KMPC Simply Didn’t Go the XTRA Mile, and Now It’s Gone

And then there was one.

The radio sports-talk war is over, with XTRA the victor.

KMPC, under new ownership, this week went to a non-sports talk format, although Week 1 was mainly devoted to dreadful promos and auditions. The regular programming, which we hope will be an improvement, begins Monday.

The XTRA-KMPC war lasted two years. XTRA, a San Diego station whose signal carries to Los Angeles, went all sports in February of 1992, and then KMPC, with much fanfare, joined the fray two months later.

“A lot is being made of the failure of KMPC,” said Lee Hamilton, the 46-year-old veteran sports talk-show host who has been at XTRA since 1986. “But give us some credit. We beat them with style, content and personalities.”

Howard Freedman, XTRA’s 36-year-old program director who grew up in the Los Angeles area--he’s a graduate of Taft High in Woodland Hills--said, “We not only hired the best talent, but we promoted them by sending them out into the community.”

Hamilton said he makes about 150 public appearances and remote broadcasts a year.

XTRA’s “Loose Cannons,” Steve Hartman and Chet Forte, do four or five each week. They made an appearance at the National Sports Grill in Fullerton Tuesday night, they broadcast from Poncho’s in Manhattan Beach Thursday, and today they will be at Johnny M’s in San Diego for lunch. Hartman also will be at the Stuffed Pizza in Del Mar Saturday and Sunday.

Before television work with ESPN2 began occupying his evenings, midday host Jim Rome made public appearances almost nightly, and his popularity soared.

KMPC, meanwhile, marketed with billboards and mailings and had its announcers involved in stunts with sponsors rather than out meeting the public.

But then much of KMPC’s crew was made up of sportswriters whose radio gigs were second jobs. They didn’t have time for public appearances.

Freedman said XTRA spent less on marketing but gained more “by being out among the listeners.”

XTRA’s motto could be: Shake a hand, gain a listener.

*

Another reason for XTRA’s victory was continuity.

“Get out the scorecard and start counting how many changes KMPC made,” Hamilton said.

KMPC started out with Robert W. Morgan in the morning, Joe McDonnell and Todd Christensen at midday, Jim Lampley in the afternoon, a baseball show with Steve Yeager, Geoff Witcher and Bob Rowe in the evenings and Fred Wallin overnight.

Morgan, basically a disc jockey, was uncomfortable working on an all-sports station and eventually left for KRTH-FM. There wasn’t enough room for the egos of McDonnell and Christensen in one studio and Christensen quit. Lampley went to mornings to replace Morgan but also eventually quit.

Sportswriter Doug Krikorian was paired with McDonnell and those two went to afternoons. Two more sportswriters, Brian Golden and Paola Boivin, took over the midday slot. Wallin got off the overnight shift and took the evening spot, and newcomer Tony Femino took Wallin’s old spot.

Lampley was replaced by Chris Roberts and Jack Snow, and then in June of 1993, Krikorian, Golden and Boivin were all fired.

Wallin replaced Roberts and Snow, Femino went to midday and McDonnell, despite starting to click with Krikorian, was told to go it alone.

That was the beginning of the end.

The dour Wallin failed miserably in the mornings, and Femino, a success in the wee hours, failed in daytime hours.

Scott O’Neil, a former KMPC disc jockey who was serving as both a disc jockey and program director at FM sister station K-LITE, was brought in and asked to save a sinking ship.

O’Neil did the best he could. He immediately lifted morale. He brought in upbeat Charlie Tuna for the mornings and brought back Golden and Krikorian and paired them in the midday slot.

But then Golden and Krikorian, after a successful run and increased ratings, got fired for failing to appear at a sponsor’s function.

All the while, the sale of the station loomed.

In the meantime, XTRA stayed with its cornerstone people--the Cannons, Rome and Hamilton--and developed an upbeat and entertaining nighttime show with Rick Schwartz and Steve Mason, a team that was broken up in February when Mason left the station.

Only recently did XTRA tinker with its lineup. Trying to broaden its morning listening audience, it moved the Cannons to a later morning slot and moved Schwartz to early mornings with FM disc jockeys Mike Berger and Jeff Prescott. The new morning show initially drew criticism because there was no sports talk at all, but it is beginning to find its niche.

*

Who is to blame for KMPC’s failure?

Hamilton, with tongue only slightly in cheek, said he is.

“I take full responsibility for killing off sports talk in Los Angeles,” he said. “Shortly after I turned down an offer from George Green (KABC’s general manager who is now also the general manager of the new KMPC), KABC took ‘Sportstalk’ off the air.

“Then KMPC wanted to hire me, but I turned them down too. So I’ll take full responsibility, and you can put that in your newspaper.”

But Hamilton also said, “I am saddened by the failure of KMPC because it put people out on the street.”

Others at XTRA echoed the same sentiment. No one there is gloating.

A lot of hard-working people at KMPC are now out of work. The list includes established radio veterans Tuna, Witcher, Scott St. James and Dr. Angel Fever himself, Rowe, a KMPC employee since 1966.

St. James, who is still looking for a break in acting, a craft he has been studying for years, currently has a small role in the soap opera “The Young and the Restless.” But he will be done taping on May 17.

“After that, I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he said.

TV-Radio Notes

The expected deal between XTRA and UCLA was announced Thursday. XTRA will continue to carry San Diego State, but the station said any conflicts will be worked out to the satisfaction of both parties. There might be some King conflicts as well. UCLA announcers will be hired by XTRA with the school’s approval. UCLA wants Chris Roberts to continue working football with David Norrie and basketball with Marques Johnson.

XTRA, continuing to establish more of a presence in Los Angeles, plans to move its nighttime show to the Los Angeles area. John Ireland, the current host, is the leading candidate to continue in that role once the show moves. . . . XTRA earlier tried to hire Joe McDonnell for nights, but McDonnell stayed at KMPC and now is the lone survivor. He’ll be doing sports commentaries and reports on the new KMPC morning show beginning Monday. . . . XTRA, which will carry NBA playoff broadcasts through the finals, next will start carrying ESPN radio features and programs formerly on KMPC.

A caller to Jim Rome’s show Wednesday wanted to know why TNT didn’t switch from Tuesday night’s Utah-San Antonio blowout to Houston-Portland. The reason was that sister network TBS was carrying Houston-Portland. . . . Former UCLA defensive back Ron Pitts, who played in the NFL with Buffalo and Green Bay, has been hired as an NFL commentator by Fox.

A multi-fight pay-per-view card usually means none of the fights could stand on its own. The exception is Saturday’s SET card from Las Vegas, featuring four championship rematches, including Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Frankie Randall. Jay Larkin, SET’s executive producer, said the hope is that this card will give pay-per-view boxing a needed boost. The 6 p.m. card will be available in 25 million homes nationwide and the price on most systems varies from $29.95 to $34.95. The order of the fights is Azumah Nelson vs. Jesse James Leija, Simon Brown vs. Terry Norris, Gerald McClellan vs. Julian Jackson, and then Chavez vs. Randall.

World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis fights Phil Jackson on HBO tonight on a two-fight card that begins at 6:45. . . . Thursday night’s Olympic Auditorium card, originally scheduled to be shown live on ESPN, will instead be shown today at 5 p.m. . . . ABC’s Jim McKay returns as the host of the Kentucky Derby for the 20th consecutive year Saturday, and Dave Johnson will call the race.