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			{{short description\|Classic hits radio station in Detroit}}
	{{Infobox Radio station
			{{Infobox radio station
	\| name = WOMC
			\| name = WOMC
	\| image = ]
			\| logo = WOMC_Logo.png
	\| city = ]
			\| logo_size = 150px
	\| area =
			\| city = ]
	\| branding = Oldies 104.3
			\| country = US
	\| slogan = Detroit's Greatest Hits!
			\| area = ]
	\| airdate = ], ]
	\| ~~frequency~~ = 104.3 ~~] {{HD Radio}}~~		\| branding = 104.3 WOMC
			\| frequency = {{frequency\|104.3\|]}} {{HD Radio}}
	\| format = 60's-70's ]
			\| airdate = {{start date and age\|1948\|3\|5}}
	\| power = 190,000 ]s
			\| format = ]
	\| erp =
			\| subchannels = HD2: ] (])
	\| haat = 110 ]
			\| erp = {{val\|190000\|u=]s\|fmt=commas}}
	\| class = B
			\| haat = {{convert\|110\|m\|ft\|sp=us}}
	\| callsign_meaning = '''W'''ayne, '''O'''akland, & '''M'''acomb '''C'''ounties
			\| class = B
	\| former_callsigns = WEXL-FM (1948-?)
			\| licensing_authority = ]
	\| owner = ]
			\| facility_id = 28623
	\| sister_stations = ], ], ], ], ]
			\| coordinates = {{coord\|42\|28\|10\|N\|83\|06\|54\|W\|type:landmark_region:US-MI}}
	\| webcast =
			\| callsign_meaning = ], ], and ] counties
	\| website =
			\| former_callsigns = WEXL-FM (1948–1951)
	\| affiliations =
			\| owner = ]
			\| licensee = Audacy License, LLC
			\| sister_stations = {{hlist\|]\|]\|]\|]\|]}}
			\| webcast = {{Audacy.com\|womc}}
			\| website = {{URL\|https://www.audacy.com/womc}}
	}}		}}

			'''WOMC''' (104.3 ], "104.3 WOMC") is a commercial ] ] to ]. It airs a ] ] and is owned by ] The studios are located on American Drive off 11 Mile Road in ].<ref></ref> The transmitter is located on Woodward Heights Blvd. in Ferndale.
	'''WOMC''' is an ] station broadcasting on 104.3 in the ] area, and licensed to the Detroit suburb of ]. It plays music of the 1960s and 1970s and once again is going by the name "] 104.3," recently rebranding from "The Motor City's 104.3" The station is home to Detroit radio legend ], who has hosted WOMC's morning show since 1996 and has signed a new five-year contract to keep him on the airwaves until 2011. Tom Ryan hosts afternoon drive. While the station is sometimes criticized by oldies aficionados for its tight playlist and its reluctance to play music older than 1965 (which is, to be fair, typical of many FM oldies stations), it is usually a top ten-rated station in Detroit and on at least one occasion has made it to #1 overall. Today, WOMC is programmed by legendary Oldies Program Director Scott Walker working in conjunction with Detroit based consultant Gary Berkowitz.

			WOMC is a ] FM station. It has an ] (ERP) of 190,000 ]s from a ] (HAAT) of 361 feet (110 meters). It is ] at a much higher power than would be permitted today for Class B stations, 50,000 watts. WOMC broadcasts using ] technology. The HD2 ] carries a ] of ] (910 AM), airing a ] format.
	The station began operations in 1948 as WEXL-FM. The calls changed to WOMC ("], ] and ] Counties") a few years later. WOMC was for many years one of the most listened-to of Detroit's ] FM stations, eventually evolving into ] by the 1980s. WOMC adopted its current oldies format in 1989 and, despite the fact that Detroit had several other oldies stations at the time (including WKSG-FM 102.7, CKLW-FM 93.9, and WHND-AM 560), eventually came to dominate as the most popular choice for oldies in the market.
	]
	WOMC has also had many memorable slogans, like "WOM-SEE" and "Detroit's Big O", and when the call letters are said, they're said with emphasis on the O ("W Ohhh M C").

			==History==
	WOMC's transmitter and studios are located on Woodward Heights (9 1/2 Mile Rd). near ] in ]. WOMC broadcasts with an ] of 190,000 watts from an antenna 361 feet in height.
			===WEXL-FM===
			The station ] the air on March 5, 1948, as WEXL-FM.<ref></ref> It was owned by Royal Oak Broadcasting, along with AM ] ]. Both stations were ] to ]. The two stations would ] much of their programming from 1948 until the 1960s.

