WDVD
Encyclopedia
WDVD is a hot adult contemporary radio station
in Detroit, Michigan
, broadcasting at 96.3 MHz on the FM
dial. WDVD's studios and offices are located in the Fisher Building
near downtown Detroit. WDVD's transmitter is located in Oakland County in Royal Oak Township at 8 Mile Road and Wyoming Avenue. WDVD broadcasts with an Effective Radiated Power
of 20,000 watts from an antenna that is 787 feet in height. WDVD transmits its signal from the same tower that five other Detroit FM
radio stations broadcast from. WDVD is currently owned and operated by Cumulus Media
.
WDVD can be heard clearly in the entire Detroit Metro area, and the station can be received as far away as Ithaca, Michigan
, Oregon, Ohio
, and London, Ontario
.
WDVD is licensed for HD Radio
Operations with its secondary channel known as "Top 20," featuring new releases consistent with the station's Adult CHR format. The HD-2 station originally featured a classic alternative-rock format under the moniker "Planet 96.3" (a format that was used on the analog station in the late 1990s and early 2000s).
format separate from its AM sister. In late 1970, the station adopted the "Solid Gold Rock and Roll" automated format from Drake-Chenault
, a forerunner of the adult contemporary format which played oldies
from the 50's and early 60's with a sprinkling of current hits. For a time, WJR-FM used the on-air moniker "California Radio" with this format. After not quite three years, however, the station had reverted back to the beautiful music
format, with which it was quite successful for a time. Competitors at this time were WLDM-FM now WKQI
, FM sister of AM sister's arch rival WWJ-AM; WWJ-FM (now WXYT-FM), and WKNR-FM (later WNIC-FM).
" format on WJR-FM by the fall of that year, taking note of the success the format was having in Philadelphia
(WCAU-FM
) and in Chicago (WBBM-FM
). In July 1982, WJR-FM applied to the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) for a call letter change to WHYT. The call letter change was approved late in the summer of 1982 and, oddly, the new calls coexisted with the station's Beautiful Music format for a few weeks. On September 15, 1982, at 5 p.m., WHYT signed off the Beautiful Music for good with "Fly Me to the Moon
" by Frank Sinatra
, followed by the first song of the new format, "You Dropped a Bomb On Me
" by The Gap Band.
"Hot Hits" was a fast-moving, jingle-intensive format that featured a tight rotation of 50 current hits (no recurrent hits or oldies, unless they happened to be featured on currently charting albums). The station's on-air name was "96 NOW" (the same slogan used by WBBM-FM which still operates on the same 96.3 frequency in Chicago to this day). "96 NOW" was a moderate ratings success but did not approach the popularity that WCAU-FM or WBBM-FM were enjoying with Hot Hits, probably due in part to heavy competition from Detroit's urban contemporary
and album oriented rock stations. In response, WHYT's CHR format went through several metamorphoses in the next few years, dropping the Mike Joseph formatics (though they continued to use the slogan "Hot Hits" on the air through 1986) and adopting several different on-air monikers, including "96 Hit FM" (1983) and "Hitradio 96" (1984). One of the noteworthy WHYT personalities during this time was Joey Reynolds
, who had last worked in Detroit radio at WXYZ-AM eighteen years earlier.
and urban contemporary
product to its CHR playlist, and listenership increased (perhaps due to urban powerhouse WDRQ
's switch to an adult-contemporary format earlier that year), leading the station to be a regular top 10 ratings finisher through the end of the decade. In 1989, the station dropped the "Power 96" name and became simply known as "96.3 FM," taking on even more of a rhythmic contemporary
lean.
For much of the 1980s, WHYT was Detroit's local affiliate for Casey Kasem
's (and then Shadoe Stevens
') American Top 40
. Legendary personality Joey Reynolds
hosted WHYT's morning show for a time in 1984.
