Ready or not here it comes. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/barron/5061545.html KGOW set to launch sports talk Monday By DAVID BARRON Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle As we speak this morning, Richard Topper and his colleagues at KGOW (1560 AM) are dashing about merrily, preparing for an open house tonight for advertisers in advance of the station's launch of its all-sports format Monday morning. "I think we're ready," said Topper, the station's general manager. "Our goal has been to get on the air and to have a good product, and we're thrilled with our lineup. The guys are pumped up and ready to go, and the clients we will have on day one are happy and ready to go." Topper said KGOW will use its 50,000-watt tower alignment for daytime and has obtained approval to use a 100-watt signal that will cover a portion of southwest Houston. That night signal will be in use for six months as the station awaits developments on its plans to build a 1,000-watt tower and on its FCC application for a 19,000-watt nighttime signal, Topper said. Until the signal improves, Topper said KGOW will be promoting its Web site, 1560thegame.com, for evening use in areas where the over-the-air signal is unreachable after dark. As for opening-week programming, rumor has it that Richard Justice has lined up baseball commissioner Bud Selig for his first show Monday. Asked about his plans, Ken Hoffman said he will be joined by his Uncle Sol, which, knowing Hoffman, may or may not have been a serious response to the question. We also will have some thoughts over the weekend from the station's afternoon hosts, Sean Pendergast and John Harris, on the Four DVRs, No Waiting Web blog at chron.com.
Well I for one am excited to hear this new station. While there are certain things they are doing that I don't quite get I am sure they will do well. Plus the fact that a bunch of those guys are my friends...like John Granato, Richard Topper, Richard Justice, Ken Hoffman, Seany, Harris, David Nuno, and Raheel oh and their production guy Bully...I kinda wish them the best.
I'm sure you could drop a few more names if you tried. Who's working the parking garage at the new station?
http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice/archives/2007/08/as_nl_central_t.html Justice will have Tony Kornheiser, Bud Selig and Bob Stoops on his first show on 1560 The Game. That's 10-Noon, beginning Monday. Mack Brown and Michael Wilbon will be part of Tuesday's show.
Seanny The Cablinasian from The Game's web site: www.1560thegame.com So that's what that dude looks like. http://blogs.chron.com/sportsmedia/2007/08/qa_with_sean_pendergast.html Q&A with Sean Pendergast So much for enjoying 70-degree weather in August. We're back in Houston from San Jose, Calif., site of the USA Gymnastics national championships, a portion of which will be staged in Houston next year at Reliant Park. As promised, here's a portion of an e-mail conversation with Sean Pendergast, the five-time Smackoff winner from Jim Rome's show heard in Houston on KILT (610 AM), who Monday debuts as the afternoon co-host on KGOW (1560 AM). By the way, if you enjoy the Q-and-A format, let me know. We'll try it with some of our more established local talk show hosts as well as with the newbies. Q: Refresh my memory on how you came to Houston and where you've been since. A: I moved to Houston in 1994 for a job transfer with my employer at that time. I left Houston in 2001 to move to Denver when I was promoted to a director level position, and to Chicago in 2004 for another promotion with the same company. I've been wanting to get back to Houston pretty much since the day I left, so I am very excited to be back. Q: I'm sure you've noticed that on the first week you start the show, Jim Rome will be in town to do his show at KILT and make some promotional appearances. What impact has the Rome show had on your life, and to what degree did it influence you to get full time into radio? A: The impact that the Rome show has had on my life is probably twofold. First, I've certainly gotten some notoriety from the Smackoff performances, and I know that that bit of "celebrity", for lack of a better word, is playing a partial factor in the opportunity that I'm getting with 1560. Second, I've made a lot of great friends because of the show -- other listeners, other callers, and others in the radio industry. It's really amazing how far reaching the show is. As for its influence on my getting into full-time radio, certainly the passion that Jim has for his brand and for this business are very inspirational to me. This is something I've wanted to do for a long time, since I was a kid, so I would say Jim is one of many influences leading me to this decision. Q: Does this signal your retirement from the Smackoff competition? A: I don't think so. If Jim will still have me, I fully intend to call in during next year's Smackoff. Q: Not to minimize your success thus far, but a few segments a year and four hours a day are two very different animals. What makes you think you can pull it off? A: That's the million dollar question and one that I know many are wondering, including myself. First, having spent my adult life as a listener, caller, and spectator, I have a pretty good idea as to what I think works and doesn't work from a listener's perspective. In other words, I think John and I have a clear vision of how we want the show to sound. Second, I have a neurotic fear of failure, so there won't be anyone who outworks me. Finally, and this is going to sound braggadocius, but I think I'm pretty smart and I've got some strong communication skills. Now will those traits translate into good radio? We'll see. My kids hope so because they've become very accustomed to things like eating and clothes. Q: Were you familiar with John, and how do you see your dialogue progressing? I've always believed in the Martin and Lewis model for radio -- somebody gets to crack jokes, somebody gets to be the straight man to segue between segments and get in and out of commercials. Is that your philosophy, or do you have a different model for how the show should work? A: I was very familiar with John's work on 610 as a college football expert, and like the other listeners I was always amazed at his encyclopedic knowledge of the sport. We've been working together now for several weeks and honestly, it's like we've known each other for years. I think people will be pleased with the chemistry on our show. And let me say that I agree with your Martin and Lewis model for a show, and ours will certainly follow a version of that model. I think what people will find out over time, though, is that "straight man" John is actually pretty funny and that "funny guy" Sean knows a lot about sports. Q: What gives you confidence that an independent start-up station can succeed in a market that is struggling to support two sports talk stations, let alone three or four? A: First of all, I'm not really fazed by the "start-up" aspect of our station. I've worked for start-ups before and frankly there's nothing more gratifying than building something from the ground up. As for our ability to succeed in this market, I think it comes down to talent -- both behind the scenes and on the air. I'm a big believer in Richard Topper, our general manager. The things he and our sales team are doing every day to ensure our success are really amazing. On the air, I think our daytime and weekend talent lineup is the best in the marketplace. I'm not going to get too wrapped up in the other stations in the market, sports or otherwise. I think if we put out our best product, our best will beat anyone else's best. Q: What elements of sports talk are the current stations not serving that you think a fourth station can do better? A: Again, this goes back to my taste as a listener, but I don't think the majority of people out there care to break down the play sequence of each Texans drive or discuss potential solutions to the Jason Lane Situation for four hours a day. When I listen to other stations, I hear a lot of minutiae. I guess there's an audience for that, but I think there's a way to mix insight and entertainment where the show can still be smart without being boring. John and I have been working extensively to give our show a feel that we would want to listen to if we were listeners. Q: What will be the name of the show? A: Honestly, we're just going to call the show "Sean and John". We were kicking around a few different names, but they all felt overly contrived. At the end of the day, if our show is good, people will ask their friends "do you listen to Sean and John" anyway, so why give them one more thing to remember like a cheesy name. We're very user friendly that way.
