Audacy flipped Classic Hip Hop “Hot 95.9” K240EL/KKMJ-HD3 Austin to Red Dirt/Classic Country “95.9 Texas Country” at 12pm today.
The flip comes ahead of the closing of the sale of Genuine Austin Radio’s similarly formatted 99.3 KOKE-FM/98.5 K253AN to Spanish language operator Norsan Media. The new brand will feature a mix of Classic Country and Texas/Red Dirt artists such as George Strait, Willie Nelson, Waylon & the Boys, Aaron Watson, Cody Johnson, Kacey Musgraves and Cody Jinks.
The station intends to add on-air talent in the coming weeks. The new brand launched with George Strait “Blue Clear Sky”, Willie Nelson and Family “On The Road Again”, and The Chicks “Cowboy Take Me Away”.
Audacy Regional President Doug Abernethy commented, ““We’re delighted to launch Austin’s 95.9 Texas Country and continue delivering this wildly popular format to listeners on the FM dial. This station will offer the perfect blend of genre classics and the music shaping the Country music industry today.”
The Classic Hip Hop format has a 0.6 share in the April 2024 Nielsen Audio ratings, while KOKE-FM does not subscribe. iHeartMedia’s 98.1 KVET-FM is mostly Classic Country with a few recurrents and currently ranks fourth in the market with a a 5.4 share.
Ahead of the flip, K240EL had been stunting as “Made In America Radio” with music abour America such as Dierks Bentley “Home”, Bruce Springsteen “Born In The USA”, Miley Cyrus “Party In The USA”, Elton John “Philadelphia Freedom”, Alabama “Forty Hour Week”, and Martina McBride “Independence Day”.
This story first appeared on radioinsight.com