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WMXJ (102.7 FM, "102.7 The Beach") is a commercial
radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
to
Pompano Beach, Florida Pompano Beach ( ) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Fort Lauderdale. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. As of the 2020 ...
, United States, and serving the
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
media market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...
. The station is owned by
Audacy, Inc. Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...
and airs a
classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...
radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...
. Its studios are located at Audacy's Miami office on Northeast Second Avenue. The
transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...
is off Northwest 210th Street, also in Miami Gardens. WMXJ broadcasts in the
HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...
format.


History


R&B & Disco

On December 14, 1969, the station
signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...
as WRBD-FM, complementing co-owned WRBD (now
WWNN WWNN (1470 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a brokered talk/oldies format, whereby clients pay for airtime for long-form programming. Licensed to Pompano Beach, Florida, United States, the station serves the Fort Lauderdale area. Although t ...
), in
Broward County Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 ...
. WRBD aired a primarily automated "soul stereo" format, with a live evening show after daytime-only WRBD left the air. In 1971, its
call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...
changed to WCKO-FM, ending the simulcast and airing a more FM sound but still keeping its
urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...
format. In late 1977, WCKO changed its brand to "K-102" and switched to an
automated Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
format.


Rock

In 1979, K-102 changed formats again to a tight rotation of
album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-oriente ...
hits with
DJs A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...
Buddy Hollis, Bo Walker, Alan Michaels, Tom Stevens and Geoff Allen. By late 1980, K-102's audience share in South Florida had begun to rise; Zeta-4 (now
WZTU WZTU (94.9 FM) is a radio station in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale radio market. Owned and operated by iHeartMedia, its studios are located in iHeartMedia complex in Rivera Blvd in Miramar and the transmitter site is in Miami Gardens. The station pla ...
) had slipped to the number three rock station in the market and was about to switch to a top 40/CHR format since
WMJX WMJX (106.7 FM) – branded Magic 106.7 – is a commercial adult contemporary radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England. The WMJX studios are ...
was losing its
FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
license. At this time, K-102 was calling itself "South Florida's Hottest Rock". In early 1982, K-102 began playing a new wave format. In 1983, K-102 moved to a more mainstream rock format programmed by broadcaster Neil Mirsky. This lasted until the station was sold.


Oldies

In early 1985, the station was purchased by Sconnix Broadcasting, and on March 7 of that year, WCKO changed call letters to WMXJ-FM, changing the format to
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
as "Majic 102", and upgraded their signal, moving the station to the master antenna system serving South Florida, the result of another station moving from 92.1 to 92.3. In 1986, the station migrated to a full-time 50s and 60s
oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...
format as "Majic 102.7", and was commercially successful in the 25-54
demographic Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...
through 1991. In 1994, the station was sold to Jefferson-Pilot Communications. In 2006, Jefferson-Pilot's television and radio operations were acquired as a division of
Lincoln National Corporation Lincoln National Corporation is a ''Fortune'' 200 American holding company, which operates multiple insurance and investment management businesses through subsidiary companies. Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for LNC and its subsi ...
and renamed
Lincoln Financial Media Lincoln Financial Media was a subsidiary of Lincoln National Corporation that owned radio stations in the United States. The division was formed in 2006 following the company's acquisition of Jefferson-Pilot's television and radio operations, whi ...
. At that point, the station slowly transitioned from oldies to a classic hits format, playing less 50s and more 70s. In 2012, Sam Zniber became Program Director, steadfastly rebooting the station as "Magic 102.7" (swapping the "j" with a "g") and added some 80s selections to the playlist; this resulted in steady growth, which led to a 5.1% share in December 2013 (from 2.8% in April 2012) in the Arbitron PPM ratings. In late 2013, the station rehired Ken Payne as Program Director who once held that position some 25 years prior. Payne tried to revitalize the station back to its former prestige by readding some earlier 60s singles to the playlist despite an ever-changing radio demographic and reluctance from upper management. Nevertheless, the station later described itself as a
top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
station aimed at adults, mainly playing hits from the 70s and 80s, with a small number of late 60s singles. The lineup included former midday host Mindy Lang and prior evening host Vance Phillips paired together in morning drive, Joe Johnson in middays, and DJ Holiday (who had recently replaced longtime host Ron St. John) in the afternoons.


Purchase by Entercom

On December 8, 2014,
Entercom Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...
announced that it was purchasing
Lincoln Financial Media Lincoln Financial Media was a subsidiary of Lincoln National Corporation that owned radio stations in the United States. The division was formed in 2006 following the company's acquisition of Jefferson-Pilot's television and radio operations, whi ...
's entire 15-station lineup (including WMXJ) in a $106.5 million deal, and would operate the outlets under a
local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or tim ...
(LMA) until the sale was approved by the FCC. The sale was consummated on July 17, 2015. On December 8, 2015, the entire air staff and management of WMXJ were told that they were being released. This led to rumors of a format change, despite having placed sixth in the November 2015
Nielsen Audio Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...
PPMs. WMXJ then ran a mix of classic hits and Christmas music with no live DJs through the rest of the month. On January 1, 2016, at midnight, WMXJ rebranded as "102.7 The Beach", keeping the classic hits format, but taking a decidedly more 80s-heavy approach. The last song on "Magic" was "
The Tide Is High "The Tide Is High" is a 1967 rocksteady song written by John Holt, originally produced by Duke Reid and performed by the Jamaican group the Paragons, with Holt as lead singer. The song gained international attention in 1980, when a cover versi ...
" by Blondie, while the first song on "The Beach" was "
The Way You Make Me Feel "The Way You Make Me Feel" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released by Epic Records on November 9, 1987, as the third single from his seventh studio album, '' Bad''. It was written and composed by Jackson, and pro ...
" by
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
.Magic 102.7 Moves to the 80s as 'The Beach'
/ref>


References


External links

* * {{Entercom Classic hits radio stations in the United States MXJ Miami Gardens, Florida Radio stations established in 1969 Pompano Beach, Florida Audacy, Inc. radio stations 1969 establishments in Florida