When Steven Spector took over as Program Director of what was then 610 Sports in Kansas City late in 2018, he had an early staff meeting where he laid out his five-year plan. One of the things on that list was getting the content moved over to the FM dial. And while technically it took five years and eight months, on August 15, 2024, Spector’s plan became reality when Audacy moved the sports programming from 610 AM to 96.5 FM and rebranded as ‘96.5 The Fan’.
“It was probably a pipe dream when I said it, but it was certainly a goal,” Spector said. “We got a new market manager in 2021, and I had at least started floating the idea sometime around when she was hired. So that was kind of the first open conversation about it. It started to become at least more of a reality towards the end of 2023. It really gained traction in Q4 of 2023. And then we started off 2024 with the Chiefs’ Super Bowl and the pieces started falling into place.”
Spector said when it was finally time to tell the team internally, they called everyone in a room with the “big wigs” for an early meeting. “Everybody was really, really nervous,” he said as he sensed everyone was thinking something negative was about to happen. “But we said, ‘listen, you’re about to see some good news’. We played a video, we showed them the new logo, and I think everybody took a deep breath and realized, okay, the station’s not going away. We’re actually going all in and going bigger.”
Spector said the reactions just kept getting better and better as the meeting went on and the staff went from thinking bad thoughts to learning they were moving to FM, keeping the Kansas City Royals and their other play-by-play properties and would become the Kansas City Chiefs flagship station.
As far as what his message was to his team as they made the transition to the other side of the dial, Spector said, “The message was pretty simple, ‘the reason why we can make the move to FM is because of you guys. So, I want you to continue to be who you are and what has made your shows successful. But at the same time, you can’t be the same radio station’. So, everything just had to be turned up a notch. And that meant focus on content, leaning in more to our social channels, making sure that our YouTube channel was not just in middays…adding people to our digital team from around the building. So, the message was simple, we’ve got to turn it up a notch.”
So far, so good. Spector said ratings have exceeded expectations, with the cume of the radio station doubling in the first book. He said they also had a great book at the end of the year. “I was really proud of the Q4 book,” he said. “Numbers that we weren’t doing when we were on the AM dial, and that was just a start. And we couldn’t have flipped at a better time with the Royals returning to the playoffs and the Chiefs chasing history.”
Prior to flipping to FM, the morning show underwent a surprise change. Josh Klingler and Bob Fescoe had been together for 14 years, but Klingler, who had been with the station in morning drive for 20 years, decided he was going to step away from daily radio and just continue his duties as part of the Chiefs Radio Network. When Spector arrived in Kansas City in 2013, his first role was producer of the morning show, working every day with Klingler and Fescoe.
“It’ll be a funny story one day that I can’t share, but [Klingler’s decision] definitely changed a little bit of our timeline in the flip,” Spector said. “But Kling had done mornings since the station launched and is now getting a well-deserved rest from having to wake up at 4 a.m. and also do Chiefs sidelines. So extremely happy for him that he got to end his career in the way that he wanted to at the station, which we don’t always get to do in radio.”
That left a hole in the lineup in a key slot and while Spector interviewed many people for the position, the person who would ultimately get the job was Dusty Likins, who had been working for the station for a decade.
Spector said, “That’s one of the things that I love about my job and working in radio was to get to tell Dusty that information and that he was joining not only a new radio station on FM, but a new morning show. Dusty has worked his ass off for 10 years and basically every year-end meeting that I’ve had with him, the goal was the same, it was to be full-time in a weekday day part. And to get to tell him that in August of ’24 was really cool.
“He was really deserving of it as well. He did not just fall into it. He worked to get there, doing extra shows, taking on more nighttime responsibilities. And it’s been really fun to see him grow from being an intern to being full-time and how full circle a decade goes for a guy like that.”
Spector added the chemistry was there from the get-go between Likins and Fescoe. “I think Bob having done the show for so long, especially in that same time slot, takes pressure off of Dusty because Bob knows the ins and outs,” he said. “He knows how to handle a football season. He knows how to handle a Royals post-season run. And Bob is also one of the easiest people to work with. So, the fit was natural.”
Spector’s lineup also includes the duo of Cody Tapp and Alex Gold in middays along with Carrington Harrison in the afternoon. Harrison is the latest talent to work in afternoon drive at the station who is a national caliber talent. Harrison already does weekend work for Audacy’s Infinity Sports Network and has a very high ceiling. He started out working behind the scenes with Nick Wright and then it was Danny Parkins who he joined on the air. Both wound up leaving Kansas City for sports radio in larger markets and are now with FS1.
“Carrington doing a lot of the national stuff has really helped him become a much better solo host,” Spector said. “There’s no question that Carrington’s a national talent. And I’m sure one day national networks will come calling. But he loves Kansas City. He loves the place that he’s in. He obviously has really loved switching [to FM] as part of the flip. But it’s pretty incredible that, the last 12 plus years, first it was Nick and then it was Danny and Carrington and now it’s Carrington.”
One of the main topics all the station’s talent are talking about is the dominance of the Chiefs. Few cities experience the type of run the team has been on, with the AFC Championship game being a given every season. When asked if the coverage of the team has changed from when they first started the run to now, Spector said it’s about covering less of the minutiae.
“It’s something we talk about almost daily here with all the shows is, I don’t think there’s fatigue, but our approach has been, we’ve stopped sweating the small stuff. When the Chiefs lost in 2016 or 2017 when Alex Smith was the quarterback, it felt like the world was ending. The last eight years has kind of taught us that January and February are the goal and that we’ve stopped approaching content and worrying about the smaller stuff. We try and talk a lot more big picture to avoid some of that fatigue and to keep the topics fresh. Radio is a personality driven medium. And as long as you’re having fun and entertaining the listener, if that doesn’t happen to be the Chiefs that day, that’s okay. We don’t have to be Chiefs 24-7.”
As for what Spector would like the station to accomplish in 2025, he said, “Post flip, we need to start putting some more stuff on the calendar and we have plans to do so. We can’t assume that people know who we are just because we went from AM to FM. We need to get out and create some stuff around town. So that’s certainly one thing. And then, we’ve seen some great success since we started streaming on video across all three day parts. And it’s become such an integral part of radio and multi-platform content. And I think we just need to continue to grow that avenue. We’ve got to go where the people are and that’s not always the radio nowadays. So as long as we can meet them wherever they are, we’re doing our job.”
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Dave Greene is the Chief Media Officer for Barrett Media. His background includes over 25 years in media and content creation. A former sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, Dave transitioned to station and sales management, co-founded and created a monthly sports publication and led an ownership group as the operating partner. He has managed stations and sales teams for Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Audacy. Upon leaving broadcast media he co-founded Podcast Heat, a sports and entertainment podcasting network specializing in pro wrestling nostalgia. To interact, find him on Twitter @mr_podcasting. You can also reach him by email at Dave@BarrettMedia.com.
