Special Guest: KFI's Mo Kelly who discusses his new weekday show.
Radio: January 6, 2022
Wasn’t
that you who told me you always wanted to own your own radio-related internet
domain, so that you could direct your friends and family to your chain of
online radio stations that you program out of your spare bedroom?
You’re
in luck. Audacy, owner of stations nationwide including eight here in Los
Angeles (seven if you count the failure of the KNX Newsradio simulcast (1070
AM, 97.1 FM) that earns roughly the same combined ratings as it did as a
standalone AM signal, but I digress) is auctioning off the radio.com domain it once used for its online
presence. The company dropped radio.com in favor
of audacy.com when it changed its corporate
name from Entercom to Audacy a couple years ago.
Available
through GoDaddy.Com, the auction ends March
28, 2023. Starting bid: $2.5 million. That’s right - $2.5 million. Minimum.
On
a serious note and just for reference, Audacy couldn’t really do anything major
with either radio.com or audacy.com. It is a decent little domain name,
though … I just can’t see anyone or any company finding it worth that much.
Generally speaking, online radio doesn’t make a lot (read: none) of money, so
paying off that $2.5 million may take a while.
So
if that’s too rich for your blood, I’ll sell you socalradiowaves.com for much less. Maybe
half a million. Send me your offer …
Also
on a serious note: I’m kidding about selling socalradiowaves..
The
Radio.Com domain itself goes back to at least
1996. It was once owned by CNET networks — which paid $30,000 for both Radio.Com and TV.Com —
and became part of CBS Radio when CBS bought CNET. In 2010, CBS launched Radio.Com as a clearinghouse of all CBS radio
station streams. When Entercom bought CBS, the domain became its own.
AllAccess.Com, which broke the news of the
auction, reports that similar domains such as Radio.Cloud, Radio.Co, and Radio.IM
recently sold for anywhere from $2500 - just over $25,000.
American’s
Samoa’s Best Music
Ever
wonder what the legendary KHJ (930 AM) might sound like, musically at least, if
the station still played top-40? Wonder no more … South Seas Broadcasting has
you covered.
Using
the call-letters KKHJ and broadcasting at 93.1 FM out of Pago Pago in
American Samoa, the station brands itself as 93/KHJ in a tribute to the
original. The music is considered an adult top-40, which is probably what I
would program on the station if I were running it here in Los Angeles.
According
to the station website at southseasbroadcasting.com/93khj,
“the idea for KHJ Radio came about in 1994 when Larry Fuss (now President of
South Seas Broadcasting, Inc., the parent company of 93KHJ) was looking out the
window of his radio station in Mississippi following a big ice storm. The
streets were littered with fallen trees, broken branches and tons of ice, and
the electricity had been out for over a week. Fuss thought to himself,
‘wouldn’t it be nice to have a radio station on a tropical island in the South
Pacific?’
“On
somewhat of a whim, Fuss immediately began researching the possibility and ran
across an available frequency for a new FM Radio Station in Pago Pago, American
Samoa. The FCC application was filed on November 20, 1995, and finally granted
on February 13, 1998.”
Regular
programming began in May of 2000 — almost exactly 35 years after the late
April, 1965 “sneak preview” of the “Boss Radio” top-40 launch that helped
change radio forever. Like the original, the format was an instant hit.
The
station features a two-man morning team, a three-person news department, and
runs public affairs programming benefiting the local community. And modern
“93/KHJ” jingles … so cool. Hear it yourself on the various smartphone apps or
online at the website.
Ratings
The
December ratings (which due to the four-week cycles actually includes more of
November than December) had KOST (103.5 FM) at the top, as usual, with their
Christmas music format earning a whopping 12.1 share of the audience. You can
expect that to be even higher when the “holiday” ratings period is released in
January.
But
what caught my eye is the stellar performance of KFI (640 AM), which tied with
KRTH (101.1 FM) for second place at 4.7. That’s right: an AM station tying for
second place. It is truly amazing what happens when you program something
people want to hear on the AM band: you get ratings. Just like so many stations
did before they sent listeners to FM … such as KLAC (570 AM), XETRA (690 AM),
KPRZ (now KEIB, 1150 AM), KEZY (now KGBN, 1190 AM) , KABC (790 AM) and even KHJ
itself, most of which have never had ratings as high as they had when they
played music (country, top-40, or even adult standards). KABC is a special case
because they stopped trying to compete in talk in spite of inventing the
format.
