WDVD
FCC | |
Facility ID | 8631 |
---|---|
Class | B |
ERP | 20,000 watts |
HAAT | 240 meters (790 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°27′13″N 83°09′50″W / 42.45361°N 83.16389°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen live |
Website | www |
WDVD (96.3
WDVD broadcasts with an effective radiated power of 20,000 watts from an antenna that is 787 feet in height, and transmits its signal from the same tower from which five other Detroit FM radio stations broadcast. WDVD is licensed for HD Radio operations.[2]
History
AM Simulcast (1948–1966)
On June 1, 1948, the station signed on as WJR-FM, simulcasting WJR (760 AM), Detroit's CBS Radio Network affiliate.
Beautiful music (1966–1969)
In 1966 WJR-FM separated programming from WJR (AM) and began airing "The Young Sound", a beautiful music format featuring instrumental covers of contemporary hits which was used on many CBS-affiliated FM stations.
Rock (1969–1971)
In 1969, the station adopted the "Solid Gold Rock and Roll" automated format from Drake-Chenault, a mix of soft rock, current Easy Listening (adult contemporary) chart hits, and rock and roll oldies, and began to brand itself as "California Radio".
Beautiful music (1971–1982)
After almost three years, the station reverted to
Top 40 (1982–1986)
In June 1982,
On September 15, 1982, at 5 pm, WHYT converted to a new format after one last spin of "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 used the on-air names 96 Now (the same slogan used by
Rhythmic top 40 (1986–1992)
In 1986, shortly after Capital Cities merged with
WHYT's major competitors from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s were
Rhythmic (1992–1994)
In 1992, the station delved even farther into rhythmic
Alternative rock (1994–1997)
During Memorial Day weekend in 1994 came a formatic shift at WHYT, as the station modified its Rhythmic
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
After completing a deal with a
Modern AC (1997–1999)
With the call letter change, however, the station tweaked its format to more of a Modern
Classic alternative (1999–2001)
The Planet made some ratings headway with the Modern AC format, but was never a major player in the market. On September 6, 1999, at 4:30 pm, after finishing their Labor Day weekend "Flashback 500" countdown (with "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel being the No. 1 song), the station began a 3-hour stunt of a loop of "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by R.E.M. At 7:30 pm, WPLT relaunched as "Alternative Classics", an attempt to convert the station's popular 1980s "Flashback" shows into a full-time format by combining 1980s new wave and punk with more recent (but non-current) 1990s grunge/alternative, while keeping the "Planet" moniker. The first song on the relaunched "Planet" was "Plush" by Stone Temple Pilots.[3] Core artists of "Alternative Classics" 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".
Hot adult contemporary (2001–present)
In response to continued low ratings, the station dropped its "Planet" moniker in early 2001, changed its calls to WDVD on March 14, and gradually shifted its playlist towards a more mainstream Hot AC direction, though still heavy on alternative rock.[4] The shift was completed on June 29, when the station adopted the new "96.3 DVD" moniker and the "Today's Best Variety" slogan. The "Flashback" programs and "Big Sonic Heaven" were cancelled shortly afterward. (The WPLT calls have since been picked up by a country station in Spooner, Wisconsin.)
After the transition to Hot AC and the WDVD calls, the station continued to feature a heavy alternative-rock base for several years, while playing "
In February 2006, WDVD, along with its sister stations,
In late 2014, the station tweaked its playlist again, removing many of the more rhythmic-oriented tracks from rotation and re-adding many 1980s and 1990s hits. As a result, Cumulus Media moved WDVD from Mediabase's Hot AC panel to the Mainstream AC panel, giving Detroit two Mainstream AC reporter stations (along with WNIC), although the station remained closer to Hot AC musically. The station has since returned to the Hot AC panel but continues to play more 1980s music than is the norm for contemporary Hot AC. In addition, the station's slogan of "Today's Best Hits" has changed as of May 2017 to "Today's Best Music".
The station's morning show hosts, Allyson Martinek and Blaine Fowler, were featured on the syndicated television program Dish Nation until November 2012.
On July 28, 2015, Allyson Martinek was let go from the station, with Blaine Fowler remaining in mornings. Martinek then later joined WNIC in November 2016, exactly one year and four months after she was let go from the station.
Competition
In addition to its CHR competition, beginning in August 2011, WDVD gained a direct competitor in the Hot AC format as longtime Mainstream AC station WNIC, rebranded as "Fresh 100.3" moved to a Hot AC playlist. WNIC returned to its previous AC format a little over a year later and has also since dropped the "Fresh" name. On the Canadian side of the border, WDVD also directly competes with CHYR-FM for listeners in Windsor and Essex County, Ontario.
HD radio
In 2007, WDVD revived "Planet 96.3" and the "Alternative Classics" format as an offering on its secondary HD Radio channel. This was dropped and replaced by "Top 20 New Hits", a format focusing on new Adult CHR releases not yet played on the main station. In August 2012, WDVD revived the "Planet 96.3" name and Modern AC/Classic Alternative format, playing classic alternative songs from the '70s, '80s and '90s, songs that were played on the original Planet 96.3 as currents in the late 1990s, and a few more recent titles.
In the spring of 2015, WDVD HD2 flipped formats again, this time to a simulcast of news/talk sister station
See also
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WDVD". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ a b "HD Radio station guide for Dearborn, Michigan". hdradio.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ "Ratings" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. 1999. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
- ^ "Ratings" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. 2001. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
- ^ "Station Search - Citadel Broadcasting". citadelbroadcasting.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ "Family Life Radio Launches On 93.1 Detroit - RadioInsight". August 1, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
External links
- WDVD in the FCC FM station database
- WDVD in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- Steve McVie's Mike Joseph Hot Hits tribute, featuring WHYT "96 Now" airchecks from 1982 to 1983