Yes, this is the item we hinted about last week, and now, it’s official.
The Toledo Blade reports that Cumulus Toledo is changing format on WRWK/106.5, which has been alt-rock “The Zone” until now.
Starting Monday, it’ll become a simulcaster of Cumulus’ sports talk station, WLQR/1470 “The Ticket”.
The Blade’s Rod Lockwood reports that “The Zone” will shift its modern rock music to the Internet, and that the two frequencies will allow Cumulus Toledo to solve sports play-by-play conflicts – with one team on one frequency, and the other team on the other side of the simulcast, when teams like the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions conflict in scheduling.
Other than that, “The Ticket”‘s FM side will be a straight simulcast of the ESPN Radio-laced format on AM 1470, including the local afternoon drive sports talk fest hosted by WLQR program director Norm Wamer (“The Front Row”).
A quote from Wamer in the Blade article:
(Wamer) said the decision to eliminate the FM station’s modern rock format in exchange for sports is aimed at the prime demographic of men between the ages of 25 and 54.
“Everyone has been having a tough time with the economy, but the sports format has been terrific,” he said yesterday.
One slight clarification though, as Lockwood tries to compare power between the AM side (1,000 watts) and the FM side (3,000 watts).
WRWK/106.5 is licensed to Delta, and it’s basically a southwest rimshot into Toledo. It’s not an awful rimshot, and turning off the stereo pilot may effectively increase its listenable range (no stereo “flutter” on the edges of the signal, including portions of Toledo itself).
AllAccess reports that in addition to the online coverage, “The Zone” will also be heard on an HD2 subchannel (presumably of its soon-to-be-former home of 106.5), and will still be under the oversight of program director Dan McClintock, who also programs classic rock WXKR/94.5 “94.5-XKR”…
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