The following is a list of events affecting radio broadcasting in 2012. Events listed include radio program debuts, finales, cancellations, and station launches, closures and format changes, as well as information about controversies and deaths of radio personalities.
Notable events
January Date Event Source1Red Eye Radio and the Midnight Trucking Radio Network, both syndicated by Cumulus Media Networks, "merge" into one show. Midnight Trucking, hosted by Eric Harley and Gary McNamara (from WBAP—Dallas) is rebranded as Red Eye while Doug McIntyre, host of the original iteration of Red Eye, was reassigned to KABC—Los Angeles; a weekend version of Red Eye hosted by Marc Germain was also dropped.Rhythmic Top 40 KHTC—Edina/Minneapolis–Saint Paul flips to adult Top 40 KTWN."K-Twin Launches In The Twin Cities" from Radio Insight (January 1, 2012)Classic rock WZRR—Birmingham, Alabama flips to CHR "99.5 The Vibe"."WZRR Birmingham Gets Vibed" from Radio Insight (January 1, 2012)Adult Top 40 WNNF—Cincinnati flips to country as "Great Country"."Journey 94.1 Cincinnati Flips To Great Country" from Radio Insight (January 1, 2012)Cherry Creek makes a frequency swap in Missoula Top 40 KXDR to the stronger signal of 106.7 FM formerly held by clustermate KBQQ, which moves its main signal from 106.7 to 96.9 FM and its translator to KXDR's former signal at 98.7 FM for better coverage in the Missoula metropolitan area.2Country KTWI—Omaha flips to classic country "93.3 The Wolf".Classic Country Returns To Omaha from Radio Insight (January 2, 2012)Oldies WMTI—Picayune, Mississippi/New Orleans flips to sports."WMTI/New Orleans Flips To Sports" from All Access (January 3, 2012)As part of a frequency swap, 95.7 FM in Cedar Rapids officially switches from country (which had moved to 96.5 FM on December 27, 2011) to simulcasting WMT's AM signal; on January 17, the call letters change to KWMG-FM. 3The Buffalo Bills Radio Network ends its relationship with Cumulus Media (purchasers of Citadel Broadcasting's assets, including former flagship WGRF and four other network affiliates) and signs a deal with Entercom Communications; as a result, the network's new flagship becomes Entercom's WGR (who already has the Sabres Hockey Network as well) effective that summer.Entercom Inks New Multi-Year Partnership with NFL Buffalo Bills from Radio Info (January 4, 2012) 4Talk WPLZ—Chattanooga, Tennessee flips to country."WPLZ Makes The Flip To Country" from All Access (January 4, 2012)Co-owned oldies WKAD—Cadillac, Michigan, and adult standards WMBN—Petoskey, Michigan, flip to sports."WKAD, WMBN Flip To Sports" from All Access (January 4, 2012) 5The owners of KMVV—Anchorage, which exited the Rhythmic AC MOViN' format in November 2011 before signing off December 31, 2011, announced it plans to return to the air with a Smooth Jazz format as "104.9 The Oasis"."The Oasis Movin Into Anchorage" from Radio Insight (January 5, 2012)6Country KTFW—Fort Worth rebrands to "Hank FM".KTFW Fort Worth Becomes Hank-FM from Radio Insight (January 5, 2012)Talk WXTL—Syracuse, New York, switches to classic rock "105.9 The Rebel"."Talker WXTL Syracuse Flips To Rock As 'The Rebel'" from All Access (January 6, 2012)Rhythmic Top 40 WHTI—Lakeside/Richmond, Virginia, shifts to CHR but retains the "Hot 100.9" name."Richmond Gets A Top 40 Battle" from All Access (January 6, 2012)CHR CKHZ—Halifax, Nova Scotia overhauls the format and airstaff, by returning to its dance roots as "Energy 103.5"."Halifax Gets Energy Boost" from Radio Insight (January 6, 2012) from Josh Mclellan's Twitter page (January 6, 2012)Family Radio files papers with the FCC to change the licensing status of WFME—Newark/New York City from non-commercial to commercial, preparing it for a possible sale."Does Family Radio Filing To Take WFME Commercial Signal A Sale Is Coming?" from All Access (January 9, 2012)9Adult contemporary WDOK—Cleveland rebrands as "The New 102", dropping both longtime midday host Nancy Alden and Delilah.What's New At WDOK Cleveland? from Radio Insight (January 9, 2012)iHeartRadio announces a deal to bring Greater Media's 22 outlets to its streaming platform, starting in April."Greater Media Radio Stations Join iHeartRadio Platform" from All Access (January 9, 2012)12Alternative rock KEXX—Phoenix flips to classic rock "My 103.9".KEXX Phoenix Becomes "My 103.9" from Radio Insight (January 12, 2012)Classic rock CKQK-FM—Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island flips to CHR "Hot 105.5.""Prince Edward Island Gets Hot" from Radio Insight (January 12, 2012)Veteran voiceover artist Bill St. James announces his departure from Cumulus Media Networks' syndicated classic rock series Flashback. Matt Pinfield, host of MTV/MTV2's 120 Minutes, takes over as host.Bill St. James Says Goodbye, But Hints At Return, AllAccess.com, 2012-01-12. Retrieved 2012-03-11. Matt Pinfield chosen to host Flashback, AllAccess.com, 2012-01-05. Retrieved 2012-03-11. 13Clear Channel Communications changes the name of its radio division to Clear Channel Media & Entertainment."Clear Channel States The Obvious" from Radio Insight (January 13, 2012) 15Classic hits/brokered WOLT—Greenville adds dance-oriented hits and remixes via Jamtraxx's Spin-FM service."WOLT/Greenville, SC Debuts Spin-FM Format" from All Access (January 15, 2012) 19The bandwagon of FM sports talk stops in Missoula, Montana as Cherry Creek installs a simulcast of AM KGRZ at 92.7 fm the former home of CHR top 40 KXDR which displaced KBQQ's 106.7 signal. 20Adult Top 40 KLZR—Lawrence/Topeka, Kansas flips to CHR "105.9 Kiss-FM". "Lazer 105.9 Goes Gaga For Kiss" from Radio Insight (January 20, 2012)90s-centric classic hits WMHX—Harrisburg flips to country "The New Z 106.7"."Z Country Comes To Harrisburg" from Radio Insight (January 20, 2012)Adult Top 40 KFLX—Flagstaff, Arizona flips to 80s-centric classic hits "Rewind 92.5 & 104.1"."Flagstaff Going In Rewind" from Radio Insight (January 20, 2012) 23The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has ruled that College-run radio stations in Canada can no longer use students as on-air DJs. This move will mean that CKIC—Winnipeg will be the first station to be forced off the air due to this decision.Message from Radio Insight's Twitter feed (January 23, 2012) 24Sirius XM Radio offers a free three-month subscription to anyone who buys a used vehicle that was equipped with a satellite radio feature that was made by the Chrysler Group LLC. 27Country WPKX—Enfield, Connecticut/Springfield, Massachusetts is relaunched as ESPN Radio affiliate WUCS—Windsor Locks/Hartford."97.9 ESPN Debuts In Hartford" from Radio Insight
February Date Event Source 3Adult hits KSZR—Tucson switches to CHR "i97.5"."CHR I97.5 Launches In Tucson" from Radio Insight (February 3, 2012) 5CHR KCKS—Chico, California flips to sports with the Fox Sports Radio lineup."Kiss Chico Returns To Sports" from Radio Insight (February 7, 2012) 8The Spanish Top 40 format of XHGTS-FM—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico moves over to KQUR—Laredo, Texas, displacing KQUR's Active Rock format, which moves over to the internet."Digital Moves In Laredo" from Radio Insight (February 8, 2012) 10Christian contemporary WFGZ—Nashville flips to classic hits WHPY-FM "Hippy Radio 94.5"."Hippie Radio To Debut In Nashville" from Radio Insight (February 10, 2012) 14Adult contemporary CJGV-FM—Winnipeg flips to adult Top 40 "99.1 Fresh FM". "Groove Winnipeg Getting Fresh?" from Radio Insight (February 14, 2012)Country KOAZ—Isleta/Albuquerque flips to smooth jazz "103.7 The Oasis.""103.7 The Oasis Debuts In Albuquerque" from Radio Insight (February 14, 2012) 15WWPW—Charlestown, Indiana/Louisville returns to the air as 80s-centric classic hits WLUE."Louie Comes Back To Louisville" from Radio Insight (February 15, 2012)17Nearly six years after the death of longtime owner Bernie Dittman, the family sells heritage CHR WABB-FM—Mobile to Educational Media Foundation, while WABB—Mobile is retained for the time being. It is regarded as the "end of an era" as WABB and WABB-FM held a Top 40/CHR format continuously in some capacity dating back to Bernie Dittman's purchase of WABB in 1959."End Of An Era: WABB-FM/Mobile Sold To EMF" from All Access (February 17, 2012)Fort Walton Beach, Florida outlets WFFY and WMXZ adjusts formats, with WFFY shifting from Rhythmic Top 40 to CHR as "Q92." WMXZ flipped from Adult Top 40 to Rock on March 2 and adopting the moniker "103.1 The Blaze.""WFFY & WMXZ Fort Walton Beach Undergo Changes" from Radio Insight (February 19, 2012) 20The Quad Cities picks up another CHR, as KUUL drops its oldies format (which had been in place since 1989) to become "101.3 KISS-FM." Several of KUUL's former syndicated programs are shuffled to sister-station KMXG to create a "retro/oldies" weekend programming block at that station. In response to the format switch, another FM station in the Quad Cities' market, WYEC (93.9 FM), expands its oldies programming by rebranding itself "Rewind 93.9" and adding a block of 50s and 60s music on Fridays."Quad Cities Get Kissed" from Radio Insight (February 20, 2012) 22WFNL—Raleigh returns to the air with programming from 24/7 Comedy Radio. The station, formerly classic country WQDR, had been silent for ten months after its tower was destroyed by a tornado in April 2011. 24Cumulus Media expands the "Great Country" branding to current Country outlet WSJR—Wilkes-Barre, and former CHR WKOS—Kingsport."Great Country Expands To Wilkes-Barre" from Radio Insight (February 24, 2012) "Great Country Comes To Kingsport" from Radio Insight (February 24, 2012)
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