Re: 95.7 Jamz and 98.7 Kiss FM destroyed the old WENN
> With that said, had Dick
> > Broadcasting not messed with WENN by moving it to 105.9
> and
> > kept the R&B format status quo, I wonder how it would fare
>
> > against Kiss and Jamz today.
> >
> Both Jamz and Kiss flipped to their present formats in '96.
> Until then, WENN had no challengers to their format.
> Throughout the '80's and into the '90's, WENN was the #1
> urban station in town, in part because the only competition
> they had in Birmingham were the AM R & B stations like WATV
> and WJLD, and by default, Kicks 106 and I-95. People west
> of downtown could also get Power 93 (WTUG) from Tuscaloosa.
>
> Shortly after the debut of Jamz and Kiss, it was apparent
> that WENN's days were numbered. The hip-hop leaning crowd
> went to 95.7; the older listeners went to 98.7. WENN's
> ratings dropped like a rock, and the estate of Dr. A.G.
> Gaston, who owned WENN, looked to sell the station. The
> estate originally planned to sell 'ENN and its AM sister
> station WAGG-1320 to Cox at about the same time that Cox
> bought Jamz and Kiss. Cox owned WZZK-FM, WZZK-AM and WODL
> (now WBPT), and the FCC ruled that if Cox owned all seven
> stations, they would have controlled too large of a share of
> the Birmingham market. Thus, WENN was sold to Dick.
> However, WENN was damaged goods once Dick assumed
> control...they can't be blamed for "messing with WENN". It
> had already been messed up.
>
I agree on the most part. But if Dick Broadcasting has done held true to their word the station probably had survived. They could had done what Infinity (CBS Radio) did with V-103, and that was skew younger when still catering to older demos during key dayparts like middays and late nights. I knew for awhile way before 98.7 Kiss came on-air that dominaant Urban AC would have came to be Birmingham, but 95.7 Jamz is another story. IMO Kiss can have its younger demos (25-34) taken away by a strong mainstream urban, but nothing beyond that.
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