iHeartRadio's 94.7 Signal looks to be flipping from Sports Talk to something else...

https://radioinsight.com/announcements/256838/94-7-oklahoma-city-to-drop-kref-programming/

Any guesses on what the format change could be?

Wow! Hard to believe their ratings are that low.

Bring back 95x!

Bring back 95x!

I mean they tried a lot of variations with the Buzz and the Brew before flipping to the sports talk they have now. With so many music options digitally like Spotify, Apple, Pandora, Amazon Unlimited, I am not sure any music format would be that successful anymore unless you have local talent behind it.

I can’t imagine a sports talk station flipping over to any type of music format. I would expect more music formats switching to some type of news/sports talk as listening to music OTA is functionally obsolete.

I could see how dedicated sports talk radio station could have still made sense in 2000s, but even two years ago when they went to this format sports podcasts had gotten wide spread enough, even rebroadcasting existing content seems an expensive way to compete in that space.

I could see how dedicated sports talk radio station could have still made sense in 2000s, but even two years ago when they went to this format sports podcasts had gotten wide spread enough, even rebroadcasting existing content seems an expensive way to compete in that space.More and more I seem to be the one that's different on here. I love sports radio. I can't stream podcasts or anything else at work and would rather not it the car. But I can get FM.

More and more I seem to be the one that's different on here. I love sports radio. I can't stream podcasts or anything else at work and would rather not it the car. But I can get FM.

I fall in the older millennial group and once unlimited data and carplay became a thing I don't even have radio stations programmed in my car.

In my opinion, part of the blame for the lack of success was technical. What ever way 94.7 was receiving the programming from KREF was terrible. It sounded very "tinny", had no dynamic range and was usually much lower in volume than 98.1 or 107.7

I mean they tried a lot of variations with the Buzz and the Brew before flipping to the sports talk they have now. With so many music options digitally like Spotify, Apple, Pandora, Amazon Unlimited, I am not sure any music format would be that successful anymore unless you have local talent behind it.

The Buzz was fantastic and honestly I miss it greatly. They had great local talent and arguably the best active/alternative rock playlist in the state at the time (though Z104.5 The Edge up in Tulsa was - and still is - damn good as well) - plus they gave opportunities to local bands to get their music played on air too. They lasted for 7 years as The Buzz, so it wasn't like it was an experiment or anything. Once they format flipped to The Brew, I never listened again - they turned into an awful KATT clone and I absolutely HATED their misogynistic branding too.


I fall in the older millennial group and once unlimited data and carplay became a thing I don't even have radio stations programmed in my car.

Hello there fellow Elder Millenial! :lol2: I did too, but that's only because terrestrial radio has turned into a wasteland as these big media conglomerates have pulled programming decisions away from local program directors in favor of nationalized playlists. It's rare to find music-focused stations that aren't just homogeneous crap nowadays. There are only a couple of radio stations I enjoy listening to anymore, and neither of them are in our market :P

So if I want the Ref programming I need to listen to AM now?

So what's the new format on 94.7??

I tuned in at 6 PM, the break before seemed normal, no talk of it being the last time for KREF programming, and no announcement. At 6 PM it went right into Fox Sports Radio National update.

So still sports....for now.

OKC could use a Dance Music station imo, even Pride Radio could do wonders in OKC.

And maybe another Top 40 to challenge KJ103. Perhaps also a smooth jazz and a regular jazz station. There are missing holes in OKC's music offering. I personally think OKC has far too many sports talk radio and religious stations (although I'd love to see a real gospel station). Also missing is an Asian station or two.

that's only because terrestrial radio has turned into a wasteland as these big media conglomerates have pulled programming decisions away from local program directors in favor of nationalized playlists. It's rare to find music-focused stations that aren't just homogeneous crap nowadays. There are only a couple of radio stations I enjoy listening to anymore, and neither of them are in our market :P

I really like listening to The Spy in the evenings on KOSU. They do a great job and have a bunch of local radio shows.

