WFMR
Encyclopedia
WZBK-FM is a classic country
radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
, licensed to the suburb of Brookfield
, with transmitter facilities at the Milwaukee Radio Group complex on the west side of Milwaukee. The station is owned by Saga Communications
. The station is branded as "Big Buck Country 106.9".
station, WFMR
. It formally signed on for the first time in August 1995 as WFMI, playing a satellite-fed smooth jazz
format. A more powerful and resourceful station, WJZI (93.3) converted from a failing rock format as WQFM to smooth jazz in 1996, giving WFMI stiff competition.
Both stations were sold to Saga Communications
and WFMI was quickly switched to a Modern AC format, becoming WXPT on May 14, 1997. They were known on the air as "106.9 The Point". When Chicago's WPNT
changed formats a few months later, 106.9 picked up the WPNT call sign
. They had modest success for a small station, but a few of the bigger stations in the market took notice and adjusted their playlists to fight off the young suburban upstart.
The station is also hamstrung by a traditionally weak signal which has never covered the important suburban markets like the Waukesha and Ozaukee County suburbs very well, and is virtually non-existent north of the Sheboygan County line. This is because the frequency was a short-spacing allocation which was shared with WMUS
across Lake Michigan
in Muskegon, Michigan
, which is at a very strong 50,000 watts compared to this station's weaker power, and it does have conflicting interference with that station on the northern rim of their coverage area.
Again, due to stiff competition, the format was changed again in April 1999, this time to a trendy new format known as Jammin' Oldies, and the call letters became WMJO (Milwaukee's Jammin' Oldies). The calls were changed a month later to WJMR and tag line to "Jammin' Hits" due to legal issues. The call sign
for 106.9 became WFMR on December 12, 2000, after an in-house frequency swap with WJMR-FM
.
Saga Communications
moved WFMR
to the 106.9 FM dial position, and WJMR-FM
's format and call letters to 98.3 on December 12, 2000. This was done primarily to boost WJMR-FM
's signal in the urban areas of Milwaukee, and to target WFMR toward the western and northern suburbs. Saga moved the studios to Milwaukee the year before, in 1999.
In August of 2001, the format was tweaked to Urban AC adding The Tom Joyner Morning Show and changing the positioner from "Jammin' Hits" to "Today's R&B & Classic Soul", later settling with the current "Today's R&B & Old School", the entire airstaff except for Michael Hightower and Earl Stokes were let go. Afternoon host Amy Foxx was moved to overnights, later handling traffic duties prior to moving to WMIL-FM.
At midnight on June 26, 2007, ironically on the 51st anniversary of its original sign-on, WFMR ended its classical music format when it flipped to the Smooth Jazz
format, a change made quickly to gain momentum from rival WJZI, which dropped the format a week earlier to become light Adult Contemporary music as WLDB/B93.3. On July 15, 2007, the station changed its call sign to WJZX.
On April 24, 2007, the FCC
granted what was then WFMR a construction permit
to move its transmitter from its original site in Menomonee Falls to the WJYI/WHQG/WJMR tower in Milwaukee outside of the stations' main studios on McKinley Avenue. However because the station moved closer to Lake Michigan, the power was thus reduced in half from the Menomonee Falls signal to 4.4 kW in order to protect WMUS acrross the lake. WJZX's HD Radio
signal was put into service in 2008, though because of the current limitations of digital radio the digital signal only covers the city of Milwaukee and eastern Waukesha County proper.
format called "Tiger 106.9", which referenced Tiger Woods
's scandals and featured cheating
-themed music from all eras. Saga had reserved the call letters WNQW, possibly referring to the currently popular "Now" format of Top 40 music and announced them publicly in the media, which may have proved to be problematic in hindsight as seen below. The format change was likely done due to the introduction of Arbitron
's Portable People Meter
audience measurement
system in the month of June into the Milwaukee market.
BA's smooth/urban AC format remained for a period of time without local broadcasters on 106.9's HD Radio
HD2 subchannel, which has since been replaced with an HD relay of sister AM station WJYI
, which has a Christian/brokered programming
format. Internet listeners were referred to the live stream of Saga sister station WJZA
in Columbus, Ohio
, which featured the same basic format and playlist structuring as the former WJZI. However, WJZA has since also changed format.
