WRNW

WRNW

City of license	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Broadcast area	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Branding	"97.3 Radio Now"
Frequency	97.3 (MHz) (also on HD Radio)
First air date	January 1961
Format	Top 40 (CHR)
ERP	15,500 watts
HAAT	278 meters
Class	B
Facility ID	26609
Transmitter coordinates	43° 06' 41.00" N 87° 55' 38.00" W
Callsign meaning	W-Radio NoW
Former callsigns	WISN-FM WLPX (until 1984) WBTT (1984–1985) WLTQ (1985–2004) WQBW (2004–2010)
Owner	Clear Channel Communications
Sister stations	WISN, WKKV, WMIL, WOKY, WRIT
Webcast	"Radio Now" stream HD2 stream
Website	973radionow.com

This article is about the current day radio station. For the first station which held these calls from 1960-1982, see WXPK.

WRNW is a Top 40 (CHR) FM radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin which is located on the 97.3 frequency and is branded as "Radio Now". The station is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications.

History

Early years

The original call sign of this frequency was WISN-FM, to match its AM sister station. WISN-FM had been playing an automated beautiful music format until 1978.

In January 1978, the station flipped to album-oriented rock as WLPX, using consultant Lee Abrams' "SuperStars" format. The station became an immediate success in the ratings, even pushing rival WZMF to tighten their format, and later drop it altogether for beautiful music. WLPX also sponsored future NASCAR driver Alan Kulwicki on local racetracks.

In the summer of 1983, WLPX abruptly switched to Top 40 (CHR), first as 97X, then shortly after as WBTT (B97).

Light 97.3

Light adult contemporary became the format in April 1985 as "Light 97.3" with the WLTQ call sign. The station's DJ's, before the 1997 sale of WLTQ and WISN Radio from Hearst Communications to Clear Channel, often appeared on WISN-TV in various roles, including hosting telethon and remote programming, and programs involving the Wisconsin Lottery in order to keep the line between the Channel 12 newsroom and other station operations clear from impropriety.

WLTQ featured the popular syndicated Delilah program in the evening shift.

In 2004 Clear Channel sensed some fatigue from listeners dissatisfied with the playlists of WKLH and WLZR, long the FM market leaders and both owned by the competing Saga Communications and decided to test if would be appropriate to introduce a new spin on the classic rock format in the market. They first tweaked their oldies station, WRIT to better take on WKLH and used those results to fine-tune what they saw as a station which could compete with the Saga operations.

WLTQ was in a position where their ratings were fading as the station's AC format became less popular in the market, likely due to the station unable to stretch out of format very much due to their longtime marketing as a station perfect for an office setting when most other adult contemporary began airing music which went beyond the traditional AC playlist and might not be appropriate for the office. "Office station" competitor WKTI began to expand their playlist further and this contributed to a further slide in "Light 97"'s ratings.

97.3 The Brew

With not much hope of getting new listeners, Clear Channel began stunting on WLTQ at midday on September 17, airing a continuous loop of songs featuring the words "air" and "America", along with sound bites of Air America Radio host Al Franken and a suggestion that the following Monday (September 20), "You'll be talking!" This was a ruse, however, designed to lead the station's competitors (and perhaps listeners) into thinking that it would change to a progressive talk format, which had recently been added to a Clear Channel station in Madison (WXXM). On Monday morning, September 20, the real format revealed itself, and the 80s-based classic rock format of "The Brew" was born, eventually changing their calls to WQBW.

"The Brew's" initial slogan was "Rock of the '80s and More", and the new station experienced notable ratings success out of the gate, as they quickly became the top FM station in Milwaukee, second only to longtime market leader WTMJ overall. "The Brew" was effective in taking away listeners from WKLH, and the station's heavy dose of 1980s-era hard rock bands helped steal highly desired older listeners away from WLZR after their popular Bob and Brian morning show signed off for the day.