It looks like 94.7 will be broadcasting Fox Sports Radio all day. Tune in this morning and the Dan Patrick Show was on.

I wish OKC had a station like KXT out of Dallas.
www.kxt.org

I really like listening to The Spy in the evenings on KOSU. They do a great job and have a bunch of local radio shows.

In case you don't already know, KOSU and The Spy are making a major move to near downtown OKC.

https://www.ocolly.com/news/kosu-and-the-spy-announce-relocation-near-downtown-okc/article_766c95f4-37a2-11ee-a87c-df90cabee6f6.html

In case you don't already know, KOSU and The Spy are making a major move to near downtown OKC.

https://www.ocolly.com/news/kosu-and-the-spy-announce-relocation-near-downtown-okc/article_766c95f4-37a2-11ee-a87c-df90cabee6f6.html

?? https://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=981-KOSU-and-The-Spy-moving-to-near-Farmers-Market

I wonder why OKC has so many sports radio stations??

I wonder why OKC has so many sports radio stations?? TodayÂ’s music is terrible. Not to mention the big corporate owned stations play the same songs over and over. People have left it for sports programming and other options such as streaming or digital music services. Right now I stream Big Country 99.5 out of Tulsa and WCPR 97.9 out of Gulfport/Biloxi.

I'm surprised that most sports talk hasn't moved to the podcast format. That's what most news news talk/current events type radio has moved to.

With Android Auto, I never listen to radio anymore. It's all streaming and podcasts for me.

I'm surprised that most sports talk hasn't moved to the podcast format. That's what most news news talk/current events type radio has moved to.

With Android Auto, I never listen to radio anymore. It's all streaming and podcasts for me.

Many sports radio shows incorporate call in listeners to supplement the topic being discussed. Pre recorded podcasts would not be able to do that.

It would be nice if the UCO jazz lab could have a university funded jazz radio station. Los Angeles has 88.1 and occasionally they’ll play old school and the blues on weekends. It’s super nice. I have a feeling that it could work here.

The Bay Area has a cool EDM station but I’m not sure a full time format like that would work here.

It would be nice if the UCO jazz lab could have a university funded jazz radio station. Los Angeles has 88.1 and occasionally they’ll play old school and the blues on weekends. It’s super nice. I have a feeling that it could work here.

The Bay Area has a cool EDM station but I’m not sure a full time format like that would work here.

KROU @105.7 FM in OKC is a repeater station for KGOU in Norman. They broadcast Jazz and Blues on the weekend.

KROU @105.7 FM in OKC is a repeater station for KGOU in Norman. They broadcast Jazz and Blues on the weekend.

Thank you for this information! I’ll check them out.

Many sports radio shows incorporate call in listeners to supplement the topic being discussed. Pre recorded podcasts would not be able to do that.True. And even discussions between the on air personalities is up to the minute. On signing days, trade deadline days, etc. it's more interesting to be live.

Thank you for this information! I’ll check them out.

Not sure when they do jazz, but blues is pretty much Sat and Sun from 1 to 4 or 5, we listen to it when we're out running errands.

It would be nice if the UCO jazz lab could have a university funded jazz radio station. Los Angeles has 88.1 and occasionally they’ll play old school and the blues on weekends. It’s super nice. I have a feeling that it could work here.

The Bay Area has a cool EDM station but I’m not sure a full time format like that would work here.

LA used to have an EDM station in the late 90's called Groove Radio 103.1 with Swedish Egil. Loved it. They still have a website/streaming service. I miss that radio station for sure.

Thank you for this information! I’ll check them out.

They also play Jazz Mon-Thur after 9pm and after 10pm on Friday. It is a national broadcast that was hosted by Bob Parlocha until his death in 2015, now it has a few different hosts. Love it driving in OKC on a cold evening.

It would be nice if the UCO jazz lab could have a university funded jazz radio station. Los Angeles has 88.1 and occasionally they’ll play old school and the blues on weekends. It’s super nice. I have a feeling that it could work here.