On May 28, 2010 at 9am, the 70s/80s rock station WQBW, owned by Clear Channel Communications
, flipped to top 40, and was re-branded as "97.3 Radio Now." This was likely done to block Saga's attempt to brand 106.9 with the new WNQW calls as "106.9 Now". 106.9's new call sign was registered with the FCC on May 21, along with the new "Now" branding. Clear Channel appeared ready to reformat "The Brew" even before WJZX's stunting, and put it into place earlier than expected to claim the "Now" brand before 106.9 had the opportunity. 97.3 took the calls WRNW on June 10.
The "Tiger Radio" stunt carried over into May 29 before a switch to songs featuring the word "America" in the title throughout the remainder of the Memorial Day
holiday weekend. Saga also could not cancel the WNQW calls, which were implemented as scheduled on May 28, so it retained those calls until it filed for a new set.
The station switched to another stunt format on June 2, playing The Beatles
' entire catalog in alphabetical order. The catalog looped several times through the next few days.
On June 7, at 3pm, 106.9 finally debuted their new permanent format, with the name "Big Buck Country 106.9." The station played classic country
, which focused on country music from the late 1970s through early 1990s and debuted with the Alan Jackson
hit "Gone Country
". This move puts 106.9 in direct competition with AM Clear Channel operation WOKY
(920), Clear Channel station WMIL-FM
(106.1), and West Bend
's WBWI-FM
(92.5), which has most of its audience in Milwaukee's northern suburbs. The call letters WZBK-FM became effective June 15, 2010, calls already in use by a sister AM operation in Keene, New Hampshire
.
Classic country
Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country hits from past decades.This genre generally follows one of two formats: those specializing in hits from the 1920s through the early 1970s, and focus primarily on innovators and artists from country music's Golden...
radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, licensed to the suburb of Brookfield
Brookfield, Wisconsin
Brookfield is a city located in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It had a population of 37,920 in the 2010 census. Brookfield is the second largest city in Waukesha County, and the leading commercial suburb of Milwaukee. The City of Brookfield was formed in 1954 from the Town of...
, with transmitter facilities at the Milwaukee Radio Group complex on the west side of Milwaukee. The station is owned by Saga Communications
Saga Communications
Saga Communications is a broadcasting company that owns and operates stations in 26 markets in the United States. The company, which is based in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, primarily operates radio stations , but it also operates 9 television stations Saga Communications is a broadcasting...
. The station is branded as "Big Buck Country 106.9".
History
The 106.9 frequency came into being in Milwaukee when it was licensed as WLJU on February 10, 1993. The new station was owned by Harris Classical Broadcasting, which also owned Milwaukee's heritage ClassicalClassical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
station, WFMR
WFMR
WZBK-FM is a classic country radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, licensed to the suburb of Brookfield, with transmitter facilities at the Milwaukee Radio Group complex on the west side of Milwaukee. The station is owned by Saga Communications...
. It formally signed on for the first time in August 1995 as WFMI, playing a satellite-fed smooth jazz
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
format. A more powerful and resourceful station, WJZI (93.3) converted from a failing rock format as WQFM to smooth jazz in 1996, giving WFMI stiff competition.
Both stations were sold to Saga Communications
Saga Communications
Saga Communications is a broadcasting company that owns and operates stations in 26 markets in the United States. The company, which is based in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, primarily operates radio stations , but it also operates 9 television stations Saga Communications is a broadcasting...
and WFMI was quickly switched to a Modern AC format, becoming WXPT on May 14, 1997. They were known on the air as "106.9 The Point". When Chicago's WPNT
WILV
WILV is a radio station broadcasting an Adult Hits format. Licensed to Chicago, Illinois, USA, the station serves the Chicago area. The station is currently owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. The station is also broadcast on HD radio....
changed formats a few months later, 106.9 picked up the WPNT call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
. They had modest success for a small station, but a few of the bigger stations in the market took notice and adjusted their playlists to fight off the young suburban upstart.
The station is also hamstrung by a traditionally weak signal which has never covered the important suburban markets like the Waukesha and Ozaukee County suburbs very well, and is virtually non-existent north of the Sheboygan County line. This is because the frequency was a short-spacing allocation which was shared with WMUS
WMUS
This article is about the current WOOD-FM in Muskegon, Michigan. For the station that bore the WOOD-FM call letters from 1962 to 2010, see WSRW-FM....
across Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
in Muskegon, Michigan
Muskegon, Michigan
Muskegon is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,401. The city is the county seat of Muskegon County...