			WEXL-AM-FM were acquired by family-owned Sparks Broadcasting in the 1950s. J.B. Sparks served as president, with Garnet Sparks and Gordon Sparks serving in other management roles.
	In May 2006, it was announced that WOMC would be a co-flagship station for broadcasts of ] football, the other station being ] across the ], in ].

			In 1951, the FM station changed its ] to WOMC<ref name="fcc-cards">{{cite web \|title=WOMC history cards \|url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=82365 \|website=CDBS Public Access \|publisher=] \|access-date=March 3, 2024 \|format=PDF}}</ref> while the AM station remained WEXL.<ref></ref> The call sign stands for "], ] and ] Counties". The Sparks were able to boost WOMC's output to 214,000 watts, among the highest-powered FM stations in the U.S. Today, the ] does not license any station in the Detroit area for more than 50,000 watts, unless it grandfathered from the early days of FM radio.
	WOMC is also licensed for ] operations and features "The History of Rock and Roll" on its secondary channel.

			===Beautiful music===
	==Airstaff==
			In the 1960s, the FCC began encouraging AM stations to develop new programming for their FM counterparts, rather than simply simulcasting. WOMC switched to a ] format, consisting of quarter-hour sweeps of instrumental ]s of popular songs, as well as ] and ] ]s. Other Detroit stations also ran this largely ] format, including 96.3 ] and 97.1 ].
	The current lineup (as of August 2007) is as follows

			WOMC was typically near the bottom of the local ] until 1973, when it was purchased by ]. The new owners retooled WOMC's ] format to include brighter and more uptempo material, an approach modeled after the successful ] in ]. WOMC's sales manager Bob Reinhardt was impressed with WQLR's format, especially when he learned that the station was programmed in-house and did not use a syndicated service. Reinhardt requested that WQLR's programmers create a similar format for WOMC. WOMC's revised beautiful music format was an quick success, lifting the station from 28th place in the Detroit Arbitron ratings into the top three.<ref> easylisteninghq.com {{dead link\|date=September 2023}}</ref> This marked the beginning of the beautiful music syndication service known as KalaMusic.
	* '''Morning Show:''' Dick Purtan & Purtans People - Dick Purtan, Larry Lawson, Dana Mills, Big Al Muskavito,<br>Jackie Purtan,John Ankle Stewart, Rebekah Rhodes & Dave Zoran
	* '''Mid-Days:''' Rick Hunter
	* '''Afternoon Drive:''' Ridin' Home with Ryan - Tom Ryan & Matinee Mindy
	* '''Nighttime:''' Beau Derek
	* '''Overnights:''' Don Phillips
	* '''Weekend's/Fill-ins:''' Gary Bryan, Rick Hunter, Joe Johnson, Scott Moore, Jon Ray & Ron T.

			===Soft AC===
	On August 23, 2007, WOMC dismissed midday personality Dana Masucci to possibly bring back Tom Force, who was also let go in 2004. However, these are all rumors to who will continue to host the midday show, as currently, Rick Hunter covers Masucci's usual daytime shift.<ref>{{cite web \| last =Whitall \| first =Susan \| authorlink = \| coauthors = \| title =Craig Fahle returns to host 'Detroit Today' \| work =www.detnews.com \| publisher = \| date = ], ]\| url =http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070830/OPINION03/708300390/1032/ENT \| accessdate = 2007-08-30 }}</ref>
			During the late 1970s, WOMC enlisted the help of program director and legendary Detroit ] Dave Shafer, who recruited other well-known Detroit radio personalities Marc Avery, Tom Dean and Nick Arama. By 1980, WOMC evolved from easy listening to a ]-based ] format, which proved to be quite popular. During the 1980s, the adult contemporary format field in Detroit was rather crowded, with WOMC competing against 100.3 ], 94.7 ] and 93.1 ]. WOMC differentiated itself from its competitors by emphasizing ].

			In April 1988, Infinity Broadcasting bought WOMC.<ref></ref> Infinity was merged into ] in December 2005.
	== Sources ==

	{{reflist\|2}}
			===Oldies===
	*
			]

			In 1990, WOMC had become almost exclusively an ] station, despite the fact that Detroit had several other stations playing 1960s and 70s hits at the time, including 102.7 ], 93.9 ], and 560 ]. Eventually, WOMC came to dominate as the most popular choice for oldies in the market.

