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San Francisco FM Format Wheel Spinning?

A

allisonmarie

Guest
Is a San Francisco FM about to spin the format wheel with their finger ready to
stop it on Talk? All Access is asking that question today! Any of you out there
hearing any talk about "Talk" on a bay area FM Station? Who could it be? KEAR, Alice, KFRC, KEZR, MAX, Live-105, others????
 
It is hard to say how talk would do in the bay area. It was tried a while back on 95.7 and it failed. Could be because of the weak signal, but im guessing lineup choice had something to do with it. Didn't Dr. Laura briefly air on KPIX 95.7? For some reason im thinking she did. There are some long running talk formats on the west coast--97.1 down in Smell A, and The Buzz 100.7 up in Seatown. I think if done correctly, a talk format could be successful in the bay area.


> Is a San Francisco FM about to spin the format wheel with
> their finger ready to
> stop it on Talk? All Access is asking that question today!
> Any of you out there
> hearing any talk about "Talk" on a bay area FM Station? Who
> could it be? KEAR, Alice, KFRC, KEZR, MAX, Live-105,
> others????
>
 
Talk radio is meant to be on AM, music is meant to be on FM, that is they way it has been for years, talk radio won't survive on FM period. WE DO NEED A CHR/TOP 40 badly, top 5 market and no mainstream chr????, what gives????. I'm telling you now that strawberry is doing mornings over at WILD 949, it would make sense to go all CHR, and St. John afternoons, but I would get a different evening host, HOOD RAT does not cut it as a full timer, he should do the sat. nite street party and maybe some mixin, but not evening drive, IMHO.
 
> Talk radio is meant to be on AM, music is meant to be on FM,
> that is they way it has been for years, talk radio won't
> survive on FM period.

Tell that to Infinity's Los Angeles cluster, where KLSX/97.1 has been a talk station for about a decade or so.

(BTW, I chopped your post where I did so everyone wouldn't have to read your long, run-on paragraph a second time.)
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> It is hard to say how talk would do in the bay area. It was
> tried a while back on 95.7 and it failed. Could be because
> of the weak signal, but im guessing lineup choice had
> something to do with it. Didn't Dr. Laura briefly air on
> KPIX 95.7? For some reason im thinking she did. There are
> some long running talk formats on the west coast--97.1 down
> in Smell A, and The Buzz 100.7 up in Seatown. I think if
> done correctly, a talk format could be successful in the bay
> area.
>

Yes, Dr. Laura was on it, but it was before she had her new incarnation of her show. It was also off and on, depending on the O.J. trial. If Judge Ito took a long lunch, it was on for several hours, if not, it was only on briefly.

I think talk on FM could work, but not with only syndicated programming. You would need to get a goto morning or afternoon drive program based here. Since the options appear to be pretty much zero for that (it is bad that the closest thing might be moving Armstrong & Getty to the Bay) I am guessing that is not going to happen.
 
"I think if done correctly, a talk format could be successful in the bay area." --Ethan

"I think talk on FM could work, but not with only syndicated programming. You would need to get a goto morning or afternoon drive program based here. Since the options appear to be pretty much zero for that (it is bad that the closest thing might be moving Armstrong & Getty to the Bay) I am guessing that is not going to happen." --mrradioguy99

What is "done correctly"? How would you do it correctly? A "go to" morning and afternoon show? What does that mean?

What are we talking about here? Are we talking about newstalk or talk that's more topical, a mixture of serious news and satire? Is it top 40 energy with AM talk intellect? Is it someone equally comfortable interviewing, say, Jessica Simpson in one hour and Tom McClintock in the next? And if you're going to talk to entertainers, do you then talk to politicians in a lighter vain instead of a news talk host, like, say, Gene Burns? Is it more like Don Imus or more like Don & Mike? Or is it a little bit of everything, sort of like "Jack" talk radio?

Maybe the options are slim because the concept isn't in focus. Any thoughts on some specifics?

Oh, and I think we can all assume that the die hard CHR fan who made a comment in this thread wouldn't be in the target audience.
 
> Tell that to Infinity's Los Angeles cluster, where KLSX/97.1
> has been a talk station for about a decade or so.

