After nearly eight years on 92.1 KFMA-FM, "The Frank Show" is shifting down the radio dial.
Starting July 6 the show, which offers comedy, celebrity interviews and news, moves to 96.1 KLPX-FM, said Steve Groesbeck, general manager of Arizona Lotus, which owns both stations.
The show, hosted by Frank Brinsley along with sidekicks Sherm (Rick Berg) and Tic Tac (Christian Wlach), is replacing "The KLPX Wake-Up Call with Scott Barnett" hosted by Barnett and Adrienne Mackey. It will run from 6 to 10 a.m.
"The Frank Show" will air on KFMA until June 18, after which it will break to prepare for the move. "The Wake-Up Call" will air on KLPX until July 2.
Barnett will host an afternoon show on classic-rock-oriented KLPX that runs from 3 to 7 p.m. Mackey will move to modern-rock station KFMA and host a music-focused show from 6 to 10 a.m., the same time slot "The Frank Show" will take on KLPX.
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Groesbeck said the station will conduct a national search for a replacement morning-show team, which will continue to be music-driven. Mackey will continue to have a job with Lotus after it finds a replacement show, he said.
" 'The Frank Show' is a great show. I don't anticipate any changes," Groesbeck said, adding that the move was Brinsley's idea. "We want to expose the show to a new audience."
He added that the shift was meant to get a younger demographic to listen to KLPX, which will make a moderate shift from more light classic rock such as the Eagles to harder rock in the vein of Ozzy Osbourne.
Groesbeck said both morning shows were doing well in the ratings in their target demographics, with "The Frank Show" consistently ranking in the top 4 for younger audiences and "The Wake-Up Call" performing well with older adults.
Apparently left as the odd person out in the juggling is Chita, KLPX's former program director, who was laid off in a move Groesbeck said isn't related to the morning show shake-up.
Reached by e-mail, Chita, who said she's "carefully deciding what to do next," said the shake-up will benefit KLPX.
"It's the best thing to happen in this market in a very long time," she said. "Bold new changes were long overdue for a very stagnant radio market."
Contact reporter Phil Villarreal at 573-4130 or pvillarreal@azstarnet.com
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