“Movin'” (capitalized as “MOViN'”) is a brand name used for a variety of rhythmic AC and top 40 radio stations in numerous broadcast markets in the United States. The name is a registered trademark of Alan Burns & Associates, a radio consultancy firm based in Perdido Key, Florida.
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Format background
This format started in the city of Seattle when Hot AC outlet KLSY (Mix 92.5) became KQMV MOViN 92.5 on May 1, 2006 as it was the first station of its kind.
"MOViN" stations mainly play an upbeat and mostly Dance-leaning Rhythmic Adult Contemporary format and uses the same logo, which features a colorful hue of green circles (except for Norfolk, whose hues are brown and dark orange). Although the stations are consulted by Burns, some have carved their own niche and identity.
In most of the markets where the "MOViN'" stations are located, a series of television commercials will feature women (and a couple of guys) shaking their behinds to a montage of Rhythmic hits, and in the case of KMVN/Los Angeles, a customized version has morning host Rick Dees dancing.
Of the thirteen stations that have adopted the "MOViN'" brand, one shifted directions but kept the name and jingle packages intact, with aforementioned KMVN shifting to Rhythmic oldies with emphasis on '70s and '80s product. KMVN would later be joined by another convert, WYEZ/Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, who also adopted the same Rhythmic Oldies approach as KMVN, but with an extended library that includes '60s product.
Meanwhile, others have started going for a more current based model, as KMVQ/San Francisco, California and KYMV/Salt Lake City, Utah took their direction even further, both evolving to Top 40 Mainstream in 2009. But after a year as a Top 40, KYMV returned to Rhythmic AC on June 11, 2010. Even the original "MOViN'", KQMV, has shifted to Rhythmic Top 40 as it has refocused its direction on more current Rhythmic hits and less Old School, likewise with KYMV.
Until late 2008, only a single "MOViN'" outlet had outright flipped formats, but since then, four more stations have dropped the brand. The first, KVMX/Portland, Oregon evolved to Rhythmic contemporary in May 2008 as Jammin 107.5. Its former sister station, KMVK/Dallas, Texas, evolved to Spanish Hot Adult Contemporary in February 2009, followed by WMUV/Jacksonville, Florida's flip to Classic country that same month. The other, WMVN/St. Louis, began shifting towards an Adult Hot Hits/CHR Top 40 direction in 2007, only to drop the format in October 2008 for Christmas music until January 2009, when they flipped to sports. KMVN in Los Angeles dropped MOViN on April 15, 2009 and outsourced the station's operations to a Mexican radio network, Grupo Radio Centro, based in Mexico City. However, in April 2011 one station in Norfolk, WKUS, picked up the branding for their flip from Urban AC, while the following September it saw KYMV dropping the brand for '80s-based Variety Hits. In August 2012, KNLT/Anchorage, the sister station of KMVV, picked up the format after latter dropped it in November 2011. The brand is now down to four affiliates.
US Stations
Note: these stations are in order by market size.
After WMVN flipped its format to rhythmic contemporary as "96.5/100.3 The Beat" on November 9, 2016, WMOV-FM is the only Movin' station east of the Mississippi River. WMVN in St. Louis, Missouri was a rhythmic AC station originally until becoming later a hot adult contemporary radio station prior to a format flip to sports.
Many of the original US Movin stations have dropped the rhythmic AC format for Top 40. Slogans for Movin rhythmic AC stations were/are "Makes You Feel Good", "Move To It" and/or "Picks You Up". The Top 40 Movin format stations moniker tends to be "All the Hits".