Granato sounds like he's having fun with this.... "1480 The Ho" 'Sleep with The Ho at night'. (1480 is airing 1560's programming at night since they have to sign-off)
Their signal sucks. Apprently their transmitter "blew up" (according to Granato) over the weekend, but they'll be up to full strength by this weekend. Sean sounds a lot like Lance to me. I thought it was Zierline when I heard him sitting in with Granato this morning. Richard Justice is struggline by himself today. The good thing about him is he'll likely have some good guests.
That would explain why the only station I could get here in Galveston in the 1500s today was the dance-hindi station(which I listened to for a bit, pretty catchy).
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5070394.html Station's first day eventful KGOW's debut in sports talk marred by glitches, equipment failures By DAVID BARRON Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle KGOW (1560 AM), the city's fourth sports-talk station, launched Monday with the usual shakedown issues that accompany any new venture, plus a new glitch that prevented the station's signal from being heard in parts of metropolitan Houston. David Gow, the station's president, said equipment called an exciter failed last weekend at the station's 50,000-watt transmitter southwest of Houston. The station signed on Monday at 1,000 watts from a backup transmitter on the city's south side. "We anticipate the situation being remedied shortly," said Richard Topper, KGOW's general manager. "We hope to be at full strength as soon as possible." Listeners commenting at the Sports Media blog at www.chron.com reported hearing KGOW's signal in Pearland, Kemah and Cypress, but others reported problems listening in downtown Houston, the Heights, Kingwood, Spring and northwest Harris County. At the height of afternoon drive time, the station could be heard at every point along Loop 610 except for a few points between North Shepherd and T.C. Jester, where static briefly drowned out voices. Listeners also reported mixed results in accessing audio through the station's Web site. Some were able to access a Windows Media link, but others had to resort to connections through iTunes. Others wrote to www.chron.com that they were unable to access the audio by any means. Some hosts struggled with telephone problems. Chronicle columnist Richard Justice, the station's late-morning host, began an interview with a greeting from Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops, but Stoops was off the line by the time Justice finished asking his first question. After a break for a station promotion, Justice returned with a telephone interview with baseball commissioner Bud Selig. Despite the problems, Gow said, "We were thrilled with the chemistry of the people who were in the room. We heard from people who were thrilled with the lineup and programming." Also Monday, Topper said that while the station awaits a decision on whether to build a 1,000-watt nighttime tower or receives permission for construction of a 19,000-watt nighttime signal, it will simulcast its signal from 7 to 10 p.m. on KLVL (1480 AM). After signoff, Topper said, KGOW's syndicated programming will air on 1480 AM from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. KGOW has received permission from the FCC to build the 1,000-watt tower, but its application for the 19,000-watt signal has drawn opposition before the FCC from Radio Disney. After its last local talk show ended at 6 p.m. Monday, the station went to automated music rather than a syndicated sports talk show because it has not received the satellite equipment needed to download the program.
I think it's kinda fun to listen to the funky start up. Back when I was a kid, AM radio was all there was. During the daytime all you could get was your little East Texas local station that played whatever 40 tunes Gorden Mclendon (The father of Top 40 radio) played on KLIF in Dallas... over and over and over; every damn day. You hear the mechanical switches click when they turned on the mikes, you could go down to the station and watch the DJ through the window and you could call in to dedicate a song to your girlfriend. That's what yesterday sounded like, radio 1966. KGOW is not too slick but funky is fun. And having Granato back on the radio is like having your best friend move back to town.
Well, The Beatles..and 1910 Fruitgum Company. One summer when I installed air conditioners in mobil homes I was in an unairconditioned van all day long and I heard Blues Image - Ride Captain Ride at least six times a day , every day. As much as I dislike Richard Justice as a columnist because he seems to just gravy train whatever the popular opinion of the day is ..and can turn around and write the opposite side of the issue tomorrow....I have to say, he starting out as a pretty good interviewer. His questions for Mack Brown today weren't the same old run of the mill questions and they really seemed to draw out the real Mack. I'm enjoying Michael Wilborn too.
