Radio News
Dallas radio station 97.1 FM dumps talk format, to return to rock 'n' roll
Mike Rhyner was let go.
Dallas radio station 97.1 FM has ended its brief excursion into talk radio and will return to rock: According to radio writer Richie Whitt, station owner iHeartMedia is pulling the plug on 97.1 The Freak, a talk show format it debuted in October 2022 that was lagging badly in ratings.
The company called a meeting on April 26 and fired the staff, including radio veterans Mike Rhyner, Jeff Cavanaugh, Danny Balis, and Ben & Skin.
Rhyner confirmed he'd been let go with a droll tweet that said "and another thing - now we’re not gonna see the end of the big office re-do."
He told the Observer that the station will revert back to its rock music programming as 97.1 The Eagle beginning on Monday, April 29.
On Friday afternoon, The Freak was airing replays of past shows. On April 29, the station began airing a noisy, chaotic pastiche of songs by rock bands like Pearl Jam, System of a Down, and Linkin Park, and a post on the website says "Landing Monday at 10 am!"
In 2022, the station made a change from music to talk radio, with a big fanfare that included the comeback of Rhyner, a big name in radio who came out of retirement to host a weekday afternoon show with Mike Sirois.
Other programming included a morning show with Jeff Cavanaugh; the Ben and Skin Show, an afternoon show with Ben Rogers and Jeff “Skin” Wade; a show called Cash In hosted by Jason Page; and a show called Just Sain' It hosted by Cole Thompson.
But the Freak's ratings lagged far behind the competition, 1310 The Ticket and 105.3 The Fan. The talk format also required an outlay on salaries to multiple hosts on more than one show.
In a Facebook post, Ben and Skin said, "We are heartbroken that the station that we worked so hard to help build is changing directions. We loved being a part of The Freak. The best part of the last 18 months was coming to work everyday with some of our closest friends and favorite DFW radio personalities. Nothing will top that. Although it was short-lived, it was far and away the most fun we've ever had in radio. We'll let you know the future of The Ben and Skin Show as soon as we can."
Rhyner said the demise was not a surprise, and attributed it to the fact that iHeart Radio stations are mostly music and not talk.
"We’ve all known we were dead men walking for a long time," he said.
Ratings for the first quarter of 2024 from January-March reveal the station's poor showing:
Mornings:
- Ticket 12.8 (1)
- Fan 9.2 (2)
- Freak 1.9 (17)
Middays:
- Fan 7.2 (1)
- Ticket 6.9 (3)
- Freak 2.0 (18)
Afternoons
- Ticket 11.3 (1)
- Fan 7.8 (2)
- Freak 2.2 (17)
iHeart Media has not announced its plans, including what the change in format will mean to its relationship with the Dallas Mavericks. 97.1 FM has been the official station for Dallas Mavericks games for three years, with two years left on a five-year contract to air Mavericks games.