WHYT's major competitors from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s were Z95.5
and 99.5 The Fox
, as well as urban-contemporary powerhouse WJLB
-FM. The station's peak of popularity came during its days as "Power 96" and then "96.3 FM" from roughly 1986 to 1991, when the station moved its music mix toward rhythmic CHR (while not totally abandoning mainstream pop and rock), frequently racked up top five Arbitron ratings 12+, and was one of the top stations in the 12-24 age demographics (often neck-and-neck with WJLB, with Z95.5 coming in a distant third despite often beating WHYT 12+). Michael J. Foxx was a popular draw in the mornings. In 1991, however, the debut of 89X, as well as Foxx's departure, took substantial market share away from WHYT as teens and young adults flocked to the "cutting edge" modern rock format of 89X.
The WHYT
calls are now used at a contemporary Christian music station near Lapeer, Michigan
.
while dropping all R&B product. This format, known in radio trades as "Channel X" (also implemented at KUBE
in Seattle among other stations), was described by some as a radio version of MTV. Alternative bands such as Soundgarden
, Nine Inch Nails
, and Pearl Jam
were played alongside Coolio
, Snoop Dogg
, and Da Brat
, and the station also continued to sprinkle in some dance hits from the likes of Real McCoy, Madonna
, Ace of Base
, and 2 Unlimited
. Within a few months, though, the station had dropped all hip-hop songs from rotation; eventually the dance cuts were also phased out, and WHYT, now known as The Planet 96.3, became a more straightforward alternative station.
In reference to the format shift, program director Rick Gillette, who had guided WHYT to high ratings during its "Power 96" and "96.3FM" days in the late 1980s, claimed that the station was merely responding to the popularity of the "hot" music of the time, which happened to be Alternative. In addition to Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains
, Soundgarden
, and the other popular rock bands of the day, the Planet played a number of local Detroit acts that never achieved major national stardom, such as the Suicide Machines
and Charm Farm, as well as some non-mainstream dance and ambient artists such as Vanessa Daou
.
After completing a deal with a college radio station
in Plattsburgh, New York, the station's calls were switched to WPLT to match the "Planet" moniker in 1997. With the call letter change, however, the station tweaked its format to more of a Modern Adult Contemporary sound to distinguish it more from competing alternative-rock station CIMX (and, later in 1997, WXDG). The Planet dropped White Zombie
, The Offspring
and other harder-edged artists from its playlist and focused more on alternative pop-rock acts such as Jewel
, Sheryl Crow
, and Barenaked Ladies
. The Planet also played Classic Alternative music heavily, with the hour-long "Flashback Lunch" middays at noon; "Saturday Night Flashbacks", with dance and extended versions of classic alternative and '80s songs, broadcast live from the nightclub Clutch Cargo's
in suburban Pontiac
; and holiday-weekend countdowns of "The Coolest Flashbacks of All Time." During this time, the station identified itself as Modern Hits of the 80s and 90s. Another popular feature on Planet 96.3 was Big Sonic Heaven
, a Sunday-night program of ambient
, trance
, chill and non-mainstream dance music hosted by DJ Darren Revell.
The Planet made some ratings headway with the Modern AC sound, but was never a major player in the market. Over the Labor Day weekend of 1999, the station stunted by playing "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
" by R.E.M.
, and then debuted "Alternative Classics", an attempt to convert the station's popular '80s "Flashback" shows into a full-time format by combining '80s new wave and punk with more recent (but non-current) '90s rock. Core artists included U2
, Depeche Mode
, The Cure
, The Go-Go's
, Peter Gabriel
, Erasure
, and Echo & the Bunnymen
. The change failed to raise ratings, and within a year, WPLT had begun to re-add current music into its rotation (such as "Smooth
" by Santana
and Rob Thomas
) under the guise of "Future Alternative Classics." In response to continued low ratings, the station changed its calls to WDVD on March 14, 2001, with its music gradually shifting in a more mainstream Hot AC direction, though still heavy on alternative rock. The "Flashback" programs and "Big Sonic Heaven" were cancelled shortly afterward. By 2006
, the rock songs were reduced as CIDR-FM
flipped back to adult album alternative
from hot adult contemporary.
