St. Louis has recently experienced many drastic changes along the FM dial, after major purchases were made by three large communication companies.

The major players in this corporate shake up include Sinclair Broadcasting Company, Bonneville International corp. and Emmis Communication.

Emmis, who previously owned KSHE, WXTM and WKKX sued Sinclair to purchase six stations from them, for $220 million. Emmis received KPNT, WVRV, KXOK, KIHT, WIL and WRTH(1430 AM). Bonneville then recieved WKKX, WVRV, WIL and WRTH from Emmis for a Los Angeles station.

After this purchase Emmis and Bonneville made quick and drastic changes to the dial:

 Classic rock station, KXOK 97.1 changed to talk radio

 WXTM104.1 Extreme Radio was converted to an `80s station and is now known as The Mall

 WKKX, KIX 106.5 new country owned by Bonneville changed its call letters to WSSM and its style to smooth jazz.

These changes may or may not be permanent; many speculate that more changes will be made in the near future. Most notable is the prediction that WXTM will be changed to talk radio and The Mall will be moved to another frequency.

Stations were not the only thing to change in St. Louis radio. Many popular DJs who help to wake St. Louis up every morning have been shifted up and down the dial. Other less popular DJs changed stations, time slots, and some were even handed a pink slip.

 Howard Stern moved from Extreme to 105.7 The Point.

 Steve and DC left KIX 106.5 and will land a new slot on KIHT 96.3

 Extreme’s Eric Schmidt will return to The Point along with Tracy Wilde, and popular British DJ Les Aaron moves to The Mall.

Many other DJs were shifted from station to station to ensure that St. Louis radio would cause a headache for even the most dedicated listeners.

Many other stations will undergo small changes without a dial or genre change. KSHE will remain a rock icon in St. Louis though will make minor tune-ups. WIL, the only country station left in the area will also make small changes.

These changes are few of many and are still relatively new. Many speculate that there are still more changes on the way, changes that will likely develop in the near future.