RadioInsight

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Where Do They KGO From Here?

Posted: 04 Apr 2016 01:03 PM PDT
https://radioinsight.com/blog/blogs/...kgo-from-here/

Following last weeks massive cuts at Cumulus News/Talk 810 KGO and AAA
104.5 KFOG, I was willing to give the company the benefit of the doubt
pending the reveal of the new lineup. After seeing what Cumulus has come up
with for KGO, it is very easy to see what this is. A way to cut costs and
let the station continue on the path to irrelevance. KGO was the longtime
powerhouse in the Bay Area holding the top spot in the Arbitron ratings for
27 years straight until 2010. While many pundits will quickly point to
owners Citadel and later Cumulus Media as the cause of the demise of KGO,
the chips in the armor could begin to be seen as Talk Radio aged in the
later days of ABCs ownership of the station. The true end of that era of
KGO came in December 2011 when many of the stations talk show hosts were
let go and replaced by 12 hours of News blocks in an attempt to compete
against CBS All-News 740 KCBS/106.9 KFRC. The transition to PPM did KGO no
favors, but neither did the split format. You cant try to out-News KCBS
when youre still dedicating half of your air time to Talk shows, nor can
you push your Talk product against the multiple other stations in the
market when half the time youre station is News. There is a reason why no
other station in the country attempted such a hybrid up against one of the
heritage All-News stations. Now that KGO was blown up and is stunting in
preparation of the Next Generation of KGO launching on Tuesday morning. But
is what Cumulus is building really something that will resuscitate that
station? KGO ranked 21st in the San Francisco market with a 1.8 share in
the February PPMs with four spoken word based stations ahead of it. To
anchor the new format Cumulus raided the regionally syndicated Armstrong
Getty for mornings from iHearts 910 KKSF. Three things stick out by the
selection of the duo for the important morning drive slot. 1) KGOs heritage
in the market is by being a balanced if-not liberal leading station, is
putting a syndicated morning show based in Sacramento really going to help?
2) Especially when one of the stations youre looking to both compete
against and protect is sister Conservative Talk 560 KSFO led by local
Conservative Brian Sussman in mornings. 3) KKSF, with a mostly local lineup
including KGO cast-off Gil Gross is in worse shape that KGO with a 0.8
share. On Thursday, KGO was proudly promoting that Ronn Owens was being
shifted from the 9am-12pm slot to afternoon drive on KSFO. After word came
out that contractually he could block that move and did, KGO quickly
claimed audience demand led to him being squeezed into a 10-12pm slot on
the new lineup. And the rest of the new generation? People that were
already on the KGO payroll. Weekend hosts Ethan Bearmann and Brian Copeland
each have two hour afternoon shows, while Chip Franklin from 4-7pm and DreX
from 7-10pm remain from the old KGO. With the exception of Owens all of the
hosts on the KGO lineup are in the 25-54 demographic. But its still mostly
Conservative leaning Political Talk on a band mostly listened to by 55+
listeners with a lineup of just men. How creative! Since the demise of KGO,
most of the Talk audience in San Francisco has gone to NPR affiliate 88.5
KQED-FM and Cumulus Sports 680 KNBR, plus KCBS/KFRC is the current leading
station in the markets ratings. Where are the other types of Talk? Lets
call a spade a spade. This move at KGO was a just reason to cut the
expensive News staff that was making no-inroads and go back to a cheaper
Talk format. Syndication in mornings and a lineup of people already on the
Cumulus payroll is not a game changing maneuver, its just a cost-cutter.
And theres nothing wrong with that. KGO was not just failing, it was an
expensive to operate a failure. But Cumulus couldve prevented a lot of the
negative publicity it has received this week by being upfront about the
changes. Going into a stunt loop and not commenting on the mass layoffs
does nothing to help matters. Had KGO gotten aggressive on telling their
story it couldve controlled the conversation. Have Ronn Owens, Chip
Franklin and DreX on the air talking about the failures of the station to
turn the corner and necessitating the need for changes. All of the hosts
were already in-house or on the air in the market. They and the station
management should have been spending all of this past weekend hyping the
positivity of the changes instead of having the lineup kept secret while
only the news of the layoffs became front page news locally. Radio hosts
are quick to be the mouthpieces for other agendas, why not those of their
employers? And if the KGO stunt was botched how do you consider what
Cumulus is doing in the same building to AAA 104.5 KFOG as it sits jockless
for three weeks leading up to its Evolution on April 20?

