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Sports to replace KNX News simulcast at 97.1 FM

Possible or they could move KGMZ programming from 95.7 to 106.9
Or Cumulus could revive KFOG on 560. Or I could grow a sixth toe on each foot.

In the SFBA, KCBS is a strong and consistent #2 in a market that is historically strong in news. (NPR member station KQED is usually #1, except in the month before Christmas, for reasons that shouldn't need explaining to anyone on this board.) And the KCBS/KFRC simulcast has been going on since 2008, so 18 years.

Actually, 17 years, since the simulcast began October 27, 2008. But that's a minor point. The major point is that strong brand equity has been established with the 106.9 dial position. The general public at this point doesn't remember the decades that frequency spent as KEAR.

Audacy already has an FM sports station (KGMZ "The Game") which is a weak second to the legacy sports station in the market, KNBR, which also has an FM simulcast on a stronger signal.
I suspect the FM coverages of KGMZ and KNBR-FM are somewhat the same: they both get the geographic core of the Bay Area. For the fringe areas, KNBR still has its AM. If KGMZ were to do something equivalent, it would need to buy an AM. That's as likely as finding an inexpensive apartment in San Francisco. And note that KNBR hadn't been doing so well, at least until Nielsen blacked out Cumulus from the public ratings reporting.

Finally, to state the painfully obvious, San Francisco and Los Angeles are different markets. What is a positive development in one may not be a positive development in the other. KNX has had a different trajectory than KCBS, even with their common origins, but those common origins are now decades in the past. Aside from the overnight simulcast, which is really just a cost-control move in a time of constrained revenues, they are different stations.


So it seems to me that unless Audacy wanted to flip the card table over to see what happened, switching 106.9 for 95.7 makes no sense.
It would be a profoundly stupid move.
 
The under-40 audience won't listen to AM. al with Nielson, the on-air and streaming audience is combined into a single rating. Thus, a 0.4 stream rating online can help prop up sales revenue for KNX.
Not really a problem, because the under 40 audience does not get their news from radio at all, neither AM or FM.
 
Not really a problem, because the under 40 audience does not get their news from radio at all, neither AM or FM.
It is a problem, because all that is left is a demo that is dropping off by the year and is not being replaced.

There was a time when AM News Radio had a relevance in our society, when communication of information options were much more limited . Not any more.

As an example, I was a huge Red Sox fan back in the 80s and 90s. Back then, the only way find out the score of the games as they were being played without waiting for the nightly highlights on ESPN was to get the scores on the :15 or :45 on KNX or KFWB, which I often did during the summer baseball season. I knew other Sox fans that did the same. Now people can actually WATCH the game on their phone if they desire.

All news is a labor intensive effort to not just collect and report the news, but also to sell all of those spots that are necessary to pay for it all. With AM listening going down almost daily, there simply won't be enough geezer listening to support the whole operation. This is a format that is on its last legs.

One day they will turn off the news on 1070 too and you will hear howls of angst and anger as people decry the disappearance of a valuable news source that they never use.
 
I hope Ben remains buried in overnights. He talks a big game but after actually seeing him on some regional sportsnet filler programming, it's clear he has a massive Napoleon complex thing going on. I'd love if they hired JRSportBrief who lost his nightly show in the Infinity Sports Network shuffle, but I don't know his relation to the region, and they're going to need folks who can talk LA sports.

I also think any ideas of simulcasting between 97.3 in SD and 97.1 are a little far fetched. Aren't these two separate markets with separate sports teams and separate fan bases? What's the commonality aside from them both being in Southern California? I feel like any "simulcasting" will only occur if they happen to both be running the same syndicated show.

I also thought of a small, silly reason for me to be amped about this- my wife bought me a DAB radio after a trip to London that I keep in the kitchen. Naturally the DAB option is useless here, but it does have AM and FM bands. However, the AM band has a weird step to it; I can't simply tune from 550 to 560 and 570, etc. The closest I can get to 710 is 711. The closest I can get to 570 is 567! But I for sure can tune into 97.1 on the FM side 😆

Still don't understand 100% how DAB radio works, but that's for a different discussion, maybe i'll ask on the Europe forums.
 
Still don't understand 100% how DAB radio works, but that's for a different discussion, maybe i'll ask on the Europe forums.
DAB is an all-digital audio service used primarily in Europe. It operates on a range of frequencies around 220 MHz. Multiple audio services are multiplexed on a single transmitter.

It’s much like HD on FM would be if there was no analog component. I have read that a fully digital station, running a pure version of the current HD, could have as many as ten audio services.
 
I think Jay Mohr should be considered for mornings, he did a great midday show on Fox Sports Radio to replace Jim Rome's when Jim Rome left Premiere and has a history in sports talk (Best Damn Sports Show, etc.) and he's in LA.
Now that I'd love to hear. I didn't listen to his previous show as I wasn't listening to sports talk then, and I know he's had some personal issues since then, but I think he may be in a good place now, good enough to jump back in the saddle.

