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by | Mar 16, 2018 | Hosta

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WWFW (103.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It airs a classic hits radio format and is owned by the Adams Radio Group. The studios are on Lower Huntington Road in Fort Wayne.

WWFW is a Class A station. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 3,000 watts. The transmitter tower is off Hillegas Road in Fort Wayne, near Interstate 69.[1]

History

WXKE, WYLT and WWFW

The station signed on the air on May 1, 1976; 48 years ago (May 1, 1976). The original call sign was WXKE. For four years, 2002 to 2006, it changed its call letters to WYLT when it aired a "Lite" music format. It returned to its original call sign from 2006 to 2014. The station was owned by Summit City.

In March 2014, the Adams Radio Group entered an agreement to purchase Summit City's cluster (which included WXKE). Days later, Adams announced the company would also purchase the Oasis Radio Group's stations. To meet ownership limits, Adams would retain WNHT 96.3, WGL 1240 and WXKE 103.9, as well as acquiring Oasis Radio Group's WJFX 107.9 and WBTU 93.3. At the same time, it would sell off WHPP 106.3 to Fort Wayne Catholic Radio, and sell WGL-FM 102.9 to the Calvary Radio Network. WLYV 1450 and two translators (on 96.9 FM and 103.3 FM) would also be acquired by Adams. The transaction, at a price of $6.4 million, was consummated on June 2, 2014.

As a result, Adams planned a multi-station format restructuring. On June 2, Adams announced that WXKE would move to the stronger 96.3 signal, displacing WNHT's Rhythmic Contemporary format. The two stations would simulcast for ten days.

Soft AC

The 103.9 station changed to the current WWFW call sign on June 2, 2014. Later that month, on June 20, 2014, at 10:39 pm, after stunting for an hour and a half with music similar to that of call holding or elevator music, WWFW launched a soft adult contemporary format. It was branded as "The New Soft Rock 103-9". The first song on "Soft Rock" was "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang.[2]

Starting in the fall of 2014, WWFW annually made a seasonal format change to all-Christmas music for much of November and December. The station initially featured a Soft AC lean, but gradually evolved to Mainstream AC during the first year on the air. During the Christmas music stint in November 2016, WWFW dropped the "Soft Rock" branding in favor of "Christmas 103.9". On December 7, the station announced through its Facebook page, that they would rebrand as "103.9 Sunny FM" on the 26th.[3] The change took place at midnight on that date; the first song on Sunny FM was "Faith" by George Michael (serving as a tribute to Michael, as he had died on Christmas Day).[4] The format shifted back to Soft AC by 2018.

Variety Hits and Classic Hits

On December 18, 2019, WWFW announced that the station would flip to Variety Hits as "103.9 Wayne FM" on Christmas night at 6pm.[5] The last song played as part of the all-Christmas format was "Merry Christmas Darling" by The Carpenters. That song was also the last Christmas song played before the launch of Sunny FM in 2016. The changeover took place at 6 p.m. The station then stunted with a 10-second electronic voice counting down from 10 to 1. This was followed by silence. A voice then recommends about the new switch including examples such as brief clips of 24 different adult hit titles. The first song on "Wayne FM" was "Mary Jane's Last Dance" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Effective June 9, 2023, Adams Radio Group's portfolio of eighteen stations and translators, including WWFW, was sold for $12.6 million.

On May 13, 2024, 103.9 Wayne FM flipped to classic hits with an 80s and 90s focus. That made it a direct rival to Classic Hits 101.7 WLDE, owned by Sarkes Tarzian, Inc. Industry publication Radio Insight says 103.9 Wayne FM leans more toward pop and dance titles, while WLDE's playlist leans more toward classic rock.[6]

Former logos

References

  1. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WWFW
  2. ^ Soft Rock 103.9 Fort Wayne Debuts
  3. ^ "103.9 Wayne FM on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 2022-04-30.[user-generated source]
  4. ^ WWFW Relaunches As 103.9 Sunny FM
  5. ^ "103.9 Wayne-FM Debuts in Fort Wayne".
  6. ^ RadioInsight.com "WWFW Fort Wayne Slides from Variety Hits to Classic Hits" May 13, 2024

External links

41°06′32″N 85°09′54″W / 41.109°N 85.165°W / 41.109; -85.165

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