The Bay Area has a cool EDM station but I’m not sure a full time format like that would work here.

UCO has two radio stations already, the one they are probably most well known for is the 24/7 Classical Station, KUCO at 90.1 I don't think they play any Jazz programming during a block segment. They also have a student radio station on 99.3 fm and it covers the campus and Edmond.

There is a full time Jazz station on the north side of the metro at 97.7 FM.

https://www.97thecity.com/

Many sports radio shows incorporate call in listeners to supplement the topic being discussed. Pre recorded podcasts would not be able to do that.

In my listening experience, most sports radio hosts seem to hate dealing with callers and are antagonistic toward callers and fans. They'd rather not deal with that part of the show at all. And in recent years they've gone away from having callers. If they have fan interaction at all, it's usually via a text line.

I would love to see a smooth jazz station, Could finally get some good music without paying for XM or listening to ads every 5 min with youtube or spotify

Looks like Classic Rock is back on 94.7.

Looks like Classic Rock is back on 94.7.

Sigh...doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.

I guess I figured they could beat 104.5 due to having a better signal and I guess they're still trying to compete with the KATT.

Different station ownership, too. 94.7 is I Heart Radio while 104.5 is Tyler Media. I Heart Radio will always have a very limited playlist on classic rock which is ridiculous.

I tried listening for about a half hour. It's the KATT 2 and I don't like the KATT.

2nd verse. Same as the first.

Has KATT changed? I thought it was more heavy metal?

Has KATT changed? I thought it was more heavy metal?
If KATT has changed it's done it slowly over time. As to my KATT 2 comment I listened to 94.7 for a while and heard Van Halen, AC/DC and Guns & Roses. I hear those on the KATT on the rare cases someone else has it on.

OKC could use a Dance Music station imo, even Pride Radio could do wonders in OKC.

And maybe another Top 40 to challenge KJ103. Perhaps also a smooth jazz and a regular jazz station. There are missing holes in OKC's music offering. I personally think OKC has far too many sports talk radio and religious stations (although I'd love to see a real gospel station). Also missing is an Asian station or two.

iHeartMedia seems to be simply trying to make as much cash from its stations as possible in the short term rather than trying to compete with streaming. This means syndicating stations and formats and attempting to operate them at the absolute minimum cost. Radio isn’t what it was 15 years ago, and that’s a shame.

The only hope for FM radio having a future is for iHeartMedia to go bankrupt.

iHeartMedia seems to be simply trying to make as much cash from its stations as possible in the short term rather than trying to compete with streaming. This means syndicating stations and formats and attempting to operate them at the absolute minimum cost. Radio isn’t what it was 15 years ago, and that’s a shame.

The only hope for FM radio having a future is for iHeartMedia to go bankrupt.

While l agree with you in part, radio stations have always done what iHeartMedia does. Stations used to play the top 40 ad nauseum and even sped the music speed up or cut them off short to get more of those top 40 songs into each hour. I think they simply cater their music to the occasional listener and not to the all-day listener so they just repeat the same tired songs - which is exactly why so many fewer people listen to radio anymore.

My niche is anything from 60s to 90s music and some new music and it kills me that their stations, even for an entire decade of music, is still limited to the same 100 songs - only rarely playing something different. I was working in a retail store for a few weeks and l could tell their "happy, feel-good" music channel was an iHeartMedia product because it played the same 100 songs as the radio station.

Radio, like print medium, is a low potential market because of streaming and Bluetooth - not just the iHeartRadio app but all others out there.

The few times l really enjoy radio anymore is from the University-sponsored stations or privately owned stations of which there are too few of - occasionally NPR.

As a side note, some automakers want to stop putting AM radio in their cars alltogether.

Was made aware today that there was a fairly new classic rock station in town so I thought I would give it a listen (94.7 the Q). Today happened to be "Two For Tuesday" so they were playing back to back songs from each artist. In the first couple of hours I heard Hendrix, Zeppelin, Rush, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, and Boston to name a few. One of the Metallica songs was a Bob Seeger cover (Turn the page) and I liked it better than the Bob Seeger vers;ion. Alot of these songs never got played on KRXO. I think I found a new station to listen to.

