
 
secondchoice said:
I have never heard of such a "swap" involving so many stations. How many operators were involved? If more than one owner, did money change hands?
Click to expand...

The whole thing was spearheaded by Robert Conrad, who owned WCLV.

He wanted to make sure his baby would forever have a spot on the dial to preserve the classical music format.

He willingly swapped out of the more powerful 95.5 spot for the weaker 104.9 signal to keep WCLV going, and the rest fell like dominoes. (And just last year, Cleveland's Public Broadcasting consortium Ideastream absorbed WCLV to bring it into the fold with PBS station WVIZ and NPR affiliate WCPN.)

The main players in 2001 were the WCLV Foundation (Conrad's non-profit group which ran WCLV), Clear Channel, and Salem.

Basically a bunch of stations just shuffled call letters and formats.

Some other differences were that 96.5 went from Akron targeted WKDD to Cleveland targeted WAKS, and 98.1 went from Canton targeted WHK-FM to Akron targeted WKDD.

So in essence Cleveland "gained" a station, Akron "swapped" one for another, and Canton "lost" a station.
 
Here's what I wrote about it back in 2001 (http://www.fybush.com/site-010718.html):

Cleveland, a couple of hours later, finds us parked outside a fast-food place taping a whole slew of legal IDs in preparation for the big changes we know are coming in a week's time. This is our last chance to hear classical WCLV (95.5) on that big signal - it's selling its facility to Salem, which will flip it to "Fish" WFHM. In the process, Clear Channel will get Salem's 98.1 in Canton (WHK-FM), move its CHR WKDD there from 96.5 Akron, and move its CHR "Kiss" WAKS to 96.5 from 104.9 out west in Lorain. WCLV will then end up on 104.9.

But wait - there's more! WCLV will also get the AM 1420 signal that's now doing religious talk for Salem as "WHK." That format will move to what's now all-sports WKNR (1220), while WKNR's sports talk will move to what's now standards WRMR (850). But to keep the WHK three-letter call from disappearing, Salem has temporarily moved it to AM 1000 in Parma, ex-WCCD. So "WCCD" on 1000 is slipping a "WHK Parma-Cleveland" legal in every hour, while 1420 is legally WHKK for the moment.
Click to expand...

So there were actually eight facilities that were involved, if you count the parking of the WHK calls on WCCD:

850 - Salem standards WRMR to Salem sports WKNR (later sold to Good Karma)
1000 - Salem religious WCCD to WHK and then back to WCCD (later sold to a church)
1220 - Salem sports WKNR to Salem religious WHK (now WHKW)
1420 - Salem religious WHK (briefly WHKK) to Conrad standards WCLV (later WRMR, still later sold to Salem and now talk WHK)
95.5 - Conrad classical WCLV to Salem contemporary Christian WFHM
96.5 - Clear Channel hot AC WKDD to Clear Channel top-40 WAKS (later moved into Cleveland from Akron)
98.1 - Salem religious WHK-FM to Clear Channel hot AC WKDD (later moved into Akron from Canton)
104.9 - Clear Channel top-40 WAKS to Conrad classical WCLV-FM (now Ideastream)

Those IDs I taped in 2001 are mostly up at Tophour.com:

http://www.tophour.com/audio/index.php?q=f&f=/Cleveland OH
 
Also remember, 1420 was originally supposed to be a simulcast of 104.9's classical music format, but at the last second adopted the standards format of the displaced WRMR after somewhat of a outcry of the potential loss of standards.

In 2003, 1420 tried to resurrect the WRMR calls to salvage the standards format, but in 2004 Salem got the station back, put back the iconic WHK calls, and adopted their current conservatalk format.

104.9 then had a deal with the then-WBKC 1460 to simulcast so Lake County listeners could get the format. 1460 then eventually switched to gospel and then their current liberal talk format.

Besides 104.9 FM, WCLV is now also simulcast on WCPN HD-2 after being absorbed by Ideastream.
 
vjm said:
Also remember, 1420 was originally supposed to be a simulcast of 104.9's classical music format, but at the last second adopted the standards format of the displaced WRMR after somewhat of a outcry of the potential loss of standards.

In 2003, 1420 tried to resurrect the WRMR calls to salvage the standards format, but in 2004 Salem got the station back, put back the iconic WHK calls, and adopted their current conservatalk format.

104.9 then had a deal with the then-WBKC 1460 to simulcast so Lake County listeners could get the format. 1460 then eventually switched to gospel and then their current liberal talk format.

Besides 104.9 FM, WCLV is now also simulcast on WCPN HD-2 after being absorbed by Ideastream.
Click to expand...
Putting WCLV on WCPN HD2 was probably the best move for WCLV could make. Better than being on AM anyway.
 
As for the pop standards on Conrad's 1420, it was not the same mix that was played on 850 previously. It was mostly 40's and 50's and very heavy on Sinatra, Tony Bennett and the like. Ted Alexander tried to liven things up a bit when he came on board after Tall Ted Hallaman was dismissed, but it was too little too late.
 
skiwest said:
As for the pop standards on Conrad's 1420, it was not the same mix that was played on 850 previously. It was mostly 40's and 50's and very heavy on Sinatra, Tony Bennett and the like. Ted Alexander tried to liven things up a bit when he came on board after Tall Ted Hallaman was dismissed, but it was too little too late.
Click to expand...

I think having 1420 under Conrad as WCLV-AM added some confusion as well. Imagine if they stuck with Classical on 1420 along with 104.9?
 
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