Idaho Radio News Etc.

KIDO’s Voice of the Broncos made a cameo in a promo for KSAS this week – with some totally out of context quotes. Very funny. Listen here.

Behler appeared on the KTVB.COM Fiesta Live Webshow last week, and was asked by Mark Johnson about his future plans. He said conversations have not begun with KBOI and won’t until his contract expires, but he hopes to continue in his role as “Voice.”  He also made an interesting observation — during his time with Peak/BSU, he’s only called one losing game – the Pointsettia Bowl against TCU last year.

Peak Broadcasting GM Kevin Godwin issued a statement today on the loss of the rights to Boise State sports to Citadel and KBOI/KKGL.  Godwin says – in a nutshell – that there was no way to make money, and that picking up the rights would have cost jobs and more. He also says current play-by-play man Bob Behler is under contract to Peak until July – and “any mention of his future employment outside of Peak Broadcasting is premature.”

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KIDO AM landed on a new slogan this year — “Bronco Nation’s News Station.”

The postioner is touted in a TV spot and on the station’s air.

There’s one little problem: KIDO has abandoned local news programing.

After it put an end to its local news morning show and replaced it with an opinion-based show – Dave Burnett stayed on as morning news anchor. Now Peak has rearranged things – and Burnett has moved over to the traffic center, as well as some duties on KXLT/107.9 Lite FM.

The station now airs Fox News updates exclusively – with no straight local news content.

Boise radio stations are taking to the TV machine in droves during this book. Spots from KIDO/580, KIZN/Kissin’ 92, KQFC/97.9, KSRV/96.1 Bob FM, KQLZ/99.1 The Virus and more are in the mix.

This is about a month old (you know, back when it was summer, instead of winter) – but interesting to see the Shelman (KBOI) to Miller (KIDO) handoff here:

KIDO/580 debuted the Austin Hill Show Thursday, part of a large schedule shift. I was only able to catch the final two segments, so it’s hard to fully gauge the show. During the brief time I listened, Hill made a number of references to “Barack Hussein Obama” and “Dear Leader Barack Obama” – and both segments were focused on national issues.

The station put out a Q&A on why they made these changes:

This page is set up to answer some simple questions of why 580 and 63 KIDO have made some line up changes. If you have any additional question or concerns, please feel free to Email me and I will try to get back to you as quickly as possible…

jason.wilmot@peakbroadcasting.com

Q; Why did you move Glenn Beck?
A; Moving Glenn Beck, allows you to hear the show closer to his actual air time. Glenn does his show from 7a-10a (Mountain). You no longer have to wait hours to get the show you have come to love

Q; What happened to Dennis Miller?
A; Dennis Miller has moved to AM 630 KIDO and can now be heard from 10a-1p. We have not dropped the show, just adjusted the time to fit into the new line up

Q; Who Is Austin Hill?
A; Austin is one of the top talk show hosts in the country. He will deliver great content that will be local and national. He will be a great champion for the state of Idaho

Q; Why so many changes lately?
A; As with most business, it is important to change to meet the needs of a growing audience. The addition of Kevin Miller, Austin Hill as well as moving Glenn Beck and Dennis Miller have KIDO poised to be the market leader for years to come.

Q; Do we need more “local” shows?
A; Local shows have always been important for any radio station. Between Kevin Miller, Austin Hill and the Boise State Bronco’s [sic], KIDO is now leading the charge with the most local programming in the area.

Q; Are you crazy or Have you lost your mind?
A; The answer is “no” to both. Very few stations make major changes to make things worse. KIDO is at a point where these are the natural steps to the station’s evolution. It’s time for KIDO to raise the bar again, and that is a challenge that the station excepts [sic].

KIDO/580 AM is adding a new afternoon drive talk show. Starting Thursday, Austin Hill will join the station for a 3pm-6pm local talk show — and is doubling down on syndicated personality Glenn Beck.

More on Hill in a second — but first, KIDO said in a news release today that it plans to revamp its daytime lineup, and will move Glenn Beck to the 9am-noon timeslot. That change will put Beck’s popular show up against Rush Limbaugh on KBOI from 10am-noon.

Dennis Miller, which is currently heard from 9am-noon on KIDO/580 will move the KFXD/63 KIDO. “First Team with Steve Czaban” finds itself without a Boise home in the moves.

Hill has worked in DC, Chicago, LA — and comes to Boise from Phoenix where he was last heard in the afternoon on KTAR-FM.

