Radio landscape in OKC

[aviastar]

I am a fan of radio (kinda dopey, I know). My favorite formats are NPR, sports, and talk. Up here in KC one of our sports hosts talks fondly about Al Eschbach...I guess he worked in KC for about 15 minutes. Also in my office sometimes I stream the folks at KGOU, and I have also listened to Scott Mitchell in the AM on 1520. It's weird...sometimes I pick a city and tune into their local talk, sports, or NPR station because it gives me a feel for the area...I just like the medium. Also This Land Press has some really cool short segments on OK-related topics, but it's run out of Tulsa.

Any recommendations for other good stations in OKC? Are there any dedicated jazz stations? Any Spanish-language/Tejano music stations? Is the FM dial pretty generic non-local automated programming?

[gjl]

Al Eschbach, The Legend of Radio, King of the Midgets, and World Champion at Free Cell. You can listen to him if you want on WWLS The Sports Animal Talk Radio (if you can stand him) either streaming it from their web site or on iHeart Radio from 4 to 8pm.

[bchris02]

OKC, unfortunately, is a Cumulus market. Cumulus is the epitome of everything wrong with corporate radio. They allow almost no control over what is broadcasted at the local level. On top of it all, everything is decided by one man, Jan Jeffries, who is very much out of touch. OKC radio used to be decent, but since Cumulus purchased Citadel its become terrible (though no different from any other Citadel/Cumulus market). I cannot think of a single station that is actually interesting.

If you like sports talk, you might like WWLS 98.1 The Sports Animal or the new station 107.1 The Franchise.

[Jersey Boss]

Don't know if you dialed in KGOU on the weekends or not. Sat and Sun after 1, "Hard Luck Jim" comes on and does blues and jazz. For my money he is the best local jock on the air.

[gjl]

OKC, unfortunately, is a Cumulus market. Cumulus is the epitome of everything wrong with corporate radio. They allow almost no control over what is broadcasted at the local level. On top of it all, everything is decided by one man, Jan Jeffries, who is very much out of touch. OKC radio used to be decent, but since Cumulus purchased Citadel its become terrible (though no different from any other Citadel/Cumulus market). I cannot think of a single station that is actually interesting.


If you like sports talk, you might like WWLS 98.1 The Sports Animal or the new station 107.1 The Franchise.

Would have never guessed you don't like OKC radio.

[bchris02]

Would have never guessed you don't like OKC radio.

Who would if you don't care for sports talk or country?

[RadicalModerate]

Don't know if you dialed in KGOU on the weekends or not. Sat and Sun after 1, "Hard Luck Jim" comes on and does blues and jazz. For my money he is the best local jock on the air.

Next to Hardluck Jim . . . I used to like Mark Shannon best.
Now I simply listen to any of the three Public Radio Stations no matter what is on any one of them.
Including, of course, that repository of diversity known as The Spy (c/o OSU)

Believe it or not, OKC has much better on-air broadcast choices than the entire State of Minnesota.
(really) (no kidding)
Plus our OETA and affiliate stations makes what they have up here look pathetic in comparison.
Sorry . . . this is about radio choices. not television stuff.

(p.s.: in person, Al Eschbach is more of a gentleman than a radio personality)

[bchris02]

Next to Hardluck Jim . . . I used to like Mark Shannon best.
Now I simply listen to any of the three Public Radio Stations no matter what is one any of them.
Including, of course, that repository of diversity known as The Spy (c/o OSU)

Believe it or not, OKC has much better on-air broadcast choices than the entire State of Minnesota.
(really) (no kidding)
Plus our OETA and affiliate stations makes what they have up here look pathetic in comparison.
Sorry . . . this is about radio choices. not television stuff.

I can agree with that. Minneapolis has terrible radio stations.

[Mel]

Way back when I was in the Air Force and stationed at Ellsworth I lived up in the Black Hills near Johnson Siding. At night I could pick up KOMA at night when the boosted there signal.

[SOONER8693]

OKC, unfortunately, is a Cumulus market. Cumulus is the epitome of everything wrong with corporate radio. They allow almost no control over what is broadcasted at the local level. On top of it all, everything is decided by one man, Jan Jeffries, who is very much out of touch. OKC radio used to be decent, but since Cumulus purchased Citadel its become terrible (though no different from any other Citadel/Cumulus market). I cannot think of a single station that is actually interesting.

If you like sports talk, you might like WWLS 98.1 The Sports Animal or the new station 107.1 The Franchise.

Shocker.

[Soonerman]

My only issue with OKC radio is that it's oversaturated with Classic Rock, Country, and Sports yapping. I've got nothing against those formats. I just wish they had a little more variety like a Jack FM or an Alternative station. I do love Classic Country though and KXY fits that bill well for me.

[zookeeper]

I know that Tyler Media has ruined once dominant KOMA. What are the ratings in OKC now anyway?

KOMA. They are not Classic Rock or Classic Top-40, but are Classic Hits. This means they try to please everyone. You get Bon Jovi's "Livin' On a Prayer" followed by Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta. Someone also needs to tell them The Police had more hits than just "Don't Stand So Close To Me." I swear, I hear that every. single. day.

For me, the personalities make KOMA and without Ronnie in the afternoon and Fred at night, I wouldn't bother listening with so many other options.

[Achilleslastand]

I know that Tyler Media has ruined once dominant KOMA. What are the ratings in OKC now anyway?