Was made aware today that there was a fairly new classic rock station in town so I thought I would give it a listen (94.7 the Q). Today happened to be "Two For Tuesday" so they were playing back to back songs from each artist. In the first couple of hours I heard Hendrix, Zeppelin, Rush, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, and Boston to name a few. One of the Metallica songs was a Bob Seeger cover (Turn the page) and I liked it better than the Bob Seeger vers;ion. Alot of these songs never got played on KRXO. I think I found a new station to listen to.

Are you sure you weren't listening to 100.5 KATT? That sounds exactly like what they have played the last 20 years on Two for Tuesday.

While l agree with you in part, radio stations have always done what iHeartMedia does. Stations used to play the top 40 ad nauseum and even sped the music speed up or cut them off short to get more of those top 40 songs into each hour. I think they simply cater their music to the occasional listener and not to the all-day listener so they just repeat the same tired songs - which is exactly why so many fewer people listen to radio anymore.

My niche is anything from 60s to 90s music and some new music and it kills me that their stations, even for an entire decade of music, is still limited to the same 100 songs - only rarely playing something different. I was working in a retail store for a few weeks and l could tell their "happy, feel-good" music channel was an iHeartMedia product because it played the same 100 songs as the radio station.

Radio, like print medium, is a low potential market because of streaming and Bluetooth - not just the iHeartRadio app but all others out there.

The few times l really enjoy radio anymore is from the University-sponsored stations or privately owned stations of which there are too few of - occasionally NPR.

As a side note, some automakers want to stop putting AM radio in their cars alltogether.

This is true. I remember the era of KJ-103 when they used to speed up the songs. You would get used to hearing the sped up versions and then you'd listen to the CD and it would sound different. The stations were still better back then than they are today. They were also more locally programmed. For example, Top 40 stations across markets would have 90% the same music, but when you went to another city, you would always hear a few songs not on the radio in your market and vice versa. Today, most of them are national syndicate feeds. The fact is terrestrial radio just don't know how to compete in the streaming era. 20 years ago it was common to listen to FM radio indoors everywhere, but today you are more likely to listen to a stream of some sort. Most people don't even have FM stereo systems anymore so listening to a terrestrial station indoors would require going to the website or using the app, and that defeates the purpose. Ultimately it's probably going come down to changing the model entirely. Radio will never be what it was in the '80s just like it won't be what it was in the '40s before TV.

This is true. I remember the era of KJ-103 when they used to speed up the songs. You would get used to hearing the sped up versions and then you'd listen to the CD and it would sound different. The stations were still better back then than they are today. They were also more locally programmed. For example, Top 40 stations across markets would have 90% the same music, but when you went to another city, you would always hear a few songs not on the radio in your market and vice versa. Today, most of them are national syndicate feeds. The fact is terrestrial radio just don't know how to compete in the streaming era. 20 years ago it was common to listen to FM radio indoors everywhere, but today you are more likely to listen to a stream of some sort. Most people don't even have FM stereo systems anymore so listening to a terrestrial station indoors would require going to the website or using the app, and that defeates the purpose. Ultimately it's probably going come down to changing the model entirely. Radio will never be what it was in the '80s just like it won't be what it was in the '40s before TV.

I kinda feel like radio did that to itself. Consolidation of stations into one owner/group, removal of local talent, tighter and tighter playlist based upon "research." There are still a handful of radio stations in the state doing solid local radio. I think once automakers remove the FM radio from the dash, terrestrial radio will be in a world of hurt. As you mentioned, tabletop and nightstand radios in our houses and offices have been replaced with smart speakers and computer streams that offer a lot more.

