Idaho Radio News Etc.

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.

KQFC/97.9 Idaho Country nuked its syndicated evening show – and has gone local instead. KTIK’s John Patrick is now holding down the fort. His show is called “Idaho Country Night,” and it airs from 7-midnight.

Here’s our annual roundup of some of the great things stations are doing for the community.

• KTSY’s Christmas Wish program is underway. From home repair to a new pair of glasses, the station is looking to find people who need a hand – and will connect as many of them as possible to help.
• KIZN/Kissin 92.3 rolls into another year of the outstanding Keep Kids Warm.  The program started 12 years ago with a call to “Rivers and Valley” – the station’s morning show at the time. A young girl called and asked if there was any way her family could get some heating oil for the holiday – because the wanted to be warm for Christmas.  That year, listeners chipped in $17,000 for that girl and many others – and overall the program has racked up a stunning $650,000. This year’s on-air auction will be held December 15-19.
• KRVB/94.9 The River will hold its previously mentioned Concert for Cause later this month, and is also helping collect items for Toys for Tots.
• KSRV/96.1 Bob FM is directing people to the Boise Rescue Mission to make donations for the season.
• KKGL/96.9 The Eagle is also running a Christmas Wish program, this time in connection with the Idaho Youth Ranch. The station is helping collect a wide range of items for teens who are staying at the ranch – everything from cowboy boots to the Twilight book series.
• Starting Monday, the KQFC/Idaho Country 98 will travel the Treasure Valley stopping at five different Walmart locations – each day focusing on a different family that listeners can adopt. Each family has a different story and a different set of needs – and morning hosts Cory and Debi will introduce listeners to the family in need, and provide them with ways to help.
• KQLZ/99.1 Idaho’s True Oldies Channel just wrapped up a turkey drive – and raised $1380 in cash, plus 118 turkeys for the Idaho Food Bank. They are also pointing people to the Boise Rescue Mission.
• KQXR/100.3 The X is collecting toys for Toys for Tots.
• KAWO/Wow Country 104.3 is collecting toys for Toys for Tots.
• KJOT/J-105 is collecting toys for Toys for Tots.
• KCIX/Mix 106 is stuffing the semi for the Idaho Foodbank
• KTHI/107.1 K-Hits is collecting toys for Toys for Tots.
• KXLT/107.9 Lite FM continues its long Christmas Wish program with Home Federal – which has granted hundreds of wishes over the years and continues to find creative ways to help pepole out. You can nominate someone deserving at liteonline.com.
• KBOI/News Talk 670 is giving a boost to the Make a Wish Stories of Light campaign – helping fund wishes for several local kids with severe medical conditions.

As we reported last week, Dan Tooker isn’t alone after being cut from KZMG/Magic 93.1.

KTIK’s J Bates tells Idaho Radio News he will no longer handle anchoring duties for the station, but he’ll continue to be part of Bronco game day coverage on KBOI.

KZMG morning producer Casey Acevedo left the station – but was not let go.  She’s tells me she has moved to a producer job with Entercomm in Austin, TX.  She’ll work for the evening “Your Time with Kim Iverson” show.

PJ Stover tells Idaho Radio News that she’s also looking for a gig, after being let go from KQFC.

Rattlesnake Jake moves from KIZN nights to KQFC mid-days as “Jake Austin.”

Friend, colleague and KJOT/J-105 night guy Cale led me to a funny discovery a few weeks ago: a KTVB trash can covered with stickers out back by the satellite dishes.  It featured a trio of stickers from Citadel stations that throw back to the old days:

Over the past two decades or so, there are several instances where an upstart station bested the heritage player in the category. KZMG/Magic 93.1 destroyed KFXD/KF-95… KTHI/107.1 K-Hits beat out KLTB/Kool Oldies 104.3 and a few other scattered instances.

KAWO/WOW Country 104.3 hopes it is on that kind of meteoric rise. But for every Magic beating KF-95 there’s a mis-fire (K-106 taking on KZMG anyone?). When Clear Channel launched KTMY/My Country 104.3, it didn’t offer anything better than KIZN. Sure it played country music, but just spinning similar tunes to KIZN or KQFC isn’t enough. When Peak came in, they dumped the lame My Country presentation and started over by putting together a team of people hell-bent on winning, and dropped the money they needed to do it. The station is well-packaged and put together – and frankly makes KIZN and KQFC work harder to earn their place in the market.

Who wins? The listener. Country listeners have three solid options, with three different approaches to the market and different sets of talent. You’ll have your Mee in the Morning die-hards, KQFC loyalists and WOW fanbase.

This fight isn’t likely to be the type that leaves a station on the chopping block like what Mike Kasper and the Magic team did to KF-95 15 years ago, but KIZN and KQFC have a real enemy to battle (other than each other… which we all know has been the weirdest competition in his market) – and they are both sharper and stronger for it.

KAWO/Wow Country 104.3 is one of Boise’s top five radio stations – and beat long-time heritage station KQFC to take the silver medal in the country race. Despite all the good news, the station is still behind KIZN/Kissin’ 92.3 The station jumped 170% year-to-year – nearly tripling its audience from the final book as My Country 104.3.

