Bye bye, KFRC-FM

[oldiesfan6479]

Two things noted in the R&R item on KCBS/KFRC:

The KFRC-FM calls would be retained on 106.9.

While most of the airstaff was released, the evening jock stays
(as he is also the cluster's production director), a direct opposite
of recent events at other CBS classic hits stations.

But KFRC HD2/kfrc.com doesn't have to be jockless--they can run
the CBS corporate classic hits wonderboy Tom Kent 24/7. :

 

[andreajesus]

While music is pretty much owned by FM today and I won't argue that, the fact is if you put too many news/talk stations on FM, you're only going to drive the music audiences to Sirius XM, Music Choice, wi-fi or some other provider.

I would say that in a while, a majority of music listeners will have fled to their iPods, their winamp playlists, yadda yadda.

The marketplace will continue to support the market leaders... but will there be 20 stations in any market playing music 5 years from now? I would seriously doubt it. The big music stations that have established brands now (Z-100, KOIT, KOST, yadda yadda...) will survive, but I don't think the also-rans will make it.

funny thing - with the news about KFRC-FM, i was thinking about just what you're saying - ARE music fans gonna end up COMPLETELY fleeing to their iPods, winamp, and the like? I don't know...i think there's ALWAYS gonna be people who like personality with their music (I remember in New York back in 1986, we had a similar situation when long-time beautiful music legend WTFM became WNSR - "....s is for soft rock....." - i remember saying to a fellow radio legend that WNSR sounds like a radio jukebox...) i mean, like this, music is music is music and you can get it ANYWHERE - but if you're of a certain age and generation like I am that REMEMBERS and APPRECIATES PERSONALITY radio, the KFRC news is, to say the least, VED-DY interesting... ???

Andrea

 

[LKellerIII]

I think that 106.9 should go Top 40. Are they insane? this will flop to. They should totally go Top 40.

Thanks for stopping by XCountry to sound your familiar refrain. Sorry you won't be getting your Z-107, B-106.9 or whatever. Keep praying for that Q-102...ya never know.

Some random thoughts about this:

* No big loss. Many of us have been complaining about the poor execution of KFRC on 106.9. It's hard to get attached to a radio station that's just a juke-box with commercials. We've all heard the songs 1,000 times, and for those of us with HD radio, they'll still be available...without commercials.

*All Access indicates that the call letters will stay. It would be stupid to get rid of them. They have heritage and value, and may be useful for another station later on. They can't use KCBS-FM anyway...those calls are in LA, along with KCBS-TV.

* Please forget the blather about the "final demise" of KFRC. The Big 610 died 23 years ago. Oldies KFRC on 99.7 was a pretty decent station in the 90s, but it never tried to be a re-birth of the Big 610. Yes - Bobby Ocean was there, but Ron and Cammy were hardly Dr. Don Rose. Again - for a lesson in how to do it right, reference K-Earth 101 with Morgan, Steele, and even Shotgun Tom Kelly these days, who still carries on the "tradition," so to speak.

* I do feel sorry for the staff, just like I feel badly for anybody who is suddenly out of a job.

 

[andreajesus]

I think that 106.9 should go Top 40. Are they insane? this will flop to. They should totally go Top 40.

* I do feel sorry for the staff, just like I feel badly for anybody who is suddenly out of a job.

and THAT, my dear, is the saddest thing about this...gifted radio personalities and support personnel being out of work...

 

[BossRadioDJ]

* I do feel sorry for the staff, just like I feel badly for anybody who is suddenly out of a job.

Indeed. Dave Sholin, Celeste Perry, Dean Goss, Sue Hall, John Mack Flanagan, among others ... plus support people. All wonderful people.

Ben Fong-Torres had a few things to say in an email he sent over this afternoon, which you can read in my sorry little blog.

DJ

 

[andreajesus]

NAILED IT!! (and by the way, DJ, i LIKE your "...little blog..." :-*)

Andrea

 

[ricoontheradio]

So, will another operator take a shot at Classic Hits? Who would be viable candidates?

 

[Bongwater]

While music is pretty much owned by FM today and I won't argue that, the fact is if you put too many news/talk stations on FM, you're only going to drive the music audiences to Sirius XM, Music Choice, wi-fi or some other provider.

I would say that in a while, a majority of music listeners will have fled to their iPods, their winamp playlists, yadda yadda.

The marketplace will continue to support the market leaders... but will there be 20 stations in any market playing music 5 years from now? I would seriously doubt it. The big music stations that have established brands now (Z-100, KOIT, KOST, yadda yadda...) will survive, but I don't think the also-rans will make it.

Thankfully, there are plenty of varieties and approaches to non-music programming and as a result, many different voices and approaches will be viable, some local, some satellite. They just have to be interesting, compelling, informative, all that stuff. Sports... right-wing... left-wing... business... all-news... room for all of those and probably then some on the FM band. Nashville already has a sports and a talk on FM.

But after which, what will be of FM?

Like I said, there are bazillions of analog FM radios out there, and when there's nothing but news/talk, you will know you have successfully killed the radio industry.

