Downtown Radio gets boost from new tower

Clear Channel Communications is announcing its latest addition to the local FM dial: 97.7 Downtown Radio. The 250-watt “oldies” station—which is aimed at Baby Boomers and plays hits from the 1960s and 1970s—began broadcasting Monday afternoon from a tower atop WBRZ-TV. That brings to six the number of stations Clear Channel has in the local market, including FM stations WFMF, WYNK, KRVE, and AM stations WJBO and WLRO. “This is a niche we didn’t have before, and nobody else is doing it,” says Clear Channel Market Manager Mike Hudson. “It’s anything you might remember from the 1960s or ’70s—Billy Joel, Jackson Browne, Neil Young … you name it.” Technically, the station has been around since late 2011, but it previously was only a 13-watt station, which means most people never heard it because its signal was so weak. Late last year, Clear Channel got FCC approval to increase the station’s signal strength, which will enable it to increase its penetration in the local market. “We think there is clearly demand for this format,” says Hudson. “Even at 13 watts we were showing up in the Arbitron ratings. Now, there’s no telling how many listeners we’ll be able to reach.” —Stephanie Riegel