A Seattle radio station and ABC News Radio are both adding business coverage to their repertoire.
Bill Virgin, a reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, writes, “KKOL-AM/1300 this week unveiled its new identity as ‘Business Radio’ and a lineup including nationally syndicated talk host Ray Lucia at 9 a.m. weekdays, ‘Phil’s Gang,’ hosted by Phil Grande, at noon, and ‘Market Wrap with Moe Ansari’ at 5 p.m. The current lineup also includes programming from Bloomberg Radio and hourly updates from CNBC.
“Business news as a full-time format was last heard in this market in 2004, when Entercom sold what was then KNWX- AM/1210 to Bustos Media, which in turn converted the station to a Spanish-language music format. KNWX had started as a business-news station in 1998 when it was at 770 on the AM band. That same year, KKNW- AM/1150 dropped business and investing talk for a format featuring soul and R&B music. Several industry experts said the format appeared to be too narrow a niche to generate a large audience.
“But Tim Harper, Salem’s general manager in Seattle, believes there’s a market for a full-time business news station ‘with the U.S. in the position it’s in.’ He said Salem has had success with a recently launched business news station in the Bay Area, and the new format is drawing advertisers to KKOL.”
Read more here.
Meanwhile, ABC News Radio is introducing two new business reports, “Wall Street Now” and “Hey! It’s Your Money,” available to affiliates beginning Nov. 10. “Wall Street Now” is a one-minute weekly business report broadcast three times daily. Hosted by ABC News Radio Correspondent Richard Davies, “Hey! It’s Your Money” offers weekday looks at how the economy affects the consumer. Read more here.
