Three Format Flips In Windsor-Detroit
• Bell Media had been teasing changes coming to 30-year Alternative outlet CIMX (89X) and Triple A CIDR (93.9 The River)/Windsor-Detroit, and at the stroke of noon Thursday, the big red switch was thrown — iHeartRadio Canada announced 89X has flipped to Pure Country 89 — one of 14 across Canada — and 93.9 The River flipped to Top 40 and rebranded as 93.9 Virgin Radio. Both stations, which had been serving the dual Windsor-Detroit area, have also refocused their their promotion and marketing energy onto Windsor and Essex, Ontario. As the press release states, “Both stations, which began broadcasting today, bring together the energy of two of Canada’s most successful radio brands with the local spirit of Windsor.” Heidi Baiden will be overseeing the day to day programming of both Pure Country 89 and 93.9 Virgin Radio Windsor.
• Shortly thereafter, Entercom moved quickly to fill the brand new Alternative hole in the region by flipping Soft AC WDZH (98.7 The Breeze)/Detroit to ALT 98.7, “Detroit’s New Alternative,” playing all your favorite Alt hits from blink-182, Cage the Elephant, My Chemical Romance, The Lumineers and Twenty One Pilots, etc.
Featured programming on Pure Country includes Bobby Bones Country Top 30 Countdown, iHeartRadio Pure Country Countdown, hosted by Sophie Moroz and Jeff Hopper, Nothin’ But The ’90s With Jason McCoy, and Saturday Night House Party. As you read this, Pure Country 89 is… wait for it… playing 10,000 songs in a row and giving listeners a chance to win $10,000. Featured programming on 93.9 Virgin Radio includes iHeartRadio Nights, AT40 With Ryan Seacrest, iHeartRadio 20, and the Saturday Night Hit Mix With DJ Starting From Scratch. 93.9 Virgin Radio kicked off with back-to-back sets of 93 minutes of non-stop hit music. Beginning Monday, Nov. 23, 93.9 Virgin Radio Windsor listeners will also have a shot at $10K with the “More Fun In 21” contest. Additional programming details will be announced in the coming weeks.
“This is a huge opportunity to add Alternative to our portfolio, and we’re thrilled to further expand our content offering for Detroiters,” said Debbie Kenyon, SVP/Market Manager, Entercom Detroit. “ALT 98.7 will serve as a home for some of today’s top hits from premier artists in the industry, while capturing the distinctive style and flair of the Motor City.” WDZH was formerly Top 40 under CBS Radio and Entercom as 98.7 AMP Radio until Nov. 2018, when it was converted to Soft AC as 98.7 The Breeze. The new ALT 98.7 is currently cruising through 10,000 songs commercial-free. Other on-air programming details will be announced soon.
• And in a not-so-shocking development, Michigan’s own Art Vuolo spent the better part of the day painstakingly assembling a video package that chronicles these high profile format flips. Thank you, Art!
