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Wednesday, February 18, 2009

UPDATED: It's Official, FM Talk Dies This Friday, To Be Replaced By Amp Radio



Here's the press release from CBS Radio:

"97.1 AMP RADIO," A COMPLETELY INTEGRATED ON-AIR, ONLINE, ON-SITE AND MOBILE AUDIO DESTINATION, LAUNCHES ON FRIDAY, FEB. 20

CBS RADIO Diversifies Programming Offerings In Los Angeles With Debut Of Top 40 Radio Station Targeting Young Adults

Amp Radio Experience To Feature Most Popular Current Artists, Interactive Website, Ability to Create Artist Specific Online Radio Stations, Mobile Applications And More


On Friday, Feb. 20 at 5:00PM, PT, Los Angeles listeners, and hundreds of thousands more across the country, will be introduced to CBS RADIO's newest radio station, 97.1 AMP RADIO. Playing "All the Hits," AMP RADIO will combine the power of its on-air position with myriad online and digital applications creating a full 360 degree audio and visual experience for young adults.

Available on-air at 97.1 FM in Los Angeles and online at www.ampradio.com, AMP RADIO will debut with the broadcast of 10,000 songs in a row with limited commercial interruption from artists such as Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Rihanna, T.I., Kanye West, Usher, Britney, Pink, Kelly Clarkson, and Katy Perry, among others.

Complementing the station will be an array of events and concerts, an extensive online destination with blogs, music videos, widgets, photo galleries, celebrity gossip reports, in-depth artist pages, an embeddable and multi-functional streaming player, and a platform to create artist centric radio stations. Fans of the station can also stay connected through instant messaging, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and other social networking sites, as well as wirelessly via texting, and applications for the iPhone, and select Blackberry devices.

AMP RADIO originally debuted in February 2008 as an online entity and HD 2 station on CBS RADIO’s KCBS-FM in Los Angeles.

"Creating a successful radio station not only means focusing on what you hear over the air – it's that, yet it's so much more and as evidenced by what we're announcing today the possibilities are endless," said Kevin Weatherly, Senior Vice President, Programming, CBS RADIO and architect of the AMP RADIO format. The award-winning program director of KROQ-FM and KCBS-FM (Jack FM) will handle all on-air and creative aspects of the station.

"Incubating AMP RADIO online and on HD 2 allowed us to experiment with different ideas, build brand loyalty, and analyze listener feedback. We saw immediately the impact of the evolution of the station and watched the online audience steadily increase each month. In addition to that, PPM has shown us there are a significant number of younger listeners who are seeking out this type of programming and incorporating radio into their daily lives more than we ever thought."

Added Dan Weiner, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, CBS RADIO Los Angeles, "Launching this format, and the way in which we execute it across several different platforms, expands dramatically what we can offer advertisers. And just as important, we're providing an alternative listening option for a dynamic sector of the Los Angeles population. Collectively, our portfolio of stations will now boast a significant share of the male and female audience of listeners ranging in age from 12+."

No word yet on the fate of KLSX hosts such as Adam Carolla or Tom Leykis. Could Carolla end up as the first live DJ on Jack FM? Would Leykis make the move to KFWB, should CBS Radio fully dump that station's news format (it's already moving to a more entertainment-centric news format)? Or will they wind up on non-CBS stations? A lot more to come...

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