The final lyrics of The End by The Doors played in the early morning hours on 94.7 The Brew in Oklahoma City on Wednesday morning. The 11 minute and 42 second song ended at precisely 6:00 a.m. It was fitting, because it signaled the end of an era for a radio station that’s been synonymous with rock music in OKC.
Format switches are not uncommon in radio. Unfortunately, when they do happen, it seems to be mostly at the expense of sports radio. Very rarely, do you hear a story of a music station flipping to sports. It’s almost always the opposite.
But a monumental situation has occurred in Oklahoma City. Interestingly enough, it involves the station where I do a daily show. 94.7 FM in OKC no longer blares rock music on its 94,900 watts. Instead, the signal will be booming sports radio from The REF Sports Radio Network located in nearby Norman.
It’s a huge move for The REF. A larger signal gives the station a much better chance to compete in the market, as well as an added sales opportunity to create revenue in areas where the terrestrial signal hasn’t reached before. The philosophy of The REF won’t change with the added signal. It’ll still be the OU sports heavy station it’s always been.
But it’s extremely important to note that a well-established rock station wanted to flip to sports radio. That’s almost unheard of in today’s radio climate where music can be done cheaply and sports requires real investment.
“It’s awesome,” said Chris Plank, host of The Plank Show. “It’s so awesome to see the faith iHeartRadio and Jon Phillips have put in our lineup. I have spent 18 years at an AM station and you’re going to play second and third fiddle to higher billing and better rated stations. It’s really exciting when you see someone put this kind of commitment into a lineup that is fun, entertaining, exciting and refreshing. It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever been a part of.”
The future of sports radio is one of the hottest topics surrounding the industry. There’s plenty of people who think negatively about sports radio’s future, but even they would have to acknowledge this news as incredibly positive for the industry.
Is this a sign of things to come? Probably not, but it will be an interesting case study to monitor. If sports radio content can rate better and generate more revenue on 94.7 FM than what rock music was doing, people in the industry will notice.
“People are always going to have an appetite for sports talk radio,” said Mike Steely, co-host of Steelman and Thune at Noon. “I’ve always said, man, this lineup is really, really good and there’s always been a nice, core base of fans. To get on this signal where even more people can hear it every day is going to be unbelievable, because this has always been a powerhouse lineup. Then you have OU going to the SEC? Are you kidding me? It’s going to explode.”
“We are thrilled to enter the sports talk arena with such an outstanding line-up.” Jon Phillips, iHeartMedia’s Area President, stated. “Obviously, this talent base is very aligned with University of Oklahoma Athletics, and we feel this will give us a unique advantage in creating content that is focused on the biggest sports entity in the state, unquestionably.”
“It’s great to be joining 94.7 FM in Oklahoma City,” said The REF program director TJ Perry. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for us. Obviously it doesn’t hurt with the news of the SEC move and there’s going to be a lot of fans across the country that are going to come to our new signal. Starting with this station back in 2002 I would have never dreamed we would simulcast with a 100,000 watt station in Oklahoma City. I appreciate everyone’s work and the opportunity that’s been given. It’s going to be tremendous.”
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the only pro sports franchise in Oklahoma, but at its core, OU football is still, and always will be, the biggest entity in the state. That’s what The REF is banking on.
“We are incredibly excited for this opportunity to partner with iHeartMedia to better deliver our content to Sooner Fans everywhere.” Metro Radio Group and KREF owner, Casey Vinyard said. “I’d like to thank Jon Phillips and iHeartMedia, as well as our team, for their shared commitment to delivering the highest quality local sports talk programming.”
Tyler McComas is a columnist for BSM and a sports radio talk show host in Norman, OK where he hosts afternoon drive for SportsTalk 1400. You can find him on Twitter @Tyler_McComas or you can email him at TylerMcComas08@yahoo.com.
