Houston Radio: Rich Lord, Mike Meltser EXIT 610 KILT

Rich Lord

Rich Lord, one of the longest-tenured voices on Houston radio, and colleague Mike Meltser were informed Thursday that they will no longer appear on sports talk station KILT 610 AM, signaling major lineup changes as the station seeks to reverse a lingering ratings downturn, according to The Houston Chronicle.

With the departure of Lord and Meltser, who hosted in afternoon and morning drive time, respectively, the station announced the hiring of former Atlanta sports talk show host and NBA TV host Rick Kamla and former NFL quarterback Clint Stoerner.

Kamla and Stoerner will host in afternoon drive, and Lord's former afternoon co-host, Sean Pendergast, will move into the morning drive time slot alongside former Texans defensive lineman Seth Payne that was vacated by Meltser's departure.

Mike Meltser

“Rich did an incredible job for nearly two and a half decades on SportsRadio 610,” said Sarah Frazier, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Entercom Houston.

“As one of the first announcers on Houston’s first all-sports talk station, he has played an instrumental role in building this heritage station and will always be an integral part of its legacy. We’re thankful for his work ethic and contributions to the station over the years and wish him the best. He will always be a treasured player of SportsRadio 610.”

“My time at SportsRadio 610 has been the most rewarding, fulfilling and satisfying experience of my professional life,” shared Rich Lord.

“I’ll forever be grateful to Dickie Rosenfeld for bringing me aboard in 1995. My time here has meant so much to me and my family that the biggest emotion that I feel right now is gratitude. I came here in my 30’s, I’m leaving in my 60’s. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

Meltser, a recent graduate of the University of Houston Law Center, joined KILT in 2010.

"I was concerned that this (his departure) might happen," Meltser said. "Our job on the radio is to criticize people if the results aren't good, and our results against (other Houston sports talk stations) have not been great the last couple of months. So I respect their decision."