MeTV, Envision Networks Offer Radio Format

MeTV FM, a music format that debuted on low-power WRME-FM Chicago in February 2015, consists of songs from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s and is owned by Weigel Broadcasting is now being offered to stations across the country.

WRME is partnering with Envision Networks to syndicate the MeTV FM format, it was announced today by Neal Sabin, vice chairman of Weigel Broadcasting, and Danno Wolkoff, president-CEO of Envision Networks.

The companies say MeTV FM “is curated for long listening enjoyment” and features a playlist from an active library of more than 3,000 songs across nearly four decades including singer-songwriters, country crossovers, Motown, iconic groups and many other artists.

The tracks range from folk rock to funk, deep tracks to disco favorites, and ’60s British Invasion to ’80s pop.

“We created MeTV FM as the musical companion to America’s No. 1 all classic TV network, MeTV. Both our television and radio formats present timeless and memorable entertainment that resonates with hipsters, hippies, baby boomers and beyond, as we like to say,” said Sabin.

“MeTV FM’s music format has broken many of the radio rules in terms of presentation, depth of playlist and mixing of genres. Using a challenging dial position in one of the most competitive radio markets in the country, we have proven the validity and viability of the format. We look forward to working with Envision to bring MeTV FM to many more places.”

MeTV FM began broadcasting as WRME in February 2015 on 87.7 FM, a part of the dial not accessible on all radios in Chicago. And yet, the companies said, “listeners found it and loved it. Advertisers quickly followed. Within a year, 87.7 was competitive with Chicago’s heritage stations and, from 2016 to 2017, its Chicago market share has grown from 2.2 to 2.8 (persons 6+), its cumulative audience grew from 569,000 to 756,000 (persons 6+), while delivering a TSL of 3:00 hours.”

Envision Networks will begin offering MeTV FM in syndication to radio stations in June. MeTV FM is turnkey, with all programming and production originating in Chicago, but allowing for local market customization.