New Era: Fox Sports 1 To Launch August

Officially Debuts in Over 90 Million Homes

Today, FOX Sports Media Group (FSMG) makes television history, officially unveiling plans to launch a new, national, multi-sport network called FOX Sports 1. The announcement  was made by FSMG Co-Presidents and COOs Randy Freer and Eric Shanks. Set to debut on  Saturday, Aug. 17, just as FOX Sports kicks off its 20th anniversary year, FS1 is available in over  90 million homes, making this the biggest sports cable network launch in history, and one of the  largest network launches ever. At the outset, FS1 boasts nearly 5,000 hours of live event, news  and original programming annually.

“Our ‘secret,’ admittedly a very poorly kept one, is now revealed,” said Shanks. “Fans are ready  for an alternative to the establishment, and our goal for FS1 is to provide the best in-game  experience possible, complemented by informative news, entertaining studio shows and  provocative original programming.”

A robust schedule of live events forms the backbone of FOX Sports 1’s programming from Day 1,  with college basketball, college football, NASCAR, soccer and UFC all on tap between launch  and year’s end. In fact, the schedule on Aug. 17 features live events morning, noon and night  including a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race from Michigan and “UFC on FS1 1” in  prime time. In 2014, FSMG’s new rights agreement with MLB takes effect, bringing regular and  postseason games to FS1.

FOX Sports 1 Programming Highlights

• COLLEGE BASKETBALL – Dozens of exclusive prime time games on Monday and Thursday nights, plus Saturday and Sunday coverage of the Big 12, Pac-12 and Conference USA.

• COLLEGE FOOTBALL – Led by Notre Dame at Stanford, the Big Ten Championship Game and Pac-12 Championship Game (2014) on FOX, dozens of exclusive, live games from the Pac-12, Big 12 and Conference USA on Thursday nights and Saturdays; triple-and quadruple-headers on Saturdays; Saturday pre- and postgame coverage.

• MLB – Beginning in 2014, select League Championship Series and Division Series games; regular-season games over 26 Saturdays; live game-in-progress look-in show.

• NASCAR – Select NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races as soon as 2015; NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races; NASCAR Sprint All-Star race; all Speedweeks events  leading up to the Daytona 500 including: Daytona 500 Qualifying, Sprint Unlimited at  Daytona (2014, 2017-22) and the Budweiser Duel, now in prime time; NASCAR Sprint  Cup Series and NCWTS Practice and Qualifying sessions; NASCAR RaceDay, providing  pre- and post-race coverage; NASCAR Victory Lane, a weekly wrap-up show; and Race  Hub, a daily mid-day studio show with the latest from drivers, owners and garages.

• SOCCER – Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday afternoon coverage of the world’s most prolific  club soccer competitions, the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, and CONCACAF Champions League featuring many of the world’s greatest and most  successful clubs; the world’s oldest soccer competition, the FA Cup; CONCACAF Gold  Cup; CONCACAF Qualifiers, FIFA Women’s World Cup coverage in 2015 and 2019; FIFA  Men’s World Cup coverage in 2018 and 2022; delayed matches in prime time; weekly  magazine and highlights shows.

• UFC – Featured on Wednesday nights; live FIGHT NIGHTS through 2014, the first is scheduled for launch night, Saturday, Aug. 17; FOX event preliminary cards; UFC Tonight, the weekly authority for UFC news and information; 14 Saturday pay-per-view preliminary cards; hundreds of hours of library programs and events.

Regis Philbin

In addition to live events and studio programs, FS1 introduces FOX SPORTS LIVE, a 24/7 news  franchise providing around-the-clock coverage through regularly scheduled programs, hourly  updates and an information-rich ticker that provides a network agnostic sports event television  schedule. Thousands of hours of news programming are expected annually from newly minted  sets including a nightly program at 11:00 PM ET or immediately following events. A morning  newscast is expected to launch in January 2014 in conjunction with FSMG’s expansive coverage  of Super Bowl XLVIII.

