Monday’s mass layoff at hip hop KCJK is now history. Cumulus Media converted 105.1 to simulcast CHR 107.3, rebranding it as “Hits 105.”
What We Know The station replaces Power’s departing hip hop format with contemporary hit radio targeting the broader Kansas City market. This simulcast restores CHR coverage on Kansas’s side of the market after 95.7 moved to 107.3 in October 2023. Cumulus picked 105.1 deliberately—its more central transmitter delivers stronger coverage than 107.3’s eastern location. Meanwhile, the move marks an end to “Vibe” branding that launched in 2005 on what was previously Z95.7.
What’s at Stake The new competing CHR signal pressures Steel City Media’s Mix 93.3 (KMXV), which currently holds top position with a 7.0 share in June 2026 ratings. Dual coverage forces KMXV to sharpen its competitive positioning or risk listener fragmentation. Cumulus notably doesn’t subscribe to Nielsen, so direct audience measurement remains opaque internally. The market’s CHR battle just intensified significantly.
What Remains Unclear How thoroughly KCJK’s transmitter superiority translates into audience advantage remains uncertain until market data emerges. Whether Cumulus intends 105.1 as a permanent simulcast or eventual standalone signal also stays unknown. Additionally, nobody knows how quickly “Hits 105” establishes audience loyalty versus inheriting legacy Power 105.1 listeners.
What It Means The 105.1 signal finally finds stable footing after years of format wandering. It bounced through alternative rock as “105.1 The X,” then hip hop as “Power 105.1,” before landing permanently on CHR as “Hits 105.” Now Cumulus has positioned this signal into a three-way battle against Steel City’s Mix 93.3 and Audacy’s 99.7 The Point. The CHR matrix just got complicated.
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David Hill serves as a Music Radio Editor, Columnist and Features writer for Barrett Media. A radio lifer with more than 30 years behind the mic, in the control room, and in the program director’s chair, David’s career spans influential stops at brands such as WIYY 98 Rock, WBAL-AM, and 99X. He has worked across multiple formats and ownership groups, including iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media, developing talent, breaking music, and navigating every major industry shift from diary to PPM and terrestrial dominance to streaming disruption. When he’s not writing or analyzing the industry, Dave runs The Tune Farm, a marketing firm built to help artists and brands grow audience the same way great radio always has—by creating connection, not just impressions. He can be reached at David@BarrettMedia.com.