New Beginning For The End
In what could be an unprecedented move, at 12:01am this Wednesday, Entercom will flip the giant knife switch to formally shut 107.9 down. However, this is a positive side to this situation — Entercom is saving The End’s format and intellectual property and moving everything over to the 106.5 frequency currently occupied by Hot AC sister KUDL (Star 106.5), which will bravely give its life so that the new 106.5 The End can be born at 9am today. The station’s social media accounts began promoting the move last Friday and through the weekend. We understand that The End will simulcast on both 106.5 and 107.9 until 12:01am Wednesday, when 107.9 goes dark. A company spokesperson told RAMP that no loss of jobs is expected during this transition.
As surprising as this development is, many industry observers feel this preemptive move would have been much more shocking if Entercom had not announced it was acquiring CBS Radio’s 117 stations, forcing the company to divest as many as 15 stations nationally to meet ownership caps — Sacramento alone would have to lose four FMs. This shrewd move to shut down KDND ahead of the judge’s decision now leaves Entercom with only three to spin off. In any event, the past few days have been exciting, to say the least.
