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.

KCIX/Mix 106 hosts Mike & Kate are selling a cookbook featuring listener and celebrity recipes. Each copy goes for $10, with proceeds benefiting the Idaho Foodbank. Buy one here.

KAWO/Wow Country 104.3 morning host Don Jarret has been parked out at the Wal-Mart on Fairview near Eagle since midnight Sunday – and plans to stay there until 8am 12/18 – 104 in a row (hours, not minutes).  They are taking donations as part of “Hope for the Holidays,” benefiting the Boise Rescue Mission.  Fiberpipe has the live webcam up here

KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM and its team are broadcasting live from Krispy Kreme for Hooker’s House for the Holidays.  They hope to raise enough cash to feed 1,033 people for the holidays. A meal costs $12.50, so the station is aiming for $12,912.50.  As of about 5pm this evening, they had made it more than a quarter of the way to their goal. Online donations here

KXLT/107.9 Lite FM has the latest edition of Christmas Wish up and going. The decades-old program started on sister station KCIX/then-K106 and is an annual tradition.  The station takes nominations, and grants a wide variety of wishes, including heating oil and other simple life needs.

The “I made the switch” radio games are nothing new. Stations air promos that help build up their brand image by impressing on listeners that lots of people are changing stations.

KWYD/Wild 101 has been airing a series of these promos – featuring voices of purported listeners listing off the reasons they stopped listening to KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM.

On October 17th (and presumably at other times), Wild aired a promo that made a strong claim: that Kiss FM had bilked a listener out of a promised prize. The Wild promo was direct and specific. The female voice in the promo said that she “used to listen to 103.3″ but stopped. Why?

“I was… invited to their Kissmas Party last year and won the Rockband and the Wii, but never got them.”

While that would be a good reason to stop listening to any particular radio station – it also implies that a high-profile local business is cheating someone out of a prize worth hundreds of dollars.

For the last several years, Kiss has held an event each holiday seaseon where qualified listeners are invited – then given one of a number of announced prizes.

IdahoRadioNews.com reached out to managers for both Peak Broadcasting, which owns Kiss and Impact Radio, which owns Wild.

Impact General Manager Darrell Calton would not comment on the record. I had hoped to learn several things – including whether the listener called the station at random or was found through some other method. I was also curious to know the name of the listener and if they had contact information, because I would have liked to verify the claims made in the promo.

Peak SVP Kevin Godwin says he hasn’t heard the Wild promo – but refuted the idea that a listener could have been promised a prize, then not have received it.

“There isn’t a possible way that someone wouldn’t have got their prize for the Kissmas party last year,” he said. “Everyone that qualified actually picked out their own present for the Kissmas promotion at the event.”

Godwin said the station received no complaints from any listener about not getting a prize.

“If we ever make a mistake, we always make good on it and do our best to take care of our listeners,” he said. “We can’t worry about what other stations are saying, we are very focused on only what we can control.”

Nine years and one month ago, KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM signed on the air – designed to destroy KZMG/Magic 93.1. It took nine years and a raft of changes (and maybe a little help from Wild 101), but Magic 93.1 is dead. Not dead like this – but gone.

In its place – Citadel has launched… a similar station. 93.1 Hit Music Now hit the air this week – and is a bit like Magic 93.1’s sister. It lives in the same house (at 93.1), has the same parents (Rich Summers and Don Morin) and looks sorta the same (lots of pink and black) — but is different somehow.

The new 93.1 kept the same staff – including Tom Collins, Matt “MJ” Johnson and DJ Dickman (though he now goes by DJ David, more on that here). But what had been a tired, listless presence has been chucked out the window. Now the station seems insanely focused on three things: playing lots of music, putting a ton of listeners on the air and throwing elbows at Kiss FM.

Kiss FM seems to be the girl that everyone wants to date. Wild 101 took to the air and quickly started throwing sharp elbows at Kiss. It worked. While KSAS retained much of its ratings, Wild saw a big boost – and became the top pop station in Boise — fast. Now, in a bit of a “me too” move, Magic — er — 93.1 Hit Music Now — is mocking Kiss.

