 | |
| Broadcast area | Grand Rapids metropolitan area -West Michigan |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 105.7MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Star 105.7 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Adult contemporary |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WBCT,WBFX,WMAX-FM,WOOD,WSNX-FM,WTKG | |
| History | |
First air date | February 26,1962 (as WOOD-FM) |
Former call signs | WOOD-FM (1962–2010) |
Call sign meaning | Star West Michigan |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 73605 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 265,000watts |
| HAAT | 177 meters (581 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | westmichiganstar.iheart.com |
WSRW-FM (105.7MHz "Star 105.7") is a commercialradio station inGrand Rapids, Michigan. It airs anadult contemporaryradio format and is owned byiHeartMedia. The studios and offices are on Monroe Center Street in Downtown Grand Rapids.[2] Thetransmitter is off Payne Lake Road inMiddleville.[3]
WSRW-FM broadcasts in theHD Radio format.Smooth Jazz formerly aired on its "HD2" subchannel.
WSRW-FM is a Class B "superpower" station.[4] Itseffective radiated power (ERP) is 265,000watts. Because the station first went on the air in 1962, that higher power isgrandfathered. Today, theFederal Communications Commission does not license FM stations for more than 100,000 watts (in this section ofMichigan, the maximum power is 50,000 watts). With its antennaheight above average terrain (HAAT) of 177 meters (581 feet), WSRW-FM should be powered with only 35,000 watts.[5]
With a good radio, WSRW-FM can be heard as far east asFowlerville, Michigan, as far north asBig Rapids, Michigan, and as far south asLaGrange, Indiana. It has listeners inKalamazoo,Muskegon andLansing, and has been heard acrossLake Michigan inIllinois andWisconsin on rare occasions.
Grand Rapids is home to 2 other superpower FM stations, 93.7WBCT and 104.1 WVGR. WBCT, acountry music station also owned byiHeartMedia, runs at 320,000watts, the highest for anyFM station inNorth America. WVGR is an affiliate station of theMichigan Public radio network and operates at 96,000 watts.
On February 26, 1962, the station signed on for the first time as WOOD-FM.[6] It was the FM counterpart to Grand Rapid's leading station, AM 1300WOOD. The stations were owned by Time-Life Broadcasting, asubsidiary of a major magazine and book publisher. WOOD-FM was separately programmed, airing abeautiful music format. The station played instrumentalcover versions of popular songs as well asBroadway andHollywood show tunes, with limited interruptions.
Theeasy listening format continued through the 1980s, although as time went on, more soft vocals were added to theplaylist in an effort to attract younger listeners. By the mid-80s, the audience had gotten older, whileadvertisers usually seek youngerdemographics, so WOOD-FM ended the instrumentals, and became a softadult contemporary outlet, calling itself "EZ 105.7."
Through the 1990s, the station's playlist was tweaked to become a brighter, more upbeat AC, which also meant dropping songs by "MOR" or "easy listening" artists such asBarbra Streisand,Barry Manilow,Dionne Warwick andThe Carpenters. In 1996, WOOD-AM-FM were acquired by Clear Channel Communications, the forerunner to current owneriHeartMedia.[7]
Under Clear Channel ownership, WOOD-FM began calling itself "Star 105.7" in 2001.
After nearly a decade of using the moniker "Star 105.7," thecall sign was changed on November 15, 2010. The new call letters were chosen to reflect the "Star" name, WSRW-FM. The station is required to use the "-FM"suffix due to an AM station also having theWSRW call letters, a co-owned station inHillsboro, Ohio. The WOOD-FM call letters were later assigned toFM 106.9 inMuskegon, which had become asimulcast of AM 1300WOOD'stalk radio format.
WSRW-FM picked upDelilah's syndicated love songs show (replacing its locally based "EZ Love Songs") after Delilah was dropped by competitorWLHT. Delilah is syndicated byPremiere Networks, asubsidiary ofiHeartMedia, the owner of WSRW-FM.
By2012, WSRW-FM was delisted from theMediabase add board.[8] Clear Channel changed its name toiHeartMedia in the fall of 2014. WSRW had airedCasey Kasem'sAmerican Top 40: The '80s on weekends for several years. It has since moved toclassic hits stationWFGR.
Like manyAC stations around the country, "Star" plays allChristmas music for a month or more, leading to Christmas. The practice began in 2001 with the station's changeover from "EZ 105.7" to "Star." At the time, it was not common for AC stations to adopt all-Christmas formats so early in the year. WSRW-FM was not the first station to go all-Christmas, nor was it even the first station in Grand Rapids to do so. CompetitorWTRV had already done continuous Christmas music through the holiday season for a number of years, and still does today.
In 2001, "Star" promoted its holiday songs as musical "comfort food" afterthe catastrophic events of September 11, and the station has gone all-Christmas every holiday season since. As with many stations that switch to Christmas music, WSRW-FM generally experiences an uptick in ratings during the holidays.
Since the launch of "Star" in 2001,WOOD-FM and WSRW usejingle packages designed for co-ownedWLIT inChicago. The jingles are produced by Reelworld. In 2004, the station broke away from the WLIT jingles and aired Reelworld's jingle package produced for another co-owned station,WNIC inDetroit. Since 2008, WSRW-FM has used ReelWorld One AC.
WSRW-FM is licensed forHD Radio operations:[9]
42°39′18″N85°31′37″W / 42.655°N 85.527°W /42.655; -85.527