I don’t think this was planned. R1 just submitted a request to upgrade 100.9 to a C3. Why spend the money on an engineer and FCC fees if you’re about to flip it?
I’m sure R1 is losing money on Mix with the high talent costs, especially considering the ratings drop and inferior signals. They can make some money by selling the stations, and concentrate on more profitable formats. I could also see them selling 1110, and even 610. They moved the “host” to 105.3 HD2 a few years back, so they don’t really need the AM signal.
With them keeping the WLNK calls, they’re either going to park them somewhere or they’re acquiring another signal for the Mix format. Not sure what they could acquire, as all of the full market signals are owned by Beasley, iHeart or Radio One except for 95.7, and I don’t think Dave Lingafelt is going to ever sell. Could Beasley or iHeart sell an underperforming signal to R1? I doubt it. There’s WOLS, which has a very similar contour map to WPZS’s upgraded signal. Don’t know what their situation is. Only other option is a signal from another market that they could “move in”.