Tuesday, February 23, 2010

KNBR gets it right with Bruce, (finally); day move to 1050; 'Fitz and Brooks have competition


KNBR finally did the right thing. Huzzah! Stop the presses.

By moving Damon Bruce out of the nighttime wilderness into daytime relevance, the station, and GM Lee Hammer in particular, (and a few of Cumulus suits,) took advantage of Bruce' considerable talent and broadcast moxie and now, Bay Area sports listeners will have a chance to hear Bruce in a more convenient, albeit slightly less friendly dial position.

Bruce's move from the 7-10 PM time slot on KNBR 680 to Noon-4PM on sister-station, KNBR 1050 provides a potential glorious possibility of Bruce going head-to-head with "Fitz and Brooks", who work the Noon-3PM shift on 680. It shouldn't be long before "DBruce' "D-stroys" the midday gigglers who couldn't be more fire and ice, on -air, if they're life depended on it, (more on that later)

The move allows Bruce more time, and prime time for that matter, to showcase his forte; whether its a takedown on Don Nelson and the Warriors, a candid analysis of the Giants, the "Tuesday 'trifecta, whatever, Bruce' expanded, un-interrupted daily four-hour schmoozfest will be a treat for a vast Bay Area audience looking for someone that isn't perceived as nothing more than a shill for their team or trying to manufacture chemistry when there's nothing to manufacture. You either got it or you don't. There's no in-between. And Bruce, when he's on fire, he's damn near brilliant; one of the best tonsils I've ever heard. At his worst, at least he gives you an HONEST opinion with cogent, well-conceived, thought-out content. What a concept!

Ironically, this move was heightened by your lovely SF Giants, who made a point of getting Bruce 86ed from the postgame shows while the Giants were at home. The Giants upper brass were ticked that Bruce' mass-critical assessment of the team were too much to take and inserted Dave Flemming as the booth man for the PG show. Bruce was relegated to pg road affairs and at times last year, it was literally weeks before he was heard.

This year was to be no different. Same policy. The Giants apparently want in-house criticism and Bruce' blunt, (but fair) critiques was not something Larry Baer and company would settle for; Ralph Barbieri is pretty hard on the boys, but Ralphie himself acknowledges he's a "Giants' fan", so even when he popped GM Brian Sabean's cork from time to time, you knew deep down that some of that was for show. No knock on Barbieri; anything to rattle the antiseptic Sabean and his "due diligence" is worth the price of admission.

Question? What if Bruce were to really kill Fitz and Brooks, as he no doubt will? Would it then be only time that Bruce move to 680 and the Notre Dame/LSU gigglers be sent to 1050? Geez, would 'Rudy and his sidekick cackle to that? Can't wait.

Replacing Bruce is ex-Giants/A's player and former Sacramento talk host, F.P. Santangelo.
Bruce' new gig begins Monday from Noon-4PM on KNBR 1050.

**A note to the 9 AM -Noon guy on KNBR 680: See, I WAS right. Your station was grooming Bruce to be in the daytime spot, and yes, I didn't forget about that. Did you?

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6 comments:

  1. Rich, perhaps you could explain the KNBR 680 and KNBR 1050 business models, are they designed to compete with one another? If so, I don't understand putting Damon head tot head with the gigglers. Was the "best of" weekend on 680 this past weekend a harbinger of weekend programming?

    Good for FP!

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  2. Both 680 and 1050 are part of KNBR/Cumulus' umbrella; technically, they're "independant", but essentially both serve as a conduit to each other and are manned by Hammer. No, they're not designed to compete against each other, but 1050 has seperate ratings, as does 680...

    As for the "best-of", I have no idea. I'll make some calls and try to give my best take in a future post.

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  3. This is great news. Thanks for 'breaking' it to everyone.

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  4. Thanks Rich for the explanation; come Monday, no more Gigglers for me.

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  5. It also frees up Damon from having to deal with Bruno at night. If your in to frivolity AND sports... Bruno's show trumps DB's any day and while I don't mind F & B (they ARE knowledgeable), DB will KILL them in the afternoon...especially if F & B keep those paid gamblers on for longg segments like they do.

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  6. gigglers and gamblers? sounds about right, CRL Brotha.

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