It would be great to have the Hot Talk format here... Good point about LA's KLSX. It's an awesome station. Infinity Dallas has a great talk FM, KLLI - ironically it's called Live 105 and its PM drive guy is very popular - off the scale funny. (Live 105 in SF is one of my favorite stations except for the annoying imaging chick.. so let's not change it!).

With Stern leaving terrestrial by 2006... it will be interesting to see if any company has developed a decent Hot Talk morning show in preparation for his departure. The rumors of his replacement are less than exciting. Big shoes to fill in our current sea of mediocrity.
 
> > So what makes a format "hot talk?" More controversy? Less news-talk and more reliance on emotional hot-button isssues? Even more right wingers? KSFO has been using the "Hot Talk" slogan since ABC bought the station, but maybe they're not really "hot talk." I'm not against talk radio - I listen quite a bit. But KGO and KSFO are so dominant, it's hard to see why any company would blow up a format with decent ratings to end up with a 1.2 rated talk station. Maybe 106.9 then? I know - they could hire Imus in the morning, and carry Leykis's show in the afternoons. That's bound to be a ratings hit, just like it was on KPIX and KKCY, right? I don't think yet ANOTHER talk station would have much success unless they snagged some big names like Rush and Dr. Laura. But if Clear Channel did pull those 2 from KSFO, I think they're more likely to end up on CC's own KNEW, which could surely use the help.

Tell that to Infinity's Los Angeles cluster, where
> KLSX/97.1
> > has been a talk station for about a decade or so.
>
> It would be great to have the Hot Talk format here... Good
> point about LA's KLSX. It's an awesome station. Infinity
> Dallas has a great talk FM, KLLI - ironically it's called
> Live 105 and its PM drive guy is very popular - off the
> scale funny. (Live 105 in SF is one of my favorite stations
> except for the annoying imaging chick.. so let's not change
> it!).
>
> With Stern leaving terrestrial by 2006... it will be
> interesting to see if any company has developed a decent Hot
> Talk morning show in preparation for his departure. The
> rumors of his replacement are less than exciting. Big shoes
> to fill in our current sea of mediocrity.
>
 
Has everyone forgotten about 103.7 KGO-FM? Back in the early eighties? Talk did not survive then either. Even with the talk power house of KGO! After KGO-FM exited, 103.7 became KLOK-FM Yes/No Radio. Does anyone remember?

Then of course the 95.7 The Express KPIX disaster!

Talk FM just does not work in the Bay Area. Maybe in other markets. I hope whoever makes that programming decision will look at the History of FM Talk in the Bay Area.




> > > So what makes a format "hot talk?" More controversy?
> Less news-talk and more reliance on emotional hot-button
> isssues? Even more right wingers? KSFO has been using the
> "Hot Talk" slogan since ABC bought the station, but maybe
> they're not really "hot talk." I'm not against talk radio -
> I listen quite a bit. But KGO and KSFO are so dominant, it's
> hard to see why any company would blow up a format with
> decent ratings to end up with a 1.2 rated talk station.
> Maybe 106.9 then? I know - they could hire Imus in the
> morning, and carry Leykis's show in the afternoons. That's
> bound to be a ratings hit, just like it was on KPIX and
> KKCY, right? I don't think yet ANOTHER talk station would
> have much success unless they snagged some big names like
> Rush and Dr. Laura. But if Clear Channel did pull those 2
> from KSFO, I think they're more likely to end up on CC's own
> KNEW, which could surely use the help.
>
> Tell that to Infinity's Los Angeles cluster, where
> > KLSX/97.1
> > > has been a talk station for about a decade or so.
> >
> > It would be great to have the Hot Talk format here... Good
>
> > point about LA's KLSX. It's an awesome station. Infinity
> > Dallas has a great talk FM, KLLI - ironically it's called
> > Live 105 and its PM drive guy is very popular - off the
> > scale funny. (Live 105 in SF is one of my favorite
> stations
> > except for the annoying imaging chick.. so let's not
> change
> > it!).
> >
> > With Stern leaving terrestrial by 2006... it will be
> > interesting to see if any company has developed a decent
> Hot
> > Talk morning show in preparation for his departure. The
> > rumors of his replacement are less than exciting. Big
> shoes
> > to fill in our current sea of mediocrity.
> >
>
 
Wasn't 103.7 KSFX in the 60s? I remember a KFFX growing up.

