Owoooooooooooooooo!
Willie is now a Wolf. KWLI 92.5-FM, which hit the airwaves in January as a country-music challenger to No.1 KYGO 98.5-FM, has morphed like “American Werewolf in London.”
“The Wolf” took to the air Monday morning with the “Jesse & Shotgun Morning Show.”
It’s not about the music, it’s about image, says Don Howe, vice president and market manager for CBS Radio-Denver, the station’s owner.
“The ‘Willie’ name and look was too synonymous with Willie Nelson,” says Howe. “At the end of the day, as much as we like Willie Nelson, the image of a 70-year-old country star wasn’t the best for us.”
So, out went “Willie,” in came “The Wolf,” a format used in several other markets.
“We’re throwing more behind country than ever,” says Howe. The “new” KWLI will feature fewer country oldies, less fringe country, like The Eagles, and more contemporary music and performers. Not unlike, say, KYGO. In addition, KWLI management is promising more, uninterrupted music, as many as 40 songs in a row.
“The music will change,” says Howe. “Look at what KYGO has done since ‘Willie’ came on. Did they change their music? Sure. Are we tweaking our music? Yes.”
Try as he might, Howe can’t disguise the fact that “Willie’s” format hasn’t made serious inroads in the big ratings KYGO has run up for years. In the August Arbitrends (month-to- month) ratings, for example, KYGO drew a 5.9 share to KWLI’s 2.2. And businesses don’t mess with what’s working.
The fact is, KWLI’s results weren’t eye-popping in the eight months since it went from R&B to country, which Howe alludes to when he says, “‘Willie’ was growing, but we felt it was at a pace slower than what we wanted it to be. There is absolutely room for another country-music station in Denver.”
“Willie,” the station’s previous incarnation, will be heard on KWLI HD-2. Program director Bill Gamble will program both “The Wolf” and “Willie.”
Around the dial
ESPN (KLZ 560-AM) is carrying every game of baseball’s division playoffs, starting with Oakland-Minnesota at 11 a.m. and St. Louis-San Diego at 2 p.m. today … Credit Suisse analyst John Klim predicting a grim future for high-definition radio. “You run the risk of introducing a significant amount of supply into a market that’s already soft.” … Antonio Banderas, Juan Marichal and Jose Feliciano among the honorees at the Hispanic Heritage Awards on Oct. 29 (3 p.m., KTVD-Channel 20) … Quotable: “It is not always easy to gain radio acceptance unless one toes a particular production line or follows the fashion trend.” Sheena Easton
Dick Kreck’s column appears Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He may be reached at 303-954-1456 or dkreck@denverpost.com.
