Beasley Merges and Rebrands Rock in SW Florida

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, June 18, 2013 | 11:02am CT

Beasley Broadcast Southwest Florida has announced multiple changes to its Fort Myers-Naples cluster including the merger of two brands into one, the move of another to a new FM frequency, and the launch of an exciting new brand on its quartet of FM translators.

• 99X WJBX-FM and 96 K-Rock WRXK-FM are merging to form "Southwest Florida's Rock Station" on 96.1 FM.
• Content on 770 ESPN Sports Radio will be simulcast on the stronger 99.3 FM frequency (formerly home to 99X WJBX-FM). The new brand is ESPN 99.3.
• "The Link," a new conceptualized version of Modern Adult Contemporary format debuts on Beasley's four FM translators: 96.5 in North Lee County, 98.1 in Lee County, 101.5 in Collier County, and 105.1 on Marco Island.

Effectively immediately, the Active Rock music heard previously on 99X WJBX (99.3 FM) now airs on 96 K-Rock WRXK (96.1 FM). 96 K-Rock assumes the music positioning of "Southwest Florida's Rock Station." Personalities "Bubba The Love Sponge" in mornings and "Stan and Haney" in afternoons remain on the station. Active Rock music will now play after 10:00 a.m. Current WJBX and WRXK Program Director Chris Delozier retains those management duties and hosts the 10:00 am-2:00 pm midday show on 96 K-Rock. Core artists for the station remain the same led by Linkin Park, Metallica, Alice In Chains, Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Godsmack, and AC/DC.

VP and Southwest Florida Market Manager Brad Beasley commented, "We have two phenomenal heritage brands with 'K-Rock and 99X'. We felt strongly that putting the best of both worlds together on one station creates the most powerful rock station of any kind in Southwest Florida."

Following the completion of the integration of the Active Rock format on to 96.1 FM, Beasley Broadcast Southwest Florida is excited to announce a major expansion for its "ESPN Sports" brand in the market place. WWCN-AM (ESPN Radio 770) will begin simulcasting on 99.3 FM and will become "ESPN 99.3." All of the great local and national programming, as well as the play-by-play of the Miami Heat and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (among others) will be part of the new "ESPN 99.3" under Program Director John Cassio. In late summer, 770 AM will become "ESPN Deportes."

Beasley added, "Last year, we added key FM translators that covered our market to the ESPN brand. The response was phenomenal. What we heard back from our listeners and advertisers was that having it in one place on FM would be best. As our audience levels reached record numbers last fall, we decided this was an opportunity to take this powerful Sports brand and have it in one place on FM and grow it even more. In addition, Southwest Florida has a significantly growing Hispanic population, and the move of ESPN to 99.3 now gives us the ability to shift 770 to 'ESPN Deportes' and the great programming and play-by-play they provide."

Finally, BBGI's quartet of translators: 96.5 in North Lee County, 98.1 in Lee County, 101.5 in Collier County, and 105.1 on Marco Island will debut a new conceptualized version of the Modern Adult Contemporary format-which will be also available on WRXK-HD2. "The Link" will play the biggest songs from Triple A, Alternative, and Hot AC on one radio station. The station will run the gamut from today's top artists such as Imagine Dragons, Muse, Mumford & Sons, Fun, Coldplay along with the formats legacy artists such as U2, R.E.M., Dave Matthews Band, INXS, and more. This format is targeted to females 25 - 44 years old, and it will also be programmed by Chris Delozier.

With regard to the Link, Beasley said, "The crossover music between Alternative, Triple A, and Hot AC formats have never been hotter. We feel a unique radio station celebrating the richest artists in today's Pop/Alternative music alongside proven artists with multiple decades of success will deliver a unique upscale audience currently not being served by the many gold-based radio stations in Southwest Florida."

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