June 20 Radio History

➦In 1982…WCBM 680 AM Baltimore announced it was switching from adult contemporary to news/talk. KEZL 102.9 FM in San Diego dropped Shulke II (The automated vocal/lite AC service) in favor of adult contemporary.

➦In 1982….ABC Radio officially killed its much-promoted “SuperRadio” satellite fed A/C format. The network was due to premiere July 1. The DJ lineup was completed only a few weeks ago when Jack Spector, Bob Dayton and Steve York were signed for weekends.  A lack of affiliates has been cited – with only three-full time stations ready to go.

➦In 1996…Westinghouse Electric Corp., then the largest operator of radio stations in the U.S., agreed to acquire radio giant Infinity Broadcasting Corp. in a stock transaction the two companies valued at about $3.9 billion.

The combination of the largest and second-largest radio-station groups in the U.S. would create a powerhouse in the top 10 radio markets and a company with gross advertising billings of close to $1 billion, roughly three times the size of its next largest competitor. It is unclear whether the combination would raise antitrust concerns.

Mel Karmazin, the founder of Infinity, was chosen to lead the management of Westinghouse's radio business. The move by Mr. Karmazin -- whose company grew through acquisitions over a 24-year period -- stunned the radio industry, which all along has assumed Mr. Karmazin was a buyer, not a seller.

A combination of Westinghouse/CBS and Infinity Broadcasting's stations would create a giant radio combination totaling 83 stations. The newly combined company would also be a colossus in the top 10 markets, where it would own six stations in New York City and command 35% to 40% of the market's radio billings. In Los Angeles, Westinghouse/CBS/Infinity would also own six stations, grabbing 30% to 35% of the market's radio advertising revenue.

Infinity Broadcasting was founded by Mr. Karmazin and other partners in 1972 with the purchase of KONE-FM in San Jose, Calif.  Infinity has embarked on an aggressive acquisition strategy since last fall, when it bought seven radio stations from Alliance Broadcasting for $275 million; an outdoor advertising company, TDI Worldwide Inc., for $300 million; and signed an agreement to buy 12 radio stations owned by Granum Holdings Inc. for $410 million.

Ken Rank

➦In 2004…Radio, TV Personality Ken Rank died at age 66 in a Tulsa hospital, after suffering complications from a lung transplant. After serving five years in the Navy as a medic, he began his career as a radio disc jockey in Fort Smith at KTCS Radio. Rank worked at various radio stations including KRMG in Tulsa, where he was voted one of the top disc jockeys in the United States by Broadcast Magazine.

Rank became a weather forecaster in 1983. Ken was also known for being the spokesperson for several northwest Arkansas businesses.  After working 10 years as a weather man, Ken left to start his own company, VideoBase, a video production company.

➦In 2006...News Anchor Dan Rather reached agreement with CBS News to leave the network after 44 years. He later accepted an offer from Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to do a weekly news program for Cuban’s HDNet cable channel.