			WOMC had many memorable slogans, including "WOM-SEE", "Detroit's Big O" and "Music Now!" DJs would say the call letters with an emphasis on the O ("W Ohhh M C").

			In 2006, under the leadership of Steve Alan, the station removed the word "Oldies" from all station imaging and ]s, and rebranded as "The Motor City's 104.3." The ratings remained strong during the transition to ].

			In early 2007, under the guidance of Detroit-based programming consultant Gary Berkowitz, the station started using the word "Oldies" again in jingles and imaging, but the heritage WOMC call letters were only used for the top of the hour legal ]. Randy Reeves became the voice of WOMC in promos and liners. The station began using a combination of the "Do It Again" and "Home of the Hits" jingle packages, as well as selected PAMS jingle packages from ]. Berkowitz then brought in Scott Walker to become program director.

			In August 2007, WOMC had begun airing brief jingles and "retromercials" that formerly aired on AM 800 ] during its famous Top 40 tenure as the "Big 8." Many of the songs heard on WOMC had been staples on CKLW in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.

			===Classic hits era===
			In April 2009, under the leadership of Tom Bigby, Tim Roberts, and Tom Sleeker, WOMC once again dropped the "Oldies" branding from the station. Once Roberts was named Operations Manager and Program Director, as the transition to "Classic Hits" from "Oldies" continued. During that time, WOMC replaced voiceover guy ] with Jeff Davis. The station changed to "104.3 WOMC, Detroit's Greatest Hits."

			In 2010, the station added 80s music, while continuing to play a variety of music from the 1960s and 70s. In 2013, WOMC made its usual switch to all ] from mid-November 2013 until December 25. Once Christmas was over, WOMC dropped all music before 1965 and focused on the 70s and 80s while still retaining about a dozen songs from the late 60s in its ].

			WOMC, along with co-owned ] 950, were the ]s of the Michigan IMG Sports Network.<ref>{{Cite web \|url=http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/fbl-broadcast.html \|title=Michigan Athletics Official Site - 2010 Michigan Football Broadcast Information \|access-date=2016-09-03 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101033449/http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/fbl-broadcast.html \|archive-date=2014-01-01 \|url-status=dead }}</ref> The two CBS-owned stations carried ] ] and some ] games. Most of the games are now heard on only 97.1 ] and WWJ.

			In 2017, WOMC added some music from the 1990s and early 2000s, while the remainder of the 60s music and most of the early 70s were dropped. By the end of the year, the playlist consisted of music from 1975 to 2002, but heavily focused on the 80s.

			===Entercom ownership===
			On February 2, 2017, ] announced it would merge with Entercom.<ref></ref> The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on the 17th.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://entercom.com/press/entercom-receives-fcc-approval-merger-cbs-radio/\|title=Entercom Receives FCC Approval for Merger with CBS Radio\|work=Entercom\|date=November 9, 2017\|access-date=November 17, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/121072/entercom-completes-cbs-radio-merger/\|title=Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger\|last=Venta\|first=Lance\|work=Radio Insight\|date=November 17, 2017\|access-date=November 17, 2017}}</ref>

			On December 26, 2017, after its usual November–December break for Christmas music, the station re-branded as "The New 104.3 WOMC", and returned to a playlist focusing primarily on songs from the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, while also dropping post-1980s music.<ref>{{Cite news\|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/122234/stacey-duford-exits-womc-mornings-changes-coming/\|title=Stacey DuFord Exits WOMC Mornings; More Changes Coming?\|date=2018-01-05\|work=RadioInsight\|access-date=2018-03-29\|language=en-US}}</ref> In addition, Bobby Mitchell and Stacey DuFord would step down as morning hosts, being replaced in the interim by Jeff Miles, formerly of ] in Boston.

