WGVX
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Website | love105.fm |
WGVX (105.1
The studios and offices are in Southeast Minneapolis in the
History
Three signals, one station
Prior to their unification as REV105, the three stations were known by other names.
Today's WGVX was first licensed as KZPZ on November 15, 1990. It was officially signed on the air in late
WLUP is the oldest of the three stations, having signed on the air June 21, 1973 on 105.5 as KABG, with a Middle of the Road format. The call letters were changed to KXLV in 1983, and in 1991, the station increased its power, which necessitated a move to 105.3. On December 13, 1991, it became the latest of the many frequencies to use the WLOL call letters, after WLOL-FM was purchased by Minnesota Public Radio and the KSJN call letters were moved from 91.1 to 99.5 earlier that year. This longtime AC station became the northern signal of REV105, with the call letters changed to WREV in 1994.
WWWM-FM was first licensed as KOUO on March 26, 1992 to Jack Moore (creator/owner of the former Twin Cities stations
REV105
REV105, "Revolution Radio," was owned by Cargill Communications, headed by Jim and Susan Cargill, heirs to the massive
The station's genesis came out of another station. From 1990 to 1992, KJJO (KJ104) was an adventurous modern rock station, and gained a devoted (if small) listening audience. The station switched to country music in 1992, and many held out hope that KJ104's format would resurface soon. Two former KJ104 staffers, Brian Turner and Kevin Cole, actively sought out stations to pick up the format. On several occasions, they were turned down by previous owners of both WTCX and KCFE.
Finally, with financial backing from the Cargills, Turner and Cole found that the owner of WTCX was ready to sell. In
The group's intended programming plans were public knowledge at the time and highly publicized.
REV105 was a unique station. It would not be an ordinary, consultant-programmed modern rock station like "The Edge". Rather, it took many elements from typical modern rock stations, added a heavy amount of new, obscure and local artists, and mixed in other musical styles such as
The new "Revolution Radio" was a mild success, even with the high-powered competition from "The Edge". In the first full ratings book, it earned a 1.5 overall
Name (call signs) | Format |
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REV 105 (KREV/WREV/KCFE) | Alternative (1994–1997)|(KCFE added October 1996) |
X105 (KXXP/KXXU/KXXR) | Active rock (1997) |
Zone 105 (KZNR/KZNT/KZNZ) |
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V105 (WGVX/WGVY/WGVZ) | Rhythmic oldies (2001–2002) |
Drive 105 (WGVX/WGVY/WGVZ) |
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Love 105 FM (WGVX/WGVY/WGVZ) |
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105 The Ticket (WGVX/WRXP/WGVZ) | Sports (2013–2015)
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105 The Vibe (WGVX/WRXP-WLUP/WGVZ-WWWM-FM) | Classic hip hop (2015–2018) |
Love 105 FM (WGVX/WLUP/WWWM-FM) | Soft AC (2018–present)
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Switch to X105
REV105 enjoyed an almost three-year run, but the end came at Noon on March 11, 1997, when the station was purchased by competitor
This situation became a focal point for critics of the
Many feel that the motivation to purchase REV105 was to eliminate the competition, as ABC obtained the rights to all
REV105 was in many ways a successor to the Twin Cities area's original "alternative" station, KJJO (now
Zone 105
Soon after the birth of X105, a new hard rock station arrived in the Twin Cities when WBOB dropped country music and switched to a hard rock format with Howard Stern's syndicated morning show. ABC has worked to fight off any potential competitors to its main highly rated station, KQRS-FM. At 2 p.m. on September 18, 1997, KEGE dropped its alternative format and began simulcasting on the 105s as part of a format swap (with KEGE becoming 93X once again). On September 24, after 6 days of simulcasting, the 105s became Zone 105, with an adult alternative format. After a few months, 93X took the KXXR call sign from the former X105, and the three Zone 105 stations became KZNR, KZNT and KZNZ.[6]
After the station became Zone 105, a few of the old REV hosts were brought back. Brian Oake, who had gone over to The Edge, and Mary Lucia hosted the morning show. Lucia also hosted a weekly local music program named Popular Creeps from the local Bryant-Lake Bowl. Creeps won multiple awards for programming quality.
