CBS Radio/Westwood One offers the all-sports format, but with no LA affiliate, except for KCBS-HD2. CBS Radio’s News-Talk KFWB in that market was one of a handful of stations rumored to pick up the format. Looks like come September, the heritage station will become that affiliate, says The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and LARadio.com.
On 7/25, KFWB’s Twitter account noted that the station would “shake up the LA sports scene in September.” On the same day the employees were notified that they will be let go on 8/31. On 9/1, CBS Sports Radio programming will move from KCBS to KFWB, which will be known as “The Beast 980.” KFWB had been airing “Going Deep” and the first two hours of “The Erik Kuselias Show” from Westwood One’s NBC Sports Radio, but will now be carrying the full lineup from CBS Sports Radio.
The station, which was placed into trust by CBS Radio 11/11, also carries LA Clippers play-by-play.
However, Diane Sutter, who oversees the KFWB Asset Trust, told LARadio.com that no decision has been made yet to carry the syndicated CBS Sports Radio package. She said the station is looking for a new PD and “I think I would want to make sure the (new) program director had a part in that decision.”
Ratings at KFWB are not too good—with an AQH of 0.3 in the most recent PPMs. KFWB will compete with KLAC (570 AM), KSPN (710 AM), and KLAA (830 AM) and XEPRS (1090 AM).
See the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin story here.
RBR-TVBR observation: That’s a lot of sports competition in one market. We wonder if KFWB could do something like Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters’ Saul Levine did a few years ago with one of his stations–all traffic and weather. While that didn’t make it in the end, it didn’t have the signal KFWB has. Either way, a market that size should have a CBS Sports Radio affiliate. We’ll see how it fares.
