The following is a list of events affecting radio broadcasting in 2024. 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 Date Event Source1In Metro Manila, Philippines, FM radio station DWOW relaunches as All Radio 103.5, with a Soft AC format. The rebranding aligns with its TV counterpart All TV, and the businesses owned by former politician and businessman Manny Villar.4KTFS/940-Texarkana, Texas, switches from its gospel format to sports as ESPN Radio. This change brings ESPN Radio back to the market after the former KTRG’s license was returned to the F.C.C. for cancellation on November 8, 2023.13Philippine Collective Media Corporation (PCMC) officially relaunches the FMR brand as "FM Radio". Coinciding with the relaunch, DYWF-Cebu returns on-air; this time branded as "FM Radio 93.1", to be operated by PCMC.21Canadian broadcaster Meredith Shaw launches the Sunday morning program The Feel Good Brunch on CHFI-FM—Toronto and other adult contemporary radio stations owned by Rogers Radio across Canada.Connie Thiessen, "Meredith Shaw returns to radio with ‘The Feel Good Brunch’". Broadcast Dialogue, January 16, 2024.29The Canadian CBC Radio One network rebrands its national 6 p.m. newscast from The World at Six to Your World Tonight."CBC rebrands flagship evening newscast ‘The World at Six’". Broadcast Dialogue, February 1, 2024.
February Date Event Source5Manila Broadcasting Company in the Philippines reverts from the FM radio brand Yes the Best to its original name Yes! FM.6Manila Broadcasting Company is rebranded as MBC Media GroupLinda Wertheimer announces her retirement from NPR after 53 years with the American public radio network."NPR founding mother Linda Wertheimer is retiring. Read her bittersweet goodbye note," from NPR.org, 2/7/20248iHeartRadio Canada, the radio division of Bell Media, announces the divestiture of 45 stations in rural and smaller markets, constituting nearly half of its station count, stating that the business of small market radio was failing. The stations will be split up among multiple, mostly independent, broadcasters.24CBC Radio One in Canada introduces Just Asking, a Saturday afternoon call-in show hosted by Saroja Coelho.Connie Thiessen, "CBC Radio introducing new live Saturday afternoon call-in show". Broadcast Dialogue, February 22, 2024.
March Date Event Source31BBC Radio 4 stops broadcasting opt-outs on longwave and will permanently simulcast the FM service until the longwave transmitters get turned off for good.
April +DateEventSource9Local community station The Voice 2 begins broadcasting on DAB digital radio in North Devon, UK.15BBC Radio 4 turns off its mediumwave transmitters forever after they served as LW relays for areas with a weak LW signal.CBS Sports Radio rebrands as Infinity Sports Network, resurrecting the Infinity brand used by one of the predecessors to its owner, Audacy, Inc. The move comes four years after the originally planned expiration of a licensing agreement with CBS Sports. Audacy and CBS issued cease and desist orders to all Infinity affiliates to stop any further use of the CBS brand.In Manila, Philippines, DWAV – broadcasting as Wave 89.1 – quietly made its final broadcast, and Adventist Media took over the station's operations, effectively reformatted as AWR Manila 89.1.In Davao, Philippines, Brigada News FM transferred its broadcast from 91.5 (owned by Primax Broadcasting) to 93.1 (owned by Mareco Broadcasting Network).22Asian Sound Radio gets merged into Lyca Radio after they acquired Lyca Media acquired Asian Sound's license. Lyca Radio expands their mediumwave transmissions into Greater Manchester.22Gow Media announces the closure of US radio network SportsMap, after 33 years of operation, with stations being switched to the betting-centric Vegas Stats & Information Network.30Gold turns off their final mediumwave transmitter in Manchester for good along with Smooth Radio's mediumwave transmitters in Kent and Hampshire.
May Date Event Source5Genesis Communications Network ceases operations after 26 years. The broadcast syndication company, whose best-known hosts include Alex Jones and Michael Medved, will migrate its remaining programming to competing networks.Venta, Lance (April 19, 2024). Alex Jones Syndicator Genesis Communications Network To Shut Down. Radio Insight. Retrieved April 20, 2024.20Wisconsin Public Radio realigns its statewide over-the-air services, with its "Ideas Network" and "NPR News & Music" networks retired in favor of one solely for NPR news and local and national talk programming (WPR News) and one devoted exclusively to classical and other music genres (WPR Music). 24K240EL in Austin, Texas flips to red dirt/classic country as "Austin's 95.9 Texas Country" after roughly five and a half years with classic hip-hop.
June Date Event Source14 USA Radio Network ends its hourly newscast service after several decades of operation. InsideRadio.com "Affiliates Surprised by USA Radio Ending News Service" June 26, 2024.20 Philippine radio station DWAN-AM, owned by Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation, returns to operation with a full service format after 13 years of hiatus.
