On Twitter: @longisland495
Glenn Beck and Lars Larson have commandeered the UFO over PDX.
In a move that was unexpected by just about everyone outside of Alpha Broadcasting, the radio owner unceremoniously 86'ed heritage Active Rock station 101.1 KUFO and changed it to a simulcast of NewsRadio 750 KXL.
Don't let the name "News Radio" fool you, Portland. KXL (as you probably know) isn't really a NewsRadio station. That's KNX 1070 in LA or KCBS 740/106.9 in San Francisco. KXL is a News Talk Information station featuring a conservative lineup that includes Lars Larson and Glenn Beck.
Anyone who has seen any of my videos about News/Talkers moving to FM sticks knows what I think about this. This one smells on just about every level. I saw three things wrong with this change. Dare I say, Alpha Broadcasting struck out before they had a chance to see a 4th pitch.
Strike One: News/Talker to FM. I understand that radio ownership groups (and apparently Alpha Broadcasting is no different) feel that the FM side of the dial is a new beacon of hope for Talk stations looking to leave AM for the younger demos that'll be found listening to FM. The problem is I believe young folks are so sophisticated that if they wanted to listen to News/Talk, they'd have done it without the switch to FM.
2nd strike: Heritage Rock station: Perhaps, Alpha Broadcasting is borrowing a playbook from CBS Radio in 2009. The Eye knew what it was doing when it flipped heritage Active Rocker in Boston (WBCN 104.1) to Hot AC "Mix" when it moved from 98.5. 98.5 in Beantown is now the home of "The Sports Hub", a very successful sports station that is the flagship for New England Patriots football and Boston Bruins hockey. But, Boston had Active Rock WAAF 107.3/97.7 to fill the void left by BCN. 94.7 in PDX fills KUFO's void somewhat, but that's an Alternative Rock station whereas KUFO was Active Rock.
Strike 3: Zero Fanfare! Any station that changes formats with little to no fanfare (especially a station like KUFO 101) always rubs me the wrong way in the wrong place. There's another comparison to WBCN that can be made here too. When WBCN 104.1 in Boston changed its format, it did a whole weekend worth of shows that recapped its history going back 30+ years in the City of Beans. KUFO hasn't been around for 30 years, but 20 years in radio in 2011 is an extremely long amount of time. Format changes seem to be more common than ever these days. Alpha could've at least provided some rumours of a change or pre-change fanfare so Portland's Rock audience wouldn't be left in the dust.
Now, KUFO listeners are either changing their presets to 94.7 or they're finding internet alternatives. Cascadia.fm and NewNormalRock.com (two Northwest based Active Rock stations online) were both trying to lure displaced KUFO headbangers over to their stations via Twitter.
Some say the station lost its shine after a popular morning show was axed and replaced. All of the jocks on 101 were let go and a rally was held in downtown Portland in remembrance of the station ala when 103.9 WDRE in Philadelphia did something similar prior to its relaunch as an Urban AC. KUFO's website shortly had a splash page thanking fans for their 20+ years of support plus the RockFest's KUFO hosted.
One other part of KUFO's history that was rather illustrious...its status as a former Howard Stern affiliate. The station was at one time an Infinity (CBS) property and Portland's affiliate for Howard Stern prior to his exodus from terrestrial to Sirius Satellite. Speaking of which, Stern is still without a midday show since Bubba The Love Sponge jumped ship to the internet. He's still losing affiliates on terrestrial via Cox Radio. Kidd Chris (of 94 WYSP fame) was on the station after being let go from WYSP. Now with KUFO gone, he could become Stern's new midday man on Sirius XM's Howard 101.
It was major news in Portland, which doesn't happen for radio unless format flips occur. KPTV-TV Channel 12 (Fox affiliate) in Portland had it as their #2 local story of the day. "Porkchop", a DJ on KUFO talked with Fox 12 about the changeover to News/Talk/Information.
Your Opinion...?
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5:29
Bubba vs. Goliath: A Tampa Bay Area Clash Of Titansby dablommer2010484 views
no more song battles, no more house of hair, no more song vs. song battles, and worst of all. the absolute worst of it all...NO MORE GETTING THE LED OUT!!!!!!!!!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hutch356 2 weeks ago
That fucking sucks the best video they had was Strike The Slate by Shamans Harvest
DeathBlowBro 2 weeks ago
this is crap im stuck litenin to the brew they dont even play hard rock now im stuck tryin to find free downloads of songs WHO LIKES NEWS LISTEN TO F ING OPB dang
tuxy11219 1 month ago
You dudes have to check out Stone Digital Dave.
STONEfan999999 4 months ago
this is crap
123myapretty 7 months ago
KUFO screwed Prescott for howard stern,when stern bailed craig and porkchop were the main talent..............then they bailed.Then kufo in their infinite wisdom hired a man that got fired from another station for making fun of a video showing terrorists cutting a mans head off with a rusty knife.I saw this coming,they screwed themselves.No worries though,it is well known that Portland needs a true rock station.Its an open market for any failing station with a savy owner.
CelticGunn 10 months ago
FUFO!
It was hardly a rock station. More like oldies. Portland needs a real rock station and always has!
Brasilian4Life 10 months ago
The last song KUFO played was The Sickness, by Disturbed....what a way to go out. I listened to KUFO everyday while I worked, down here in Mexico, by stream. After more than 20 years, they're gone. What would Prescott say?
Obelisong 10 months ago
Here in Albany, we lost two modern rock stations in 2010... WZMR flipped to Country while WHRL flipped to Talk radio as WGY-FM.
KayserIllumina 11 months ago
Why not move the rock format to HD2?
KayserIllumina 11 months ago