Austin Radio: 105.3 FM Drops the Fringe For Classic Hits

K287FG 105.3 FM (75 Watts)  Red-Local

Austin is losing The Fringe, but gaining Classic 105.3 T-FM (K287FG) fed via KTAE 1490 AM.

While the Fringe played primarily retro alternative music – Classic 105.3 FM will play, as the name implies, Classic Hits mainly from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, according to well-known Austin broadcaster Bob Cole, one of the founding partners of the Austin Radio Network, the station’s owner.

The changes at the Fringe, which had been on the air for about a year, took effect Monday morning.

“It’ll be all familiar songs that no one else in Austin is playing,” said Cole. “We’re serving all these folks who aren’t getting this anywhere else.”

The changes come after months of monitoring ratings data, Cole told Austin360. “The JB and Sandy Morning Show,” the Fringe’s signature show, did very well with women, he said, but many of those female listeners were heading elsewhere when the show ended. The music the Fringe played the rest of the day drew primarily men, he said.

“It was almost like we were running two different stations on the same frequency,” he said.

As part of the changes, morning co-host Sandy McIlree said Sunday that he has decided to depart. His longtime partner, JB Hager, is sticking around.

The extensive playlist for the new Classic 105.3 FM will include songs from Blondie, Billy Joel, the Eagles, Neil Diamond, Roy Orbison, the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Stevie Wonder and Phil Collins, among others.