See ya, K-Zep. It's gotten "Hot" at 104-5.

[purpledevil]

Don't throw that radio out the window, there's nothing wrong with your tuner. KZEP has moved to the K-Buc translator permanently (Anonymouse caught this a couple months ago, apparently testing) at 93-3 K277BH, with the launch of Rhythmic CHR "Hot" taking over the 104-5 dial position. R.I.P. K-Zep, I imagine it's only a matter of time before it is gone for good.

The champagne has to be flowing at Cox San Antonio.

http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/89686/kzep-moves-hot-104-5-launches-in-san-antonio/

 

[Kent]

Looks like the "new" KZEP 93.3 is Premium Choice. The slot for John Lisle has also been removed from the website.

I agree. I suspect Cox is celebrating. Despite not doing particularly well or very much, X-106.7 is likely to become the go-to classic rocker, and Cox now has a nice wall of rock.

 

[Gregg.]

I guess in a heavily Hispanic market like San Antonio, four rock stations (KZEP, KISS, KTKX and KJKK) is one too many. There's room for a station somewhere between KBBT and KXXM/KTFM. Of course, you'd think the heritage Classic Rock station would be the one to survive, not the upstart.

(Before someone says KJKK isn't a Rock station, 90% of what they play is Rock, even if they are called Adult Hits.)

 

[purpledevil]

How about if I say KJKK is in Dallas, and not San Antonio? Lol, I know what you meant though.

 

[E-Cam]

Dumbest move ever! Great job CC for blowing up a good classic rocker. Cox should be doing this! And you ruin 104.5 for yet another rap-pop station? San Antonio doesn't need another rap station!

Well, I might as well give up the dream of X106.7 flipping to Alternative, or Clear Channel flipping one of their stations to "Alt". Yeah, I completely forgot that San Antonio is more of a rap market than a rock market. Have fun sucking up hair bands on 106.7 and overplay grunge and nu-metal on 99.5. I'll be going back to my mp3 instead. Thanks for nothing...

 

[radiodog2]

Wow this is almost exactly like what happened in Houston over this past New Years with Clear Channel's KKRW 93.7 The Arrow flipping to Hip Hop and Cox KGLK/KHPT 106.9/107.5 The Eagle becoming the default Classic Rock station in Houston.

 

[purpledevil]

Quite similar. It also shows that Clear Channel learned a valuable lesson in blowing up a heritage rock station without so much of a mention, and flipping it to something completely different. Even with the significant downgrade from 100 kilowatts to 250 watts, at the very least, KZEP lives on OTA in San Antonio.

Good luck to those in Boerne, Seguin, Kyle, and so on, in search of a new classic rock fix.

 

[willdav713]

How may hip hop stations or crap hr stations is San Antonio going to have? There is all ready too many. 94.1, 96.1, 98.5, and now 104.5? Clear Channel blows big time. Why couldn't they have the ganas to go head to head with KONO?

 

[Anonymouse]

I'm sure they'll listen to KTKX or KZEP on iHeartRadio.

 

[stevensonair]

Demographics. Deal with it.

 

[willdav713]

One will fold. But which one? and When?
It is just Clear Channel never makes good decisions anymore when it comes to radio.
Didn't they first have this on there 92.5 frequency back in 2002?

Still would have made more since to flip it to Classic Hits and give Cox a run for it's money because Cox Radio doesn't own a hip hop station in San Antonio.

Back to Music Choice.

 

[stevensonair]

"Clear Channel doesn't make good decisions" - ah, so a company with millions at stake didn't bother to do any market research?

 

[willdav713]

"Clear Channel doesn't make good decisions" - ah, so a company with millions at stake didn't bother to do any market research?

How did they do it? By only hitting the night clubs? I am sure they asked the people with the big spending power like in the Dominion, 1604, Stone Oak, what they wanted in a radio station.

Wasn't Clear Channel on the verge of bankruptcy recently and they had to sell more stations? I might be wrong but I remember someone mentioning that.

I wish Clear Channel would place WOAI-AM on 105.7 FM so I can pick up Sean Hannity on the way to work.

 

[stevensonair]

The idea a company the size of Clear Channel bases its format decisions on a handful of nightclubs is lunacy.

And your stereotype of the people listening to this new station is equally unfair.

