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This comes from www.arkansasbusiness.com
What they didn't mention is that Carole Kramer also starts Monday.
Enjoy....
WAIRadio and SportStar Management Team Up
By Nate Hinkel
Arkansas Business - 2/6/06
A fleet of at least five Internet radio stations operating out of a trendy suite in a west Little Rock office building is a long way from running one country radio station on a home computer in a stuffy bedroom.
In less than two years, Steve Freeman’s faith in Internet radio has come full circle by recently joining forces with Gordon Media Group. The combined company will be moving under one roof March 1 at the Bowman Business Plaza at 1515 S. Bowman Road near the Arkansas Skatium, where it will launch a slew of new stations and begin fine-tuning them one by one.
Gordon Media Group of Little Rock, headed by radio veteran Gordon Heiges, is now the parent company to both SportStar Management, which it launched last fall, and TCR Radio, which includes Freeman’s Internet radio ventures.
“I’ve known Steve for a while, and when he started this company I recognized that there is some real potential here and asked him if I could join forces with him,” said Heiges. “We talked about it for a little bit and finally decided to put something together, and we worked out a deal and, before you know it, we’re one big happy family.”
You know Freeman from his “No Holds Barred” Internet radio talk program that is aired weekdays on the all-talk WAIRadio.com. He is also the creator of one of the Internet’s most popular country radio stations, KMVK.com, The Maverick, which quickly became one of the 10 most streamed stations on Live365.com, the Internet’s largest radio portal.
Freeman’s shtick is that Internet radio can be just as successful as terrestrial radio if it’s given the same treatment, like having live broadcasters and focusing on local issues and advertising.
Heiges has already seen benefits to the combination of Internet radio with the sports marketing end of his venture.
“We’re doing a lot in sports marketing and advertising, and we’ve been fortunate that we’ve been able to do a lot of tie-ins with some of the clients we have with SportsStar. The synergy has been unbelievable, more than what I ever expected it to be.”
You’ll recall, SportStar is run by former University of Central Arkansas football player Ray Daugherty, who landed an exclusive deal with his alma mater to officially own the multimedia selling rights to UCA athletics through the UCA Sports Network. SportStar sells advertising for all available media outlets, including radio and television networks, athletic facilities, and the department’s Web site.
Out to Launch
Part of the new company’s moving plans includes the launch of three new Internet stations, which will expand the demographics the company has to work with.
Zoo98.com, a current hit format station aimed at 18-34-year-olds, and KKYKradio.com, a classic rock effort, are both plays off former popular stations in the Little Rock market.
“Zoo98.com will be a lot of pop music mixed with some modern rock, which will be a perfect mix for that demographic,” said Freeman. “At KKYKradio.com, you’ll have a true classic rock station where you won’t hear anything from the last 15 to 17 years.”
Also launching soon will be KFSHradio.com, which will be a new take on your average contemporary Christian rock station.
Based on recent studies of listening trends, a good chunk of Christian radio listeners still turn to secular radio to hear songs they grew up listening to and to keep a pulse on pop culture.
“We’re going to blend rock, today’s hip Christian rock and urban contemporary Christian,” said Freeman. “As long as the songs are positive in nature, we’re going to incorporate a lot of mainstream music in there as well.”
One thing the stations will eventually all have in common is that Freeman and Gordon are seeking out “top notch talent” to be live on-air disc jockeys for each station.
Later Lynch
Freeman also said big changes are in store for WAI Radio beginning March 1, including the addition of a new morning show featuring former KARN talent Grant Merrill.
The morning show, to be called “Arkansas A.M.,” will run from 7-9 a.m. weekdays and will be a “news magazine-type show; very conversational with news, sports and interviews,” according to Freeman.
Pat Lynch’s show will be pushed back to a 9 a.m. starting time and will run through 1 p.m., when Freeman’s “No Holds Barred” will begin airing through 4 p.m.
The biggest change will be a new show that will fill the 5-8 p.m. slot that makes Little Rock the exclusive affiliate of a popular New York-based talk show called “The Young Turks.” It airs on 17 stations in markets nationwide, including a spot on Sirius satellite radio.
“It’s a politically left-leaning show,” said Freeman. “A lot of news, commentary and a lot of big name guests in news and political world.”
