KNBR in San Francisco has found their next program director!
Last month, Jeremiah Crowe announced plans to move to las Vegas and exit as the station’s top programming boss. To fill his position, Cumulus SVP of Sports Bruce Gilbert, Cumulus San Francisco GM Larry Blumhagen, and Cumulus President Dave Milner have tabbed Kevin Graham to move the brand forward.
Graham joins the sports leader with a spectacular resume programming talk stations. His experience in the sports talk space is extensive, having previously programmed WEEI in Boston, WXYT in Detroit, 1050 ESPN NY in New York City, Arizona Sports 98.7 FM in Phoenix, ESPN 1250 in Pittsburgh, and The Fan in Columbus and Salt Lake City. He was most recently the PD of News/Talk stations WBAP and KLIF in Dallas, working under the highly respected and accomplished Dan Bennett.
Regarding the new opportunity in the Bay Area, Graham said: “I am humbled to go from legendary News/Talk stations WBAP/KLIF to KNBR, one of the best Sports radio brands in the country. I am very grateful to continue to work for Cumulus and Larry Blumhagen and the great KNBR Team, and thank Dave Milner, Brian Philips and Bruce Gilbert for their confidence in me. It was an absolute honor to be able to work with and learn from Dan Bennett, one of the best market managers in radio, and the talented Cumulus Dallas team. While the last five years were some of the most rewarding in my career, I am excited to return to my roots and be back in sports radio!”
In an internal memo to staff, Blumhagen highlighted Graham’s experience in the sports format, and praised his abilities to drive digital success. He’ll spend a few weeks in Dallas helping the company identify his replacement before making the move to the Bay Area. His first day on the job is expected to be August 9th.
The move west reunites Graham with the format he’s enjoyed most of his career success in. He inherits a brand that is in the driver seat for local ratings and the new opportunity gives him a chance to work again with John Lund, a talent he spent time working with in Detroit. With the Giants performing well, the 49ers just two months away from kicking off their 2021 campaign, and a strong roster with market credibility locked in place for the near term, Graham should have plenty of opportunity to keep the sports leader healthy, hungry and chasing future ratings victories.
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.