“KIDO will continue to lead in the acquisition and development of premium LOCAL programming to our area,” Peak SVP Kevin Godwin said in a prepared statement (which you can red in full after the jump).

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Longtime former KIDO/580 AM producer Ray Amaya pulled a “Tom Collins.”

Tom Collins (to’m kol’enz)
1) adjective – To be unceremoniously dumped by Peak Broadcasting for reasons only clear to management – only to quickly snag a job with rival Citadel Communications days later
2) noun – A tall iced drink made with liquor, such as gin, and lemon or lime juice

No, he didn’t morph into a nice summer drink — he quickly transitioned to KBOI after KIDO let him go just a few weeks ago. Amaya is being heard all over the airwaves doing news and more for Boise’s only remaining news radio station.

And, in a modified-reverse Collins, Melissa Dawn is back at Peak. “Modified,” because she left Citadel on her own accord, and “reverse” because she went from Citadel to Peak. Dawn took over Claire Day’s morning traffic duties for the cluster more than a month ago.

One other side-note – am I the only that finds LiteOnline.com’s blank staff lineup page ironic — or maybe just appropriate?

New (Boise-based) radio host Kevin Miller has made his share of cable news talking-head-style appearances.

On Michael Savage’s comments calling autistic kids “brats:”

On a billboard saying “Don’t vote for a democrat” with a picture of the WTC on fire:

Getting Chris Matthews’ ire on Hardball:

On illegal immigration:

On race in the 2008 general presidential election:

UPDATE: I screwed this up. Big time. Kevin Miller – new morning host on KIDO is NOT a syndicated personality. I was a little too quick to scan his online bio. He is helming a new locally based show.

Three notes: First, this leaves the two KIDOs without any regularly scheduled local programming. Let that soak in for a moment. KIDO-AM does not have a local morning show any longer. This leaves Boise AM radio with just one local morning show – and three shows overall (all airing on Citadel stations – two on KBOI and one on KTIK).

The morning slot is being filled by syndicated conservative host Kevin Miller, who will be heard on KIDO from 5am-9am, and on KFXD from 5:30am-7am – the timeslots formerly held by AM Idaho.

Second, all three of these guys have been noted for their work ethic and dedication. I don’t know Sean or Ray personally – but have always heard such great things about them. I worked with Brian for years at KTVB – and he is not only one of the nicest guys in the media game, but his work as a journalist was always exceptional (his story years ago on a local kid who had 867-5309 as his phone number is still one of my favorites).

Third, it makes you wonder what becomes of these job postings…

KBOI had an exceptionally strong book – and broke what had long been a pattern for the station: up in the fall, down in the spring.

The station lost Bronco Football last fall – and it looked like KIDO was poised to become the dominant news station in the mall. Then Citadel struck back and was able to snag Rush Limbaugh. That paired with its existing strong local lineup seems to have done wonders.

KBOI notched a 6.9 12+ number. In the 10am-3pm daypart where Limbaugh resides, the numbers also saw a strong increase. KIDO picks up steam in the afternoon with Glenn Beck, but in this book that was 580’s only bright spot.

While it is hard to get a full fix on the state of Peak Broadcasting — we have little ways to judge the health of the company. Things like employee morale, programming — and usually the most telling aspect: staffing.

In March, 2005 – just before Peak took over the operations of six Boise Clear Channel stations, I noted here how many on-air staffers each station in the group. CC had been derided for its staffing practices in markets like Boise. Stations that used to be live 24/7 had been cut, cut and cut again. Across the group, just nine shifts had live and local talent.

Here’s how it broke down:

KCIX: Two shifts, three personalities
KSAS: Two shifts, three personalities
KTMY (now KAWO): One shift, one personality
KXLT: Three shifts, four personalities
KFXD: One shift, one personality *
KIDO: One shift, three personalities

That’s fourteen staffers total (KFXD laid off Mitch Pruitte just before Peak took over and switched the shift to a VTer).

The picture now?

KCIX: One shift, two personalities (-1)
KSAS: Three shifts, four personalities (+1)
KAWO: Four shifts, four personalities (+3)
KXLT: One shift, one personality (-3)
KFXD: None. (-1)
KIDO: One shift, two personalities (-1)

Old total – 14. New total – 13. Neither total includes part-timers, news anchors or production personnel who don’t hold air shifts.

Just about everyone is jumping on the Twitter bandwagon. Some of my favorite “tweets” (aka Twitter posts) from the past few days:

@1071KHits: quote of the AM “The young naked man approached her with this poodle, and she immediately realized something peculiar.” http://bit.ly/yofWp

@kekeluv: Just woke up! Now, I can’t sleep! Welcome to my world ever since last april! Eating cereal, working on Taylor Swift promo, headed 2 work!