			In March 2018, WOMC announced that former ] anchor Stephen Clark would join the station as a new morning host, beginning on April 2. In addition, his former WXYZ-TV co-anchor JoAnne Purtan, daughter of former longtime WOMC morning host ], joined Clark as co-host the following week.<ref>{{Cite news\|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/167404/stephen-clark-to-lead-new-womc-detroit-morning-show/\|title=Stephen Clark To Lead New WOMC Detroit Morning Show\|date=2018-03-28\|work=RadioInsight\|access-date=2018-03-29\|language=en-US}}</ref><ref></ref>

			In 2020, WOMC once again dropped all songs older than 1970 from the playlist, and re-added music from the 1990s and early 2000s. Stephen Clark also departed from the morning show, with J.J. Johnson adjusting his mid-day hours to also co-host the morning show with JoAnne Purtan. Jason Raithel joined as a producer. On September 11, 2023, J.J. Johnson announced his retirement, with his last day being December 1.<ref></ref> Purtan and Raithel remain in mornings. Ben Campbell joined them in March 2024.<ref></ref>

			===Christmas music===
			For much of the 2000s, WOMC would play all-] from mid-November until Christmas, suspending its ] format in those weeks. In November 2019, WOMC did not switch to all-Christmas music as in past years, delegating the programming to Soft AC-formatted sister station ] until 2020.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/11/01/christmas-radio-stations-detroit-michigan/4121170002/\|title=Detroit stations 98.7 The Breeze and 100.3 WNIC now playing Christmas music\|last=Morris\|first=Taylor\|website=Detroit Free Press\|language=en\|access-date=2019-12-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://www.insideradio.com/free/tampa-is-latest-market-to-host-a-christmas-format-battle/article_36d116a4-0fce-11ea-bf5e-afa398567e8d.html\|title=Tampa Is Latest Market To Host A Christmas Format Battle.\|website=Insideradio.com\|date=25 November 2019 \|language=en\|access-date=2019-12-22}}</ref>

			Instead of going all-Christmas from November until the holidays, WOMC plays some holiday songs mixed in with its usual format those weeks. Christmas music airs on WOMC on December 24 and 25, meaning that WOMC now only plays all-Christmas music on Christmas Eve and Day.

			==HD Radio==
			WOMC is licensed for ] operations, and has two subchannels. Originally, WOMC-HD2 featured hits of the 1950s and 1960s. Gradually, the format began to evolve into pop hits of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. WOMC had changed its station voice twice, and at one time, all three station voices could be heard doing ] for WOMC-HD2. In January 2008, WOMC-HD2's format changed back to the hits of the 1950s and 1960s. Every day, beginning at 1:00 p.m., the station played an hour of ] music. The station would also occasionally play a retro ] jingle from the early-mid 1990s.

			In November 2008, WOMC had plans to re-create the sound of legendary Detroit Top 40 station ] for its HD2 stream. On November 8, 2008, a Keener Radio ] appeared on WOMC's website. However, the program director of the HD2 channel, Ted Richards, was let go in April 2009, and the Keener Radio idea never took off. In April 2009, WOMC-HD2 picked up the "Oldies 104.3" branding which was dropped from the main FM channel, and would also shift its format to playing music from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

			In February 2010, WOMC added an HD3 channel known as "New Sky Radio: New Horizons, No Boundaries." It mainly featured psychic talk shows and readings, along with various lifestyle ]s. On January 1, 2014, WOMC-HD3 dropped "New Sky Radio," switching to an all-Detroit artists format, branded as "Detroit's Boulevard 104-3." This would later rebrand as "Musictown 104.3."<ref>http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=10 {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123032523/http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=10 \|date=2015-11-23 }} HD Radio Guide for Detroit</ref>

			For a time, the HD subchannels were turned off. The HD2 subchannel returned with a simulcast of ]-formatted ] 910 AM on November 1, 2023.<ref>{{cite web \| title= WFDF-AM (910 AM Superstation)/Detroit Adds HD2 Simulcast \| website=RADIO-ONLINE \| date=November 1, 2023 \| url=https://news.radio-online.com/articles/n44427/WFDF-AM-(910-AM-Superstation)-Detroit-Adds-HD2-Simulcast \| access-date=November 2, 2023}}</ref>

			==See also==
			*]

			==References==
			{{Reflist}}
			*
			*

	==External links==		==External links==
			* {{Official website\|https://www.audacy.com/womc}}
	*{{FMQ\|WOMC}}
	*{{~~FML~~\|WOMC}}		* {{FM station data\|28623\|WOMC}}

	{{Detroit Radio}}		{{Detroit Radio}}
	{{~~CBS~~ Radio}}		{{Classic Hits Radio Stations in Michigan}}
			{{Entercom}}
	{{Michigan-radio-station-stub}}

	]		]
	]		]
			]
			]
			]