As WDVD, 96.3 FM continued to flounder in the ratings for several years, until the station added more pure pop music to its playlist to better compete with WKQI, raising its ratings to their best levels in years.
The WPLT calls have been picked up by a country station in Spooner, Wisconsin
.
In 2007, WDVD revived "Planet 96.3" and the "Alternative Classics" format as an offering on its secondary HD Radio channel. This has since been dropped and replaced by "Top 20 New Hits," a format focusing on new Adult CHR releases not yet played on the main station.
" such as Poison
and Aerosmith
and pop artists like Kelly Clarkson
and Christina Aguilera
, and still remained in the lower echelons of the Detroit ratings. In 2006, however, this began to change as WDVD freshened its presentation and began to evolve into more of an Adult Top 40 station, dropping most 1980s titles from its playlist, adding jingles, and branded itself with the new slogan Today's Best Hits Without the Rap (and taking shots at longtime rival station WKQI
for playing too much hip hop). Generally, though, as per its slogan, the station avoids hip hop music
except for those who cross over to the Hot AC charts. Songs by Hot AC artists with hip-hop guest stars, such as "California Gurls
" by Katy Perry
and Snoop Dogg
, typically have the rap breaks edited out.
On June 12, 2007, WDVD was taken over by Citadel Broadcasting
. According to the Citadel page http://www.citadelbroadcasting.com/citadel_broadcasting.aspx?call=WDVD, Citadel considers WDVD an adult-leaning Top 40 station without rap. After a long time in the ratings doldrums, the station has seen its share of the Detroit market increase recently (see below) as they have added more pop music from artists such as Lady Gaga
, Jennifer Lopez
, and Britney Spears
to their playlist to compete with both Channel 9-5-5
and 98-7 Amp Radio. By August 2011
, eight months after rival WNIC
rebranded as Fresh 100.3, that station moved its format from its longtime adult contemporary format to hot adult contemporary, giving Detroit three hot adult contemporary stations--WDVD, WNIC And CHYR By the fall of 2011, WDVD had surpassed both WKQI and WDZH in the Detroit Arbitron ratings to become the #1-rated CHR station in the market, although all three remain locked in a close three-way battle for the most audience cumes.
Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011. It is uncertain at this point what, if any, changes Cumulus will make to WDVD's programming.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, broadcasting at 96.3 MHz on the FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
dial. WDVD's studios and offices are located in the Fisher Building
Fisher Building
The Fisher Building is an ornate Art Deco skyscraper located on the corner of West Grand Boulevard and Second Avenue in the heart of the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan. It is constructed of limestone, granite, and several types of marble, and was financed by the Fisher family with proceeds...
near downtown Detroit. WDVD's transmitter is located in Oakland County in Royal Oak Township at 8 Mile Road and Wyoming Avenue. WDVD broadcasts with an Effective Radiated Power
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
of 20,000 watts from an antenna that is 787 feet in height. WDVD transmits its signal from the same tower that five other Detroit FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
radio stations broadcast from. WDVD is currently owned and operated by Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
.
WDVD can be heard clearly in the entire Detroit Metro area, and the station can be received as far away as Ithaca, Michigan
Ithaca, Michigan
Ithaca is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 3,098. It is the county seat of Gratiot County.-Geography:...
, Oregon, Ohio
Oregon, Ohio
Oregon is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Toledo, located on Lake Erie, just east of the city. The population was 20,291 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Oregon is located at ....
, and London, Ontario
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
.
WDVD is licensed for HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
Operations with its secondary channel known as "Top 20," featuring new releases consistent with the station's Adult CHR format. The HD-2 station originally featured a classic alternative-rock format under the moniker "Planet 96.3" (a format that was used on the analog station in the late 1990s and early 2000s).
WJR-FM/California Radio
On June 1, 1948, the station signed on as WJR-FM, simulcasting WJR-AM. Eventually the station moved into a beautiful musicBeautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
format separate from its AM sister. In late 1970, the station adopted the "Solid Gold Rock and Roll" automated format from Drake-Chenault
Drake-Chenault
Drake-Chenault Enterprises was a radio syndication company that specialized in automation on FM radio stations. The company was founded in the late-1960s by radio programmer and deejay Bill Drake , and his business partner, Lester Eugene Chenault...
, a forerunner of the adult contemporary format which played oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
from the 50's and early 60's with a sprinkling of current hits. For a time, WJR-FM used the on-air moniker "California Radio" with this format. After not quite three years, however, the station had reverted back to the beautiful music
Beautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
format, with which it was quite successful for a time. Competitors at this time were WLDM-FM now WKQI
WKQI
WKQI — branded Channel 955 — is a commercial pop/CHR radio station in Detroit, Michigan, owned by Clear Channel Communications. WKQI transmits its signal with an effective radiated power of 100,000 watts from an antenna 430 feet in height located at the intersection of Greenfield Road and 10 Mile...
, FM sister of AM sister's arch rival WWJ-AM; WWJ-FM (now WXYT-FM), and WKNR-FM (later WNIC-FM).
Hot Hits WHYT
In June 1982, Billboard Magazine reported that WJR-FM's owner, Capital Cities Communications, had hired consultant Mike Joseph to implement his widely successful "Hot HitsHot Hits
Hot Hits was a radio format created by consultant Mike Joseph in the 1970s. That concept, which helped spur the birth of what is now known as CHR, also revitalized the Top 40 format and would play a role in bringing the format to the FM band throughout the 1980s.The concept was to play only the...
" format on WJR-FM by the fall of that year, taking note of the success the format was having in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
(WCAU-FM
WOGL
WOGL is an FM radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.The station plays mostly post 1964 pop leaning Oldies positioned Classic Hits music, including Motown, soul and rock and roll spanning roughly 1964–1985. An occasional pre-1964 song is played. WOGL is owned by CBS Radio...
) and in Chicago (WBBM-FM
WBBM-FM
WBBM-FM, known on air as "B96", is a Rhythmic Contemporary outlet in Chicago, Illinois with a Rhythmic based playlist. The station is owned by CBS Radio and broadcasts at 96.3 MHz with an ERP of 4.2 kW. WBBM's main competition is WKSC-FM "103.5 Kiss FM", as well as urban rivals WGCI-FM &...
). In July 1982, WJR-FM applied to the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) for a call letter change to WHYT. The call letter change was approved late in the summer of 1982 and, oddly, the new calls coexisted with the station's Beautiful Music format for a few weeks. On September 15, 1982, at 5 p.m., WHYT signed off the Beautiful Music for good with "Fly Me to the Moon
Fly Me to the Moon
"Fly Me to the Moon" is a popular standard song written by Bart Howard in 1954. It was originally titled "In Other Words", and was introduced by Felicia Sanders in cabarets...
" by Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, followed by the first song of the new format, "You Dropped a Bomb On Me
You Dropped a Bomb on Me
"You Dropped a Bomb on Me" is an electrofunk song performed by The Gap Band, released in 1982 on producer Lonnie Simmons' label, Total Experience Records. It reached #2 on the Billboard R&B charts, #39 on the dance charts and #31 on the Billboard Hot 100....
" by The Gap Band.
"Hot Hits" was a fast-moving, jingle-intensive format that featured a tight rotation of 50 current hits (no recurrent hits or oldies, unless they happened to be featured on currently charting albums). The station's on-air name was "96 NOW" (the same slogan used by WBBM-FM which still operates on the same 96.3 frequency in Chicago to this day). "96 NOW" was a moderate ratings success but did not approach the popularity that WCAU-FM or WBBM-FM were enjoying with Hot Hits, probably due in part to heavy competition from Detroit's urban contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
and album oriented rock stations. In response, WHYT's CHR format went through several metamorphoses in the next few years, dropping the Mike Joseph formatics (though they continued to use the slogan "Hot Hits" on the air through 1986) and adopting several different on-air monikers, including "96 Hit FM" (1983) and "Hitradio 96" (1984). One of the noteworthy WHYT personalities during this time was Joey Reynolds
Joey Reynolds
Joey Reynolds is the pseudonym of Joey Pinto, host of the U.S. radio program The Joey Reynolds Show via the WOR Radio Network. Reynolds' broadcasting career started on TV- in Buffalo at WGR TV 2...
