A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
2012 in radio
... | The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (January 2018) |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| +... |
The following is a list of events affecting radio broadcasting in 2012. Events listed include radio program debuts, finales, cancellations, and station launches, closures and format changes, as well as information about controversies and deaths of radio personalities.
Notable events
January
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Eye Radio and the Midnight Trucking Radio Network, both syndicated by Cumulus Media Networks, "merge" into one show. Midnight Trucking, hosted by Eric Harley and Gary McNamara (from WBAP—Dallas) is rebranded as Red Eye while Doug McIntyre, host of the original iteration of Red Eye, was reassigned to KABC—Los Angeles; a weekend version of Red Eye hosted by Marc Germain was also dropped. | [1] |
| Rhythmic Top 40 KHTC—Edina/Minneapolis–Saint Paul flips to adult Top 40 KTWN. | [2] | |
| Classic rock WZRR—Birmingham, Alabama flips to CHR "99.5 The Vibe". | [3] | |
| Adult Top 40 WNNF—Cincinnati flips to country as "Great Country". | [4] | |
| Cherry Creek makes a frequency swap in Missoula Top 40 KXDR to the stronger signal of 106.7 FM formerly held by clustermate KBQQ, which moves its main signal from 106.7 to 96.9 FM and its translator to KXDR's former signal at 98.7 FM for better coverage in the Missoula metropolitan area. | [citation needed] | |
| 2 | Country KTWI—Omaha flips to classic country "93.3 The Wolf". | [5] |
| Oldies WMTI—Picayune, Mississippi/New Orleans flips to sports. | [6] | |
| As part of a frequency swap, 95.7 FM in Cedar Rapids officially switches from country (which had moved to 96.5 FM on December 27, 2011) to simulcasting WMT's AM signal; on January 17, the call letters change to KWMG-FM. | [citation needed] | |
| 3 | The Buffalo Bills Radio Network ends its relationship with Cumulus Media (purchasers of Citadel Broadcasting's assets, including former flagship WGRF and four other network affiliates) and signs a deal with Entercom Communications; as a result, the network's new flagship becomes Entercom's WGR (who already has the Sabres Hockey Network as well) effective that summer. | [7] |
| 4 | Talk WPLZ—Chattanooga, Tennessee flips to country. | [8] |
| Co-owned oldies WKAD—Cadillac, Michigan, and adult standards WMBN—Petoskey, Michigan, flip to sports. | [9] | |
| 5 | The owners of KMVV—Anchorage, which exited the Rhythmic AC MOViN' format in November 2011 before signing off December 31, 2011, announced it plans to return to the air with a Smooth Jazz format as "104.9 The Oasis". | [10] |
| 6 | Country KTFW—Fort Worth rebrands to "Hank FM". | [11] |
| Talk WXTL—Syracuse, New York, switches to classic rock "105.9 The Rebel". | [12] | |
| Rhythmic Top 40 WHTI—Lakeside/Richmond, Virginia, shifts to CHR but retains the "Hot 100.9" name. | [13] | |
| CHR CKHZ—Halifax, Nova Scotia overhauls the format and airstaff, by returning to its dance roots as "Energy 103.5". | [14] | |
| Family Radio files papers with the FCC to change the licensing status of WFME—Newark/New York City from non-commercial to commercial, preparing it for a possible sale. | [15] | |
| 9 | Adult contemporary WDOK—Cleveland rebrands as "The New 102", dropping both longtime midday host Nancy Alden and Delilah. | [16] |
| iHeartRadio announces a deal to bring Greater Media's 22 outlets to its streaming platform, starting in April. | [17] | |
| 12 | Alternative rock KEXX—Phoenix flips to classic rock "My 103.9". | [18] |
| Classic rock CKQK-FM—Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island flips to CHR "Hot 105.5." | [19] | |
| Veteran voiceover artist Bill St. James announces his departure from Cumulus Media Networks' syndicated classic rock series Flashback. Matt Pinfield, host of MTV/MTV2's 120 Minutes, takes over as host. | [20] | |
| 13 | Clear Channel Communications changes the name of its radio division to Clear Channel Media & Entertainment. | [21] |
| 15 | Classic hits/brokered WOLT—Greenville adds dance-oriented hits and remixes via Jamtraxx's Spin-FM service. | [22] |