Latest revision as of 21:17, 14 December 2024

Classic hits radio station in Detroit

WOMC
Detroit, Michigan United States

Broadcast area	Metro Detroit
Frequency	104.3 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding	104.3 WOMC
Programming
Format	Classic hits
Subchannels	HD2: Conservative talk radio (WFDF)
Ownership
Owner	Audacy, Inc. (Audacy License, LLC)
Sister stations	WDZH WWJ WXYT WXYT-FM WYCD
History
First air date	March 5, 1948; 76 years ago (1948-03-05)
Former call signs	WEXL-FM (1948–1951)
Call sign meaning	Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	28623
Class	B
ERP	190,000 watts
HAAT	110 meters (360 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	42°28′10″N 83°06′54″W / 42.46944°N 83.11500°W / 42.46944; -83.11500
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live (via Audacy)
Website	www.audacy.com/womc

WOMC (104.3 FM, "104.3 WOMC") is a commercial radio station licensed to Detroit, Michigan. It airs a classic hits radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. The studios are located on American Drive off 11 Mile Road in Southfield, Michigan. The transmitter is located on Woodward Heights Blvd. in Ferndale.

WOMC is a Class B FM station. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 190,000 watts from a height above average terrain (HAAT) of 361 feet (110 meters). It is grandfathered at a much higher power than would be permitted today for Class B stations, 50,000 watts. WOMC broadcasts using HD Radio technology. The HD2 digital subchannel carries a simulcast of WFDF (910 AM), airing a conservative talk format.

History

WEXL-FM

The station signed on the air on March 5, 1948, as WEXL-FM. It was owned by Royal Oak Broadcasting, along with AM sister station WEXL. Both stations were licensed to Royal Oak, Michigan. The two stations would simulcast much of their programming from 1948 until the 1960s.

WEXL-AM-FM were acquired by family-owned Sparks Broadcasting in the 1950s. J.B. Sparks served as president, with Garnet Sparks and Gordon Sparks serving in other management roles.

In 1951, the FM station changed its call sign to WOMC while the AM station remained WEXL. The call sign stands for "Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties". The Sparks were able to boost WOMC's output to 214,000 watts, among the highest-powered FM stations in the U.S. Today, the Federal Communications Commission does not license any station in the Detroit area for more than 50,000 watts, unless it grandfathered from the early days of FM radio.

Beautiful music

In the 1960s, the FCC began encouraging AM stations to develop new programming for their FM counterparts, rather than simply simulcasting. WOMC switched to a Beautiful Music format, consisting of quarter-hour sweeps of instrumental cover versions of popular songs, as well as Hollywood and Broadway show tunes. Other Detroit stations also ran this largely automated format, including 96.3 WJR-FM and 97.1 WWJ-FM.

WOMC was typically near the bottom of the local Arbitron ratings until 1973, when it was purchased by Metromedia. The new owners retooled WOMC's easy listening format to include brighter and more uptempo material, an approach modeled after the successful WQLR-FM in Kalamazoo. WOMC's sales manager Bob Reinhardt was impressed with WQLR's format, especially when he learned that the station was programmed in-house and did not use a syndicated service. Reinhardt requested that WQLR's programmers create a similar format for WOMC. WOMC's revised beautiful music format was an quick success, lifting the station from 28th place in the Detroit Arbitron ratings into the top three. This marked the beginning of the beautiful music syndication service known as KalaMusic.

Soft AC

During the late 1970s, WOMC enlisted the help of program director and legendary Detroit disc jockey Dave Shafer, who recruited other well-known Detroit radio personalities Marc Avery, Tom Dean and Nick Arama. By 1980, WOMC evolved from easy listening to a gold-based soft adult contemporary format, which proved to be quite popular. During the 1980s, the adult contemporary format field in Detroit was rather crowded, with WOMC competing against 100.3 WNIC, 94.7 WMJC and 93.1 WLTI. WOMC differentiated itself from its competitors by emphasizing oldies.

In April 1988, Infinity Broadcasting bought WOMC. Infinity was merged into CBS Radio in December 2005.

Oldies

In 1990, WOMC had become almost exclusively an oldies station, despite the fact that Detroit had several other stations playing 1960s and 70s hits at the time, including 102.7 WKSG, 93.9 CKLW-FM, and 560 WHND. Eventually, WOMC came to dominate as the most popular choice for oldies in the market.

WOMC had many memorable slogans, including "WOM-SEE", "Detroit's Big O" and "Music Now!" DJs would say the call letters with an emphasis on the O ("W Ohhh M C").

