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ALLCITY Network Announces CHGO Programming Now Available on Samsung TV Plus

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ALLCITY Network has experienced unprecedented growth in recent years and the company is now adding more coverage on television. The programming for CHGO, the Chicago brand of ALLCITY, is now available on Samsung smart TVs through Samsung TV Plus.

“New channel just dropped,” read an X post from the CHGO Sports account. “You can now catch all of your favorite CHGO shows on Samsung TV Plus. Check out the CHGO channel on any Samsung Smart TV in Chicago for 24/7 content including live shows!”

ALLCITY is expected to add to its current total of five markets and have two additional markets in 2025. In addition to Chicago, the company that started in Denver, is also in Phoenix, Philadelphia and most recently added the Dallas market.

In addition to adding the new market, the company recently completed a $12 million round of investment with TEGNA being the largest Series B investor. A previous report from sports business insider Joe Pompliano had reported the TEGNA investment, “includes a commercial agreement to place ALLCITY content on TEGNA-owned TV stations nationwide.”

CHGO hosts include Adam Hoge, Nicholas Moreano, Jay Zewaski and several others. The site produces daily video, audio and written content covering all of the local pro sports teams in Chicago. Some content is available for free and other content is only available to subscribers or ‘Diehards’ as they are called, which is $79.99 for the year.

KROQ Announces Lineup For Almost Acoustic Christmas 

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Audacy’s World Famous KROQ Los Angeles is set to host the 33rd annual KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas on Saturday, December 14, at the Kia Forum in Inglewood.

This year’s lineup includes performances by The Smashing Pumpkins, Beck, 311, Sublime, Jimmy Eat World, Franz Ferdinand, Royel Otis, AWOLNATION, The Linda Lindas, and bby.

“KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas is a SoCal holiday tradition, and we’re thrilled to announce the 33rd anniversary with this year’s stellar lineup,” said Kevin Weatherly, KROQ SVP of Programming. “We’re very grateful to these artists who will join us to support two incredible organizations that empower and uplift our local youth.”

KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas supports two local organizations that enhance youth education: Para Los Niños and the Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center.

Established in 1980 in Los Angeles’ Skid Row area, Para Los Niños aims to create pathways to success by promoting educational excellence and strengthening families and communities to help children and youth thrive.

The Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center offers free after-school and affordable summer programs. It works to revitalize communities in crisis by providing a safe and nurturing environment that encourages good citizenship and academic success.

More information is available here.                    

Bob Kesling, Longtime Tennessee Volunteers Radio Voice, to Retire in April

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Longtime Tennessee Volunteers radio voice Bob Kesling will step aside from the broadcast booth, the school announced Thursday.

Kesling has been the lead play-by-play voice for the university since 1999, but has worked on the broadcasts since beginning his career as the spotter for John Ward on the Vol Network in 1976. He served as the women’s basketball radio voice from 1978 to 1999 and called six NCAA National Championships for the program before moving to football broadcast booth.

“Bob Kesling is a cornerstone in our proud 75-year history of the Vol Network,” Vol Network Vice President & General Manager Steve Early said. “It will be hard to imagine a football Saturday without the presence of such a skilled and dedicated storyteller. His unmatched versatility as both a radio and television personality has been an advantage Tennessee fans have enjoyed for 50 years.  Nobody loves the Vol Network more than Bob.

“It’s fitting that an entire generation has grown up knowing only his voice. And the amount of people he has encouraged and influenced in this industry says all you need to know about his broadcasting legacy. To me, he personifies loyalty and what it means to be a big-time professional.  The Vol Network is better because of Bob Kesling.”

“Bob’s influence has been remarkable, touching so many lives as the Voice of the Vols and through his heartfelt dedication as a mentor and leader in our Knoxville community for over 50 years,” Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White added. “He embodies the true spirit of someone who has given his all for Tennessee. As an icon in the broadcasting industry, we are deeply appreciative of the professionalism he brings to Tennessee Athletics each time he takes the microphone. His contributions resonate with all of us here on Rocky Top and we cannot thank him enough for everything he has done.”

Kesling will continue to call Volunteers broadcast through the end of the 2024-2025 men’s basketball season.

A 1977 graduate of the University of Tennessee, Bob Kesling was inducted into the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame earlier this year. He is a four-time recipient of the Sportscaster of the Year award in Tennessee.

