Midwest Communications has dropped its Conservative Talk format in Duluth-Superior and upgraded Wisconsin-based Sports Talk to a bigger signal while moving two local talk hosts to a different station.
10kW WDSM/710 and W251CD/98.1 (Superior-Duluth) switched to “The Game” this week. “The Game” also continues to be heard on its original home, 1kW WDUL/970 (Superior-Duluth), with some separate commercials and imaging.
The Twin Ports had been the only market where Midwest had offered two Talk formats. KDAL/610 and W280FB/103.9 (Duluth) carry a lineup that mixes general talk with some politics.
Former WDSM host Brad Bennett is now on KDAL from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, while Neill Atkins is now heard Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8 to 9 a.m. on KDAL.
KDAL continues to run Markley, Van Camp, & Robbins in mid-afternoon, a syndicated show which had also been carried on WDSM in an earlier timeslot.
WDSM had been the home of Rush Limbaugh until his death. Its recent syndicated programs included Hugh Hewitt, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Michael Savage, and FOX News hourly newscasts.
Nielsen ratings for Fall 2021, released last week, show WDSM tied for fourth among publicly-released stations in listeners 12 and older. KDAL was ninth and WDUL was not listed.
The station’s new lineup includes Steve Czaban and the rest of the lineup syndicated from iHeartMedia’s “97.3 The Game” (WRNW Milwaukee) from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and CBS Sports Radio at night. Though positioned as “Wisconsin Sports Talk,” WDSM is now also running Bob Sansevere’s Minneapolis-based show at 6 p.m. after it was bumped from KDAL’s noon hour.
WDSM is also the Twin Ports affiliate for the Packers, Wisconsin Badgers, and Minnesota Wild.
WDSM first flipped to Talk in the early 1990s and later switched to Sports in 1996, flipping back to Talk in 2003 when WEBC/560 switched from Talk to Sports.
WEBC, owned by Townsquare Media, carries iHeart’s Minneapolis-based “Fan” daytime Sports Talk lineup and is rebroadcast on W293CT/106.5.
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