There’s a new radio station in town and it’s calling out the competition for a face-off. At stake are the ears of women between 25 and 54 years of age and the buying power that comes with the most sought-after demographic.

WILT FM 104.5 has changed owners and gained a new identity: Sunny 104.5. With a change of format, Sunny 104.5 takes aim at the adult contemporary listening audience and long-time market leader WGNI FM 102.7.

Adult contemporary formats are most popular with females age 25-54. In the Wilmington metro area – all of New Hanover County and parts of Pender and Brunswick counties – women of this age group comprise 27 percent of the 18-and-over population.

Last November, NextMedia was sold to Raleigh-based Capitol Broad­casting Co.

Sunrise Broad­casting, a subsidiary of CBC, is managing the former stable of NextMedia stations here in Wilmington. Josh Lee, Sunrise’s local sales manager said in addition to the format change, Sunny 104.5 will be “very, very family friendly.”

Two former WGNI staffers, morning anchor Craig Thomas and afternoon personality Sheila Brothers, are teaming up for Sunny 104.5’s important morning drive time slot.

Both stations will play a variation of adult contemporary music. WGNI calls its format “hot adult contemporary” that features music from the ’80s, ’90s and current hits. Sunny 104.5’s format will be adult contemporary – music from the ’80s, ’90s and today.

Women between 25 and 54 are educated, employed and, most importantly, have a buying power that appeals to those who have something to sell. Nearly 50 percent of women in this age group have a household income of more than $50,000 a year, with nearly 26 percent registering household income from $75,000 to more than $100,000. Perhaps an even more impressive number is that nearly 75 percent of this demographic own their homes.

Wilmington appears to be in tune with listeners across the country. “Radio Today” reports that nationally adult contemporary listeners in households earning more than $75,000 per year has increased 25 percent over the past six years.

What makes radio an effective medium for advertisers since listeners can flip from station to station, leave their cars mid-message or turn off their radios at work?

Listeners changing stations is a common misconception said Rod Flinchum of Colonial Marketing in Wilmington.

The typical radio listener is loyal to just one or two stations and doesn’t vary from those stations very often, Flinchum said.

In advertising, loyalty is very important, he added.

Adult contemporary music a good target for advertisers because, “It’s a ‘vanilla’ market,” Flinchum said. “It’s a flavor everybody likes.”

Radio ratings numbers can be read in any number of ways and obtaining any number of first places can often depend on how the numbers are crunched, but even so, there is no doubt that WGNI is No. 1 locally, not only for women but for all adults 25-54 who listen to adult contemporary stations.

Jim Principi, general manager of Cumulus Broadcasting’s five stations in Wilmington including WGNI, isn’t flinching in the face of the new competition.

Standing firm in its belief that it has the right mix and listener loyalty, WGNI “has no reason” to change because the station has successfully beaten the competition many, many times, Principi said.

And, while WGNI has lost two of its on-air personalities to Sunny 104.5, management isn’t rushing to fill the void. Wishing both Thomas and Brothers well in their new endeavors, Principi said, and since current staff members are filing in for Thomas and Brothers, the station is not rushed to find replacements.

WGNI’s format won’t change, but will be enhanced as needed, he said. The station has experienced a great deal of success “over many, many years” and a “sustained success capturing, holding and entertaining” the 18+ audience. Principi said the station has enjoyed significant growth in the Wilmington market because, in part, it has been “monumentally community oriented.”

Sunny 104.5 will have a marketing edge because its parent company CBC owns a CBS affiliate station, WILM-TV. The morning radio show will be simulcast on TV from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays.

It’s the combination of the visual and the audio, Lee said. He said this will give his advertisers an added advantage for product placement.

If the competition is successful in biting into WGNI’s market share, Principi said, “God bless them. We wish them well.”