FanDuel Sports Network, St. Louis Cardinals Reach New Multi-Year Agreement Which Includes Direct-to-Consumer Streaming

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The St. Louis Cardinals have announced they will continue with FanDuel Sports Network for their television distribution and the new agreement will include a direct-to-consumer offering. The two agreed to a new multi-year agreement to have the games aired on FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, formerly Bally Sports Midwest. The Diamond Sports Group owned outlet had said it would only continue to carry games if they could renegotiate agreements with teams.

The Cardinals were one of the teams in limbo deciding between staying with DSG or partnering with Major League Baseball. So far, six teams have decided to work with MLB, which includes the Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Guardians, Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres.

The Cardinals are now one of eight teams that will be working with FanDuel Sports Network for 2025. The others are the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays.

The Cardinals still do well on local television when the team is winning. However, between all the cord cutting and the team having two dismal seasons, the audience is down almost 50% from two season ago. The rating for the 2022 season was 7.3. That number dropped to 5.2 during a season that saw the team go 71-91 two years ago. This year, while the total wins improved to 83, the team was mostly out of contention the last few months of the season and the attendance and interest went way down. The rating for the 2024 season was 3.9.

Usual television rating numbers for the team are in the 7’s at the low end or 9’s at the high end for a season average. Since 2000, the team peaked at a 10.0 rating in 2015. The team finished seventh in overall attendance in Major League Baseball this season, which is the lowest it has been since 2004.

According to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals were set to receive $78 million next year in broadcasting rights fees but was expected to see that drop by 20% or more. Details on the direct-to-consumer offering were not immediately available.

Greg Beharrell Re-Signs With KLOS Los Angeles

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YEA Networks’ Greg Beharrell Show will remain the evening program on Meruelo Media’s Classic Rock 95.5 KLOS in Los Angeles.

Beharrell has been with KLOS since 2017. He previously hosted afternoons at “Live 105” KITS in San Francisco and spent time at Alternative “102.1 The Edge” Toronto and 99.3 CFOX in Vancouver.

Beharrell said, “Never have I been more excited to put finger to DocuSign. I can’t see myself on any other radio station in Los Angeles, and those stations confirmed they feel the same. The best is yet to come for TGBS, and then once the best is achieved, the worst is also yet to come. LET US GO!!!!!”

Meruelo Media senior VP of programming and content Pio Ferro said, “I was so happy to read Greg Beharrell resigns, but then I saw the hyphen between re and signs.”

Meruelo Media President and CEO Otto Padron added, “Wisdom is always chasing Greg, but he’s far too fast.”

77 WABC Host Bo Snerdley: Rush Limbaugh Listeners Thought I Was a Ficitional Character

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77 WABC host James Golden — AKA Bo Snerdley — was a longtime fixture with the venerable Rush Limbaugh Show. And years later, he’s still convincing people he’s real.

In a post to social media, he joked that it is still a regular occurrence to be told that listeners thought he wasn’t real.

“At least once or twice a week I hear from someone who thought for many years that Bo Snerdley was a ‘fictional’ person,” he shared. “He is. And it’s me.”

Snerdley spent 30 years working alongside Rush Limbaugh on his popular news/talk radio show. He worked in a variety of roles for the program, but prominently featured on the show.

Snerdley returned to 77 WABC — where he hosted a call-in show alongside Joel Santisteban from 1992 through 1998 — in August of 2021 after Limbaugh’s death earlier that year.

News/Talk 1480 WLEA to Cease Operations Next Week

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News/Talk 1480 WLEA in Hornell, New York is set to cease operations next week after a new owner has been found for the station.

In a post to social media, the station revealed that the signal would go silent, much to the chagrin of the original owners.

“This post is very hard to make,” the Doran Family wrote. “I just wanted to say Thank You to all of our listeners and sponsors throughout the years. As you already know, the economy has been rough the past couple years and owning a radio station has its own set of challenges.

“Due to lack of sponsors and support, our new owners have decided to shut the station down. As of Monday, (November) 11th, our stations will go silent. We appreciate the support and most importantly our sponsors. Please support whatever local media there is left.”

The station first went on the air in 1948. It currently features a mix of local and nationally syndicated programming. Programs like The Brian Kilmeade Show, The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show, The Sean Hannity Show, and The Ramsey Show were all heard on the station serving the Elmira-Corning market.

98.3 ‘The Vibe’ Des Moines Makes Lineup Changes

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Cumulus Media’s Top 40 “98.3 The Vibe” Des Moines, Iowa, has announced a significant overhaul of its on-air lineup.

