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Goodbye Wave?

I was already wondering about this since I don’t remember The Wave going Christmas before.

Not sure what the new format would be if it does change, but I'd have to think country would be most likely. WGAR is second to the top without any serious competition.
 
They used to do 48 hours, then 72 hours of Christmas between 12/23-12/25.
 
The transition period is on for all to hear.
Last week WNWV was still airing mostly smooth jazz Christmas music, a few vocals per hour.
Now they sound like 102.1. Band Aid, The Eagles and Dean Martin all in a half-hour's span this morning. With an upcoming flip I guess 107.3's playlist went, in other words, generic, compared to their previous stints 2-3 days before Xmas where you'd hear Christmas tunes from David Benoit, Boney James, Dave Koz and smooth R&B artists.
 
If a format flip happens, they certainly had a long run as a Smooth Jazz station. 30 years or so.
 
They spent two years as an AAA station 'V 107.3'. Then went back to The Wave.
 
Kent said:
Not sure what the new format would be if it does change, but I'd have to think country would be most likely. WGAR is second to the top without any serious competition.
Click to expand...

The classic hits station is the market's highest billing FM, and the AC station is tied for third. The market has a fairly high median age, typical of the rust belt.

So a "Breeze" type soft AC with no currents and a mood-driven texture looks like the sweet spot for money.

In cases like these, having a "different" format, even if difference is a question of degree, is better than having a "me too" format. In markets that size, a second station in any format is not going to get on as many buys as one that increases an ad campaign's reach.

WNWV is the lowest billing of the fuller signal FMs in the market, billing even less than WHKW and only getting about 10% of the revenue of WMJI. So they don't have to do very much to make up the billing they will lose, and soft AC is close enough to the current format to be able to argue for "stick with us" with current advertisers.

The only fly in that ointment is that the owner does have a country station in Akron, so they may like the format. On the other hand, that country station actually gets about as big a share in Cleveland as The Wave does... so they may not like the overlap.

Just speculation, but fun to see what happens in my old hometown.
 
Last edited:
DavidEduardo said:
The only fly in that ointment is that the owner does have a country station in Akron, so they may like the format. On the other hand, that country station actually gets about as big a share in Cleveland as The Wave does... so they may not like the overlap.
Click to expand...

Both WNWV and WQMX are signals that originate about 20-25 miles south of town. The signals are about the same strength and have about the same coverage. Not much gained by simulcasting WQMX on WNWV. But clearly WNWV is underperforming when compared to WQMX. I'm thinking some sort of rhythmic AC, similar to what KTWV did in Los Angeles. Not sure if it might duplicate WZAK however.
 


I listened to the Christmas format on WNWV on line, and it is VERY much a Smooth Jazz holiday sound. I had it on for a while and it was all Dave Koz, Vince Guaraldi Trio, Natalie Cole and Kenny G. I didn't hear any standard Christmas songs, no Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree or Holly Jolly Christmas (unless done by jazz-influenced artists).

That leads me to believe the station is not switching. If it planned to flip, it would just go with a standard Christmas format.

 
Not yesterday (Sat) around 3PM. Elton John, Band Aid etc. as if it was a holiday format on an AC station. Perhaps a fluke this time around?
and when I meant morning, it was my local time zone...sorry.
 
David Eduardo posted: "WNWV is the lowest billing of the fuller signal FMs in the market, billing even less than WHKW" .

WHKW is Salem's Teaching Talk station at AM1220 (formerly WGAR). You may be referring to WFHM 95.5FM, Salem's "The Fish" Christian music format. (Formerly WCLV).
 
johnbasalla said:
David Eduardo posted: "WNWV is the lowest billing of the fuller signal FMs in the market, billing even less than WHKW" .

WHKW is Salem's Teaching Talk station at AM1220 (formerly WGAR). You may be referring to WFHM 95.5FM, Salem's "The Fish" Christian music format. (Formerly WCLV).
Click to expand...

Thanks! My error. I was looking at a listing in revenue rank order, and took the wrong call letters.

This does show that we are so accustomed to referring to stations by their name that call letters are no longer as intuitive a way of identifying stations.
 
WNWV went commercial free this week for the '107 Hours of Christmas' - so far besides Kenny G here and there, no smooth jazz Xmas to be found anywhere. Jonas Brothers, Elton John, Nat King Cole, it sounds just like 102.1. We'll see what happens come the 26th! The Wave will be missed.
 
It's the weekend between Xmas and New Years. And WNWV is still playing Christmas music.

And yes, it is the standard Christmas format, not a Smooth Jazz Christmas. I just heard Springsteen's Santa Claus is Coming to Town, leading into Run Run Rudolph.
 
The other Radio site says WNWV has gone to a WQMX simulcast temporarily. Besides TOH IDs, no mention from 94.9 DJs of their signal being on 107.3.
 
I saw a complaint or two from Wave fans on the WQMX Facebook page, and the reply indicated 107.3 will be unveiling a new format shortly. This is almost certainly temporary.
 
Re:

Excellent comparison, and similar to Click in Seattle...and especially the Dayton, OH version that lived on 101.5 FM down there...this station will likely prove to be a DUD.

BTW, I'm sure this station was inspired by Sirius XM's "Pulse." It's no coincidence that word is used in the positioning statement.
 
MarkW said:
Excellent comparison, and similar to Click in Seattle...and especially the Dayton, OH version that lived on 101.5 FM down there...this station will likely prove to be a DUD.

BTW, I'm sure this station was inspired by Sirius XM's "Pulse." It's no coincidence that word is used in the positioning statement.
Click to expand...

I listened to an hour of the station yesterday and the only word I can use to describe it is "dull." The music seems to be a selection of the most boring minor hits from the past decade.

One of the positioners they used while I was listening went something like: "Jeny 107.3 is in a relationship... with Cleveland." Maybe Facebook "in-a-relationship" skits might have worked ten years ago, but Facebook itself is passé among young adults these days.
 
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