Idaho Radio News Etc.

I was looking through an issue of The Blue magazine tonight – the publication dedicated to Boise State sports. KBOI had a full page ad with a large football – and three simple copy points: “Live. Local. Legendary.”

It occurred to me that the station never stopped being the Broncos station. Two years ago, Peak Broadcasting got organized — and paid big — to swipe the rights to broadcast games from KBOI, moving them to KIDO.

But after KBOI accepted defeat – it set its sights on two things: keeping the Broncos as part of its brand, and getting the team back on its airwaves.

KBOI set up shop before each football game at a less-than-glamorous location: Baja Fresh. But they continued to crank out pre and post game shows, and had a big advantage: Paul J. Schneider. The long-time announcer of football and basketball was swept aside as part of the transition, but still was a very strong presence in the mind of fans. He continued to anchor the station’s morning show – and is arguably the best-known personality in Boise radio.

Meanwhile, the station kept its rather large news staff, and as Peak cut KIDO to the bone – KBOI grew. It picked up Rush Limbaugh, strengthened its news team, and kept hammering away on Broncos news. The games might not have aired on the station, but it was very much part of the scene.

Now KBOI gets the games back – and will likely bring Bob Behler on board as well. While Paul J. won’t be behind the play-by-play mic, he’ll continue to be part of the news coverage, and Citadel will likely find creative ways to wrap itself around the Broncos brand even better than it had before.