The 5.4 number is also better than KLTB/Kool Oldies 104.3’s best number since 2003. There’s a funny paradox here: this validates Clear Channel’s decision to switch out oldies for country – but the formula the company and its manager came up with didn’t work… but Peak’s attempt certainly is.

We’ve been following the potential move of a rash of Idahos stations for several years now – and the deal is done, and stations have been ordered by the FCC to starting movin’.

The rundown:

- KQFC/97.9 FM will move to 102.7 FM
- KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM will move up just one tick to 103.5 FM.
- KTPZ/Music Monster 94.3 will move yet again – this time to 97.7 (it used to be at 99.1 )
- KSKI/103.7 FM will slide down the FM slope to 94.5 FM
- KMVX/Mix 103 will move from 102.9 FM to 103.1 FM
- KSRA/92.7 FM moves to 92.9 and gets a signal upgrade to 100kw
- KEZQ/92.9 The Big EZ flips to 92.7 FM and will change from a West Yellowstone, MT station to an Iona, ID station, further pulling it into the Idaho Falls market

More fallout:
- Construction Permit KPHD changes its city of license from Elko, NV to a full class C in Melba. The new station will slot in at 97.7 FM
- A vacant channel allotted to McCall is reassigned to 103.1 but remains a class C3 so as to not interfere with KMVX at Jerome. No auction date has been set for this channel.
- KXML, a construction permit licensed to Salmon UPGRADES to 100kw at 99.9

Previously, three other stations were ordered to move – including KZDX, KAOX, and KQEO – details here.

All this fun was triggered by College Creek Media. College Creek will pay reasonable costs for all these moves, and the affected stations have until October to file for construction permits for the changes.

ALSO: Some of these stations are going to have a tough time on the web. 1035kissfm.com is Clear Channel’s Chicago station… KissFMBoise.com, KissFMIdaho.com, KissBoise.com and KissIdaho.com haven’t been registered… yet…

- KIZN/Kissin 92.3 is doing a flyaway to Chicago to see Rascal Flatts
- KRVB/Idaho’s 94.9 The River is putting two folks on a plane to Denver to see the Mile High Music Festival with Tom Petty, DMB, Jason Mraz and a bunch of others
- KKGL/96.9 The Eagle is giving away a “Tricked Out Truck” – a 2001 Silverado with all sorts of bells and whistles
- KQFC/98 FM will send two people to see Brooks & Dunn in Seattle
- KQXR/100.3 The X has another free show lined up with Safety Suit
- KJOT/J-105 is loading up a bus with listeners for a Mötley Crüe show in SLC.
- KCIX/Mix 106 is doing a $25,000 home makeover contest. 106 people qualify for a whole list of home-related stuff. Yes, one person will actually win.

‘Tis the season for free station-supported concerts. KTHI’s 6th birthday bash last night is in the books – and KIZN/Kissin’ 92 and KQFC/97.9 FM will present a late-summer show with Sara Evans and James Otto later this summer. Folks who want in can listen, sign up online, or join the station’s text message club.

Is KQFC/97.9 Idaho Country tinkering? This weekend, the station played nothing but gold cuts – chucking the Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts tunes for a heaping helping of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Willie Nelson and Clint Black. For now – the normal rotation is back in place.

KQFC has been the lost soul in the Citadel country coop in past years – sometimes mirroring big brother KIZN, and other times flipping back to an older appeal. With the former KFXD/Classic Country 630 out of the way – and new kid KAWO/Wow Country 104.3 muscling in on its turf, will KQFC try to skew even older than its current appeal?

The station is website users “Did you like the Solid Gold Weekend? Would you like us to do it again?” — right now the “yes” vote has 86% of the tally, but there’s no indication how many have voted in the poll.

So I’ve got a poll of my own…

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The spring ratings period is underway, and the usual array of promotions has started to unroll. A sampling:

- KQXR is giving away tickets/air/hotel to a music festival in Columbus in May.
- KTHI/107.1 K-Hits is helping the Warm Springs Counseling Center bring Tony Bennett to town – and is giving away tickets to the show next month.
- KZMG/Magic 93.1 is doing a flyaway to see Jordin Sparks and Alicia Keys in Las Vegas.
- KIZN/Kissin’ 92.3 has several irons in the fire. The station is giving away a trip to see Niagra Falls to see James Otto. It is also doing a “word of the day” contest that ties into its new online rewards program – giving away a share of more than $20k in prizes.
- KQFC/97.9 FM is giving away tickets and backstage passes to see Carrie Underwood when she hits town in May.
- KAWO/WOW Country 104.3 is also giving away tickets to see the hot Ms. Underwood – saying it is “giving away the most tickets.”
- KJOT/J-105 is blowing out tickets to this month’s Def Leppard show at the Idaho Center. It is also doing it’s annual Extreme Garage Makeover.

KIZN/Kissin’ 92.3 retired its old website for a new KIZN.com – powered by the MediaSpan network. Looks like they’re still moving all the furniture in – since it doesn’t appear to have nearly as much content as the old-school site.

KQFC/97.9 KQFC also overhauled its site.