I kinda feel like radio did that to itself. Consolidation of stations into one owner/group, removal of local talent, tighter and tighter playlist based upon "research." There are still a handful of radio stations in the state doing solid local radio. I think once automakers remove the FM radio from the dash, terrestrial radio will be in a world of hurt. As you mentioned, tabletop and nightstand radios in our houses and offices have been replaced with smart speakers and computer streams that offer a lot more.

There is no talk of removing FM radio, only AM. And that is because of perceived interferance with the operation of E vehicles. There is also pushback on this idea among regulators citing safety issues around weather.

I kinda feel like radio did that to itself. Consolidation of stations into one owner/group, removal of local talent, tighter and tighter playlist based upon "research." There are still a handful of radio stations in the state doing solid local radio. I think once automakers remove the FM radio from the dash, terrestrial radio will be in a world of hurt. As you mentioned, tabletop and nightstand radios in our houses and offices have been replaced with smart speakers and computer streams that offer a lot more.

It doesn't help that most mobile phones dropped FM terrestrial radio, now mostly limited now to the less costly Motorola phones.

Bring back 95x!

Best radio station OKC ever had

I kinda feel like radio did that to itself. Consolidation of stations into one owner/group, removal of local talent, tighter and tighter playlist based upon "research." There are still a handful of radio stations in the state doing solid local radio. I think once automakers remove the FM radio from the dash, terrestrial radio will be in a world of hurt. As you mentioned, tabletop and nightstand radios in our houses and offices have been replaced with smart speakers and computer streams that offer a lot more.

I think consolidation was the biggest factor. Most stations are owned by one of just a few companies. You no longer have local radio with the personality of that community. Do you think there's any saving it at this point? I wonder if maybe radio should have more talk content that isn't conservative politics or sports, but then again, people get that from podcasts. If radio stations went back to how they were in say, 2000, do you think listeners would go back to radio or has the ship sailed?

I think consolidation was the biggest factor. Most stations are owned by one of just a few companies. You no longer have local radio with the personality of that community. Do you think there's any saving it at this point? I wonder if maybe radio should have more talk content that isn't conservative politics or sports, but then again, people get that from podcasts. If radio stations went back to how they were in say, 2000, do you think listeners would go back to radio or has the ship sailed?

I think the ship has sailed, unless something drastically changes in the streaming market, such as pricing it too high or too exclusive which is starting to happen with video streaming.

Do you know anyone under the age of 35 that listens to terrestrial radio as their number one option for music or information? Even the argument that radio is needed during severe weather is a stretch, when the local stations just flip the audio feed from a TV broadcast that for the most part focuses on visuals from a helicopter. How many people still have a battery operated radio in their house? We have ONE in the garage, by the storm shelter, the rest of our house is smart speakers.

Consolidation absolutely killed the uniqueness and fun of radio. Just because one guy can be on six stations at once, he isn't really saying anything of substance, other than reading a generic liner sheet in front of him...if that.

I think the ship has sailed, unless something drastically changes in the streaming market, such as pricing it too high or too exclusive which is starting to happen with video streaming.

Do you know anyone under the age of 35 that listens to terrestrial radio as their number one option for music or information? Even the argument that radio is needed during severe weather is a stretch, when the local stations just flip the audio feed from a TV broadcast that for the most part focuses on visuals from a helicopter. How many people still have a battery operated radio in their house? We have ONE in the garage, by the storm shelter, the rest of our house is smart speakers.

Consolidation absolutely killed the uniqueness and fun of radio. Just because one guy can be on six stations at once, he isn't really saying anything of substance, other than reading a generic liner sheet in front of him...if that.

I mean it’s pretty nice to have severe weather coverage on the radio when you’re driving. No matter what I’m listening to in the car, I flip to FM for severe weather coverage if necessary. Tough to watch TV while you’re driving.

