July 2004 News Archive

July 31, 2004
As a follow-up to yesterday, All Access reports that WQAM will carry Howard Stern "from 6-10 AM" (as opposed to "6 AM-end" like most all other affiliates do), presumably due to Neil Rogers having a firm 10 AM start-time.

As for Beasley Broadcasting, Atlanta would appear to be the most likely city for it to bring Stern into if in fact the company has plans to bring Stern into another market. However, if that was to happen, Beasley would have to perform a format shift on one of its two Atlanta stations (WWWE has a Hispanic format, while WAEC has a religious format). Beasley owns some other large market stations, but those are all markets where Stern is currently broadcast (Philadelphia, Boston, Las Vegas, etc.)

July 30, 2004
Howard Stern is coming to Miami's WQAM as of August 16. Beasley Broadcasting, which also has Stern on WRXK-FM in Ft. Myers, owns WQAM, which reportedly is going to be rebranded as "560 WQAM" (dropping the "Sports Radio" part of the moniker). This is not sitting well with the NFL's Miami Dolphins; WQAM carries their games. The team's president, Eddy Jones, said in a release that "It's our belief that the sports-talk format better serves the fans in the market."

One interesting twist to the situation is that popular local talk personality Neil Rogers airs on the station from 10 AM-2 PM. Since Stern typically goes past 10 AM Eastern, sometimes until 11, it will be most intriguing to see how WQAM handles that situation.

July 29, 2004
All Access reports that Howard Stern could be landing several new markets, including Miami (West Palm Beach's WPBZ gives coverage to the northern fringe of the Miami market, but much of the area served by former Stern affiliate WBGG is not reached by WPBZ). For what it's worth, here's a list of Stern's former markets that no longer have his show: Anchorage, Denver, Bloomington/Normal (IL), Peoria (IL), Davenport (IA), Indianapolis, Louisville, New Orleans, Minneapolis, Charlotte, Jacksonville (NC), Fayetteville (NC), Toledo, Hazelton/Wilkes-Barre, Myrtle Beach, Madison (WI), Toronto and Montreal.

You'd think that Stern would want to get back on in some of the larger markets on that list (Denver, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Charlotte and New Orleans come to mind), even though those were places where he didn't find overwhelming success. Louisville is an obvious choice since that's the only market where he got the heave-ho from Clear Channel in which he hasn't returned (at least on a peripheral level, as in the case of Miami). Infinity owns stations in Charlotte, Minneapolis and Denver, which could make those possibilities (though Denver in particular would be the toughest one to find a fit for him on). However, considering that the talk surrounds Stern being put on in Miami (where Infinity doesn't own any stations), it's possible that these rumors are about another company... which certainly could leave anything open as a possibility (short of Toronto & Montreal, since the CRTC is even worse than the FCC on choking out controversial content).

July 27, 2004
WSCC Charleston, SC is dropping Dr. Laura from 7-10 PM and replacing her with Phil Hendrie live in that slot beginning on Monday, August 2.

July 26, 2004
Opie & Anthony hinted at an October 1 return to radio (in the satellite form) in this interview with the New York Post. The duo, who have been out of radio since August 2002, called Howard Stern a hypocrite (among other things) in the article.

Meanwhile, Stern shot back on his radio show this morning, saying that he expects to end up on satellite -- "on whatever network doesn't have Opie & Anthony or Mancow... or Bubba The Love Sponge." This comes despite the fact that Bubba wished Stern "the best" on his debut in the Tampa market when Bubba announced earlier this month that he's running for Sheriff of Pinellas County, FL.

July 23, 2004
For those of you interested in seeing what a radio syndication contract looks like, this article on The Smoking Gun contains Howard Stern's contract with KIOZ San Diego. On Page 9, pay careful attention to the "Indemnification" section, which could prove important in the pending court battle between Clear Channel and Infinity/One Twelve, Inc.

July 22, 2004
The updates from the latest wave of new Infinity Hot Talk stations should be complete on here (though there will be some things still to work out, like if John & Jeff will actually end up on WBZZ Seffner/Tampa or not).

The Monsters of the Morning, fresh off of a one-week forced hiatus for "sensitivity training" by Clear Channel, now face a new problem -- a lawsuit over comments a female Orlando police officer claims that members made about her on the air. Comments from that made on the Monsters' message board may end up causing further problems. Click here to read the full story from WKMG-TV.

Speaking of message boards, if you are a Howard Stern fan, then you really must check out the message board on HowardStern.com. There are some pretty entertaining topics being discussed on there in uncensored form.

July 21, 2004
Things are heating up in the legal battle between Clear Channel, Infinity Broadcasting and Howard Stern. Several radio news outlets are reporting that Clear Channel will file a $3 million counter-suit against Infinity and One Twelve, Inc. (Stern's distributor) for breach of contract, damages, lawyers fees, etc. Clear Channel contends that Stern violated the terms of his contract by "providing programs that didn't comply with FCC indecency regulations." Infinity and One Twelve, Inc. filed suit earlier this year against Clear Channel for $10 million, claiming that it was Clear Channel that violated the contract that allowed Stern's program to air on six CC stations.