@580KIDO: Who is the sexiest cartoon character of all time? Dave and Brian will let you know what America decided just after 8am.

@donjarrett: has exceeded the maximum attention span of a 6 year old….and the drama begins in 5…4…3…2…1….duck & cover!

@kissin92: Billy Currington joins Cody Alan on CMT Radio Live 7pm – 12m on Kissin’ 92. Catch him tonight! www.kizn.com for everything Kissin92!

@miggy05: Ordering Twilight on PPV Iam Scured !!! hahahah

@DJDickman: @luckythadj get off the railing. Safety first!

@LuckyThaDJ: @miggy05 your down for shots ? Lol no friggin way ! Have a good night man

@Wild101: Thank You Everyone For The Love And Thank You For Keeping It Locked On Wild 101 Idaho’s Party Station!!!

@frosticles: The president giggling on 60 Minutes didn’t bother me. I figured the laugh meant, “Look how much work I have to do.”

Boise’s three talk stations host robust local lineups – including the newest station.

KFXD/63 KIDO beefed up its Saturday morning lineup with local programming – much of it from time brokerage agreements.

Piece of Mind with life coach Brenda Harper starts the morning at 8am. The show’s “goal is to offer our listeners life tools, presented in a fun, common sense way.”

Former Canyon County Commissioner Robert Vasquez hosts The Patriot Radio Network (this week they discussed “B. Hussein Obama’s Socialist Stimulus Package.”) It airs from 9-10am.

Ralph Smith hosts NW Live! at 10am – with a second hour called “Counseling Connection” at 11am. You can hear the show on demand here.

Sunday the station hosts Idaho Insights at 8am.

KIDO/580 AM also has a variety of local weekend shows – including AM Idaho Saturday with Doug McConaughey, Home Fix with Joe Prin, D&B Gardening Show, and Money Matters with Dave Petso.

KBOI also has several weekend shows – including the Zamzow’s Garden Show, Dining Out Idaho, Property Line Today

BOISE – Big changes are coming for the radio and TV broadcasts of Boise State sports – but the full impact won’t be known for a while.

Learfield Communications tells NewsChannel 7 it has been selected as the new broadcast and advertising rights partner for sports. You likely have never heard of the company, because it works behind the scenes. The group sells packages to advertisers that contain a mix of radio, television and in-stadium signs.

Learfield confirms it’s deal with Boise State also gives it the task of finding a sponsor to buy the naming rights to Bronco Stadium.

For now it is unclear where the games will wind up on your TV and radio dials. The KTVB News Group is in the final year of its television contract with the university. Peak Broadcasting and KIDO radio have one year remaining on its deal with the school for radio rights.

It also is not yet known where television games will appear this fall.

Learfield’s deal does not begin until after the upcoming 2009-2010 season ends. Learfield officials say they won’t have an announcement on what local radio and TV stations will air the games – or who will serve as announcers until this fall.

The contract is subject to approval by the Idaho State Board of Education.

The company handles similar packages for a variety of schools across the country – including University of Idaho, Oregon State, Alabama, Oklahoma and dozens of others.

The deal will not affect the Western Athletic Conference’s agreement to carry some games on ESPN.

I’m a little obsessed with Twitter right now… and I don’t even have an account.  At least on a personal level… but I run @ktvb.  I’ve noticed a few local stations are also now on the service – including @580KIDO and @1071KHITS.

Others? Comment away…

Bob Behler will have a new partner in year two of KIDO’s broadcasts of Boise State University Football.  Jadon Daley has left Peak Broadcasting Boise.  Multiple sources (basically anyone I’ve asked) say he liked doing the play-by-play but was frustrated with the other parts of the gig – selling ad time for Peak.

In addition to KTVB’s News at Five airing (live and repeated) on 630 KIDO – KIVI’s news is now simulcast on KGEM/1140 AM. KIVI’s morning news, 5pm, 6pm, 6:30pm and 10pm shows now air live.

EXCLUSIVE

Peak Broadcasting was not given the opportunity to renew its contract to carry the Rush Limbaugh Program on KIDO, according to Peak SVP Kevin Godwin. Peak acquired KIDO in 2007 after Clear Channel Communications decided to exit the Boise market.

In the end, another Clear Channel subsidiary – Premiere Radio Networks – gave its former corporate sister the short end of the stick when it comes to Rush.