This is true. I remember the era of KJ-103 when they used to speed up the songs. You would get used to hearing the sped up versions and then you'd listen to the CD and it would sound different. The stations were still better back then than they are today. They were also more locally programmed. For example, Top 40 stations across markets would have 90% the same music, but when you went to another city, you would always hear a few songs not on the radio in your market and vice versa. Today, most of them are national syndicate feeds. The fact is terrestrial radio just don't know how to compete in the streaming era. 20 years ago it was common to listen to FM radio indoors everywhere, but today you are more likely to listen to a stream of some sort. Most people don't even have FM stereo systems anymore so listening to a terrestrial station indoors would require going to the website or using the app, and that defeates the purpose. Ultimately it's probably going come down to changing the model entirely. Radio will never be what it was in the '80s just like it won't be what it was in the '40s before TV.

It'll probably never happen... but FM radio could be competitive again if they actually gave programming control back to their local markets instead of forcing a blanket one-size-fits-all playlist. I imagine iHeartMedia (or whatever they're calling themselves this week) and other massive media conglomerates would need to be broken up for this to even be possible though.

It'll probably never happen... but FM radio could be competitive again if they actually gave programming control back to their local markets instead of forcing a blanket one-size-fits-all playlist. I imagine iHeartMedia (or whatever they're calling themselves this week) and other massive media conglomerates would need to be broken up for this to even be possible though.

I don't understand how a station (radio or TV) that is owned by a large conglomerate is "serving the public interest" in broadcasting when very little content is being locally generated. Using OKC iHeart as the example, outside of the morning show on KJ103 and news updates on KTOK, I don't think there is any local talent left? KXY, Twister, and 94.7 I think are all recorded tracks or syndicated programs from out of market?

It'll probably never happen... but FM radio could be competitive again if they actually gave programming control back to their local markets instead of forcing a blanket one-size-fits-all playlist. I imagine iHeartMedia (or whatever they're calling themselves this week) and other massive media conglomerates would need to be broken up for this to even be possible though.

I agree. Cumulus gave local control back in the late 2010s and their stations were a lot better for a while. I no longer live in an area with Cumulus stations so I can't comment on how they are today. Most stations however are owned by iHeartMedia, the company most responsible for the decline in radio. I think at this point, the only way this happens is if iHeartMedia goes bankrupt, which I don't think is out of the realm of possibility. I'd listen to FM again if they went back to the kind of programming they had back as recently as the 2000s. Today though, there's no reason to listen to it. It's like streaming but with less variety and more commercials. And I swear that radio didn't used to be as commercial-heavy as it is now.

So KJ103 is no more? It’s B103? Is that correct?

I agree. Cumulus gave local control back in the late 2010s and their stations were a lot better for a while. I no longer live in an area with Cumulus stations so I can't comment on how they are today. Most stations however are owned by iHeartMedia, the company most responsible for the decline in radio. I think at this point, the only way this happens is if iHeartMedia goes bankrupt, which I don't think is out of the realm of possibility. I'd listen to FM again if they went back to the kind of programming they had back as recently as the 2000s. Today though, there's no reason to listen to it. It's like streaming but with less variety and more commercials. And I swear that radio didn't used to be as commercial-heavy as it is now.

While iHeartMedia may not be helping things on decline of local radio, local radio stations got hit in multiple ways. MP3 devices becoming first affordable then basically included with your cell phone probably did the most in decline of radio potential ad revenue, paired with tech that allowed downloading songs or recording them them digitally from various sources, since it is pretty hard to compete with an individuals entire music library ad free. Made worse by the target age demo for advertisers were the ones most likely to have used that tech as it became more popular, and the growth from older CD based era CD/MP3 players over time resolved the issues of getting a 3rd party audio device to connect to car system, so by the time iPods and phones improving the control made use in vehicles almost seamless. Where it never was that hard to do a home stereo system, from the time that media file sizes were shrinking and hard drives increased enough to store hundreds to thousands of songs around 2000.
In parallel with this satellite radio became an option that could offer more targeted channel options, to a larger potential listening base, again without advertisements since was a service model.

So KJ103 is no more? It’s B103? Is that correct?

I don't think so?

https://kj103fm.iheart.com/

So KJ103 is no more? It’s B103? Is that correct?

There's a V103 at 103.1, KJ103 is actually at 102.7.