The relaunch promo for Connoisseur’s relaunched “KUFO” Portland talks about the day that “the suits” blew up the original Active Rock station in 2011, after more than two decades of somehow flying under the radar. At that moment, AM news/talk or sports outlets moving on to the frequency of otherwise viable FMs was still a rare occurrence, but the ongoing success of KXL-FM seems to have borne that decision out.
Now, KUFO has returned on KINK-HD2, the former frequency of Hip-Hop “We 102.9.” The move follows the station’s Groundhog Day stunting with Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe” and another day of the Star Wars score. The station is now “not dead, just loud” according to one sweeper.
Connoisseur has been aggressive about launching new rock stations since closing on former Portland owner Alpha Media. It currently operates three Active Rock reporting outlets. The change also throws elbows at Audacy’s Classic Rock KGON and Alternative KNRK (as well as iHR’s Alt 102.3 translator). So the change isn’t surprising in that regard.
During the stunting, one Facebook comment predicted a group move away from Hip-Hop. I wouldn’t expect to see that in successful Connoisseur R&B/Hip-Hop markets like Dayton, Ohio, or Louisville, Ky. But We 102.9 had an 0.2 at the end, and the change further highlights the challenges of Hip-Hop in markets like Portland and Seattle where it was once dominant. In Seattle, no station has filled the current Hip-Hop void since KUBE’s departure four years ago. In Portland, throwbacks outlet KXJM (Jam’n 107.9) now has a similar monopoly.
In its first hour, it sounded like the revived KUFO might land on the cusp of Alternative and Active Rock. The first current played was the Paradox’s “Get the Message,” receiving airplay in both formats, but a bigger Alt song so far. As the day went on, the station was covering most of the Active Rock bases.
Here’s KUFO at 11 a.m., February 4:
- Metallica, “Nothing Else Matters”
- Van Halen, “Jamie’s Crying”
- Foo Fighters, “All My Life”
- All Time Low f/Blackbear, “Monsters”
- Alice in Chains, “Rooster”
- Offspring, “Gotta Get Away”
- Turnstile, “Look Out for Me”
- Godsmack, “I Stand Alone”
- Weezer, “Say It Ain’t So”
- Linkin Park, “Breaking the Habit”
- Scorpions, “No One Like You”
- Sum 41, “In Too Deep”
- Sublime, “Santeria”
