Milwaukee adult contemporary radio station B93.3 is living on — sort of.
In August, Tennessee-based radio network K-Love Inc. agreed to buy WLDB-FM (93.3) and Milwaukee Radio Alliance-owned WLUM-FM (102.1) for $4 million, with plans to turn them into Christian music stations.
B93.3 is still playing adult contemporary rock, but another Milwaukee station is now also playing that format: B97.3, owned by iHeartMedia. The station switched over Oct. 13 from a sports radio format under the name 97.3 The Game. The iHeartMedia Milwaukee website even retains the old B93.3 logo for its new B97.3 branding, and the same tagline: “The ’80s To Today.”
“This new radio station will blend wonderfully into our portfolio of existing stations and prove to be a big hit with listeners and clients, alike,” Dan Lenz, iHeartMedia Milwaukee president, said in a statement issued in a news release. The release did not indicate if iHeartMedia bought branding or logo rights from Milwaukee Radio Alliance, nor did it mention the existence of B93.3.
The release also indicated that B97.3 will “add a full lineup of personalities.” The Journal Sentinel has reached out to Lenz for more information about the new station’s branding and if any of the new personalities may come over from B93.3. Lenz has not yet responded.
The emergence of B97.3 has created a unique, temporary situation in Milwaukee, because B93.3 is technically still airing in Milwaukee, too.
That station — which ranked sixth in overall audience share in the Milwaukee radio market according to Nielsen ratings data posted by RadioInsight — continues to broadcast adult contemporary songs from the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Phil Collins, Benson Boone and more. And B97.3 is now also playing those types of artists over the airwaves.
Similarly WLUM-FM, aka FM102.1, is still playing its standard format of alternative rock acts like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Imagine Dragons and Green Day, even though its leader Michelle Rutkowski has already moved on to WXRT-FM (93.1) in Chicago.
The purchase of both WLDB-FM and WLUM-FM, and their conversions to Christian music formats, will be completed later this fall pending Federal Communications Commission approval, according to a statement sent to the Journal Sentinel by a spokesperson from K-Love.
“We are excited for the opportunity for K-Love Radio to have one of the best signals in Milwaukee and bring our vertical worship format, Air1, to the market for the first time,” the statement said. “These signals represent an opportunity for us to reach more listeners in the downtown area as well as areas north of the city.”
There have been other radio shakeups in the city in recent months.
The Milwaukee Radio Alliance has gotten out of the business, with Civic Media, a Wisconsin news/progressive-talk radio network, buying WZTI-AM (1290), the Milwaukee oldies station that has been known as Fonz MKE, plus two FM transistors last month. WZTI-AM 1290 and FM 107.3 will simulcast a “Local News and Timeless Hits” format with WRJN in Racine. The other FM translator that Civic Media is purchasing, 100.3 FM, will carry the WAUK-AM (540) signal to downtown Milwaukee and some suburbs. Before this acquisition, 100.3 and 107.3 had been carrying the country music station “Froggy MKE.”
As for The Game, a source told the Journal Sentinel the remaining sports personalities remain employed and will continue with their regular lineup of shows on the online iHeartRadio app and on 1070 The Game in Madison. The Milwaukee Brewers postgame show hosted by Tim Allen will air in the Milwaukee market on WOKY AM-920. WISN reported that all Packers and Badgers broadcasts that had previously aired on 97.3 FM will now air on 95.7 FM (WRIT).
Jim Higgins and JR Radcliffe contributed to this report.
This story was updated to add new information.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: New Milwaukee adult contemporary radio station B97.3 retains branding from shuttered B93.3
Reporting by Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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