91X Forsakes ‘Cutting Edge’ to Sponsor Who’s Concert

It came across like sour grapes, coming from the program director of a rival station. Still it was a valid point.

“It seems odd,” KGB-FM (101.5) program director Ted Edwards told the San Diego Union, “that 91X is so interested in a band they have almost totally discounted, except for a few odd tracks from the ‘60s.”

Edwards was refering to XTRA-FM’s (91X) decision to sponsor The Who’s Aug. 22 appearance at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

The Union trumpeted it as “probably the costliest radio promotion in San Diego history,” dutifully noting that 91X is spending $1 million to present the concert, which is only half-true. The station is guaranteeing the purchase of approximately 50,000 tickets for the show, priced at $22.50 each. But they hope to sell more than a few tickets, which should help cut into the expense.

XTRA is proudly telling anybody who will listen that the station has an “exclusive” to The Who concert. In this case, exclusive doesn’t mean much.

XTRA will be able to put its name on the tickets and all official paraphernalia associated with the concert. It will also be the only station able to broadcast from within the stadium the day of the show, and Who members have recorded promotional announcements for 91X.

But that won’t stop rival stations from linking themselves to the concert. A station like KGB will be able to take out ads promoting The Who, just as 91X did when KGB promoted the band’s last appearance in San Diego in 1982. Once tickets go on sale, other stations will be able to buy tickets and give them away on the air.

“Every ticket they’re going to give away is going to say 91X on it,” 91X program director Trip Reeb said. “I don’t mind that.”

The station actually has purchased very little, except the chance to put its name on a major musical event. In that sense, The Who will probably be a great success for the station. It clearly establishes 91X as playing in the big leagues, rock ‘n’ roll wise.

But what message is the station sending to fans of its “cutting edge” format, which professes to spotlight new music, techo-pop and pseudo-punk bands? The Who was on the cutting edge of music 25 years ago, but it’s hardly a modern rock ‘n’ roll band.

Noble Broadcasting, owner of XTRA, put together the deal for 91X in conjunction with similar arrangements for its stations in Kansas City and Denver. The Who is a much more natural fit for the other stations. The Kansas City station has a contemporary music format, and the station in Denver features album-oriented rock.

For new music fans, 91X is clearly trying to appeal to as wide a spectrum of listeners as possible, forsaking any pretense of being a truly “cutting edge” station in the process.

“It’s a huge event, and we wanted it to be our event,” Reeb said. “Sure, we don’t play as much Who as KGB. But on the other hand, we don’t play the same Who songs over and over again.”

KCBQ (Eagle 105) program director Sonny West is scheduled to meet with Monica Zech of Metro Traffic on Thursday, part of Zech’s efforts to introduce Metro to local radio stations.

West says he’s happy with Airwatch Traffic, the station’s current traffic service. But it’s a buyer’s market since the national Metro service moved into the area last September, so West feels it couldn’t hurt to chat with San Diego’s Queen of Traffic.

Metro has established itself in the San Diego market by picking up 14 stations, including KJQY, KGB, KGTV (Channel 10) and KFSD. Most of its stations previously used either the Automobile Club’s traffic report service or Aero Traffic, both of which closed down shortly after Metro arrived on the scene.

Meanwhile Airwatch, whose most recognizable personality is the gruff-voiced Steve Springer, has 17 stations. It hasn’t lost any customers to the Metro invasion, but it certainly must be aware of the new service in town. Airwatch recently opened an Orange County office, which provides reports for six stations.

The traffic services generally offer the reports to the stations for free. Airwatch and Metro make money by selling sponsorships for the reports.

With few monetary considerations to muddy the picture, the quality of the reports, the timing of the updates and, perhaps most of all, the quality of the personalities are the main factors radio stations consider when choosing the traffic service.

Zech’s jump from the Auto Club gave Metro instant rapport and credibility with the stations, just as Airwatch might feel the effect of popular Susan DeVincent’s recent jump to KIFM.

Both companies downplay the competition, saying there are plenty of stations to go around (especially since Auto Club and Aero folded). However, having two aggressive, well-established services in town puts the stations in an enjoyable position.

“It makes it better for me to have two good services, both striving to be better,” West said.

Unlike previous X-Fest and MexFest concerts, 91X brought in Avalon Attractions to stage the the June 17 X-Fest concert, opting not to handle the logistics itself. “We just don’t want to do that type of stuff anymore,” Reeb said. “The previous concerts were a little tough on the station.”

Inside Radio reports that locally based Noble is looking to buy the Transtar/United Stations chain of stations for about $200 million. At the same time, Inside Radio reports, Noble is looking to sell KBEQ-AM/FM in Kansas City for $12 million. The Kansas City deal is “part of an ongoing effort to reduce and reorganize debt,” Inside Radio says, and the Transtar/United Stations deal is “seen as an opportunity to refinance all of Noble’s outstanding debt.”

KPBS is promoting its Radio Reading Service, even though there are already 75 people on a waiting list. Station officials hope the promotional effort will help attract a corporate underwriter to fund an expansion of the program.

A preliminary hearing to rule on a defense motion to dismiss reporter Jesse Macias’ wrongful termination suit against Channel 8 scheduled for today was postponed until Aug. 28. The court wanted to await the outcome of the grievance Macias filed with the broadcast union AFTRA, according to Macias’ attorney. Macias is now working with KSDO-FM.

At least one local viewer wondered if ranting conservatives had prompted XETV (Channel 6) to censor last week’s episode of “Married . . . With Children” after there was an inexplicable gap in the audio during a particularly racy section. XETV General Manager Martin Colby said the gap was simply caused by a technician switching from one satellite dish to another.

Starting on May 29, Channel 6 will air old “Star Trek” episodes at 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Being a public relations professional means always having to find new ways to make something sound interesting. Sometimes it’s a stretch. Take, for example, this lead to a letter inviting coverage of the Temecula Balloon and Wine Festival: “The setting might be right out of an Ansel Adams photograph, had he used color film.”

Some names: Michael Flaster, late of WKSU in Kent, Ohio, is the new program director at KPBS-FM (89.5). He starts today. . . . Sports Guy Jim Laslavic’s contract with KFMB-TV (Channel 8) expires in June, but he has been offered a new two-year deal. He’s been with the station for six years.