Complementing FS1’s live events and news coverage at launch are several original programs,  highlighted by RUSH HOUR, hosted by Regis Philbin, airing live weekdays (5:00-6:00 PM ET).  Originating in New York City, Regis leads the charge along with a panel of sports professionals,  celebrity guests and die-hard fans in this brand new, unpredictable, talk show. 

Lincoln Radio: KX 96.9 FM Cleans House, Shuffles Shifts

Three Eagles Communications cleaned house Tuesday at radio station KX 96.9 KZKX 96.9 FM, releasing three personalities and relaunching the station’s format.

The Lincoln Star-Journal reports gone are morning show co-hosts Keith Cornelius, who worked on air as Keith Allan, Mick “The Sidekick” Kovar and midday host Kelly Garrett.

Three Eagles is moving morning show co-host Carol Turner to sister station KFOR 1240 AM, where she will work middays. She will replace Jill St. James, who has been moved to the newsroom.

KX 96.9 has rebranded itself “New Country KX 96.9” and will play new and current country music from young stars such as Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift, Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood.

“New country is the fastest-growing format in the country,” said Rob Kelley, the new operations manager at Three Eagles who also will host afternoons (3 to 7 p.m.) at KX 96.9.

Kelley returns to the Lincoln radio market from Fort Wayne, Ind. He was a former operations manager at Broadcast House when it was owned by Triad Broadcasting, leaving in 2003 after three years here.

KX 96.9 Program Director James “JP” Kyhn has moved from afternoons to mornings (5:30 to 10 a.m.), where he soon will be paired with newcomer Ally Morgan. The other new voice is Brian George, who once worked as “Al G” at crosstown rival Froggy 98 KFGE 98.1 FM. George will work 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The changes come almost a year after the last major shake-up at the country station. Last March, the station reunited Cornelius, Turner and Kovar on the morning show and rebranded itself as “Proud Country KX 96.9 FM,” playing songs from the 1990s with today’s hits.

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Holy Moses! The Bible Has Solid Ratings

Holy Moses: The first installment of History's miniseries The Bible debuted to divine Nielsen numbers Sunday, drawing a whopping 13.1 million viewers from 8 to 10 p.m.

According to the vulture.com, that's more than any show on broadcast or cable Sunday, and the biggest entertainment telecast on cable so far this year. It even beat AMC's megahit The Walking Dead, which drew 11.3 million viewers at 9 p.m.

And it also boosted History's new series Vikings to a very solid debut audience of 6.2 million viewers at 10 p.m., making it the most-watched series premiere of a cable show so far in 2013.

One caveat for The Bible: Of its 13.1 million viewers, only about one third (4.1 million) were in the advertiser-coveted demo of adults under 50. By contrast, The Walking Dead drew 7.7 million viewers in the key demo. Nonetheless, The Bible's 4.1 million adults under 50 translates into a 3.3 demo rating, which is bigger than anything that aired on network TV Sunday.

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Chicago Radio: Kelly Mac OUT At WVAZ-FM , WGCI-FM

Kelly Mac

Kelly Mac, who has been midday host of WVAZ-FM/V103 and the Assistant Program Director of WGCI-FM only since last December 3rd, has already been released.

Chicago Radio & Media is reporting no specific public reason is being given for the abrupt exit after only four months on the job.

On November 21st last year, the Chicago offices of Clear Channel Media + Entertainment were happy to announce the hiring of Kelly Mac. She was hired to replace Kris Kelley, who exited her roles as midday host of WVAZ-FM and Assistant Program Director of WGCI-FM to take over as the new Program Director for WKSC-FM and WGCI-FM in late October.

Kelly Mac came to Chicago from Clear Channel Philadelphia's WUSL-FM and WDAS-FM, where she has been the Assistant Program Director and Music Director since February 2011. It was her first time working in Chicago and the largest market she has worked in.

No replacement for Kelly Mac has been named.

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Birmingham Radio: PD Ryan Haney Is Back Where He Started

Ryan Haney, the former WJOX 94.5 FM program director who left that station six weeks ago to join sports-talk rival ESPN 97.3 The Zone, returned to WJOX Monday following a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by Citadel Broadcasting, according to a story at al.com.

