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Rick Thomas Transferring to CHR WNOW NYC

CBS also is looking for a new Classic Hits SVP of Programming, with Brian Thomas having departed for Cumulus. Maybe the new PD for KRTH/KTWV will also fulfill that role? Will we see sweeping changes to CBS Classic Hits stations across the board? I think CBS easily have the best sounding Classic Hits stations out of the big 3 corporations, with their fun and upbeat classic top 40 vibes, and would hate to see that change.
 
Rich "Brother" Robbin (Richard Werges) has worked in radio in Detroit, Phoenix, Tucson, Portland, Memphis and Nashville. In Los Angeles, he worked at KIQQ, KKDJ and KTNQ. In San Diego, he worked at KGB and switched KCBQ-FM to a 1970s-based format in 1993 when all the other oldies stations were still playing '50s and '60s. He now does afternoons at XHPRS and has an excellent oldies channel at RichBroRadio.com. Rich "Brother " Robbin gets my vote.

Not that I actually have a vote or anything, but.....
 
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oldies76 said:
Bob Hamilton should return.
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The key will be to find someone who is an overall good programmer and perhaps with experience in transitioning traditional oldies stations into much more appealing 70's and 80's song based facilities.

The biggest issue at The Wave and K-Earth is moving the stations much younger while preserving the billings.
 
I would add to that: Neither KRTH nor KTWV should sound like other Los Angeles stations. Most stations that play 1980s oldies emphasize classic rock and some r&b hits and ignore the more pop-sounding artists: Peter Cetera, Kenny Loggins, Kenny Rogers, Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, Huey Lewis, Rick Astley, Debbie Gibson, Genesis, ABC, Culture Club,Hall & Oates, New Kids On The Block, et al. If KRTH played those artists and slacked off on the overplayed Journey/Eagles/Police/Foreigner hits, they might attract a larger audience, albeit one that skews female. As for KTWV, the clone of the old KUTE "Quiet Storm" format needs to be dumped in favor of a current-based mix of jazz and uptempo r&b but with no rap or hip-hop.

Now it's David's turn to say, "Those two formats won't work, and here is why..." :)
 
Quite true! Anyone whose first music purchases were vinyl is much too old to be coveted as a listener by KRTH.
 
Well Rick stayed in Los Angeles just about as long as I thought he would: he's part of the radio tradition of big name program directors whose name is bigger than their actual track record, as they flit from station-to-station and everyone starts to think they're geniuses because they were the PD - however briefly - of several well-known stations. Never mind that they basically have never demonstrated the ability to program for long-term success. I've worked for a lot of these gunslingers (George J, Jesse B, etc.) over the years: they roll into town with lots of fanfare, shoot a couple of obvious targets and then split. Someone else then has to come in to do the actual hard work of creating and implementing a viable strategy for the future.

It reminds me a bit of what we see in pro (and college) sports teams, where once you've coachd or managed at a certain level you can seemingly keep getting hired no matter your long-term win-loss record. We see elements of that too in CEO's of very large corporations: where you've been seems to matter more than what you've actually done.
 
Bob Hudson said:
Well Rick stayed in Los Angeles just about as long as I thought he would: he's part of the radio tradition of big name program directors whose name is bigger than their actual track record, as they flit from station-to-station and everyone starts to think they're geniuses because they were the PD - however briefly - of several well-known stations. Never mind that they basically have never demonstrated the ability to program for long-term success.
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Quite unfair.

KrTH is up considerably in the target sales demos, and they managed to considerably stem the billings decline. KTWV is neither up nor down, but has held most of its revenue base despite major changes in what was a dying format.

All along, it is obvious that the goal was to preserve billing while nudging the two stations into younger demos.

CBS must have been happy. You don't reward failure with a better position.

And Rick's list of successes is well known.
 
I know folks who would relish this chance and others who would run. Great calls looks good on your res but in reality when you get in the trenches that's where the rubber meets the road. The shifting of the demo and this format overall is one that is most challenging. How do you get an ever increasing amount of people who have grown up on pop, hip hop and the pre packaged electronic disco to listen to master musicians who practiced their craft? As the boomers move into senior housing that their kids choose for them their listening and buying power will have been cut drastically. It's like you would hear an ad for a hot Chevy Camero or something on KEarth soon it will be ads for your HovArpund mobility scooter and mail order catheters....
 
DavidEduardo said:
And Rick's list of successes is well known.
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And playing certain songs 3 to 5 times a day for months is called success? Maybe to his and KRTH's self-satisfaction, but not to the listeners putting up with it. Maybe now KRTH can lighten up and go back to entertaining their audiences instead of boring them to some degree. I (and countless others) welcome the change and hopefully a change for the better for the sake of L.A. and the legacy and name, that has been set in stone for 42 years: K-Earth 101.
 
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oldies76 said:
And playing certain songs 3 to 5 times a day for months is called success?
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KRTH was #4 in persons 18+in the last book, making KRTH the top performing CBS station in that age group..

Yes, that is success.

KIIS is #3 and they play their songs 15 times a day, so the message is clear: play the hits.
 
Yes, playing only the biggest researched hits is always successful. Rick Thomas has a great track record, worked with him years ago. My pick for PD of KRTH is former KFRC PD Bob Harlow.
 
DavidEduardo said:
KIIS is #3 and they play their songs 15 times a day, so the message is clear: play the hits.
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Apples and Oranges......You cannot compare classic hits and CHR. Currents are treated differently, because they are new, so young listeners will usually want to hear them frequently (until they are sick of them). Heck, I did back in '83 when "Billie Jean", "The Look of Love" and "Come on Eileen" were tops. It was great hearing them frequently then, but not as classics today. Hearing these once a week is fine, being great songs and all.
 
oldies76 said:
...so young listeners will usually want to hear them frequently
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You know that KIIS is the #3 station in Women 35-64?

Young?

That's not the issue. Most people want to hear their favorite songs on the radio, and they want to hear them much more often than you seem to visiualize.
 
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