August 21.cwk

Airwaves: August 21, 2009

Beat Bids Farewell

A long-rumored change to The Beat (KDAY, 93.5 FM) finally took place this week with the dropping of the Beat moniker, a return to using the K-DAY name, and a musical mix that reflects a desire to capitalize on the old 1580 AM version of KDAY that left the airwaves years ago.

At 7:30 last Monday morning, The Beat’s last song played was Boyz to Men’s End of the Road. This was followed by the debut of “The new 93.5, your favorite back in the day hits” and its first song, Gin and Juice by Snoop Doggy Dogg (as he was known when the song was released). The station is currently running jockless, but plans to add personalities over the next few weeks. All syndicated programming has been eliminated.

According to a press release from the station, KDAY will focus on its strengths as a local, independent station :that connects with the diverse culture that is Los Angeles.”

Other songs heard in its first hour debut, showing the focus the station has taken: Only You by 112, Toss it Up by 2Pac, ‘03 Bonnie and Clyde by Jay-Z, Five Minutes of Funk by Whodini, Joints and Jam by Black Eyed Peas, Insane in the Brain by Cypress Hill, Smooth Operator by Big Daddy Kane and Rhythm Nation by Janet Jackson.

Format Wheel

KGIL (1260 AM) is making changes to its talk lineup again, but this time its not the decision of anyone at KGIL, at least from what I can tell.

Perhaps related to Laura Ingraham’s move early next month to KFWB (980 AM) -- or perhaps not -- program syndicator Talk Radio network has removed all its programming from KGIL, leaving the station without many of its “stars” including Ingraham, Michael Savage and John Doyle. For reasons currently unknown, newcomer and the only local host, John Ziegler, was let go from the station, which frankly leaves few hosts worth tuning in.

The new lineup as we went to press is: Glenn Beck, 6 to 9 AM; Fred Thompson, 9 to 11 AM; Thompson’s show repeated, 11 AM to 1 PM; Dean Edell, 1 to 2 PM; Larry King, 2 to 3 PM; and Lars Larson, 3 to 5 PM. Following Larson -- one of the reasons to still tune in -- is music, which plays all night long.

Rumor now is that KGIL may go all the way back to music, perhaps within the next few weeks, which I believe to be an excellent idea if it is done right. I’d vote for standards, either under the direction of Chuck Southcott or Brad Chambers, as that is the one format people still crave, at least judging by letters and emails I receive. As KGIL simulcasts it signal on 105.1 HD-3, signal strength and sound quality are not an issue, as long as you have a digital HD radio.

Both Southcott and Chambers have proven themselves as masters of the format, and the remaining quality talk programming could be worked into the station as well if desired.

Sound Followup

An estimated 509,000 people tuned in to hear the Finally a KMET Friday on July 10th, according to Arbitron, leading to the best ratings The Sound has seen since its inception. For the special day, ratings were 2.0 for the general rating of people aged six and over; people aged 25-54 came in at 2.4 and men 35-64 came in at 5.5. Jack Snyder’s 5 to 6 PM hour was the big winner with a 3.2 share for all people six and over, and ratings for the station as a whole were up for the entire month of July ... most likely due to the KMET influence.

Now let’s do something with the momentum ...

///

To subscribe to The Daily Breeze, call (310) 540-5511