First Listen: Brooke v. Jubal

We haven’t had much in the way of “radio wars” in recent years. Industry consolidation and contractions wiped a lot out a lot of the old ferocity between stations. Sometimes there are flashes in whichever format is hot enough to have two stations in a market — top 40 a decade ago; hip-hop and country in recent times. But you’re less likely to hear two country stations trying to own the same “Secret Sound” contest if you’re less likely to hear two stations in local contesting to begin with.

So please turn your attention to the morning battle for Seattle. A year ago, Radioinsight reported that iHeartMedia had registered multiple domains for some version of Jubal & Alex, an early inkling that the successful Brooke [Fox] & Jubal [Fresh] show syndicated from CHR KQMV (Movin’ 92.5) Seattle was breaking up, or that co-host Jubal and wife Alex might end up as on-air partners. In April, Fresh officially left after an extended absence, and the show became Brooke & Jeffrey, promoting executive producer Jeffrey Dubrow. In August, Fresh returned on rival KBKS (Kiss 106.1), which became Hits 106.1.

Over the course of nearly a decade together, Brooke & Jubal became radio’s last phenomenal new morning show, successful not just outside the market, but in other formats. At a time when morning shows were driven more by personalities than bits, Brooke & Jubal was also a very successful brief for traditional morning show benchmarks and bits, including the “Second Date Update,” which became as ubiquitous in mornings during the ‘10s as phony phone calls.

With neither party having much incentive to radically alter the structure, that has led to a head-to-head battle of the sort we haven’t seen much these days — at least in the hour monitored. I did a “First Listen” to each of the new(ish) shows in the 7 a.m. hour on Monday, Sept. 14. 

Here’s Brooke & Jeffrey on Movin’ 92.5:

7:02 – Both shows are running only one stopset bridging the hours; this one ends with an endorsement spot for T-Mobile. They tease the “Free Money Phone Tap” at 7:20. There’s a quick twisted-history bit about inventions (“then there was the Ferris wheel, invented by Ferris Bueller … on his day off”) that leads to how they still use an old-school answering machine to bring you the messages coming up on “The Loser Line.” Followed by two songs. (Break time: approximately 1:20).

7:10 – “The Loser Line” – A weekly feature: four phone messages from creepy guys, including the man  from the indoor rock-climbing place who’s scared of heights outdoors, the caller who wants to roleplay as a secret agent (“remember to dye your hair red”), the guy who wants to assure you that any women you might have seen on his Snapchat screen “are just my cousins … they send me their boobs.” Tease to the upcoming phone tap. Followed by one song. (6:34)

7:20 – “Free Money Phone Tap” – “You’ve been waiting for it all morning.” Brooke leads the prank phone call. A local nursery calls to scold a customer for neglecting her plants and threatens to call the authorities if she leaves them in the house alone. The bit ends with a call-to-win $500 sweeper. Followed by one song. (6:05)

7:29 – A bit about how people use spotty Wi-Fi as an excuse for everything is a brief tease for the “Second Date Update,” coming up after another song.

7:33 – “Second Date Update,” Setup – “We’ve done so many ‘Second Date Updates’ … but this is our first Zoom date.” Nina’s date Evan seems genuinely caring and attentive; he sent food and coordinated a playlist, but ended the call abruptly. Jeffrey has led most of the segments so far; Brooke is prominent here as the bit’s relationship counselor. Followed by one song. (6:35)

7:42 – “Second Date Update,” Payoff – Evan says his abrupt departure was due to a naked man walking across the background of the Zoom call. Twice. “It’s my dad,” says Nina, when revealed. Her parents are living with her after spending time in Europe. “They may need to work on some boundaries,” says Brooke. Evan agrees to see Nina again. Followed by one song. (10:15)

7:55 – The team wraps up the hour with a 90-second recap of the “Second Date Update.” “It’s weird that he’s seen her dad naked before her,” says the team’s Jose Bolanos. At the end of the bit, there’s a promo for the next “Free Money Phone Tap,” airing hourly at 7:20, 8:20, and 9:20. Stopset begins at 7:57.

