“Today we said goodbye to the legendary KGO.”
That’s the startling announcement that came in the 10am Pacific hour on Thursday from the storied news and information station serving the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose market for 80 years.
A pre-recorded loop began playing in the middle of regular programming. It likely won’t stop until Monday, when “810 AM begins a new era.”
To say the format adjustment to KGO-AM 810 in San Francisco, a 50kw Class A facility using three towers to deliver a city-grade daytime signal to not only the Bay Area but to Sacramento, Chico, Monterey-Salinas and Stockton, is a surprise is perhaps an understatement.
According to Matthew Keys at TheDesk.net, which is based in Sacramento, KGO suddenly cut away from The Mark Thompson Show to deliver a pre-recorded message about a format change that Cumulus is presently preparing for. The announcement has played on a loop since then, accompanied by “a teaser” of songs devoted to themes such as money and winning.
That’s a signal that, according to Keys, KGO will be adopting a Sports Talk programming schedule, perhaps with a focus on sports betting to distance itself from co-owned KNBR-AM & FM, long considered “The Sports Leader” in Northern California; and “KNBR 1050,” KTCT-AM’s identity as a sports talker focused on syndicated programming.
Keys confirmed the Sports Betting-focus for KGO’s news format, citing a person “familiar with the change.” A Cumulus spokesperson responded to RBR+TVBR‘s request for comment by noting, “The company will be announcing an exciting new brand coming to the Bay Area on Monday.” Keys says “Bet MGM Tonight” is among the programs heading to KGO.
The new name for KGO? “AM 810 The Spread,” according to a source to spoke with Keys and internet domain registration information pointing URLs to Cumulus Media.
Sports betting is not yet legal in California. However, Jim Twu, a Bay Area legal expert who appears on KSCO-AM in Santa Cruz, Calif., tells RBR+TVBR that California voters on Election Day can vote for Proposition 26, which would legalize sports betting in tribal casinos; and Proposition 27, which would make sports betting on mobile devices legal.
Meanwhile, Cumulus’ KSFO-AM 560 will now be its lone News/Talk property serving the Bay Area. KSFO’s lineup is largely comprised of nationally syndicated programming, such as Armstrong & Getty, Dan Bongino Show, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and Dave Ramsey.
Those seeking to visit the KGO website are greeted with the same message posted to its Twitter feed:
At 9:25am Pacific on Thursday, all seemed normal for KGO. Morning show host Nikki Medoro was welcoming “Doug” and “Fresca,” two rescue dogs, for a discussion on how listeners could adopt them. A day earlier, she was commended for an interview focused on solving San Francisco’s homeless crisis.
Now, Medoro’s future with Cumulus is in question.
Meanwhile, it appears The Mark Thompson Show, The Pat Thurston Show, and The John Rothmann show, which aired from 10am-Noon, Noon-4pm and 4pm-7pm, respectively, are casualties.
A FADED VOICE FOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
From Paso Robles to Garberville, one can drive U.S. 101 during daylight hours and tune to KGO.
That said, the KGO that disappeared on October 6, 2022, was a much different station than under ABC ownership and the leadership of Mickey Luckoff.
For 35 years, Luckoff ran KGO and KSFO, making KGO a highly respected spoken word leader across North America.
It came to an end on Monday, October 4, 2010.
That’s when Luckoff resigned, chastising the station’s then-owner, Citadel Broadcasting, in announcing his departure. He admitted that his resignation letter sat in his desk for nine months, as he berated the company for its treatment of station employees.
Three years earlier, ABC sold its radio stations to Citadel. That 2007 deal began a downward spiral for KGO, one that has yet to ebb. In May 2010, the PPM-based ratings for San Francisco had KGO at No. 3 behind KCBS-AM and KOIT-FM. By June 2022, KGO had dipped to a 1.0 share and in September 2022 ranked No. 20, right below No. 19 KSFO.
Under Luckoff, the No. 3 finish would have been cause for alarm. For decades, KGO was untouchable. In April 1980, Radio & Records noted in a News/Talk column that thanks to a non-stop promotions campaign, KGO had just climbed from a 9.2 share of the audience to a 10.6 share. Then, the morning news with co-hosts Jim Dunbar and Ted Wygant were award-winners, as were the afternoon news team of Harv Morgan, Greg Edmonds, Carl Haeberle and Larry Doyle.
In June 1982, KGO would only fortify its dominance in the Bay Area with the elevation of Jack Swanson to Director of Programming Operations, from News Director. Swanson exited KGO in May 2017 and today operates his own consultancy. Meanwhile, Luckoff by 2016 was Board President for the Palace of the Fine Arts League.
KGO has been a 50kw facility at 810 kHz since 1947; its history dates to January 8, 1924. It is a founding station of the ABC Radio Network, formerly the “Blue Network” from NBC. It had largely been News/Talk since 1962, finding success with the format later in the decade.
Now, that history, along with this morning’s broadcast from Nikki Medoro, is enshrined in a legacy that many across the radio industry will largely remember. For Cumulus, it ends one chapter as it prepares to begin a new one for KGO Radio.
