So over the weekend I gave (the new) 94.7 KBRU a good listen... Not horrible, and I enjoyed listening for a while... but it's far from great. Specifically, their playlist needs a lot of help, and the "Man up" branding is terrible, stupid, and needs to be gone yesterday. They seem to be focusing on the 90's alt-rock, and barely play any new rock. iHeartMedia (Clear Channel) seriously needs to just give up and bring the BUZZ back!

So over the weekend I gave (the new) 94.7 KBRU a good listen... Not horrible, and I enjoyed listening for a while... but it's far from great. Specifically, their playlist needs a lot of help, and the "Man up" branding is terrible, stupid, and needs to be gone yesterday. They seem to be focusing on the 90's alt-rock, and barely play any new rock. iHeartMedia (Clear Channel) seriously needs to just give up and bring the BUZZ back!

Still way too much overplayed classic rock as well.

Unfortunately. And I fear that iHeartMedia has zero incentive to change anything; KBRU's Arbitron ratings share for Spring (Phase 2) is comparable to the BUZZ's ratings share in November of 2009, shortly before they went off the air: 2.8 for KBRU (http://ratings.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb083) vs 2.7 for KHBZ (http://newsok.com/twister-regains-top-spot-in-ratings/article/3416872).

Looks like a new station in our market has signed on; 97.7 KSQE-LP ("The City") is broadcasting smooth jazz from the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. Power is pretty low - 10W ERP - so the signal only really covers about the north half of OKC, but so far it's an interesting addition to our radio market. I can just barely pick it up around NE 23rd/Lincoln, but it's pretty choppy when moving around. If memory serves, the last full-time smooth jazz station serving the OKC market - 97.9 KTNT-FM - went off the air in January of 2000.

Odd. I was on the sales staff of KATT, KYIS, The Jazz Station and the Sports Animal in the late nineties, and at the time the Jazz Station switched formats from smooth jazz to a mixture of smooth jazz AND stuff like Mariah Carey, Madonna, Cher, etc., to target the Magic 104 demo. It was named "The City," and was an abject failure. Within months it became Wild 97.9.

The mixed format was reviled by smooth jazz listeners, who are a small group but very loyal. Which makes it strange to me that a new smooth jazz format station would revive that brand.

By the way, the original Jazz Station started in Edmond on the 97.7 frequency, broadcast from a house on Kelly. They eventually sold to KATT/KYIS (Caribou, which ultimately sold to Citadel), and were moved to 97.9.

Lots of intertwined history with this new station and the old one.

Yeah, I remember when KTNT-FM was on 97.7... That was my father's station of choice and he was not happy with the switch to "The City" - and then was really angry when it flipped to Wild 97.9. I could be mistaken, but the new "The City" seems to have an announcer with a very similar voice to the on-air talent running KTNT. That could be because of the format, though - the few smooth jazz stations I've listened to seem to emphasize announcers with that deep, dulcet tone.