The following is a list of events affecting radio broadcasting in 2023. Events listed include radio program debuts, finales, cancellations, station launches, closures, and format changes, as well as information about controversies and deaths of radio personalities.

Notable events

January

DateEventSource
1French private musical category D radio station Europe 2 is re-launched.[1]
After stunting with Christmas music since November 2022, United States radio station WNUU in York, Pennsylvania, is relaunched as WPPY, broadcasting Adult Contemporary music.[2]
10WKPR-Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States, surrenders its license.[3]
KYTE-Independence, Oregon continues broadcasting illegally after having its license cancelled.[4]
23After stunting with Christmas music since November 2022, Puerto Rican stations WRXD-Fajardo/San Juan, WNVI-Moca and the translator stations relaunched the Estereotempo name and its Adult Contemporary format after four years of absence.[5]
30The new daily magazine show Commotion is launched on CBC Radio One in Canada.[6]
Aliw Broadcasting Corporation's Home Radio, DWQZ-FM, changes provincial stations in the Philippines with a rebranding to DWIZ-AM Regional Integrated News. DWQZ still remains in Pasig City, Metro Manila as 97.9 Home Radio.[7]

February

DateEventSource
27US broadcasting company Audacy begins the process of winding down most of its HD Radio digital subchannels due to lack of revenue. (Channel Q, its mostly HD-exclusive LGBTQ service, is unaffected by the cuts.) Further cuts later in the year lead to the company spinning off the licenses of WLFP in Memphis, Tennessee and WTSS in Buffalo, New York to Educational Media Foundation.[8][9][10]

March

DateEventSource
15Mexican social radio station XHCSAG-FM begins broadcasting after delays in completing its tower, attributed to COVID.[11]

April

DateEventSource
10DZRM-AM returns to air after 10 months of inactivity and is rebranded as Radyo Pilipinas 3 Alert.[citation needed]
21US Top 40 station KRBE-Houston, Texas, temporarily rebrands as 104.1 TAY-RBE in honor of Taylor Swift performing the first of her three Eras Tour shows at NRG Stadium that night, with the station's playlist that day only consisting of songs from all of her albums.[12]

May

DateEventSource
12New Zealand radio station Pulzar FM broadcasts for the last time, to be replaced by sister station Anthemz.[13]
20Mexican radio station XHCORO-FM closes down for economic reasons.[14]

June

DateEventSource
14Canada's Bell Media shuts down six radio stations, CJBK—London, CFRN—Edmonton, CFTE—Vancouver, CKST—Vancouver, CKMX—Calgary, and CFRW—Winnipeg, and is set to sell three more, CHAM—Hamilton, Ontario, CKOC—Hamilton, and CKWW—Windsor, as part of cuts across the company.[15][16]
26KVOH Rancho Simi, California, a shortwave radio station based in the United States (serving the southern United States, the Gulf of Mexico and western Africa), ceases operations, citing the cost of electricity in California.[17][18]
30Philippines radio station DWPM Radyo 630 is launched on AM, replacing DZMM-AM TeleRadyo in its frequency. This new station is a joint venture between Prime Media Holdings and ABS-CBN (owner of the former DZMM).[19]

July

DateEventSource
1Philippines radio station Q Radio and its provincial stations permanently cease broadcasting after almost 3 years, to become a joint venture of Mareco Broadcasting Network and Brigada Mass Media Corporation as 105.1 Brigada News FM in Metro Manila, 105.1 Brigada News FM Baguio, and 90.7 Brigada News FM Cebu, while the Davao station becomes music-formatted 93.1 News FM in conjunction with its de-facto sister station.[20][21][22]
12A 74-year affiliation between Saint Bonaventure University and FM 95.7 in Olean, New York, United States, dating to the latter's debut in 1949, ends as the university's men's basketball squad severs ties with the station now known as WPIG and opts to carry its live broadcasts online.[23]

August

DateEventSource
8Philippines radio station 103.1 Newsline Central Luzon was officially launched under JRS Newsline Multimedia Corporation and affiliated by Soundstream Broadcasting Corporation in San Fernando, Pampanga.[24]
14Indian-American entrepreneur Manoj Bhargava announces a wave of acquisitions that includes the assumption of debt from Audacy and the purchase of a minority stake in Cumulus Media, as his Bridge Media Networks—owner of the television network NewsNet—merges with The Arena Group.[25]

September

DateEventSource
1Canadian radio station CIRR-FM ("103.9 Proud FM"), launched in 2007 as Canada's and the world's first commercial radio station targeted to an LGBTQ listening audience, is scheduled to shut down, with its staff reassigned to sister station CIDC-FM.[26]
1CJRI-FM in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, goes silent after being denied a licence renewal and ordered to cease broadcasting by midnight on August 31, 2023.[27]
5CKJR in Westaskiwin, Alberta, is slated to shift formats from oldies music to sports, bringing the format back to the Edmonton market after the closure of CFRN in June.[28]
5U.S. radio network NPR announces that John Lansing, NPR's president and CEO, is set to retire in December.[29]
22The 2023 edition of Europe's Biggest Dance Show is simultaneously broadcast by stations in the UK (BBC Radio 1), Germany (1LIVE and Fritz), Austria (FM4), Norway (NRK mP3), Ukraine (Radio Promin), Belgium (Studio Brussel), Sweden (SR P3), Finland (YleX), and newcomers Catalonia (iCat) and Estonia (Raadio 2).[30]

October

DateEventSource
9After airing daily for 84 years, the National Research Council Canada's midday time signal (a series of audio tics followed by "the beginning of the long dash" that marked 1PM Eastern Time) is heard for the final time on CBC Radio One, with the discontinuation due to latency issues with digital audio that render the signal inaccurate. Canada will continue to offer a time signal on the CHU shortwave service.[31]
16In the Philippines, AllHitz24 was officially launched under Dumaguete Media Productions and affiliated by CETV Philippines in Dumaguete, Negros Oriental using online radio app.
31WMXL (Lexington, Kentucky) became the first non-stunting station in North America to flip to Christmas music for the 2023 season. (Though WMGA in Kenova, West Virginia had flipped to Christmas music on October 19, this format change turned out to be a stunt as the station changed formats after Christmas.)[32][33]

November

DateEventSource
5Killing of Juan Jumalon: 57-year-old Filipino broadcaster Juan Jumalon, known on air as "Johnny Walker", is shot dead while hosting a live show from his home in Calamba, Misamis Occidental. Three men are later charged with murder and theft.[34][35]
30Philippines radio station DWOW under Advanced Media Broadcasting System permanently ceases its K-Lite brand after its 10 years.

December

DateEventSource
2DZAR Sonshine Radio returns to operate after 1 year of hiatus due to transferring our new transmitter location.
6WXNT 1340 AM rebrands from "CBS Sports 1430" as "Indy's Sports Ticket", but retains sports radio programming from CBS Sports Radio in most dayparts and also retains the Rich Eisen show from Westwood One in the evenings. The station will also continue airing Butler basketball..[36]
19Annie Nightingale, BBC Radio One's first female DJ, makes her final broadcast.[37].[38]
19KIFS 107.5 in Eugene, Oregon at 2:00 PM flips from its previous format as CHR "KISS 107.5 FM" to Rhythmic Gold as "107.5 The Beat", as the station focus on Pop Rhythmic hits from the 80s to the 2000s..[39]
21DZAR temporarily stopped its operations due to a 30-day suspension order of the National Telecommunications Commission together with DWAQ-DTV and SMNI News Channel.[40]
31DR turns off their longwave transmitter forever.[41]

Deaths

See also

References

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