, who had last worked in Detroit radio at WXYZ-AM eighteen years earlier.
Power 96
In 1985, the station retooled itself as "Power 96 FM" and added more dance musicDance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
and urban contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
product to its CHR playlist, and listenership increased (perhaps due to urban powerhouse WDRQ
WDRQ
WDRQ is an FM radio station in Detroit, Michigan. The station is branded as 93.1 Doug FM. Doug FM broadcasts from the Fisher Building just north of downtown Detroit and transmits its signal from an antenna 669 feet in length located at the intersection of Ten Mile and Greenfield Roads in suburban...
's switch to an adult-contemporary format earlier that year), leading the station to be a regular top 10 ratings finisher through the end of the decade. In 1989, the station dropped the "Power 96" name and became simply known as "96.3 FM," taking on even more of a rhythmic contemporary
Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may...
lean.
For much of the 1980s, WHYT was Detroit's local affiliate for Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
's (and then Shadoe Stevens
Shadoe Stevens
Shadoe Stevens is an American radio host, voiceover actor, and television personality. He was the host of American Top 40 from 1988 to 1995...
') American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
. Legendary personality Joey Reynolds
Joey Reynolds
Joey Reynolds is the pseudonym of Joey Pinto, host of the U.S. radio program The Joey Reynolds Show via the WOR Radio Network. Reynolds' broadcasting career started on TV- in Buffalo at WGR TV 2...
hosted WHYT's morning show for a time in 1984.
WHYT's major competitors from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s were Z95.5
WKQI
WKQI — branded Channel 955 — is a commercial pop/CHR radio station in Detroit, Michigan, owned by Clear Channel Communications. WKQI transmits its signal with an effective radiated power of 100,000 watts from an antenna 430 feet in height located at the intersection of Greenfield Road and 10 Mile...
and 99.5 The Fox
WYCD
WYCD is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan. The station is the only country music station in the Detroit area. WYCD's offices and studios are located on Woodward Heights . near Interstate 75 in Ferndale, Michigan...
, as well as urban-contemporary powerhouse WJLB
WJLB
WJLB, is a Clear Channel-owned Urban Contemporary radio station in Detroit that broadcasts on 97.9 megahertz frequency. The station is known on-air as FM98 WJLB. This is the station that began the career of Urban radio legend and video jock, Donnie Simpson...
-FM. The station's peak of popularity came during its days as "Power 96" and then "96.3 FM" from roughly 1986 to 1991, when the station moved its music mix toward rhythmic CHR (while not totally abandoning mainstream pop and rock), frequently racked up top five Arbitron ratings 12+, and was one of the top stations in the 12-24 age demographics (often neck-and-neck with WJLB, with Z95.5 coming in a distant third despite often beating WHYT 12+). Michael J. Foxx was a popular draw in the mornings. In 1991, however, the debut of 89X, as well as Foxx's departure, took substantial market share away from WHYT as teens and young adults flocked to the "cutting edge" modern rock format of 89X.
96.3 JAMZ
In 1992, the station delved even farther into rhythmic CHR territory, becoming known as "96.3 Jamz." WHYT eliminated most of the mainstream pop and rock from its playlist and began to focus almost exclusively on hip-hop, R&B and dance hits as well as some dance remixes of mainstream hits.The WHYT
Smile FM
Smile FM is a network of 19 non-commercial, contemporary Christian radio stations. Most programming originates from studios in Williamston, Michigan and is relayed by an expanding number of stations throughout the state...
calls are now used at a contemporary Christian music station near Lapeer, Michigan
Lapeer, Michigan
Lapeer is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Lapeer County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,841. Most of the city was incorporated from land that was formerly in Lapeer Township, though portions were also annexed from Mayfield Township and Elba...