Has everyone forgotten about 103.7 KGO-FM? Back in the early
> eighties? Talk did not survive then either. Even with the
> talk power house of KGO! After KGO-FM exited, 103.7 became
> KLOK-FM Yes/No Radio. Does anyone remember?
>
> Then of course the 95.7 The Express KPIX disaster!
>
> Talk FM just does not work in the Bay Area. Maybe in other
> markets. I hope whoever makes that programming decision will
> look at the History of FM Talk in the Bay Area.
>
>
>
>
> > > > So what makes a format "hot talk?" More controversy?
> > Less news-talk and more reliance on emotional hot-button
> > isssues? Even more right wingers? KSFO has been using the
>
> > "Hot Talk" slogan since ABC bought the station, but maybe
> > they're not really "hot talk." I'm not against talk radio
> -
> > I listen quite a bit. But KGO and KSFO are so dominant,
> it's
> > hard to see why any company would blow up a format with
> > decent ratings to end up with a 1.2 rated talk station.
> > Maybe 106.9 then? I know - they could hire Imus in the
> > morning, and carry Leykis's show in the afternoons.
> That's
> > bound to be a ratings hit, just like it was on KPIX and
> > KKCY, right? I don't think yet ANOTHER talk station would
> > have much success unless they snagged some big names like
> > Rush and Dr. Laura. But if Clear Channel did pull those 2
>
> > from KSFO, I think they're more likely to end up on CC's
> own
> > KNEW, which could surely use the help.
> >
> > Tell that to Infinity's Los Angeles cluster, where
> > > KLSX/97.1
> > > > has been a talk station for about a decade or so.
> > >
> > > It would be great to have the Hot Talk format here...
> Good
> >
> > > point about LA's KLSX. It's an awesome station.
> Infinity
> > > Dallas has a great talk FM, KLLI - ironically it's
> called
> > > Live 105 and its PM drive guy is very popular - off the
> > > scale funny. (Live 105 in SF is one of my favorite
> > stations
> > > except for the annoying imaging chick.. so let's not
> > change
> > > it!).
> > >
> > > With Stern leaving terrestrial by 2006... it will be
> > > interesting to see if any company has developed a decent
>
> > Hot
> > > Talk morning show in preparation for his departure. The
> > > rumors of his replacement are less than exciting. Big
> > shoes
> > > to fill in our current sea of mediocrity.
> > >
> >
>
 
> KSFX was owned by ABC and tried a number of music formats in the late 60s and early 70s, without much success. For a couple of years, they were AOR like sister station KLOS in LA. Their logo was identical in design to the one that KLOS uses to this day. I seem to remember they also tried Top 40 and called it "Musicradio" like 77/WABC. That didn't work either, so they switched to a soul oriented pop format not unlike Kiss-FM is today, and that was more popular. Then they morphed into "Disco 104" and rode the disco craze thru the mid 70s. I think KGO-FM started around 1980 or so - and coincided with ABC's effort to start an early talk network - which was mostly KABC hosts like Ira Fistell and Dr. Toni Grant. Another host was Owen Spann who had Ron Owens current morning time slot on KGO-AM. Ronn switched from evenings to mornings when they moved Spann to New York for the new network. The FM talk format was a huge flop - they even stopped mentioning the KGO-FM call letters and re-branded it "Talk Radio FM 104." At the time, I assumed this was so the stink of failure didn't somehow rub off on 810. Their last attempt to grab ratings was their only local show - a VERY uncensored sex-talk show hosted by Don Chamberlin, who had previoulsy hosted "California Girls" on KNEW in the mid-late 70s. Then they threw in the towel and sold it to the company that owned "Yes/No Radio" KLOK-AM in San Jose...around 1984, I think.