In 2006, under the leadership of Steve Alan, the station removed the word "Oldies" from all station imaging and jingles, and rebranded as "The Motor City's 104.3." The ratings remained strong during the transition to classic hits.

In early 2007, under the guidance of Detroit-based programming consultant Gary Berkowitz, the station started using the word "Oldies" again in jingles and imaging, but the heritage WOMC call letters were only used for the top of the hour legal station identification. Randy Reeves became the voice of WOMC in promos and liners. The station began using a combination of the "Do It Again" and "Home of the Hits" jingle packages, as well as selected PAMS jingle packages from JAM Creative Productions. Berkowitz then brought in Scott Walker to become program director.

In August 2007, WOMC had begun airing brief jingles and "retromercials" that formerly aired on AM 800 CKLW during its famous Top 40 tenure as the "Big 8." Many of the songs heard on WOMC had been staples on CKLW in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.

Classic hits era

In April 2009, under the leadership of Tom Bigby, Tim Roberts, and Tom Sleeker, WOMC once again dropped the "Oldies" branding from the station. Once Roberts was named Operations Manager and Program Director, as the transition to "Classic Hits" from "Oldies" continued. During that time, WOMC replaced voiceover guy Charlie Van Dyke with Jeff Davis. The station changed to "104.3 WOMC, Detroit's Greatest Hits."

In 2010, the station added 80s music, while continuing to play a variety of music from the 1960s and 70s. In 2013, WOMC made its usual switch to all Christmas music from mid-November 2013 until December 25. Once Christmas was over, WOMC dropped all music before 1965 and focused on the 70s and 80s while still retaining about a dozen songs from the late 60s in its playlist.

WOMC, along with co-owned WWJ 950, were the flagship stations of the Michigan IMG Sports Network. The two CBS-owned stations carried University of Michigan Wolverines football and some men's basketball games. Most of the games are now heard on only 97.1 WXYT-FM and WWJ.

In 2017, WOMC added some music from the 1990s and early 2000s, while the remainder of the 60s music and most of the early 70s were dropped. By the end of the year, the playlist consisted of music from 1975 to 2002, but heavily focused on the 80s.

Entercom ownership

On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom. The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on the 17th.

On December 26, 2017, after its usual November–December break for Christmas music, the station re-branded as "The New 104.3 WOMC", and returned to a playlist focusing primarily on songs from the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, while also dropping post-1980s music. In addition, Bobby Mitchell and Stacey DuFord would step down as morning hosts, being replaced in the interim by Jeff Miles, formerly of WKLB-FM in Boston.

In March 2018, WOMC announced that former WXYZ-TV anchor Stephen Clark would join the station as a new morning host, beginning on April 2. In addition, his former WXYZ-TV co-anchor JoAnne Purtan, daughter of former longtime WOMC morning host Dick Purtan, joined Clark as co-host the following week.

In 2020, WOMC once again dropped all songs older than 1970 from the playlist, and re-added music from the 1990s and early 2000s. Stephen Clark also departed from the morning show, with J.J. Johnson adjusting his mid-day hours to also co-host the morning show with JoAnne Purtan. Jason Raithel joined as a producer. On September 11, 2023, J.J. Johnson announced his retirement, with his last day being December 1. Purtan and Raithel remain in mornings. Ben Campbell joined them in March 2024.

Christmas music

For much of the 2000s, WOMC would play all-Christmas music from mid-November until Christmas, suspending its classic hits format in those weeks. In November 2019, WOMC did not switch to all-Christmas music as in past years, delegating the programming to Soft AC-formatted sister station WDZH until 2020.

Instead of going all-Christmas from November until the holidays, WOMC plays some holiday songs mixed in with its usual format those weeks. Christmas music airs on WOMC on December 24 and 25, meaning that WOMC now only plays all-Christmas music on Christmas Eve and Day.

HD Radio

WOMC is licensed for HD Radio operations, and has two subchannels. Originally, WOMC-HD2 featured hits of the 1950s and 1960s. Gradually, the format began to evolve into pop hits of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. WOMC had changed its station voice twice, and at one time, all three station voices could be heard doing liners for WOMC-HD2. In January 2008, WOMC-HD2's format changed back to the hits of the 1950s and 1960s. Every day, beginning at 1:00 p.m., the station played an hour of Elvis music. The station would also occasionally play a retro PAMS jingle from the early-mid 1990s.