Haney, who had been with WJOX since 1998 and had been its program director since 2004, left the station on Jan. 21, and he started work at 97.3 The Zone a week later.

However, after Citadel Broadcasting, Haney's employer at WJOX, filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit, U.S. District Court Judge David Proctor on Feb. 7 granted a temporary restraining order barring Haney from working for 97.3 The Zone until more evidence could be heard in the case.

The breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by Citadel claimed that Haney had a no-compete clause in his contract that prohibited him from working for another radio station in the Birmingham market for a year after leaving WJOX.

Citadel is a subsidiary of Cumulus Media, which purchased Citadel and WJOX after Haney's contract expired.

Haney coincidentally left WJOX the same day sports-talk ratings leader Alabama Radio icon Paul Finebaum's contract with the station expired. Finebaum, who had worked at WJOX for six years, has been off Birmingham radio since Jan. 21.

The Cox Media Group, which owns WZNN 97.3 The Zone, has been aggressively pursuing Finebaum since that station came on the air in August 2011.

Cumulus, the new owner of WJOX, has 90 days from the time Finebaum's contract expired to match any offer from a competing station, and Finebaum is not expected to make a move until those 90 days are up.

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Miami Radio: Sports WQAM Fires Dan Sileo

The WQAM 560 AM sports talk host Dan Sileo, who began his stint in South Florida last April, has been fired.

Sileo's rant following Miami's September loss to Kansas State went viral on YouTube and extinguished most favor with the Miami fan base. WQAM is the Miami Hurricanes Radio Network's flagship station.

“We parted ways with him and we wish him well,’’ program director Jorge Sedano told The Miami Herald, adding that Kevin Rogers and Brandon Guzio will temporarily fill that slot until a permanent replacement is found.

John “The Freak” Renshaw, a Saturday host on WQAM and occasional weekday fill-in, is believed to be a front-runner to replace Sileo in the 10am to 1pm slot.

Want to thank the Folks at WQAM for having me...We differ on content...WISH them WELL and GOOD LUCK..I WILL NEVER CHANGE!!!!
— BONECRUSHERDan Sileo (@DanSileoShow) March 4, 2013

Sileo was suspended for two days in January after posting on Twitter a series of sexist insults about Fox broadcaster Erin Andrews, including, “Love Erin Andrews either naked or in a porn. Not at a sports desk.”

Sileo came to WQAM after leaving Tampa's WDAE-AM last March. Sileo resigned after he called three black NFL free agents "monkeys."

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Review: Lisle’s Comeback In San Antonio

John Lisle returned to morning radio Monday in top irreverent form, writes Jeanne Jakle at mysanantonio.com. (See original posting, Click Here). She describes Lisale first show as 'clever and cheeky'.

He skewered Dennis Rodman for wining and dining with Kim Jong Un in North Korea, blasted the “cuss word” that is 1604; and raged about society paying attention “to trivial junk like side boobs,” rather than what’s really going on.

In other words, he was as cheeky as ever during his new 6-to-10 a.m. gig on KZEP 104.5 FM — even minus his longtime KISS-FM buddy Steve Hahn ().

In between classic rock tunes on the station’s “commercial-free” Monday, Lisle played a sound bite in Latin to illustrate how it would be “if the Pope Emeritus were part of the morning show.”

He also treated everyone to a truly memorable one-liner from Bill Maher. It was in response to President Obama’s quote about not able to do “a Jedi mind meld” on Congress. Maher mentioned  how the “geekosphere” was up in arms over the president mixing terms from “Star Wars” and “Star Trek,” and quipped: “These guys are experts in every world except the real one.”

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Houston Radio: Sports Talk KGOW Shuffles

John Granato, a morning drive-time fixture on Houston sports talk radio for 15 years, will move to afternoon drive time with on-air partner Sean Pendergast beginning next Monday on Sportsradio KGOW 1560 AM, according to Dave Barron at The Houston Chronicle.

