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Real Rock 104 radio station flips format
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
BOARDMAN
Radio station Real Rock 104 has flipped its format to oldies and is now known as Z104.
The switch at the Cumulus-owned station – WWIZ 103.9 FM – returns the oldies format to the Mahoning-Shenango Valley, where it had been absent since WBBG 106.1 FM flipped to country in April 2016.
“For close to a year, advertisers and listeners have asked us why there is no longer an oldies station in Youngstown,” said William Kelly, market manager for Cumulus. “All we’re doing is filling the void.”
The switch took place over the weekend.
When asked if it’s likely that another format flip will take place to return active rock to the Valley, Kelly was not optimistic.
“I never say never, but based on the current landscape of stations and the market, I’d say no one will pick up the full-rock format. It’s an older market, and [commercial] alternative-rock radio stations tend to do better in younger markets.”
WWIZ had a 1.3 share of the Youngstown market in the Fall 2016 Nielsen Audio ratings, according to radioinsight.com. A share is the percentage of people who are listening to radio at a given time.
Rock stations in the Mahoning Valley still include iHeart Media’s WNCD-93 (classic/mainstream rock), and also WKTL-90.7 FM (modern rock), which is non-commercial.
WWIZ, which is licensed in West Middlesex, Pa., is utilizing Westwood One’s 1960s-70s based “Good Time Oldies” satellite feed. Westwood One is a media company that specializes in syndicated radio programming.
No members of the station’s staff will be affected by the format flip, according to radioinsight.
A quick sample of the station Monday morning included the songs “Take It Easy “ (the Eagles), “Boogie Fever” (The Sylvers) and “Margaritaville” (Jimmy Buffett).