Update: Kevin Weatherly returns to KROQ

dailynews.com

After leaving KROQ two years ago for a management job at Spotify, Kevin Weatherly has returned to the heritage alternative rock station as the Senior Vice President of Programming.



For a quarter century, Weatherly guided the station to become the standard of alternative rock-n-roll. He also launched the novel JACK-FM (KCBS-FM) format as well as guided contemporary hits KAMP (now KNX-FM). He left KROQ as the station experienced reclining ratings, accelerated by the end of the Kevin & Bean morning show.




Mike Kaplan, Kevin & Ally, Lisa Worden

Weatherly succeeds Mike Kaplan, who left the station in March. Kaplan was unable to revive KROQ's former glory, including trying out multiple reconfigurations of morning drive, currently helmed by (Kevin) Klein & Ally (Johnson). Kaplan was charged with attracting a younger audience while trying to maintain their aging core audience, a challenging task at best. KROQ also faced new competition when ALT-98.7 (KYSR) moved to alternative rock, interestingly the competition is now programmed by Lisa Worden, who worked with Weatherly throughout much of his tenure.

From the Audacy press release:

“We’re so excited to welcome Kevin back to KROQ to oversee the iconic brand he was instrumental in building,” said Jeff Federman, Regional President and Market Manager, Audacy Southern California. “KROQ is a pillar in the SoCal community and not many people understand the bond between this station and its fans like Kevin. We look forward to him returning and evolving the brand even further.”

“KROQ is one of the most recognizable and iconic brands in all of radio,” said Weatherly. “I’ve had the privilege of spending the majority of my career programming KROQ and I’m energized and ready for the next chapter. We have a lot of work ahead of us to return KROQ to its rightful position in the hearts and minds of longtime listeners and partners, and I can’t wait to get started.”

We'll provide more detail and reaction over the days to come.


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