Emmis Austin and Austin City Limits Enterprises have announced multi-year licensing agreement upon which 93.3 KGSR Cedar Park and 97.1 K246BD Austin will relaunch today at 5pm as “Austin City Limits Radio“.
The brand will tie-in with the annual Austin City Limits Music Festival and the Austin City Limits weekly PBS series, while featuring a broad range of music from artists like Willie Nelson, Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran, Kacey Musgraves, Radiohead, and Gary Clark Jr.
In the press release KGSR Program Director Emily Parker described the new brand, “The concept of basing a radio format on the rich history of the ACL TV show, the tastemakers at ACL Festival and ACL Live, and the curators of KGSR’s iconic radio station are what allowed us to develop this one-of-a-kind authentic Austin brand. The premise of Austin City Limits Radio is one that reflects how people actually listen to music in the on-demand digital age. There will be no format limits. Just as our audience’s personal playlists may include everything from Alternative to Pop, Country to Hip Hop, and everything in between, so will the music mix we craft on ACL Radio.”
Emmis Austin Radio announced today that KGSR has been reborn as Austin City Limits Radio, the result of a multi-year licensing agreement with Austin City Limits Enterprises, LLC. The new station offers a bold genre-jumping playlist based on the Austin City Limits brand’s legendary aesthetic. Austin City Limits Radio officially launches at 5pm CDT today and will air on 93.3 FM, 97.1 FM, and at ACL-Radio.com, and will kick-off with a live broadcast from Austin’s Arlyn Studios. Mayor Steve Adler will ceremoniously pull the switch signaling the changeover and “Whiskey River,” the first song performed by Willie Nelson on the pilot episode of Austin City Limits in 1974, will be the first song played on Austin City Limits Radio.
Tom Gimbel, General Manager of Austin City Limits says “The Austin City Limits brand has been built on integrity and a commitment to showcasing the very best in music – whether to our weekly public television audience, at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, or at a concert at ACL Live at The Moody Theater. It’s exciting to see ACL take this very natural next step by extending into radio. To partner with another of Austin’s great music beacons in KGSR, one with a 28-year history in the market, is an incredible opportunity to enrich our local airwaves and serve the Austin community.”
Listeners to Austin City Limits Radio can expect to hear artists ranging from Willie Nelson to Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran to Kacey Musgraves, and Radiohead to Gary Clark Jr.
Emily Parker, Program Director of Austin City Limits Radio 93.3 and 97.1 KGSR commented, “The concept of basing a radio format on the rich history of the ACL TV show, the tastemakers at ACL Festival and ACL Live, and the curators of KGSR’s iconic radio station are what allowed us to develop this one-of-a-kind authentic Austin brand. The premise of Austin City Limits Radio is one that reflects how people actually listen to music in the on-demand digital age. There will be no format limits. Just as our audience’s personal playlists may include everything from Alternative to Pop, Country to Hip Hop, and everything in between, so will the music mix we craft on ACL Radio.”
Austin City Limits Radio will continue to produce KGSR’s signature events, including Blues On The Green™, Unplugged At The Grove™ and live broadcasts from South By Southwest™ and The Austin City Limits Music Festival™. Community is at the core of Austin City Limits Radio and the tradition of KGSR, which was recognized earlier this year by the National Association of Broadcasters with the prestigious Crystal Radio Award for community service, honoring the station’s longstanding commitment to raise funds and awareness for a variety of causes, such as the Health Alliance For Austin Musicians (HAAM), Austin Disaster Relief Network, The Seton Fund, Make-a-Wish, Austin Parks Foundation, and Communities in Schools.
Scott Gillmore, Senior Vice President and Market Manager of Emmis Austin Radio, who was the original General Manager for KGSR when it debuted in 1990 notes, “This unprecedented and innovative licensing agreement with a local radio station brand and a national, even international brand like Austin City Limits is groundbreaking. But it made sense. KGSR and Austin City Limits are two of the most beloved music brands in Austin. Just as Austin has grown and evolved, so has Austin City Limits – and now KGSR will join in that evolution. We will be playing music and serving the Austin community in new ways with new partners. We couldn’t be more excited!”
On Saturday, September 8, at noon CDT, Austin City Limits Radio 93.3 and 97.1 KGSR will air its inaugural live performance from The Dell Music Lounge, a four-song acoustic set from Leon Bridges. This broadcast will mark the first artist to officially have performed on all Austin City Limits branded outlets – the Austin City Limits Television Show, Austin City Limits Music Festival, ACL Live at the Moody Theater, and now Austin City Limits Radio.
Original Report 9/5: Emmis AAA 93.3 KGSR Cedar Park/Austin TX is planning on a major programming announcement at 5pm on Thursday, September 6.
Conspicuously, Sinclair Media (which owns 49% of the Emmis Austin cluster) closed on its purchase of “Fiesta 97.1” K246BD Austin and after a weekend of simulcasting co-owned Regional Mexican “La Z 107.1” to move the audience over, has begun rebroadcasting KGSR. Is 97.1 going to be the new permanent home of the AAA format with something new coming to 93.3? The 93.3 signal holds a Construction Permit to improve its signal in Austin proper.
KGSR registered a 1.8 share in the July 2018 Nielsen Audio ratings. University of Texas’ non-commercial AAA 98.9 KUTX held a 2.4 share.
