Now in stereo: 'Razor & Mr. T'

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jun 17, 2003

KNBR announced it has signed Ralph Barbieri and Tom Tolbert to four-year contracts, and beginning June 30, it will simulcast "The Razor & Mr. T" on KNBR 680 and KNBR 1050. By moving "The Razor & Mr. T" over to 1050, Rod Brooks was moved up to the noon-3 p.m. slot, and Jim Rome will be broadcast live from 9 a.m. to noon. The odd man out in the restructuring is Bill O'Reilly, whose show will air for the final time on 1050 on June 27. The lineup shuffle, contract extensions and decision to simulcast the popular afternoon show are multifunctional moves that could stabilize the 680 and 1050 lineups. "We've been talking about simulcasting for some time, but it got real serious in March when we were rebranding 1050," said KNBR operations manager and program director Bob Agnew. "We really wanted to make it jump out that it was KNBR 1050." By simulcasting "The Razor & Mr. T," the hope is it will strengthen the KNBR connection between 680 and 1050. It also gives 1050 increased local programming and a pure sports lineup with the elimination of O'Reilly. And airing Rome live satisfies the syndicated host's most diehard fans, "clones," who have not appreciated the taped delay. Another motive was maximizing the airtime of Barbieri and Tolbert, whose show has been No. 1 among men 25 to 54 the past three years. They are often pre-empted for Giants baseball, and the new lineup will keep them on the dial more often. "Our hottest commodity is Ralph and Tom, and we wanted to get them on more," Agnew said. "Our concern was they get pre-empted so much. Now, we can give listeners more choices, the Giants or Ralph and Tom." In inking Tolbert to four more years, KNBR hangs on to one of the most sought-after sports talk personalities. Tolbert, who works as an NBA analyst on ABC's lead broadcast team, will cut back to four days a week for KNBR (Tuesday-Friday) as part of the new deal. On Mondays, KNBR is working on getting different personalities to team with Barbieri. Agnew said he couldn't discuss the names of people they're still speaking with, but he did confirm that former 49ers tight end Brent Jones has signed on for at least 25 Mondays. While the times are not an exact match, the 680 and 1050 shows are lined up very similarly. So what happens if live Rome takes some of Gary Radnich's listeners or Rod Brooks becomes a more popular option at noon than Rick Barry? "It's all in the family," Agnew said. "We're one identity with many choices."

New lineups for 680 and 1050

- 5:30 to 9:30 a.m., 680: John London

5 to 9 a.m., 1050: Tony Bruno

- 9:30 to noon, 680: Gary Radnich

9 to noon, 1050: Jim Rome

- Noon to 3, 680: Rick Barry

Noon to 3, 1050: Rod Brooks

- 3 to 7 p.m., 680 and 1050:

The Razor & Mr. T

- 7 to 10 p.m.: Sportsphone 680

with Larry Krueger

7 to 11 p.m., 1050: J.T. The Brick

Joe Nolan can be reached at

jnolan@angnewspapers.com