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WRWM
  • Lawrence, Indiana
Broadcast areaIndianapolis, Indiana
Frequency93.9 MHz
Branding93.9 The Beat
Programming
FormatRhythmic AC
Ownership
Owner
WFMS, WJJK
History
Former call signs
WXTZ (1992–1996)
WGLD (1996–1997)
WGRL (1997–2004)
WISG (2004–2006)
WWFT (2006–2008)[1]
Call sign meaning
W R WarM (previous format/branding)
Technical information
Facility ID71438
ClassB1
ERP8.4 kWs
HAAT140 meters (460 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
39°49′39″N 85°58′51″W / 39.82750°N 85.98083°W / 39.82750; -85.98083
Links
WebcastListen Live
Listen Live via iHeart
Website939thebeat.com

WRWM (93.9 FM, "93.9 The Beat") is a radio station licensed to serve Lawrence, Indiana, that broadcasts in the Indianapolis area. WRWM moved its city of license from Fishers, Indiana to Lawrence, and upgraded its power from 2.95 kW to 8.4 kW in order to provide better and wider coverage. Its studios and transmitter are located separately on the east side of Indianapolis.

WRWM is licensed by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to broadcast in the HD (hybrid) format.[2]

History

The station signed on air on February 12, 1993 as WXTZ, "Ecstasy 93.9." WXTZ ran an Easy Listening format similar to the original WXTZ (formerly at 103.3) several years prior. The format lasted until January 1996, when it was dropped in favor of ABC Radio's now-defunct Solid Gold Soul 24/7 format (Urban Oldies) as "Gold 93.9." The calls were changed to WGLD in February 1996 to reflect this change.[1] Solid Gold Soul was short-lived, however, and by the fall of 1996, the format was dropped, and WGLD changed to Jones Radio Network's Smooth Jazz 24/7 format.

The license to 93.9 was sold to Susquehanna Broadcasting in 1997. It was decided that Susquehanna's modern country "flanker," WGRL "104.5 The Bear," would be moved to 93.9 while a new format, under 93.9's WGLD calls, would be placed on 104.5. To smooth over the transition, the two stations simulcasted "The Bear" for the first few weeks of June 1997. Once the move was complete, the WGLD calls moved to 104.5 and became Oldies "Gold 104.5."[1] The frequency switch did not help WGRL's ratings, as it experienced a substantial ratings drop once The Bear moved to 93.9. As a result, the station became more music-intensive and personalities were let go. By 2001, WGRL simulcasted WFMS in morning drive while Donnie Claw, the lone survivor from the 104.5 days, hosted the afternoon drive shift. The end of The Bear came in November 2001, when the format was dropped for Christmas music as "93.9 The Christmas Channel."

On December 25, 2001, 93.9 flipped to an 80s Hits format as "Retro 93.9."[3] The format lasted until July 9, 2004, when – following a 5-day stunt of TV themes as "TV 93.9" – the station flipped to Contemporary Christian as "93.9 The Song."[4] Calls were also changed at this time to WISG.[1] "The Song" lasted for a couple of years and saw modest success. However, on December 26, 2006, "The Song" was moved to 93.9's HD2 channel while a new talk format, known as "FM Talk 93.9," moved to the main channel.[5] The station's call letters were changed to WWFT.[1]

WWFT aired syndicated talk programming, featuring Mancow, Sean Hannity, Dave Ramsey, and others until November 16, 2007, when programming was replaced with the return of "93.9 The Christmas Channel." At Noon on Christmas Day, WWFT dropped Christmas music and stunted again, repeating the tracks "Lonesome Road" by Dean Elliot & His Big Band and "Swans Splashdown" by Jean-Jacques Perrey.

A new format, adult contemporary "Warm 93.9," debuted at 9:39 a.m. on January 2, 2008, with a commitment to play 93 hours of commercial-free music during its first week. The first song played on "Warm 93.9" was The Police's "Every Breath You Take".[6] On March 3, 2008, WWFT changed call letters to WRWM.[1] The program director and morning drive host was Fritz Moser. During the Warm era, "The Song" returned to the main station for six hours on Sunday mornings.

At 12:01 a.m. on July 2, 2009, the station abandoned its 18-month-old adult contemporary format; the station had finished 21st in the most recent Arbitron ratings and never mounted a serious challenge to main rival WYXB. The last song on "Warm" was The Beach Boys' "Kokomo". The station began stunting again, this time with construction sounds.[7] At 9:40 AM on July 3, 2009, the station flipped to CHR as "Indy's Hit Music Station, i94" and launched with 94 songs commercial-free. The format change marks the frequency's sixth new format since 2001. i94's first song was The Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow".[8][9]

On July 2, 2011, the station adjusted its daytime format to Hot AC, while remaining CHR at night. This did not attract listeners, and in fact drove them away, losing the battle against WNOW-FM and WZPL, along with WNTR when they flipped to the format in May 2013.

On December 19, 2014, at 3 PM, after hyping a "major announcement about i94", WRWM flipped to classic hip-hop, promoting a “Classic Hip-Hop Holiday Weekend”, forcing rival WHHH to do the same. Unlike WHHH, however, WRWM announced "Classic Hip Hop Is Here To Stay" the following Monday, and officially flipped to the format, keeping the "i94" name, but releasing all of the airstaff.[10]

On January 26, 2015, at 9:39 AM, WRWM was relaunched as "93.9 The Beat," but kept its Classic Hip-Hop format intact.[11] The flip increased ratings dramatically, going from 15th to first place in the ratings in central Indiana.[12]

Mediabase had placed WRWM and other stations on its Rhythmic reporting panel, even though no current songs were initially played.

The station has since moved towards Rhythmic AC, having added recent songs and more R&B tracks.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
  2. ^ http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/sta_det.pl?Facility_id=71438
  3. ^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2002/RR-2002-01-04.pdf
  4. ^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2004/RR-2004-07-16.pdf
  5. ^ http://www.ibj.com/articles/12874-few-hearing-talk-on-fm-station-s-ratings-plunge-after-format-change
  6. ^ http://formatchange.com/939-wwft-becomes-warm-939/
  7. ^ http://formatchange.com/warm-939-begins-stunting/
  8. ^ http://formatchange.com/93-9-wrwm-becomes-i94/
  9. ^ https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/1148/warm-93-9-indianapolis-to-flip/
  10. ^ https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/91265/i94-goes-classic-hip-hop-but-just-for-holiday-weekends/
  11. ^ "What's Next For 93.9 Indianapolis" from Radio Insight (January 25, 2015)
  12. ^ French, Alex (July 17, 2015). "How Hip-Hop Is Becoming the Oldies". The New York Times.
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