San Jose KSJO goes NASH...
San Jose's iconic KSJO lit up on Memorial Day as "92.3 - Nash FM" - "The Bay Area's NEW Country Music Leader!" "Nash for Life". 92.3 FM -- Powered by NASH".
Cumulus was pretty hush-hush about their 32,000-watt FM acquisition, that for years was one of the Bay Area's most progressive rocker and a legendary station beaming to San Francisco from San Jose. KSJO is operating as an LMA from Universal Media pending final grant from the FCC to Cumulus.
KSJO is now identified every hour as "A Cumulus Station". A call letter change to identify with it's "NASH" brand is yet to be announced. The only identification with KSJO is on the hour, with the NASH branding included and only NASH 92.3 throughout the hour. So far, no song titles or artists, either.
The station broke from the "Universal FM" format of several years with foreign language and Hispanic programming at 9:23 Memorial Day morning. (How creative!)
To get the national branded Nash launched for the Bay Area, Cumulus has kicked things off with 10,000 songs in a row. (How novel!)
That promotion, commercial free as announced, should last about 30 days before "NASH exclusive content" begins, as it is being structured from New York to a growing list of markets launched so far. NASH FM just broke a million cume in NY after just a few months.
It rates a 1.9 according to Nielsen with a 1,030,000 cume -- good for 20th place in the nation's #1 radio market. The NASH brand is focused on 18-49, mostly female oriented demos.
Air talent from the Cumulus NASH stable includes; Blair Garner doing mornings, Terri Clark, and Chuck Wicks, NASH Nights Live with Shawn Parr and Elaina Smith, and Kickin’ It with Kix with Kix Brooks and Suzanne Alexander.
Cumulus lays claim to being the largest country music syndicate in the US and continues to launch the NASH brand across its music platform of stations..
One of the big obvious questions is if Cumulus really thinks that Bay Area listeners don't "get it" that they will be barraged with commercials a month from now? This "concept" is not new and 20th place in its biggest market shows a way to go. High cume in New York is a tad over 5-million, by Clear Channel's perennial Adult Contemporary "leader" WLTW-FM. Classic "oldies" WCBS has over 4-million, 10-10 WINS with news has over 3 million and so it goes. There are no other country stations in New York outside of NASH FM.
Saul Levine just launched his LA based "Z Country" KYZZ in Salinas a short time ago on 97.9. Guess what "Z Country" is doing for Salinas, Monterey and Santa Cruz? You guessed it, 10,000 "commercial free" songs in a row.
KSJO will eat country lunch for Cumulus in that market. A whole lotta country shakin' going on now
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Well.....maybe Sweet Jack will work here. Not.
ReplyDeleteAKA Billy Bob FM
ReplyDeleteWho even listens to radio anymore?
ReplyDeleteYou do, or you wouldn't be here, unless you're a troll
DeleteKSJO ceased being a 'legendary progressive rocker' about the time that folks discovered the KOME spot on their dials. Admittedly, KSJO had their moments with late night/weekend maverick djs who dared to buck the format, but it was basically 32,000 watts of rock repetition and/or readily recognizable metal -- business as usual and nothing really adventurous at all...
ReplyDeleteWait till you hear the repetition on NASH. It will have you chuckin' chunks in no tie. Honest. .
DeleteIt will. Give it a month. People in San Josie will so love the Sweet Jack and more in the Bay Area, too. Sweet Jack loves the NASH!
ReplyDeleteCountry hasn't really worked as a format in the Bay Area. Remember The Wolf? Or The Bear? Both gone. The only country station is KRTY, which stumbles along with meager ratings. Cumulus would be smarter to use this frequency as a simulcast for KGO when it flips back to talk.
ReplyDeleteA hell no .... KGO is gone......A thing of the past.
DeleteThe wolf, the bear, .... now the nash of shit.
This station has horrible reception in San Francisco and the Inland East Bay.
Better to flip to "Cumulus" owned "True Oldies Channel" then this nash of shit.
I listen to radio mostly in the car; sometimes at home too. I mostly listen to sports talk and news although I do listen to music and would listen on AM if it were available. I don't think I am the only one; I am 58.
ReplyDeleteA country format on the station that helped to spawn Metallica, Exodus, and other Bay Area metal bands. The once great KGO reduced to a pale imitation of KCBS, with traffic announcers that can't even pronounce place names correctly. How much lower can it go?
ReplyDeleteTo change the subject, it was good to hear Melanie Morgan on KSRO this a.m., and, from the ads, it sounds like she brought KSFO's former advertisers with her.