Wasn't 103.7 KSFX in the 60s? I remember a KFFX growing up.
>
> Has everyone forgotten about 103.7 KGO-FM? Back in the
> early
> > eighties? Talk did not survive then either. Even with the
> > talk power house of KGO! After KGO-FM exited, 103.7 became
>
> > KLOK-FM Yes/No Radio. Does anyone remember?
> >
> > Then of course the 95.7 The Express KPIX disaster!
> >
> > Talk FM just does not work in the Bay Area. Maybe in other
>
> > markets. I hope whoever makes that programming decision
> will
> > look at the History of FM Talk in the Bay Area.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > > > So what makes a format "hot talk?" More controversy?
>
> > > Less news-talk and more reliance on emotional hot-button
>
> > > isssues? Even more right wingers? KSFO has been using
> the
> >
> > > "Hot Talk" slogan since ABC bought the station, but
> maybe
> > > they're not really "hot talk." I'm not against talk
> radio
> > -
> > > I listen quite a bit. But KGO and KSFO are so dominant,
> > it's
> > > hard to see why any company would blow up a format with
> > > decent ratings to end up with a 1.2 rated talk station.
> > > Maybe 106.9 then? I know - they could hire Imus in the
> > > morning, and carry Leykis's show in the afternoons.
> > That's
> > > bound to be a ratings hit, just like it was on KPIX and
> > > KKCY, right? I don't think yet ANOTHER talk station
> would
> > > have much success unless they snagged some big names
> like
> > > Rush and Dr. Laura. But if Clear Channel did pull those
> 2
> >
> > > from KSFO, I think they're more likely to end up on CC's
>
> > own
> > > KNEW, which could surely use the help.
> > >
> > > Tell that to Infinity's Los Angeles cluster, where
> > > > KLSX/97.1
> > > > > has been a talk station for about a decade or so.
> > > >
> > > > It would be great to have the Hot Talk format here...
> > Good
> > >
> > > > point about LA's KLSX. It's an awesome station.
> > Infinity
> > > > Dallas has a great talk FM, KLLI - ironically it's
> > called
> > > > Live 105 and its PM drive guy is very popular - off
> the
> > > > scale funny. (Live 105 in SF is one of my favorite
> > > stations
> > > > except for the annoying imaging chick.. so let's not
> > > change
> > > > it!).
> > > >
> > > > With Stern leaving terrestrial by 2006... it will be
> > > > interesting to see if any company has developed a
> decent
> >
> > > Hot
> > > > Talk morning show in preparation for his departure.
> The
> > > > rumors of his replacement are less than exciting. Big
> > > shoes
> > > > to fill in our current sea of mediocrity.
> > > >
> > >
> >
>
 
Re: KGO-FM (103.7) Newstalk Format

The final day -- or, rather, the final night -- of the rock format on KGO-FM was May 3, 1982. That morning (5 AM?), they began by simulcasting Dunbar and Wygant with the news, then began their FM talk programming.

There have been a lot of failures of different formats at different times throughout the history of Bay Area radio. Just because one person's vision of how it should be done failed five (or ten, or twenty, or thirty) years ago doesn't mean that somebody else won't come along with a different variation on it.

Perhaps somebody has an original idea, and will use interesting talent, and will give it a shot at working for more than a few months. Not everybody has to love it. If you can get just 6% of the people with ratings diaries to listen to you, you're a pretty fair-sized success around here.

DJ
 
Re: KGO-FM (103.7) Newstalk Format

> The final day -- or, rather, the final night -- of the rock
> format on KGO-FM was May 3, 1982. That morning (5 AM?), they
> began by simulcasting Dunbar and Wygant with the news, then
> began their FM talk programming.
>
> There have been a lot of failures of different formats at
> different times throughout the history of Bay Area radio.
> Just because one person's vision of how it should be done
> failed five (or ten, or twenty, or thirty) years ago doesn't
> mean that somebody else won't come along with a different
> variation on it.
>
> Perhaps somebody has an original idea, and will use
> interesting talent, and will give it a shot at working for
> more than a few months. Not everybody has to love it. If you
> can get just 6% of the people with ratings diaries to listen
> to you, you're a pretty fair-sized success around here.
>
> DJ
>
Anybody remember the last 11 days of KSFX. The San Francisco Experience? How about Monster FM on 97.3?
 
