Ozomatli Out at 98.7 FM

So much for that experiment. Local band Ozomatli has already been fired from its morning gig on KYSR-FM 98.7.

The show, announced in August, barely lasted two months. Guess it just didn’t work out.

LARadio.com notes:

Ozomatli, the Grammy-winning group that took over mornings at KYSR (98.7/fm) two months ago, was apparently let go yesterday. Management did not respond to inquiries, but any reference to Ozomatli has been removed from the KYSR Web site.

If Ozomatli has been dropped, the action apparently is in response to how fast management can receive ratings information and make adjustments. No word on a replacement for morning drive.

My guess: Lisa Foxx, who had been doing mornings there, slides back in, at least for now. In the end, I didn’t think this would last long: Doing a daily morning radio show is a grind — and plus you have to be up super early. How a band that constantly tours could swing it, I wasn’t sure. And apparently I wasn’t the only one.

Ozomatli In The Morning

I somehow missed this yesterday: Los Angeles’ multi-culti band Ozomatli has signed on to host a new morning show on KYSR-FM 98.7, the radio station formerly known as “Star 98.7.”

The station has more recently adopted a harder rock edge, and now just refers to itself as “98.7.” Bringing in Ozomatli definitely gives 98.7 a little more street cred — something it’s been lacking, given those ridiculous billboards and equally lame “Rock-a-holic” tagline.

From the station’s announcement:

“Authenticity resonates with today’s consumer,” says Greg Ashlock, Market President, Clear Channel Los Angeles. “With Ozo, what you see is what you get. There are no pretenses, just genuine, raw opinions based on their experiences as Los Angeles natives and successful recording artists. Their music appeal is undisputed (they’ve won 3 Grammys), their social conscience is widely acknowledged they were recently named United States Cultural Ambassadors), and they are not new to this side of the radio biz (they have hosted a weekly local music program on Saturday nights on 98.7fm called “Ozo-Local” since January of this year).”

Michael Martin, VP Programming Clear Channel Los Angeles continued, “the idea to have ‘Ozo’ host mornings for 98.7 was really born out of a ‘wouldn’t it be cool if…’ conversation. It just made complete sense. Based on the sound, flow and compelling local content of the Saturday night show, and the spirit Ozomatli has as a group, we knew we had something special there. They are not trying to be disc-jockeys. They are and relate to the 98.7 audience. Given their lifestyle, and perspective on community, music, pop-culture and politics, 98.7 listeners are in for one heck of a morning show.”

Too bad 98.7′s music mix is still uninspiring. And Clear Channel’s insistence that 98.7 is “Southern California’s most talked about Alternative Rock Radio Station” is just plain wrong.

But the idea of having the band host mornings is, I gotta admit, interesting. The new show starts Aug. 20; they replace Lisa Foxx, who had been handling morning drive.

In other radio news, 93.5 KDAY is moving further away from hip-hop and will transform into an urban contemporary station in the next few weeks. Change comes as the station strips its remaining local fare and goes completely syndicated, airing shows from Steve Harvey, Wendy Williams, Mo’Nique, Michael Baisden and Theo.

Another L.A. Radio Shakeup Is On The Way

Expect a format change soon on R&B “V100″ 100.3 FM, KRBV-FM — the station that was once hip-hop “The Beat.” Since becoming a more mellow urban AC, the listenership on 100.3 has plunged.

Enter Bonneville, the radio group (owned by the Mormon church) that once had a presence here in L.A., owning outlets such as KBIG-FM 104.3 and country KZLA 93.9. Bonneville is back in L.A. and the new owner of 100.3, in a $137.5 million transaction.

Early rumors have hinted that Bonneville might flip 100.3 FM to a news/talk format. The company has had success with FM news/talk in other markets, including D.C.

If that happens, expect some real shuffling, as pundits believe Clear Channel would be prepared to put KFI on FM, dumping one of its music formats (such as Hot 92.3 or Star 98.7) in the process. Clear Channel would want to protect its news/talk franchise, the scuttlebutt goes — and the idea of a KFI-FM has been floating around for years.

But the message boards over at Radio-Info wonder if Bonneville will go news/talk, given how saturated L.A. already is with two news stations and countless gabbers.

That’s why another rumored format is making the rounds: Country. Would Bonneville bring some twang to the 100.3 frequency? And if so, what would independent owner Saul Levine do with his KKGO-FM 105.1, which flipped to country when KZLA 93.9 dropped the format?

With all this mixing and moving, perhaps there’s an opportunity for an underserved radio format to also return to L.A. airwaves. What would you like to see — a real album-oriented rock station? Dance? Adult alternative?

Stay Off the Rockahol

The station formerly known as “Star 98.7″ (now just calling itself “98.7,” although keeping some star imagery) has a new logo, and appears to be going even further into the rock camp as a competitor to KROQ. Yes there’s just something so cheesy in its presentation.

First, the station put up billboards around town with a few scribbles covered up by the words “CENSORED BY CORPORATE SUITS — but they can’t take away the music!” Yup, nothing says stickin’ it to the man like playing tons of Linkin Park.

Now, the new 98.7 site has launched a “Rock-A-Holics” club, in which listeners are invited to pledge that “we are entirely ready to have 98.7 feed our need for rockahol.” Yes, they used the word “rockahol.”