Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Radio stations change their tune

Its on-air promos tout the reformatted KFBI 107.5-FM as "a station Howard Stern could love." Before you say, Hot dog! Topless lesbian DJs!, what they are really telling you is that the station now plays music more suited to Stern's aggressive, in-your-face style.

One of two stations to change formats this week, KFBI has abandoned classic rock 'n' roll to go nose ring to goatee with KEDG 103.5-FM for the local alternative rock market. It now calls itself "Xtreme 107" or just "X 107," and plays alt rock standards -- Pearl Jam, Hole, Stabbing Westward. Fear not, Stern fans: "X 107" remains Howard-powered in the morning.

How's it sound vis-a-vis KEDG? A few hours of listening show it to be, well, edgier than "The Edge," with less Europop, fewer '80s chestnuts. However, that observation is based on listening to KFBI, not on official station information, as extreme means never having to return phone calls.

The other station playing musical formats is KFBI's sister station, KXTZ 94.1-FM. Formerly "Jams 94," it offered the charmingly named "churban" -- contemporary urban -- format, heavy on dance music and rap. Now it's out with the "Jams," in with "The Mix."

"It'll be a mix of pop, alternative and adult contemporary," says General Manager Cindy Schloss. Typical playlist: Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow, Gin Blossoms, Hootie and the Blowfish. "Hits from the '80s and '90s," she says, as well as some of the latest stuff hot off MTV. "There's definitely a hole in the market for that."

The switch was preceded by two major research studies and has been in the works for several months.

"We did this because we had an opportunity for a contemporary station to target women 25-34," says Schloss, who also manages another sister station, KMZQ 100.5-FM, "Klassy 100." By no accident, "Klassy" also targets women. "We reach the entire spectrum of women. We wanted to be the stations that could deliver women (to advertisers)."

KFBI, KXTZ and KMZQ are under the umbrella of American Radio Systems, which also in the process of acquiring the popular KLUC 98.5-FM (no format changes afoot there, KLUC sources say). John Parker, who's selling KXTZ to ARS (until the sale is final, ARS is essentially "leasing" the station from him), says the format changes allow the company to woo advertisers by offering them a broader range of listeners.

That sort of consolidation is the future of radionomics, he says, predicting that "virtually all local stations will soon be owned by three or four groups."

And that's good, he insists. "It will give the owners more money to do more things."

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