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TheBuzz
Erika Engle
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Oahu gets another dose of sports radio
THE talk was all Bill Walsh all the time on the sports radio station yesterday afternoon.
Yes, it was probably on the sports station you're accustomed to listening to, but it was also on KUPA-AM 1370.
The long-silent KUPA is broadcasting the national network programming of Fox Sports Radio.
Utah-based Broadcasting Corp. of America bought the station two years ago for $650,000 from another Utah company.
The station has a long history of call-letter changes, despite being mostly off the air since
Hawaii Public Radio Inc. sold it in 2002.
Broadcasting Corp. President Nathan Drage, an attorney, at first thought he might put Hispanic programming on the station. By the time his purchase closed in April of 2006, however, he was thinking about sports programming -- and sports it is.
He could not be reached yesterday to provide details, such as the studio or transmitter locations or whether he intends to put local programming on the air.
At least four Oahu radio stations now traffic in sports talk: KUPA, KKEA-AM 1420; KUMU-AM 1500; and KORL-AM 1180.
KKEA, branded as "Honolulu's ESPN Radio 1420 AM," has been doing sports-talk the longest and its morning show, hosted by veteran sports-talker Bobby Curran has a devout following.
KUMU has recently rounded up a variety of well-known morning show hosts to go head-to-head against KKEA, including Jim and Kanoa Leahey, attorney and sports fanatic Jeff Portnoy and another duo -- Bob Hogue and Jai Cunningham. Longtime broadcaster John Noland recently joined KUMU in the afternoons, where his part-sports show is up against another local sports show on KKEA.
KORL's sports block was added last year in a time brokerage agreement with Starcomm Wireless. Its programming airs from 6 to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturdays, according to the KORL Web site.
At the moment, the difference between KUPA and its sports-spewing brethren is that the stations also sell blocks of time for other types of programs.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4747, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at:
eengle@starbulletin.com