After a weekend of stunting, iHeartMedia officially launched Hot Talk “97.1 The Freak” KEGL Fort Worth/Dallas at 3pm today.
The company is describing the new station as “Local, personality-driven, lifestyle talk-radio hosted by a beastly creative of renegades, outlaws & risk-takers. We say what we want, when we want!”
Mornings will feature “The Speakeasy” with Jeff Cavanaugh, Kevin ‘KT’ Turner, Julie Dobbs and Matt Cather from 7-11am. Cavanaugh previously co-hosted “G-Bag Nation” on Audacy Sports “105.3 The Fan” KRLD-FM from 2010 until this past February. Turner most recently was part of the Ben & Skin Show on KEGL. Dobbs previously worked at Sports “The Ticket” 1310 KTCK/96.7 KTCK-FM and Cather hosted a weekend show on iHeart’s 1190 KFXR.
Ben Rogers & Jeff ‘Skin’ Wade, who had been in the 2-5pm timeslot on The Eagle, will move to middays from 11am to 3pm. The duo joined KEGL in February 2020. The duo hosted middays and then afternoons at “105.3 The Fan” KRLD-FM from 2013 until October 2019, middays at “ESPN 103.3” KESN and middays at Hot Talk “Live 105.3” KLLI. They also have worked at 1190 KFXR, 1310 KTCK and on Dallas Mavericks broadcasts.
Mike Rhyner, whose unretirement is being used as the centerpiece of the new brand, will host afternoons from 3 to 7pm. Rhyner was at “The Ticket” from its launch (which he helped develop) in 1994 until his abrupt retirement in January 2020, co-hosting “The Hardline” in afternoons from 1995 until then. Prior to the launch of KTCK, Rhyner was part of the morning show at 97.9 KZEW and worked at 820 WBAP.
Rhyner will be joined on “The Downbeat” by Mike Sirois and Michael ‘Grubes’ Gruber. Sirois served as a producer and weekend host at KTCK from 2007 until exiting in June. Gruber previously worked at KTCK and serves as the Music Director for MLB’s Texas Rangers.
iHeartMedia Dallas SVP/Programming Patrick Davis will oversee the programming on The Freak in addition to CHR “106.1 Kiss-FM” KHKS and Hot AC “102.9 Now” KDMX.
The station will continue to carry Dallas Mavericks basketball. No plans for nights and weekends have been announced. The “Eagle” brand and format will remain on KEGL-HD2 and online.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CjQ5aw6A5yQ/
And so it begins @971TheFreak @theoldgreywolf pic.twitter.com/4cDru2t2He
— Jeff Cavanaugh (@timeforjeffrey) October 3, 2022
iHeartMedia Dallas announced today the debut of the new 97.1 The Freak, effective immediately.
The new 97.1 The Freak will feature “Hot Talk” to create a broad based personality radio station that connects in a personal way with the DFW audience, with “The Speakeasy” with Jeff Cavanaugh, Kevin “KT’ Turner, Julie Dobbs and Matt Cather; “The Ben & Skin Show” with Ben Rogers, Jeff “Skin” Wade, Krystina “K-Ray” Ray and Michael “Grubes” Gruber; and “The Downbeat” hosted by Mike Rhyner, Mike Sirois and Michael “Grubes” Gruber.
“We’re beyond excited to introduce 97-1 the FREAK – the level of talent is insurmountable, and we’re thrilled for the opportunity to further connect with Dallas Fort Worth!” – Patrick Davis, Regional Senior Vice President of Programming Dallas.
Full Programming Lineup:
THE SPEAKEASY 7 – 11 a.m.
THE BEN & SKIN SHOW 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
THE DOWNBEAT 3 – 7 p.m.
Update 9/30: iHeartMedia Rock “97.1 The Eagle” KEGL Fort Worth/Dallas entered stunt mode at 5pm today following the end of the Ben & Skin Show.
The station is playing a four song loop of music with “Freak” in the title including Missy Elliott “Get Ur Freak On”, Rick James “Super Freak”, Whodini “Freaks Come Out At Night”, and Chic “Le Freak” with sweepers asking “What the freak is going on at 97.1? Find out Monday at 3”. The station is also redirecting listeners looking for Rock to KEGL-HD2 or sister Classic Rock “Lonestar 92.5” KZPS. KEGL.com redirects to a splash page stating “Where My FREAKS At?”
Midday host Alan Ayo signed off the music programming three hours prior with Johnny Cash “Hurt”, Foo Fighters “Everlong”, and the appropriate Metallica “Fade To Black” being the last three songs heard.
Mike Rhyner confirmed his upcoming return to radio earlier this week.
— Mike Rhyner (@theoldgreywolf) September 29, 2022
iHeartRadio app already displaying new "97.1 The Freak" logo and positioning as “We Talk About What We Want" showing emphasis not just on Sports but general Guy Talk. pic.twitter.com/DWU3g9lPDK
— RadioInsight.com (@radioinsight) September 30, 2022
Original Report 9/25: Sports Illustrated’s Richie Whitt is reporting that iHeartMedia Rock “97.1 The Eagle” KEGL Fort Worth/Dallas will flip to Sports/Hot Talk as soon as Friday, September 30.
The station will rebrand as “97.1 The Freak” confirming what we first reported earlier this week in our Domain Insight report. Current afternoon hosts Ben Rogers and Jeff ‘Skin’ Wade and Dallas Mavericks basketball will remain on the station, but be accompanied by a number of station newcomers.
Whitt reports that former “1310/96.7 The Ticket” KTCK afternoon host Mike Rhyner will be a part of “The Freak”. Rhyner, aka ‘The Old Grey Wolf’, was co-founder of KTCK in 1994 and has co-hosted “The Hardline” in afternoons from 1995 until his abrupt retirement in January 2020. Other expected hosts mentioned are former KTCK hosts Julie Dobbs and Mike Sirois and former “105.3 The Fan” KRLD-FM host Jeff Cavanaugh.
KEGL would become the third Sports talker in Dallas joining Cumulus’ KTCK/KTCK-FM and Audacy’s KRLD-FM. KTCK currently ranks seventh in the market with a 4.3 share, while KRLD-FM is twenty-third with a 1.8 share. KEGL currently ranks twenty-eighth in the market with a 1.3 share.
This would mark the second time the “Eagle” Rock brand has been killed off from the station. The brand originally launched in 1981 as a Rock/CHR hybrid before moving to Top 40 completely in 1984. It would shift to Active Rock in 1992 until its flip to Soft AC “Sunny 97.1” in 2004 and then Spanish Oldies “La Preciosa 97.1” in 2005. The “Eagle” brand and Rock format would be resurrected in December 2007.
The expectations of a format change at KEGL grew exponentially after late afternoon hosts “The Treehouse” Dan O’Malley and Alfie Coy and Dallas Region President Kelly Kibler were let go and KEGL/KZPS Program Director Don Davis resigned earlier this month.
