Update 8/23: “107.7 The Franchise” KRXO will make its debut on Monday at 2:00pm.
In addition to the morning shows announced previously, Tyler Media has announced the remaining details of the station’s lineup.
Former Oklahoma University and Baltimore Ravens Defensive Tackle Kelly Gregg and former “610 The Sports Animal” KNML Albuquerque Afternoon Host Eric Gee will be teamed for an 11am to 3pm show. University of Central Oklahoma PBP announcer David Garrett will co-host afternoons with another former Sooner, in this case former DT Tony Casillas. The station will air a mix of play-by-play and NBC Sports Radio network programming from 7pm to 5am.
Update 8/16: The Sports format of “107.7 The Franchise” KRXO will debut on Monday, August 25.
Update 8/14: As 104.5 K283BW has signed-on and begun simulcasting KRXO, more details are coming to light regarding the new Sports station set to launch any day now.
The station will be branded as “107.7 The Franchise“. Mornings will be hosted by two of the former “Morning Animals” at Cumulus’ 98.1 WWLS, Mike Stelly and Jay ‘Lump’ Lynch. They will be joined by Oklahoman writer John Rohde, who most recently served as the paper’s beat writer for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Sam Mayes, a former Oklahoma State football player who also recently worked at WWLS will host from 9-11am. No other timeslots have leaked out yet.
While no date for the launch has been announced, it will happen in time for the first Oklahoma Sooners football game on August 31.
Original Report 7/10: After 25+ years in the Classic Rock format, Tyler Media’s 107.7 KRXO Oklahoma City will flip to Sports in August.
The station, which already serves as co-flagship of Oklahoma University sports with sister News/Talk 1520 KOKC, will have 15 hours of local programming daily from 6am to 9pm. The rest of the station’s lineup will be filled by programming from NBC Sports Radio as well as NFL play-by-play packages including Monday and Thursday night football plus multiple games on Sundays.
A shift to Sports will place it in competition with Cumulus’ “The Sports Animal” 98.1 WWLS-FM as well as a few AM’s and rimshots airing mainly network programming. By taking on WWLS-FM, Tyler Media may be doing so by raiding its staff. Different sources in the market peg WWLS-FM morning co-host Mike Steely, midday host Mark Rodgers, and afternoon host Jim Traber as potentially crossing the street to KRXO.
The existing Classic Rock format will not be discarded altogether. It will relocate to Tyler’s soon to launch 104.5 K283BW. The 250 watt translator will cover all of Oklahoma City via KRXO-HD2. The majority of the airstaff is expected to make the move to 104.5 with the station.
In the Winter 2013 ratings, KRXO registered a 2.7 share, well down from its 4.8 in Summer 2012. WWLS-FM was tied for second in the Winter with a 5.2 share. The downgrading of KRXO’s programming to a translator should also help sister Classic Hits 92.5 KOMA.