With KIDO’s Limbaugh contract expiring at the end of 2008, Premiere informed Peak Broadcasting that the program was moving to Citadel-owned KBOI – end of story.

“The decision was made by two very big radio companies to pull the program from 580 KIDO and give it to a giant national radio company,” Godwin said. “We didn’t… get a chance to bid on the program contract and were told that even though we did an excellent job of promoting and broadcasting/streaming the program, that no amount of money could be spent by us to keep his show.”

Idaho Radio News attempted to contact Premiere Radio Networks on this topic – but a spokesperson for the syndicator didn’t answer direct questions on the matter.

Peak has a number of Premiere programs on its Boise stations – including Glenn Beck, Delilah and After Midnite with Blair Garner. Another Peak station – KMJ in Fresno – still carries Rush. Godwin says he isn’t worried about the other shows – for now.

“We have extended contracts on all of our other programs, and I believe they will be loyal,” he said. “However, the only way you can be 100% sure on keeping a product is if your company owns the program.

Limbaugh’s program has moved stations in a few other markets over the years – most recently in New Orleans, LA – but generally the switch is to a Clear Channel outlet. I couldn’t find another example of the show moving to a Citadel-owned outlet – though the two groups teamed last summer to co-syndicate Sean Hannity, another conservative talker.

Peak SVP Kevin Godwin confirmed the new lineups for KIDO/580 AM and KFXD/63 KIDO, starting Monday.

630
5:30-7am – AM Idaho with Holmes and Burnett
7am-10am – Dan Patrick
10am-1pm – The First Team with Steve Czaban
1pm-4pm – Todd Schnitt Show
4pm-5pm – Lars Larson
5pm-6pm – KTVB News at Five (live at 5, repeat at 5:30)
6pm-8pm – Lars Larson

580
5am-9am – AM Idaho with Holmes and Burnett
9am-Noon – Dennis Miller
Noon-3pm – Dr. Laura
3pm-6pm – Glenn Beck
6pm-9pm – Dave Ramsey

Several things to note. First – AM Idaho is contracting by an hour per day – now running four hours instead of five. Dr. Laura will now air for an extra hour each day. Dennis Miller was slated to launch on 630 – but is now set for 580. A source tells me the 580 frequency was going to have AM Idaho, followed by Beck, Dr. Laura and a local show – which would have put Beck and Rush head-to-head, but the economic pinch seems to have dictated these moves instead.

Starting January 1, 2009 – KBOI will add Rush Limbaugh and rework its program lineup.

5-10am – Idaho’s First Morning News with Paul J. & Chris
10am-1pm – Rush Limbaugh
1pm-4pm – Sean Hannity
4pm-7pm – Nate Shelman
7pm-10pm – Michael Savage
10pm-Mid – Mark Levin

The only real change here is the loss of Dennis MIller in favor of el Rushbo. Limbaugh will launch with a New Year’s Day Rush-a-thon… Gem State Dittoheads rejoice.

Miller will move to KFXD/63 KIDO on Jan. 4. The rest of Peak’s plans for the two news stations haven’t been revealed – though KTVB is airing spots promoting a simulcast of the News at Five on KIDO… though the ads don’t specify which station (and I haven’t asked). I’m checking with Peak to see what the new schedule for the stations will look like.

The small, privately funded Peak Broadcasting is not immune to the economic storm. The company, which owns radio stations in Boise and Fresno has steadily cut back in 2008, after staffing up in 2007.

Idaho Radio News has learned that plans for a new, local afternoon show on KIDO have been scrapped. Jon & Chris Show producer Jim Kimball – who was to be involved in the effort – has been let go.

Also, KAWO/Wow Country 104.3 morning host Amber Lee has been let go – leaving a solo morning show. Of Peak’s six Boise stations, one has no local morning show of its own, and two are hosted by solo acts (KXLT and KAWO). The group has also cut several other staff positions – and is now at about the same staffing level on the talent side as when it took over for Clear Channel.

Looks like we know a little bit more about what Peak is doing with the Jon & Chris timeslot – which is being filled by Fox Sports for now:

The big question still remains what KIDO/580 plans to do with the 10am-1pm slot… Peak said in a news release on October 7th that Rush’s slot would be filled with something live and local…

In its place, beginning January 1st, 2009, 580 KIDO will debut a new LIVE and LOCAL radio show aimed directly at residents of Idaho and the growing Treasure Valley.

Hoping to keep track of the Bronco game today? ESPN is showing a basketball game… and KIDO’s webstream doesn’t work.

Hope you’re in the stadium!