The following is a list of events affecting radio broadcasting in 2021. Events listed include radio program debuts, finales, cancellations, and station launches, closures and format changes, as well as information about controversies.
Notable events
January
Date
Event
Source
1
The annual Vienna New Year's Concert is broadcast throughout Europe. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic there is no live audience, but the concert is able to go ahead because the orchestra's members have been COVID tested on a daily basis.
On the occasion of its 75th anniversary, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom sends her best wishes to BBC Radio 4's magazine programme Woman's Hour. She praises the programme for having "played a significant part in the evolving role of women".
US broadcasting company Cumulus Media issues a directive to its talk outlets that orders local and syndicated hosts avoid discussing anything to do with allegations of voter fraud on pain of dismissal. The move comes days after the events of the storming of the United States Capitol on January 6, seen to have been spurred on by conservative talkers Mark Levin and Dan Bongino, both vocal proponents of debunked election fraud theories. Ben Shapiro, though not employed by the company, is also listed in the memo. A host from Cumulus' KMJ—Fresno, Ray Appleton, is suspended.
WMGG—Egypt Lake, Florida, turns off its analog operations and flips exclusively to digital, becoming the second AM radio station in the United States, following WWFD; unlike WWFD, WMGG has filed with the FCC to operate permanently as an all-digital station, the first station to request a permanent license. The station will maintain an analog FM translator.
Proprietor Armando Calderón Lara surrenders the license for XHACM-FM, a station operating from Cárdenas, Tabasco, Mexico. The station closed down on January 31.
The Q network launches in the Maritime region of Canada as Stingray Radio rebrands four of its rock stations to the "Q" branding. CJMO-FM—Moncton drops its longtime "C103" branding and switches to that branding and CKEZ-FM—New Glasgow drops its "Zed" branding and joins the Q network. In addition, the syndicated morning show BJ & The Q Morning Crew expanded into New Glasgow.
25
US broadcasting company Alpha Media files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and plans to start a reorganization with its creditors and lenders.
Numerous country stations in the United States, including those owned by Cumulus Media and Entercom among others, pull Morgan Wallen's music from airplay after he was captured on video voicing a racial slur. In addition, he was suspended by his record labels, Big Loud and Republic Records along with being pulled from consideration for the Academy of Country Music Awards.
Canada's Bell Media abruptly discontinues TSN Radio formats in CKOC-AM—Hamilton, CKST-AM—Vancouver, and CFRW-AM—Winnipeg (CFRW had recently lost its radio rights to the Winnipeg Jets) as part of an ongoing series of cuts across the company. The Hamilton station immediately flipped to BNN Bloomberg Radio (with its Tiger-Cats-produced programming moving to a new online-exclusive network), while the remaining two flipped to Bell's all-comedy format.
Active rockWAPL—Appleton, Wisconsin fires morning host Len Nelson after he made critical comments about Rush Limbaugh on his Facebook page. Nelson later apologized for making the comments.
The hosts of the syndicated radio program Free Talk Live are arrested on federal wire fraud charges for establishing a false religious institution to launder cryptocurrency.
Classic rockWGRF—Buffalo fired the program director and hosts of Morning Bull (Rob Lederman, Rich Gaenzler and Chris Klein) after on-air statements by Lederman on March 24, in which he compared how he likes toast to the skin tones of black women, set up a backlash from multiple advertisers who immediately pulled their spots from the station, and resulted in owner Cumulus Media placing the hosts on suspension the same day. Cumulus later moves Shredd and Ragan from active rock WEDG to WGRF in August.
Entravision's WNUE-FM—Deltona/Orlando dropped its Tropical/Salsa format and released the airstaff ahead of its flip to Christian AC under new owners Radio Training Network, thus sparking a pre-emptive strike from WPOZ over the use of the "Joy" moniker that RTN plan to use when it launched their format April 19, the same day WPOZ also rebranded with the aforementioned moniker.