Clear Channel would have no reason to simulcast the 50+ appeal of conservative talk on an FM signal given the demographics of San Antonio, and in fact, have been abandoning talk on FM - most recently in Pittsburgh. FM conservative talk isn't growing. And the people responsible for making those decisions have reams of data to back that up - and the increased appeal and billing of the new rhythmic format.

 

[willdav713]

The idea a company the size of Clear Channel bases its format decisions on a handful of nightclubs is lunacy.

And your stereotype of the people listening to this new station is equally unfair.

Clear Channel would have no reason to simulcast the 50+ appeal of conservative talk on an FM signal given the demographics of San Antonio, and in fact, have been abandoning talk on FM - most recently in Pittsburgh. FM conservative talk isn't growing. And the people responsible for making those decisions have reams of data to back that up - and the increased appeal and billing of the new rhythmic format.

I didn't mention the people listening to this new station. I did however mention when Clear Channel made their decision they didn't do through
research.

I would also like to add the fact that Emmis' 99.7 which simulcasts KLBJ 590 AM does pretty well in the ratings, one of Emmis' top billers.
They air Alex Jones, Glen Beck, Ground Zero, and Rush Limbaugh.
The northside of San Antonio is Conservative out in places like Stone Oak, right outside Alamo Heights, Dominion area, portions of the Medical Center. San Antonio tried a liberal talker on 92.5 and it failed. 106.7's problem was it was all syndicated, and Cox doesn't do well with the
Talk radio format.

Radio One's News 92 FM is still on the air, and going strong.

I don't know where you even get the 50+ numbers from, but I can assure you, most people I know that listen to Conservative Talk radio are in my age range. Of course, I don't go out to clubs, or party so maybe I am a little bias in my own opinon, but we all have our own biases.

But I bet dollars for daisies that Clear Channel didn't think this out througly like they should have. Furthermore I bet this station will only last a maximum of 2 years.

102.7 airs the Cowboy's games.

So yes a talk radio station on FM can succeed. It is how you execute that station's effectivness.

But who knows we might find out that Clear Channel has a backdoor deal with the folks of Sirrius, a I scratch your back and you scratch mine type of deal.

 

[purpledevil]

Clear Channel makes decisions that result in them getting back the greatest return on their investment. That's what any business that's going to stay in business for very long's objective is.

This is not Clear Channel's first attempt at taking on KBBT. It is the first time they've went all in with a full powered San Antonio station, and I'd agree that this was a smart decision for Clear Channel.

What I find completely out of line, is the sneakiness of how Clear Channel pulls these types of moves wIth the "old girls" like KZEP. It has been a rockin' in San Antonio on 104-5 since 1969 as KEXL, and since 1986 as K-Zep. No warning, no thank you to longtime listeners,*no respect to the history of what you had in 104-5.

That's my gripe, whether it's a worthy gripe or not is certainly debatable, but nonetheless, it comes across even to the most basic listener out there, that these operators running the show simply don't care about those consuming the product. Ever think that may be a reason more and more people aren't consuming?

It's like a restaurant that serves bad food. Word gets around, a reputation is built, and people stop going there to eat. Eventually, it has no choice but to close for business, bankrupt and licking wounds. Why is the medium suffering in the way it is? Lack of pride in the properties owned, such as this, certainly doesn't help.

104-5 was not burning down the barn anymore with its classic rock format, but at the very least deserved a better send off than just being relegated to a minuscule translator, with barely a mention of it to those who supported it for all those years.

 

[purpledevil]

Um, willdav, KROI is still going, but the "strong" part you mentioned is a bit debatable...

It's still on the air, and I'm certainly grateful. God help us if we need instant information one day, KROI's gone, and we're left with KTRH and its "News" radio.

As for the new "Hot" format, can I ask you, what do you think the whole "Wild 105-7" was about? Clear Channel has been working towards this launch for quite awhile, and one could even argue that it goes as far back to when they tested the market with KRPT running a somewhat similar format. This most certainly wasn't a knee jerk reaction, just poor treatment to the listeners of the prior resident of 104-5, in my estimation.

 

[stevensonair]

So we have assertions in this thread by "willdav" that:

1. Clear Channel would flip a major market station without doing their homework.

2. Rhythmic listeners aren't demographically and financially viable.

3. Right wing talk is growing on FM and with people under the age of 54 because of the ages of "most people he knows that listen to it." Guess what? I know people who like heavy metal. Doesn't mean I should be programming it or that anyone would buy airtime if I did.

