Making KABC Relevant

Perhaps it is a sign of the times as well as an indication that I’m not far off when I say that talk radio KABC (790 AM) — the station that originated the format in Los Angeles if not the world — has become irrelevant: few emails arrived regarding your ideas to make it better.

I’ll still give you a chance to respond before printing the replies, so make sure you send over your thoughts if you have them. But let me take a little time to spark the creative forces.

First off, talk radio is definitely not dead. Far from it: KFI (640 AM) is consistently a top-five station and often higher than that in the local Nielsen radio ratings. This is similar to the heydays of KABC itself, when it often was found at the top of the ratings in an era when top-40 KHJ (930 AM) ruled the world.

One thing that history has shown, however, is that being the second talk station in this town is exceedingly difficult. Those that have come and gone in the format, to varying degrees, include KLAC (570 AM), KMPC (now KSPN 710 AM) … twice … and others long lost to memory. Currently we have KRLA (870 AM), and KEIB (1150 AM) … neither of which make what I would consider an appreciable mark in the ratings. It seems that no matter what, Los Angeles has the capacity to host only one English-language talk station at a time.

Or more accurately more than one full-time English-language talk station at a time. There are examples of stations with other formats running special talk programs, such as when KFI added sex advisor Dr. Ruth Westheimer to the evening shift while still playing music the rest of the day. KMPC itself was tremendously successful playing music with various talk shows and sports programming sprinkled throughout the broadcast day or on weekends during much of the 1970s.

Would a modern version of  “full service” work today? I believe so, and it is definitely one of the directions KABC could move. Music played would be determined by the audience desired, as could the topics to be discussed between the songs. Imagine a modern version of Wink Martindale or Gary Owens complete with advertisements personally read by the host — so you can justifiably charge more for the advertising — and you get the idea.

In fact, you don’t have to imagine – it is done every morning and afternoon on multiple stations (KLOS 95.5 FM, Alt 98.7 FM, KROQ 106.7 FM).  People don’t tune in to “The Woody Show, ” “Klein/Ally,” “Kevin and Sluggo” or “Booker and Stryker” for the music or the conversation … they tune in for both. And the personally-read advertisements are more entertaining than anything prerecorded. Current KABC afternoon star John Phillips, with his quick wit and ability to have fun with important topics, could do this very easily. Add in a few specialty shows, a solid news department, and perhaps even popular sports teams play by play, and I believe you’d have a winning combination.

The key, of course, is to make it fun and to appeal to a younger, or at least a wider, audience.  The banter could be silly, or serious, or both … today’s younger generation is concerned about or interested in the same things as older generations were when we were younger:  the economy, housing affordability, careers, dating, marriage, children, places to go, what to see, what to drink. Let them connect to others going through the same thing.

Sound too difficult? It’s not. But one format missing on local AM is music, and it is another direction KABC could move. Again, depending on what age of audience you want to attract, you could easily run anything from oldies to progressive metal. The sound-quality issue is moot due to the way so many listen to music or podcasts – on phone speakers, using sub-par headphones, or portable bluetooth speakers. We’re not talking hi-fi here. Further, I have long held that programming on AM pushed listeners to FM in the past just as so much of FM programming today pushes listeners to online music services. But it’s not impossible to get them back.

Personally, I’d run a format of  “adult top-40” … harder than KOST (103.5 FM) and My FM (KBIG, 104.3), a little less edgy than KIIS (102.7 FM), a few of the better hits from Alt 98.7, and importantly, far more current than all of them. The vast majority of music should be from the last year or at most two, with a few oldies each hour for spice. Use weekends for special presentations, such as the Guilty Pleasures Weekend – songs you love but would never admit to your friends that you like. That basic premise is the format that made KHJ and KCBQ famous. Want a younger audience? Stop playing so many songs that appeal primarily to older listeners.

Once the format is set, I’d turn my attention to marketing. You have to get the word out as to what you offer, otherwise people won’t find you. Go to the high schools and colleges with your air staff that includes high school and college-aged young men and women. Host special fun events that bring communities together. Present concerts. Have contests at the local beaches. Hang out with the station van at various Original Tommy Burgers. Hit every community. Get bumper stickers out and use them for contests as well. Marketing is so vitally important, and yet it is the first thing too many radio stations — and other businesses — cut … perhaps the most ironic move ever made by radio stations that exist solely to market and promote.

Is it risky? If the station already had ratings, yes. But it doesn’t. It has been decades since KABC even tried. So there is absolutely no risk … and a chance to set the radio world on fire.

Your thoughts?

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