In the San Francisco Bay Area, conservative talk host Sean Hannity and programs including Armstrong & Getty have been heard on a 5kw AM radio station with a transmitter in the Pier 94 wetlands due south of Mission Bay and Oracle Park. Come Monday, this longtime Talker and one-time flanker to a News/Talk station at 810 kHz is moving to that bigger frequency, displacing the sports wagering programming that supplanted what had been KGO.
KSFO-AM 560 is moving on November 18 to what is presently the home of “810 The Spread,” a 25-month-old format that abruptly replaced the News/Talk programming that in the past made KGO — with its booming 50kw Class A signal heard across the American West — a perennial ratings and revenue leader under ABC Radio ownership.
Does this mean “The Spread” is moving to the KSFO signal? A Cumulus representative did not immediately respond to RBR+TVBR‘s request for comment.
KGO’s tower is famously in the middle of San Francisco Bay, alongside the Dumbarton Bridge. This makes the station’s skywave nighttime signal audable in nearly every city west of the Rocky Mountains.
The move of KSFO to the home of what was once the biggest spoken word AM in the American West is just one of several changes being seen in the San Francisco Bay Area by Cumulus Media. At Sports Talk KNBR-AM 680 & FM 104.5, primary broadcasts will be moving from 750 Battery Street to its studios at San Francisco’s Levi Stadium — even at times when the San Francisco 49ers aren’t there. As Cumulus sees it, “The move will bring even more insight, access and ‘best-seat-in-the-house’ opinions to Bay Area sports fans as the company reduces its studio expenses.
Then, there is the announcement from the hosts via Facebook on Thursday evening that Cumulus did not address in a press release highlighting the KNBR changes. Lamont & Tonelli, the 35-year Bay Area morning show helmed by Lamont Hollywood and Paul Tonelli, hosted their final show for KSAN-FM “107.7 The Bone” in San Francisco this morning.
The two began as a morning duo in 1989, at then-Rocker KSJO-FM 92.3 in San Jose. In 2003, they joined KSAN-FM.
Larry Blumhagen, Regional Vice President and Market Manager at Cumulus Media in San Francisco, said, “We make these moves as Cumulus San Francisco is experiencing an exceptionally successful year. We continue to evolve as an organization committed to excellence and to growing for the future. With these changes, we say goodbye to some of our most storied and influential talent and we extend our gratitude for their countless contributions.”
