On August 1, a Daytona Beach radio station serving the Orlando market with Alternative rock music as “FM 101.9” since the end of 2017 dropped the format — a favorite of the parent company’s CEO. Today, WQMP-FM is again branded as “102 JAMZ,” airing a Throwback Hip-Hop format designed to lure back fans who tuned to the frequency years ago.
Now, Audacy Inc. is preparing to end Alternative music on a Kansas City FM, with a pending shift to Sports Talk.
At 6am on Thursday, August 15, KRBZ-FM will cease its broadcasts as “ALT 96.5” and become “96.5 The Fan.”
This effectively shifts the content of KCSP-AM “610 Sports Radio,” a 102-year-old Class B facility that until 2003 was known as WDAF-AM, to the FM, putting Sports Talk on the MHz band for the first time in Kansas City.
The move means KRBZ as “The Fan” will be the new flagship of the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs, with a simulcast continuing on WDAF-FM “106.5 The Wolf” across the 2024 season as part of a long-term transition process and to reduce listener confusion.
“The Fan” is also the new home for Kansas City Royals play-by-play, and for Kansas State University and University of Missouri men’s basketball and football.
What’s next for KCSP? It is getting a call sign change to KFNZ-AM, and will be branded as “The Fan AM 610.” That station’s weekday programming and play-by-play content will largely mirror that of the FM, with select Royals games airing exclusively on The Fan AM 610 due to contractual agreements.
“Kansas City has the most passionate sports fans in the country, and they deserve a one-stop destination for premium sports content year-round,” said Roxanne Marati, Senior Vice President and Market Manager for Audacy in Kansas City. “This is an exciting time for KC sports, and our exclusive partnership with the World Champion Chiefs, local content and engaging personalities with unrivaled sports knowledge will fuel fandom, bring listeners closer to the action and keep them connected to their favorite teams.”
For those who tuned to ALT 96.5, a consolidation of rock stations is about to transpire.
Longtime ALT 96.5 afternoon drive show “Church of Lazlo,” starring Lazlo, Slimfast and Snowcone, will move to sibling KQRC-FM “98.9 The Rock” starting today (8/8).
No other ALT 96.5 air personalities will be making the move, with the current format ending on Wednesday at 6pm Central. Jordin Silver is in middays while Kevan Kenney is in nights, piped in from New York across all of Audacy’s Alternative stations.
The change brings an end nearly 24 years to the day that the company then-known as Entercom signed on KRBZ as “96.5 The Buzz.” A change in branding to “ALT” transpired in September 2020.
According to the most recent Nielsen Audio ratings for Kansas City, KRBZ had a 2.4 share of the overall listening audience; in the previous three months (April-June 2024) it was beaten by KCSP-AM in the ratings. KQRC had a 3.5 share.