“It’s good to know 93.1 Hit Music Now plays more music every hour than Kiss FM,” one liner reads. That liner is read… by… you guessed it… Kiss FM’s old voice guy. Now passing around a voiceover talent like a piece of used chewing gum isn’t that strange – there’s something else about it. When KSAS switched this guy for someone new about two years ago – they didn’t evolve much. The current talent sounds pretty similar. So now the two stations have twin voice guys, but 93.1’s guy is still saying “Kiss FM” — a lot.

93.1 has also given its music an overhaul. It’s still pop, sure – but it is all very upbeat and happy and — well — poppy. Song after song of tunes with a high BPM rate. Even downbeat songs like Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody” get a magical makeover – with a dance version subbed in for the traditional cut.

The station is working very hard to deliver on the promise to play a lot of music. 12, 13 even 14 cuts an hour. It has revamped its clock structure – with one long stretch of spots at about 20 after the hour. DJs are limited to reading short liners, seguing between songs – or teeing up an audio drop from a listener.

Those listeners are on the air a ton. Not for long, mind you – usually quick drops. “I’m stuck behind a train and the only thing keeping me going is 93.1 Hit Music Now,” etc. Several drops an hour ask for people to “pick up their cell phone and call 424-9300.” MJ even asked for folks from a specific city to call in during the 6pm hour.

Several of these goals run into one roadblock: Kidd Kraddic in the morning. Kraddic’s show is low on music and high on chat. Low on listener interaction and high on host to host interaction. Magic did make one change – swapping out the 9am hour of the Kraddic show (which was actually the first hour of his show playing out of sequence — after the hosts had already said goodbye) for… music. And listener interaction. And shots at Kiss.

The station had to do something. It was more than time. A parade of program directors and of morning hosts and of philosophies and styles stopped working. The Magic name – however heritage – was outdated. Magic is something that conjures up images of Siegried and Roy or a card trick or… well… not really anything hip. Citadel has never changed format on a station in Boise – ever. You can almost imagine a meeting of top Citadel managers trying to decide what to do with KZMG. Look around at the landscape – what would you flip the station to? Maybe there’s a great idea out there – but right now one last Hail Mary with pop seems like the only option available.

Earlier this week, more than 100 Idaho Radio News voters weighed in on the relaunch of KQLZ. In one poll, we asked what format everyone though WOULD launch – and country was the overwhelming answer.

Then for some reason we also asked what format you actually wanted to hear – and modern rock took the day. So I guess everyone gets some satisfaction.

After about three hours of “99.1 The Bronco,” Impact segued to The Virus – which surprised many, but in hindsight the group has a pattern of doing this… so maybe it should not have.

Let’s look at the potential impact of the move. The first and most obvious station in the cross-hairs is KQXR/100.3 The X – which is just up the dial and has similar (for now) call letters to The Virus. KQLZ is making noise about bringing alternative music “back” to the Treasure Valley. I could try and formulate a long in-depth look at the music – but KQLZ’s mix seems to be a bit less hard core. I’ll let you listen and decide for yourself beyond that.

The X has never really seen a serious threat – and with nearly 15 years playing some form of new rock, is the heritage player.

Impact also appears to be using The Virus to put pressure on other competitors to boost its other properties. While KQLZ has no overlap with KWYD/Wild 101 – it has quite a bit of overlap with KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM and KZMG/Magic 93.1. If The Virus can take even a small portion of audience from these stations, it could help increase Wild’s lead over the other pop stations.

The Virus also could take some listeners from KJOT and KKGL/96.9 The Eagle – and that might give KSRV/96.1 Bob FM better positioning among rock stations.

Will this work? Time will tell. The 99.1 frequency has been very unstable over the past decade and has seen very little success. The best number I have for 99.1 is fall 1998, when The Music Monster scored a 3.8 12+ rating, before quickly falling back to a 1.9. The frequency has not broken the 2.0 barrier since then.

