WWWW-FM

WWWW-FM - "W4 Country" - is a country music radio station based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, broadcasting on 102.9 MHz.

History

Early years

The 102.9 frequency began operations in or on March 1, 1962 as WOIA and was (and still is) co-owned with WOIB-AM 1290 in Saline, Michigan. Originally, WOIA and WOIB simulcast a middle of the road music format with some Top 40 music played on weekends. The format changed to full-time Top 40 in 1967. In 1970, the stations became WNRS AM/WNRZ FM "Ann Arbor's Winners." The "Winners" airstaff included a young Arthur Penhallow, who later became a fixture at WRIF in Detroit for nearly 40 years; at WNRS/WNRZ, his air name was "Cicero Grimes." The WNRS/WNRZ format remained Top 40 at first, but AM 1290's format soon changed to country; FM 102.9 simulcast the country format during the day and played a progressive rock format at night.

WNRZ-FM was a pioneer in the many radio aspects of the industry, and was one of the first FM stations to broadcast discrete Quad using the quadraphonic FM stereo system invented in 1969 by Louis Dorren. Chief engineer Brian Brown designed and built one of the first combination audio equalizer/compressors, which was used to enhance the poor audio quality of the Collins (now Rockwell Collins) AM radio transmitter at WNRZ-AM. A second device was installed to process the quadraphonic FM program audio. These units literally caused the audio to "leap out" of the radio, according to industry pundits.

WNRZ-FM changed its format from country to album rock in March 1975 and became known as WIQB, with a call sign which designated the number "103" (the letters I-Q-B were chosen because of their resemblance to the numbers 1-0-3). WIQB heavily promoted its quadraphonic sound, identifying on-air as "QuadRock 103" during the 1970s. (Meanwhile, AM 1290 has since been through a multitude of format changes and is now WLBY, a business-talk station).

In the 1980s WIQB programmed a mixture of album rock and CHR/Top 40 and was usually the highest-rated station in the Ann Arbor market (jingles of the period touted the fact they were "Ann Arbor's Number One!").

The format then went through several changes through the 1990s, including adult alternative during the late 1990s and then active rock by the end of the decade. As an active rock station, Rock 103, then owned by Cumulus Broadcasting, suffered from poor ratings and was regularly defeated in its own market by Detroit's WRIF. The station was an afterthought of then-GM Ray Nelson, who along with the sales managers proceeded to change the format to country.

History of "W4"

The WWWW calls were originally used for 106.7 FM (and later 1130 AM) in Detroit, Michigan. Many Detroit-area radio listeners of the 1970s remember WWWW-FM as a rock station with a slightly progressive bent, and one which would offer unique programming, such as the "All-Night Album Replay," wherein several full rock LPs would be played consecutively during a given evening. Print advertising for the station occasionally featured images of Godzilla, the mythical character seen in the Toho-produced Japanese series of feature films. That format would not extend into the 1980s, however. The change to the country format (nicknamed "W4 Country") alienated many former listeners, as reflected in initial ratings changes, and soon acquired an entirely new audience, though a rare few individuals (such as on-air personality Chuck Santoni) remained with the station. In reality, the station maintained its country format much longer than the previous rock format. In October 2000 "Alice 106.7" finally changed their call letters to "WLLC-FM" (not to be confused with yet another previous Detroit FM rock station, WLLZ-FM) and the "WWWW" call letters were moved to 102.9 FM in Ann Arbor to relaunch "W4 Country" on September 29, 2000.

The new "W4 Country" soon became a ratings success in Ann Arbor. Arbitron often rates WWWW-FM as the top-rated music station in the market 12+; it is usually second place overall, behind only Detroit's WJR. Among local stations in Ann Arbor/Washtenaw County, W4 is the highest-rated commercial station, although it has been reported that if non-commercial stations were counted, NPR station WUOM would come out on top.

W4's signal into metropolitan Detroit is impeded by WHTD (102.7 MHz) in Mount Clemens in Macomb County, but it still frequently shows up toward the bottom of the Detroit ratings. W4's signal is much stronger toward the west and north of Ann Arbor, and the station gets a listenable signal as far away as Flint, Lansing and Toledo.

Changes in 2006

On July 24, 2006, the call letters for 102.9 FM in Ann Arbor were temporarily changed to WFOR-FM (there is a CBS-owned TV station in Miami, Florida with the WFOR call letters), as Clear Channel moved the "WWWW" call letters to the 1310 AM facility in Detroit. One week later, on July 31, 102.9 switched to "WWWW-FM" - different in only the "-FM" suffix. On September 15, 2006, the WDTW call letters returned to 1310 AM.

This sequences of moves of the WWWW call letters were likely due to a swap of the Clear Channel Ann Arbor cluster to Cumulus Broadcasting, which was still pending in late December 2007 . Clear Channel had intended to hold onto the "WWWW" calls, though that is now unclear as 106.7 FM's call letters have remained WDTW-FM.

Airstaff

The current lineup (as of February 1, 2010) Starting out the day on the morning drive from 5am-10am it's Breakfast With Bubba with Brian "Bubba" Cowan and Lori Rigato. During the mid-day from 10am-3pm it's Mandy Cook. Then on the ride home from 3pm-7pm it's Adam Rey. Wrapping up the day from 7pm-12am it's CMT Radio Live with Cody Alan, and from 12am-5am it's After Mid-Nite with Blair Garner

Weekends/Fill-ins include Spike. The stations current program director and music director is morning show host Brian "Bubba" Cowan.

References

Sources

Michiguide.com - WWWW-FM History

External links

WWW-FM Category:Clear Channel radio stations Category:Country radio stations in the United States