Classic Hits, Throwbacks, and the Station In Between: WBEN, WOGL, and KKRG

When the Bob- and Jack-FM Adult Hits formats debuted in the early ’00s, their focus on ’80s music made them a decade newer than the Oldies format, which it sent scrambling. When the rebranded Classic Hits recovered its equilibrium in the early ’10s, becoming more ’80s-centered, Adult Hits pushed further into the ’90s and kept its differentiation. (The format had also defined itself by being able to play recurrents from the outset.)