The X has seen a general downward trend, with the days of 7.0+ ratings long gone. However, the latest series of moves on the station have moved the needle from a low of 3.1 back to a respectable 4.6 this spring.

This doesn’t happen every day – Boise radio competitors mixing it up in the battlefield – er… airwaves. (No tridents anywhere to be found)

Sunday night on KRVB/94.9 The River’s “The Other Studio” – hosts Tim Johnston and Idaho Statesman Scene Editor Michael Deeds were joined by a surprise guest. A guest who works at another radio station. And no – this wasn’t an employee of KQXR or KJOT or KTHI. It was… KeKe Luv of KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM.

Say… what?

This week’s show focused on trying to identify “the song of summer.” Each year, Deeds writes a column that focuses on the song that has that certain… something. Past examples include Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy, Hey There Delilah by Plain White T’s and the Beyonce/Jay Z Crazy in Love.

But this summer… that song has been elusive. Candidates, in the eyes of Johnstone and Deeds include Taylor Swift’s You Belong To Me, Kings of Leon’s Use Somebody and others.

Since that big summer song is usually driven by top 40 radio, they put KeKe on the air at KRVB to talk about his thoughts (he’s kindofabigdeal) . As I’ve said before, The Other Studio does things that are out of the ordinary and “break the rules” – which is what makes it great radio.

Here’s an IdahoRadioNews.com bonus… listen to the interview in MP3 format (recorded from my iPhone voice memo… so the quality isn’t perfect. And if you listen realllly closely, you might hear me folding laundry).

You stay classy Boise Idaho.

This should shock no one, and as our poll earlier this summer predicted – KWYD/Wild 101 saw a strong ratings increase in its first full ratings period. The Urban CHR station notched a 4.8 12+ rating, good enough to beat all but four other stations in the Boise market.

Wild also topped direct competitor KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM – which took home a 4.4, and KZMG/Magic 93.1 at 3.1.

The question now – will the station be able to keep up the momentum and maintain its spot at the top of the pops?

KZMG/Magic 93.1 is one of the longest-running heritage stations in the market. Launched in April of 1990, just a handful of stations have stuck with a format and brand name longer (KJOT/J-105 and KQFC among them). After a rough initial launch, the station turned into a missile squarely aimed at KFXD/KF-95 – an attack that ultimately took down the older pop station. As we’ve talked about before, KZMG enjoyed dominance for quite some time, until KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM launched in August of 200 – and took a chunk of Magic’s audience with it. The two stations see-sawed back and forth — until the last year. Chart (blue is KSAS, red is KZMG):

In that time, KSAS seems to have found a formula and group of people that fit the audience. After a high amount of turnover, the combination of Hooker in the Morning, Chad, KeKe Luv and Lucky tha DJ has been locked into place for about two years.

Meanwhile KZMG no longer has a dedicated program director, and instead shares Scott Souhrada with classic rocker KKGL. Turnover has become the norm – with a string of morning show experiments, and a lack of stability in other dayparts. The combination has been a boon to KSAS.

But no competition is as simple as two frequencies. The audience KSAS and KZMG seek bleeds over into the listeners that KCIX/Mix 106, KIZN/Kissin’ 92.3, KAWO/Wow Country 104.3, KXLT/Lite 108 and KQFC hope to earn. In the era of cluster radio, it isn’t “one owner, one station” – instead it is “one owner, many stations.” So a decision that is good for, say, KZMG might be bad for KIZN. Group GMs have to weigh how billing for the cluster might be affected.

Late last year, Impact Radio launched KWYD/Wild 101 – and looked to grab a piece of the same pie that KZMG, KSAS, KCIX et al were already trying to divide. We’ll get a look at Wild’s ratings any day now – and see how it impacts the rest of the market – but the chatter on the ground is that it will not bode well for KZMG. KSAS may lose a chunk as well – but conventional wisdom seems to indicate Magic is the also-ran in the fight.

