Changes at Clear Channel Cedar Rapids: RIP Mix 96.5

[The Outsider]

At 9AM, Clear Channel flipped formats on WMT-FM. After at least 25 years, first as Adult Contemporary, then by the mid 90's Hot Adult Contemporary, Mix 96.5 now goes by 96.5 Kiss Country. The Country format is moving from KKSY (95.7 Kiss Country) Anamosa-Cedar Rapids. For the time being, the stations are simulcasting but 95.7 will have a new format soon. It appears that the programming will be similar to what is currently aired on 95.7, a local morning show with Premium Choice the rest of the day.

Now that I have taken care of the reporting, time for some opinion. Another bad move by Clear Channel. KKSY have been a non factor both in terms of ratings and in terms of brand recognition in Cedar Rapids since it debuted on 2/14/08. Clear Channel has slowly killed off MIX 96.5 for several years now. They had a revolving door of a morning show, including the failed Kidd Kraddick expiriment. They seemed to have some consistancy in AM drive with market veteran Carla Davis, but she was let go in the company-wide RIF a few months ago. Having Ryan Seacrest on in PM Drive was another bad move as that show is not really compatible with Hot AC (see Kidd Kraddick). Rumor is, midday host Katheryn Foxx may be part of the new morning show as she is a big Country fan and has been known to play a mean fiddle at area Country shows.

KHAK continues to have virtually all of the area Country listeners. If anything, this move will help AC KDAT and CHR KZIA. If 96.5 Kiss Country can take a few shares from KHAK, KZIA will benefit. Another question is, what will they do with 95.7? They are in the process of moving to a tower that is closer to Cedar Rapids.

If anything, judging from early social media reaction, this move has not been very popular.

Thoughts?

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Mix-...hannel-Opts-for-Country-Format-136267248.html

 

[Casey]

I've been predicting this for some time. This is a good move for Clear Channel, but they need to ditch the syndication. It is awful and will hold the station back, as it did KKSY. KHAK has pretty good programming.

I bet KKSY either picks up KRQN's old format, or it syndicates WMT-AM.

They could maybe use KMJM's format and move that to KKSY, to help squeeze KHAK from both sides, but it seems unlikely.

I do hope KHAK does not change their format to strictly new country to combat this. KHAK has actually gotten good in the last year.

 

[The Outsider]

It seems like ever since KMRY signed the 93.1 translator on, they have tried to capture the disenfranchised KRQN audience. They do have a nice blend of oldies.

I agree, if 96.5 airs the same canned programming that was on 95.7, it will not last. KHAK has an extremely loyal audience that stood behind them even during the 2008 flood when they were forced off the air for a while. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a WMT-AM simulcast, either on 95.7 or on 96.5 when/if this country format fails.

Apparently, KGYM is supposed to add a Cedar Rapids FM translator to go along with the translator they recentl;y added in Iowa City. Clear Channel could flip 95.7 to sports. They tried it before on 1360, and had to deal with that poor signal. If they add Fox Sports Radio, bring back Jim Rome and take Dan Patrick away from KGYM on the basis of being able to run the show live, they might be able to draw some listeners to 95.7. However, I doubt they would invest in adding local talk like KGYM has. KKSY already airs some sports now. Mainly overflow from WMT-AM or KMJM-AM like Iowa women's basketball.

On a side note, it is kind of strange hearing Brent Balbinot on KGYM, then hearing him later that everning on WMT broadcasting Iowa women's basketball. Last week Jo Hamlin filled in on color for a game and I thought, all they need now is to have Todd Brommelkamp and it would be a B&B takeover on WMT! And there isn't anything WMT/Clear Channel can do about it since the Iowa Hawkeye announcers are employed by Learfield and approved of by the athletic department. If people didn't know better, they might think Balbinot still worked for the Clear Channel stations.

The key to any move they make is to promote it. Sometimes, I think their only idea of promotion is hoping that the Gazette or one of the local TV stations will run a story about any changes.

 

[Kent]

Judging from website registrations, WMT-FM will be the new calls at 95.7 and will likely be a simulcast of WMT 600 while the KKSY calls go to 96.5. I suspect the change will happen when 95.7 moves a few miles closer to Cedar Rapids, which is supposed to happen any day now. While the signal won't be great, it should do fine over Cedar Rapids with the stereo turned off.