Come to think of it...it might not be so bad, I'd just hate to be a shareholder in all this if this doesn't work.

But all I ask (and this is from a former radio jock who now is pretty much disgusted with the biz) is you'd better SERIOUSLY think this over, because once the last people interested have fled to their iPods and satellite, WinAmp, wi-fi, etc., there's NO getting them back.

I've seen a lot of dumbass decisions made into rule and this one ranks as one of the all-time DUMBEST. It is, like Wall Street's worst, an idea based on pure mass speculation. Yes, other cities have news/talk and all sports FMs. A lot of them also not doing so good.....

The biz sees it as a way to grab younger, hipper listeners. But by now, younger, hipper listeners couldn't care less about radio. FM or AM, it's an "old people's" thing to them. Honestly, who of this generation needs radio if (Christ forbid) another terrorist attack should happen? They got CNN, text messaging, et al.

What I'm basically pointing out is terrestrial radio's days are numbered enough. It does not help things from the business end of it to accelerate this any faster than it already has been. Because regardless if you want FM put on cell phones, the fact is it will be a redundant feature by the time it gets to the market en masse. There's also HD, selectivity and sensitivity issues to be worked out and mass produced small radios have never been very good at that - to say NOTHING of cell phones the size of a matchbook. It's pretty much DOA as far as I can see and even the blind can see this clearly.....

 

[DavidKaye]

and THAT, my dear, is the saddest thing about this...gifted radio personalities and support personnel being out of work...

When movies came in, the vaudeville stars had to adapt. When talkies came in, the silent film stars had to adapt. When TV came in, the network radio stars had to adapt. That's the way of the entertainment business.

One can hardly blame CBS or local management or whoever made the decision because putting KCBS on FM will do good things to boost the ratings. And KFRC-FM at #33, well....

 

[DavidKaye]

So, will another operator take a shot at Classic Hits? Who would be viable candidates?

Uh, you don't listen to KFOG, KSAN, or KOIT, do you?

 

[HenryOchs]

So, will another operator take a shot at Classic Hits? Who would be viable candidates?

Maybe KKSF should take a shot at the Classic Hits format. They would do great as a Classic Hits station.

 

[Bongwater]

* I do feel sorry for the staff, just like I feel badly for anybody who is suddenly out of a job.

Indeed. Dave Sholin, Celeste Perry, Dean Goss, Sue Hall, John Mack Flanagan, among others ... plus support people. All wonderful people.

Ben Fong-Torres had a few things to say in an email he sent over this afternoon, which you can read in my sorry little blog.

DJ

Your blog ain't sorry, it's one of the best I've read yet....

 

[sfradio]

how about 95.7 do classic hits? they can't do worse then the wolf

 

[icybluelake]

Hmmm, spoken word formats. Makes me wonder if any radio station has ever stunted by reading poetry over the radio. That would be funny. For a while.

 

[kenrayc]

KNGY is not doing to well in the rating they could do Classic Hits.

 

[EastBay]

So, will another operator take a shot at Classic Hits? Who would be viable candidates?

Maybe KKSF should take a shot at the Classic Hits format. They would do great as a Classic Hits station.

Or maybe they should just play some REAL jazz. They're still playing the same songs they've been playing for the last 6+ years...that gets old after awhile, just like 'classic hits'. I don't listen to KKSF any more because of that- except for Sunday nights when they actually break format and play good jazz.

 

[atwater kent]

Classic Hits has been tried in various fashions 4 times in the past 10 years and failed: KSAN, The Drive, Max & KFRC. Just exactly why would someone choose to repeat the mistake again so quickly? It's the format that always looks so easy and never seems to fly. KFOG, the Bone and the Fox effectively block anyone from building a big enough base of P1 listeners. CBS will try the FM news simulcast for the next year or so, waiting to see if the FM migration theory is correct or until a better format choice emerges. It's a cheap and easy way to get beyond the last two disasters at 106.9.

 

[radio dx]

R.I.P. KFRC it's finaly over (by the way take a lesson from ABC (7) and CBS (5) news on fm will not work in the bay area there's a reason nobody is doing it.

 

[ricoontheradio]

So, will another operator take a shot at Classic Hits? Who would be viable candidates?

Uh, you don't listen to KFOG, KSAN, or KOIT, do you?

I'm not in the market; I wasn't aware that KFRC had completely moved away from playing any 60s at all. But now that I look at Mediabase (after seeing your post), I realize they didn't have much of an exclusive playlist.

 

[davideduardo]

I've seen a lot of dumbass decisions made into rule and this one ranks as one of the all-time DUMBEST. It is, like Wall Street's worst, an idea based on pure mass speculation. Yes, other cities have news/talk and all sports FMs. A lot of them also not doing so good.....

Almost without exceptions, all news (#1 WTOP in DC) and news/talk and sports on FM have done marvelously. The exceptions have been either marginal signals or startups that had second string, mostly syndicate, talent. Moves or simulcasts of existing formats have been successful and have increased the under-55 audience considerably.

If your conclusions are based on this inaccurate perception, then your conclusions are also off target.