.
The Planet 96.3
With the July 4th weekend in 1994 came a formatic shift at WHYT, as the station modified its Rhythmic CHR format into a sound it tagged Planet Jams, evolving into a hybrid of hip-hop and alternative rockAlternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
while dropping all R&B product. This format, known in radio trades as "Channel X" (also implemented at KUBE
KUBE
KUBE is a rhythmic contemporary radio station licensed in Seattle. The station's slogan is "Hits & Hip Hop." KUBE offers a mix of personality-driven DJs and current-based hit driven R&B/Hip-Hop fare...
in Seattle among other stations), was described by some as a radio version of MTV. Alternative bands such as Soundgarden
Soundgarden
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...
, Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
, and Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
were played alongside Coolio
Coolio
Artis Leon Ivey Jr. , better known by the stage name Coolio, is an American musician, rapper, actor and record producer.-Late 80s:He recorded two singles in the late 80s, titled "Watcha Gonna Do" and "You're Gonna Miss Me"...
, Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
, and Da Brat
Da Brat
Shawntae Harris , better known as Da Brat, is an American rapper and actress. Her debut album, Funkdafied, sold one million copies, making her the first female rapper to have a platinum-selling album.-Early life:...
, and the station also continued to sprinkle in some dance hits from the likes of Real McCoy, Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, Ace of Base
Ace of Base
Ace of Base is a pop band based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Its original lineup consisted of Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg, and three siblings, Jonas "Joker" Berggren, Malin "Linn" Berggren and Jenny Berggren...
, and 2 Unlimited
2 Unlimited
2 Unlimited is a Dutch Eurodance/Hi-NRG act formed in 1991. The project was the brainchild of Belgian producers Jean-Paul DeCoster and Phil Wilde, and was fronted by a Dutch duo, rapper Ray Slijngaard and singer Anita Doth. During five years of enormous worldwide popularity, the act scored 16 chart...
. Within a few months, though, the station had dropped all hip-hop songs from rotation; eventually the dance cuts were also phased out, and WHYT, now known as The Planet 96.3, became a more straightforward alternative station.
In reference to the format shift, program director Rick Gillette, who had guided WHYT to high ratings during its "Power 96" and "96.3FM" days in the late 1980s, claimed that the station was merely responding to the popularity of the "hot" music of the time, which happened to be Alternative. In addition to Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr...
, Soundgarden
Soundgarden
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...
, and the other popular rock bands of the day, the Planet played a number of local Detroit acts that never achieved major national stardom, such as the Suicide Machines
Suicide machines
Suicide machines may mean:* machines for auto-euthanasia, see euthanasia device* fictional machines for suicide, see suicide booth* The Suicide Machines, an American punk rock band** The Suicide Machines , an album by the aforementioned group...
and Charm Farm, as well as some non-mainstream dance and ambient artists such as Vanessa Daou
Vanessa Daou
Vanessa Daou is an American singer, songwriter, poet, visual artist and dancer. Most notably a musician, her work is known among electronica, nu jazz and trip hop circles for her trademark spoken word and aspirated singing style as well as its erotic and literary subtexts.-Formative years:Daou was...
.
After completing a deal with a college radio station
WQKE
WQKE, The Quake is broadcast on 93.9 FM in Plattsburgh, New York. The college radio station is supported by the Student Association of SUNY Plattsburgh. The station's studios are located in the Angell College Center on campus and the antenna is located on the Kehoe Administration Building, which...
in Plattsburgh, New York, the station's calls were switched to WPLT to match the "Planet" moniker in 1997. With the call letter change, however, the station tweaked its format to more of a Modern Adult Contemporary sound to distinguish it more from competing alternative-rock station CIMX (and, later in 1997, WXDG). The Planet dropped White Zombie
White Zombie
White Zombie was a Grammy Award-nominated American heavy metal band. Based in New York City, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band. White Zombie are better-known for their later heavy metal-oriented sound...
