Cumulus Media has followed the lead of radio station owners such as Audacy Inc. by agreeing to add a full-powered FM simulcast partner to an AM radio station in one of the nation’s biggest markets.
In this case, however, the shared programming will likely boost the FM’s ratings, which have been among the market’s lowest in recent months.
Starting Wednesday (1/3), KLIF-FM in Haltom City, Tex. will discontinue its rhythmic-leaning Hot Adult Contemporary programming and “Hot 93.3” moniker and enter into a 24/7 rebroadcasting arrangement with Class A 50,000-watt WBAP-AM 820 in Fort Worth.
This will bring the Dallas Metroplex region a heritage News/Talk station on both the AM and FM bands, giving it a potential further advantage over Audacy’s News-intensive KRLD-AM 1080 and Salem Media Group‘s KSKY-AM 660 “The Answer,” the market’s home for Salem’s lineup of conservative Talk radio hosts.
And, it will bring WBAP to a band presently home to spoken word stations including heritage NPR Member station KERA-FM and recently launched “Hot Talk” KEGL-FM, today branded as “The Freak.”
Interestingly, Cumulus will continue to operate the conservative-titling talk programming of KLIF-AM 570 with no change; it also airs on KSCS-FM 96.3’s HD2 signal, with a local news block from 5am-9am preceding the syndicated Glenn Beck; Markley, Vancamp & Robbins; Ben Shapiro; and Sean Hannity in key dayparts. KLIF-AM earned a 0.3 share of listening in December 2023, compared to a 0.5 share for KSKY.
Thus, WBAP-AM & KLIF-FM will mirror the AM/FM simulcast arrangement for Cumulus Media’s Sports Talk KTCK “The Ticket” — a top-rated station in the nation’s fifth-largest market. Given those strong ratings, bringing WBAP-AM to FM could give a boost to that spoken word property for Cumulus, too.
While WBAP-AM today is the market’s No. 1-rated AM, it ranks No. 11 overall with a lineup comprised of a local morning news program and talk hosts Casey Bartholomew, Dan Bongino and Mark Levin. And, with the new simulcast beginning Wednesday, a twist to the wake-up show is taking place: Carla Marion will serve as a co-Anchor of the WBAP Morning News with co-anchors Hal Jay and Ernie Brown. It is a return to WBAP for Marion. Also new to WBAP is James Parker, who will host the 2pm-5pm slot after most recently appearing on local TV in Tyler-Longview, Tex.
The addition of KLIF-FM as a WBAP simulcast partner is perhaps a reflection of radio listening habits in North Texas as 2024 begins. Despite the push from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to get Congress to adopt the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, with a floor vote still to be scheduled, Cumulus has sent the message that FM is vital for WBAP’s full ratings and revenue potential. Conversely, it sends the message to the brokerage community that AM’s value is potentially in an irreversible decline, save a potentially game-changing surge in HD Radio adoption for kHz-based facilities with big signals such as that of WBAP.
Today, WBAP’s 820 kHz signal is mammoth. During daylight hours, it can be clearly heard from Austin to Oklahoma City.
By comparison, Class C2 50kw KLIF-FM’s signal contour is limited to Dallas-Fort Worth’s metropolitan area — with particular weakness in fast-growing Collin County.
As Dan Bennett, Regional Vice President for Cumulus Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston, sees it, “As we move into a critical election year, these talent moves and an FM frequency for WBAP speak to our commitment to spoken-word radio. We will carry our stations on a variety of signals and streaming to improve accessibility of this outstanding news and talk content to our listeners. 2024 will be a great year for News/Talk.”
But the bigger story as to why WBAP-AM is now simulcasting on KLIF-FM may have more to do with the failure of a music format on the latter signal — much like the reasons why Audacy brought its KNX-AM to 97.1 MHz in Los Angeles and WINS-AM to 92.3 MHz in New York. In Dallas, KLIF-FM as “Hot 93.3” failed to attract significant audience and revenue, and earned just a 0.8 share in the December 2023 Nielsen Audio ratings for the market.
KLIF-FM debuted on Halloween 1996 after Marcos Rodriguez completed the facility’s sale to Susquehanna Radio. It had the call letters KKZN and aired an Adult Alternative format as “The Zone.” The heritage KLIF call letters arrived in September 2009 with a shift to a Top 40 format, paying homage to the legendary KLIF-AM 1190 that made Gordon McLendon an iconic figure in the history of the Contemporary Hit Radio format.
— With reporting by Zack Pollack in Grapevine, Tex.
