The Youngstown, OH market’s new FM signed on 5/12 at 10 a.m. Urban AC ”Star 93.7 FM” (W232A) is owned by Skip Bednarczyk, the former manager of JAMZ 101.9, the former Urban station in the market that was sold to EMF and switched formats more than a year ago to Christian.
“It’s so much different than JAMZ,” Bednarczyk tells The Youngstown Vindicator. “You will hear Earth, Wind and Fire, KC and the Sunshine Band, Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross, Barry White…. It will be a variety of hits and old-school music, with a much broader appeal than JAMZ. You’ll hear these songs and say, ‘I remember that one.’”
Star 93.7 started off with 5,000 songs in a row without commercials. “That will take us through 10 or 15 days,” said Bednarczyk. “Then we will add the Steve Harvey Show [6 to 10 a.m. weekdays] and the Keith Sweat show [7 p.m. to midnight weekdays], and we will be live in the studio throughout the midday.”
Star 93.7 FM is actually simulcasting local station WGFT-AM 1330, which Bednarczyk also owns. Using the translator, which is mounted 940 feet high on a Boardman, OH tower, it is aimed away from co-channel KDKA-FM Pittsburgh.
See the Youngstown Vindicator story here.
RBR-TVBR observation: Previous to this move, Youngstown was underserved by Urban-oriented FM formats—but it does have Sagittarius Communications’ Urban AC/Rhythmic Oldies WHTX-AM. The Urban WAMO-FM (W261AX—100.1) simulcast from Pittsburgh is too weak to reach the Youngstown area, but the AM gets into the market in the daytime. Urban WENZ-FM out of Cleveland reaches part of Youngstown, but it muddied by co-channel Country WDSY-FM Pittsburgh toward the south and east. See the maps:
