That Was Now, This Is K-Twin

As 2012 debuted, so did another radio station in the Twin Cities.  KTWN (96.3 FM) moved from being a hits-driven station for teenagers to a hits-driven station for their parents.

The station, previously known as KHTC, failed twice to put a dent in contemporary hits behemoth KDWB's (101.3 FM) numbers.  First they were KTTB (B96), the Twin Cities' first full-time hip hop station.  Then, when the Pohlad family's Northern Lights Broadcasting took over, it became 96.3 Now, a more dance-oriented version of what KDWB had been playing.

It's just another notch on the belt for Clear Channel-owned KDWB, which has been in the Top 40 business since going on the air in 1959 at AM 630 (now WREY).  They've vanquished many a competitor over the years, including WDGY (1130), WYOO (whose FM signal KDWB took over when the station was sold in the 1970s), KSTP-AM and WLOL-FM.  Now they have the format to themselves once more.

The new K-Twin, whose name was previously used for a well-remembered (but low-rated) soft jazz station at 107.9 FM (now KQQL), plays tunes from the likes of Adele, Maroon 5 and Rob Thomas that sounds more like Cities 97 than KS95.  K-Twin's tagline is "Your Town, Your Friends, Your Hits", as if it's a shot at the corporate-owned competitors across the dial taking their cues from New York or Atlanta.

KTWN is also providing a second source of income for KARE (Channel 11) weekend news anchor Eric Perkins, who's co-hosting morning drive with Tony Fly.  Apparently, the NBC affiliate's owner Gannett's been cutting salaries, which explains why fellow KARE anchor Mike Pomeranz is moonlighting as a host on Fox Sports North.  Which makes you wonder what Julie Nelson does in her spare time.

One wonders how long the new K-Twin format will last, given these factors:  (A) They don't have much of a signal, which means it can't be heard in some parts of the metro.  (B) The perception in radioland that the Pohlads might sell KTWN, or use it to bring family-owned Minnesota Twins games to the station in 2013.  (C)  How long they can keep up the playlist without sounding like everybody else.  Or maybe they've lost that battle already.  At least until the next format change.