July Date Event Source 1 Interactive Broadcast Media, owner of DWWW-Metro Manila, began operating DWHT, an FM radio station in Dagupan, Philippines; enacted as a relay station of DWWW. 8 DWSS-AM (owned by Supreme Broadcasting System) was return to Airwaves as DWAR Abante Radyo 1494 (operated by Prage Management Corporation) after 4 years of hiatus. 9 Coloff Media announces the purchase of radio stations KMAQ (1320 AM) and KMAQ-FM (95.1 FM) in Maquoketa, Iowa, United States, from Dennis Voy.Huckstadt, Tate, "KMAQ sold to Iowa-based Coloff Media," Maquoketa Sentinel-Press, July 9, 2024. Accessed 07–10–2024. 15Philippine radio station DZRH celebrates its 85th anniversary. 31 The Philippine radio station Mellow 94.7, under the FBS Radio Network, temporarily dropped the Mellow branding and was known as simply 94.7 (pronounced “ninety-four-point-seven”).
August Date Event Source 14One month short of the station's 97th anniversary, owner Corus Entertainment suddenly shuts down CHML—Hamilton, Ontario."900 CHML closes, ending nearly a century of local radio in Hamilton," from The Hamilton Spectator, 8/14/2024 26 Good Karma Brands moves New York City's ESPN Radio affiliation, which has been on FM 98.7 since 2012, to AM 880, changing its callsign to WHSQ. The move comes due to the end of Good Karma's local marketing agreement with 98.7 licensee Emmis Communications at the end of the month, with Good Karma striking a new LMA with WHSQ's owner Audacy, the owner of ESPN's rival WFAN. The move ends a 57-year run for 880 as New York's all-news radio station, and the end of the station's 96-year run as CBS Radio Network's flagship station, 78 of those years under the call sign WCBS. WCBS's remaining programming merged onto its sister station and erstwhile rival WINS beginning August 26.
September Date Event Source 7 Westwood One returns its Saturday night classic country request program Country Gold, which has been on-air since the early 1990s, to its previous format with a professional radio disc jockey as host, as Steve Harmon takes over the program. For the previous 12 years, Country Gold (previously Country Gold Saturday Night) had been hosted by famous country musicians, as Randy Owen hosted from 2012 to 2016, followed by Terri Clark from 2016 to 2024. 24After an 11-month trial run on several of iHeartMedia's owned-and-operated stations, Premiere Networks introduces a nationwide conservative talk morning show hosted by Michael DelGiorno. iHeart, although it had maintained a nearly full slate of daily conservative talk programming for the previous two decades, had not offered a morning drive time show to its stations, as most of the U.S.-based company's stations had programmed local morning shows, regionally syndicated offerings or shows from unrelated formats until the company's long-running personnel reductions made such programs untenable. 30 The Thistle & Shamrock, an NPR program devoted to Celtic music, will end its 43-year run as host Fiona Ritchie moves on to other endeavors.
October Date Event Source3DWLL, under FBS Radio Network, reverts into Mellow 94.7, now operated by Prage Management Corporation, which also owns the daily newspaper Abante, AM radio station Abante Radyo 1494, and Bilyonaryo News Channel. 7Cumulus Media closes its last remaining New York metropolitan area asset, suburban AM station WFAS in White Plains, without attempting a sale. WFAS had ceased analog broadcasting in 2021, operating solely as a digital station from then until its closure.Cumulus Surrenders Suburban New York Digital AM Radioinsight - October 7, 202410WLKK-HD2 Wethersfield, New York becomes the first non-stunting station in North America to flip to Christmas music for the 2024 season and reactivates its social media presence a year after the former 102.5 WTSS left analog FM. Christmas music is back with Star! Listen to Buffalo's Christmas station! Listen now on the free Audacy app https://audacy.com/stations/mystar1025 OR ask Alexa to play Star 102.5!' Star 102.5 on X. Retrieved October 10, 2024.20A helicopter crashes into a radio transmission tower in Houston, Texas, resulting in at least 4 deaths. The accident knocks two stations which transmit from the tower off the air, KLTN and KAMA-FM (both owned by Uforia Audio Network)."Four killed after helicopter crashes into Houston radio tower," from The Desk, 10/21/202430LBC News ends broadcasts on 1152 kHz medium wave, and broadcast a retune loop redirecting listeners to retune to digital reception.
November Date EventSource4In Metro Manila, Philippines, DWFM 92.3 FM (formerly 92.3 Radyo5 True FM) moved to DWLA 105.9 FM, replacing Neo Retro 1059 after nearly 4 years. It is now known as 105.9 True FM. In Davao City, Philippines, DXFM 101.9 FM (formerly 101.9 Radyo5 True FM Davao) moved to DXET 106.7 FM, replacing Radyo Digoseño (owned by the City Government of Digos), marking the return of TV5's operations on this frequency after a 13-year hiatus as Dream FM (2004–2011), albeit as an airtime lease operator.Lipat bahay: MVP moves Radyo5-True FM to another station as PCMC takes over 92.3 frequencyNBC, PCMC in radio asset transfer talksPhilippine Collective Media Corporation (PCMC) launched Favorite Music Radio in Manila on DWFM 92.3 FM, with relay stations in Baguio, Davao, and General Santos, replacing the former frequencies of Nation Broadcasting Corporation.6XEPRS-AM Tijuana, a Mexican border blaster serving the San Diego market, flips to an oldies format featuring mostly deceased hosts such as Wolfman Jack, Don Steele and Charlie Tuna.XEPRS Flips to Oldies Radioinsight - November 5, 2024
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