, The Offspring
The Offspring
The Offspring is an American punk rock band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1984. Known as Manic Subsidal until 1986, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Greg K. and drummer Pete Parada...
and other harder-edged artists from its playlist and focused more on alternative pop-rock acts such as Jewel
Jewel (singer)
Jewel Kilcher , professionally known as Jewel, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, actress and poet...
, Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
, and Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
. The Planet also played Classic Alternative music heavily, with the hour-long "Flashback Lunch" middays at noon; "Saturday Night Flashbacks", with dance and extended versions of classic alternative and '80s songs, broadcast live from the nightclub Clutch Cargo's
Clutch Cargo's (nightclub)
Clutch Cargo's is the name of a nightclub and live music venue located at 65 E. Huron Street in downtown Pontiac, Michigan. The building—a renovated church—was formerly called "Sanctuary" in the mid-1990s...
in suburban Pontiac
Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...
; and holiday-weekend countdowns of "The Coolest Flashbacks of All Time." During this time, the station identified itself as Modern Hits of the 80s and 90s. Another popular feature on Planet 96.3 was Big Sonic Heaven
Big Sonic Heaven
Big Sonic Heaven was a music program created, hosted and produced by Darren Revell.Big Sonic Heaven had an eight-year run from 1995-2003 on 96.3 FM in Detroit, Michigan...
, a Sunday-night program of ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
, trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
, chill and non-mainstream dance music hosted by DJ Darren Revell.
The Planet made some ratings headway with the Modern AC sound, but was never a major player in the market. Over the Labor Day weekend of 1999, the station stunted by playing "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
"It's the End of the World as We Know It " is a song by the rock band R.E.M., which appeared on their 1987 album Document, the 1988 compilation Eponymous, and the 2006 compilation And I Feel Fine... The Best of the I.R.S Years 1982–1987...
" by R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
, and then debuted "Alternative Classics", an attempt to convert the station's popular '80s "Flashback" shows into a full-time format by combining '80s new wave and punk with more recent (but non-current) '90s rock. Core artists included U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
, The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, The Go-Go's
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Erasure
Erasure
Erasure are an English synthpop duo, consisting of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That"...
, and Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...
. The change failed to raise ratings, and within a year, WPLT had begun to re-add current music into its rotation (such as "Smooth
Smooth (song)
"Smooth" is a collaboration between latin rock band Santana and Rob Thomas of the rock group Matchbox Twenty. The song was written by Thomas and Itaal Shur, sung by Thomas, and won three Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.-Concept...
" by Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
and Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas (musician)
Robert Kelly "Rob" Thomas is an American rock recording artist and songwriter. He is the primary songwriter and lead singer of the band Matchbox Twenty. Thomas also records and performs as a solo artist...
) under the guise of "Future Alternative Classics." In response to continued low ratings, the station changed its calls to WDVD on March 14, 2001, with its music gradually shifting in a more mainstream Hot AC direction, though still heavy on alternative rock. The "Flashback" programs and "Big Sonic Heaven" were cancelled shortly afterward. By 2006
2006 in radio
The year 2006 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.-Events:*January 3 - The BJ Shea Morning Experience switches to KISW in Seattle, Washington, from the former FM Talk station KKWF....
, the rock songs were reduced as CIDR-FM
CIDR-FM
CIDR-FM is the callsign for a radio station, broadcasting at 93.9 FM in Windsor, Ontario. The station broadcasts a adult album alternative format using the brand name 93-9 The River. It is owned and operated by Bell Media. It is one of the few commercial adult album alternative stations in Canada...
flipped back to adult album alternative
Adult album alternative
Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....
from hot adult contemporary.
As WDVD, 96.3 FM continued to flounder in the ratings for several years, until the station added more pure pop music to its playlist to better compete with WKQI, raising its ratings to their best levels in years.