So if you run Magic and Citadel Boise, what do you do? Flip the format? OK, that raises two questions: 1) To what, exactly; and 2) How does that impact your other female-skewing stations, KIZN and KQFC. Can you afford to send Magic’s remaining audience straight to KSAS or KWYD – in the process boosting those stations? Maybe – and who knows… it may happen. But somehow, some way, KZMG has made it to nearly twenty years on the air. People still think that heritage has power.

Recently, the station jettisoned high-priced locally-based talent Dan Tooker in the morning – and after experimenting with another team, picked up the syndicated Kidd Kraddick in the Morning. While Kidd airs on lots of CHR stations – it also has its fair share of Mix, Star and Power-named stations on its roster. The show plays like a hot AC program. Heavy on the Hollywood scoop, light on blue humor. It features a raft of features aimed at mothers of kids, and would be right at home on Mix 106.

Then two other factors came into play. Afternoon host Miggy Santos bolted for Peak Fresno – and his afternoon “PM Party” with its nearly dayparted rhythmic lean and heavy promotion of bar gigs disappeared. Former mid-day host Matt Johnson moved up, and is playing more closely to the normal daytime playlist. At the same time, Peak let star player Tom Collins go – and Citadel wasted no time adding him to the Magic team – helming the same mid-day slot he had on KCIX for the better part of the last decade.

Then there’s the music. Top songs are from artists like Taylor Swift, Daughtry, Nickelback, Rob Thomas, The Fray, Kelly Clarkson sit alongside more CHR artists like Lady Gaga, Sean Kingston and others.

In the last week, the station’s top song – I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas – hit the air just 60 times — compared with 89 spins for that same song on KSAS (also Kiss’ #1 spin). Magic’s playlist looks like someone decided on a simple equation: KSAS plus KCIX divided by two equals KZMG. That is to say – the playlist takes some of the more CHR elements of Kiss and blends them with the more mellow AC parts of Mix.

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.

File this in very bad ideas. Local hair removal shop (and heavy radio advertiser) Ideal Image is running spots during On Air with Ryan Seacrest on KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM featuring sidekick Ellen K. Ellen – one-time Playboy pinup and best friend of one of those Kardashian-show people lives in Los Angeles. But she is telling people here in Boise she got hair removal done at Ideal Image and she “loves it.” She blathers on for just shy of 60 seconds before telling folks to call Ideal Image and “tell ‘em Ellen K from On Air with Ryan Seacrest sent ya.”

It isn’t uncommon for nationally syndicated talent to voice local spots – everyone from Glenn Beck to Delilah offers the service. But by having that national talent claim he or she personally uses the service when chances are they have never been anywhere near Boise, you’re treading on really thin ice. Beyond it being a silly fabrication — I think most people in the audience will see right through it.

Boise stations KZMG/Magic 93.1, KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM and KWYD/Wild 101 are all paying tribute to Michael Jackson this afternoon — by playing a heavy diet of songs from the best-selling popstar.

• KZMG started the trend at 3:52pm – and has been non-stop Jackson since (as of 5:40pm).
• KSAS started at 4:07pm and played about half a dozen songs, and has talked about it quite a bit throughout the afternoon. Program director KeKe Luv tells Idaho Radio News “Michael Jackson was possibly the Elvis of our generation.”
• KWYD flipped into Michael mode at 4:41pm, and is still playing a heavy portion of his songs.
• KCIX/Mix 106, which promises “the best of the 80s, 90s and now” but is voicetracked in the afternoon — has not played a single Jackson track.

This echoes a similar trend decades ago when stations started playing non-stop John Lennon songs after that icon’s death.

UPDATE: About 20 minutes after this post, Mix 106 played a Jackson tune, according to Yes.com. At 7pm, when the station switches voicetrackers, it played “If Today Was Your Last Day” by Nickelback (basically a song about one’s last day on earth), followed by Beat It. Then, back to the music.

