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Free FM
Free FM was a format and brand name for eleven FM CBS Radio stations in the United States, and was created because of Howard Stern's departure to Sirius Satellite Radio in January 2006. Free FM was given its name to highlight that its stations broadcast free-to-air, instead of requiring a subscription fee like satellite radio services. Launched on October 25, 2005, Free FM was phased out over the course of 2007, with the final station using it, KLSX, dropping the brand in November 2008.
Free FM stations targeted a largely male demographic ranking from 18 to 49, attracting those who normally listen to FM rock and alternative stations, instead of existing AM talk radio listeners. Programs were more ribald than AM talk stations and include more discussion of dating, personal relationships, more comedy, and more discussion of celebrities and entertainment. Some Free FM stations also included music programs. Most Free FM programs were generally of the hot talk format.
One Canadian radio station, CFRI-FM in Grande Prairie, Alberta, used to use the Free FM brand name before flipping to '2DayFM', although its ownership and format are unrelated to the American stations.
On October 25, 2005, Infinity Broadcasting (now CBS Radio) officially announced that it would be replacing Howard Stern on many of its radio stations with David Lee Roth in New York City and several other eastern markets, Rover's Morning Glory with Shane "Rover" French in the midwest, and Adam Carolla in Los Angeles and several other western markets, along with already established DC-based morning show The Junkies on WJFK-FM in D.C. and WHFS-FM in Baltimore. On the same day, several of these Infinity/CBS radio stations became known as "Free FM"; some of the stations already had an all-talk format, while others switched from a music format, and WXRK New York announced that it would become "Free FM" starting January 3, 2006.
In addition to the morning shows, Free FM also announced at this time the creation of Penn Radio, an hourlong radio show hosted from Las Vegas by illusionist Penn Jillette and co-hosted by Michael Goudeau, juggler at the Lance Burton Show. Other programming syndicated to a large number of Free FM stations included programming already in syndication at the time: The Don and Mike Show, The Tom Leykis Show, and Loveline. All three programs were being aired on Westwood One, at the time a corporate sister to CBS Radio.
On March 2, 2007, Penn Radio, hosted by Penn Jillette, aired its last show.
In April 2006 rumors were reported that Roth's show would be dumped due to low ratings (The ratings for Roth's show in morning drive went down eighty percent compared to Howard Stern's ratings in the same slot a year prior) and would be replaced by XM's Opie and Anthony. The move marked Opie and Anthony's return to the New York terrestrial radio scene and to CBS Radio; their show was canceled by CBS/Infinity in 2002 when they were syndicated through sister station WNEW-FM due to a broadcast of the "Sex For Sam III" skit from St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York that generated much controversy.
The move was confirmed by Opie and Anthony on their show and website on Friday, April 21. As of that date, David Lee Roth's web site, david.freefm.com, had disappeared along with any mention of him on the Free FM local affiliates. On Monday, April 24, a Flash presentation presented on the Free FM local affiliates alluded to a debut time of 9 a.m. that day for the announcement of the return of the Opie and Anthony show. The show debuted on the former David Lee Roth affiliates on April 26.
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Free FM
Free FM was a format and brand name for eleven FM CBS Radio stations in the United States, and was created because of Howard Stern's departure to Sirius Satellite Radio in January 2006. Free FM was given its name to highlight that its stations broadcast free-to-air, instead of requiring a subscription fee like satellite radio services. Launched on October 25, 2005, Free FM was phased out over the course of 2007, with the final station using it, KLSX, dropping the brand in November 2008.
Free FM stations targeted a largely male demographic ranking from 18 to 49, attracting those who normally listen to FM rock and alternative stations, instead of existing AM talk radio listeners. Programs were more ribald than AM talk stations and include more discussion of dating, personal relationships, more comedy, and more discussion of celebrities and entertainment. Some Free FM stations also included music programs. Most Free FM programs were generally of the hot talk format.
One Canadian radio station, CFRI-FM in Grande Prairie, Alberta, used to use the Free FM brand name before flipping to '2DayFM', although its ownership and format are unrelated to the American stations.
On October 25, 2005, Infinity Broadcasting (now CBS Radio) officially announced that it would be replacing Howard Stern on many of its radio stations with David Lee Roth in New York City and several other eastern markets, Rover's Morning Glory with Shane "Rover" French in the midwest, and Adam Carolla in Los Angeles and several other western markets, along with already established DC-based morning show The Junkies on WJFK-FM in D.C. and WHFS-FM in Baltimore. On the same day, several of these Infinity/CBS radio stations became known as "Free FM"; some of the stations already had an all-talk format, while others switched from a music format, and WXRK New York announced that it would become "Free FM" starting January 3, 2006.
In addition to the morning shows, Free FM also announced at this time the creation of Penn Radio, an hourlong radio show hosted from Las Vegas by illusionist Penn Jillette and co-hosted by Michael Goudeau, juggler at the Lance Burton Show. Other programming syndicated to a large number of Free FM stations included programming already in syndication at the time: The Don and Mike Show, The Tom Leykis Show, and Loveline. All three programs were being aired on Westwood One, at the time a corporate sister to CBS Radio.
On March 2, 2007, Penn Radio, hosted by Penn Jillette, aired its last show.
In April 2006 rumors were reported that Roth's show would be dumped due to low ratings (The ratings for Roth's show in morning drive went down eighty percent compared to Howard Stern's ratings in the same slot a year prior) and would be replaced by XM's Opie and Anthony. The move marked Opie and Anthony's return to the New York terrestrial radio scene and to CBS Radio; their show was canceled by CBS/Infinity in 2002 when they were syndicated through sister station WNEW-FM due to a broadcast of the "Sex For Sam III" skit from St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York that generated much controversy.
The move was confirmed by Opie and Anthony on their show and website on Friday, April 21. As of that date, David Lee Roth's web site, david.freefm.com, had disappeared along with any mention of him on the Free FM local affiliates. On Monday, April 24, a Flash presentation presented on the Free FM local affiliates alluded to a debut time of 9 a.m. that day for the announcement of the return of the Opie and Anthony show. The show debuted on the former David Lee Roth affiliates on April 26.