ESPN 1000 is making a minor change to its weekday lineup that it hopes will provide big dividends. According to a report from Robert Feder, the Chicago sports radio station is reorganizing its midday lineup by having “Carmen and Jurko” and “Kap and Company” trade places.
As part of the changes which will go into effect on April 3rd, Carmen DeFalco and John “Jurko” Jurkovic will host weekdays Noon to 2pm CT. Kaplan will start earlier, hosting weekdays 9a-Noon CT. One additional benefit for Carmen and Jurko is that they’ll have an opportunity to stay on the air for an extra half hour as part of a cross-talk segment with afternoon hosts Marc “Silvy” Silverman and Tom Waddle.
According to Feder, one key factor for the switch is Kaplan’s other job as host of the Chicago Cubs pre-game and post-game shows on CSN Chicago. With Kaplan involved on television, and the Cubs playing a large number of afternoon games, it can create situations where Kaplan is forced to leave his show early or miss it completely. By making the move to an earlier start time, it will make Kaplan more available to do both with minimal interference.
Since ESPN 1000 added Kaplan to its lineup, he has proven to be a huge addition. He’s enjoyed consistent ratings success including producing the second most listened to AM radio talk show for the first two months of 2017. The only talk show in the market with stronger ratings among Adults 25-54 and Men 25-54 is ESPN 1000’s afternoon program “Waddle & Silvy”.
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
