September 2004 News Archive
September 30, 2004
Bob & Tom have landed in yet another market -- this time on KIXA in the Victorville, CA area (which is roughly 85 miles by road northeast of Los Angeles). KIXA is a Class A signal, so it's not like B&T are gaining any sort of Los Angeles clearance with the move, but nonetheless it's another California affiliate for the Indianapolis-based morning show.
September 28, 2004
KFJO, which simulcasts San Jose's KSJO in the fringe northeast San Francisco market, is changing to KABL (as a "standards" nostalga station). This will hurt Bob & Tom's penetration into northern California. The KSJO/KFJO simulcast never really made much since to me, since KFJO doesn't even have a city-grade signal as far west as Berkeley, and the idea was to give coverage into the San Francisco market. KFJO is already simulcasting KABL, so the KSJO simulcast is history.
In the West Palm market, with the widespread destruction left there by Hurricane Jeanne, stations have gone into wall-to-wall hurricane recovery coverage. Stations affected include WPBZ (which carries Howard Stern), WKGR (a Bob & Tom affiliate) and WZZR/WCZR (Real Radio simulcast which has Lex & Terry mornings). With the pressing situation facing people in the area, hopefully fans of the shows will understand the need to pre-empt in this difficult situation.
September 27, 2004
Sorry for the lack of updates lately. It's been slow on the Radio Hot Talk front, and on top of that Hurricane Jeanne hit Tampa yesterday. So bear with me.
It appears that Senator Sam Brownback is hellbent on getting the maximum indecency penalty increased before the House and Senate adjourn on October 1. Logistically it seems unlikely that a compromise bill would be hammered out by then, but the way that some people on Capital Hill (who want to tell you how to live your life) think, it seems that this is a high priority issue. If you're a fan of ANY of the shows covered on this site, this presents a major threat to you.
All Access reports that XM will be running the recently recorded "Opie & Anthony Ungagged" special all day this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday on Channel 200 as a teaser promoting the show's forthcoming debut on October 4 on Channel 202. Infinity's New York City non-compete with O&A expires as of October 1, which is likely why XM is waiting until Friday, 10/1 to debut the promotional program.
September 21, 2004
Bob & Tom affiliate KMOM (Mother 96.1) has flipped to Top 40 as 96.1 The Beat. Colorado Springs is one of the few B&T markets where the management was actually willing to consider switching to Bubba The Love Sponge when I was pitching him to stations last year (generally I'd hear "We love Bubba, but Bob & Tom are pulling great numbers for us!") This leaves Ft. Collins as the lone remaining Bob & Tom affiliate in Colorado.
Also, a correction from before, as Tallahassee's WEGT (Oldies 99.9) has retained the Bob & Tom show despite the station's flip from Classic Hits to Oldies.
September 20, 2004
Greaseman is down to six affiliates, as Norfolk's WLRT dropped him at the end of last month. His page has been updated to reflect that, as well as the proper call letters of his flagship station, WDMV (formerly WGOP).
Lex & Terry debuted today on Louisville's WLRS.
September 16, 2004
Phil Hendrie remains on in Atlanta, as he moves from the now-former WMAX-FM (now WWVA) back to 640 WGST (where he was before the Real Radio 105.3 experiment), still in the 10 PM-1 AM timeslot.
Hurricane Ivan has knocked Lex & Terry's Pensacola/Ocala affiliate, WTKX-FM, off the air. Fortunately for that station, it should be back relatively quickly, unlike the 1800' tall tower that houses stations like WJLQ, WBLX, and WKSJ in the market that cracked in the middle and collapsed under the strength of Ivan's fierce winds.
September 15, 2004
Lex & Terry are expanding to Louisville (again), where they will begin on WLRS on Monday, September 20. This is the second tenure in the market for the Jacksonville-based duo; their first stint there was a relatively brief run on Classic Rock WSFR (replacing Bob & Tom when that show was stolen away by WQMF in 2000).
At 10 AM Eastern, Atlanta's WMAX-FM began stunting with a heartbeat and a repeating notice in Spanish which (I presume) tells listeners to tune in at a certain time to hear the new Spanish music format. The end of the talk format came with the MJ Morning Show saying goodbye to the Atlanta market (the host of that program, Tampa based Todd Schnitt, also hosted the Schnitt Show afternoon program on that station). He blamed a lack of promotion on the failure of the station to find an audience in Atlanta. The station briefly carried Bob & Tom after it first flipped earlier this year, but that show was moved to WKLS (96 Rock) when The Regular Guys were fired. The move leaves Phil Hendrie without an Atlanta affiliate as of now.
Mancow's former nemesis, self-professed indecency crusader David Edward Smith, is teaming up with the "Concerned Women for America of Illinois" to challenge Emmis' $300,000 settlement with the FCC for all indecency allegations pending against the company. The group is challenging the legality of the agreement.