Also I caught what I believe is the same Alex Silverman statement airing again this morning around 9:20. In terms of AM audio quality, he does mention Apple Carplay/Android Auto as a means to listen in-car. I find it funny though that someone here mentioned that if they're connecting their phone to their car, they're not doing it to listen to KNX 😆
 
I've noticed all news WTOP does extremely well in all the right demos, #1 in 18-34, 18-49, and 25-54 with double digit shares. How come they do well in those demos, while the Audacy newsies fail to crack the top 10 in those demos?
 
I've noticed all news WTOP does extremely well in all the right demos, #1 in 18-34, 18-49, and 25-54 with double digit shares. How come they do well in those demos, while the Audacy newsies fail to crack the top 10 in those demos?
How many Congressional staffers are there in Washington compared to Los Angeles, or San Francisco, or Chicago.... ?
 
IHeart needs to soon ask itself how badly they need two AC’s in their L.A. cluster. Real can’t go because of Big Boy’s contract. Not 98.7 because of the Woody’s shows contract. Not KOST because of Christmas. Not KIIS. What real purpose does KBIG serve on the FM dial?
 
All Sports to me seemed like a realistic possibility for 97.1 when Amp Radio's ratings were in the dirt. I was somewhat surprised (albeit happy) when the decision was made to simulcast 1070 on 97.1 instead of a flip to Sports.

97.1 prior to its CHR run had a legacy of male oriented programming, first with classic rock and then with FM Talk. The flip to Sports, in a tangential way, returns 97.1 to its roots.

There were rumors abound when Entercom still owned 100.3 that it was strongly considering a flip to All Sports.
 
IHeart needs to soon ask itself how badly they need two AC’s in their L.A. cluster. Real can’t go because of Big Boy’s contract. Not 98.7 because of the Woody’s shows contract. Not KOST because of Christmas. Not KIIS. What real purpose does KBIG serve on the FM dial?
It gets big female numbers and generates impressive revenue. I agree with BigA that KBIG is likely a bit more important to the cluster than even KOST.

If KBIG were to go away, what should succeed it on 104.3? A KFI simulcast? A KLAC simulcast? I will acknowledge the former is an intriguing scenario to ponder, but it is unclear to me if disenfranchised KBIG listeners would land at KOST or KIIS in big numbers. Such a move could tempt Meruelo to flip one of its stations to Hot AC. You might also see Jack FM, The Wave or KRTH making minor tweaks under such a scenario to appeal to former KBIG listeners.

As a company, I will say iHM has not shown any meaningful commitment to All Sports on FM.

They have 860 radio stations, and the number of full power FM sports stations they own can be counted on two hands (and possibly even one hand). Seattle, Minneapolis, Hartford and Grand Rapids are the only ones I can recall.

iHM literally dumped the All Sports format from the Green Bay Packers affiliate in Milwaukee in the middle of football season last year.

As for talent contracts, they can always be renegotiated or bought out. Also, a station serving as a syndicated show's flagship is not necessarily a format change barrier.
 
All Sports to me seemed like a realistic possibility for 97.1 when Amp Radio's ratings were in the dirt.

I think I agreed with you on that at the time. My only reservation is they would need to spend a ton of money to do it.

My view on that hasn't changed. They will have to hire a lot of people and make deals for live coverage because they only have the Rams.

If KBIG were to go away, what should succeed it on 104.3?

Asked another way: How would they replace $31 million???? That's a lot of money to blow up.
 
It gets big female numbers and generates impressive revenue.

If KBIG were to go away, what should succeed it on 104.3? A KFI simulcast? A KLAC simulcast? I will acknowledge the former is an intriguing scenario to ponder, but it is unclear to me if disenfranchised KBIG listeners would land at KOST or KIIS in big numbers. Such a move could tempt Meruelo to flip one of its stations to Hot AC. You might also see Jack FM, The Wave or KRTH making minor tweaks under such a scenario to appeal to former KBIG listeners.

As a company, I will say iHM has not shown any meaningful commitment to All Sports on FM.

They have 860 radio stations, and the number of full power FM sports stations they own can be counted on two hands (and possibly even one hand). Seattle, Minneapolis, Hartford and Grand Rapids are the only ones I can recall.

iHM literally dumped the All Sports format from the Green Bay Packers affiliate in Milwaukee in the middle of football season last year.

As for talent contracts, they can always be renegotiated or bought out. Also, a station serving as a syndicated show's flagship is not necessarily a format change barrier.
Some brought up here about flipping an iHeart FM station for a KFI simulcast. Given KFI’s recently waning fortunes, what good would that do now?
 


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