In November 2008, WOMC had plans to re-create the sound of legendary Detroit Top 40 station WKNR Keener 13 for its HD2 stream. On November 8, 2008, a Keener Radio logo appeared on WOMC's website. However, the program director of the HD2 channel, Ted Richards, was let go in April 2009, and the Keener Radio idea never took off. In April 2009, WOMC-HD2 picked up the "Oldies 104.3" branding which was dropped from the main FM channel, and would also shift its format to playing music from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

In February 2010, WOMC added an HD3 channel known as "New Sky Radio: New Horizons, No Boundaries." It mainly featured psychic talk shows and readings, along with various lifestyle talk shows. On January 1, 2014, WOMC-HD3 dropped "New Sky Radio," switching to an all-Detroit artists format, branded as "Detroit's Boulevard 104-3." This would later rebrand as "Musictown 104.3."

For a time, the HD subchannels were turned off. The HD2 subchannel returned with a simulcast of conservative talk-formatted WFDF 910 AM on November 1, 2023.

References

"Facility Technical Data for WOMC". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
Radio-Locator.com/WOMC
Broadcasting Yearbook 1950 page 180
"WOMC history cards" (PDF). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
Broadcasting Yearbook 1955 page 183
Kala Music easylisteninghq.com
Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1990 page B-156
"Michigan Athletics Official Site - 2010 Michigan Football Broadcast Information". Archived from the original on 2014-01-01. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
CBS Radio to Merge with Entercom
"Entercom Receives FCC Approval for Merger with CBS Radio". Entercom. November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
Venta, Lance (November 17, 2017). "Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger". Radio Insight. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
"Stacey DuFord Exits WOMC Mornings; More Changes Coming?". RadioInsight. 2018-01-05. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
"Stephen Clark To Lead New WOMC Detroit Morning Show". RadioInsight. 2018-03-28. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
JoAnne Purtan Joins WOMC's Morning Show
J.J. Johnson To Retire From Mornings At WOMC
Morris, Taylor. "Detroit stations 98.7 The Breeze and 100.3 WNIC now playing Christmas music". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2019-12-22.
"Tampa Is Latest Market To Host A Christmas Format Battle". Insideradio.com. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-22.
http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=10 Archived 2015-11-23 at the Wayback Machine HD Radio Guide for Detroit
"WFDF-AM (910 AM Superstation)/Detroit Adds HD2 Simulcast". RADIO-ONLINE. November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.

External links

Official website
Facility details for Facility ID 28623 (WOMC) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
WOMC in Nielsen Audio's FM station database

Radio stations in the Detroit, Michigan, metropolitan area

By AM frequency

By FM frequency

LPFM	96.7 100.7
Translators	92.7 93.5 94.3 95.1 96.7 97.5 98.3 99.1 99.9 101.5 103.1 103.9 104.7 105.5 106.3 107.1 W296CG W296DY 107.9

NOAA Weather Radio
frequency

Digital radio
by frequency & subchannel

By call sign

Defunct

Nearby regions – United States: Ann Arbor; Flint; Fort Wayne; Lansing-East Lansing; Sandusky/Port Clinton; South Central Michigan; Thumb of Michigan; Toledo

Canada: Southwestern Ontario

See also: List of radio stations in Michigan

Notes: 1. Station has construction permit to change frequency to 90.1 MHz.

v t e Classic hits radio stations in Michigan
Bad Axe WLEW-FM Battle Creek WFAT Beaverton WMRX-FM Big Rapids WBZX Coldwater WTVB Detroit WOMC Flint WWCK Gaylord WMJZ-FM Gladstone WGKL Grand Ledge/Lansing WLMI Grand Rapids WFGR Gwinn WUPT Harrison WUPS Hillman WKJZ Houghton WOLV Howell WHMI-FM Iron Mountain WHTO Iron River WIKB-FM Mackinaw City WSBX Manistee WMTE-FM Menominee WHYB Midland WMPX North Muskegon WLCS Onaway WWMK Paradise WUPN Rogers City WHAK-FM Roosevelt Park WFFR-LP Saugatuck WYVN Sandusky WTGV-FM South Haven WCSY-FM Sturgis WBET-FM Tawas City WQLB Traverse City WCCW-FM
See also adult contemporary classic hits college country news/talk NPR oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in Michigan

