We’ll throw these up this afternoon, instead of waiting for our usual morning report…
FM TALK WATCH ROLLS ON: Our ongoing tracking of the move of traditional news/talk/sports formats to the FM dial nets a big one this afternoon, not that terribly far from Ohio.
AllAccess reports that Emmis talk powerhouse WIBC/1070 Indianapolis is the latest to be added to the FM Talk Convert list. Emmis will move the legendary Indiana talk station to the FM dial at 93.1, replacing top 40 “Radio Now” WNOU.
Not yet, though.
First, WNOU’s former music format will be replaced by “93 Days of Christmas”, offering, as the would indicate, over three months of holiday music.
January 7th, WIBC’s news/talk format will land solely on 93.1 FM, with the 50,000 watt 1070 signal being dedicated to sports – with an ESPN Radio affiliation.
It’s similar to what Bonneville did in Phoenix, with long-time talker KTAR moving to FM, and its AM frequency being taken over by a linked sports format station – also using the KTAR calls as “Sports 620”.
With the move, the Cleveland market will be mostly ringed by FM news/talk/sports stations.
Detroit has FM sports talk now, with the blowing up of hot talk WKRK/97.1 “Free FM” for the sports simulcast of WXYT/1270.
Both Columbus and Cincinnati to the south have FM talk outlets – North American Broadcasting’s WTDA/103.9 “Talk FM” in Columbus, and Cumulus’ WFTK/96.5 “SuperTalk FM” in Cincinnati.
To the southeast, there’s Clear Channel’s successful FM news/talker, WPGB/104.7.
And covering much of the Cleveland market itself, of course, is Kent-based WNIR/100.1, the long-time “Talk of Akron”.
There’s also one slight Cleveland connection here: OMW reported a week ago that Cleveland radio traffic reporter Jamie Sullivan is headed for the very same WIBC mentioned here…
SYNDICATION (G)ONE: A prominent source in the urban talk community has reported that Radio One is shuttering its “Syndication One” urban talk effort, which provides the company’s WERE/1490 in the Cleveland market with network talk programming, at the end of the year.
But the report in Robert Redding’s Redding News Review is met with a clarification, via AllAccess this afternoon.
AllAccess has confirmed that afternoon drive hosts “The Two Live Stews” will have their syndication ended, as will Warren Ballentine, the mid-morning host who took over the time slot that launched with author Michael Eric Dyson.
But Syndication One tells the trade site that their flagship host, Rev. Al Sharpton, will continue to do his radio show for the network, and that other shows are in the works.
The “Stews”, presumably, will continue doing their local program in Atlanta after the Syndication One effort ends.
No word on if this affects WERE, locally…but we’ll guess that as a company O&O, they’ll continue with whatever Radio One offers in the open time slots…
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