| 19 | The bandwagon of FM sports talk stops in Missoula, Montana as Cherry Creek installs a simulcast of AM KGRZ at 92.7 fm the former home of CHR top 40 KXDR which displaced KBQQ's 106.7 signal. | [citation needed] |
| 20 | Adult Top 40 KLZR—Lawrence/Topeka, Kansas flips to CHR "105.9 Kiss-FM". | [23] |
| 90s-centric classic hits WMHX—Harrisburg flips to country "The New Z 106.7". | [24] | |
| Adult Top 40 KFLX—Flagstaff, Arizona flips to 80s-centric classic hits "Rewind 92.5 & 104.1". | [25] | |
| 23 | The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has ruled that College-run radio stations in Canada can no longer use students as on-air DJs. This move will mean that CKIC—Winnipeg will be the first station to be forced off the air due to this decision. | [26] |
| 24 | Sirius XM Radio offers a free three-month subscription to anyone who buys a used vehicle that was equipped with a satellite radio feature that was made by the Chrysler Group LLC. | [27] |
| 27 | Country WPKX—Enfield, Connecticut/Springfield, Massachusetts is relaunched as ESPN Radio affiliate WUCS—Windsor Locks/Hartford. | [28] |
February
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Adult hits KSZR—Tucson switches to CHR "i97.5". | [29] |
| 5 | CHR KCKS—Chico, California flips to sports with the Fox Sports Radio lineup. | [30] |
| 8 | The Spanish Top 40 format of XHGTS-FM—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico moves over to KQUR—Laredo, Texas, displacing KQUR's Active Rock format, which moves over to the internet. | [31] |
| 10 | Christian contemporary WFGZ—Nashville flips to classic hits WHPY-FM "Hippy Radio 94.5". | [32] |
| 14 | Adult contemporary CJGV-FM—Winnipeg flips to adult Top 40 "99.1 Fresh FM". | [33] |
| Country KOAZ—Isleta/Albuquerque flips to smooth jazz "103.7 The Oasis." | [34] | |
| 15 | WWPW—Charlestown, Indiana/Louisville returns to the air as 80s-centric classic hits WLUE. | [35] |
| 17 | Nearly six years after the death of longtime owner Bernie Dittman, the family sells heritage CHR WABB-FM—Mobile to Educational Media Foundation, while WABB—Mobile is retained for the time being. It is regarded as the "end of an era" as WABB and WABB-FM held a Top 40/CHR format continuously in some capacity dating back to Bernie Dittman's purchase of WABB in 1959. | [36] |
| Fort Walton Beach, Florida outlets WFFY and WMXZ adjusts formats, with WFFY shifting from Rhythmic Top 40 to CHR as "Q92." WMXZ flipped from Adult Top 40 to Rock on March 2 and adopting the moniker "103.1 The Blaze." | [37] | |
| 20 | The Quad Cities picks up another CHR, as KUUL drops its oldies format (which had been in place since 1989) to become "101.3 KISS-FM." Several of KUUL's former syndicated programs are shuffled to sister-station KMXG to create a "retro/oldies" weekend programming block at that station. In response to the format switch, another FM station in the Quad Cities' market, WYEC (93.9 FM), expands its oldies programming by rebranding itself "Rewind 93.9" and adding a block of 50s and 60s music on Fridays. | [38] |
| 22 | WFNL—Raleigh returns to the air with programming from 24/7 Comedy Radio. The station, formerly classic country WQDR, had been silent for ten months after its tower was destroyed by a tornado in April 2011. | [39] |
| 24 | Cumulus Media expands the "Great Country" branding to current Country outlet WSJR—Wilkes-Barre, and former CHR WKOS—Kingsport. | [40] |
March
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Concurrent with CHR WABB-FM—Mobile joining the K-Love network as WLVM, Cumulus Media flips adult hits "Jack FM" WYOK—Saraland/Mobile to CHR "104.1 WABD", hiring several WABB-FM personalities and their morning show. | [41] |
| Soft AC KVWE—Missoula, Montana flips to a simulcast of talk KGVO. | [citation needed] | |
| 2 | Adult contemporary KJMK—Joplin switches to classic hits as "Classic Hits 93.9". | [42] |
| 3 | Adult contemporary WIOP—Isle of Palms/Charleston, South Carolina segues to adult Top 40 WMXZ "Mix 95.9". | [43] |