, which is at a very strong 50,000 watts compared to this station's weaker power, and it does have conflicting interference with that station on the northern rim of their coverage area.
Again, due to stiff competition, the format was changed again in April 1999, this time to a trendy new format known as Jammin' Oldies, and the call letters became WMJO (Milwaukee's Jammin' Oldies). The calls were changed a month later to WJMR and tag line to "Jammin' Hits" due to legal issues. The call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
for 106.9 became WFMR on December 12, 2000, after an in-house frequency swap with WJMR-FM
WJMR-FM
WJMR-FM is an urban adult contemporary radio station serving the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area. They are known on-air as "Jammin' 98.3", and are licensed to Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.-98.3 FM History:...
.
Saga Communications
Saga Communications
Saga Communications is a broadcasting company that owns and operates stations in 26 markets in the United States. The company, which is based in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, primarily operates radio stations , but it also operates 9 television stations Saga Communications is a broadcasting...
moved WFMR
WFMR (defunct)
WFMR was a classical music station that existed on three different FM frequencies in the Milwaukee area during its 51-year history. Its last frequency was 106.9 MHz.-History:...
to the 106.9 FM dial position, and WJMR-FM
WJMR-FM
WJMR-FM is an urban adult contemporary radio station serving the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area. They are known on-air as "Jammin' 98.3", and are licensed to Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.-98.3 FM History:...
's format and call letters to 98.3 on December 12, 2000. This was done primarily to boost WJMR-FM
WJMR-FM
WJMR-FM is an urban adult contemporary radio station serving the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area. They are known on-air as "Jammin' 98.3", and are licensed to Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.-98.3 FM History:...
's signal in the urban areas of Milwaukee, and to target WFMR toward the western and northern suburbs. Saga moved the studios to Milwaukee the year before, in 1999.
In August of 2001, the format was tweaked to Urban AC adding The Tom Joyner Morning Show and changing the positioner from "Jammin' Hits" to "Today's R&B & Classic Soul", later settling with the current "Today's R&B & Old School", the entire airstaff except for Michael Hightower and Earl Stokes were let go. Afternoon host Amy Foxx was moved to overnights, later handling traffic duties prior to moving to WMIL-FM.
At midnight on June 26, 2007, ironically on the 51st anniversary of its original sign-on, WFMR ended its classical music format when it flipped to the Smooth Jazz
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
format, a change made quickly to gain momentum from rival WJZI, which dropped the format a week earlier to become light Adult Contemporary music as WLDB/B93.3. On July 15, 2007, the station changed its call sign to WJZX.
On April 24, 2007, the FCC
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...
granted what was then WFMR a construction permit
Construction permit
A construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...
to move its transmitter from its original site in Menomonee Falls to the WJYI/WHQG/WJMR tower in Milwaukee outside of the stations' main studios on McKinley Avenue. However because the station moved closer to Lake Michigan, the power was thus reduced in half from the Menomonee Falls signal to 4.4 kW in order to protect WMUS acrross the lake. WJZX's 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...
signal was put into service in 2008, though because of the current limitations of digital radio the digital signal only covers the city of Milwaukee and eastern Waukesha County proper.
May 2010 format change
On May 27, 2010 at noon, WJZX flipped from Broadcast Architecture's syndicated satellite feed Smooth AC "Smooth Jazz Network" to a stuntStunting (broadcasting)
In radio broadcasting, stunting occurs when a station abruptly airs programming that is seemingly uncharacteristic compared to what they normally play...
format called "Tiger 106.9", which referenced Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No...
's scandals and featured cheating
Cheating
Cheating refers to the breaking of rules to gain advantage in a competitive situation. The rules infringed may be explicit, or they may be from an unwritten code of conduct based on morality, ethics or custom, making the identification of cheating a subjective process. Cheating can refer...
-themed music from all eras. Saga had reserved the call letters WNQW, possibly referring to the currently popular "Now" format of Top 40 music and announced them publicly in the media, which may have proved to be problematic in hindsight as seen below. The format change was likely done due to the introduction of Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
's Portable People Meter
Portable People Meter
The Portable People Meter is a system developed by Arbitron to measure how many people are listening to individual radio stations and television stations, including cable TV. The PPM is worn like a pager, and detects hidden audio tones within a station or network's audio stream, logging each...
audience measurement
Audience measurement
Audience measurement measures how many people are in an audience, usually in relation to radio listenership and television viewership, but also in relation to newspaper and magazine readership and, increasingly, web traffic on websites...
system in the month of June into the Milwaukee market.
