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Sports to replace KNX News simulcast at 97.1 FM

I remembering hearing on air when 97.1 flipped to KNX. Someone explained how the move was “years in the works.” How long did this decision take? As I’ve said before, in L.A, KNX never made sense on 97.1. San Francisco can support FM news, but not L.A.

This should’ve been done years ago. I never believed actual research was done to show that people didn’t want sports on FM in L.A. I just think managers at stations just know very little about sports and they choose not to even consider such a flip
 
Interesting. As noted above Audacy knows how many people listen to KNX on AM vs FM. I’d guess they’re not expecting huge numbers from HD-2 but will probably heavily push streaming.

If they are smart, KNX will utilize sports reports/ updates from the staff of the new sports station, and perhaps utilize KNX to give news, weather or traffic updates on the sports station, to cross promote both stations.
 
Loverofradio said:
I remembering hearing on air when 97.1 flipped to KNX. Someone explained how the move was “years in the works.” How long did this decision take? As I’ve said before, in L.A, KNX never made sense on 97.1. San Francisco can support FM news, but not L.A.

This should’ve been done years ago. I never believed actual research was done to show that people didn’t want sports on FM in L.A. I just think managers at stations just know very little about sports and they choose not to even consider such a flip
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Makes me wonder if KFWB’s all-news format could’ve been saved if they went FM before 2009 or if KNX was always destined to be the lone survivor of the format, no matter what.
 
Mediafrog+ said:
For us in Houston it should add to the speculation of Audacy launching a simulcast of their AM sportstalker (KILT 610) on an FM, as it is one of only two markets where an Audacy sports format is currently stranded on AM (Sacramento is the other.) Seems getting sports on FM is a top priority for Audacy.
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Denver would like a word here. Yes, KAMP is a sports-betting format, emanating from the upper floors of the AM dial. It's facing off against Kroenke and Bonneville for the sports-talk audience, and against iHeart for Broncos games. Formidable competition. Yet it has a partnership with "Mile High Sports" for a daily local talk show. The appetite for sports talk in Denver seems insatiable. It's a top-20 market. And, though the Audacy cluster in Denver is small, with one AM, three FMs, and one FM translator, that translator could provide a path for an FM presence, given that "Front Range Country" likely has minimal numbers. Or one of the three full-power FMs could be flipped. (I doubt that would be KQMT, "The Mountain", but one of the other two....?) Viewed from a total portfolio perspective, it may be worth it for national sales for Audacy to be able to say they've got a sports-talker in Denver along with the rest of the chain. It wouldn't look good to be absent from such a sports-crazy market. And there's a certain standalone FM I'd keep my eyes on, too. The likelihood of any sort of path working out is low, especially given Audacy's recent financial history, but not zero.
 
Larry said:
Interesting. As noted above Audacy knows how many people listen to KNX on AM vs FM. I’d guess they’re not expecting huge numbers from HD-2 but will probably heavily push streaming.

If they are smart, KNX will utilize sports reports/ updates from the staff of the new sports station, and perhaps utilize KNX to give news, weather or traffic updates on the sports station, to cross promote both stations.
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It’s also worth noting KNX does not regularly give sports reports like KCBS-AM does at :15 and :45 past every hour, which is also what KFWB used to do.
 
Jstnpspck said:
Holy cow. Also… finally. For a city as fanatical as LA (with two of every major team because they’re just so special), this has been a long time coming and sorely needed. My main fear is Audacy using a lot of garbage BetMGM gambling content to pad the schedule, but I’d imagine they’d have to have local hosts in at least two major dayparts to compete. I’m also curious to simply see what an FM sports option for listeners does to 570 and 710. While I’m sad to see KNX lose an FM signal, I’ll likely be tuning into The Fan way more often (unless they’re talking point spreads and parlays). Exciting times!
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You may be unhappy. This is from RadioInsight:

Andrew Williams, who most recently served as Brand Manager of Audacy’s “BetMGM Network“, will serve in that role at “97.1 The Fan“. Williams joined Audacy in August 2022 from SiriusXM, where he served as an Executive Producer of their soccer channel for eight years. He has also served as a a producer and co-host for WTMM Albany NY and podcast producer for MLS’ Chicago Fire FC.
 
RMarino said:
Says whom? People have been speculating this for years, but here we sit in 2026 with the same ownership caps. I don’t see any proof that this will change.
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Our highly esteemed FCC chairman stated that waivers to exceed the ownership would be decided on a case by case basis. So far, I haven't seen any request denied so far. Notable waivers approved have been in San Francisco and Fort Myers, as well as others. I don't see this being reversed under the current administration.
 
Andy Ludlum said:
You may be unhappy. This is from RadioInsight:

Andrew Williams, who most recently served as Brand Manager of Audacy’s “BetMGM Network“, will serve in that role at “97.1 The Fan“. Williams joined Audacy in August 2022 from SiriusXM, where he served as an Executive Producer of their soccer channel for eight years. He has also served as a a producer and co-host for WTMM Albany NY and podcast producer for MLS’ Chicago Fire FC.
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I fully expected them to feature syndicated content somewhere during the day, I'd just so much rather it be from Westwood One Sports than BetMGM. But between Williams being at the helm and the fact that the "BetMGM Tonight" Instagram account is following their new Instagram page... I'm not exactly optimistic 😆
 
ted chittenden said:
Actually, I can think of another; that the all-news audience is ageing and advertising agencies want the younger audience that is drawn to all-sports stations. And, of course, there has been a lot of wishing on this Board for an FM sports outlet in L.A.
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True and also for the news part with KNX there were issues over who Audacy gets to replace the soon to be former CBS Radio News that was a factor in getting KNX-FM to flip to sports. This is just one of them for now.
 
Y2kTheNewOldies said:
True and also for the news part with KNX there were issues over who Audacy gets to replace the soon to be former CBS Radio News that was a factor in getting KNX-FM to flip to sports. This is just one of them for now.
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How was the loss of CBS News a factor in their decision? The timing is strictly coincidence.I doubt the KNX audience really cares about CBS News being replaced in the long term.
 
Another angle in this is how well The Wave and KROQ are doing now to where those stations didn’t have to be sacrificed. I have to admit, I always secretly thought KROQ was going to be that station.
 


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