Why Did KFI Do This?

 

While we develop habits and become set in our ways, radio, including talk radio, has never stayed "the same" for very long.

My latest example is that at the start of this year, KFI AM 640 Los Angeles decided to go back to having another weekday program, after having reduced the number of them it had years ago.

They moved Mo'Kelly, a weekend and fill-in host, to a weekday slot.

To make room for Kelly, the Bill Handel Show was shortened (probably a good thing) so it would end at 9am again instead of 10am. Gary and Shannon got to keep their four hours, they were just shifted to an hour earlier, meaning they were shifted to 9am-1pm.

Great. So put Mo'Kelly on at 1pm to 4pm, and let John and Ken, and Tim Conway Jr. revert back to their old time slots, losing an hour each, 4pm-7pm and 7pm-10pm respectively, right?

Right?

No.

Kelly was given the 7pm-10pm slot.

This means John and Ken are now 1pm-4pm, and Tim Conway Jr is now 4pm-7pm.

The problem with this is that John and Ken have gotten very good at being government watchdogs and analyzing crime and news in general, which plays heavily to the afternoon drive commuters and parents who want to catch up while/after picking their kids up from school, daycare, or whatever and running errands or driving their kids to activities. Putting their show on 1pm-4pm makes little sense. Likewise, Tim Conway Jr. has been very good at being "last show of the day" sort of thing, with a distinctly nighttime flavor. It's much more light-hearted than John and Ken were in the same/similar (depending on the year) time slot.

I have no idea who really wanted this new schedule. I'd imagine Bill Handel, John and Ken, and Tim Conway Jr. were happy to revert back to a "shorter" show. Three hours is long enough for most talk show hosts. But putting the established weekday afternoon/evening shows that much earlier is baffling to me. I can't imagine the hosts themselves wanted that unless there has been a change in their personal lives that makes it more convenient for them. I can see Kelly preferring the later slot, of course. For all we know, this was just what someone in charge at KFI wanted, and that's that or maybe some consultant recommended this.

I don't know for certain who is under contract for however long, and how John and Ken and Tim Conway Jr. feel about all of this, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone bolts for KABC AM 790. I know John and Ken had a bad experience there, but that was a long time ago and the people they clashed with have probably all departed. Yes, the ratings for KABC are terrible. That's the point! KABC needs to do something to improve their ratings, and getting popular L.A. hosts back into their best time slots might be the way to do it.

Of course I have zero inside knowledge about this. Nor have I been reading the newspaper columns on radio lately (if they still exist), What I do know is that terrestrial broadcast radio doesn't have what it had 25-30 years ago. There are seemingly endless other audio content options, and it can't be easy to attract and keep listeners.