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KOMA

C

Chicagophil

I worked at KOMA in the news department from 1975-78. Does anyone know why the current incarnation of KOMA doesn't use the old PAMS jingles? They were terrific and were considered industry classics. If the idea of the FM version is to replicate KOMA from the glory years, (and they do have some really good people), why not use the old logos?

Also, anybody have any photos of the old studios in Moore? I don't have a single one!

Phil Rogers
Chicago
 
A lot of the old Pams jingles also contain the 1520 in them. That sort of makes them un-useful for the current FM operation. Also, the reality is KOMA is trying hard to distance themselves from the sales stigma of being too old. So, they are really walking a fine line to retain listeners but not appear too old to be useful from a sales aspect.
 
OKCRadioGuy said:
A lot of the old Pams jingles also contain the 1520 in them. That sort of makes them un-useful for the current FM operation. Also, the reality is KOMA is trying hard to distance themselves from the sales stigma of being too old. So, they are really walking a fine line to retain listeners but not appear too old to be useful from a sales aspect.
Click to expand...

Mr. Jones and his talented staff have successfully kept the legend of KOMA fresh, vibrant and most importantly growing, for many years now even as they migrated into the "Classic Hits" era. While I still miss the simulcast on 1520 I have a great amount of respect for the talents of the folks on Brittan Road.

The dreamer in me would love to hear KOMA-AM possibly pick up the 55 -67 product and present it on AM rather than talk, but I'll take what I can get...
 
With new owners, I hope they do just exactly that. Who knows except for the guys at S.50th and Shields on what the future holds for the Big 1520... News-talk hasn't been a good fit so far based on ratings and revenue. If it was mine, I'd change it to something else as my first "fix" I'd institue. But, my last name is not Tyler, so it's up to those boys...
 
OKCRadioGuy said:
With new owners, I hope they do just exactly that. Who knows except for the guys at S.50th and Shields on what the future holds for the Big 1520... News-talk hasn't been a good fit so far based on ratings and revenue. If it was mine, I'd change it to something else as my first "fix" I'd institue. But, my last name is not Tyler, so it's up to those boys...
Click to expand...

Since my name isn't Tyler as well, let me toss this one up and see who catches.

"A Novel Way To Out Flank the Talkers"

In addition to 55-67 product with emphasis on 63-67, how about TOH news, traffic in drive-time and go after the geezer audience (me@56) by out flanking the talk stations with music. It could still be VT automated and in combo could pay for the light bill and more. Think "Full Service" on the cheap using oldies/TOH news/Traffic as the demo grab.

Yes I know ad agencies don't care about 55+ but as part of the cluster???
Who knows...
 
All great ideas!

As a person who worked at WBBM Newsradio in Chicago, a great station, for 14 years, I can tell you it is possible to do a great AM product without resorting to stereotypical right wing canned shows, which someone somewhere decided are now the only use for AM radio. By the way, I've been away from WBBM for 20 years, but it remains an extremely viable station, usually the top billing station in the market with HUGE numbers.

On the KOMA front, I actually loved the sound of the station in the 70's. The jingles were fabulous and we did some great things. And not all of them had 1520 in them...many were just "KOMAAAAAAA" or "KOMA OKLAHOMA CITY". And let's not forget, "YOURS TRULY...K-----OMA!" Great days. And it still just amazes me that they are sitting there at WKY's old digs!

Great to hear from you!
 
Chicagophil said:
All great ideas!

As a person who worked at WBBM Newsradio in Chicago, a great station, for 14 years, I can tell you it is possible to do a great AM product without resorting to stereotypical right wing canned shows, which someone somewhere decided are now the only use for AM radio. By the way, I've been away from WBBM for 20 years, but it remains an extremely viable station, usually the top billing station in the market with HUGE numbers.

On the KOMA front, I actually loved the sound of the station in the 70's. The jingles were fabulous and we did some great things. And not all of them had 1520 in them...many were just "KOMAAAAAAA" or "KOMA OKLAHOMA CITY". And let's not forget, "YOURS TRULY...K-----OMA!" Great days. And it still just amazes me that they are sitting there at WKY's old digs!