> Has everyone forgotten about 103.7 KGO-FM? Back in the early
> eighties? Talk did not survive then either. Even with the
> talk power house of KGO! After KGO-FM exited, 103.7 became
> KLOK-FM Yes/No Radio. Does anyone remember?
>
> Then of course the 95.7 The Express KPIX disaster!
>
> Talk FM just does not work in the Bay Area. Maybe in other
> markets. I hope whoever makes that programming decision will
> look at the History of FM Talk in the Bay Area.
>
>

That's right, because the Bay Area, just like radio, is exactly the same as it was 20 years ago.
 
> > That's right, because the Bay Area, just like radio, is
> exactly the same as it was 20 years ago.

Nobody is saying - at least I'm not - that the Bay Area and radio are the same as 20 years ago. Now instead of one full time talk station, we have 4. OK -it's down from 5, but KYCY never even showed up in the Arbitron ratings. It's possible that a well executed talk station (on FM or AM) with intelligent LOCAL hosts could become popular if given a COUPLE of YEARS to grow. Toward the end, KPIX (95.7) had two good Bay Area hosts...I can't think of their names - one was the female MD who also worked for Channel 5 and 20/20 on ABC-TV. Regardless, KPIX was well past dead when they tried local talent. And how likely is that in today's radio climate? More likely, it would be Mancow's Morning Madhouse followed by other, more political syndicated hosts. No thanks.

Has everyone forgotten about 103.7 KGO-FM? Back in the
> early
> > eighties? Talk did not survive then either. Even with the
> > talk power house of KGO! After KGO-FM exited, 103.7 became
>
> > KLOK-FM Yes/No Radio. Does anyone remember?
> >
> > Then of course the 95.7 The Express KPIX disaster!
> >
> > Talk FM just does not work in the Bay Area. Maybe in other
>
> > markets. I hope whoever makes that programming decision
> will
> > look at the History of FM Talk in the Bay Area.
> >
> >
>
>
>
 
> Nobody is saying - at least I'm not - that the Bay Area and
> radio are the same as 20 years ago. Now instead of one full
> time talk station, we have 4. OK -it's down from 5, but
> KYCY never even showed up in the Arbitron ratings. It's
> possible that a well executed talk station (on FM or AM)
> with intelligent LOCAL hosts could become popular if given a
> COUPLE of YEARS to grow. Toward the end, KPIX (95.7) had
> two good Bay Area hosts...I can't think of their names - one
> was the female MD who also worked for Channel 5 and 20/20 on
> ABC-TV. Regardless, KPIX was well past dead when they tried
> local talent. And how likely is that in today's radio
> climate? More likely, it would be Mancow's Morning Madhouse
> followed by other, more political syndicated hosts. No
> thanks.

If a new FM talk station tries to go political, just do everyone the favor and don't waste our time. No matter which side you lean politically, their is someone on AM that is already probably a "favorite" show. If someone tries to go down the middle, Ronn Owens would destroy them. NO POLITICS on any new FM talker.

What about trying something like WNEW in New York did a few years back, before Opie & Anthony imploded and killed the format with them. The station had a nice, niche following. Mostly talk, but with an FM/music flavor. Maybe a key drive time team based HERE, something harder than Don & Mike but softer than Opie & Anthony.
 
> "NO POLITICS on any new FM talker."
>
> What about political satire, like Jon Stewart?
>
As long as he is as good as Stewart.

Move to the Bay's version--Will Durst. He makes me want to get a screwdriver and hammer and rip my radio out of my car whenever I hear him.

On a side note, his wife is one of the nicest people I have ever met.
 
> "NO POLITICS on any new FM talker."
>
> What about political satire, like Jon Stewart?
>
Prediction: There won't be any FM talker. Reason: There are too many AM talkers, which KGO dominates.
 
> Prediction: There won't be any FM talker.

Someone explain to Paul how much I hate "predictions" and what I do when people's predictions go wrong ...
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