Granato and Pendergast will work from 3 to 7 p.m., filling the spot held since last August by former KPRC-TV sportscaster Adam Clanton and John Wessling, who have worked their last show and are no longer with the station.

Steve Czaban, the morning drive host on KGOW owner David Gow’s Yahoo Sports Radio Network, will now air in morning drive on KGOW, followed by the “Dan Patrick Show” from Premiere Radio Networks from from 8 until 11 a.m. John Harris, an original member of the KGOW lineup, will work from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Gow said Pendergast and Granato, who was the longtime morning host at KILT (610 AM) before moving to KGOW, will host their show frequently from restaurants and sports bars in an effort to promote visibility and revenue for the station.

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Aussie Ratings: Hoax Prankster 2DAY FM Unscathed

There's no such thing as bad publicity they say, and so it seems for 2DayFM.

The 2Day network has bounced back after having been tarred and feathered for its on-air royal prank, which dominated headlines for weeks in December and led to an advertising hiatus in the immediate aftermath.

According to a story at smh.com.au, the latest radio survey results break across the event, covering the period from October 28 to December 1, 2012 as well as January 20 to February 23 this year. They show 2DayFM increasing its market share by 0.9 per cent overall and by 0.7 per cent in its crucial Kyle and Jackie O Show Breakfast slot.

The network would seem to have benefited from the scandal, which commenced with the prank call on 4th December, being played out in the ratings hiatus over Christmas and New Year's. 2Day did record a slight (0.1 per cent) drop in the Evenings slot in which the prank was conducted, however this was more than compensated for by big jumps in the Morning (1.8 per cent), Afternoon (1.5 per cent) and Drive (0.7 per cent) slots.

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Get Well: Don Pardo Misses SNL

Don Pardo

The 95-year-old longtime voice of "Saturday Night Live" was forced to miss the March 2 show because of his health problems.

Saturday Night Live announcer Don Pardo is doing fine and remains with the show after suffering a broken hip, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Pardo, 95, was forced to skip the Kevin Hart-hosted show this past Saturday because of his health issues, TMZ reported.

Pardo has intro-ed the NBC comedy stalwart since its premiere in 1975 for all seasons but one, from 1981-1982.

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Boston Radio: Rich Shertenlieb's Wife Cancer Free

Rich Shertenlieb

Rich Shertenlieb, mornings at WBZ-FM 98.5 FM The Sports Hub Boston, and family received some great news last week.

Just 16 days after Rich’s wife Mary was diagnosed with AML – a form of Leukemia – she is now cancer-free.

“I got a call after I went home (from the hospital) at 5 p.m., and my wife is crying. A doctor came in and said the chemo worked, and she is cancer free and is now officially in remission,” Rich said Friday morning.

“Sixteen days after showing up with what they said was one of the highest blast cell counts they’ve ever witnessed, she is cancer-free.”

Toucher & Rich related the good news to listeners Friday morning.

LISTEN TO AUDIO: Click Here.

“There have been so many emails, so many friends that have cooked meals and brought them to the house, picked up Hank from school, family members by my side the entire time. This is really giving me strength,” she said. “Everybody has been so helpful and so supportive I really feel that’s what has given me the strength to fight this.”

“I asked a nurse how rare this is, like someone is in remission this quick. She said of the 10 years she’s been in this unit she remembers one case that was close to this,” said Rich. “When I first got there, they said the one pro about AML is that it attacks so violently and so quick, if you attack just as violently and quick with the chemo it, for some reason, responds really, really well.”

“Boy you want to talk about really, really well: Cancer-free in 16 days. In my opinion that is truly a miracle,” said Rich.

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R.I.P.: R&B Singer Jewel Akens Was 79

Jewel Akens, whose song "The Birds and the Bees" vaulted him into short-lived fame in the mid-1960s, died Friday of complications from back surgery at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, CA. said his wife, Eddie Mae.

He was 79.