July 20, 2004
Fresno's new FM Talker has been established as "105.9 The Edge" with new call letters KKDG. The Edge does the long-form Howard Stern West Coast thing (3-11 AM), then clears three hours of Don & Mike live (Noon-3 PM), then all four hours like of Tom Leykis, followed by a local show and then John & Jeff from 10 PM-3 AM (leading right into Stern).

July 19, 2004
Austin's KQBT has changed call letters to KOYT as "104.3 The Coyote, Austin's FM Talk Station", dropping the Rhythmic CHR format in favor of Hot Talk. The lineup looks like this: Howard Stern mornings, Don & Mike middays (apparently on a one-day tape delay), Russ Martin afternoons (simulcast from KLLI Dallas), Tom Leykis evenings, and then John & Jeff overnights. There are obviously some holes in there that will need to be filled, most likely with All Comedy Network programming.

July 18, 2004
This may be grasping for straws, but there was database activity on the Live1043.com domain owned by Infinity Austin. I expect 104.3 The Beat to flip to FM Talk at 6 AM Central tomorrow (when Howard Stern debuts on KQBT), but the station's name remains a question. Despite the Live 104.3 domain name, that could be just a trick. Consider the fake "Jack FM" page set up by Susquehanna for WGRL in the Indianapolis market, where the station ended up flipping to Christian AC. The station is definitely flipping to Hot Talk (contrary to original reports), though All Access reports that Infinity is shying away from the "Live" name for the station. Regardless, KQBT will have Stern and simulcast Russ Martin afternoons from KLLI Dallas.

From the Network Solutions listing for Live1043.com: "Database last updated on 18-Jul-2004 17:20:20 EDT."

July 17, 2004
I've read conflicting things about this, but here's what I understand the lineup to be for Houston's KIKK on Monday, July 19...

All Comedy Radio Network: Signon-6 AM
Howard Stern: 6 AM-finish (tape delayed by one hour)
All Comedy Radio Network: End of Stern-Noon
Dan Frischburg: Noon-2 PM (shifting from business talk to general talk)
"Business Talk": 2-4 PM
Don & Mike: 4-6 PM (last two hours of the show)
All Comedy Radio: 6 PM-signoff

July 16, 2004
It may be a swerve, but Infinity Radio Austin has registered the domain Live1043.com. The word all along has been that KQBT, Howard Stern's new station in the Austin, TX market, would be a stand-alone program on the Rhythmic CHR 104.3 The Beat (much like he is on his affiliate in Providence, RI). But the registering of the domain name is, to be sure, most curious.

July 15, 2004
The Don & Mike show listings are now updated, including the latest addition of KGAM Palm Springs, CA (thanks to radiogodsforum.net for the info).

July 14, 2004
It appears that Houston's KIKK will be adopting the handle "Kick Ass 650 Hot Talk" (or KIKK Ass, depending on who you ask) on Monday, based on reports out of Houston from promos playing on the station. KIKK plans to hold a Howard Stern listening party on Monday, July 19 in conjunction with the show's debut on the station. There's still no official word on what other shows will air on the daytime-only station (though a smart bet is that Don & Mike will be part of that equation).

Also, speaking of station promos, Tampa's WBZZ aired a promo yesterday running through its new shows, with no mention made of John & Jeff. However, the promo mentioned that "contracts are still being worked out", and the picture of J&J remains on the station's website, so I still expect to see them end up there.

July 13, 2004
John & Jeff are listed on the website for 1010thebuzz.com (WBZZ in Tampa), but their site doesn't list WBZZ as an affiliate as of this writing. And last night after Tom Leykis' two hours on tape delay from 11 PM-1 AM EDT ended, The Buzz went to the "All Comedy Network" feed used on weekends (yes, I stayed up to listen to hear if they were on). I would suspect that J&J are still heading to the station, as otherwise why not carry the extra two hours of Leykis from 1-3 AM, but still at this point it's a muddled situation.

July 12, 2004
The Bob & Tom show page is updated with a few changes (such as their affiliate switch in Rockford, IL, going from active rock WXRX to classic rock WYHY) and the addition of markets like Bowling Green, KY and Bristol, VA. Bob & Tom are on nearly 150 stations at this point.

July 10, 2004
The Monsters of the Morning are facing a one-week forced hiatus for sensitivity training by Clear Channel. The St. Petersburg Times reports that the move is being done because of complaints made about "the team's use of derogatory terms for homosexuals and people of color" on the air. Best of programs will run on the Monsters' three stations for the next week; they'll return live on Monday, July 19 (ironically, the same day that Stern starts head-to-head with the show on Orlando's WOCL and Tampa's WBZZ).

