Radio Insight reports the new brand will be "The Next Generation of Country" with a faster paced presentation to grab the kids. The first songs included Eric Church, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Zac Brown Band, Jake Owen, Carrie Underwood and Kid Rock.
The new lineup includes Foley and Thunder in mornings mornings as before, Erin Austin mid-days, Keola afternoons and Zakk United at night.
Now I am not really a country music kind of guy even though I am a native Houstonian, so I'm pulling out the big guns. Former Houston radio guy Dave Crockett (formerly of 93Q KKBQ, 95.7 KIKK, Mix 96.5 KHMX, 107.5 KLDE among others), who just so happened to launch a new TV audio biz, wrote up something just for mikemcguff.com:
"KILT-FM has taken the bold step of blowing up a Houston radio tradition and rolling out "THE BULL!" A brave move and a great move! I emailed Mark Adams, The VP of Programing at CBS-Houston, and told him how fresh I thought the station sounded. They timed it perfectly for Rodeo Houston which I'm sure was their intent. Plus "THE BULL" really fits Houston. The name is very powerful. Finally somebody shook up the dial without making headlines about who they fired.
Of course KKBQ now has the challenge of using "THE BULL" in their barrage of commercial-counting promos or using the official call letters of their rival up the dial. I'm sure the minds at KKBQ are thinking of ways to incorporate phrase like, "Who's slinging the Bull about how many commercials they play every hour…" Or "Bull is only half a word at KILT. Especially when they claim they play more music…"
Either way, the two share a rich broadcasting tradition. The two stations have been battling each other since 1992 when Nancy Alexander and myself were The New 93Q's first morning team."
- Dave Crockett
Next, I turned to my social media accounts last night and asked what people thought. Here is what people said about the station:
"It's a shame that a station as iconic as KILT changed its name, format, etc. Don't like & don't listen."
"The 'less twang, more bang' tag is laughable. No bueno."
"They play the same few songs over and over and over and over. I switched over to KSTAR."
"In Dallas, we 99.5 The Wolf (KPLX), but in the Bayou city; KILT gets the Bull?"
"Too much music in the morning during Foley & Thunder. I want to hear what the cast (Foley, Thunder, Cowboy Dave) has to say, I can listen to music the rest of the day."
Another thing I found out, KIKK is still alive as a country station on 100.3 HD-2. It's billed as "The home for music that Sounds Like Texas!" Just like everything else these days, the new KIKK has a Facebook page.
Speaking of Facebook, after I bring you free Houston and Texas media news everyday, help me get more likes on my page. No seriously, it's pretty sad.
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