 

[Casey]

It seems like ever since KMRY signed the 93.1 translator on, they have tried to capture the disenfranchised KRQN audience. They do have a nice blend of oldies.

I agree, if 96.5 airs the same canned programming that was on 95.7, it will not last. KHAK has an extremely loyal audience that stood behind them even during the 2008 flood when they were forced off the air for a while. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a WMT-AM simulcast, either on 95.7 or on 96.5 when/if this country format fails.

Apparently, KGYM is supposed to add a Cedar Rapids FM translator to go along with the translator they recentl;y added in Iowa City. Clear Channel could flip 95.7 to sports. They tried it before on 1360, and had to deal with that poor signal. If they add Fox Sports Radio, bring back Jim Rome and take Dan Patrick away from KGYM on the basis of being able to run the show live, they might be able to draw some listeners to 95.7. However, I doubt they would invest in adding local talk like KGYM has. KKSY already airs some sports now. Mainly overflow from WMT-AM or KMJM-AM like Iowa women's basketball.

On a side note, it is kind of strange hearing Brent Balbinot on KGYM, then hearing him later that everning on WMT broadcasting Iowa women's basketball. Last week Jo Hamlin filled in on color for a game and I thought, all they need now is to have Todd Brommelkamp and it would be a B&B takeover on WMT! And there isn't anything WMT/Clear Channel can do about it since the Iowa Hawkeye announcers are employed by Learfield and approved of by the athletic department. If people didn't know better, they might think Balbinot still worked for the Clear Channel stations.

The key to any move they make is to promote it. Sometimes, I think their only idea of promotion is hoping that the Gazette or one of the local TV stations will run a story about any changes.

Saying KHAK has a loyal audience is an understatement. That has been getting increasingly so with the last few years. 96.5 could make a big dent in KHAK's audience, but they will need real air staff from morning through afternoon and a less strict "new country" format. I'm not sure New Country is what the area really wants. Rather, a good variety. KHAK has been doing better on variety lately.

I'm not looking forward to KGYM's plan to up the translators power. That will make it almost impossible for me to pick up KIAQ & WCOW on those rare but enjoyable moments. Unfortunately my opinion doesn't count. KMJM failed to have much impact on KGYM and it has failed to make an impact as Classic Country. I wouldn't be surprised if they just blew it up in a couple years or made a change to Spanish. They actually had an audience for a while with the Classic Country, but the playlist is simply awful. I don't know of anyone who still listens to it, and I knew quite a few who did.

It seems neither Clear Channel nor Cumulus do much promotion in Cedar Rapids. KRQN is pretty much dying, partly because no one knows about it.

Judging from website registrations, WMT-FM will be the new calls at 95.7 and will likely be a simulcast of WMT 600 while the KKSY calls go to 96.5. I suspect the change will happen when 95.7 moves a few miles closer to Cedar Rapids, which is supposed to happen any day now. While the signal won't be great, it should do fine over Cedar Rapids with the stereo turned off.

That seems the most likely at this point, unless Clear Channel can come up with a translator for 600. When 95.7 is moved, it will have potential to carry its own format. I would actually rather see it do that, as I have not been fond of WMT-AM in recent years.


I hope to new owners of KXEL shake things up a bit. If they plan it right, they could become much more competitive with their strong coverage. They have too much national programming in my opinion. If they tried some local talk shows, I think they would have good success. They reach half of Iowa.

 

[The Outsider]

The KKSY call letters will be moved to 96.5. As of today, (1/2) they are branding 95.7 as WMT-FM. It simulcasts most of WMT-AM programming. Glenn Beck will run on a 1 hour delay from 9 to noon on the FM while the AM continues to air local programming. Sean Hannity has been added and will run weeknights from 7 to 10pm. As a result, Dave Ramsey, which was on from 7 to 9 has been moved to 10-midnight and Jim Bohannon has been dropped.

It seems doubtful that Iowa Hawkeyes football and men's basketball will air on both. Tonight's coaches show aired on AM 600, but Hannity was on the FM.

Another cost cutting move by Cheap Channel adding a couple of shows they already own through Premiere Radio Networks.

