Post by musicradio77 on Sept 15, 2005 10:41:04 GMT -5
Rocky Allen is returning to afternoon drive on WPLJ (95.5 FM).
Allen, WPLJ's most successful afternoon host over the past 15 years, left in 1999 for an ill-fated run as morning host on sister station WABC (770 AM).
Since 2001, he's done mornings at Detroit's WDVD, and WPLJ vice president Tom Cuddy says, "We're delighted to bring him home."
Allen, who will do 3-7 p.m. weekdays, starts next Tuesday with a live show from the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square.
"He's a perfect bookend to go with Scott [Shannon] and Todd [Pettengill] in the morning," says Cuddy. "We don't think there's only one time of day when people like a laugh."
"The Rocky Allen Showgram" is a personality program with interviews, contests, zany stunts and music, which Cuddy says will set it apart from the moremusic shows on afternoon radio.
Noting rumors earlier this year that WPLJ was thinking about the more-music Jack format to which WCBS-FM (101.1) switched, Cuddy says, "This is just the opposite. Everyone plays music. It's what you put in between that sets you apart. We're really going back to basics."
Cuddy notes that several times during his six-year run at WPLJ in the '90s, Allen had the top-rated afternoon show among 25- to 54-year-olds.
"Then after Rocky left, Opie and Anthony took their big jump at WNEW," Cuddy says. "People are looking for entertainment when they're driving home."
Several music stations do feature afternoon personalities now, including WBLS (107.5 FM) with Wendy Williams and WRKS (98.7 FM) with Michael Baisden.
Cuddy says WPLJ will soon announce Allen's team, and he wouldn't rule out the possibility that could include Blaine Ensley, Allen's right-hand man in the '90s. He later worked at WNEW.
To make room for Allen, afternoon host Race Taylor is moving to middays; midday host Rich Kaminski will move to weekend work and fill-ins.
R.I.P. CHRIS SCHENKEL: Chris Schenkel, who died Sunday at age 82, was an old-school sportscaster who described the action and let the listener or viewer supply the adrenaline. Many treasure that trait today, at a time when it is endangered.
Schenkel called everything from bowling to the Triple Crown and the Olympics on TV. But like everyone of his era, he started in radio and always kept a foot in it. When he jumped from CBS to ABC in January 1965, he did a nightly five-minute sports report on WABC (770 AM).
His most famous broadcast was the 1958 NFL championship game, New York Giants vs. Baltimore Colts.
As the Giants' announcer, he shared the microphone for the national broadcast with Chuck Thompson, the Colts' announcer (who died earlier this year). Before the game, they flipped a coin to determine who would call which half.
Schenkel won and picked the second half, figuring that would be more dramatic. It was. It was so dramatic it ended in a tie, which sent the game into sudden-death overtime and meant Thompson got to call the famous Colts drive that ended with Alan Ameche plunging into the end zone, driving a stake into the heart of Giants fans and launching the golden age of the National Football League.
Allen, WPLJ's most successful afternoon host over the past 15 years, left in 1999 for an ill-fated run as morning host on sister station WABC (770 AM).
Since 2001, he's done mornings at Detroit's WDVD, and WPLJ vice president Tom Cuddy says, "We're delighted to bring him home."
Allen, who will do 3-7 p.m. weekdays, starts next Tuesday with a live show from the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square.
"He's a perfect bookend to go with Scott [Shannon] and Todd [Pettengill] in the morning," says Cuddy. "We don't think there's only one time of day when people like a laugh."
"The Rocky Allen Showgram" is a personality program with interviews, contests, zany stunts and music, which Cuddy says will set it apart from the moremusic shows on afternoon radio.
Noting rumors earlier this year that WPLJ was thinking about the more-music Jack format to which WCBS-FM (101.1) switched, Cuddy says, "This is just the opposite. Everyone plays music. It's what you put in between that sets you apart. We're really going back to basics."
Cuddy notes that several times during his six-year run at WPLJ in the '90s, Allen had the top-rated afternoon show among 25- to 54-year-olds.
"Then after Rocky left, Opie and Anthony took their big jump at WNEW," Cuddy says. "People are looking for entertainment when they're driving home."
Several music stations do feature afternoon personalities now, including WBLS (107.5 FM) with Wendy Williams and WRKS (98.7 FM) with Michael Baisden.
Cuddy says WPLJ will soon announce Allen's team, and he wouldn't rule out the possibility that could include Blaine Ensley, Allen's right-hand man in the '90s. He later worked at WNEW.
To make room for Allen, afternoon host Race Taylor is moving to middays; midday host Rich Kaminski will move to weekend work and fill-ins.
R.I.P. CHRIS SCHENKEL: Chris Schenkel, who died Sunday at age 82, was an old-school sportscaster who described the action and let the listener or viewer supply the adrenaline. Many treasure that trait today, at a time when it is endangered.
Schenkel called everything from bowling to the Triple Crown and the Olympics on TV. But like everyone of his era, he started in radio and always kept a foot in it. When he jumped from CBS to ABC in January 1965, he did a nightly five-minute sports report on WABC (770 AM).
His most famous broadcast was the 1958 NFL championship game, New York Giants vs. Baltimore Colts.
As the Giants' announcer, he shared the microphone for the national broadcast with Chuck Thompson, the Colts' announcer (who died earlier this year). Before the game, they flipped a coin to determine who would call which half.
Schenkel won and picked the second half, figuring that would be more dramatic. It was. It was so dramatic it ended in a tie, which sent the game into sudden-death overtime and meant Thompson got to call the famous Colts drive that ended with Alan Ameche plunging into the end zone, driving a stake into the heart of Giants fans and launching the golden age of the National Football League.