According to the LA Times obit, Akens began his career in the late 1950s, working with Eddie Daniels and guitar legend Eddie Cochran, and later recorded singles with the Four Dots doo-wop group.

In 1965, he was singing with an ensemble called the Turnarounds when record producer Herb Newman brought them "The Birds and the Bees," written by his teenage son. The rest of the group disliked the tune, but Akens decided to record it solo.

It became an instant hit, rising to the No. 3 spot on the Billboard pop chart in 1965.

None of Akens' later singles enjoyed the success of "The Birds and the Bees," but he went on to tour with the Monkees in the 1970s and performed into his 70s.

Jewel Eugene Akens was born Sept. 12, 1933, in Houston, the seventh of nine children in a working-class family. He became interested in music early in life, singing for the church choir as a child.

In 1950, Akens moved with his family from Texas to Los Angeles, where he graduated from Fremont High School.

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R.I.P.: Lois Haddon Sunbury, PA Broadcasting Corp.

A well-known Pennsylvania media figure has passed away.

Lois Haddon was chairwoman of the Sunbury Broadcasting Corporation, and a volunteer in her community.

Employees at Sunbury Broadcasting Corporation near Shamokin Dam delivered the sad news that their chairwoman, Lois Haddon died.

“Haddon passed away at Nottingham Village in Northumberland, surrounded by her four children. She was 87,” Sara Bartlett told WNEP-TV.

Lois Haddon and her family have operated Sunbury Broadcasting Corporation for about 80 years. Lois served as the company’s chairwoman for the past decade.

Employees say Lois had a big impact on the company, which has five radio stations in Central Pennsylvania. Program Director Drew Kelly says Lois never missed an event for the company.

“It’s not always that you get to see your chairwoman of the board or owners at the events, but she did come to them and treat us like family,” Kelly said.

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CRS 2013 Concludes With Industry Awards

The CRS 2013 concluded Friday with the awarding of the Country Aircheck Awards.

And the winners are:

• Small Market Personality/ Show - Dex & Mo, WUSY / Chattanooga
• Small Market Music Director - Bill Poindexter, WUSY / Chattanooga
• Independent Record Promotion Team or Promotion Executive - New Revolution
• Small Market OM/PD - Gator Harrison, WUSY / Chattanooga
• Small Market Market Manager/ General Manger - Jared Stehney, WUSY / Chattanooga

• Medium Market Personality/ Show - Scott Wynn & Sue Wilson, WQMX / Akron
• Medium Market Music Director - Kix Layton, WSSL / Greenville
• Record Label Regional Director or Manager of Promotion - Jeff Davis, Big Machine
• Medium Market OM/PD - Mike Hammond, WCYQ / Knoxville
• Medium Market Market Manager/General Manger - Mel Owens, KUZZ / Bakersfield

• Large Market Personality/Show - Mike Kennedy, Jillian Gregg & Zeke Montana, KBEQ / Kansas City
• Large Market Music Director - Angie Ward, WTQR / Greensboro
• Record Label National DIrector/Promotion - Josh Easler, RCA
• National/ Syndicated Personality/Show - Country Countdown USA with Lon Helton
• Large Market OM/PD - Don Gosselin, WNOE/ New Orleans
• Large Market Market Manager / General Manager - Charlie Morgan, WLHK / Indianapolis

• Major Market Personality/Show - Lisa Dent & Ramblin' Ray, WUSN / Chicago
• Major Market Music Director - Ginny Rogers, WKLB / Boston
• Gold Record Label - Broken Bow
• Record Label VP/ Promotion - Jack Purcell / Big Machine
• Major Market OM/PD - Mike Brophey, WKLB / Boston
• Major Market Market Manager/ General Manager - Mick Anselmo, KMNB / Minneapolis

• Small Market Station - WUSY / Chattanooga
• Medium Market Station - WAMZ / Louisville
• New Face of Country Professional - Jeff Kapugi, WUSN / Chicago
• Platinum Record Label - Big Machine
• Large Market Station - KAJA / San Antonio
• Major Market Station - WUSN / Chicago