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Eric Zane Joins WBBL For Mornings

Posted: 04 Apr 2016 09:46 AM PDT
https://radioinsight.com/blog/headli...-for-mornings/

Following his firing in February from the syndicated Free Beer Hot Wings
Show based at Townsquare Rock 97.9 WGRD Grand Rapids, Eric Zane is joining
Cumulus Sports 107.3 WBBL for mornings starting on Thursday, April 8. Zane
and co-host Kyle Paffhausen will be heard from 6-10am taking the place of
Michael Grey and Brett Kane, whose status with the station is unknown. Zane
made the announcement on YouTube this morning.

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WLPA Returns To ESPN Radio 92.7 Simulcast

Posted: 04 Apr 2016 09:32 AM PDT
https://radioinsight.com/blog/headli...2-7-simulcast/

Hall Communications dropped the Adult Standards format on 1490 WLPA/92.5
W223CH Lancaster PA after just one year to return to a simulcast of Sports
ESPN Radio 92.7 WONN-FM Starview/Harrisburg/York. The move brings WONN-FMs
programming back to Lancaster following the sign-on of W223CH last summer
that created interference between the two signals.

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Hannah Byrom Joins Jeff Miles WKLB Morning Show

Posted: 04 Apr 2016 08:16 AM PDT
https://radioinsight.com/blog/headli...-morning-show/

Greater Media Country 102.5 WKLB Boston has named Hannah Byrom as Jeff
Miles co-host for his recently launched morning show. Byrom joins WKLB from
middays at Connoisseur CHR 94.5 WPST Trenton NJ and weekends at Cumulus
95.5 WPLJ New York. She previously worked in mornings and middays at Alpha
Media CHR Live 95.5 KBFF Portland and as part of the syndicated Zach Sang
The Gang. Her first day at WKLB will be Monday, April 18. Greater Media
announces Hannah Byrom has been named as the new co-host of Country
Mornings with Jeff Miles on WKLB-FM in Boston. She will begin her new
position on April 18th. Byrom’s morning show experience includes working at
KKBF-FM in Portland, Oregon and serving as a co-host on Westwood One’s Zach
Sang and the Gang. In addition, she has been on the air at WPST-FM in
Trenton and WPLJ-FM in New York City. “Hannah is a welcome addition to our
morning show, and she’ll bring excitement and enthusiasm as we build and
grow,� said WKLB-FM Program Director Mike Brophey. “We can’t wait for her
to get on the air!� “Im so happy to be joining the outstanding team at
Country 102.5 and Greater Media,� said Byrom. “I instantly fell in love
with Boston and couldnt be more excited to wake the city up every morning
with Jeff Miles.� “I am excited that we are building a great new Country
morning show for Bostonians to wake up to that will be fresh and local,�
said Mary Menna, vice president and market manager of Greater Media Boston.
WKLB-FM is owned by Greater Boston Radio, Inc., a subsidiary of Greater
Media, Inc., the parent company of 21 AM and FM radio stations in the
Boston, Charlotte, Detroit, New Jersey and Philadelphia markets. It also
owns a group of weekly newspapers in central New Jersey as well as several
telecommunications towers located throughout the United States.

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Omaha Gets Its Answer

Posted: 04 Apr 2016 06:13 AM PDT
https://radioinsight.com/blog/headli...ts-its-answer/

On the day it resets its national syndicated Conservative Talk lineup with
the move of Hugh Hewitt to mornings, Salem Communications has launched the
format in Omaha with the debut of 94.5/1420 The Answer. For 1420 KOTK
Omaha, the move is a return to the format it carried from 2005 until 2008
when it flipped to Spanish language Christian programming, most recently as
El Pez. 94.5 K233CO shifts from rebroadcasting sister Christian Preaching
660 KCRO Omaha to bring The Answer to FM.