On June 21, 2011, it was announced that majority ownership of WRXP was acquired by Merlin Media LLC, a new entity headed by veteran radio executive Randy Michaels. The sale, which the FCC approved in September 2011, included two other Emmis-owned stations in Chicago, WLUP-FM and WKQX. Merlin registered several domains for what the new format of the station would be, including a return of WYNY's country music format, but many suggested an FM news format. All of the DJs, except for Cavalconte, were dismissed, and at 5 PM on July 15, 2011, WRXP's rock format ended with "Long Live Rock" by The Who. WRXP's website (MyRXP.com) continued operation after the station left the airwaves, continuing to offer its music format via streaming online audio and later a Spotify playlist (with occasional new songs added) until Merlin acquired the domain name (see below).