Over time, Zone 105 went in more of a classic alternative direction, but toward the end of its run, leaned more towards alternative rock. None of the post-REV 105 incarnations of these frequencies were true alternative rock, as the frequency had to keep a safe distance between itself and sister station 93X. For this reason, any song with a rock "edge" was discarded by the 105s during this time.
V105
On March 8, 2001, after so-so ratings as an alternative rock station, Zone 105 became V105, an automated rhythmic oldies outlet.[7][8] The call letters were changed to WGVX, WGVY and WGVZ. V105 lasted less than a year before reverting to a revised version of the old "Zone" format as "Drive 105" on January 17, 2002.[9]
Drive 105
Drive 105's format was an adult-oriented version of the alternative rock format, and similar in many ways to the previous Zone 105. However, the fact that it was forced to distance themselves from sister station 93X by avoiding harder-edged rock meant that it played a lot of music that has more in common with the AAA format. For the better part of the last several years, the station frequently promoted "This station is not owned or operated by Clear Channel Communications," though the station was actually part of another huge media conglomerate, The Walt Disney Company.
Drive 105, along with sister stations KQRS-FM and KXXR (93X), were often referred to as Disney's "Wall Of Rock". Both 93X and the 105's are programmed with formats designed to fight competition off of Disney's flagship in the market, top-rated KQRS. When WRQC became a rival to KQRS in 1997, the current KXXR switched to a similar format, despite a profitable alternative format already on that frequency. It is widely known in the local market that Disney would go to great lengths to protect its "cash cow".
In fact, Drive 105 was in large part created to ward off competition from
Love 105
Ratings-wise, Drive 105, like all of the previous formats, were hampered by the limited signal reach in the Twin Cities area and experienced only moderate success, usually reaching a 1% or 2% overall ratings share. Just before 3:00 p.m. on May 7, 2007, the plug was pulled on the three signals' longest-running incarnation to that point. Drive 105 played its last song, "
"Love 105" featured mellow songs by artists including Chicago, Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand, Sade, Bread, and many others. The playlist also initially included occasional adult standards, from the likes of Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin, along with some more traditional oldies.
Shortly after the relaunch as Love 105, the station, along with ABC's other non-Radio Disney and ESPN Radio stations, were acquired by Citadel Broadcasting. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.[11]
Citadel Broadcasting would move WGVZ's transmitter from Eden Prairie to the IDS tower in downtown Minneapolis. This significantly improved reception of the station in Minneapolis and western Saint Paul despite the drop in effective radiated power from 5,800 watts to 950 watts.
On April 13, 2012, the station transitioned to mainstream
On November 26, WGVY's call letters were changed to WNSH;
105 The Ticket
At 8 a.m. on March 30, 2013, a day after inadvertently releasing a new logo and identity ("Radio 105") online (and after playing "
The station's programming was mainly made up of nationally syndicated sports talk shows from CBS Sports Radio, including The D.A. Show, TBD in the AM, The
On September 9, 2013,
On June 9, 2015, 105.1/105.3/105.7 dropped Sansevere, Morris, and Holsen in favor of running CBS Sports Radio around the clock.[18] Program Director Scott Jameson told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that the stations would "provide an alternative to the other two local (sports) stations" and "focus on the network product and provide it to people who prefer that." The stations retained local high school sports coverage on weekends. The change came as the stations registered just a 0.3 share in the previous three Nielsen Audio PPM ratings, well behind iHeartMedia's KFXN-FM and Hubbard's KSTP.[18]
The Ticket, in an oversaturated sports talk market, did not live up to expectations, garnering less than 1.0 overall in the Arbitron ratings (with the final rating being a meager 0.1 in the July 2015 ratings).
105 The Vibe
On August 14, 2015, at 3 p.m., the 105 frequencies flipped to classic hip hop as “105 The Vibe”, which competed with
On June 22, 2016, WGVZ changed its call letters, no longer matching its simulcast partners. It is now WWWM-FM, part of a warehousing move where a co-owned station in Toledo, Ohio, changed its call letters to WQQO from WWWM-FM.
In June 2018, Cumulus Media applied to move the WLUP call letters to the WRXP signal in Minneapolis. The previous WLUP in New York state became
The ratings, however, still remained low for the trimulcast, with just an 0.8 in their last books under the format, the October 2018 Nielsen Audio ratings.
