KMPC Plans to Switch to All-Sports Format

Radio station KMPC’s plans to switch to an all-sports format have been solidified, Bill Ward, the station’s general manager, said Monday. He said that details will be announced Thursday.

KMPC will become one of about half a dozen all-sports radio stations. Others include WFAN in New York, KFAN in Minneapolis, WIP in Philadelphia and KJR in Seattle. XTRA in San Diego is virtually all sports.

The format change, expected to be in place by early April, means KMPC will drop its easy-listening music programs.

Early morning disc jockey Robert W. Morgan is expected to remain at the station and play a major role in the new format.

Afternoon disc jockey Scott O’Neil is also expected to remain at the station in some capacity, but late-morning disc jockey Chuck Southcott probably will be leaving, Ward said.

Weekend disc jockeys Pete Smith and Johnny Magnus are not expected to be retained.

The new format will probably mean expanded roles for sportscasters Scott St. James and Joe McDonnell. Ward said he will hire a new program director.

“I don’t know how it will affect my role,” St. James said. “I’d heard the rumors just like everyone else. If the rumors were that we were going all-Perry Como records, out of fear I would have looked into them. But as long as the rumors were about sports I figured I had a chance to make the cut.”

John Severino, president of Prime Ticket, said he has talked to Ward about being involved in the new format. One way, Severino said, would be for KMPC to carry Prime Ticket’s “Press Box” news show.