Hits 97.3 Miami Completes Station Rebuild; Appoints Ian Richards As Director of Branding & Programming (original) (raw)
In officially announcing the details of its relaunch, Cox Media Group CHR “Hits 97.3” WFLC Miami has announced that Ian Richards will join the station in July as Director of Branding and Programming.
Richards most recently served as APD/afternoon host for Entercom Soft AC “98.7 The Breeze” WDZH Detroit after previously programming its previous CHR “98.7 Amp Radio” incarnation. Richards joined WDZH as APD in 2012 and was promoted to PD in June 2016. He has also served as Music Director and night host at Townsquare Media Rhythmic CHR “Club 93.7” WRCL Flint MI.
Cox Media Group’s WFLC (HITS 97.3) announced today its relaunch with a new station line-up and director of branding and programming for Miami’s Top 40 radio station.
The relaunch includes “The SoFlo Morning Show” hosted by veteran afternoon drive host, Kimmy B, along with resident DJ and night show host, Al P, and weekend warrior Kelbin Live. The dynamic trio represents all facets of South Florida, bringing new swag and sass to the South Florida morning commute.
Afternoons will now be anchored by South Florida native and WFLC’s Music Director, Dia Ryan, who will get listeners through their afternoon with a music soundtrack full of hits while keeping them updated on what’s happening in pop culture. Nights become extra spicy with the newest member of the HITS 97.3 on-air team, Carolina Calix, a Miami native who grew up in Little Havana.
“The entire HITS 97.3 on-air team represents the passion, culture and soul of South Florida,” said Jill Strada, Director of Operations, who launched the station in 2014. “HITS 97.3 will continue to serve our community while staying on the cutting edge of everything pop culture. HITS 97.3 had its South Florida facelift and is now ready to show off its new glow!”
HITS 97.3 temporarily changed its name to “Quarantine Radio” while on-air talent broadcasted live from home during the COVID-19 crisis. The station hosted several viral events including Happy Hour, Brunch, and Bootcamp Workouts with their listeners before taking a pause before the relaunch. HITS 97.3 will continue to serve as the pop culture voice of South Florida, and to showcase local talent connecting with listeners through traditional airwaves, on their smart speakers, and via social media.
Ian Richards, who is relocating from Michigan, will begin as the new Director of Branding and Programming for WFLC starting in July.
“Ian is a smart, passionate and competitive programmer,” added Strada. “I feel confident he is going to tackle Miami’s competitive Top 40 market and lead HITS 97.3’s talented on-air team to number one!”
“I’m grateful for this opportunity in Miami and want to thank Ralph Renzi, Jill Strada, Tim Clarke, Steve Smith and Jeremy Rice,” said Richards. “I can’t wait to work with this amazing Cox Media Group team and help take HITS 97.3 to the next level.”
Update 6/3: Cox Media Group has completed its revamp of CHR “Hits 97.3” WFLC Miami.
After being “Under Construction” all week, the station relaunched this morning with a fresh coat of paint including a new logo, positioning statement and on-air lineup. The station is now branding as “Miami’s New Hit Music”.
The station is being anchored by the new “SoFlo’s Morning Show” hosted by Kimmy B, Al P, and Kelbin Ramirez. Kimmy B has been with Cox Media Group Miami since 2004 and joined WFLC in 2014 as morning co-host and has been hosting afternoons since November 2016. Al P moves to mornings after previously hosting nights and mixing at the station. Kelbin Ramirez had been hosting overnights and weekends on WFLC. Former morning host ‘Miss Bryan’ Carstensen exited the station on Monday.
Weekend host Cat Haley moves up from weekends. Haley joined WFLC last fall after previously serving as a producer/co-host at 99.7 WDJX Louisville.
Music Director Dia Ryan moves from middays to afternoons. Ryan joined WFLC in 2017 and added the MD role last June. She previously worked at JVC Media stations in Ocala and West Palm Beach.
Carolina Calix joins WFLC as evening host. Calix previously served as the local producer for Elvis Duran on iHeartMedia CHR “Y100” WHYI and worked on-air at WHYI and Spanish CHR “Tu 94.9” WZTU until exiting in iHeart’s January cuts.
Original Report 5/29: Cox Media Group CHR “Hits 97.3” WFLC Miami is promoting a relaunch for Wednesday, June 3.
Running on-air and online promos that the station is “Under Construction”, WFLC is pushing “New Hit Music” in its promos. Hits 97.3 had temporarily rebranded as “97.3 Quarantine Radio” in late March, which seemed to help the station during the pandemic related listenership drops as it only slid from a 3.3 share in February to 2.8 in April. iHeartMedia’s competing CHR “Y100” 100.7 WHYI fell from a 3.8 to 2.3 share during that same period and Entercom Rhythmic CHR “Power 96.5” WPOW-FM slid from a 2.9 to 1.9.
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