4. The bizarre assertion that Clear Channel might have "backdoor deals" with Sirius - I don't get why, CC gets a better performing format and Sirius gets a handful of new subscribers? What's the logic in that?

 

[willdav713]

The idea a company the size of Clear Channel bases its format decisions on a handful of nightclubs is lunacy.

And your stereotype of the people listening to this new station is equally unfair.

Clear Channel would have no reason to simulcast the 50+ appeal of conservative talk on an FM signal given the demographics of San Antonio, and in fact, have been abandoning talk on FM - most recently in Pittsburgh. FM conservative talk isn't growing. And the people responsible for making those decisions have reams of data to back that up - and the increased appeal and billing of the new rhythmic format.

Clear Channel makes decisions that result in them getting back the greatest return on their investment. That's what any business that's going to stay in business for very long's objective is.

This is not Clear Channel's first attempt at taking on KBBT. It is the first time they've went all in with a full powered San Antonio station, and I'd agree that this was a smart decision for Clear Channel.

What I find completely out of line, is the sneakiness of how Clear Channel pulls these types of moves wIth the "old girls" like KZEP. It has been a rockin' in San Antonio on 104-5 since 1969 as KEXL, and since 1986 as K-Zep. No warning, no thank you to longtime listeners,*no respect to the history of what you had in 104-5.

That's my gripe, whether it's a worthy gripe or not is certainly debatable, but nonetheless, it comes across even to the most basic listener out there, that these operators running the show simply don't care about those consuming the product. Ever think that may be a reason more and more people aren't consuming?

It's like a restaurant that serves bad food. Word gets around, a reputation is built, and people stop going there to eat. Eventually, it has no choice but to close for business, bankrupt and licking wounds. Why is the medium suffering in the way it is? Lack of pride in the properties owned, such as this, certainly doesn't help.

104-5 was not burning down the barn anymore with its classic rock format, but at the very least deserved a better send off than just being relegated to a minuscule translator, with barely a mention of it to those who supported it for all those years.

Well let's see how many times Clear Channel has tried this "hip hop" bandwagon.

1. 92.5 KHTY Hot 92.5 (2002)
2. 92.5/105.7 KQXT-HD3 (2013)
3. 104.5 KZEP

Lasted for less than 2 years.

105.7 had the coverage for it's Wild 105.7 Rythmic CHR format. But they decided to flip to Spanish.

Clear Channel pretty much makes Rock stations go the way of the dinosaurs.

First it was Rock 101 KLOL in 2004.
Next it was 93.7 The Arrow 10 years later.
Now it is KZEP 104.5 with it's 93.3 reincarnation sounding just like KLOL during it's last years.
And they say Radio provides a public service, and part of that service according to CC is "turning their listeners away!"
Might as well call themselves Rock 93.3 and go away in less than a year. Oh wait, I just gave them an idea.

 

[willdav713]

So we have assertions in this thread by "willdav" that:

1. Clear Channel would flip a major market station without doing their homework.

2. Rhythmic listeners aren't demographically and financially viable.

3. Right wing talk is growing on FM and with people under the age of 54 because of the ages of "most people he knows that listen to it." Guess what? I know people who like heavy metal. Doesn't mean I should be programming it or that anyone would buy airtime if I did.

4. The bizarre assertion that Clear Channel might have "backdoor deals" with Sirius - I don't get why, CC gets a better performing format and Sirius gets a handful of new subscribers? What's the logic in that?

1. Unless there goal is to have a lot of unhappy customers and sell off the station like they did with KLOL then they did their homework.

2. They are financially viable. But there is only so much you can cut that pie. You can't have 12 stations playing the exact same songs, the one that sells the airtime the cheapest will win.

3. Where did I mention Right wing talk? I mentioned Conservative talk. Now, who is making unfair assumptions?
I know people who like heavy metal, but that will always be and has always been a niche format just like Rap, and Jazz.
Oh, I like Jazz too but I don't expect a station to flip to Jazz or buy airtime on it.

4. Although an assumption as of now, that wasn't the case with the payola scandal floating a round a few years back, remember payola, pay to play?