Update 5/26: KSJO flipped to Country “92.3 Nash-FM” at 9:23am Monday.
KSJO is launching the new format with 10,000 songs in a row commercial-free. At the end of the commercial free programming, KSJO will begin to rollout the national Nash programming including “America’s Morning Show”, “Nash Nights Live”, and “Kicking It With Kix Brooks”.
Following the end of “U92.3” programming at 9pm last night, KSJO began stunting with Country artists boarding a train from Nashville interspersed with instrumental Nash-FM jingles.
Cumulus announces the acquisition of KSJO and expansion of the NASH Country music and lifestyle brand with NASH FM 92.3 launching as the only Country radio station in the Bay Area. As of today at 9:23 a.m. PT, KSJO is known as NASH FM 92.3 – with the station’s logo, website and on-air promotions using “NASH FM” and “Powered by NASH” language.
NASH FM 92.3 is airing 10,000 songs in a row continuously for about 30 days. NASH FM 92.3 will then begin featuring exclusive NASH programming content including “America’s Morning Show” with Blair Garner, Terri Clark and Chuck Wicks, “NASH Nights Live” with Shawn Parr and Elaina Smith and “Kickin’ It with Kix” with Kix Brooks and Suzanne Alexander. Programming originates from the Nashville NASH campus, the nation’s only multimedia facility devoted solely to producing and distributing content based on the Country music lifestyle, including radio programming, TV/videos, magazines and events.
“San Francisco is an important market for Cumulus as we continue expanding the NASH brand nationally to meet the increasing demand for Country music programming,” said John Dickey, Executive Vice President and Co-COO of Cumulus. “We look forward to providing Bay Area listeners and advertisers with fresh NASH content and unique advertising opportunities in this top five market.”
Cumulus created the NASH entertainment brand based on the Country music lifestyle in January 2013 starting with the flagship “America’s Country Station” NASH FM 94.7 in New York City. In addition to Country format radio stations, the NASH brand will include concerts, events, online content, television programming, product licensing and a NASH magazine.
Original Report 5/23: RadioInsight has learned that Cumulus will soon be bringing the Country “Nash-FM” brand to the San Francisco/San Jose markets.
Last month Universal Media Access informed the brokered programmers of “U92.3” KSJO San Jose that it was giving them a thirty-day termination notice as the station was to be sold to an unnamed bidder. The programming schedule on the KSJO website is blank past Sunday, May 25.
We have not yet confirmed whether Nash-FM will appear on 92.3 or if there will be a frequency swap involving one of Cumulus’ other stations in the San Francisco market. The 92.3 San Jose signal serves the San Jose area and rimshots San Francisco (Coverage Map).
Nash-FM will compete in the South Bay with Empire Broadcasting’s 95.3 KRTY Los Gatos, which usually resides near the top of the San Jose ratings. It ranked sixth in the market with a 5.0 share in the April 2014 Nielsen Audio PPM ratings, but as recently as February led the market with a 6.5 share.
I don’t get why they don’t go KNBR-FM on 92.3 along with 107.7.
KNBR has a big signal and big ratings, plus it benefits from being on AM because of the Bay Area’s hilly terrain. This isn’t New York where WFAN added an FM to keep up with ESPN Radio.
Can KSJO-92.3 move their transmitter to a site ten or twelve miles north of San Jose??
That would give the station a much better signal in San Francisco and Oakland.
From the standpoint of market penetration, that makes sense. At the same time, every country station that has been based in the SF market in the past 15 years moved from country to other formats. San Jose has maintained one country station that entire time. That might say something about the audience.
Also, from doing bandscans while roaming around, KSJO had a pretty strong signal in the North Bay all the way to Ukiah. Its out of their market, but worth noting.
How about increasing their power from 32kw to 50kw.
I don’t know if either is possible. At the very least, they are mutually exclusive suggestions.
To increase power 92.3 would have to move to a lower elevation. (I thought everyone knew that by now.)
To move farther north might result in a lower ERP as well, depending on where (and I’m not sure there is a logistically-possible “where”) you moved to.
KSJO 92.3 used to be 50kw/142m, right now they are 32kw/136m. They can increase their power to 50kw from their current site. Their current site also shares it antenna with KSJS 90.5, KBAY 94.5, and KEZR 106.5 on Coyote Peak.
Does the station’s announcement mean that there will be nothing local and 100% national “Nash FM” programming??
No Live, no local, no jobs, no revenue. Asshat Dickey went to, what was it, Princeton? Great business model.