What they didn't mention is that Carole Kramer also starts Monday.
Enjoy....
WAIRadio and SportStar Management Team Up
By Nate Hinkel
Arkansas Business - 2/6/06
A fleet of at least five Internet radio stations operating out of a trendy suite in a west Little Rock office building is a long way from running one country radio station on a home computer in a stuffy bedroom.
In less than two years, Steve Freeman’s faith in Internet radio has come full circle by recently joining forces with Gordon Media Group. The combined company will be moving under one roof March 1 at the Bowman Business Plaza at 1515 S. Bowman Road near the Arkansas Skatium, where it will launch a slew of new stations and begin fine-tuning them one by one.
Gordon Media Group of Little Rock, headed by radio veteran Gordon Heiges, is now the parent company to both SportStar Management, which it launched last fall, and TCR Radio, which includes Freeman’s Internet radio ventures.
“I’ve known Steve for a while, and when he started this company I recognized that there is some real potential here and asked him if I could join forces with him,” said Heiges. “We talked about it for a little bit and finally decided to put something together, and we worked out a deal and, before you know it, we’re one big happy family.”
You know Freeman from his “No Holds Barred” Internet radio talk program that is aired weekdays on the all-talk WAIRadio.com. He is also the creator of one of the Internet’s most popular country radio stations, KMVK.com, The Maverick, which quickly became one of the 10 most streamed stations on Live365.com, the Internet’s largest radio portal.
Freeman’s shtick is that Internet radio can be just as successful as terrestrial radio if it’s given the same treatment, like having live broadcasters and focusing on local issues and advertising.
Heiges has already seen benefits to the combination of Internet radio with the sports marketing end of his venture.
“We’re doing a lot in sports marketing and advertising, and we’ve been fortunate that we’ve been able to do a lot of tie-ins with some of the clients we have with SportsStar. The synergy has been unbelievable, more than what I ever expected it to be.”
You’ll recall, SportStar is run by former University of Central Arkansas football player Ray Daugherty, who landed an exclusive deal with his alma mater to officially own the multimedia selling rights to UCA athletics through the UCA Sports Network. SportStar sells advertising for all available media outlets, including radio and television networks, athletic facilities, and the department’s Web site.
Out to Launch
Part of the new company’s moving plans includes the launch of three new Internet stations, which will expand the demographics the company has to work with.
Zoo98.com, a current hit format station aimed at 18-34-year-olds, and KKYKradio.com, a classic rock effort, are both plays off former popular stations in the Little Rock market.
“Zoo98.com will be a lot of pop music mixed with some modern rock, which will be a perfect mix for that demographic,” said Freeman. “At KKYKradio.com, you’ll have a true classic rock station where you won’t hear anything from the last 15 to 17 years.”
Also launching soon will be KFSHradio.com, which will be a new take on your average contemporary Christian rock station.
Based on recent studies of listening trends, a good chunk of Christian radio listeners still turn to secular radio to hear songs they grew up listening to and to keep a pulse on pop culture.
“We’re going to blend rock, today’s hip Christian rock and urban contemporary Christian,” said Freeman. “As long as the songs are positive in nature, we’re going to incorporate a lot of mainstream music in there as well.”
One thing the stations will eventually all have in common is that Freeman and Gordon are seeking out “top notch talent” to be live on-air disc jockeys for each station.
Later Lynch
Freeman also said big changes are in store for WAI Radio beginning March 1, including the addition of a new morning show featuring former KARN talent Grant Merrill.
The morning show, to be called “Arkansas A.M.,” will run from 7-9 a.m. weekdays and will be a “news magazine-type show; very conversational with news, sports and interviews,” according to Freeman.
Pat Lynch’s show will be pushed back to a 9 a.m. starting time and will run through 1 p.m., when Freeman’s “No Holds Barred” will begin airing through 4 p.m.
The biggest change will be a new show that will fill the 5-8 p.m. slot that makes Little Rock the exclusive affiliate of a popular New York-based talk show called “The Young Turks.” It airs on 17 stations in markets nationwide, including a spot on Sirius satellite radio.
“It’s a politically left-leaning show,” said Freeman. “A lot of news, commentary and a lot of big name guests in news and political world.”