Alice tames Wild 104.9

Cumulus Media flipped longtime CHR Rhythmic KKWD (Wild 104-9) to Adult/Variety Hits “Alice 104-9” Monday (May 23). The flip brings back the Alice format and moniker which began on Cumulus-leased KQOB in 2017 and lasted through 2021.

“Alice” picked up where it left off in December 2021, with the same mix of 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s. Also along for the ride is eccentric station voice Greg Beharrell.

Beharrell’s syndicated show from Yea! Networks, “The Greg Beharrell Show” appears to be set for nights on the station. This marks a departure from the original Alice format, which didn’t have personalities but relied on Beharrell’s unique imaging and branding.

The format change marks the end of Wild’s 22-year stint in Oklahoma City radio. Wild signed on January 27, 2000, displacing Smooth Jazz “97.9 The City” from then-KCYI. Wild tangled with Clear Channel/iHeartMedia CHR KJYO (KJ-103) for years, despite signal limitations.

In 2006, then-owner Citadel swapped KKWD and WWLS The Sports Animal (then at 104.9 and AM 640). After an upgrade and shift from 97.9 to 98.1, WWLS got the strong signal for the market-leading sports format. Wild’s move to 104.9 trading signal limitations for different signal limitations.

In March 2022, the station sat in 13th place with a 1.8, far behind KJYO (3rd place) and sister Hot AC KYIS (8th place).

Cumulus’ shifting of KYIS (98-9 KISS FM) may have affected KKWD as well. At one time a Modern AC/rock-leaning Hot AC, KYIS shifted younger in recent years and KKWD’s popular “Joey and Heather” show moved to KYIS in 2015.

KREF-AM adds 94.7 simulcast, Mike Steely to the lineup

Sports Talk Media’s KREF-AM 1400 added a simulcast on the former KBRU-FM (94.7 The Brew) Wednesday (Aug. 18). Morning show host Toby Rowland made the announcement just after 6 a.m. following The Doors’ “The End.”

KREF-AM also moves back to its former “Ref” branding with the move. Mike Steely, who has worked with WWLS The Sports Animal and 107.7 The Franchise as well as on KOKH-TV (Fox 25), also joins the lineup.

With the changes, longtime radio host and Oklahoma Sooners reporter James Hale exits the station.

Adding 94.7 solves signal issues for KREF-AM 1400 which doesn’t come in very well outside of Norman. The station added a translator at 99.3, but it is a Norman-only signal as well.

The moves leaves AOR KATT-FM (Rock 100.5 The KATT) and KRXO-HD2 (Classic Rock 104.5 KRXO) as OKC’s only rock stations.

The market continues to have a glut of sports stations, including market leader WWLS-FM 98.1 (WWLS The Sports Animal), KRXO (107.7 The Franchise), KWPN (the former WWLS) (ESPN 640), WKY-AM 930 (which simulcasts WWLS-FM), KINB (CBS Sports Radio 105.3 FM), KGHM (1340 The Game) and KEBC-AM 1560 (The Franchise 2).

KREF and iHeartMedia have partnered before with KREF simulcasting morning and afternoon programming on KGHM and KTBZ-AM (1430 The Buzz) in Tulsa.

Station Listings Update Almost Done

We have updated almost all of our station listings. All that we lack is a couple of AM stations and some of the new FM signals and translators that have popped up over the last few years (We’re looking at you, Tyler Media.).

Thanks for your patience. We’re just slow, I guess.

Perry Buys 105.3 From Cumulus Trust

After roughly ten years in the Last Bastion Trust established by former owner Citadel, KINB (105.3 The Pro) has been sold to Perry Broadcasting, owners of KVSP (Power 103.5) and KRMP (Heart and Soul 92.1 and 1140) for $225,000.

The sale ends a tumultuous era for the Kingfisher-licensed station which was bought by then-Citadel in 2002 for $3.1 million.

Long and winding road

The started as a local Contemporary Christian station KLGH (The Light 105-dot-3)owned by the people who built the station in 2000, Kingfisher County Broadcasters.