KZMG is running a series of promos – one of which is voiced and written as if the station is talking to Michael directly… ‘you will be missed Michael, from all of the Treasure Valley and the staff at Magic 93.1.’

KWYD laid off the all-Jacko all the time vibe, but in the 9pm hour has played several Jackson tracks.

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.”

Video:

KCIX/Mix 106 had a comedian on Friday — and when Mike Kasper asked the guy if he’d been “here before” the guy said “yeah… is the Chadillac and Hooker show still on the air?” Mike responded with a quick “they’ve been fired… lit on fire then fired.”

KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM program director Keke Luv stayed awake for 175 hours plus last year to kick off the spring book (and raise awareness for child abuse prevention).

In a video posted to the Kiss website, Keke was asked what he would do next year to top it. He said (while riding in an ambulance) that he didn’t know… it wouldn’t be staying awake again – but it would be big.

Big indeed.

Somehow… some way, Keke is set to run seven marathons in seven days.  The details beyond that are sketchy — but since there really aren’t seven sanctioned marathons a week around here – I would surmise he’ll run 26.2 miles each day.  By the way – that’s enough to run from Boise to Donnelly… and back.

1T – KIDO (up more than 2 points from fall 07)
1T – KIZN (down from fall 07)
1T – KSAS (up from fall 07)
2T – KQXR
2T – KTIK

A couple of interesting notes here – there’s a three way tie at the top, with KIDO seeing a big number, likely partially fueled by BSU football – though the station’s last book with Rush Limbaugh drew a very large share.  Some salce for KIDO: Glenn Beck outrated even Rush.  KSAS shows continued strong results – though the station was down a bit from spring. Lucky has a double-digit share at night, and Keke Luv’s afternoon show grew as well  KIZN is still strong despite falling from last year and last spring.

KQXR saw an improvement though it’s still well of the spring 2007 numbers.  The big surprise is KTIK – which saw very very strong numbers – especially in the afternoon, home to Idaho Sports Talk with Caves and Prater.

KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM will be making the move to 103.5 FM soon – part of that major multi-state deck shuffling that will move scores of frequencies to new homes across the state. KSAS will land at 103.5 after the switch. Looking at the new coverage map, it appears that the station will cover a smaller geographic area than it does now – though the bulk of the metro area is still within its local signal pattern.

UPDATE: I was looking at the aux. coverage map and comparing it to the full-power map… which is my error. The 103.5 signal will be the same as the 103.3 version.

A couple of stations have launched their Christmas efforts since our update last week.

• KZMG/Magic 93.1 is in the middle of its “Christmas Crusade” – connecting families in need with people who have items and money to give.
• KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM is doing something similar with the “Kissmas Tree of Sharing.”

E.Idaho and Magic Valley folks – send me what you are doing for your community and I’ll round up the items later this wek.

Is there a market in Boise for three CHR stations, plus KCIX/Mix 106?  Folks who like a little Akon in their musical diet are well served – with three stations playing rhthymic cuts.

KWYD/Wild 101 lit up its new transmitter this week – and is bounding out of the gates with 15,000 songs without a paid commercial.  Former CHR powerhouse KZMG/Magic 93.1 also had a major change this week, when it took Dan Tooker off the payroll and re-tooled its morning show with Melissa Dawn and MJ.

KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM had a remarkably strong book in the spring, fueled by huge female demos for its Hooker in the Morning Show – and also saw strength across the board (which may have been the glow of its “Live for 175″ sutnt).  The station has been well-programmed and seems to have found a niche musically that works — so it has the three Ms – Music, Mornings and Marketing going strong. The somewhat cheesy but effective “Whose House” and “Muawwww” buzzwords seem to stick with the audience and engage in a way that I wouldn’t have expected.  Even if they don’t know how to spell them on a billboard.