Great to hear from you!
Click to expand...

I too am a biased romantic about AM. I grew up listening to KOMA, KAAY, WLS, and many others plus spent a couple of years in studio 5 at 360 N. Michigan Ave. ;D

And of course we're only "dreaming" out loud here.

I know there's no ROI being live with KOMA-AM, but rather than letting it simply waste away as another fifth tier talker, why not be "innovative" and use "Oldies" along with VT technology, plus a few cluster assets for news and traffic. Heck even FOX at the TOH would be "good enough". Plus it would seal off that genre in OKC and prevent any end runs from others.
It could make a nice flanker to the "Talkers" as I said, and in tandem with the cluster probably goose the bottom line a bit.
 
Phil: Here is some irony for you... What the first incarnation of News-Talk 1520 KOMA was actually sort of trying to copy WBBM to some degree. The local management was from Chicago so that was a bit of "example" of what the station should be like. The execution was far from it though, mainly because of the PD they hired. He was a "manager" from Metro Traffic service. Running 1520 was so far over his head it want even funny.
 
All news can be a great format. But real live all news radio is just that...news! It can't be a bunch of right wing gibberish or left wing gibberish...or anything else. WBBM, KNX, WCBS, KCBS, WINS, KFWB, WCAU, KYW, and many more, have made trillions of dollars over many decades doing just that. It has to be well executed and yes, it can be very expensive to operate. But WBBM didn't become the top billing station in Chicago by compromising what they did (it doesn't hurt that the Bears bring in a lot of revenue). I loved working there and they have great people, some of them still there after the station went all news in 1968!

Not sure OKC could or would support a straight all news station. I did not know that KOMA actually billed itself that way.
 
Publicly, the really didn't. But, that's what they were really attempting, poorly. The thing needed a consultant from a real news-talk station that could give them direction. That person never happened. The local PD didn't fill in the gap. And, the expense got them nervous when people didn't immediately jump on their bandwagon. It was a C.F. from the get-go.
 
Well, Egg, is it just me, or does KOMA seem to be swinging older? When I listen to your station it seems to be very 70s, and of course, I've heard you throw a few 80s in on your show. KOMA was dipping into the oldies-style 80s hits, or at least 80s hits by acts from the 60s and 70s; but this last time I listened this morning, I only heard one song from the 70s, all the rest were late 60s. I don't have access to BDS or Mediabase, so I don't know how consistent it's been, or when it started.
 
Hello hello... My guess is that KOMA is sort of beginning to "feel the heat" by not having an exclusive club anymore for the older half of this city's listenership. For years they went with the idea that the "old ones" will just have to "put up with the newer music we play" to hear some of their music. KOMA had a default corner on the older audience. Now the fun begins because there's more than one choice. I bet they are trying to add some older songs again to try to straddle the fence and prevent erosion. It'll be interesting to see how things progress in the next year or so. Champlin is well capitalized so his need for an instant and huge return just isn't that big of a deal. What would be very amusing is to see afternoons taken locally. There's at least a couple guys on the "beach" that could do that very well. If 99.7 ever took afternoons local with the right talent, we would have a real fight going...
 
Good heavens, talk about straddling the fence ... did I really hear Nirvana's "All Apologies" on KRXO this evening? I know The Brew had been leaning Alternative ... but it always seemed like KATT would do their thing and KRXO would do their thing, and The Brew and Bob would fight it out for the last shreds. That was as weird as hearing Wham! and The Romantics on KOMA!
 
Everyone seems to be chasing what they aren't and are not satisfied to take care of the P1s. I personally find it really bizzare. Strangely, stations like The Twister and KJ103 that have stayed true to their format continue to do well. KMGL is another example. Most that have dinked with their format have suffered some ratings loss from it. In the case of KOMA, they have been able to advance the format up in years and still retain their audience, well... until they got another real competitor. The real fun will begin if the guys at 99.7 decide they need to take afternoon drive local. Strangely enough, there's at least a couple people I could think of right off the top of my head that have been recently "put on the beach" that could do a fine job doing that slot on 99.7.
 
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