The station, which has operated without on-air personalities in midday and afternoon slots since it transitioned to Top 40 in May 2021, is set to introduce two new voices. Taylor J, the APD and midday host at Country 95.5 Indianapolis, will be tracking a 9 am to 2 pm. Before joining Country 95.5 in April 2023, Taylor J held roles as APD and midday host, later becoming Program Director at iHeartMedia’s Top 40 “107.5 Kiss-FM” in Des Moines for five years.

Jake ‘DJ Sweezy’ Swesey is set to expand his responsibilities by taking on afternoon hosting duties from 2 pm to 6 pm. This new role will complement his position as Assistant Program Director (APD) for KWQW and Sports “The Champ” 1700/101.3. Previously, Sweezy contributed as a programming assistant and served as a night host for Westwood One’s now-defunct classic Hip-Hop network.

The station has dropped “The Bert Show” from mornings.

Mike Felger: iHeartMedia Letting Rich Shertenlieb Go After Less Than Six Months is ‘A Bad Sign as a Radio Guy’

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98.5 The Sports Hub hosts Mike Felger and ‘Big Jim’ Murray spent time on the station’s Off Air Show on Facebook talking about their former teammate Rich Shertenlieb being let go by iHeartMedia. Shertenlieb had been hired to do mornings on classic rock station WZLX, but was let go earlier this week as part of another round of layoffs by the company. He was with the company for less than six months.

Morning host Fred Toucher, who was partners with Shertenlieb for many years before the two split when Shertenlieb unexpectedly left the station around a year ago, did not hold back on his thoughts when he spoke about what happened. Toucher said in part, “I’m not surprised and I’m very happy because I feel like he’s a backstabber and does not tell the truth.”

Felger and Murray were a bit more diplomatic on the Off Air Show, while noting station management had asked them not to spend too much time on the subject.

“A lot of people want to talk about Rich and the ZLX show,” Felger said. “They don’t want us here to talk too much about it. I don’t know anything, like again, I’m the worst gossip person ever. I don’t know anything about anything, like honestly, so I can’t even offer any insight…and they don’t want us to even if I did. But there’s nothing for me to really dish on because I don’t know anything. The only thing I would say is, I’m sorry it didn’t work. I feel bad it didn’t work.”

Murray added, “That’s a crazy short time. Not even six months.”

“Right, so that’s a bad sign as a radio guy, I shouldn’t be fuc**** celebrating that. And I don’t celebrate it. I feel bad, I’m not happy that it didn’t work. And I was rooting for him…I want Fred and Hardy to win and win dramatically and that’s obviously what I want. But if Rich had gone there and been a success, whatever that means, that’s good for us radio guys. It would make the next guy more marketable.”

“I was under the impression they were probably going to flip it to another sports station, which would have been great in terms of more leverage for someone like you or I,” said Murray. “And that didn’t happen. It sucks that that happened for those guys. I’m surprised that the brass over there at iHeart, decided ‘we know this isn’t working, so we’re going to pull the plug.’ I’m trying to think of where other times, because I’ve been around for a lot of this, I listen to a ton of radio. There’s only a handful of other times where I feel like I’ve seen that. And it’s been a long time since.”

Jenny Lee And Tony Cortez Exit ‘Hits 105.3’ San Antonio

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Cox Media Group’s Hot AC Hits 105.3 San Antonio has terminated the employment of Jenny Lee and Tony Cortez, its morning hosts.

Lee, who was also APD/MD, had been with Hits 105.3 since 2013. After starting with four months in the afternoon slot, Lee transitioned to mornings. Other stops include experience as a producer and host at Mid-West Family Broadcasting in Madison, followed by two years as a night host at iHeartMedia’s Top 40 station, “Z104” WZEE.

Cortez has been a long-time fixture in the San Antonio market. He has worked at Top 40 “Mix 96.1” and Tejano 107.5 KXTN-FM, followed by a seven-year tenure as Assistant Program Director and afternoon host at Alpha Media’s Top 40 “Energy 94.1” from 2011 to 2018. In May 2019, he joined KSMG as an evening host, later advancing to afternoon shifts and eventually co-hosting the morning show with Lee since December 2020. This transition coincided with the station’s rebranding from “Magic 105.3” to “Hits 105.3” in December 2022.

In a move not often seen, the station acknowledged the departure.