KAWO/WOW Country 104.3 began to see its numbers rise – to a 3.7 in the fall, versus a 2.0 last spring. The Peak-owned station is still the country caboose, with KIZN/Kissin’ 92.3 topping the chart with a 6.3 and KQFC at a 5.4.

The radio dial is sounding quite festive this Christmas eve. As I headed to services this evening – I was pleasantly surprised at the number of stations that dropped their normal formats to get in the spirit – with 100% Christmas music:

KTSY/89.5 FM
KIZN/Kissin’ 92.3
KZMG/Magic 93.1
KRVB/Idaho’s 94.9 The River
KAYN/Boomer 100.7
KAWO/WOW Country 104.3
KBOI/News-Talk 670
KTHI/107.1 K-Hits

These stations join KXLT/107.9 Lite FM which went all-Holiday on Thanksgiving, and KDJQ-AM which went all Christmas last week.

KKGL, KCIX, KJOT, KQFC, KWEI, KDBI, KSAS are all playing some Christmas cuts along with their normal format. That’s 17 total stations from ‘AWO to ‘ZMG. They should all conspire to play Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer at the same time. Now THAT would be funny.

About the only stations I could find that hadn’t adjusted formats were KSRV/96.1 Bob FM and The X.

Here’s a look at what Boise-area stations are doing to help the community this year. The Idaho State Broadcasters Association notes that in 2005 (the most recent year available), Idaho radio stations took in $2.1 in fundraising donations (along with $20 million in PSA value).

KTSY – The station is holding a Christmas concert at the Nampa Civic Center on December 19th, featuring local artists. Admission is a new, unwrapped toy which will go to Nampa’s Salvation Army. Details

KIZN – The annual Keep Kids Warm event is taking several approaches to help pay for heating costs for area families. Schools are competing to raise funds – with the school that raises the most getting a concert with American Idol star Bucky Covington. The station is also teaming with Intermountain Gas, to make it easy for folks to add money to their bill to donate to those in need. The station will also host an on-air auction that will start December 17th. Last year, Keep Kids Warm raised $50,000. Details

KZMG – Magic 93.1 is taking part in Christmas in the Nighttime Sky (see KBOI)

KRVB – The River’s annual Concert for Cause was held Wednesday night, and featured an all-local bill headed by Curtis Stigers. The event moved to the Morrison Center and benefited the new Interfaith Sanctuary. Details. KRVB is also joining other Journal stations, KIVI, KTVB, KBCI and others in collecting toys for Toys for Tots.

KKGL – 96.9 The Eagle is helping collect gifts for children at the Idaho Youth Ranch. Details

KQFC – All this week, 97.9 KQFC’s Q Wakin’ Crew is helping collect donations for five families. Morning co-host Debi is on location at Wal-Mart and Albertsons locations around the Valley helping collect items for the families selected. Details

KWEI – The Spanish AM/FM combo is helping collect needed items for the Ronald McDonald House. The House – located near St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital – gives families of sick kids a place to stay. Details

KQXR – The X is helping collect Toys for Tots.

KSAS – Hooker in the Morning is taking Christmas wishes during the morning show and helping to fill the needs for a variety of listeners.

KAWO – WOW Country 104.3 is taking suggestions for folks who should get a free Christmas tree this holiday. Details. Also, the station is in the midst of its St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital drive.

KJOT – J-105 is helping collect Toys for Tots.

KCIX – Mix 106 is featuring twelve cute puppies and 12 kittens in need of a home for its “12 Strays of Christmas” promotion. Each of the animals is from the Canyon County Animal Shelter – and two of the ten animals featured so far have found a new home. Details

KTHI – 107.1 K-Hits is helping collect Toys for Tots.

KXLT – 107.9 Lite FM continues a tradition started long ago by KCIX/K-106 with the Home Federal Christmas Wish. Folks can stop into any Home Federal location, nominate a deserving family for a variety of needs – and Home Federal and KXLT will work to fill wishes each day through the holidays. Details

KBOI – KBOI is teaming up with several other Citadel stations for Christmas in the Nighttime Sky. The station is taking toy donations for Toys for Tots during the event this Saturday night at Memorial Stadium in Garden City. The event will feature a fireworks show, hot foods for sale and more. Santa Claus will be on hand – and donations will go to the American Heart Association.

KTIK – KTIK is taking part in Christmas in the Nighttime Sky (see KBOI).

Others? Let me know…

It used to be the Citadel Broadcasting Boise websites were the best in the market. Now? Fat chance. Peak Broadcasting hired Stationality to put together a suite of sweet websites, and the Journal Broadcast Group got with the program as well. But the Citadel sties sites have pretty much stood still and now seem increasingly cluttered and stale. Both KBOI and KQFC have put together new logos (appearing on billboards around town), but the websites don’t have them. KZMG.com still has pics of its outsted morning team online. KKGL’s site has its own 3+ year-old logo in spots as well. KIZN.com is up-to-date and packed with content… but its hard to find anything.

KQFC/Idaho Country 97.9 has a new logo:

The mark is also featured on a series of billboards around town. One features a woman’s high heel-adorned foot with the tagline “country is an attitude!”