Commentary: John Lynch To Purchase a Mexican Radio Station? 6-25-03

It is very likely that judging from what I read in Blurt, anything can happen when Lynch and his former Nobel Broadcasting associates purchases one of the Mexican stations and a decision to format it is put into the research department to determine what format would work best for this future FM radio station property of Lynch and BCA.

Here are a few possibilities:

A: FM Talk. Viacom's KLSX 97.1 in Los Angeles has enjoyed success with its FM Talk format, mostly due to the popularity of Viacom's own Howard Stern morning show (heard on Clear Channel's Rock 105.3). Without Stern, there's not much hope to make the FM talk format work. Sure, he could get the syndicated Bob & Tom Show (http://www.bobandtom.com/), which recently were named Classic Rock Personality/Show of the Year in the 2003 R&R Convention in Los Angeles according to rronline.com and run it in the mornings, put in another syndicated talker in the midday such as a replay of John Boy and Billy, put on Tom Leykis in the afternoon, create a male-oriented evening comedy and talk show to follow, and run brokered programming and other syndicated fare overnights and weekends, and, paired off with The Mighty 1090, offer advertisers a discount on the commercials for the bundled package that appeals to the male audience, as well as cross-promoting each other's stations. Could work, but I ask, is this what San Diego wants to listen to? I'd listen to it myself.

B: Dance and Electronica. This format has appeal to many people who like upbeat tempos and exciting beats with enough energy to get people through the workday and to keep people awake while operating heavy machinery. No station in San Diego carries most of the music that I can hear on channels such as BPM on XM channel 81, grooveradio.com, or late night specialty electronica shows such as Paul Oakenfold Presents on KFSD 92.1, a station that doesn't reach TJ too well. Longtime fans of 98.9's Rewire dance blocks on both sides of the border could use this format. No more taping Digital Groove at midnight on my hi fi tape machine while I sleep.

C: Soft Adult Contemporary: long time A/C format at KYXY 96.5 and smooth jazz KIFM 98.1 have been among the most listened to programming concepts in this town for over 20 years apiece. Many others such as Sunny 103.7, Galaxy 91.7, and KJOY 102.9 then 94.1 have come and gone. There was even The Wave 102.9 for two years while KIFM retooled their format to include new age music. What could this new soft a/c format program that these two top soft music formats are not doing that would make them succeed in the lucrative 25-54 income bracket? Any ideas, readers?

D: Classical. This format is a long shot, given that Victor Diaz runs classical on 90.7 and I don't think he would appreciate Lynch putting on a format that directly competes with it, unless Lynch purchases 90.7 itself and retools it to sound more like the old KFSD 94.1 as it was through 1996.

E: Funny Music. This is a true alternative music format, one that plays comedy and novelty music, and is getting some traces of publicity with the help of Comedy Central and VH-1, the launch of All Comedy Radio on some radio stations in the U.S. (http://www.allcomedyradio.com), getting featured regularily on Bob & Tom, Bob Rivers, and other funny morning radio shows, and XM Radio featuring four comedy and novelty music radio channels, it's about time San Diego got some comedy on the radio since no station has anything funny on the local airwaves, so it doesn't compete with anybody. And, yes, Dr. Demento's recent shows are now on XM channel 30.

F: Eclectic New Oldies. We already have most every radio station playing 80's and 90's music being featured on various formats. Do we need another station playing period-piece music in town? I don't think so. Music tastes since the mid 70's are so splintered in America that putting in Kenny Rogers to follow Ratt after Culture Club and Dionne Warwick and Samantha Fox just isn't going to work.

G: Alternative Country, Folk, Americana, and AAA. This skews a bit rich and mature, but worth a research to determine if this would work.

I hope Lynch gets more FM stations to add more formats that are sorely needed here to entertain, enrich, and contribute to the community that they are serving and get some new radio listeners.

More radio commentaries and headlines are also available at my California "Cal" Radio News website at http://www.sandiegoradionews.com/, which also plugs Blurt and Randy Dotinga's radio columns weekly among other things.