And here’s the Jubal Show on The New Hits 106.1 over the same hour:

7:06 – “The new rules! Pump up the Jubal show,” commands a sweeper/jingle. The opening break is a teaser for the upcoming “Idiot News Network” feature: “Not a week into the NFL season and a player is already going to prison.” Also, “There’s a situation that you need to hear about in Florida … it’s disgusting,” and “Joe Exotic is in the news again.” Followed by one song.

7:10 – “Idiots in the News” is structured like a tag-team newscast, with its own TV news-like theme music. Alex reads a story about wide receiver Josh Bellamy being charged with COVID-relief fraud; English Evan describes the Florida woman arrested when she went to an adult novelty store and couldn’t wait until she got home to try out her purchase; Jubal’s story is Joe Exotic launching his underwear line. Each story is punctuated by “The Idiot News Network: Where idiots aren’t just in the news … [in unison] they report the news.” Except that all three stories are real, the structure is reminiscent of the “Bluff the Listener” bit on Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me” Followed by a song. (6:00)

7:19 – A quick set-up for the “Jubal Phone Prank,” every weekday morning on the :20s. A husband with a sleeping toddler has been told to keep the phone free. Followed by another song.

7:23 – “Jubal Phone Prank” – As promised, the husband is trying to keep the phone free; the same person keeps calling for a succession of wrong people. Less a traditional phone prank than a variant on “Dave’s Not Here.” Followed by a song (3:05). 

7:29 – A teaser for the “First Date Follow-Up.” Followed by another song.

7:32 – The “First Date Follow-Up” Setup begins with a discussion of how first kisses can go awry, something which apparently sunk the first date here between Leslie and Rachel. The group discussion here about asking out a co-worker of the same sex feels like an interview, not just setting up a bit. The best break of the hour. Followed by a song. (5:35)

7:41 – “First Date Follow-Up” Payoff – Rachel’s concern isn’t the bad first kiss, it’s hearing Leslie talk about ex-boyfriends, and not knowing how serious she is about dating women. Despite this, they agree to go out again. Jubal shows some interesting flashes of Rick Dees/Scott Shannon-type “our six listeners” self-deprecation here. Rachel asks if she really has to share her story on the radio. “No, but the segment will be over.” Then she asks if she’ll be paid; no, he says, their budgets have been cut because of COVID. Followed by a song. (7:30)

7:51 – “Jubal’s Dirty Little Secret” – The callers in the confession segment all get funny names. “Willy Wonka” tells Jubal how he went from restaurants and bartending to six-figure jobs because nobody checked his fake references. “If I can lie on my resumé , you can, too,” he promises. Jubal jokes that the segment doesn’t just help listeners unburden themselves, “it’s also about us having content so we don’t have to do as much work.” The stopset begins at 7:56. (4:30)

Being heard on one station for now means that Jubal is able to use the Hits 106.1 calls. The show isn’t otherwise local in its focus. In the same way that some morning shows have decided to be COVID-free, there was no mention of the Pacific Northwest being under smoky siege that weekend. (There was actually a COVID reference that I picked up on; the other was mentioning that Leslie and Rachel’s first date was at the park, because that’s all anybody can do now.) 

Brooke & Jeffrey felt slicker — neither show had any “new team clunkiness” — and more laugh-out-loud-funny. Jubal seemed more nuanced, a little edgier. I have a little more sense of him as a person, but that may be because the events of the last year have played out in the trades. Even with married co-hosts, the show’s not about life at home yet. But with the overlap in bits, any sense of either show being “more this or that” is nuance itself. 

That said, you would expect the 7 a.m. hour to be devoted to hits, even as morning usage changes. On the following morning, Jubal had “War of the Roses: To Catch a Cheater,” not “First Date Follow-Up.” Brooke & Jeffrey also have weird news features (“Care or Don’t Care,” “Laser Stories”) as well as “What’cha Doin’ at the Courthouse” and their own confession bit, “Awkward Tuesday.”

And now, I’m particularly interested in your comments on the shows or morning radio in general.