KOMA. They are not Classic Rock or Classic Top-40, but are Classic Hits. This means they try to please everyone. You get Bon Jovi's "Livin' On a Prayer" followed by Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta. Someone also needs to tell them The Police had more hits than just "Don't Stand So Close To Me." I swear, I hear that every. single. day.

For me, the personalities make KOMA and without Ronnie in the afternoon and Fred at night, I wouldn't bother listening with so many other options.

Tell me about it.....
Listening to them in a day you might hear...
Thin Lizzy
The Eagles
Aerosmith
Whitney Houston
Rod Stewart
The Police
Men without Hats
Dire Straits
Loverboy
I called Ronny one afternoon and told him you play pretty much every thing under the sun except Led Zeppelin. I didn't get a direct answer from him as to why they didn't only "if we did what song would you wanna hear". Anyways I guess everything is fine as long as I keep winning free steak dinners from him.

[KenRagsdale]

I can agree with that. Minneapolis has terrible radio stations.

830, WCCO, Minneapolis-St. Paul, is a very fine radio station.

[KenRagsdale]

I know that Tyler Media has ruined once dominant KOMA. What are the ratings in OKC now anyway?

KOMA. They are not Classic Rock or Classic Top-40, but are Classic Hits. This means they try to please everyone. You get Bon Jovi's "Livin' On a Prayer" followed by Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta. Someone also needs to tell them The Police had more hits than just "Don't Stand So Close To Me." I swear, I hear that every. single. day.

For me, the personalities make KOMA and without Ronnie in the afternoon and Fred at night, I wouldn't bother listening with so many other options.

The original 1520-KOMA demographic is aging. What started with "greatest hits of the 50's and 60's," evolved to "greatest hits of the 60's and 70's," and now, of course, is simply "greatest hits." Your best bet would be to obtain a "Sirius" subscription.

[Urbanized]

Wow! People still listen to terrestrial radio?

[Uncle Slayton]

I'd settle for a classic rock station that doesn't bleep lines from songs like "we've been up and down this highway, haven't seen a g*ddamn thing" or "don't wanna get caught up in any of that funky s**t going down in the city". BOB does that, drives me nuts.

An FM talk station (conservative, of course) that carries the big three on weekdays so I'm not stuck with KTOK in an office that sounds like a World War II broadcast in terms of reception and clarity would be nice.

I miss Mark Shannon during afternoon drive time, and don't listen to the morning blather.

Come to think of it, maybe it's time to get Sirius about radio...

[OkieHornet]

invest in satellite radio. depending on if your car radio is already equipped or not, you can get a subscription for around $10-11/month. best $$$ you'll spend. the music variety is unequaled and you won't complain again about radio.

[aviastar]

invest in satellite radio. depending on if your car radio is already equipped or not, you can get a subscription for around $10-11/month. best $$$ you'll spend. the music variety is unequaled and you won't complain again about radio.

I prefer the local flavor. I had satellite and I didn't like it. The politics talk was way too preachy to the choir (both left/right stations were so incredibly partisan), the sports talk was not local, and the NPR offering on SiriusXM was basically them just playing Fresh Air over and over. I had satellite for 3 months after we purchased our new car and didn't renew at the end of the trial period.

[trousers]

I listen to the two NPR stations, slightly different schedules. Really like the SPY when it kicks in after 7 pm.

[boscorama]

Does True Oldies Channel still have any presence in OKC?

[bchris02]

Does True Oldies Channel still have any presence in OKC?

No, they changed to country late last year as 99.7 Hank FM. OKC radio desperate needs more variety. If you don't like country, classic rock, or sports talk, it's pretty much impossible to live with terrestrial radio in this town. It used to be pretty decent in the early 2000s.

[Bellaboo]

Al Eschbach, The Legend of Radio, King of the Midgets, and World Champion at Free Cell. You can listen to him if you want on WWLS The Sports Animal Talk Radio (if you can stand him) either streaming it from their web site or on iHeart Radio from 4 to 8pm.

This ^^^ I quit listening to Al when he was smacking on some ribs during a broadcast..... that was too much.

[tfvc.org]

The only station I can stand to listen to is the comedy one, if that is not on then I have switched to music on my thumb drive.

[bchris02]

As far as the terrestrial stations in OKC, here is what I have programmed in on my dial.

Now 96.5 - Great sounding station but unfortunately terrible signal and usually suffers bleed-in from Mix 96.5 in Tulsa. I like the station because it doesn't shy away from the rhythmic side of the Top 40 spectrum like today's KJ does. They are also very strong on new/current music.

Wild 104.9 - Used to be one of the best sounding stations in the US back when programmed locally and owned by Citadel. Today, it is using a nationally syndicated playlist that you hear on all Cumulus rhythmic stations nationwide. The problem with that playlist is that it is extremely conservative, late on adding new music, and they continue to overplay songs years after normal Top 40 stations have stopped playing them.

KJ 103 - The only Top 40 station in OKC that has a decent signal. It's also the most bland and I don't generally listen except on weekend nights when they have EDM mixes

Power 103.5 - Love this station but it's tower is out west of Anadarko and it has very spotty coverage over OKC. Some days I can get it just fine but other days get only static depending on the weather

KCSC Classical 90.1

Personally, I wish that Now 96.5 and Power 103.5 would be put on different signals to properly cover the OKC market. There are enough frequencies occupied by classic rock and country stations that it could probably be done pretty easily. Unfortunately nothing can be done to improve Cumulus stations like KKWD until Jan Jeffries returns control to the local PDs, which will probably never happen.