FL Radio: JVC Shifts Party Format To 100.9 FM

Ocala-Gainesville, FL listeners expecting smooth jazz may have had a surprise hearing Flo Rida or Nicki Minaj when they flipped on their radio Dec. 26, according to gainesville.com.

WXJZ Smooth 100.9 FM played Christmas music from November until Dec. 25 before switching its format and becoming Party 100.9. The station is in a transitional phase of taking the reins from WBXY Party 99.5 FM and the stations are currently simulcasting electronic dance music.

Both are currently owned by JVC Media of Long Island, N.Y., which is making the switch because Party 99.5 is popular but lacks some signal in Gainesville with the company spinning-off the property.

WBXY 99.5 FM 60dBu Coverage

Party's format “really took off in Gainesville on 99.5, and the 100.9 frequency is a stronger frequency,” said John Caracciolo, JVC's CEO. “We knew we were onto something with the format, but one complaint we would get is a lot of students in the dorm would say, 'Hey, I can't get it in the dorm.'”

The transmitter for 99.5 is north of the city, while 100.9's is in the heart of the city and has “a better signal for Gainesville,” Caracciolo said.

WXJZ 100.9 FM 60dBu Coverage

JVC is doing market research to establish a new format for 99.5 that should debut around March, he said.

JVC, under an LMA with an option to purchase, took over five Gainesville/Ocala FM stations — 100.9 and 99.5, as well as Country simulcast WYGC 104.9 FM and WTRS 102.3 FM plus Top40 WMFQ 92.9 FM — last summer from Asterisk Communications of Fort Lauderdale.  Now, JVC has filed with the FCC to purchase and with Asterisk’s grandfathered ownership of five FM’s in the market ending following the sale, JVC is spinning-off WBXY 99.5 FM Ricardo Arroyo’s RMA Media for $500,000. Arroyo holds a CP for WGMA 99.7 FM Silver Springs Shore that will serve the Ocala portion of the dual market.

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