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Oldies radio station KPMZ/96.7 FM "Platinum 96.7" is now a lost classic itself.
On Monday morning, 96.7 will begin simulcasting news-talk station WBAP/820 AM, which like KPMZ is owned by Citadel Broadcasting.Friday's flip was one of the more offbeat Dallas-Fort Worth format changes in recent memory. Around 9 a.m. Friday, the station went without DJs, and shortly before noon, it played its last song, Steam's Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye. Then it went goodbye, with a moment of dead air followed by an hour of country as "The Texas Twister," which was the format that preceded Platinum. The oldies station began airing in late June 2008.At 1 p.m., the station became "Reagan Radio," airing speeches by President Ronald Reagan.Tyler Cox, WBAP's operation manager, said that "Reagan Radio" will continue through the weekend and that the WBAP simulcast will begin Monday morning."As you look at where the bulk of where radio listening takes place in this market and every other market, it's on the FM dial," Cox said. "We've certainly done exceptionally well [on AM], but when you look at situations in other markets where AM stations have added FM simulcast partners, it's just greatly increased the reach and audience size of the radio station."Cox added that even though WBAP has the nation's most powerful AM signal, some listeners, especially younger ones, will listen only to FM. "The average 30-year-old, many of them don't know what the AM button on the car radio stands for. Never have sampled it, and never will."Although Citadel, like many media companies, is having financial trouble, Cox said the simulcast is not a cost-cutting move.As a music station, KPMZ had one of the market's broadest playlists, focusing heavily on '60s and '70s songs, some of which got little to no airplay elsewhere in D-FW.Ron Chapman, the North Texas radio legend who developed the playlist, said he was warned a couple of months ago by Citadel CEO Farid Suleman that the station might have to change formats."Platinum never did not make money," Chapman said. "Platinum always made a little money. It just didn't make enough."ROBERT PHILPOT, 817-390-7872
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