WKLH tweaked their on-air imaging in response, and WLZR did a complete makeover, dropping much of the newer hard rock, expanding the playlist by adding classic rock titles, and rechristening the station as "102.9 The Hog" (WHQG). WHQG was also a success from the start, and along with WKLH, stole listeners back from "The Brew." The situation was helped as well by the heavy repetition of "The Brew's" tight playlist. As a result, WQBW's ratings were virtually cut in half.

In response, "The Brew" went in a slightly different direction adding more 1980s pop music from artists like Richard Marx and more recent songs from bands such as Nickleback and Santana, as the station went in a slight adult hits direction. The slogan changed to "The Biggest Variety of Rock Hits". Their television and on billboard advertising featured an obese shirtless man named "Dancin' Kevin", inspired by commercials for Chicago's WLUP "97.9 The Loop" from the 1980s.

"The Brew's" morning show was originally helmed by the duo of Sean Lynch and Joanie Meyers, until the two were dropped from the station in September 2008 and replaced by the "Connie & Fish" show, imported from Clear Channel's Top 40-formatted station in Madison, WZEE "Z104". Based at WQBW, "Connie & Fish" were heard simultaneously on "The Brew" and "Z104", with the stations inserting their own separate playlists during the music breaks. The rest of "The Brew's" personalities appeared on via voicetracking from other markets.

However in December 2008, WKTI would decide to also adopt an adult hits format, changing over to a semi-automated format as "The Lake" under the new calls WLWK. This further eroded WQBW's audience, and with the market overwhelmed by four stations playing pop music from the 70's and 80's, The Brew ended up as the lower-rated among the four stations for the format it originated within the market.

97-3 Radio Now

At 9 AM on May 28, 2010, immediately following the Connie & Fish morning program, the station ended "The Brew" format abruptly. It converted to a new Top 40 (CHR) format with the branding "97-3 Radio Now". The move was made quickly to preempt an expected format change by rival station WJZX (106.9). A day earlier, WJZX ended its smooth jazz format and began a stunt format known as "Tiger Radio." The station's new format was likely to be Rhythmic Top 40 under the new callsign WNQW, which prompted Clear Channel to act quickly and claim the "Now" name and brand before WJZX owner Saga Communications could claim it. Radio Now had a DJ-free format, but eventually brought back the morning show, though the title changed to "Connie and Curtis" after "Fish" Calloway's departure a week after the format change. On July 26, the station began to have DJ's, again with voicetracking from other stations.

On June 10, 2010, the 97.3 call letters were officially changed to WRNW. These calls had previously been used from 1960 until 1982 for WXPK in the New York City suburb of Briarcliff Manor, the station where Howard Stern first came to the broadcasting industry.

WRNW's format change gives longtime top 40 powerhouse WXSS "103.7 Kiss FM" its first competition since its closest rival, adult Top 40 WKTI, converted to an adult hits format as WLWK "Lake FM" in late 2008. WRNW's Top 40 musical direction favors a pop/rock approach, as it plays less Rhythmic/Hip-Hop than WXSS and most other large market Top 40 (CHR) stations. This musical direction both differentiates the station from WXSS and protects WRNW's dominant rhythmic Urban sister station, WKKV.

Current On-Air Lineup

WRNW currently features Connie and Curtis in morning drive, simulcast with sister station WZEE Madison. The station also features Katie Sommers in middays, Riggs in afternoon drive and Jesse Mitchell evenings.

WRNW-HD2

On April 25, 2006, Clear Channel announced that WQBW's HD2 subchannel will carry Radio Radio from their Format Lab, a format focusing on classic modern rock hits. It was later replaced by the Rock Nation feed from Format Lab, which features active rock.

On February 28, 2011, the format of WRNW-HD2 changed to another national Clear Channel iHeartRadio feed called "Spin Cycle," featuring remixed hit songs presented in a continuous mixshow format. Mixers include DJ Goofy WhiteKid and VJ Kidd Leow.

References

• "New format is going to party like it's 1989" (JSonline.com)
• "WLTQ-FM changed on its own, honest" (JSonline.com)

External links

• 97-3 Radio Now website
• "Connie & Curtis" website
• Audio and background of "The Brew's" sign-on
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WRNW
• Radio-Locator information on WRNW
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for WRNW