BA's smooth/urban AC format remained for a period of time without local broadcasters on 106.9's 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...
HD2 subchannel, which has since been replaced with an HD relay of sister AM station WJYI
WJYI
WJYI is a radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. It runs a Christian format with Contemporary Christian Music from Salem Radio Network's Today's Christian Music network. It also features brokered teaching and preaching programs from both local Churches and national ministries. It also airs...
, which has a Christian/brokered programming
Brokered programming
Brokered programming is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot commercials...
format. Internet listeners were referred to the live stream of Saga sister station WJZA
WNND
WNND and WNNP are two FM radio stations serving the Columbus, Ohio market. Owned by Saga Communications, WNND broadcasts on 103.5 MHz from Pickerington, Ohio, and WNNP broadcasts on 104.3 MHz from Richwood, Ohio....
in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, which featured the same basic format and playlist structuring as the former WJZI. However, WJZA has since also changed format.
On May 28, 2010 at 9am, the 70s/80s rock station WQBW, owned by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
, flipped to top 40, and was re-branded as "97.3 Radio Now." This was likely done to block Saga's attempt to brand 106.9 with the new WNQW calls as "106.9 Now". 106.9's new call sign was registered with the FCC on May 21, along with the new "Now" branding. Clear Channel appeared ready to reformat "The Brew" even before WJZX's stunting, and put it into place earlier than expected to claim the "Now" brand before 106.9 had the opportunity. 97.3 took the calls WRNW on June 10.
The "Tiger Radio" stunt carried over into May 29 before a switch to songs featuring the word "America" in the title throughout the remainder of the Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
holiday weekend. Saga also could not cancel the WNQW calls, which were implemented as scheduled on May 28, so it retained those calls until it filed for a new set.
The station switched to another stunt format on June 2, playing The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' entire catalog in alphabetical order. The catalog looped several times through the next few days.
On June 7, at 3pm, 106.9 finally debuted their new permanent format, with the name "Big Buck Country 106.9." The station played classic country
Classic country
Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country hits from past decades.This genre generally follows one of two formats: those specializing in hits from the 1920s through the early 1970s, and focus primarily on innovators and artists from country music's Golden...
, which focused on country music from the late 1970s through early 1990s and debuted with the Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson is an American country music singer, known for blending traditional honky tonk and mainstream country sounds and penning many of his own hits. He has recorded 13 studio albums, 3 Greatest Hits albums, 2 Holiday albums, 1 Gospel album and several compilations, all on the Arista...
hit "Gone Country
Gone Country (song)
"Gone Country" is the title of a song written by Bob McDill and recorded by American country music artist Alan Jackson. It was released in November 1994 as the third single from his fourth studio album, Who I Am...
". This move puts 106.9 in direct competition with AM Clear Channel operation WOKY
WOKY
WOKY is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, radio station. They broadcast a classic country radio format emphasizing country from the 50s-80s...
(920), Clear Channel station WMIL-FM
WMIL-FM
WMIL-FM is a country music-formatted radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, licensed to Waukesha, Wisconsin. They are known on-air simply as "FM 106.1". WMIL is owned by Clear Channel Communications....
(106.1), and West Bend
West Bend, Wisconsin
West Bend is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Wisconsin, United States in southeastern Wisconsin. The population was estimated to be 29,894 in 2008...
's WBWI-FM
WBWI-FM
WBWI-FM is a country music-formatted radio station in West Bend, Wisconsin. They serve the greater Milwaukee area. WBWI is owned by Wisconsin-based Bliss Communications, along with sister WBKV and Racine-based WRJN and WEZY.-History:...
(92.5), which has most of its audience in Milwaukee's northern suburbs. The call letters WZBK-FM became effective June 15, 2010, calls already in use by a sister AM operation in Keene, New Hampshire
Keene, New Hampshire
Keene is a city in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,409 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Cheshire County.Keene is home to Keene State College and Antioch University New England, and hosts the annual Pumpkin Fest...
.
External links
- Milwaukee radio: a retrospective
- History of WFMR (from the Internet Archive)
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article on flip to smooth jazz