Jack comes to Houston

A new radio station is born this morning. Houston will get its own “Jack” format, a format that has succeeded in other major markets for years. What is “Jack” you say? The idea behind the format is (as radio programmers say) your iPod on shuffle mode. That is, if you iPod only included popular mainstream songs from the 1960’s to present time.

The switch will be happening on 103.7 FM at 10:37 a.m. this morning (clever, huh?). Formally, the station was KIOL (it will now be KHJK). KIOL was a reincarnation of the old rock station KLOL, but its ratings kept falling after its move (it seems that not many people really want to hear new Ted Nugent songs).

To give you a sample of what to expect, here’s a sample hour from the Jack station in San Diego:

Depeche Mode “Policy of Truth”
No Doubt “Hey Baby”
John Lennon “(Just Like) Starting Over”
Men At Work “It’s a Mistake”
Lita Ford “Kiss Me Deadly”
UB40 “Can’t Help Falling in Love”
Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”
Eddie Money “Two Tickets to Paradise”
Janet Jackson “When I Think of You”
Jack Johnson “Upside Down”
The Beatles "Paperback Writer"

Basically, think of Mix 96.5, Sunny 99.1, and Classic Hits 107.5 combined together, and you get Jack. Nothing earth shattering, but at least it’s a change.