 

[The Outsider]

Here is an update. The top of the hour legal ID on 95.7 is still "KKSY Anamosa", but they are branding as WMT-FM. Until they get the tramsmiter moved, I think 95.7 is still a waste of electricity as I tried to listen to in in Cedar Rapids, and the sound quality was horrible. Moving it 5 miles close to Cedar Rapids probably won't help much.

 

[Casey]

The KKSY call letters will be moved to 96.5. As of today, (1/2) they are branding 95.7 as WMT-FM. It simulcasts most of WMT-AM programming. Glenn Beck will run on a 1 hour delay from 9 to noon on the FM while the AM continues to air local programming. Sean Hannity has been added and will run weeknights from 7 to 10pm. As a result, Dave Ramsey, which was on from 7 to 9 has been moved to 10-midnight and Jim Bohannon has been dropped.

It seems doubtful that Iowa Hawkeyes football and men's basketball will air on both. Tonight's coaches show aired on AM 600, but Hannity was on the FM.

Another cost cutting move by Cheap Channel adding a couple of shows they already own through Premiere Radio Networks.

I didn't realize they already dropped country off the station. I'll have to tune in Thursday morning. The habit of airing programs at a delay is annoying to me. They should air them when they were designed to be aired or not at all.

96.5 has gathered a lot of attention, but whether or not it will retain listeners remains to be seen. They need a good morning show to compete with KHAK or this will be a complete waste of time and money. KHAK has gotten better in the last year in my opinion. Their only major flaw currently is their evening show. CMT Radio Live is pretty bad. 96.5 KKSY needs to use the newfound publicity to their advantage and put together a good station. Airing like 95.7 KKSY did I am sure will end in a failure.

Here is an update. The top of the hour legal ID on 95.7 is still "KKSY Anamosa", but they are branding as WMT-FM. Until they get the tramsmiter moved, I think 95.7 is still a waste of electricity as I tried to listen to in in Cedar Rapids, and the sound quality was horrible. Moving it 5 miles close to Cedar Rapids probably won't help much.

Worse sound quality than when they played country? The station has always failed to deliver that bold, rich sound.

I can't really believe they are allowed to move it closer to Cedar Rapids. If they ever decide to use HD radio, it will interfere badly with 95.5 KZAT from Belle Plaine.

 

[Speedyb]

The KKSY call letters will be moved to 96.5. As of today, (1/2) they are branding 95.7 as WMT-FM. It simulcasts most of WMT-AM programming. Glenn Beck will run on a 1 hour delay from 9 to noon on the FM while the AM continues to air local programming. Sean Hannity has been added and will run weeknights from 7 to 10pm. As a result, Dave Ramsey, which was on from 7 to 9 has been moved to 10-midnight and Jim Bohannon has been dropped.

It seems doubtful that Iowa Hawkeyes football and men's basketball will air on both. Tonight's coaches show aired on AM 600, but Hannity was on the FM.

Another cost cutting move by Cheap Channel adding a couple of shows they already own through Premiere Radio Networks.

I didn't realize they already dropped country off the station. I'll have to tune in Thursday morning. The habit of airing programs at a delay is annoying to me. They should air them when they were designed to be aired or not at all.

96.5 has gathered a lot of attention, but whether or not it will retain listeners remains to be seen. They need a good morning show to compete with KHAK or this will be a complete waste of time and money. KHAK has gotten better in the last year in my opinion. Their only major flaw currently is their evening show. CMT Radio Live is pretty bad. 96.5 KKSY needs to use the newfound publicity to their advantage and put together a good station. Airing like 95.7 KKSY did I am sure will end in a failure.

Here is an update. The top of the hour legal ID on 95.7 is still "KKSY Anamosa", but they are branding as WMT-FM. Until they get the tramsmiter moved, I think 95.7 is still a waste of electricity as I tried to listen to in in Cedar Rapids, and the sound quality was horrible. Moving it 5 miles close to Cedar Rapids probably won't help much.

Worse sound quality than when they played country? The station has always failed to deliver that bold, rich sound.

I can't really believe they are allowed to move it closer to Cedar Rapids. If they ever decide to use HD radio, it will interfere badly with 95.5 KZAT from Belle Plaine.

Great analysis Casey!! I nominate you as the moderator when "The Outsider" is off and away from discussion. NOT that I take ANYTHING away from your insight (Outsider)...you still RULE!!

I drove through that area last week and AGREE completely! 8)