Citadel moved the “The Sports Animal” format to the frequency in 2002 for less than a year to install a country format on 104.9, its former longtime home. Its low power (930 watts) and tower location (east of Okarche) proved to be insufficient for The Sports Animal franchise that brought FM sports to Oklahoma City in the late-9os.

So, the frequency debuted an alternative format at night, modeled after the longtime format on Stillwater’s KSPI-FM (which had since gone Hot AC). The K-SPY at night and The Sports Animal during the day experiment morphed into KSYY (105.3 The Spy) full time on Christmas Day of 2002 as “The Sports Animal” moved back to 104.9.

That lasted until 2004 when the low performing station with a cult following made way for Citadel’s first foray into Regional Mexican with KINB “La Indomable.” The format would last four and a half years on 105.3, before migrating to WKY (930 AM).

Next up was “ESPN Deportes” which lasted 11 months.

Alternative returned when former Spy DJ Ferris O’Brien revived the moniker and format on the station in 2009. O’Brien was a KSPI-FM and KSYY veteran and worked for legendary KDGE in Dallas in its heyday. He agreed to buy the station and leased the station from the Citadel, who had now put the station in a trust to comply with ownership limits now in place due to Citadel’s purchase of ABC Radio in 2006.

O’Brien and the trust agreed to a $2 million deal, but a year later, SpyMedia backed out of the deal due price of the station and the coverage problems in the metro.

O’Brien took his format online only and Last Bastion kept playing Alternative also calling itself “The Spy” and then “The Real Spy.”

The trust ran the differing alternative format on the air as “The Real Spy” for four months into the spring of 2011 when there was another shake up.

The new format was Adult Standards. Sensing a niche to be filled with a rimshot signal (or the fact that then-Citadel General Manager Larry Bastida was a fan of the format), 105.3 The Martini debuted in March of 2011.

That format lasted just over two years, when OKC received yet another sports station with 105.3 The Pro. Cumulus syndicates CBS Sports Radio, which provides most of the programming. Oklahoma City Thunder D-League affiliate Oklahoma City Blue games air on the station as well as overflow programming from “cousin” stations WWLS and KWPN. The station has also carried high school football as well.

What’s next for 105.3?

What will Perry do with KINB? The company does own a sports stations in Lawton, but it’s unlikely that they would buy a station in OKC and keep it sports with the glut of sports stations in the metro.

Perry could simulcast Urban KVSP (Power 103.5) on 105.3, but each signal hits the OKC metro from the west and they overlap. Neither signal is strong in northeast Oklahoma City where Perry’s studio is located.

A simulcast of Urban AC KRMP (Hear and Soul 92.1 and 1140) is possible. The AM simulcasts on the 92.1 FM translator which covers the urban core pretty well. Will Perry find the “Heart and Soul” listeners they want inside of KINB’s coverage area which is largely rural and includes suburban far northwest Oklahoma City?

Another long-shot is Black Gospel. Perry owns a station with that format in Augusta, Ga. KTLV (AM 1220) in Midwest City runs a similar format and has tried to get an FM translator, but that effort seems to have stalled.

Another interesting wrinkle is KINB’s studio location on Wilshire Boulevard near Council Road in northwest Oklahoma City. The station does not have a main studio waiver and that location is just within the 25-mile radius of the city of license, Kingfisher. Then-owner Citadel was fined $9,000 in 2004 for not maintaining its studio at that Britton road location (and for public file violations). Will Perry file for a waiver and move KINB’s studio to its location in northeast Oklahoma City?

Perry, Tyler Square Off Over 103.7 Translator

Tyler Media provided this map to the FCC of their new translator’s coverage area compared to KVSP.

Perry Broadcasting, owners of 103.5 KVSP (Power 103.5) are at odds with Tyler Media over Tyler’s move-in translator (Yes, another one!) at 103.7 FM.

The “Kings of OKC Radio’s Great Translation Invasion” plan to move the newly-christened K279CR from being licensed to Coweta (where it was at 107.5) to Oklahoma City.

At 103.7, that puts it right next door to KVSP and they’re not happy about it.