KZMG/Magic 93.1 is having trouble on all three fronts. We’ve talked at length about its problems finding a morning show that sticks around – with an average of more than two per year over the last five years. If there’s one thing that’s consistent at 93 – it’s change.  The station’s marketing position isn’t clearly defined either, and with Citadel’s cash woes, it doesn’t seem there will be much of a change.  The station is understaffed and outgunned.  PM dude Miggy Santos is a big bright spot for the station – but of late, he’s the only thing it has going for it.

That brings us to Wild. Impact has launched four very distinct FM stations in the past two years – oldies, Spanish-language, variety hits and now rhythmic.  The station is ignoring KZMG all together and focusing in on KSAS.  The news release from Impact yesterday noted that most markets in our region have a Rhythmic station – from Seattle to Spokane to the Tri-Cities and even Colorado Springs (which is in many ways similar to B-town).  No one has ever tried it in Boise, though both KSAS and KZMG have toyed with the idea and even have programmed closer to that edge at times – always to retreat back to the pop middle ground.  If the Wild folks are smart they’ll find a way to build buzz very fast.  40 days without a commercial can be effective – witness what KCIX/K-106’s launch as an AC station did all those years ago with 106 days of commercial free music.  But they’ve got to let people know the station exists.  So far there’s been no general media play, and they didn’t blow up someone’s favorite station, so there isn’t even buzz on that front.  The imaging so far is pretty basic. The Mac vs. PC ad takeoff is overdone (even another local advertiser is doing it right now), and KSAS is smart to not step into the snakepit that KZMG did in the late 1990s by acknowledging their cross-town rival.  It remains to be seen if Wild will pop – or be able to make revenue.

Three pop stations pulling a 2 to 3 share isn’t going to work. If however just two stations are left standing – it’s very possible that KZMG won’t be one of them without something changing.  Ending the Tooker experiment early was probably the right call – the show just didn’t have the right tone somehow, and seemed entirely out of place on a pop station.  MJ and Melissa could have a better go of it – but the rest of the station has to improve if they are going to last for more than six months like so many shows before them couldn’t.

The Boise Weekly’s annual poll of all the things that are known as the “best” around these parts is out.

In the media categories, KRVB/Idaho’s 94.9 The River snagged the top spot for both best personality and best radio station.  Tim Johnstone and Ken Bass took top honors and got a nice big pic of themselves in the local alt-weekly.  KCIX/Mix 106 hosts Mike Kasper and Kate McGwire took second place, with Big J from KQXR/100.3 The X in third.

Back to the station category, KBSU-FM/NPR News 91 took second place, and KSRV/96.1 Bob FM took third place (too bad my headline couldn’t have been Bob wins BOB!…)

Oddly enough, Boise State Radio took out a nice full apge ad thanking folks for “voting Boise State Radio for Best of Boise.”  I suppose the ad still works – since it is technically thanking those who voted… not for the act of voting them tops…

Elsewhere, KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM program director KeKe Luv took an editor’s pick honor for “Best Breaking a World Record for a Good Cause.”  The props came after Luv’s “Live for 175″ stay-awake-athon last spring.

The love for Kiss continues in the Arts and Entertainment section, as morning host “Hooker” is named “Best Hooker.”  There’s a nice little bit of irony in this: “If you’ve ever been to a function sponsored by KISS 103.3 FM, then you know they have a buttload of promotional material.  If they ever change their point on the dial, they’ll have to spend a fortune on Sharpies.”  Of course, KSAS is moving – to 103.5. It’s part of that weird station swap that will take place… eventually.  Maybe we should start a Sharpie fund for the Kiss kids.

Jon & Chris were named editor’s pick for “Best Talk Soup.” The veteran pair are called “insightful, often irascible, somtimes irritating and occasionally incredible.”

KXLT/107.9 Lite FM star Claire Day was all over the dial today… not only holding down her usual slot as the only talent on Lite FM, but also anchoring traffic for the rest of the Peak stations. Byl was heard on KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM…. so perhaps he’s landed back in his role as producer for Hooker in the Morning.

