DETROIT LOSES SMOOTH JAZZ STATION - WVMV SWITCHES TO TOP 40

Detroit’s smooth jazz radio station, WVMV, spent the weekend stunting (or paying the way for a format change), and this morning made the flip to Top 40 at “Amp Radio.” The former smooth jazz station went into stunt mode on Friday, with a website at http://www.987takeover.com/ hosting a contest inviting listeners to guess the new station’s name. Smooth Jazz 98.7 WVMV made a switch to a Top 40 format at 5PM EST on Friday, October 2 with “98.7 Wheelz The Hits You Grew Up With!” Then Guns N' Roses' “Welcome To The Jungle” aired before it was interrupted by audio of Kanye West’s recent MTV incident. When Kanye said Beyoncé made one of the best videos of all time, an announcer cut in and said, "Okay, we'll play Beyonce," and then “Sweet Dreams” kicked in and 987Takeover.com was born. This was followed by Black Eyed Peas “I Got A Feeling,” Eminem “Lose Yourself," Pitbull “I Know You Want Me,” Miley Cyrus “Party In The USA,” Cobra Starship “Good Girls Go Bad,” Jay-Z “Run This Town,” Taylor Swift “Love Story,” Britney Spears “Radar,” Keri Hilson “Knock You Down," Kings of Leon “Use Somebody,” Justin Bieber "One Time," Drake "Best I Ever Had," Boys Like Girls "Love Drunk," Lady Gaga "Poker Face" and Jay Sean "Down." As a smooth jazz station, WVMV-FM was ranked a respectable No.11 in the market, but it was also CBS Radio's lowest-rated music station and a format that doesn't rate as well under Arbitron's portable people meter system. As AMP Radio, WVMV will play “All The Hits,” going head to head with Clear Channel’s WKQI-FM, the top-rated station in the market with a 6.0 average quarter-hour share, per Arbitron’s ppm ratings for August. The AMP brand has been successful for CBS Radio since its February debut with AMP Radio in Los Angeles challenging Clear Channel's Top 40 stalwart, KIIS-FM. Since the flip, KAMP-FM in L.A. has doubled its ratings and has been tied for No.8 in the ratings. To kick-of the new programming, AMP Radio is playing 10,000 songs in a row with limited commercial interruption. Artists on the play list include Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Rihana, T.I., Kanye West, Usher, Britney, Pink, Kelly Clarkson and Katy Perry, among others. WVMV's former Smooth Jazz programming has moved to the FM's HD2 subchannel and can be heard online at http://www.smoothjazzdetroit.com/.