Cumulus Throws A Party In Harlem To Introduce Urban AC 'Radio 103.9'

Flipping On The 4th

ALL ACCESS tipped you last week (NET NEWS 6/20) that something was up at CUMULUS MEDIA Hot AC WFAS/WESTCHESTER, NY. We told you a "launch party" was booked for SYLVIA'S RESTAURANT in HARLEM on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25th. So did that, in fact, tip an Urban AC/R&B format?

Yes. The northern parts of NEW YORK CITY are about to get a new R&B station called "RADIO 103.9," WFAS will use the 4th Of JULY holiday to flip to the Urban Adult format at 1:03p, with the full roll out on MONDAY, JULY 7th. View a video of the launch party below:

CRAIN'S NEW YORK reports, "RADIO 103.9, which was welcomed to NEW YORK WEDNESDAY night with a party at SYLVIA's restaurant in HARLEM, will be going up against one of the city's top stations, WBLS. NEW YORK's oldest Urban station has been on a roll since its younger-skewing rival WRKS, long-branded as KISS-FM, went off the air in 2012 and WBLS took some of both its talent and its audience."

CUMULUS will try to fill the void left by KISS-FM. “Women ages 35-44 who enjoy Urban format music and stars from the last few decades through today are underserved in THE BIG APPLE and we’re changing that now with an urban radio renaissance,” said VP/Market Mgr. KIM BRYANT.

TOM JOYNER will be waking up the new 103.9, with COX MEDIA Top 40/Rhythmic WPYO (POWER 95.3)/ORLANDO's SHARON “LA LOCA” MONTERO on middays, THE D.L. HUGHLEY SHOW afternoons and HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR/WASHINGTON, D.C.'s MARC CLARK tapped for nights.

CUMULUS/BIRMINGHAM OM KEN JOHNSON is the PD. “NEW YORK is the greatest city in the world and the radio programmers and personalities that came before me are a part my philosophy on radio today,” said JOHNSON. “The only thing greater than my love for NEW YORK radio is my respect for its listeners.”

The new website is www.radio1039ny.com and FACEBOOK page is here.

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