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Classic alternative

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Classic alternative is a radio format focusing on alternative music from the late 1970s to early 1990s, with particular focus on the early days of MTV.[1][2][3]

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Some stations with an "all-'80s" format have added elements of the 1980s and '90s classic alternative format to their regular playlist. Cox's KHPT in Houston and WPOI in Tampa are prime examples of all-'80s stations that heavily relied on artists such as Peter Schilling, The Cranberries and New Order. KHPT flipped to a classic alternative format after its run as an all-'80s station. The same goes for KJAQ in Seattle, one of the first stations in the country to try this format.

Digital cable music service Music Choice (originally DMX) provided a station labelled New Wave for several years. The station was later renamed "Retro-Active", and later Classic Alternative, all of which played seventies to eighties new wave, post-punk, synthpop, etc. After several years, the station filtered in 1990s (and even sometimes post-millennium) artists. However, an artist like David Bowie can often fit in classic alternative because he meets the criteria.[12][13]

SiriusXM offers a classic alternative station, 1st Wave, which was launched in 2008 following the merger between Sirius and XM and replaced similar stations on both services.[14][15]

The format began to see wider adoption in late-2022 and 2023, particularly among stations and brands that have had a legacy in modern and active rock formats in their respective market. In December 2022, WNNX in Atlanta relaunched the heritage "99X" brand of sister station WWWQ as a classic alternative station,[16] while in July 2024, Corus Entertainment extended its Edge brand—long associated with its heritage modern rock station CFNY-FM in Toronto—to Calgary's CFGQ-FM using a classic alternative format.[17] In October, Corus also extended the format to CJKR-FM in Winnipeg, replacing its existing modern rock format.[18]

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