WRXS
MHz (HD Radio) | |
Branding | Pure Oldies 106.9 |
---|---|
Programming | |
Format | Oldies |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
WHQG, WJMR-FM, WJOI, WKLH | |
History | |
First air date | August 1995 | (as WFMI)
Former call signs | WLJU (2/1993 – 6/1995, CP) WFMI (6/1995 – 5/1997) WXPT (5/1997 – 11/1997) WPNT (11/1997 – 4/1999) WMJO (4/1999 – 6/1999) WJMR (6/1999 – 12/2000) WFMR (12/2000 – 6/2007) WJZX (6/2007 – 5/2010) WNQW (5/2010 – 6/2010) WZBK-FM (6/2010-9/2012) WNRG-FM (9/2012-3/2021) |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 67484 |
Class | A |
ERP | 4,400 watts |
HAAT | 116 meters (381 ft) |
Links | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | pureoldies1069.com |
WRXS (106.9
WRXS has an
History
Smooth jazz (1995–1997)
On February 10, 1993
, aIt formally
Modern adult contemporary (1997–1999)
Both WFMR and WFMI were sold to Saga Communications, and WFMI was quickly switched to a
The station is also hamstrung by a modest Class A signal which has never covered the important suburban communities like Waukesha and Ozaukee County very well, and is virtually non-existent north of the Sheboygan County line, where it runs into adjacent-channel interference from WHBZ on 106.5. This is because the frequency was a short-spacing allocation which is shared with WOOD-FM across Lake Michigan in Muskegon, Michigan.
R&B oldies (1999–2000)
Again, due to stiff competition, the format was changed again at 3 p.m. on April 16, 1999, this time to
Classical (2000–2007)
Saga Communications moved
Smooth jazz (2007–2010)
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
On April 24, 2007, the
Aborted flip to top 40 (May-June 2010)
On May 27, 2010 at Noon, after playing "Life in the Fast Lane" by Dave Koz, WJZX flipped from Broadcast Architecture's syndicated satellite feed
BA's smooth/urban AC format remained for a period of time without local broadcasters on 106.9's HD2 subchannel, which has since been replaced with an HD relay of sister AM station WJOI, 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 to classic hits.)
The next day, at 9 a.m., the 70s/80s rock station WQBW, owned by Clear Channel Communications, flipped to top 40 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".[7] 106.9's new call sign was registered with the FCC on May 21. 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,[4] 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.[8]
Country (2010–2012)
On June 7, 2010, at 3 p.m., after the Beatles stunt ended with "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", 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". It put 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.[9] The call letters WZBK-FM became effective June 15, 2010, calls already in use by a sister AM operation in Keene, New Hampshire. As expected with the overall botched launch, the station had little overall impact in the Milwaukee ratings.
Top 40 (2012–2021)
On September 7, 2012, at 10 a.m., after playing "
In a statement from general manager Annmarie Topel, the station's format will be similar to a contemporary-hits format, but with "no bubble-gum pop," and added that "As the (rhythmic CHR) format evolves, there are great opportunities for stations that are newer, faster, cleaner and leaner." On September 12, the call letters were changed to WNRG-FM. (Despite this, WNRG-FM continued using the WZBK-FM legal ID liners for two more days.) In its first 30 days, WNRG-FM was commercial free and promised to play 10,069 songs until October 8, when it added commercials and began promising to play 60 minutes of music per hour on air.The flip to Rhythmic also brought the format back to Milwaukee for the first time since September 1994, when
WNRG-FM was also the first station in the Saga Communications Rhythmic Top 40 line up to be launched on a full-powered signal, as their two other outlets in Des Moines (HITS99.9 K260AM/KIOA) and Champaign (HITS99.7 WIXY-HD3/W259BG) broadcast on simulcasting HD radio subchannels and FM translators. They also share the same fonts and logos except for the branding (Des Moines and Champaign's monikers are "Hits"). The WNRG-FM voiceover imaging and liners were handled by Scott Matthews and Wendy K. Gray of CESD Talent.[14] All three stations were programmed in Milwaukee by Saga/Milwaukee PD Brandon Rowe up until his departure in May 2013.[15]
On January 25, 2013, after running jockless for four months, WNRG-FM hired its first airstaffer, Jeremy "Cousin Ed" Schultz, for afternoons,[16] while Rowe took the 7 p.m.-Midnight slot until his exit from the station. They also added DJ Ekin for mix shows duties, airing at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. daily. WNRG-FM began adding an airstaffer for the midday slot with the hiring of Taylor Vaughn in October 2013. Taylor left in January 2014 and was replaced by Ashley Z (who has also since left the station; Mandy Scott replaced her afterwards).[17]
While "Energy" was able to retain strong enough ratings to last 8 years, it failed to overtake WXSS or WKKV, in large part due to its relatively weak signal. The last Nielsen Audio ratings under the format, the February 2021 ratings, saw WNRG-FM carry a 1.5 share, significantly trailing WXSS, which had a 4.2 share.[18]
Oldies (2021–present)
On March 30, 2021, the station would dismiss the entirety of their airstaff, and briefly run jockless. At Noon the same day, WNRG-FM dropped the "Energy" format and began stunting with light instrumental and big band covers of popular songs, while a female computerized voice periodically counted down to April 1, at 10:06 a.m., at which time the station, under new callsign WRXS, flipped to oldies as "Pure Oldies 106.9". The first song on "Pure Oldies" was "Chain of Fools" by Aretha Franklin.[19]
Previous logo
See also
References
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/WRXS
- ^ "RR-1997-05-16.pdf" (PDF). World Radio History. May 16, 1997.
- ^ "RR-1999-04-23.pdf" (PDF). World Radio History. April 23, 1999.
- ^ a b Call Sign History
- ^ "Milwaukee's Smooth Jazz WJZX 106.9 stunts as Tiger Radio". Radio-Info.com. May 27, 2010. Archived from the original on June 5, 2010. Retrieved Sep 7, 2012.
- ^ ""Smooth Jazz 106.9" WJZX Milwaukee Signs-Off - Format Change Archive". Format Change Archive. 2010-05-29. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
- Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel(May 28, 2010)
- ^ "Ratings games spur identity crisis". Jsonline.
- ^ "Smooth-jazz station finally makes its move - to 'country legends'". Jsonline. June 7, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
- ^ "Big Buck Gets Energy" from Format Change (September 7, 2012)
- ^ Saga Gives Milwaukee an "Energy" Boost- RadioInsight (September 7, 2012)
- Milwaukee Business Journal(September 7, 2012)
- ^ "Saga Gives Milwaukee An Energy Boost" from Radio Insight (September 7, 2012)
- ^ "Scott Matthews, Wendy Gray Team Up For Energy 106.9/Milwaukee" from All Access (September 11, 2012)
- ^ "Energy 106.9 Brand Mgr. Brandon Rowe And Saga Split" from All Access (May 9, 2013)
- ^ "Cousin Ed Joins Team At Energy 106.9 In Milwaukee" from All Access (January 25, 2013)
- ^ Taylor Vaughn Heading Home To Milwaukee from All Access (October 15, 2013)
- ^ "Radio Industry News, Radio Show Prep, Radio Promotions, Radio Station Data, Podcast News".
- ^ Energy 106.9 Milwaukee Starts Stunting Ahead Of Thursday Flip
External links
- WRXS in the FCC FM station database
- WRXS in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- Milwaukee radio: a retrospective
- History of WFMR (from the Internet Archive)
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article on flip to smooth jazz