Atlanta Radio: PD Mark Richards Out At WKHX

Mark Richards, one of the longest-running program directors in Atlanta, is out at country station  WKHX Kicks 101.5 FM.

According to Rodney Ho at ajc.com, he survived two regime changes.

He joined the station early 2003 when ABC owned Kicks, survived the switch to Citadel in 2007, then lasted another 16 months under the latest Cumulus ownership change.

While the station has been the dominant country station in Atlanta for much of the past decade, 94.9/The Bull has given Kicks a serious kick in the rear the past six years.

For a brief time, the Bull even pulled ahead of Kicks. But for the most part, Kicks had kept an edge among older listeners while the Bull does better among younger country music fans.

Ho cites Arbitron calculations he did, Kicks averaged a 3.7 share while the Bull averaged 3.3 in 2012, excluding the final three weeks of the year. Among 25 to 54 year olds, Kicks averaged 3.9, ahead of the Bull at 3.5. Among 18 to 34 year olds, the Bull averaged 3.94, just barely edging Kicks’ 3.9. Cadillac Jack and Dallas McCade at Kicks won the 25-54 battle in mornings in 2012, but Jason Pullman and Kristen Gates at the Bull won among 18 to 34 year olds.

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