WRRM

Infobox_Radio_station


name = WRRM-FM
city = Cincinnati, Ohio
area = Cincinnati, Ohio
branding = Warm 98
slogan = Warm and Refreshing
airdate =
frequency = 98.5 (MHz) (FM)
format = Adult Contemporary
erp = 13,000 watts
class = B
callsign_meaning =
former_callsigns = WAEF, WLQA
owner = Cumulus Media
licensee = WRRM LICO, Inc.
sister_stations = WGRR, WFTK
website = [http://www.warm98.com/ www.warm98.com]

tation Introduction

WRRM is an Adult Contemporary station located at 98.5 FM in Cincinnati, Ohio. The station is owned by Cumulus Media, which acquired the station from Susquehanna Radio Corporation. It is a sister station to WFTK-FM (96.5 FM) and WGRR-FM (103.5 FM).

History

The station began as WAEF, a beautiful music station at 104.3 FM. The station applied to move down the dial to 98.5 in order to get a stronger signal. The station became WLQA after moving to 98.5, still with beautiful music. The current call letters were adapted when the station transitioned to the current format.

The station has used the identifier "Warm 98" since first adopting the adult contemporary format in late 1980. Immediately prior to that, it was playing "beautiful music" under its previous WLQA callsign. To ease the transition to Warm 98, the station said it would play the same songs as it did before, only now they would be performed by the original artists instead of by "beautiful music" performers.

While the "soft rock" format of stations such as "Warm 98" is now very common, it can be said that "Warm 98" was not just one of the first "soft rock" stations in the country, but among the few stations of the genre that has kept this format under the same callsign and identifier for the longest period of time. Its timing worked well out well, as "Warm 98" quickly became popular with women and Baby Boomers at the time when many of them didn't care for trends in popular music in the late 1970s and early 1980s, instead preferring a lighter sound and yearning for the mainstream top 40 hits of the early 1970s. Thus, "Warm 98"'s playlist featuring artists such as The Carpenters, John Denver, Bette Midler, Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, and Dan Fogelberg has proven to be a real ratings winner.

In recent years, Warm 98 has dropped the soft 70s songs of The Carpenters and John Denver from its playlist, and is more contemporary playing Adult Contemporary songs from artists such as Aerosmith, K.T. Tunstall, Nickelback, and Smashmouth.

The station's former frequency of 104.3 on the FM dial is now home to WNLT, a K-Love Contemporary Christian outlet.

Programming

On Saturday nights, Warm 98 airs five hours of Smooth Jazz hosted by midday personality Chris Lynn. The last time a Cincinnati station ran the Smooth Jazz format on a full-time basis was WVAE-FM ("94.9 The Wave"), which ran from 1995 to 1999; however, WCIN (1480 AM) recently switched over to this format, becoming one of the very few AM stations to use the Smooth Jazz format on a full-time basis. WCIN is running the Jones Radio Networks' Smooth Jazz format.

Sunday mornings featured the long-running "Sunday Morning Music Hall" hosted by Cincinnati Ballet Music Director Carmon DeLeone. The show first aired on Easter Sunday in 1991 and ended its 16 1/2 year run on Sunday, January 6, 2008.

External links

* [http://www.warm98.com Warm98.com]
*FMQ|WRRM
*FML|WRRM