What's Next for WKQX, WLUP and WRXP?

Beside John Gehron and Liz Aiello, another key appointment made known Tuesday is that veteran talk consultant Walter Sabo will be part of the management team.  Robert Feder at TimeOutChicago says Sabo will run radio operations for Merlin.  Sabo's background primarily is in talk radio.

That immediately leads tea-leaf readers in both markets to expect an FM news/talk or talk format in each city.  However, it might be smart to remember Randy Michaels is 'Merlin the Magician'.  He's the primary programmer.  Sabo will probably be the implementer.  That's not to say Michaels won't seek others advice on programming. He will. But in the end, Randy will do what Randy thinks best.

The speculation in Chicago is Q101 101.1 FM WKQX would drop its Rock Alternative format and switch to all news.  Perhaps as soon as Michael's et al take over during an LMA.  That's expected to happen within 45-days. There are reports that Michaels personally already has secured the domain "FMNews1011.com".

Such a move could force 780 AM WBBM, the market's top-rated and top billing station, parent CBS Radio to start simulcasting on 105.9 FM WCFS (Fresh FM).  Market observers say its underperforming adult-contemporary format.

Veteran market observers believe The Loop 97.9 FM WLUP could retain its Classic Rock format. 

That theory gets some traction, when one considers The Loop's heritage in the market. 

But, it's also worth noting Miarchels usually doesn't 'tweak' stations.  He's known to blow-up and do it his way.

In New York, the future of 101.9 FM WRXP has been tossed into the mosh pit, sez David Hinckley at nydailynews.com.

WRXP has been a contemporary rock station since Feb. 5, 2008, when Emmis terminated its former smooth jazz format. The station has struggled to find an audience in a city not known for rock radio, but in recent months had shown significant ratings gains.

Hinckley reports Leslie Fram, current program director, sezfor now the station will continue rocking. It just announced a rock festival for Sept. 18 at the PNC Bank Center, headlined by Coldplay.

The biggest clue from Merlin about a future format may have been naming Liz Aiello vice president for New York and talk consultant Walt Sabo as radio operations manager for Chicago and NYC.  Both have considerable experience in spoken word formats.

Early speculation is that Merlin might try a talk or news/talk format at 101.9 FM.  There's plenty of All News and Talk in NYC already, but talk on FM could be an attractive flanker for Merlin.  Also, it has been reported that Michaels has also secured a "news" domain for NYC:  "FMNews1019.com".

And apparently Michaels has secured the doman "FMNews939.com", which is the frequency position for Emmis station KXOS in Los Angeles.  Could it be Merlins' next deal?

We will probably know before the summer ends.

TomZTake:  The Merlin management team will soothe the suits concerned about ROI.  How long before we start hearing of programming roles for Lee Abrams, Marc Chase and Randy's other longtime peeps?

Also Read:

ROBERT FEDER, TIMEOUT CHICAGO: Ready or not, it’s showtime for ringmaster Randy again