Richmond VA Radio: C-C-Changes At The Alpha Cluster

Alpha Media announced some aggressive changes Monday to the Richmond radio landscape within its 3 station cluster.

First, contemporary country station, The Wolf, moved from 93.1 to 98.9. “This gives us full coverage in the Richmond metro, something we didn’t have on 93.1”, said Market Manager Paul Johnson. In addition, the station will simulcast on 100.3, which covers the southern end of the market. “This is a station that performs really well where it’s heard, and now it has 100% penetration.”

To add to its country presence, the group also brought in the Hank, Legends of Country format from Envision Networks to run on 93.1. Johnson said, “This gives us a full country spectrum with the combo, and focused demo breakouts on each specific station. We think advertisers will welcome the choice.”

The group’s third station, WBBT 107.3 FM, made a musical evolution from Oldies to Classic Hits. “Even though it was called ‘Big Oldies’, it really already was a classic hits station. We switched the position to ‘Richmond’s Greatest Hits’, and evolved the music to a 70’s base.”

To accommodate the change, the group is merging its Liberty, “We Play Anything” station with Big Oldies to form a superstation playing “Richmond’s Greatest Hits”. Johnson said, “This station will offer the variety that Liberty fans have come to love with the greatest hits of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. It’s one of those rare stations that a husband and wife can both agree on.” The station will be heard on 107.3.

Alpha Media Executive VP of Programming, Scott Mahalick commented on the changes, “In order to increase our competitive edge in the Richmond market, we needed to turn up the heat and shake things up. Not only will these improvements provide a more contemporary opportunity for revenue, they will give our listeners what they’ve been asking for.”