With the launch of a new local show The Morning Wake Up (hosted by Sean Tyler and Sasha Mack) replacing the cancelled syndicated Rick & Sasha, KMJK—Kansas City shifted directions from Adult R&B to urban contemporary, putting in line with rival KPRS.
After 51 years, Dordt University transfers ownership of student-run Religious/Diversified KDCR—Sioux Center, Iowa, to Educational Media Foundation, then converts the station to its K-Love format. The station's programs and sports broadcast move to an online platform.
Bell Media rebrands 25 of its radio stations to the "Bounce Radio" adult hits branding as part of a mass format reorganization. As a result of the rebranding, all of the remaining EZ Rock stations have been phased out.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 grand final is broadcast live by radio stations such as ORF (Austria), BNR (Bulgaria), NDR, WDR (Germany), RTÉ (Ireland), RAI (Italy), RS (Serbia), RTVSLO (Slovenia), SR (Sweden) and the BBC (United Kingdom), as well as by stations in non-competing countries such as Slovakia.
Belgian broadcaster RTBF Musiq'3 launches Le printemps selon Igor, a five-part 30-minute series in French about composer Igor Stravinsky, written and produced by Axelle Thiry and featuring Alexandre Tharaud. The series is made available to the whole of the EBU.
ATSC 3.0 is theoretically compatible with an analog subcarrier, and on June 13, the FCC granted Venture Technologies special temporary authority to continue operating two of its stations, KBKF-LD and WRME-LD, with an analog subcarrier on 87.75 MHz. Venture must report after 90 and 180 days any interference reports to the FCC. Three other stations were granted similar authority in the subsequent days.
Several other Franken-FMs moved to AM radio following the transition; WJMF-LP's programming moved to WZQK, while WVOA-LP's moved to WSIV.
Following similar moves to their Alternative and country stations in September 2020, Audacy restructures their 16 CHR-formatted stations, laying off most midday and afternoon hosts and replacing them with those of WBBM-FM—Chicago and KNOU—Los Angeles, respectively.
Malaysian media group Media Prima rebranded its two stations: Chinese-language One FM becomes 8FM, while Malay-language adult contemporary station Kool FM was reformatted as all-news/music station Buletin FM.
Sirius XM Radio begins rerunning Let's Talk with Lucy, a former CBS Radio Network interview program that had aired from 1964 to 1965, for the first time since the show's first airing. The show will air on a dedicated pop-up channel commemorating the 110th birth anniversary of hostess Lucille Ball, who had recorded the program while starring in The Lucy Show for CBS television. Ball's daughter Lucie Arnaz had personally preserved the program archives.
Thirteen years after the duo broke up in 2008, former nationally syndicated morning hosts Steve and DC reunite on WFFN—Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as DC Daniel joins the station where Steve Shannon had been working since 2016.
Chicago Public Media, the owners of WBEZ, signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire the Chicago Sun-Times. The purchase, which would come from major philanthropic organizations and public support, is expected to close before the end of 2021, pending approval from the regulators and CPM's board of directors.
Mainstream rockWQRS—Olean, New York flips to classic rock "98.3 The Goat". It's the stations third go around with the format when the station used the moniker 98 Rocks from the late 1990s until 2006 and again in 2013.
Tyler Media fired a pair of hosts from its Oklahoma City cluster, sports KRXO-FM afternoon co-host Sam Mayes and AC KMGL morning co-host and cluster Promotions Director Cara Rice, after a leaked audio from 2016 was released (via the social media site Lost Ogle) making off-the-air comments about Native Americans, which included racist stereotypical jokes towards the community in general while they were discussing the controversy over the name changing of the Washington Football Team (when they were called the Redskins at the time), and while discussing the topic, predicted that they would lose their jobs if the conversation was leaked.
CHRKNOU—Los Angeles becomes KNX-FM, a simulcast of all-newsKNX, ending a 12-year run with CHR and bringing the all-news format to the FM dial in Los Angeles for the first time. No KNOU announcers are dismissed as many had already been voice-tracking their air shifts from other markets.
Philippines radio station DXKE-FM goes off air because of typhoon damage. It would return in January 2022 on a new frequency, under the name RMN iFM Surigao.