Translators can not interfere with full-power FM stations. However, it appears K279CR doesn’t encroach on KVSP’s 60 dBu contour. That is normally the standard when it comes to a station’s “protected contour.”

Perry halfheartedly admits that Tyler’s translator doesn’t overlap with their protected contour, but takes the argument a step further saying that the new signal should not “overlap a populated area already receiving a regularly used off-the-air signal of any authorized co-channel, first, second or third adjacent channel broadcast station . . .” Perry cites FCC regulations in their filing.

Tyler, on the other hand, says Perry’s technical “is erroneous.” They also question the handful of listeners that complained about the interference, saying the affidavits were turned in late in the game, making it unfair. They also point out how far each KVSP listener lives from the 103.5 transmitter site, implying that the signal would be weak in homes and buildings where they live.

Tyler also requests that the commission “not grant KVSP the unique privilege of a protected contour of 48 dBu while all other similar stations have a 60dBu protected contour.”

It’s not surprising that KVSP doesn’t want a neighbor which could give it interference issues in northeast Oklahoma City. That part of town is important to Perry and KVSP’s urban format. However, whether that’s actually KVSP territory is up for debate. KVSP’s weakness has always been being so far out from Oklahoma City proper and being on the wrong side of town, covering listeners who might not be in tune with their format.

Tyler, in essence, is saying “This isn’t your territory.” They’re probably right.

 

 

96.9 Turns On The Fun

As promised, Cumulus LMA KQOB (Classic Rock 96.9) unveiled its new format Monday morning  (Dec. 28). The station ended its run of playing Christmas tunes at 6 a.m. with Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock and Roll,” unveiling Fun 96-9 FM, a classic hits station.

The station promises “just the right mix of pop and rock hits from the `60s, `70s, and `80s” and is built around longtime morning duo “Jack and Ron” who moved to the station in early December after spending 21 years at Hot AC sister station KYIS (98.9 KISS FM).

When KQOB was born in 2003 as 96-9 Bob FM, the station was branded as a classic hits station. Over time, the station moved towards classic rock, competing with a heritage station in KRXO. When Tyler sent the KRXO brand and format to a low-power translator at 104.5 (K283BW) in 2013 to make room for sports 107.7 The Franchise, KQOB’s classic rock focus continued. Earlier this summer, the Bob moniker was replaced by the catchy “Classic Rock 96.9.”

Inzinga and Spinozi will continue in afternoon drive. Longtime rock jock Leo Cage continues in middays. There’s no word whether longtime OKC programmer Jeff Couch (who programmed KRXO and Tyler Adult Contemporary KMGL (Magic 104.1) in the past) will be on the air. Couch had been at reins for 96.9 and was on the air on Bob.

Longtime radio vet Fred Hendrickson announced on his Facebook page that he was joining KQOB for weekend duty. Hendrickson whose career includes stops at WKY, KATT, KRXO and KOQL just to name a few, just completed a lengthy run at classic hits KOMA.

The format could be described as hit-based classic rock. First observations include a lack of R&B songs instead playing guitar-based pop and rock hits. Unlike classic rocker KRXO, the station is focused on hits and avoiding album cuts made popular by rock stations in 1970s.

The station plays mainly 70s and 80s tunes, with occasional late 60s thrown in. KQOB did spin Tom Cochrane’s “Life Is A Highway” on Monday — a 1992 song. But, songs like that seem to fit the sound of the station, despite being newer.

Obviously, KOMA is the main target for “Fun.” Whether KOMA will scale back its 80s music to match the older skewing KQOB is to be determined. KRXO and to a certain degree KMGL are also competitors.

 

Now’s Evolution Reaches The Edge

While everyone was picking up last-minute Christmas gifts and preparing for the holiday on Dec. 23, Tyler flipped KOMA-HD2 from Top-40 “Now 92.9” to Alternative as “92.9 The Edge.”

The HD subchannel feeds K225BN, the Tyler-controlled 200-watt translator that covers most of the northern half of the Oklahoma City metro.