Classic hits radio stations in Michigan

Bad Axe
- WLEW-FM
Battle Creek
- WFAT
Beaverton
- WMRX-FM
Big Rapids
- WBZX
Coldwater
- WTVB
Detroit
- WOMC
Flint
- WWCK
Gaylord
- WMJZ-FM
Gladstone
- WGKL
Grand Ledge/Lansing
- WLMI
Grand Rapids
- WFGR
Gwinn
- WUPT
Harrison
- WUPS
Hillman
- WKJZ
Houghton
- WOLV
Howell
- WHMI-FM
Iron Mountain
- WHTO
Iron River
- WIKB-FM
Mackinaw City
- WSBX
Manistee
- WMTE-FM
Menominee
- WHYB
Midland
- WMPX
North Muskegon
- WLCS
Onaway
- WWMK
Paradise
- WUPN
Rogers City
- WHAK-FM
Roosevelt Park
- WFFR-LP
Saugatuck
- WYVN
Sandusky
- WTGV-FM
South Haven
- WCSY-FM
Sturgis
- WBET-FM
Tawas City
- WQLB
Traverse City
- WCCW-FM

See also: adult contemporary; classic hits; college; country; news/talk; NPR; oldies; religious; rock; sports; top 40; urban; other radio stations in Michigan

v t e Audacy, Inc.
stations licensed to Audacy, Inc. (formerly Entercom)
AM radio stations	KAMP KCBS KDKA KFH KFNZ KFXX KIFM KIKK KILT KJCE KMBZ KMOX KMTT KNSS KNX KRLD KWOD KXNT KYW KYYS WAAF WAMO** WAOK WAXY WBBM WBEN WCCO WEEI WFAN WGR WHLL WHSQ WILK WINS WJFK WJZ WLMZ WMC WMFS WORD WPHT WQAM WRNL WROC WRVA WSCR WSSP WTEM WTIC WVEI WWJ WWKB WWL WWWL WWWS WXYT WYRD
FM radio stations	KALC KALV-FM KAMX KBZT KCBS-FM KDGS KDKA-FM KEYN-FM KEZK-FM KFBZ KFNZ-FM KFRC-FM KFRG KFTK-FM KGMZ-FM KGON KHMX KHTP KILT-FM KISW KITS KJKK KKDO KKHH KKMJ-FM KKWF KLLC KLOL KLUC-FM KMBZ-FM KMLE KMNB KMVK KMXB KNDD KNRK KNSS-FM KNX-FM KOOL-FM KQKS KQMT KQRC-FM KRBQ KRLD-FM KROQ-FM KRSK KRTH KRXQ KSEG KSFM KSON KSPF KSWD KTWV KUDL KVIL (HD2) KWFN KWJJ-FM KXFG KXQQ-FM KXSN KYCH-FM KYKY KYXY KZJK KZPT WBBM-FM WBEB WBEE-FM WBGB WBMX WBTJ WBZA WBZZ WCBS-FM WCFS-FM WCMF-FM WDAF-FM WDCH-FM† WDOK WDSY-FM WDZH WEEI-FM WEZB WFAN-FM WFBC-FM WFUN-FM WGGY WHHL WIAD WILK-FM WINS-FM WIP-FM WJFK-FM WJHM WJMH WJZ-FM WKBU WKIS WKRK-FM WKRZ WKSE WKTK WKXJ WLFP WLIF WLKK WLMG WLMZ-FM WLND WLYF WLZL WMAS-FM WMFS-FM WMHX WMJX WMMM-FM WMXJ WMYX-FM WNCX WNEW-FM WNVZ WOCL WOGL WOLX-FM WOMC WOMX-FM WPAW WPGC-FM WPHI-FM WPOW WPTE WPXY-FM WQAL WQMG WRCH WROQ WRVQ WRVR WRXL HD2 WRXR-FM WSFS WSKY-FM WSMW WSTR WTDY-FM WTIC-FM WTPT WTVR-FM WUSN WUSY WVEE WVEI-FM WVKL WWBX WWDE-FM WWEI WWL-FM WWMX WXBK WXRT WXSS WXYT-FM WYCD WYRD-FM WZGC WZMX
Radio Networks	BetQL Network Infinity Sports Network* Sabres Hockey Network New York Yankees Radio Channel Q
Digital properties	Audacy Cadence13 Eventful Pineapple Street Studios Play.it
See also	CBS Radio List of radio stations
* = Formerly CBS Sports Radio, Audacy operated as producer with distribution handled by Westwood One. ** = Audacy operates pursuant to a local marketing agreement with Martz Communications Group. † = Operated by Bloomberg L.P. pursuant to a time brokerage agreement.

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