| 4 | A series of advertisers including LegalZoom, Citrix, Sleep Number, The Sleep Train, ProFlowers, Quicken Loans and Carbonite, drop or suspend their sponsorship of The Rush Limbaugh Show after host Rush Limbaugh made derogatory remarks toward activist Sandra Fluke, who testified in favor of a rule requiring religious institutions to pay for birth control as part of their health insurance plans. The Sleep Train asked to resume advertising four days later, but Limbaugh refused. | [44] |
| 5 | Classical KUDL—Kansas City switches to business programming; the classical format originated as KXTR on 96.5 FM in the 1950s but had been on AM since 2000. | [45] |
| 8 | Cumulus Media announced that they are dropping Billy Bush's nighttime program from their CHR outlets. Cumulus, which had an agreement with Westwood One to carry the show (and several other of the network's offerings), acquired the former ABC Radio Networks in fall 2011 and began phasing out programs from Westwood One (which merged with Dial Global at the same time) on its stations. | [46] |
| 9 | Entercom purchases KBLX—San Francisco from Inner City Broadcasting for 25 million. The deal comes in the wake of Inner City's bankruptcy and to prevent an attempt by Cumulus Media to acquire the Urban AC outlet. | [47] |
| 80s-centric adult hits KBJX—Idaho Falls flips to easy listening "Easy Rock 106". | [citation needed] | |
| Hot AC KRMX—Waco, Texas flips to country "Shooter FM" | [citation needed] | |
| Adult hits KRXX—Kodiak, Alaska flips to CHR "Hot FM". | [citation needed] | |
| 13 | Curtis Media Group shuffles its talk programming in the Piedmont Triad and Research Triangle, dropping the format from WZTK—Burlington, North Carolina. Some of WZTK's programming moves to WSJS—Winston-Salem and WPTK—Raleigh, ending the oldies format of WKIX; WPTK also inherits most of WPTF's talk programming as that station moves to an emphasis on news programming. | [48] |
| 15 | Federated Media announces that it will simulcast Fort Wayne talk station WOWO on the FM dial starting April 1, displacing classic rock WFWI. The simulcast actually starts on March 28. | [49] |
| 16 | Montreal-based Astral Media announces an agreement to merge its assets with Bell Media for $3.38 billion; among the assets included in the sale are 85 Astral-owned radio stations in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan. | [50] |
| CHR WXKR-HD2/W246AK—Port Clinton/Toledo flips to alternative rock as "The Zone". | [51] | |
| Classic rock KRWK—Fargo, North Dakota flips to syndicated conservative talk as a complement to co-owned talk KFGO—Fargo. | [52] | |
| 19 | Adult contemporary WWWM-FM—Sylvania/Toledo flips to CHR, retaining the "Star 105.5" name. | [51] |
| 22 | Cumulus Media expands the AC formatted "Warm" brand to two markets: alternative rock KYNF—Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Jack FM formatted KBIU—Lake Charles, Louisiana. | [53] |
| 23 | Gospel WFJO—Jacksonville Beach/Jacksonville, Florida, flips to sports WJXL-FM, simulcasting WJXL. | [54] |
| WLOV-FM Daytona Beach Shores/Daytona Beach, Florida signs on with a soft AC format. | ||
| 24 | Country KIXZ—Opportunity/Spokane, Washington flips to CHR "Hits 96.1". | [55] |
| 26 | KLIF—Dallas begins a transition from talk to an all-news format, debuting news-intensive blocks in both morning and afternoon drive as "News/Information 570.". | [56] |
| 29 | Modern AC KSCF—San Diego flips to CHR "Energy 103.7." | [57] |
| 30 | KDHT-FM—Denver flips from CHR to Dance. | [58] |
April
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WARG—Summit, Illinois a student and volunteer-run radio outlet operated by Argo Community High School and whose signal covers the southwestern portions of Chicago and Cook County, dropped the alternative rock format after 36 years in favor of Dance, with most of the music provided by internet broadcaster Fusion Radio. The station's staff and volunteers were retained, as well as their programming lineup when Dance music is not aired. | [59] |
| WCMQ-FM—Miami flips from Spanish Oldies to Salsa and adopts the "Zeta" moniker that was once used at WINZ and WZTA. | [60] | |
| 2 | Bloomington, Illinois becomes the latest radio market to see two stations flip formats within 72 hours of each other, with WVMG dropping AC for CHR as "Hits 100.7" WWHX,[61] and WZIM dropping classic hits for Sports Talk on April 5. | [62] |
| 4 | Clear Channel expand its Top 40 roster, and adds a three-way race in two markets: WVMA—Norfolk,[63] and KVJM—Bryan/College Station, Texas. | [64] |
| 9 | Another Clear Channel outlet flips to CHR, as WMRV—Binghamton, New York returns to the format after spending time as an Adult Top 40 but continues to bill itself as "Star 105.7." | [65] |
| 10 | CBS Radio sells their West Palm Beach cluster of Rhythmic Top 40 WMBX, Adult Top 40 WPBZ, AC WEAT, Country WIRK and Adult R&B WHFS to locally based Palm Beach Broadcasting LLC (the owners of WRMF; and headed by GoodRadio.TV chairman Dean Goodman) for $50 Million, pending FCC approval. WEAT and WHFS will be resold to a third party along with plans to move WEAT's format and call letters to WPBZ and a possible frequency relocation for WEAT's 104.3 signal into the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area; the WHFS call letters will remain with CBS. | [66] |
| As a result of Canada's Conservative Government's announced plan to make a $115 million (CDN) reduction in funding over the next three years, The CBC announces that it will eliminate 650 jobs and for the first time since 1975 will begin airing commercials on their stations, but limiting it to their music outlets only. | [67] | |
| 11 | Double O Radio sells their Panama City, Florida cluster of Rhythmic Top 40 WPFM, classic rock WRBA, Bob FM formatted WASJ and Country WAKT to Powell Broadcasting for $950,000. No changes will be made under the turnover. | [68] |
| 13 | Adult Top 40 KQHN—Waskom, Texas/Shreveport, Louisiana flips to CHR "i97.3". | [69] |
| The Minneapolis–St. Paul "Love 105" oldies trimulcast of WGVX-—Lakeville/WGVY—Cambridge/WGVZ—Eden Prairie shifts to adult contemporary. | [70] | |
| 16 | After 43 years, WKDN—Philadelphia ceases its broadcast of Family Radio following its sale to Merlin Media. The station launched a news talk format on May 7 under the new call letters WWIQ. | [71] |
| 17 | Howard Stern loses his lawsuit against Sirius XM Radio in which Stern sought $300 million in stock from the company for meeting benchmarks. The ruling determined Stern did not meet those benchmarks and resulted in the case being dismissed with prejudice. | [72] |
| WQTL—Tallahassee goes from Oldies "Q106.1" to a hybrid classic rock/AAA format as "106.1 The Path." | [73] | |
| 18 | WJGH—Jacksonville trades classic hits "Magic 107.3" for adult hits "Jack FM". | [74] |
| 23 | Keeping "The Bone" name intact, WHPT—Tampa makes the shift from classic rock to Hot Talk. | [75] |
| After less than eight months on the air, Cumulus Media drops the 80s/90s "Journey" format from WJLQ—Pensacola in favor of a simulcast of news/talk WCOA. | [76] | |
| 24 | Merlin Media assumes operational control of WLFM-LP channel 6 (the audio carrier of which functions as a radio station at 87.7 FM) via a local marketing agreement (LMA). WLFM flips from smooth jazz to alternative rock as "Q87.7" WKQX-LP on May 7, but is unrelated to Q101 Chicago, an internet station launched after the intellectual property of "Q101" was divested prior to WKQX—Chicago's flip to all-news WIQI. Broadcast Barter Radio Networks, owners of "Q101 Chicago", start carrying that stream's programming over WJJG—Elmhurst as "Q101 on 1530" hours before "Q87.7" launches. | [77] |
| 26 | ESPN Radio announces that it will be taking over Emmis' New York urban AC WRKS starting April 30 via a LMA. ESPN's flagship station, WEPN, will simulcast, and eventually move to, the 98.7 frequency (retitled WEPN-FM on May 14). Emmis then announced that they would be selling off the intellectual property of "98.7 Kiss" to YMF Media, slated to take over WRKS's main competitor WBLS, along with WLIB, from Inner City Broadcasting. | [78] |
| 30 | Townsquare Media and Cumulus Media swap 65 stations in 13 US radio markets in a deal worth $116 million. With this deal, Cumulus enters Peoria and Bloomington, Illinois while Townsquare enters 11 small markets as part of the trade. | [79] |