KFI
does have an advantage of being a signal blowtorch, covering most of Southern
California during the day and much of Western America at night. But they
compete by having a good programming, good promotion, and a local presence that
is missing from so many stations, both AM and FM. One could learn a lot by
studying these successes past and present, especially now that so many
competing stations don’t really try.
Radio Waves: December 30, 2022
Poorman rings in the new
year with his 3rd annual marathon
What would the new year be like without family, friends, food,
fun, and The Poorman?
You don’t have to wonder, as Jim “Poorman” Trenton is once again
ringing in the new year with a 30-hour marathon on-air party you can be a part
of. Just tune into KOCI (101.5 FM) in or near Costa Mesa, or via kociradio.com, poorman.net,
your favorite smartphone app, or your smart speaker.
There will even be a live video stream of the event at facebook.com/jim.p.trenton
It starts at 7 a.m. on New Year’s Eve and runs until 1 p.m. New
Year’s Day; the idea is to showcase local community members as they take to the
airwaves with Poorman as the official Master of Ceremonies.
Each segment features a different host, and can be a station
sponsor, local business owner, listener, or even a surprise celebrity guest.
Each hour spotlights a different charity, and Poorman will offer live public
service announcements directing marathon listeners to the charity web site as a
part of the festivities.
The first four hours will be his normal show … as I wrote last
year, the word “normal” being a strange description for what is one of the most
unusual shows on the radio. “We – either me or listeners – choose a theme, and
then listeners call in to suggest songs that match the theme.” It could be any
theme: food, cars, dance moves, drinks … after the theme is chosen, Poorman
tries to play as many of the suggested related songs as possible. “It’s an
all-instant request morning,” he explains.
For the marathon, at 11 a.m., Poorman turns the program over to
his guests, who are allowed to do basically anything they want, as long as it
is FCC-legal. Poorman stays on hand to handle any issues or technical problems
that crop up.
Of course this means he has to start sharp and ready to go if
the guest hosts run a little too loose … I see lots of coffee being brewed at
Poorman’s control center during those 30 hours.
This is the third year for the event, and it truly is a lot of
fun.
Predictions for 2023
With radio stations possibly being forced to pay new royalties
to the artists of the music they play, there are many expecting more radio
stations to shift toward talk. Not necessarily talk formats — though I would
not be surprised to see a commercial FM talker within the year. I am looking to
see fewer songs being played on some stations and the ability of those in front
of the microphone to have a but more personality. Think Booker and Stryker on
Alt 98.7 or Kevin and Sluggo on KLOS (95.5 FM).
This stems from the possibility that radio stations may have to
pay these new royalties if a deal is struck between artists and the various
organizations working on it. In the past, radio stations were able to avoid
artist fees due to the argument that they expose listeners to new artists and
new music, driving sales of records. Since radio became a thing if the past by
playing mostly oldies and shunning most new music, they can’t hide behind that
any more.
Will it actually happen? And will such an agreement actually
mean more talking on the radio? I don’t think it will be a dramatic shift, but
I do believe a subtle change will happen in the new year.
What else? I can see at least one of the major owner groups
going bankrupt this year, especially if the economy declines at all; my bet
would be on Audacy but honestly all three of the largest and most of the
smallest are in trouble due to over leveraging their properties and the lack of
content development on the part of most. Hopefully this will lead to a
resurgence of independent owners, but I’ve been saying that for years … and
remaining disappointed that it never seems to happen.
Expect a few talk programs to show up on KNX (1070 AM, 97.1 FM).
Where? Overnights is the rumor. Probably cheap syndicated fare.
At least one major talk station will have some changes. Will it
be KABC switching to sports betting? KFI making some adjustments? KEIB (1150
AM) dropping talk altogether? I’ve heard nothing in particular about any of the
stations, but KABC and KEIB are still in obvious ratings trouble and KFI seems
due in spite of quite excellent ratings — the last major change KFI made was
years ago when they sent Dr. Laura to satellite and Rush Limbaugh to a
different dial position. I don’t expect wholesale changes, but perhaps a few
tweaks.
Would it surprise me if KFI started simulcasting on FM? Actually
yes, even though I know programmer Robin Bertolucci would love that chance. KFI
does so well on AM (and KNX does so poorly on FM) that the move requires a
low-rated FM to make the risk acceptable. Owner iHeart has no low-rated or
unsuccessful FMs in town.
Other than that, I don’t see many changes. Regardless, you’ll
read it here first. And if you hear anything, or just want to
know something that I can help with, please drop me a line.
Happy new year!
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