Love 105 returns
On November 8, 2018, at Midnight, the 105 frequencies flipped to
Love 105's format shifted from Gold based Soft AC to Soft AC leaning Adult Contemporary on March 16, 2023 at midnight.
In May 2023, the nationally syndicated Delilah show began airing in the evening time slot (7pm-12am) on Love 105. John Tesh's "Intelligence For Your Life" show, which was previously heard during the evening time slot was moved to the afternoon time slot. (2-7pm)[24]
In December 2023, Love 105 announced it would drop the nationally syndicated
HD Radio
In July 2019, a transmitter upgrade gave WLUP the ability to broadcast in HD Radio. WGVX and WWWM-FM do not transmit HD Radio signals.[25][26] WLUP turned off its HD1 signal in early 2022.
References
- ^ . 2000-01-11 https://web.archive.org/web/20000111022448/http://www.northpine.com/broadcast/archive/tcr1993.txt. Archived from the original on 2000-01-11. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ "Minnesota Daily". www.beatworld.com. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ "Rev 105 Becomes X105". March 11, 2015.
- ^ "RR-1997-03-14" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com.
- ^ "Minnesota Daily". www.beatworld.com. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ "RR-1997-09-26" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com.
- ^ "City Pages". citypages.com.
- ^ "RR-2001-03-16" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com.
- ^ "RR-2002-01-25" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com.
- ^ "Drive 105 becomes Love 105". May 8, 2007.
- ^ "Cumulus now owns Citadel Broadcasting". Atlanta Business Journal. September 16, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
- ^ "Love Adjusts In The Twin Cities". April 13, 2012.
- ^ a b "Call Sign History (WLUP)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
- ^ "Cumulus Announces National "Nash" Brand For Country Entertainment," from FMQB, 1/22/2013
- ^ "FCC Station Search Details - WRXP". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
- ^ "Cumulus Debuts 105 The Ticket Minneapolis". April 1, 2013.
- ^ "Tom Barnard joins FM 105 The Ticket". kare11.com.
- ^ a b "Minneapolis' Ticket Drops Local Programming". June 9, 2015.
- ^ "Classic Hip-Hop Vibe Comes To The Twin Cities". August 14, 2015.
- ^ "Cumulus Applies To Move WLUP Calls To... - RadioInsight". RadioInsight. 2018-06-06. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
- ^ Venta, Lance (April 3, 2018). "Cumulus To Acquire 101.1 WKQX Chicago & WLUP IP". RadioInsight. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
- ^ "Love 105 FM Format Switch (12-27-2018)". Archived from the original on 2021-12-12 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "Love 105 Returns To The Twin Cities". November 8, 2018.
- ^ "Love 105 Adds Delilah". radioinsight.com.
- ^ "Homepage". HD Radio.
- ^ "YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12.
- Reece, Doug (April 4, 1998). KREV Fans Rally for Radio Diversity. Billboard. (archived at Americans for Radio Diversity)
- Evolution Radio "City Pages"
- Hwang, Francis (April 3, 1997). Radio-Free Minneapolis. The Minnesota Daily. (archived at Beatworld.com)
- Who Killed Rock Radio?
- REV 105, the Reader and Life on Main Street. The Minnesota Daily.
- The music stops for alternative station REV 105 The Minnesota Daily.
- Haugen, Dan. "The End of Radio As We Know It." Star Tribune.
- Rand, Michael. Radio Killed the Radio Star.
- Northpine.com News Archive: March 1997
- Northpine.com News Archive
- Van Alstyne, Rob (January 27, 2005). Left of the Dial. Pulse of the Twin Cities.
- Riemenschneider, Chris (May 7, 2007) Drive 105 looking for Love Star Tribune
- FCC Database [1]
External links
- Official website
- Americans for Radio Diversity
- 89.3 KCMP "The Current" (to hear former Rev105 DJs Mary Lucia, and Steve Nelson)
- A tribute and memorial to REV 105
- REV105 website by Doc Ozone & Gonzo that was ready to go one week before it went off the air
- Kevin Cole's page on KEXP
- radiotapes.com Featuring Minneapolis/St. Paul radio airchecks including Zone 105