An ad on AllAccess hinted at Peak’s need for a KXLT morning host – which raises lots of questions that I don’t have answers for. Claire was front and center at the Women’s Fitness Celebration 5k with Kate McGwire – so it’s anyone’s guess as the what is going on.

Peak seems to be pushing resource toward Kiss FM after its strong book and big morning numbers – but doesn’t appear to know what to do with KXLT.

Former Spud Brother Jerr Moore shared this piece of history from his archive (touching on this post about the old KF95 logo). If you have something, send it to idahoradio@gmail.com and I’ll share it.

This is the KARO/Arrow 103.3 logo – before the frequency went pop as KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM.

KZMG/Magic 93.1 is on the skids. As I’ve noted the past year, it has been incredibly inconsistent, has a mis-matched morning show, unfocused imaging, sloppy playlist and has been without a consistent night jock for quite some time.

That may be just my opinion – but the station’s audience is leaving in droves. The station plunged 35% from spring 2007, and 12% from the fall. Its 2.9 number is the worst in a decade since spring 1998. I don’t have historic date before that time, but I think it is safe to say this is KZMG’s worst book ever. Only KRVB/Idaho’s 94.9 The River has a lower number amongst FM stations from the big three.

Chart time: (blue is KSAS, red is KZMG):

We polled the IRN audience just after the start of the book – and again toward the end, and in both cases, voters picked KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM to make the biggest gains.

The biggest winner depends on if you are looking at year over year gains or book-to-book improvement.

KDBI takes the book to book crown, up 77%, but the station actually LOST ground y2y – down 58%.

Citadel classic rocker KKGL/96.9 The Eagle didn’t need a photo finish to determine its first place victory. KKGL not only topped the 12+ numbers with a 7.4, but jumped 64% from last fall and 54% from spring 2007.

KSRV/96.9 Bob FM saw strong improvement in the year-to-year category – up 140% to land at a 3.6. The station was up 20% from fall.

KSAS saw strong improvement in both categories – but didn’t win the race.

The Idaho State Broadcasters’ Association honored the best of the best in radio and TV recently. The awards are open to entrants statewide, but only Treasure Valley stations took home awards at the annual Sun Valley ceremony.

NEWS

• Best Public Affairs – KBOI “Return of the Salmon,” Ken Weaver
• Best Agricultural Program – KIDO “Coyotes,” Sean Chaney
• Best Local Newscast – KIDO “KIDO News Team”
• Best News Story – KBOI “Democrats Caucus,” Melissa Dawn, Ken Weaver
• Best Sports Program – KTIK “Sports Talk with Caves and Prater”
• Best Sports Play-by-play – KBOI “3OT WAC Championship,” Paul J. Schneider & Todd Miles
• Best Investigative Report – KBOI “Shopping Quest Scam,” Brett Reckamp
• Best Spot News – KBOI “Super Tuesday,” Melissa Dawn, Jay Howell
• Best Feature News Story – KIDO “Pearl Harbor 66 Years Later”

COMMERCIALS

• Best Commercial Single – KSAS, “Ideal Image Code 7 Yetti,” Jodi Sali, Chris Adams, Robin Scott
• Best Commercial Series – KCIX “Escape the Crate Doggie Daycare,” Jodi Sali
• Best Commercial Copy – KXLT “Ideal Image You’re Right,” Jodi Sali
• Best Public Service of Public Affairs Announcement – KJOT “Idaho Transportation Department DUI Awarness,” Dave Sparks

ENTERTAINMENT

• Best Personality – KIZN Steve Shannon
• Best Morning Show – KJOT “Pete & Joe Show,” Pete Stauffer, Joe Weber

PROMOTION

• Best Audience Promotion, TV Using Radio – KIZN “Steve Shannon CMT,” Steve Shannon
• Best Audience Promotion, Radio Using Radio – KIZN “Kissin’ Gave ‘Em Away,” Rich Summers
• Special Projects – KSAS “Live for 175″