Cox Surprises Tampa Flips 101.5 FM To CHR 'Hot'

Radio war flares with WFLZ

The Tampa Bay area just got a new radio war as owner Cox Radio dumped the '80s format of 101.5 FM WPOI-FM (The Point) for a hits-focused approach directly targeting rival 93.3 FM WFLZ.

With a website announcement featuring snarky disses of WFLZ and star personality Todd "MJ" Schnitt, Cox Radio unveiled Hot 101.5, a station centered on a Contemporary Hits Radio playlist featuring artists such as Pitbull and Ke$ha. The station will play 10,000 songs in row without commercials or talking, offering a monthlong run of music through July, according to a story by Eric Deggans, TV/Media Critic for the St. Petersburg Times.

The change left former morning personality Corey Dylan without a job. And when voices return to WPOI, said an executive, they won't be signature personalities distracting from the music.

According to Cox vice president and Tampa market manager Keith Lawless, Clear Channel-owned WFLZ has had this segment of Tampa Bay's radio audience to itself for too long, and his company has decided to offer a direct challenge.

"For 22 years, they've been in this format directly uncontested ... our research shows WFLZ has been on an island," said Lawless, who oversees all Cox stations in the area, including WWRM-FM (94.9), WXGL-FM (107.3), WSUN-FM (97.1), WHPT-FM (102.5) and WDUV-FM(105.5).

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With this format flip, WPOI now targets women 18-49 with an emphasis on those 18-34 — basically, the late twentysomethings and early thirtysomethings who pack dance clubs on the weekends.

As part of its strategy, Cox is taking on WFLZ's signature personality, Schnitt. "(Schnitt) plays four songs in morning," Lawless said. "He's a 45-year-old man trying to speak to women 20 years his junior. We're going to play more music than them ... which is what this audience wants."

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