IdahoRadioNews: Movin’ to the country

With the spring book right around the corner, a flurry of changes in recent weeks on the airwaves — especially those waves that carry a country twang.

Cumulus personell moves

KQFC/97.9 Nash FM has swapped out its local morning show with a syndicated product. Long-running host Cory Mikhals gave way to Blair Garner and America’s Morning Show. The show is part of the Nash brand launched by KQFC owner Cumulus last year, and will be heard on a wide variety of stations across the, er– country.

At sister station KIZN/Kissin’ 92.3, 15-year veteran morning team Mee in the Morning is out. The married pair (somewhat better known as Kevin & Brenda) segued out of the station earlier this month. The reason behind the parting of ways is unknown – but sources say contract negotiations had been going on for a while. Nielsen (Arbitron) ratings for the Mees, and KIZN in general, have flagged in recent years.

cory-mikhalsThe Mee-team will be replaced this week by — wait for it — Cory Mikhals. Mikhals will switch studios in the Cumulus building effective Tuesday.

Here’s the announcement of the Nash & Kissin’ changes.

Bull moseys back into town

tNCrhmSjFriday, another development for country listeners: Boise got another Western-themed station. KQBL/100.7 The Bull replaced KPDA/100.7 La Poderosa at 5 p.m., replacing the regional Mexican format used by the Impact-owned station in recent years.

The change on 100.7 happened at the same time Impact officially sold off 99.1 FM to Lee Family Broadcasting of Twin Falls. 99.1 now leaves the Boise market (more on that in a moment).

With the chess moves, Impact now operates four English-language music formats and a sports radio frequency: KSRV/96.1 Bob FM, KWYD/Wild 101, KQBL/100.7 The Bull, KZMG/My 102.7 and KNFL/96.5 ESPN Boise. Those moves double the number of music stations in Impact’s… bull-pen.

So why all the fancy footwork? Ultimately, Impact trades away a rough signal that broadcast out of Mountain Home for a strong signal on top of Bogus Basin.

Not mentioned in all this country fun: KAWO/Wow Country 104.3. The Townsquare Media-owned country station is the market leader in the segment, and hasn’t made any recent shifts.

Here’s the launch of The Bull:

My 102.7 still spot-less

myKZMG/My 102.7 is still without commercials — but that may not last long. Impact could not own the station until it closed on the sale of  99.1 FM due to FCC rules. Now that’s happened, expect commercial messages soon.

The station is introducing a variety of interactive features. Some are routine, while others are novel to the Boise market. Listeners are invited to dial up my1027fm.com and vote songs up and down. They can also get a text or email alert when their favorite jam is about to play. During work-hours, the station will allow listeners to pick the first song played at the top of the hour from its website (from a pre-selected list).

99.1 to the dogs

Last year, Lee Family Broadcasting announced it would format 99.1 as “La Perrona” – a Regional Mexican station. When Lee Family got its hooks into the station, it launched… 99.1 The Dog.  Imaging takes swipes at cross-town country station Kat Kountry. It isn’t really clear to me the long term story here. You can hear the launch of 99.1 The Dog below:

(Update: 99.1 has now transitioned to the La Perrona format)

Don Day is the Digital Sales & Product Manager for KTVB, and wrote and edited IdahoRadioNews.com for more than six years.

IdahoRadioNews: My my, changes are afoot

A number of changes are rolling across the radio dials of Boise and Twin Falls. Stations are changing hands, flipping formats, and getting new competitors.

On October 31st, KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM moved up the dial to 103.5 FM. This was the first, and for the Boise market at least, most visible part of a plan that’s been in the works since 2006.

myShortly after KSAS moved, a brand new station joined the radio dial at 102.7 FM. The station moved in from Elko, NV – getting a prized transmitter on Deer Point with full coverage of the Boise market. It took on the call letters KZMG (the long-time heritage call letters of Magic 93.1, which date back to April of 1990; the new station has no direct relation to Magic).

KZMG signed on playing non-stop music under the name My 102.7 FM — taking aim at KCIX/Mix 106 and to some degree KXLT/107.9 Lite FM.  News came late last week that FM Idaho/Impact Radio would purchase the station from its current owner, giving Impact a new, full-market signal. The station should complement sister KWYD/Wild 101 with female demographics and sales efforts, in much the same way Town Square Media’s (formerly Peak Broadcasting) Kiss FM & Mix 106 do.

With recent shifts at KRVB/94.9 The River, the number of stations playing some version of pop or adult contemporary hits stands at six – KWYD/Wild 101, KSAS/103.5 Kiss FM, KCIX/Mix 106, KZMG/My 102.7, KRVB/94.9 The River and KXLT/107.9 Lite FM. You can visualize the way the stations lay out with this handy little chart:

layout

La PerronaThe next piece of the puzzle is the purchase of KINF-FM from Impact Radio by Lee Family Broadcasting of Twin Falls. KINF currently serves both the Boise and Twin Falls markets, but soon will shift entirely toward the Magic Valley. Lee Family announced it would buy KINF and flip the format from talk to  Regional Mexican under the name La Perrona 99.1 FM with call letters KPNA.

It’s my understanding a few more things will change up affecting some stations not listed here in coming weeks. We’ll provide an update on that soon.

Update: If it wasn’t clear which station Impact was targeting, this Facebook post makes it so:

Screen Shot 2013-12-16 at 2.09.28 PM

Don Day is the Digital Sales & Product Manager for KTVB, and wrote and edited IdahoRadioNews.com for more than six years.