Maybe “Free rock” middays would be more appropriate. I realize that sounds like a joke, but realistically it’s about the best way to make that day-part even remotely palatable. Frosty, Heidi and Frank are so L.A. geocentric that I bet they are oblivious to the fact that they were removed unceremoniously from San Diego.. certainly their website shows that to be the case as they still have San Diego listed as an affiliate.
Local talent might be a way to go here, however the talent pool that I’ve heard in this market is even more arid than the climate itself. (Keeping in mind I’ve lived here for 24.5 years now)
Perhaps the best way to think about FREE-FM is to begin to refer to it in the past tense, as it will be put in the FM-talk graveyard within the next year or so. Normally such a ratings disaster would be put to bed sooner, but seeing as how CBS Radio insists on pumping ungodly dollars into failed concepts (Jack-FM/WCBS et al), we’ll have to deal with FREE-FM for at least 12 months more.
Adam Carolla is talented, the presentation of the show was pretty bad initially but made slow improvements, and just when it started to maybe have some semblance of momentum they decided to put Danny Bonaduncecap on the air with Adam—oof.
As to the suggested lineup earlier in this thread: Opie and Anthony do NOT get ratings, unless you mean LOW ratings. Taking a quick glimpse at WFNY (92.3 FREE FM New York), you’ll note that the 12+ numbers overall are bad (1.2) and the morning numbers… well, a slightly better 1.9, wow, that’s something. They’re syndicated to many markets because their 1) cheap and 2) (as a friend of mine who works for Citadel has told me) good at sucking up to the CEOs. Their show is a bad Stern parody and appeals to a niche audience at best.
I do sincerely apologize for bringing down the mood of this thread, but someone had to be a voice of realism.