Howard Stern's new affiliate in Fresno already has had a name alteration, from "105.9 FM Talk" to "105.9 The Edge". Infinity Fresno registered the domain name edge1059.com on Thursday. While the "Edge" name has a modern rock moniker sound to it, it's also used by a hot talk station in Altoona, PA (WWGE), and keep in mind that Infinity used another popular modern rock handle ("The Buzz") for its new hot talker in Tampa.

July 9, 2004
It's been widely reported that Houston's 650 KIKK is going to change formats from business news beginning before or on 7/19 (the start date for Howard Stern there). Keep in mind that the station is a 250 watt daytimer -- when the sun goes down, it has to shut off. Typically Stern runs on a one-hour tape delay in the Central time zone, which will surely be the case in Houston, but what will be interesting is how management will handle the daylight issue when November/December roll around and sunrise comes after 6 AM. Since it's on a delay, they could theoretically just wait until sign-on to begin the show (why start a tape-delayed program already in progress?) I don't have any info on what the other programs will be, but I'd expect to see Don & Mike in the 2-6 PM Central timeslot there. Looking at sunrisesunset.com, KIKK will face very limited hours in wintertime. Consider, for example, the limited daylight hours that will hit Houston on Friday, January 14, 2005.

Sunrise: 7:18am
Sunset: 5:43pm

Realistically, that leaves the station with room for Stern, an afternoon show like Don & Mike, and then midday space to fill (with either a syndicated talker whose gets picked up in progress, sports network programming, a local host who will have his or her hours fluctuate, or perhaps an extremely outside shot at music). Stern is the only thing that's a "lock" for the station at this point, though with Don & Mike saying that they'd be going on in four new markets, it makes sense for this to be one of them.

July 8, 2004
Modern rock WSFM, the Wilmington, NC affiliate for Lex & Terry, has been sold to NextMedia by Sea-Comm. This puts WSFM in the same cluster with active rock WRQR (which NextMedia purchased from Ocean Broadcasting); WRQR carries the John Boy & Billy show. It will be interesting to see what changes, if any, happen as a result.

July 7, 2004
Don & Mike announced on their show yesterday that they are going to be picked up in four new markets in the next two weeks. Tampa is one (on 1010 WQYK, which appears primed to take the WBZZ call letters from the former B93.7, now K-Rock 93.7 in Pittsburgh). KRNC Fresno, which is going to FM Talk, would seem like another strong possibility.

July 6, 2004
Don & Mike, Tom Leykis, John & Jeff and Ron & Fez are joining Howard Stern on 1010 WQYK Seffner (the Tampa, FL market). This is NOT to be confused with 99.5 WQYK-FM, Infinity's highly rated country station in the market. As the newly rebranded "1010 The Buzz", WQYK will carry Don & Mike live from 3-7 PM (which is actually their second run on that signal), Ron & Fez will air live from 7-11 PM (their third market along with DC and Baltimore -- they spent years on the air in Tampa as part of the famous Ron & Ron show along with Ron Diaz), Tom Leykis gets two hours tape-delayed from 11 PM-1 AM, and John & Jeff gain clearance for all five hours, 1-6 AM. With the exception of Stern, all shows are slated to begin tomorrow (7/7/2004).

July 5, 2004
A slight correction from before, as Howard Stern was previously carried in the Fresno, CA market (earlier I said it was a new market for him). Fresno's KFRR dropped Stern in favor of Kevin & Bean in April 2001.

July 2, 2004
All Access reports that KRNC Fresno, one of the 9 new Howard Stern stations, is flipping from Spanish Romantica to Hot Talk as "FM Talk 105.9". It appears that the station will retain its Romantica programming as "Viva 106" until Stern's debut on July 19.

July 2, 2004
Broadcasting & Cable reports that the FCC is expected to file a notice of apparent liability against Infinity Broadcast in connection with an April 9, 2003 broadcast of the Howard Stern show. It's the same broadcast that Clear Channel received a notice of apparent liability for earlier this year (since the complaint came against former Miami affiliate WBGG-FM). The fine could approach the $1.5 million mark, but with Infinity expected to appeal, this could be the first time in years that the FCC's standards have faced the scrutiny of the courts.

July 1, 2004
Yet more Howard Stern news: Infinity Broadcasting and One Twelve Inc. (Stern's syndication company) are suing Clear Channel for breach of contract. The suit claims that Clear Channel failed to give proper notice of the stoppage of the show and seeks more than $10 million in damages. Clear Channel's Chief Legal Office said in a statement referencing the termination of the Stern broadcasts that "Clear Channel Radio had both a legal right and an obligation to stop broadcasting it."

Meanwhile, 100000watts.com reports that KRNC Fresno will be changing formats from Romantica to a yet-to-be-announced new format more fitting for Stern. The old Viva 106 page now has a picture of Stern with the words "Coming to 106 FM July 19th!" Fresno has a classic rock station and an active rock station, but no modern rocker -- might that be the new format?

Full News Archive
June 2004 News/August 2004 News

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