“OKC has been asking for a station like this for a while, and Santa has delivered, just in time for Christmas!” Edge PD Tod Tucker said in a statement to AllAccess.

“92.9 The Edge was built specifically for Oklahoma City,” Tucker added.

Besides current artists like twenty one pilots, Florence + The Machine, Coldplay and Cage The Elephant, Tucker promises  Alternative favorites from the ’80s through 2000s.

The “Now” brand burst on the scene in September 2013 on Tyler’s 96.5 translator (now-Exitos 96.5). Tyler brought in former KJYO (KJ-103) personality and former KHTT/Tulsa (106.9 K-HITS) PD Tucker to program the station. Tucker also makes on-air appearances throughout the cluster and had a hand in Tyler’s throwback hip-hop and R&B station V103, which airs on another translator, the wonderfully named K276EX (103.1)

In 2014, Now began to simulcast on 92.9 before making its permanent there.

The Edge will compete with Cumulus heritage Rocker KATT-FM (Rock 100.5 The KATT) and indie alternative/AAA-leaning KOSU (91.7), which airs Ferris O’Brien’s “The Spy-FM” network at night.

O’Brien was the last to try alternative in OKC on KINB (then-105.3 The Spy) with a year-long Local Marketing Agreement (LMA) with Cumulus’ Last Bastion Trust that was supposed to end with O’Brien buying the station. However, the purchase fell through and O’Brien took his station online only, before striking up the deal with KOSU. 105.3 The Spy, also had a stint on the frequency from 2002-2004 as KSYY.

O’Brien’s “Spy” moniker comes from his time as Stillwater’s KSPI (93.7 The Spy) which programmed the format and had a cult following in Oklahoma City before going Hot Adult Contemporary in 2000.

iHeartMedia (then Clear Channel) tried the format on then KHBZ-FM with “94.7 The Buzz” from 2002-2009. This effort came after they programmed alternative from 1996-1997 on the same frequency as KNRX (95X).

 

 

Ice storm knocks off stations

Last week’s ice storm caused power outages in northwest Oklahoma and in the Oklahoma City metro as well. Several area radio stations were affected as well.

Most notably, Cumulus’ KYIS (98-9 KISS FM) was knocked off the air Saturday night. The station was off the air Sunday and into Monday evening. The timing wasn’t great for the station since last week it was announced that longtime morning team “Jack and Ron” were moving to KQOB starting Dec. 4. A handful of KYIS listeners were puzzled by the outage, perhaps thinking the duo’s move and the outage were related.

KQOB (currently stunting with All-Christmas music), has had dead air since Monday, due to technical issues at its Crescent, Okla. transmitter site.

Most of the stations affected are move-in stations that target the Oklahoma City metro from sites in rural northern and western Oklahoma. KINB (105.3 The Pro), KNAH (99.7 Hank FM), KVSP (Power 103.5), KZTH (88.5 The House FM) all spent time off the air due to the storm.

Radio dial sections updated soon

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Thank you for checking out the site.

96.9 Flips to All-Christmas

Classic rock is dead on KQOB.

According to RadioInsight, the Champlin-owned station flipped to holiday tunes around 7 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 24). The move was expected since Cumulus’ KYIS (98-9 KISS-FM) morning duo “Jack and Ron” announced they were moving to KQOB Dec. 3, would be playing Christmas tunes and hinted at a new format for KQOB.

The new morning show promised “Oklahoma City’s next great radio station,” in promos and announced a new format would be unveiled Dec. 28.

Cumulus operates KQOB via a local marketing agreement.

Earlier this summer, KQOB shed its BOB-FM identity to become “Classic Rock 96.9.” Originally a classic hits station, KQOB moved in a Classic Rock direction when longtime classic rocker KRXO was booted from a 100,000-watt signal at 107.7 to a 250-watt translator at 104.5 (K283BW) fed by now-sports KRXO, now known as 107.7 The Franchise.

KQOB flipped to BOB in 2003.

Despite a 98,000-watt signal, the station suffers signal holes in parts of the metro. The station broadcasts from a tower northwest of Crescent, Okla.