September 14, 2004
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Atlanta's WMAX-FM (which airs Phil Hendrie) may flip to a Spanish music format by as early as tomorrow (9/15). The station has seen a drop in ratings since flipping from its 80s music format earlier this year. (Thanks to RobK)
Howard Stern is following the lead of Bubba The Love Sponge (and many other radio personalities) by adding voter registration information to his official webpage. The deadline to register and be qualified to vote in the November 2, 2004 election is coming up in early October in most locations.
September 13, 2004
Word out of Tallahassee is that WEGT (99.9 The Eagle) has flipped from Classic Hits to Oldies. That spells the end of Bob & Tom there, though perhaps they'll pop up elsewhere in the market soon.
September 12, 2004
The Phil Hendrie page is updated with new information and links (thanks to RobK for the info).
September 9, 2004
Bob & Tom have landed affiliate #145, Classic Rock KFEG in Klamath Falls, OR (known as "104.7 The Eagle").
What is particularly amusing about this pickup can be found in the cached FAQ section of the Eagle's webpage (which I found via Google), which includes this question and answer (that has since been erased from the station's FAQ page):
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Some Classic Rock stations feature a morning team like Bob & Tom or Mark & Brian. Why don't you guys carry them?
Some stations are desperate enough for audience to play 20 hours of music, and in morning drive, 4 hours of straight talk! The music will NEVER take a back seat here at the Eagle. There's enough "talk radio" these days to go around, besided we're in Klamath Falls, why would we want morning DJ's from Chicago or Los Angeles?
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One of the primary rules of radio: never say never.
September 8, 2004
Howard Stern is now making uncensored versions of some of his most popular E! television shows available for rental online. Currently he has four offerings online (two single episodes for $4.95 each and two double episodes for $6.95 each). There has been some backlash from Stern fans who want the option of a purchase (versus just a rental) and from those outside the United States (in particular Canada) who are not allowed to participate in the rental program due to regional restrictions.
There's a fight taking place involving the newest Phil Hendrie affiliate, Madison, Wisconsin's WXXM ("92.1 The Mic"). Clear Channel, which owns the station, sent a cease-and-desist order to 1670 WTDY (which airs John & Jeff in overnights) over its use of the phrase "Madison's Progressive Talk", which Clear Channel claims is its own trademark. However, WTDY promises to fight Clear Channel, saying that "you can't trademark something that you don't have up on the air."
The crowded Talk market in Charleston, SC is about to get even more packed, as Kirkman Broadcasting is moving the ESPN programming currently on 1340 WQSC to newly acquired 910 WTMZ (which aired Adult Standards programming under its previous owner, Citadel). All Access reports that WQSC will go talk on 9/13 as "Real Radio 1340" with Don Imus in the morning. No word yet on what other shows it will air, though all of the A-list mainstream programs are gone. It's possible that they might go Hot Talk with some of their programming (perhaps Don & Mike or Tom Leykis), but that's mere speculation at this point.
September 7, 2004
Opie & Anthony have announced two more dates on their promotional tour for their forthcoming debut on XM Satellite Radio. They'll be in Cleveland on Friday, September 10 at 5 PM at the Blind Pig Speakeasy, then they'll be appearing at the Sphere Entertainment Complex in Buffalo on Sunday, September 12.
September 3, 2004
Mancow has finally signed a two-year contract renewal with WKQX Chicago. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the deal is worth more than $2 million annually, which keeps Mancow as the highest-paid locally-based radio personality in the market; however, it's a reduction from the reported $3 million per year that he had been earning. The paper quoted Mancow as saying, "I'm expecting big things in syndication and some other things that I'm working on." At least one GM of a former Mancow affiliate told me that the reason they dropped his show is because his agent wanted too much money for a renewal. Mancow is currently on in seven markets. I'm told that his new deal has a clause that prevents him from taking his show to satellite.
September 2, 2004
In an update to the Tom Leykis attack story from last month, investigators say they've identified two of the people involved in the incident. One was arrested and released this past Friday; the other remains at large. The Seattle Times has more details on the story.
The Phil Hendrie page has been updated to reflect the addition of KFOR Lincoln, NE as an affiliate. Also, Don & Mike are now gone from KBGG in Des Moines, IA, which is becoming more of a mainstream political talk station (with the exception of Bob & Tom, who remain in morning drive there). That breaks up the only pairing of Bob & Tom and Don & Mike on the same station in the country.
September 1, 2004
Looks like Phil Hendrie is actually going to pick up another affiliate thanks to the Clear Channel/Air America connection. WXXM Madison, WI is a rare FM station to flip to liberal talk (from Hot AC); Hendrie will air on tape delay from 9 PM-midnight (according to All Access) beginning September 7. This will pit Hendrie against Tom Leykis for two hours nightly in the market, as Leykis airs from 10 PM-1 AM on crosstown FM talker WTLX. I believe that this will be the first-ever all-FM head-to-head battle between the two shows.
Full News Archive
August 2004 News/October 2004 News
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