After a 10-year absence, US station WTPA-FM's call letters and rock format returns, this time on 93.5. It was previously on 104.1 for 23 years from 1962 until 1985. Its rock format debuted in 1980, then moved to 93.5 in 1985 where it stood for 26 years, and finally moved to 92.1 for seven years before that facility was sold to EMF in 2018. This will be the station's second go around with the rock format.
After stunting with Christmas music, and ending a 46-year run with Top 40 in various incarnations, US station KYYY—Bismarck flips to Mainstream AC (and thus returns to a previous direction for the first time since 2011), billing itself as "Mix 92.9."
After a 13-year gap, smooth jazz returned to the Milwaukee airwaves in the US, courtesy of WJTI/W273DQ. The regional Mexican format ("Caliente 97.9") continues to broadcast on sister W250BN via WMYX-FMHD3.
Audacy launches the BetQL Audio Network, which will focus on sports betting 24/7. The launch comes after the purchasing of the QL Gaming Group in November 2020. Former Adult Standards KEZWDenver (who'll serve as the flagship station) and KCBS-FM HD3 are announced as the first full time affiliates of the network.
The daily mock commentary series Earl Pitts, Uhmerikun ends its original run with the retirement of Pitts's voice actor Gary Burbank. Reruns of past Pitts commentaries ran on his affiliates through 2021.
TSN Radio begins to wind down its operations. The Bell Media-owned Canadian sports radio network was one of several casualties of cutbacks at Bell and will be replaced by BNN Bloomberg business talk or comedy radio on stations in Winnipeg (CFRW), Vancouver (CKST and CFTE) and Hamilton (CKOC). While the sports rights for the Vancouver and Winnipeg stations had already been dispersed prior to the shutdown, the sudden announcement left Hamilton's sports teams, including the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Hamilton Bulldogs and McMaster Marauders; scrambling to find new homes for its audio broadcasts (the Tiger-Cats later rejoined their longtime radio home at CHML). For the time being, the TSN Radio stations in other cities will retain their formats.
Radio Disney shuts down. The youth-friendly contemporary hit radio service switched to "best-of" programming without disc jockeys on January 1; on the same day, its companion country music service shut down, with its over-the-air affiliate KRDC flipping back to the main Radio Disney service until the shutdown. The station was pulled off of SiriusXM satellite radio on December 31, 2020 (eventually being replaced by "Disney Hits," which exclusively carries music produced by The Walt Disney Company) but the station continued to stream on its app and iHeartRadio until January 22 and March 13 respectively, and on KRDC until April 14.
Cumulus Media cancelled the syndicated Adult R&B morning program Rick & Sasha after two years. The displaced stations that carried the program filled their slots with other shows.
After 24 years, Sean "Hollywood" Hamilton ends production on his three countdown programs, the Mainstream and rhythmic versions of The Weekend Top 30 and The Remix Top 30. Hamilton will continue to focus on his afternoon program at WKTU—Lake Success/New York City, along with voicetracking for radio outlets and develop future projects.
Agricultural/Farm/Information KDKD—Clinton, Missouri will sign off the air on this date due to the owners of the transmitter farm where it is located announced it will shut down and decommission the tower. Its programming will move over to country sister KDKD-FM and Kansas City Royals broadcasts to rock sister KXEA, ending the AM's longtime association that began with the team's debut in 1969.
English-born American hypnotist and radio businessman (hosted Advice Line from 1961 until his death, founder of Talk Radio Network and Chancellor Broadcasting)
American radio host most famous for his stints in his native Buffalo, New York (WKBW, WHTT-FM) and in Windsor, Ontario, Canada (CKLW). Also co-wrote the top-40 hit "Wild Weekend"
American country singer-songwriter (radio personality on various rural West Virginia and Kentucky radio stations in the 1960s, member of the Grand Ole Opry)
American singer, half of The Everly Brothers (appeared as "The Everly Family" on KMA and WIVK in the 1940s, briefly members of the Grand Ole Opry in the late 1950s)