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Ro On The Radio let go from Star 101.5 KFMD plus potential format change from classic hits.

J

Jakob9999

Ro On The Radio wrote in an Instagram post that she was let go from Star 101.5 KFMD, with hints that they are switching from classic hits to a new format in her post. I asked if her departure coincided with a format change and she responded that they will probably make that decision after the New Year. Makes sense since many stations around this time have used Christmas music as an opportunity to flip their formats when Christmas/New Years is over and the music is retired.

If they are going to change formats from classic hits, what do you guys think it will be? One theory I have is Jack FM or similar station. They have nearly all the titles for such a format, they would just have to get the missing items, like genres such as heavy metal, nu metal, more rap/hip hop (basically genres they don't play or don't play frequently), and decades like 2000s (though they do have a small amount of early 2000s music in rotation right now), 2010s, and 2020s to complete the Jack playlist. A Jack format would make for an easy transition for all involved, including Brock and Marci, and whoever they bring on to fill Ro's spot from 10-2:30. This would mean the jettison of Tom Kent and Throwback Nation radio as they necessarily wouldn't fit the format. If they go with Jack, I definitely see Party Train being added as that is part of the Jack package. If they decide to produce the format themselves, they could opt for a locally produced show.

If they decide to locally produce the format, they could call it Sam 101.5, a reference to Walmart founder Sam Walton, and potentially adopt the callsign KSAM if available. This is just my two cents on Star's rumored format change.
 
Jakob9999 said:
If they decide to locally produce the format, they could call it Sam 101.5, a reference to Walmart founder Sam Walton, and potentially adopt the callsign KSAM if available. This is just my two cents on Star's rumored format change.
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The KSAM-FM call is currently in use by a country station in Huntsville, Texas. KSAM(AM) is a sports station in Whitefish, Montana.
 
Andy Travis said:
"SAM" used to be used for a jack-esque format called "SAM - simply about music." So that may be under license.
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Rats! It is no longer used by Westwood One since their acquisition by Dial Global/Cumulus as they had a license for the Jack FM brand. The revival that they are doing is not called S.A.M, so they may be fine.

CTListener said:
The KSAM-FM call is currently in use by a country station in Huntsville, Texas. KSAM(AM) is a sports station in Whitefish, Montana.
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Dang it! If only KSAM-AM used it, then 101.5 would be ok to use it. AM and FM can share the same callsign, even if they are both located in the same city.
 
KFMD and the rest of Hog Radio's stations except for KUOA 1290 are in the process of being sold to the owners of KRRD 1250 and KXNA 104.9. In order to stay within ownership caps, KXNA is being spun to the company’s engineer.

I'm not sure what the new format will be, but I'm guessing it will compliment what they have in some manner. If you just look at signal contours, The X would actually be a better fit on 101.5 than it is on 104.9, which has always done worse than signal contours would indicate in Fayetteville due to terrain. Virtually all of The X's audience is in Fayetteville, but its signal is better in Springdale and Rogers.

If I were making the decisions there, The X and KFMD would swap signals, and 104.9 would bring back the old KC105 handle the station used in the 80’s. I'd even try to get the KCIZ calls back. That name would still have some equity with those of us in the target audience. KC105 was still doing well against Power 105.7 despite having a terrible signal when it was sold, and the new owners pulled the plug.
 
Kent said:
KFMD and the rest of Hog Radio's stations except for KUOA 1290 are in the process of being sold to the owners of KRRD 1250 and KXNA 104.9. In order to stay within ownership caps, KXNA is being spun to the company’s engineer.

I'm not sure what the new format will be, but I'm guessing it will compliment what they have in some manner. If you just look at signal contours, The X would actually be a better fit on 101.5 than it is on 104.9, which has always done worse than signal contours would indicate in Fayetteville due to terrain. Virtually all of The X's audience is in Fayetteville, but its signal is better in Springdale and Rogers.

If I were making the decisions there, The X and KFMD would swap signals, and 104.9 would bring back the old KC105 handle the station used in the 80’s. I'd even try to get the KCIZ calls back. That name would still have some equity with those of us in the target audience. KC105 was still doing well against Power 105.7 despite having a terrible signal when it was sold, and the new owners pulled the plug.
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Unfortunately, the KCIZ calls are in use by a station in Mora, Minnesota. KCIZ-LP - Wikipedia Bringing back the old KC105 handle would be great, but may not have as much poignancy if we can't get the KCIZ calls. Maybe they could swap? Wonder when they will change the format?

Also, Brock and Marci were also let go too. They were let go the same day as Ro.
 
Jakob9999 said:
Ro On The Radio wrote in an Instagram post that she was let go from Star 101.5 KFMD, with hints that they are switching from classic hits to a new format in her post. I asked if her departure coincided with a format change and she responded that they will probably make that decision after the New Year. Makes sense since many stations around this time have used Christmas music as an opportunity to flip their formats when Christmas/New Years is over and the music is retired.

