WISX
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Broadcast area | Philadelphia, PA |
|---|---|
| Branding | Philly's 106-1 |
| First air date | August 10, 2006, still as WJJZ, September 2006 as WISX |
| Frequency | 106.1 MHz |
| Format | Rhythmic Hot AC |
| Former callsigns | WQAL (1959-1970) WWSH (1970-1984) WZGO (1984-1986) WTRK (1986-1987) WEGX (1987-1993) WJJZ (1993-2006) |
| Owner | Clear Channel Communications |
| Website | http://www.phillys1061.com |
WISX, "Philly's 106.1", is a Rhythmic Adult Contemporary radio station licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are owned by Clear Channel Communications and its slogan is "Feel The Energy," which is used to describe their upbeat mix of Rhythmic hits of the 80's, '90s and today.
[edit] History
Philadelphia's 106.1 began operation in November 1959 was WQAL and was owned by George Voron. The station employed an easy listening format playing mostly instrumental versions of popular songs (Mantovani, Lawrence Welk, Percy Faith, Jon Foxx, Chet Atkins, Richard Clayderman) with an occasional vocalist(Frank Sinatra, Carpenters, Nat King Cole, Anne Murray). The station was sold to United Artists in 1970. The call letters then became WWSH and its brand, "Wish 106." The WQAL call letters are now used by another station, the Hot AC-formatted "Q104" in Cleveland, Ohio.
The station was sold again in 1977 to Cox Communications. Initially the format remained easy listening. In 1980 more contemporary vocalists were added but the format still remained instrumentally based.
Despite the station's popularity, the "beautiful music" format was changed in 1982 to Hot Adult Contemporary. The station was known as "FM 106". In a market already crowded with four Adult Contemporary stations, it didn't go over well in the ratings, and one year later the format was modified to Top 40. In 1984, the call letters were changed to WZGO (Z-106), and changed again in 1986 to WTRK (Electric 106), and the ratings were still low. Cox then sold the station to Malrite. In 1987, the station became known as WEGX (Eagle 106). The station kept the Top 40 format and ratings soon improved surpassing WCAU FM (Now WOGL). In 1987 WCAU FM dropped the Top 40 format in favor of oldies leaving Eagle 106 as the only Top 40 station.
In 1988 though WIOQ, which had gone through several unsuccessful format changes took a dance leaning Top 40 format. This brought Eagle 106's ratings down slightly but the station still was profitable.
In the 1990's Q 102 WIOQ moved further toward Mainstream Top 40. Eagle 106 though still held its own. Then on March 13, 1993, despite the moderate success, at 1:06 PM the format was changed to Smooth Jazz, a growing pheonemon at the time, becoming Smooth Jazz WJJZ 106.1.
At first, WJJZ lacked ratings and success and it seemed 106.1 was headed for another format change. In its early years, WJJZ featured an eclectic mix of Contemporary Jazz, some New Age music, as well as a sprinkling of Adult Contemporary vocals. The Smooth Jazz format evolved however, and by the mid 90s, under the ownership of the Evergreen Media Corporation, WJJZ began to phase out the new age music and broad variety of Contemporary Jazz it played with more Adult Contemporary crossovers and some soft R&B. This coincided with its first strong ratings showings. WJJZ was becoming a fixture in Philadelphia radio, with free Smooth Jazz listener party concerts, and music not heard anywhere else. Also during the period, the station introduced the Vacation-A-Day giveaway, giving away free vacations to different locales. The station tabbed it as the biggest giveaway in Philadelphia radio history.
In 1997, Evergreen Media was purchased by Chancellor Media, which eventually was purchased by AMFM and finally became part of conglomerate Clear Channel. During the late 90s, WJJZ saw its finest ratings, reaching into the top 5 of the Arbitrons for Philadelphia. However, like many stations across the country, the effect of cutbacks by owner Clear Channel started to take its toll. 2002 saw the dismissials of afternoon host Deanna Wright and longtime evening host Desirae McCrae. The music on the air began to feature much less instrumentals and more vocals, featuring the likes of Stevie Wonder, Al Green, The Police, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and Madonna, while still being called Smooth Jazz. Ratings continued to be solid until 2004, which also coincided with the sign-on of Urban Adult Contemporary station WRNB and Gospel station WPPZ, both appearing to be taking a bite out of the station's ratings. The station dropped out of the top 10 in ratings, and this also led to adverse effects on its billing. By the end of 2005, the signs were not looking positive for the heritage Smooth Jazz station. 10-year afternoon host Teri Webb was dismissed before Christmas, and the Vacation-A-Day giveaway was dropped. Two other former personalities, Loni Taylor and Bill Simpson, are currently working for sister station WSMJ in Baltimore, Maryland.
2006 brought some promise with the addition of two new air talents, Sherri Lee Stevens and Salina Jones, as well as a less expensive version of the Vacation giveaway. Although ratings were rebounding, rumors began to swirl in July that a format change was imminent. Clear Channel wanted to find a home in Philadelphia for its new syndicated talent Whoopi Goldberg, and it saw the perfect opportunity to blow up the Smooth Jazz format with a new morning show and a format not yet heard in Philadelphia, Rhythmic Adult Contemporary. On Tuesday, August 8, the conglomerate dismissed the airstaff of WJJZ, and on Thursday, August 10, at 12:00 PM, WJJZ's midday host and program director Michael Tozzi bid farewell to 13 years of Smooth Jazz, and the era of Philly's 106-1 began. (The montage of various Smooth Jazz artists that was played at the ending of the old WJJZ would be used again to start the new WJJZ.)
Thus far, the opinions of Philly's 106-1 have been significantly dubious. A reader comment section at Philly.com features twenty-one pages of angry former WJJZ listeners infuritated with Clear Channel's decision. The new Rhythmic Adult Contemporary format has been very repetitive so far, with a small playlist and completely voicetracked airstaff. Although the station kept its WJJZ callsign for a month after the flip, it would eventually change its callsign to WISX. (For news of similar fan outcry over station flips, see the KMVN and KMVK pages.)
After lingering around for over two months without a Smooth Jazz outlet, rival broadcaster Greater Media announced on October 13, 2006, that its newly acquired property, WTHK, was picking up the Smooth Jazz format and the WJJZ calls. The "New" Smooth Jazz 97.5 WJJZ made its debut on November 17, 2006.
Some of the former 106.1 airstaff has been reincarnated at the new address on 97.5, notably Michael Tozzi. He will program the new WJJZ and handle the midday airshift. He has brought on board Gerald Veasley, Teri Webb and Greg Purcell for weekend duties, thus writing a new chapter for Smooth Jazz in Philadelphia.
Starting in 2007, the new WJJZ will move its current transmitter from Trenton, NJ, to Wyndmoor, PA, a northern suburb of Philadelphia, where all of the major Philadelphia stations' towers are located, including the one that the old WJJZ once used. Coverage for the new station is expected to be the same as the old one, but the new signal will be directional.
[edit] On-air schedule
- 5:00AM-8:30AM Wake Up With Whoopi
- 8:30AM-2:00PM Rich Kaminski
- 2:00PM-7:00PM Chris Brown
- 7:00PM-12:00AM Brian Bosch
