The radio station 100.9 Smooth-FM, which used to play contemporary hit radio (CHR) top 40, has recently transitioned to a smooth and relaxing station.
Chad Hallmark, the director of JVC Broadcasting said, "We have a similar station in West Palm Beach, which does an incredible job with connecting with its listeners."
Hallmark and the rest of the station hope to have a similar outcome here in Gainesville with this new transition.
Hallmark said 100.9 originally was a smooth jazz radio station and was bought back in June 2013 due to some changes in the FCC (Federal Communications Commission).
At that time, 99.5 was the CHR top 40 station until JVC Broadcasting had to sell it. The formerly known party station, 100.9, started to play the top 40 until Saturday at midnight when it became a smooth and relaxing station.
"Nothing in Gainesville currently serves that demographic for that (smooth and relaxing music) genre," Hallmark said. "Soft adult contemporary (music) will be able to target people who are about 35 years old."
"This is something that we see someone turning on when they wake up, listening to us at work and on their drive home from," Hallmark said. "We welcome people to try out the new station and feel we will pick up people of a range of 35 and up."
Although this change was aimed at an older group than UF’s population, UF students still are affected by this adjustment.
"Coming from Miami, it’s hard to adjust to the small amount of stations that the Gainesville area has to offer," said Jessica Rodriguez, a UF journalism sophomore. "When I’m in my car or getting ready for a party, I usually turn on the radio seeking upbeat modern hits. 100.9 was one of two stations with this type of music."
"I would say I’m a bit upset that my radio station choices have been narrowed down to so little," Rodriguez, 19, said.
Randy Oram, 19, a UF aerospace engineering sophomore, said, "I remember they were EDM/dance primarily when I first got here, and they switched to top 40, which I wasn’t a fan of. They were the only station that played EDM as far as I knew, so they should’ve just stayed with that."
"Soft and relaxing would allow us to do a lot more things with charity drives and would be great for advertisers as well as listeners," Hallmark said.