If they are going to change formats from classic hits, what do you guys think it will be? One theory I have is Jack FM or similar station. They have nearly all the titles for such a format, they would just have to get the missing items, like genres such as heavy metal, nu metal, more rap/hip hop (basically genres they don't play or don't play frequently), and decades like 2000s (though they do have a small amount of early 2000s music in rotation right now), 2010s, and 2020s to complete the Jack playlist. A Jack format would make for an easy transition for all involved, including Brock and Marci, and whoever they bring on to fill Ro's spot from 10-2:30. This would mean the jettison of Tom Kent and Throwback Nation radio as they necessarily wouldn't fit the format. If they go with Jack, I definitely see Party Train being added as that is part of the Jack package. If they decide to produce the format themselves, they could opt for a locally produced show.

If they decide to locally produce the format, they could call it Sam 101.5, a reference to Walmart founder Sam Walton, and potentially adopt the callsign KSAM if available. This is just my two cents on Star's rumored format change.
Click to expand...
Jack in smaller markets has a fixed playlist and mostly jockless with no other programming. Only the larger markets customize the playlist. I don't think that has changed.
 
Jakob9999 said:
Unfortunately, the KCIZ calls are in use by a station in Mora, Minnesota. KCIZ-LP - Wikipedia Bringing back the old KC105 handle would be great, but may not have as much poignancy if we can't get the KCIZ calls. Maybe they could swap? Wonder when they will change the format?
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure the LP suffix is separate from the regular calls, which would mean 104.9 could become KCIZ without interfering with the LP. Of course, I suppose, with Northwest Arkansas having grown so much in the last 30 years, the brand equity wouldn’t necessarily mean as much. A large percentage of the population there consists of transplants who probably couldn’t have found Fayetteville on a map when KCIZ was a flame throwing top-40.

Jakob9999 said:
Also, Brock and Marci were also let go too. They were let go the same day as Ro.
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It's a bloodbath over there. Pretty much everyone is gone. All the music stations except KBVA have their shows pages totally scrubbed. The GM isn’t being retained either. Another friend with close ties to the market says there will likely be at least two format changes as a result of this deal.
 
Kent said:
I'm pretty sure the LP suffix is separate from the regular calls, which would mean 104.9 could become KCIZ without interfering with the LP. Of course, I suppose, with Northwest Arkansas having grown so much in the last 30 years, the brand equity wouldn’t necessarily mean as much. A large percentage of the population there consists of transplants who probably couldn’t have found Fayetteville on a map when KCIZ was a flame throwing top-40.



It's a bloodbath over there. Pretty much everyone is gone. All the music stations except KBVA have their shows pages totally scrubbed. The GM isn’t being retained either. Another friend with close ties to the market says there will likely be at least two format changes as a result of this deal.
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Interesting. Wonder what those two format changes will be.
 
Kent said:
Well, one shoe appears to be dropping. Radioinsight reports that Star 101.5 is playing songs about change. The website indicates a new format launches at noon tomorrow.
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Interesting. Just tuned in and heard Tim say they have a brand new format (and he also made it out to be brand new for the area as a whole) debuting noon like you said and also playing songs with change in them like you said. They have played Scorpions' Winds of Change and Little River Band's Cool Change.
 
Kent said:
101.5 My FM. Sounds like hot AC. The opening launch took shots at both Magic 107.9 and Power 105.7.
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It would appear so. Oldest song I've heard is Good Riddence (Time Of Your Life) by Green Day from 1997. Going to their Wikipedia simply lists them as Top 40. Also, from 11:30 to 12, they played The Final Countdown by Europe with the last playing ar 11:55 featuring a rocket launch style countdown. featuring T- and what not.
 
Classic hits/oldies has never done well in that market. I went to college there for a few years in the 90’s. My first semester there, KOLZ “Oldies 98.3“ became “Soft Rock Z98.3.” I also came back from one summer to find CCM B99 had become 99.5 Cool FM, which ran ABC/SMN Pure Gold. Before long, it was airing blocks of sports programming. After I left, the sports and oldies formats split again with oldies moving to KAMO-FM 94.3. The for,at lasted longer there but switched to country in a few years. KSEC 95.7 picked up the oldies format after airing smooth jazz but got bought by a Spanish-language broadcaster.

I'm thinking Star 101.5 lasted longer than the others, but it never has had good numbers. Of course, I've said I'd have tried to relaunch it on 104.9. Everyone seems to think they can make the format work there, but that always seems to turn out a fool's errand.
 
Any thoughts as to why? I seem to recall oldies being mixed in on Magic (KEZA) at one time - I vaguely recall a liner about "light rock and good time oldies" but am not sure if that was a part time feature or short experiment.

From a ratings standpoint, 94.9 doesn't seem to be doing great - huge signal, and heritage talent in Jon Williams, I'm sure he's doing good direct business. Music isn't terribly obscure or anything, so not sure why it doesn't do better.
 