The WPLT calls have been picked up by a country station in Spooner, Wisconsin
Spooner, Wisconsin
Spooner is a city in Washburn County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,653 at the 2000 census. The city is located mostly within the southwest corner of the Town of Spooner, with a small portion extending into the Town of Beaver Brook on the south, the Town of Bashaw on the southwest,...
.
In 2007, WDVD revived "Planet 96.3" and the "Alternative Classics" format as an offering on its secondary HD Radio channel. This has since been dropped and replaced by "Top 20 New Hits," a format focusing on new Adult CHR releases not yet played on the main station.
96-3 WDVD Today
After the transition to Hot AC and the WDVD calls, the station continued to feature a heavy alternative-rock base for several years, while still playing "hair bandsGlam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
" such as Poison
Poison (band)
Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...
and Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
and pop artists like Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...
and Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
, and still remained in the lower echelons of the Detroit ratings. In 2006, however, this began to change as WDVD freshened its presentation and began to evolve into more of an Adult Top 40 station, dropping most 1980s titles from its playlist, adding jingles, and branded itself with the new slogan Today's Best Hits Without the Rap (and taking shots at longtime rival station WKQI
WKQI
WKQI — branded Channel 955 — is a commercial pop/CHR radio station in Detroit, Michigan, owned by Clear Channel Communications. WKQI transmits its signal with an effective radiated power of 100,000 watts from an antenna 430 feet in height located at the intersection of Greenfield Road and 10 Mile...
for playing too much hip hop). Generally, though, as per its slogan, the station avoids hip hop music
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
except for those who cross over to the Hot AC charts. Songs by Hot AC artists with hip-hop guest stars, such as "California Gurls
California Gurls
"California Gurls" is an electropop song by American singer-songwriter Katy Perry and is the lead single of her third studio album, Teenage Dream. The song features rapper Snoop Dogg, and was produced by Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Benny Blanco. According to Perry, the song is an answer song to...
" by Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
and Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
, typically have the rap breaks edited out.
On June 12, 2007, WDVD was taken over by Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
. According to the Citadel page http://www.citadelbroadcasting.com/citadel_broadcasting.aspx?call=WDVD, Citadel considers WDVD an adult-leaning Top 40 station without rap. After a long time in the ratings doldrums, the station has seen its share of the Detroit market increase recently (see below) as they have added more pop music from artists such as Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
, Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
, and Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
to their playlist to compete with both Channel 9-5-5
WKQI
WKQI — branded Channel 955 — is a commercial pop/CHR radio station in Detroit, Michigan, owned by Clear Channel Communications. WKQI transmits its signal with an effective radiated power of 100,000 watts from an antenna 430 feet in height located at the intersection of Greenfield Road and 10 Mile...
and 98-7 Amp Radio. By August 2011
2011 in radio
The following events occurred in radio broadcasting in 2011.-Events:*January 1: 2 Knoxville stations change formats as WDLF and WYLV flip to K-LOVE and Air 1 , and a few Pittsburgh station change formats, as ESPN Radio moves from WEAE to WBGG, and Radio Disney moves from WWCS to the renamed WDDZ,...
, eight months after rival WNIC
WNIC
WNIC is an American radio station based in Detroit, Michigan broadcasting at 100.3 MHz FM. WNIC's studios and offices are located in Farmington Hills, MI. WNIC's transmitter is located near Schoolcraft and Livernois Avenue in the City of Detroit on the near west side. WNIC broadcasts with an...
rebranded as Fresh 100.3, that station moved its format from its longtime adult contemporary format to hot adult contemporary, giving Detroit three hot adult contemporary stations--WDVD, WNIC And CHYR By the fall of 2011, WDVD had surpassed both WKQI and WDZH in the Detroit Arbitron ratings to become the #1-rated CHR station in the market, although all three remain locked in a close three-way battle for the most audience cumes.
Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011. It is uncertain at this point what, if any, changes Cumulus will make to WDVD's programming.
Sources
External links
- WDVD Playlist
- WHYT CHR airchecks, 1982–1992
- Steve McVie's Mike Joseph Hot Hits tribute, featuring WHYT "96 Now" airchecks from 1982–83