Kent said:
Classic hits/oldies has never done well in that market. I went to college there for a few years in the 90’s. My first semester there, KOLZ “Oldies 98.3“ became “Soft Rock Z98.3.” I also came back from one summer to find CCM B99 had become 99.5 Cool FM, which ran ABC/SMN Pure Gold. Before long, it was airing blocks of sports programming. After I left, the sports and oldies formats split again with oldies moving to KAMO-FM 94.3. The for,at lasted longer there but switched to country in a few years. KSEC 95.7 picked up the oldies format after airing smooth jazz but got bought by a Spanish-language broadcaster.

I'm thinking Star 101.5 lasted longer than the others, but it never has had good numbers. Of course, I've said I'd have tried to relaunch it on 104.9. Everyone seems to think they can make the format work there, but that always seems to turn out a fool's errand.
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I just spotted something interesting. If you go to the Rox Radio Group website ROX Radio Group it states that they still own KXNA as well as a country station, but has no mention of 101.5 and the other Hog Radio group properties. Going to 101.5's website lists the owner as Rox at the bottom. Very weird as it was mentioned that KXNA was spun to the company's engineer.
 
Andy Travis said:
Any thoughts as to why? I seem to recall oldies being mixed in on Magic (KEZA) at one time - I vaguely recall a liner about "light rock and good time oldies" but am not sure if that was a part time feature or short experiment.

From a ratings standpoint, 94.9 doesn't seem to be doing great - huge signal, and heritage talent in Jon Williams, I'm sure he's doing good direct business. Music isn't terribly obscure or anything, so not sure why it doesn't do better.
Click to expand...
Wonder who will get the oldies/classic hits format now? 94.9 could do so, or they could change to Jack FM, which is similar-ish to AAA.
 
Andy Travis said:
Any thoughts as to why? I seem to recall oldies being mixed in on Magic (KEZA) at one time - I vaguely recall a liner about "light rock and good time oldies" but am not sure if that was a part time feature or short experiment.
Click to expand...

Magic did the light rock/good time oldies for several years in the early 90's. I got to Fayetteville in January 1994, and, shortly after that, it started doing all 70's weekends. Z-98.3 almost immediately launched "Disco Escape Weekends," which was the greatest hits of the 80's all weekend long.

I suspect a lot of the problem with classic hits in NWA is that there really aren't that many signals that cover the entire market. When the frequency allocation table was established, there was really no way of knowing that area was going to explode in population. Even when I was there, the place was booming, but I don't think anyone thought it would be what it is today. More signals cover the entire market, or at least the bulk of it, than did 25 years ago, but that area still has a lot of signals that cover either Fayetteville/Springdale or Bentonville/Rogers but not reliably both areas. Terrain there, especially around Fayetteville, makes a lot of the area signals do worse than they do on paper.

While the area has a lot of 18-34 audience due to the college and a more ethnically diverse audience due to the poultry processing industry, I don't think it has any shortage of potential classic hits ears. In addition to all of the people moving there to do business with Walmart, a lot of my friends from college are still there. I don't know how representative of a percentage of the students at the time that is, but that area had a lot more jobs for us than it did a few years earlier. Those jobs have only grown since. All of them are square in the crosshairs of the classic hits demo. So, the problem wouldn't seem to me to be one of demographics.

Andy Travis said:
From a ratings standpoint, 94.9 doesn't seem to be doing great - huge signal, and heritage talent in Jon Williams, I'm sure he's doing good direct business. Music isn't terribly obscure or anything, so not sure why it doesn't do better.
Click to expand...

That's also a signal that doesn't cover the market very well. It's a C2 that's well outside of town. When I lived there, it was KDAB, which aired a southern gospel format as "Higher Power 94.9." It seemed to really splatter over 94.7 and 95.1 at my apartment, but, as soon as it signed off (which it did at 10:00), KTTS-FM 94.7 and KMXL 95.1 would come booming in. It's really good in Fayetteville, Farmington, and Prairie Grove, but it's pretty mediocre elsewhere. You can get it on a good car radio or home stereo in much of the area, but that's about all that will get it reliably, especially in Rogers and Bentonville. I liked the old "Kruz FM" format 94.9 did about 10 years ago. I'm not really surprised it didn't do very well, though.

Jakob9999 said:
I just spotted something interesting. If you go to the Rox Radio Group website ROX Radio Group it states that they still own KXNA as well as a country station, but has no mention of 101.5 and the other Hog Radio group properties. Going to 101.5's website lists the owner as Rox at the bottom. Very weird as it was mentioned that KXNA was spun to the company's engineer.
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Websites are usually low priorities for most operators. I noticed that, too, but I didn't find it that surprising. Hog Radio still has its website as well.

Jakob9999 said:
Wonder who will get the oldies/classic hits format now? 94.9 could do so, or they could change to Jack FM, which is similar-ish to AAA.
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I have no idea, though I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be nobody. Cumulus tried oldies once before with Cool 94 and didn't like the results it got. Granted, that was a long time ago, but you usually don't go back to doing something that didn't work before. Plus, classic hits/oldies hasn't worked that well for anybody. Then again, Cumulus has gone back to AC on 94.9 multiple times.
 
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